67 Il Primo Annuncio Oggi- ING


67 Il Primo Annuncio Oggi- ING

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Alfred Maravilla
Initial
Proclamation
Today

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Initial
Proclamation
Today
Alfred MARAVILLA
SDB Missions Sector and FMA Missions Sector
Rome 2017

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Original text: Il Primo Annuncio Oggi
Translated by George Menamparampil SDB
Editrice S.D.B.
Edizione extra commerciale
Direzione Generale Opere Don Bosco
Via della Pisana, 1111
Casella Postale 18333
00163 Roma

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Table of Contents
Presentation...................................................................................................... 5
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 9
Chapter I
INITIAL PROCLAMATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ....................................... 13
Encounters with Jesus.................................................................................. 15
Initial Proclamation in Saint Paul ........................................................... 17
Initial Proclamation in the Early Christian Community..................... 19
Summarising.................................................................................................. 20
Chapter II
THEOLOGICAL-PASTORAL REFLECTION ON INITIAL PROCLAMATION ....... 21
Development of the Understanding of Initial Proclamation................ 23
Study Days ..................................................................................................... 27
Chapter III
WHAT IS INITIAL PROCLAMATION? .................................................................. 29
“Courage! Get up, He is Calling You!” ..................................................... 31
Initial Proclamation as ‘Falling in love’.................................................. 31
A Definition of Initial Proclamation ......................................................... 34
To Whom is it Addressed? ........................................................................... 35
Relevance of Initial Proclamation ............................................................. 36
Way Forward ................................................................................................. 38
Chapter IV
INITIAL PROCLAMATION IN CHRISTIAN CONTEXTS ...................................... 39
“He went about all the Cities and Villages” ............................................ 41
Initial Proclamation or New Evangelisation? ........................................ 42
New Evangelisation as ‘Second Proclamation’ ...................................... 42
Initial Proclamation in Urban Contexts................................................... 45
Way Forward ................................................................................................. 48
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Chapter V
KERYGMA AND INITIAL PROCLAMATION.......................................................... 51
“Go up and join that Chariot”.................................................................... 53
Kerygma .......................................................................................................... 53
Oriented Towards the Catechumenate and Missionary Catechesis.... 56
Way Forward ................................................................................................. 58
Chapter VI
WITNESS OF LIFE AND OF CHARITY AS INITIAL PROCLAMATION .............. 59
“Give them Something to Eat Yourselves!”.............................................. 61
Witness ............................................................................................................. 61
Charity ............................................................................................................. 65
Conversion in Multireligious Contexts ..................................................... 67
Way Forward ................................................................................................. 69
Chapter VII
INITIAL PROCLAMATION AND SALESIAN CHARISM ....................................... 71
“Enlarge your Tent!” .................................................................................... 73
A Glance at our Origins ............................................................................... 73
Preventive System.......................................................................................... 75
Preventive System as Initial Proclamation.............................................. 76
Youth Ministry Imbued with Initial Proclamation ................................ 77
Way Forward ................................................................................................. 79
Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 81
Appendices ......................................................................................................... 87
Operative Conclusions of the Study Days (2010-2015)............. 89
The Letter from Roma ............................................................................ 102
Selected Bibliography............................................................................. 111
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Presentation

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It  is  with  feelings  of  humble  gratitude  for  the  long  journey
shared together by the FMA and SDB that today we present to
you this valuable working tool.
It is, above all, an entrustment. We entrust to you a summary
of  this  significant  journey,  which  we  jointly  made  through  the
eight Study Days on initial proclamation that we held around the
world between 2010 and 2015. During these Study Days we ap-
plied  ourselves  to  a  serious  search  for  an  initial  proclamation 
of  first  quality,  according  the  spirit  of  Don  Bosco  and  Mother 
Mazzarello, aimed at young people from all continents.
This document has one main purpose: to stir up in us, FMA
and SDB, a greater awareness and a stronger missionary
commitment.  Rather  than  give  rise  to  discussions  that  risk 
becoming  sterile,  the  intention  is  to  strengthen  in  each  of  our 
religious  communities  a  sensitivity  to  our  missionary  responsi-
bilities. Therefore, this is an instrument to be put into practice
in our apostolate!
To achieve this we propose a fundamental and indispensa-
ble means: personal study and reflection. This text is not
merely to be read; it is to be studied, and to be used as a founda-
tion  for  further  research  and  analysis.  The  abundant  footnotes
on each page are already a clear indication that we have in our
hands  a  wealth  of  ecclesial  and  Salesian  missionary  reflection
and guidelines that require study and reflection.
Let us, therefore, vow that the punctilious work in the prepa-
ration  of  this  synthesis,  in  particular  through  the  generous 
dedication of Fr. Alfred Maravilla SDB, may, thanks to a prayer-
ful and critical study, bear abundant apostolic fruits.
Sister Alaide Deretti FMA
Councilor, Missions Sector
Fr. Guillermo Basañes SDB
Councilor, Missions Sector
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Introduction

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TThe  eight  Study Days on Initial Proclamation in  different 
continents,  promoted  by  the  Missions  Sectors,  have  been  a 
real kairos, that is, privileged moments in which the Holy Spirit
manifested  His  presence  to  renew  ourselves  and  our  communi-
ties. “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day
of salvation” (2Cor 6: 2). In fact, it is the Spirit who guides us,
profoundly touching our hearts and our minds for our renewal.
During these Study Days, moved by the Holy Spirit, partici-
pants  from  different  continents  and  cultures  wanted  to  find  a
way to stir up an interest in Jesus Christ in the hearts of people,
especially  the  young.  They  discussed  the  many  concerns  that
arose from their pastoral experience among young people, many
of whom are looking for truth and happiness. Their search could
also  result  in  some  confusion  and  they  remain  deprived  of  the
true values that lead them to true happiness. In fact, the great
challenge  and  opportunity  we  have  is  to  offer  Jesus  Christ  to
everyone, for only He can satisfy all our desires.
