Fr Chávez in Holland and Belgium

From yesterday 3 until 9 October, the Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chávez, was in Holland and Belgium taking part in the celebration of the unification of the Province. Following the unification the new Province will have 22 Salesian houses including schools, parishes and oratories, 16 of which are in the norrthern part of Belgium and the remaining 6 in Holland; 250 Salesians. The Provincial house will be in Brussels.

On Monday the 3rd of October he was welcomed by the provincial, his delegate and the Salesians and youngsters of Don Bosco Amsterdam. The Rector Major listened carefully to the youngsters and praised their commitment. He emphasized that they were fulfilling Don Bosco’s dream to give young people a home, offer them an open door and let them feel a ‘warm heart’. Afterwards Fr Chávez met the Rectors of the Delegation. He thanked them for giving their lives to God, the people and the Congregation. He also referred to the decreasing number of vocations in the Netherlands: “I don’t feel any pessimism. You are all aware of the decrease of vocations, but you have also found lots of lay people who are identifying themselves with the charism of Don Bosco.” Finally the Rector Major formulated the hope to send missionaries to the Netherlands in order to support the local Salesian works.

On Tuesday the 4th of October Fr Chávez went to Nijmegen, where he met some older Salesians in a home. He proudly called them “sons of Don Bosco, who have given their lives to the Congregation and were answerable for lots of vocations and missionaries”. He also mentioned that these vocations are the biggest challenge for the Salesian future of our region. From Nijmegen Fr Chávez travelled to Soest, Apeldoorn and Deventer, where lots of children and youngsters are taken care of. He called these works a “social lung, a place where values such as respect and integration are still important, a place where people are called by their names and carried in the heart of others.” Again the Rector Major was pleasantly surprised by the many volunteers who are giving Don Bosco a concrete face. The slogan ‘Don Chávez is Don Bosco’, was countered by the Rector Major with the phrase: “I am not Don Bosco, you all are”. Don Chávez finished his visit to the Netherlands in Assel. In his Goodnight he summoned up to take care of the elder, fellow Salesians, to be joined together in the Lord and to support everyone who wants to keep the Salesian spirit alive.

On Wednesday 5th of October the Rector Major arrived in Belgium where it has met the Council and the directors of that Province.

On Thursday the 6th of October in the afternoon Fr Chávez visited the biggest college in Flanders: Don Bosco Zwijnaarde. During their meeting with the Rector Major, the (lay) directors of the school thanked the Salesians for their establishment of the school and the opportunities they still have to educate and teach in the spirit of Don Bosco. Afterwards Don Chávez addressed the whole school staff. “I’ve been a teacher myself”, he said, “and I know that I don’t have to speak too long after a hard day of work at school, but I would like to thank you all because you are realising the dream of Don Bosco. Schools and teachers are very important these days because education is our first mission; it’s even a real art. Your school is like a river, helping youngsters to become more human and preparing them to continue their studies. That’s why your task is very important. We have to believe in youngsters, educate them and bring more people to the love of Don Bosco.”

On Thursday evening the Rector Major visited the technical school and the boarding school at Sint-Denijs-Westrem. In his Goodnight to the youngsters of the boarding school Fr Chávez emphasized that Don Bosco still has a message for us, today. “First of all we have to discover the good in ourselves, our families and the world. Secondly education helps us to develop a true personality and to grow as a human being. And thirdly we have to believe in God.” The Rector Major pointed at the cross he’s wearing and told the youngsters about his own vocation. He concluded his Goodnight with the promise to pray for the youngsters.

Afterwards Fr Chávez paid a visit to the local Salesian community. Bishop Luc Van Looy, bishop of Ghent, and Father Albert Van Hecke, responsible for the region, joined in. In his Goodnight to the confreres, he thanked them because they are a treasure for the province. “We have to keep on thanking each other for our lives and our vocation”, he said. He also praised the strong Salesian identity he had discovered in the province. “You are handing on the charism of Don Bosco. Our Salesian mission has a central place in your province and is also handed on by a lot of lay people. I’m very happy that the will to pass on our mission is stronger than the intention to maintain the structures. I hope that Don Bosco will bless you with vocations.”

On Friday the 7th of October in the morning, the Rector Major headed for Eeklo, where he visited two centres of special child and youth care. In the first centre socially vulnerable youngsters and their families find support in their process of self-evaluation. This objective is rooted in the mission of Don Bosco. The centre comprises two communities of youngsters. The Rector Major praised the preventive approach of the centre and expressed his strong belief in the value of this project. Afterwards Fr Chávez visited a Salesian observation and treatment centre in Eeklo. First the Rector gave an account of the objectives and the functioning of the centre. Then the Rector Major listened to the story of one of the youngsters, who once had a very difficult time, but managed to get out of the mire thanks to the centre in Eeklo. According to Fr Chávez this is a real Salesian work, where youngsters are helped to rediscover their dignity. After this presentation the Rector Major was warmly welcomed by the youngsters themselves. In the gymnasium they had organised some typical Flemish folk games and a competition, in which the Rector Major took part. For him it was a nice moment of recreation and as a formal trainer he excelled in the basketball game. Therefore he obtained the certificate of ‘winner of the Flemish Games’.

