THE POPE’S APPEAL FOR THE MISSIONS

- Introduction.- The missionary heart of Don Bosco.- He dreamed of sons in the South and the East.- Ours is a missionary Congregation.- The Pope’s message in the Encyclical “Redemptoris missio”.- Enthusiasm for the “mission” stems from the mystery of God.- Missionary activity has pride of place in evangelization.- The missionary is invited to a renewal without deviation.- A glance at Don Bosco’s missions at the present day,- Salesian spirituality for our missionaries. - Everyone - in communion and active participation.- The Lord is preparing a new springtime of faith.

Rome, 24 February 1991

My dear confreres,

I am writing to you in the liturgical atmosphere that prepares us to relive once again Christ’s paschal mystery. We look to him as the center of our existence and of all human history. He is the Good Shepherd, “sent” by the Father to give life to an entirely “missionary” Church among the peoples. In it he raised up also our own vocation as a special charisma of evangelization.

I want to use the opportunity offered by the Pope’s recent Encyclical to invite you to reflect on our missionary dimension in the Church.

In my preceding letter we meditated together on the ecclesial event of the most recent Bishops’ Synod to prepare ourselves to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Don Bosco.

This time I think it will be opportune to consider together another ecclesial event: the publication of the Encyclical “Redemptoris missio”. It is well that we should be in harmony, in our prayer and reflection, with the directive events of the Church.

The Encyclical deals with a theme that is a vital one for all; it is of special importance also for us.

In addition, in Lima, the Peruvian capital, the Fourth Latin-American Missionary Congress (COMLAA) has just taken place to give new strength to the missionary commitment in those countries whose culture is christian. This too is an event that prompts us to reflect on the importance of the missions.

Furthermore our own GC23 considered the missionary dimension of the Congregation, and produced a concise guideline for a review and progressive coordination of the new salesian foundations in Africa.¹ This guideline has been carefully studied by the Rector Major with his Council, who have made certain decisions now being put into effect.²

This combination of circumstances, as well as the numerous “missionary journeys” planned by the Rector Major and various Councilors for this year, are an invitation to us to concentrate our attention on a truly vital theme, and one which fills us with enthusiasm at the courageous commitments the Congregation has made. But it makes us think more deeply also of a particular characteristic of which the Pope has reminded us more than once: that we must be everywhere true “missionaries of the young”. There is something about that word “missionary” that takes us to the very roots of the faith and makes us understand more explicitly the true significance of our salesian vocation.

Before going into the more substantial aspects of the Encyclical, it may be well if we consider together the missionary dimension of our Congregation (and Family). Among ourselves this is a characteristic that is taken for granted, but it is not so clear in other contexts. There are some lists, for example, that are more or less official, which do not include us among missionary Institutes – with the corresponding consequences.

Let us first look briefly at the missionary heart of Don Bosco, and then at his prophetic missionary dreams, so as rightly to assert the missionary dimension of our Congregation.