It was, of course, not possible to arrive at answers to all these
questions during each of these Study Days. In each of them we
did deepen the various dimensions of an initial proclamation of
Jesus Christ, through a progressive reflection, sharing of experi-
ences,  listening  to  the  Word  of  God  and  through  prayer.  These
various Study Days, besides identifying techniques and methods,
made us aware that to foster initial proclamation, we are first of
all called to live more intensely our own Christian life. It is thus
that we show the wonderful fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5: 22-23) and
bear witness to the love and mercy of God in this world. We also
need a “renewal of the mind” (Rm 12: 2) to widen our horizons
and to see the countless possibilities for fostering initial procla-
mation in the context of our daily activities.
Chapter I of this study looks at initial proclamation in the
New  Testament,  especially  in  the  Gospels,  in  the  activities  and
writings of St. Paul, and in the life of the early Christian commu-
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nity. Chapter II outlines the development of theological and pas-
toral reflection, especially from Vatican Council II till today.
Chapters  III,  IV,  V  and  VI  could  be  considered  the  heart  of
this text because they harvest the essential elements of the dis-
cussions of all the Study Days. They define initial proclamation,
showing its importance even in what is traditionally considered
as  Christian  contexts,  and  its  relationship  with  kerygma,
through a life of witness and works of charity.
Chapter VII presents the urgent need to rethink our pastoral
work  among  young  people,  pointing  to  initial  proclamation  as
our primary concern. This implies a true missionary conversion
to rethink and develop new strategies for our youth ministry.
“Take heart; rise, he is calling you!” (Mk 10: 49), the crowd at
Jericho said to Bartimaeus. The same invitation is addressed to
us  today.  “Take  heart!  Let’s  get  up!  Let  us  not  allow  anyone  to
steal from us the joy of evangelisation! Let no one rob us of our
missionary zeal! We shouldn’t miss out on our joy, dedication
and boldness in fostering initial proclamation.”
May this gift be a help for every Salesian, Daughter of Mary
help of Christians and member of the Salesian Family, to seize
this kairos and launch courageous and bold initiatives to foment
the initial proclamation of Christ today!
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Chapter I
Initial Proclamation
in the New Testament

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ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS
MMatthew summed up the missionary activity of Jesus in a rich
and  concise  and  manner:  “Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and 
villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel
of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity”
(Mt 9: 35). Jesus did not expect people to come to him. Instead he
went to their homes, villages and cities to meet them while they
were engaged in their ordinary, daily, routine activities: Peter
and Andrew while they were fishing from their boat (Mt 4:16 -
20), Zacchaeus watching from a tree (Lk 19: 1-10), Martha and
Mary in their home (Lk 10: 38-42). This also allowed Jesus to find
faith where it is not expected to be found, as in the case of the
Syro-Phoenician woman (Mt 7: 24-30), the centurion (Mt 8: 5-13)
and the eunuch (Mt 19:12). In fact, he went everywhere in search
of lost sheep.1
The three personal encounters of Jesus in the Gospel of John
are wonderful paradigms of initial proclamation. For the evan-
gelist John, the ‘going around’ by Jesus is first of all the initiative
of the Father. Although this is not always explicitly clear, the ini-
tiative  of  the  Father  is  real  and  often  surprising:  “No  one  can
come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (Jn 6: 44).
The disciples were drawn to Jesus; then they transmitted this 
attraction to others.
The call of the brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John (Jn
1: 35-50) is actually an initial proclamation of Jesus to humanity.
It takes place in an unspecified place, as if to suggest that this first
encounter with Jesus can take place anywhere. The disciples are
called at different times. In the Gospel of John we have John the
Baptist who, seeing Jesus passing by, exclaimed with a contagious
enthusiasm: “Behold the Lamb of God!” Two of his disciples went
to Jesus out of curiosity and asked him, “Where are you staying?”.
Jesus answered – these are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel
i MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Gesù Percorreva tutte le Città e i Villaggi” in A. MARAVILLA (ed),
Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio di Cristo in Città (Rome: SDB-FMA, 2016) 245-252.
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of John – “Come and see.” Jesus allows those who seek Him to find
him in an original way. He does not give them a doctrine to be un-
derstood,  nor  a  commandment  to  be  obeyed;  he  invites  them  to
share a personal experience with him and to stay with him. There-
fore, “they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained
with him that day.” This ‘being with him’ becomes an inexhaustible
internal resource for the life and mission of the disciples. one of
them, Andrew, after he found the Messiah, leads his brother Peter
to him. The next day Philip, after becoming a disciple of Jesus,
brings Nathanael to him. The disciple starts off a chain reaction of
attraction and the circle of Jesus' disciples widens.2
In his dialogue with “a Pharisee named Nicodemus” (Jn 3: 1-
42), it is Nicodemus who utters the first words, but it is Jesus who
guides the development of the dialogue. Nicodemus claims that
he knows Jesus; but in reality he only knows something about
Jesus. He had a little data in his hands whose full significance he
had not fully grasped yet. Nicodemus is a sincere and good person
who prefers to meet Jesus in the dark of the night because he is
unable to open up to the new, to live with flexibility and freedom.
Through their dialogue, Jesus helps him to make a leap from the
dark of his narrow-mindedness towards the totally new and tran-
scendent. John will later narrate that Nicodemus spoke in defense
of Jesus against the entire Sanhedrin (Jn 7: 48-52). After the cru-
cifixion he anointed his body with precious oils and, with Joseph
of Arimathea, provided him with a proper burial (Jn 19, 39). Thus
we see initial proclamation gradually guiding a person to move
from ambiguity and fear to knowledge and faith in Jesus.
Jesus’  encounter  with  the  Samaritan  woman  (Jn 4:  5-42)
evokes the image of one who is in permanent initial proclamation.
The village well is the place where the lives of people are inter-
twined, where water is sought for and given, where strangers be-
come  friends  and  where  they  create  unexpected  relationships.
The well becomes the place of encounter between Jesus and the
Samaritan woman who ends up transformed. Jesus takes the ini-
2 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” “We have Found the Messiah!”
“What are you Looking for?” “Come and See” in Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations
and Initial Proclamation in Europe Today (Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013) 21-30.
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tiative and makes a request: “Give me a drink.” The request not
only opens the woman to a dialogue that dissipates ethnic hatred
and widens her horizons, but leads her to enter into herself and
face the truth she finds there. Under the guidance of Jesus she
not only finds herself but, more importantly, recognises Jesus as
the Messiah. At the end of this encounter the woman runs to the
village to preach Jesus to her countrymen.