On Friday afternoon the Rector Major had an appointment with the editors of the Salesian Bulletin. In his interview he first pointed at the actual value of Don Bosco’s message. “As long as there are youngsters, Don Bosco’s message is valid. Youngsters deserve care and chances to develop their talents. They are not only the future of our society, but also the present and they want to be protagonists in the new Europe. Our youngsters deserve the best and the best we can give them is education.” Fr Chávez was very happy with what he had seen in the province. “It’s a province with a strong and clear Salesian identity. It mirrors the fidelity of the Salesians to Don Bosco and their desire to be beloved sons and true disciples. In this province our mission has a central place. We are here because of the youngsters. They are the meaning of our lives and the centre of our structures. It’s interesting to see how all the houses give an answer to the new needs and new forms of poverty of our youngsters. It’s also heart warming to see the large number of lay people who are passing on the charism of Don Bosco. Passing on this charism means that you have to embody Don Bosco’s mind, heart and hands. You have to think like Don Bosco, love like Don Bosco and act like Don Bosco. Therefore we need Salesians, who dedicate their lives to God and Don Bosco. They are like a nucleus, generating new energy. But we also need lay people. They are not only collaborators, but ‘co-responsible with you’ in the realisation of our mission.” The Rector Major emphasized that vocations are the biggest challenge for Europe, where “the process of secularisation is moving forth. In Europe it’s tolerated to believe in God, but God has got nothing to do with public life. But at the same time you see new forms of religiosity. September 11th has shown us that our world is more fragile than we often think. There are also a lot of immigrants in Europe who are very religious. We are closing churches while they are building mosques. This might give rise to the question: what about us (and our belief)? In Europe we should create a vocation culture, in which youngsters can build a life project, in which a life dedicated to God is one of the possibilities. How to create this? Through experiences of serving people.” And the Rector Major concluded: “If there’s one message I could give you, it would be a message of Don Bosco: ‘I want you to be happy’. Don Bosco had a dream. If we want to be happy, we also need a dream. This means that we should experience our own life as a vocation and that we should develop all our skills and talents so that we can place them in service of others. And last but not least we should be God-centred men and women, because He is the only one who gives meaning to our lives and gives us the love which can conquer death. That’s my message for you: ‘I want you to be happy, now and forever’.”

On Saturday the 8th of October was undoubtedly the highlight of the Rector Major’s visit. But at the same time it was an inspiring day for the whole Salesian Movement in Flanders and the Netherlands. The day started with a Eucharist, led by Bishops Luc Van Looy, bishop of Ghent, Fr Chávez, and Adrian Van Luyn, bishop of Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and Bert Vanbuel, the new bishop of Kaga-Bandoro. A children’s choir added the necessary, Salesian lustre to the service. In his sermon the Rector Major pointed at the importance of putting God and Christ in the centre of our lives and to become fishers of men (Mt 4, 18-22). At the end of the Eucharist Don Chávez officially confirmed the unification of the Province Belgium North and the Netherlands. “During the past 109 years you have realised a lot. I would like to invite you to write some more, golden pages for the present and the future.”

In the afternoon there was a Don Bosco market in the Don Bosco college of Hechtel, where all the branches of the Salesian movement presented themselves. A lot of youngsters contributed their bit to the unforgettable success of this feast.

The cream of the day was the multimedia spectacle ‘The touch of a dreamer’ presented by 220 pupils of the Don Bosco college. Through acting, music, dance, poetry, tricks and lots of special effects, they presented the life and meaning of Don Bosco. In his introduction Firmin Vanspauwen, teacher at Don Bosco Hechtel and producer of the spectacle, expressed the joy he had felt while seeing the creativity of the youngsters and their ability to grow beyond their own beliefs. The words of the Rector Major at the end of the spectacle were striking: “Thank you, you have stolen my heart”.

Afterwards the 1500 spectators went home, thankful to be touched by Don Bosco, the dreamer who gives colour to our lives and meaning to our days. Fr Chávez had visited in the Salesian community, Helchteren.

The Rector Major finished his visit to northern Europe going to the Salesian community in Boortmeerbeek where the Mission Office is based and which there is the house for Salesian former missionaries and the sick confreres. On Sunday 9 October, welcomed by the Rector Fr Marc Vanhoutte, he met the confreres living there and thanked them for their lives which had been given to the Congregation and to the young. He also referred to the rich Salesian experience in Flanders and exhorted them to continue to live with great zeal “da mihi animas”.