The encounter of Jesus with the royal official whose son was
sick takes place at Capernaum (Jn 4: 43-54). Jesus leads the of-
ficial to take a leap of faith from seeing Jesus only as a miracle
worker  to  believing  in  him.  We  see  the  same  dynamics  in  the
healing of the centurion’s servant (Mt 8: 5-13) and the daughter
of the Canaanite woman (Mk 7: 24-30). ordinary life situations,
suffering  and  disease,  become  the  starting  point  of  faith  that
takes birth, and then develops to the extent that people grow in
their knowledge of the person of Jesus.3
INITIAL PROCLAMATION IN SAINT PAUL
St. Paul is an incomparable model of initial proclamation. He
felt that his mission in life was the promotion of initial proclama-
tion  of  the  Gospel  in  order  to  establish  new  communities.  He
clearly stated: “I have fully preached the gospel of Christ, thus
making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has
already been named, lest I build on another man’s foundation”
(Rm 15: 19-20). He did it especially through the witness of his life
and his preaching. He introduces himself as “a servant of Jesus
Christ” (Rm 1: 1), a humble and unworthy herald of his Gospel,
a fragile earthen vessel holding a great treasure (2Cor 4: 7). He
himself was “the servant of all, to win over the largest number
possible” (1Cor 9: 19), “I have become all things to all, that I might
by all means save some.” (1Cor 9: 22). To the Corinthians to whom
he proclaimed the Gospel against all odds, opposition and adver-
sity, he writes: “we do not intend to lord it over your faith; we
3 MARIA Ko HA FoNG,  “The  Encounter  of  Jesus  with  three  Different  Persons  in 
Different Contexts” in Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial Proclamation
in Europe Today, 47-57.
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work with you for your joy” (2Cor 1: 24). He invited his Christian
communities to imitate him as he himself imitated Christ (1Cor
11: 1) and to have “the same spirit as Christ” (Phil 2: 5).4
At the heart of the Christian experience of Paul is a concrete
event which gave him a sublime vision. He knew Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior. His ‘knowledge’ does not have the usual Greek
meaning of intellectual engagement. It is beyond knowledge and
understanding.  Knowledge  in  the  biblical  sense  implies  more. 
It signifies entering into communion and developing an intimate
relationship to such an extent that he himself does just as Jesus
would. This relationship allows Christ to shape the destiny of
Paul’s life. The fruit of this knowledge is a radical and permanent
change of values, the way of looking at reality and, above all, the
way people see themselves before God.5 However, for Paul, the
source  and  strength  of  all  his  preaching  was  totally  “from  the
Spirit and His power” (1Cor 2: 4).
“The  surpassing  worth  of  knowing  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord”
(Phil 3: 8) is the root and foundation of the apostolic understand-
ing of Paul. He understood that his primary duty in life was to
proclaim “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1Cor 2: 2). He was
fully aware that God had intervened in his life in an unusual way
and, as a consequence, he insisted that he was sent to the nations
(Gal 1: 17) with a single supreme duty: “Woe to me if I do not
preach the Gospel!” (1Cor 9: 16).6
For his missionary strategy Paul chose the areas that had not
been evangelised, making big cities the launching pad to spread
the Gospel. All major roads led to these cities in which almost
everyone understood Greek. Paul felt at home in an urban envi-
ronment where he could use his skills for popular preaching. The
4 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “¿Comprenden lo que Acabo de Hacer con Ustedes?” in M. LoES
(ed), Las Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en América
y el Caribe (Rome: SDB-FMA, 2014) 222-223; IDEM, “Paolo, Missionario della Città” in 
A. MARAVILLA (ed), Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio di Cristo in Città (Rome: SDB-
FMA, 2015), 257.
5 JUAN JoSé BARToLoMé,  “To feel Oneself Conquered by Christ, the Core of Paul’s
Christian Experience” in A. MARAVILLA (ed), Study days on the Salesian Presence Among
Muslims (Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013) 191-196.
6 JUAN JoSé BARToLoMé,  “‘To Reveal his Son to Me’, Source and Cause of Paul’s
Mission” in Study days on the Salesian Presence Among Muslims, 179-184.
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presence of the Jews in Diaspora also facilitated his mission, but
he did not allow himself to remain shut in within their ghetto.
He tried to bring the Gospel to all. He established deep personal
relationships with people and with the communities he founded,
creating a movement of people for the sake of the Gospel.7
His speech at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17: 16-34) is a
classic example of Pauline initial proclamation. Paul tried to ex-
plain to the citizens of this great city of the Mediterranean world,
as concisely as possible, the characteristics of this new religion.
He  used  various  strategies  that  allowed  him  to  deal  with  his 
listeners and immediately to feel in tune with them. He touched
on the fundamental philosophical presuppositions of the Stoics,
Epicureans and the prestigious philosophical schools of Athens;
he showed great familiarity with the significant literary and his-
torical traditions of the Athenians; he used an apologetic scheme
common  to  pagan  mentality,  appealing  to  natural  revelation
where  it  dealt  with  universal  norms.  Although  many  left  him
when he started talking about the resurrection of the dead, some
did follow him and believed him; among them was Dionysius the
Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.
INITIAL PROCLAMATION IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
The Acts of the Apostles presents the simple way of life of the
members of the early Christian community. They “found favour
with all the people” (Acts 2: 47) because of their lifestyle: they sold
everything they had and pooled the proceeds to distribute it to
those in need (Acts 4: 32-37). They were living witnesses of the
Gospel, good news that changes lives; they did not present it as a
collection of doctrine to believe in, or a set of moral rules to be fol-
lowed. Instead, the Gospel was passed on with human warmth,
witness  of  life  and  love.  It  was  a  community  imbued  with  the
Spirit, experienced like a vital principle (Acts 2, 29-47). It “lived
in peace and grew; and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the
comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied” (Acts 9, 31).
The early Church proclaimed with courage and frankness, as
7 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Paolo, Missionario della Città”, 253-259.
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seen in Philip’s dialogue with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8: 26-40).
Apostolic passion drove these evangelisers to bring Christ to others
with creativity and enthusiasm. The early Christians were clearly
aware that it was the Holy Spirit that made the encounter with
the Gospel easy for people of any age, gender, race or culture. The
Spirit leads and precedes the evangelist and sustains his apostolic
passion, but also prepares the recipient of initial proclamation to
nourish his passion in his search for truth and the fullness of life.8
The Ethiopian eunuch did not lack an open heart, but Philip
spurred him on with a short initial proclamation, which he stood
in need of to enlighten his mind and inflame his heart. The Chris-
tian community passed on their faith in Jesus – which they had
received for free – to those who were captivated by him. After his
baptism, the eunuch went on with his journey, but he had already
been inwardly transformed and he was full of joy. In fact, the Acts
of the Apostles shows that the spread of the early church is per-
meated with joy, even in the midst of persecution. It is the joy of
seeing someone believe in Jesus Christ.9
Summarising
It is a personal encounter with Jesus that triggers faith in Him. The first
Christians also presented the encounter with Jesus as a call to conver-
sion from the former way of life to a new life in faith. Apostolic preaching
led to a second look at various aspects of human life in the light of
the teachings of Jesus. Christianity was considered a ‘path’, a ‘way’
that invites a journey, with many implications for the life of believers. So,
initial proclamation is only the beginning of a journey, which proclaims
a promise and demands loyalty to a spiritual and communal path.10
8 RUTH DEL PILAR MoRA, ALExIUS MULoNGo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives dur-
ing the Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis in Africa and Madagascar”
in M. LoES (ed), Study Days on the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Africa and Madagascar
(Rome: SDB-FMA, 2014), 126, 129.
9 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Go up and Join that Chariot” in A. MARAVILLA (ed), Study Days
on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of the Gospel in South Asia (Rome:
SDB-FMA, 2013) 135-143.
10 BISHoPS oF THE DIoCESE oF LoMBARDy, “La Sfida della Fede: il Primo Annuncio” in
Regno – Documenti, vol. 21 (2009), 726.
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Chapter II
Pastoral-Theological
Reflection
on Initial Proclamation

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF INITIAL PROCLAMATION
TThe Apologists at the end of the second century sought a dia-
logue and a comparison with pagan culture, for two reasons: on
the one hand they wanted to justify their conversion; on the other
they felt the need to eliminate the prejudices against Christians.
They tried to dialogue with Jews and Gentiles, stressing the role
of culture in the history of salvation. In this way, through dia-
logue, they tried to spark interest in the person of Jesus Christ
and his Gospel.
Cyril and Methodius promoted initial proclamation through
the  creation  of  an  alphabet  for  the  Slavonic  language,  trying 
to learn more about the inner world of the Slavic people and trans-
lating the Bible and liturgical books into their language. This en-
abled them to proclaim the Word of God using images and concepts
that  were  familiar  to  Slavs  and  easily  aroused  their  interest.11
Throughout history, countless missionaries have promoted this
methodology among peoples and nations on every continent.
After Vatican II, the growing onslaught of secularism has led
the Church to rediscover the importance of initial proclamation.
Evangelii Nuntiandi is one of the first documents of the Magis-
terium to speak of the need to promote initial proclamation (call-
ing it ‘pre-evangelisation’) not only among those who do not know
Christ, but also among those who are baptised but have a weak
faith, who do not practise it or have abandoned it completely.12
Initial proclamation will appear gradually in other papal docu-
ments, albeit with varying nuances.
At the beginning of his pontificate, John Paul II emphasized
that catechesis is based on initial proclamation, describing it as
“missionary preaching through the kerygma to stir up faith.”13 In
Redemptoris Missio it is reaffirmed that initial proclamation has
11 JoHN PAUL II, Encylical Salvorum Apostoli (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vati-
cana, 1985), n.11, 21.
12 PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 1975), n. 51-52.
13 JoHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae (Vatican City: Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, 1979), n.18.
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a central and irreplaceable role in the Church's mission because
it introduces each person to a personal relationship with Christ.14
In this light, the General Directory for Catechesis underlines the
importance of initial proclamation, not only in contexts where
there  is  a  need  for  a  mission  ad gentes,  but  also  within  the
Churches of ancient Christian tradition.15 It is important to note,
however, that the Directory describes it as “the explicit procla-
mation of the Gospel”16 and considers it the third moment of evan-
gelisation, preceded by the witness of charity and Christian life
and followed by the sacraments and catechesis, from education
to faith and mission.17
Initial proclamation was taken up again in some continental
synods and this helped to clarify its identity and emphasize some
of its elements. It is necessary for the ‘new evangelisation’ of the
old continent, because several of its social and cultural aspects
need a true missio ad gentes. Here initial proclamation is aimed
at  the  non-baptised  in  the  continent,  whereas  the  ‘renewed
proclamation’ is aimed at enabling those already baptised to be
converted to Christ and his Gospel.18 In multi-religious contexts
such  as  Asia,  initial  proclamation  needs  to  follow  a  pedagogy
which will lead people step by step, through the use of myths,
folklore  and  narrative  methods close  to  local  cultural forms.19
In  contexts  where  there  are  vibrant  cultures  and  traditional 
religions such as Africa, these are to be considered as a starting
point for initial proclamation which could stir up a vibrant and
exhilarating experience of Jesus Christ.20
Although initial proclamation is not explicitly mentioned in
other  continental  post-synodal  exhortations,  one  could  deduce
14 JoHN PAUL II, Encylical Redemptoris Missio (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vati-
cana, 1990), n.44.
15 CoNGREGATIoN FoR THE CLERGy, General Directory for Catechesis (Vatican City: 
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), n. 25, 58.
16 IBID, n. 47.
17 IBID, n. 48
18 JoHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa (Vatican City: Libreria Ed-
itrice Vaticana, 2003), n. 45-47.
19 IBID, n. 45.
20 JoHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa (Vatican City: Libreria Ed-
itrice Vaticana, 1999), n.57.
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that,  in  oceania,  personal  encounter  and  dialogue  with  tradi-
tional  religions  promote  initial  proclamation.21 In  America, 
joy, conviction and witness of life are its necessary conditions.22
While in the Middle East, the Gospel becomes credible through
the witness of charity as an expression of God’s love for humanity
responding to the immediate needs of all.23
Some  Bishops’  Conferences  have  also  insisted  on  initial
proclamation. In 2005 the French Bishops’ Conference published
the “National Document for Guidance of Catechesis in France and
its organizational Principles” (Texte National pour l’Orientation
de la Catéchèse en France et Principes d’Organisation). The French
bishops stressed the importance and necessity of initial procla-
mation, inviting families and movements to promote it. They also
insisted on its importance in Catholic institutions. In addition,
they stressed the important characteristics to be identified, ar-
ticulated and deepened in the reflection and the practice of initial
proclamation. In 2009 the bishops of Lombardy, too, published 
a letter calling on all Christian communities in the region to be
‘witnesses of initial proclamation’.24
over the past 15 years, the National Catechetical office of the
Italian Bishops’ Conference has called for a much deeper reflec-
tion and understanding of the importance of initial proclamation
in  catechesis.  In  2003  it  organised  a  Study-Seminar  on  initial
proclamation,  and  also  a  Convention  on  initial  proclamation 
in  the  Parish.  In  2005  it  published  a  Pastoral  Note  on  initial
proclamation. In 2007 it convened a Second Seminar on initial
proclamation and in 2009 a Conference on ‘Initial Proclamation
between Kerygma and Catechesis’.
The Aparecida Document of CELAM V in 2007 stressed the
importance of kerigmatic proclamation as a way to develop a per-
sonal relationship with Christ and begin discipleship. But at the
21 JoHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Oceania (Vatican City Editrice 
Vaticana, 2001), n.10, 20.
22 JoHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America (Vatican City: Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, 1999), n.67.
23 BENEDICT xVI,  Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente (Vatican  City: 
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012), n. 11, 89.
24 BISHoPS oF THE DIoCESES oF LoMBARDy, “La Sfida della Fede: il Primo Annuncio”,
716-730.
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same time it referred to kerygma as initial proclamation. Apare-
cida did not clearly define initial proclamation and this, perhaps,
opened up the possibility of variety in the understanding it in the
American Continent. The Bishops’ Conference of Colombia, dur-
ing its plenary assembly in 2013, presented initial proclamation
as part of the process of evangelisation. The Assistant Secretary
for CELAM, Leonidas ortiz Losada, in his presentation at the
same plenary assembly of bishops, continually interchanged be-
tween kerygma and initial proclamation. At the National Seminar
on Catechesis in Argentina in 2011 initial proclamation was pre-
sented intertwined with catechesis.25
In preparation for the year of Faith (october 11, 2012 - No-
vember 24, 2013) Cardinal Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for
the  Evangelisation  of  Peoples,  explained  that  the  Propaganda
Fide had plans to celebrate the year of Faith from the perspective
of initial proclamation. Similarly, the Synod on New Evangelisa-
tion held that year (7 to 28 october 2012) insisted on the impor-
tance of initial proclamation.
After Vatican II, many post-conciliar Church documents never
entirely abandoned the conciliar concept of evangelisation, but at
the same time they also adopted a broader view of it, by adding
adjectives and prefixes such as, for example, first evangelisation,
pre-evangelisation,  re-evangelisation  and  new  evangelisation.
This understanding of the process of evangelisation also led some
to emphasise one dimension over the other.26 Similarly, the re-
discovery of the actuality and importance of initial proclamation
also gave rise to different approaches to its place in the process
of evangelisation, especially as regards its identity and its rela-
tionship with kerygma and catechesis. In fact, initial proclama-
tion is often confused with kerygma and catechesis.27
Although Pope Francis, following Aparecida, identified kerygma
25 ALFRED MARAVILLA, “El Primer Anuncio como Fundamento del Discipulado Mi-
sionero”, in Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en America
y el Caribe, 45-48.
26 UBALDo MoNTISCI, “Initial Proclamation: Towards a Shared Concept” in Salesian
Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial Proclamation in Europe Today, 35. 
27 FRANCIS, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 2013), n. 164-166.
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with initial proclamation, he also stated an important point in
his first apostolic exhortation that helps to clarify the identity of
initial proclamation.28 He stressed that it is ‘initial’ “not because
it is there at the beginning and can then be forgotten or replaced
by other more important things”; but, rather “because it is the
principal proclamation, what we ought to hear repeatedly in dif-
ferent  ways.”  Initial  proclamation  is,  then,  distinct  from,  but
closely linked to kerygma and catechesis.
Several authors also have reflected on the importance of ini-
tial proclamation. Already in 1990, Joseph Gevaert had insisted
on the need for initial proclamation in his book Prima Evangeliz-
zazione. In 2001 he reiterated this in La Proposta del Vangelo a
chi non Conosce il Cristo. In 2009, xavier Morlans devoted an en-
tire book to the subject: El Primer Anuncio. El Eslabon Perdido.
In 2011 Enzo Biemme, in Il Secondo Annuncio, shared strategies
on  initial  proclamation  in  traditionally  Christian  contexts.  In
2013, Serge Tyvaert stressed the role of initial proclamation in a
secular context in the publication De la Première Annonce à la
Nouvelle Évangélisation.
Study Days
In this context of continuous theological and pastoral reflection, in 2010,
the Missions Sectors of the SDB and FMA decided to organise Study
Days on initial proclamation in each continent: Europe (Prague, 2010),
South Asia (Kolkata, 2011), East Asia (Sampran, 2011), Oceania (Port
Moresby, 2011), Africa and Madagascar (Addis Ababa, 2012), America
and the Caribbean (Los Teques, 2013); furthermore, on the Salesian
presence among Muslims (2012) and initial proclamation in the city
(Rome, 2015). These eight Study Days were intended to promote
discussion and in-depth, contextualised reflection on the importance
of initial proclamation in our Salesian mission. The target was to arrive
at a deeper understanding of the challenges we face and discover
28 CARLoS MARíA GALLI, “La Teología Pastoral de Aparecida. Una de las Raíces Latino-
americanas de Evangelii Gaudium” in Gregorianum 96/1 (2015): 25-50.
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new insights and perspectives in view of a renewed missionary praxis.
This booklet summarises the discussions and new insights of these
Study Days to help every Salesian, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians,
member of the Salesian Family and every member of the educative
community in the promotion of initial proclamation of Christ in all our
contexts.
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Chapter III
What is Initial Proclamation?

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“COURAGE! GET UP, HE IS CALLING YOU!”
‘‘T“The Gospel of Mark speaks of the encounter between Jesus
and Bartimaeus in Jericho (Mk10,46-52), not only as a story of
the healing of a blind man but, even more so, as the healing of
the blindness of his disciples to the mystery of Jesus. Mark wants
to emphasise, above everything else, that the blindness of people
can be healed if they follow Jesus and accept his rule, entering
more  deeply  into  the  mystery  of  his  person  and  his  mission. 
In fact, the disciples are cured of their blindness, gradually and
in stages, in the same way that the mystery of Jesus is revealed
to them step by step.
The journey of Jesus to Jericho became initial proclamation
for Bartimaeus. In the awareness of his blindness Bartimaeus ac-
cepted the good news in his heart and cried out for Jesus to have
mercy on him that he might see. once cured of his blindness, Bar-
timaeus became a disciple “and followed him on the way” (Mk 10:
52). Similarly, initial proclamation is to lead people to meet Jesus
saying to them, “Courage! Get up, he is calling you.” 29
INITIAL PROCLAMATION AS “FALLING IN LOVE”
Just as we compare initial proclamation to the healing of Bar-
timaeus, we could compare it to falling in love.30 When two people
from different backgrounds meet and in some way discover some
mutual feeling for each other, their initial curiosity grows into a
desire know each other better. It all starts from the level of the
senses, the experiential level. Love evolves only when the two
lovers learn to accept the other’s uniqueness, when they are ca-
pable of considering their differences as mutual enrichment. So,
too, initial proclamation always involves inculturation through
an awareness and understanding of the language, the culture,
29 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Take courage, get up, He is calling you!” in M. LoES (ed),
Study Days on the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Africa and Madagascar (Rome: SDB-
FMA, 2014), 151-158.
30 ALFRED MARAVILLA,  “El  Primer  Anuncio  como  Fundamento  del  Discipulado 
Misionero”, 47-48.
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the needs and the capacities of those at whom the initial procla-
mation is targeted. There is also a need for the capacity to discern
the seeds of the Word in their context.
When, at last, a young man says to his beloved, “I love you”,
the verbal expression, which is very common, is actually the re-
sult of the steps that went before. They were timid and awkward
steps at times, but aimed at knowing each other better. For a per-
son who loves, this is not just a cliché; it, in fact, uncovers, reveals
and brings to life the deeper meaning of all the previous good
times they enjoyed together. Although it is an overused expres-
sion, which risks losing its meaning, for these two people, “I love
you” becomes a challenging invitation to which one may respond.
Just like the encounter of Bartimaeus with Jesus, or the meet-
ing of two people who do not have a plan to fall in love, initial
proclamation is not planned and organised. It is neither a pro-
gramme  nor  a  method,  neither  an  activity  nor  a  celebration.
Therefore, we do not make an initial proclamation. It occurs in
“each single daily moment of our lives, through Christian charity,
faith and hope”,31 in season and out of season (2 Tim 4: 2), espe-
cially in the context of ordinary daily life, in different forms, ac-
cording to the culture, context, the pace of life and the historical
and  social  situation  of  those  to  whom  the  proclamation  is  di-
rected. It is an invitation, free and respectful, to the interlocutor,
who freely decides to accept or reject the invitation. We see this
in the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s
well (Jn 4, 3-42).
It is “initial” not only because it is heard for the first time; it
is not even to be understood in a strictly chronological sense. It is
that  moment,  preceded  by  other  essential  conditions  that,
through the power of the Spirit, can arouse an initial interest in
the person of Jesus Christ. Initial proclamation is like the spark
that, after several strikes with the match, finally lights the flame.
It  is  the  moment  when,  through  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  the
human heart opens to the person of Jesus, triggering an initial
31 UNITED STATES CoNFERENCE oF CATHoLIC BISHoPS, Committee on Evangelization
and Catechesis, Disciples Called to Witness. The New Evangelization (Washington D. C:
USCCB, 2012) Parte IV, 11.
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interest in the person of Christ, or raising questions about the
place they give to God in their lives.32 Therefore, the discernment
of the right moment and the most appropriate method to promote
initial proclamation are crucial to its effectiveness.
It is therefore necessary, first of all, to create an environment,
an atmosphere, in which we can encourage and provoke the de-
sire to know Jesus Christ. Certainly, a clear understanding of
Christology is important for Christians. But the main challenge
regarding initial proclamation is not the correct formulation of
the faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, the concern of initial proclama-
tion is not to proclaim who Jesus is, but rather how to lead others
to the discovery of Jesus Christ and to be fascinated by his per-
son, who alone leads to faith.
Life witness, a personal relationship and dialogue prepare the
heart for initial proclamation. Faith is not the result of an educa-
tional program or a scientific study. In fact, neither an ethical nor
a doctrinal discourse, nor even a logical exhortation or a presen-
tation of faith-based arguments can trigger the desire to know
Jesus Christ.33 Faith is but the result of an encounter with God
who reveals Himself freely in Jesus Christ.34
Just like the young man who focuses on identifying the right
time to reveal his feelings to his beloved, so also a Christian who
lives his life in a permanent state of mission is always attentive to
discern the moment for initial proclamation. He is like a sentinel
always ready to give reasons for his hope.35 After getting to know
each other better, there is that magical moment when the young
man  finally  says  to  his  beloved:  “I  love  you.”  There  is  no  pro-
grammed plan to reveal his personal feelings to the beloved. How-
32 JoSEPH HERVEAU, Moment 3. Le Bulletin de la Première Annonce, n. 1 (April 2012),
2; ANDRé FoSSIoN, “La Désirabilité de la Foi Chrétienne comme Condition de l’Evangéli-
sation et de l’Initiation à l’Expérience Chrétienne”, Revue Théologique de Louvain, vol 44
(2013): 45-53.
33 JoSEPH PHUoC, ALMA CASTAGNA, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, in A. MARAVILLA (ed), Study Days
on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in East Asia (Rome: SDB-
FMA, 2013), 114.
34 BENEDICT xVI, Encyclical Deus Caritas Est (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vati-
cana, 2006), n. 1.
35 BENEDICT xVI, Africae Munus, n.30.
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ever, having this thought firmly in place, the lover is always vigilant
to seize the opportune time to freely make his declaration of love.
This ‘I love you’ is not the end but the beginning of a process
that leads to courtship, engagement and wedding; It is the foun-
dation of a happy and lasting marriage. Especially after the wed-
ding, over the years, the couple needs to periodically relive this
first ‘I love you’. That reinforces the mutual love that will enable
them to face the adversities of life. Similarly, initial proclamation
needs to be deepened through the other phases of the process of
evangelisation (conversion, catechumenate, baptism, sacramental
initiation and catechesis). It goes on throughout life. Similarly, a
baptised person who has had an inadequate initial proclamation,
lacks the foundation of a strong faith. Without this initial option
that leads to conversion and initial personal faith, catechesis is
likely to become sterile. In this light, even Catholics who attend
our parishes, courses of catechesis and religious instruction, as
well as Christians in all our centres, are all in need of the first
proclamation of the Gospel in view of deepening their faith and
their personal adherence to Jesus Christ.
A DEFINITION OF INITIAL PROCLAMATION
Initial proclamation may be defined as the witness of every
Christian and the whole Christian community, every activity
or group of activities that foster an overwhelmingly exhilarat-
ing experience of Jesus, through the action of the Holy Spirit,
inspires a search for God and stirs up an interest in
his Person, while safeguarding the freedom of conscience
which, ultimately, leads to an initial adhesion to Him,
or to a revitalisation of faith in Him.
Initial proclamation, then, is primarily a way of life that es-
tablishes a kind of relationship like those of Jesus in the Gospel.
It allows us to be engaged in a profound and transformative rela-
tionship  with  him,  as  it  was  for  Bartimaeus,  the  Samaritan
woman, Nicodemus and Zacchaeus. It is the way that the Church
presents itself as an institution, starting from its public events be-
cause these constitute the initial proclamation that the public
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perceives. It is also a pastoral activity with concrete initiatives
aimed at triggering interest in Jesus. It should be noted that ini-
tial proclamation is effectively fostered if the faith journey follows
a gradual pedagogy, which is attentive to the cultural, historical
and social context of the recipient.36
It is initial neither in a strictly chronological sense, nor just
because it leads to conversion, nor only because it starts off the
life long process of evangelisation. It is initial, rather, because it
is the principal or foundational proclamation (the way in which
the term arché was understood by ancient Greeks). It becomes
that spark which first leads to the initial act of personal faith in
Jesus Christ.37 Its goal is how to lead others to discover and be
fascinated by the person of Jesus. Hence it is clear that initial
proclamation is “not, first of all, an elementary message concen-
trated in a ‘brief formula’ (the kerygma, the Easter proclamation)
which  will  then  be  followed  by  a  series  of  liturgical,  spiritual,
moral and missionary ‘clarifications’ for a Christian life (the di-
dache, the exhortation of the apostles).38
TO WHOM IS IT ADDRESSED?
Every Christian and every Christian community is the subject
of initial proclamation, although there are members of the eccle-
sial community to whom the mission to promote it is specifically
entrusted.39 The Study Days from Prague (2010) to Rome (2015)
36 xAVIER MoRLANS, El Primer Anuncio. El Eslabon Perdido (PPC: Madrid, 2009), 29-
31; SERGE TyVAERT, “De la Première Annonce à la Nouvelle évangelisation”, Cahiers In-
ternationaux de Théologie Practique, n. 10 (2012): 97-99 ; UBALDo MoNTISCI, “La Pastorale
Giovanile e la Città: la Sfida e la Gioia del Primo Annuncio”, Giornate di Studio sul Primo
Annuncio in Città, 153-154; EDMUND ARENS, “Dall’Istruzione all’Interazione. Cambiamento
di Paradigma nella Comunicazione della Fede nella Cultura Moderna” in CoRRADo PAS-
ToRE, ANToNIo RoMANo (ed), La Catechesi dei Giovani e i New Media (Elledici, Turin, 2015),
22-26. L’autore parla di sette modalità di comunicare la fede oggi: la narrazione, la memo-
ria, la celebrazione, l’annuncio, la testimonianza, la confessione e la condivisione.
37 IBID, 153-160; CARMELo ToRCIVIA, Teologia della Catechesi. L’Eco del Kerygma (Turin:
Elledici, 2016), 6-7, 102. In Greek philosophy arv ch, is the principle or the fundamental el-
ement from which everything has its origin, or that from which all things are formed.
38 BISHoPS oF THE DIoCESES oF LoMBARDy, “La Sfida della Fede: il Primo Annuncio”, 726.
39 UBALDo MoNTISCI, LoRENZINA CoLUSI, “Horizons for Initial Proclamation by the
Salesian Family in Europe Today: Conditions, Strategy, Methodology, Content”, in Sale-
sian Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial Proclamation in Europe Today, 96.
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pointed out that initial proclamation, by its very nature, is pri-
marily aimed at: 40
1)   those who do not know Jesus Christ (non-Christians);
2)   Christians who have received insufficiently the first procla-
mation of the Gospel; hence:
     a) persons who have known Jesus and then abandoned him;
     b) those who call themselves Christians or Catholics, but do
not practise it with the community, or do not receive the
sacraments or do not get involved in the life and activities
of the parish;
     c)  those who are weak and vulnerable in their Christian iden-
tity;
     d) those who believe that they already known Jesus enough,
but live their faith as a routine or simply as a part of their
culture;
3)   those who are looking for someone or something they perceive
but to which they are unable to give a name;
4)   those who live a meaningless daily life.
For those who do not know Christ, initial proclamation is that
spark that leads to conversion and begins the process of evangeli-
sation. For those who have already been baptised but have aban-
doned the practice of their faith or live it as something cultural,
initial proclamation triggers the revitalisation of faith and helps
them to deepen their initial adhesion to the Lord Jesus Christ. 41
THE RELEVANCE OF INITIAL PROCLAMATION
Initial proclamation is most relevant because it emphasises
the  importance  of  a  personal  encounter  with  Christ,  not  the 
doctrines, as the source of our faith in him. In the final analysis,
initial proclamation focuses on four elements:
40 ALFRED MARAVILLA, “Dio Vive con il suo Popolo in Questa Città”, in Giornate di
Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 22; PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 52-53.
41 PAMELA VECINA, JoHN CABRIDo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis” in A. MARAVILLA (ed), Study Days
on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania (Rome: SDB-
FMA, 2013), 107.
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–    on the person, taking into account his socio-cultural-religious
context  and  events  of  ordinary  daily  life,  because  initial
proclamation takes place in the heart of the recipient; 42
–    on  the  person  of  the  Christian  believer,  who  practises  his 
faith and lives a committed Christian life as a disciple-mis-
sionary. It focuses on being a Christian believer, not on his
human qualities or the ‘techniques’ to arrive at initial procla-
mation; 43
–    on “a personal encounter with God, which touches me in the
most intimate fabric of my being and puts me in front of the
living God in absolute immediacy so that I can talk to him,
love him and enter into communion with him.” It is this pro-
found  contact  that  gives  birth  to  faith.  Thus,  “the  Church
must introduce him to this encounter with Jesus Christ and
bring him to His presence in the sacrament.” 44
–    on the Holy Spirit who is the true protagonist of initial procla-
mation, and not the Christian nor the ‘preacher’. It is through
the power of the Holy Spirit, who “works as it pleases him,
when he wants and where he wants”,45 that the way of life of
every Christian and every activity of the Christian community
becomes  an  initial  proclamation.  It  is  the  same  Spirit  who
gives every Christian the strength not to be timid in proclaim-
ing that Jesus Christ is Lord, when God opens the door to the
heart of a person.46
With  this  understanding  of  initial  proclamation  it  is  not 
important whether one serves in a school, a parish, a youth cen-
tre, or a mission station; whether one is involved in first evange-
lisation  through  education,  pastoral  activities  or  promotion 
of human development. What matters most is to live one’s life as
42 GIULIo ALBANESE, “Evangelizzazione Urbana. Città terra di Missione”, in Giornate
di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 78-81.
43 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, no.24, 50; UBALDo MoNTISCI, “La Pastorale Giovanile
e  la  Città:  La  Sfida  e  la  Gioia  del  Primo  Annuncio”,  in Giornate di Studio sul Primo
Annuncio in Città, 179.
44 JACQUES SERVAIS,  “Intervista  al  Papa  Emerito  Benedetto  xVI.  La  Fede  non  è
un’Idea ma la Vita”, in L’Osservatore Romano (17 March 2016) 4.
45 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 279.
46 PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n.75.
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a Christian and a religious ‘permanently in the state of mission’;
In this way, every person and every community becomes a radi-
ant centre of Christian life which favours initial proclamation.47
The Way Forward
Experiencing initial proclamation means crossing over to the other
bank, and this necessarily implies a continuous process of conversion
of the person and community, pastoral work and missionary service. It
drives us to open ourselves to new frontiers of society. So everything
we are and everything we do as witnesses of Jesus becomes initial
proclamation.48 In this light, a conversion of hearts and minds is essen-
tial. It makes us move:
– from a neglect of reflection and experience of initial proclamation
to fostering of opportunities for reflection and sharing of experiences
of initial proclamation; 49
– from an ‘ordinary’ life to a form of personal and community life that
is credible, attractive and fascinating; that will lead others to be
curious about the motivations and the ultimate reasons for such
a lifestyle; 50
– from a vision of the mission of evangelisation and education centred
on pastoral attention to programmes conducive to the pedagogy
of initial proclamation.51
47 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 25; CoNFERENCIA GENERAL DEL EPISCoPADo LATINo
AMERICANo y DEL CARIBE, V Conferencia General. Documento Conclusivo (Lima: Conferencia
Episcopal Peruana, 2007), n. 551, 362. 
48 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha
sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado
en América y Caribe, 173; “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città,
Spazio e opportunità per il Primo Annuncio”, 208.
49 PAMELA VECINA, JoHN CABRIDo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 106; ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL
MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”,
178.
50 IBID, 173, 174. 
51 IBID, 175.
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Chapter IV
Initial Proclamation
in Christian Contexts

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“HE WENT ABOUT ALL THE CITIES AND VILLAGES”
IIn his Gospel, Matthew makes a summary of the missionary
activity  of  Jesus  in  rich  and  concise  words:  “Jesus  went  about 
all  the  towns  and  villages,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  pro-
claiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease
and every infirmity” (Mt 9: 35). Jesus did not go to the large urban
centres of his time. He went to Jerusalem several times as the
Holy City (Ps 48: 2) and the dwelling place of God (Ps 135: 21),
never as a visit to a big city. Jesus went where people lived, to
find the “lost sheep” wherever they were.  So  he  visited  towns 
and  villages  to  meet  people,  each  with  his  own  history  and  in 
unpredictable situations. In fact, Jesus did not give priority to
territory as such, but to any context of human life where he could
bring salvation.52
Paul, instead, chose urban centres. It was a rather strategic
choice  because  Roman  cities  had  good  roads  interconnecting
them. City folk spoke a common language – Greek (koine) – which
was the medium of communication for the entire Mediterranean
basin. Paul chose as his mission field and centre of evangelisation
the big cities with large populations and large groups of migrants
from different backgrounds and traditions. These towns were to
be centres from which the Gospel message would radiate to the
surroundings. He would arrive in a city and make the synagogue
his point of reference. He would then reach out more and more 
to the pagans and not remain closed in within the ghetto. But 
his openness to all was not a vague and scattered one, rather the
fruit of a discernment of the Spirit: “And now, behold, I am going 
to  Jerusalem,  bound  in  the  Spirit...”  (Acts 20:  22).  Wherever 
he  stopped  he  created  a  network  of  missionary  collaborators, 
mobilizing many people around his missionary project.53
52 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Gesù Percorreva tutte le Città e i Villaggi”, in Giornate di
Studio sul Primo Annuncio di Cristo in Città, 245-246; 250-252.
53 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Paolo, Missionario della Città”, 253-259.
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INITIAL PROCLAMATION OR NEW EVANGELISATION?
Today initial proclamation is needed in all contexts. Hence it
is important to mention it also in contexts that are considered
‘Christian’ or ‘Catholic’ by tradition or culture. Many families live
a cultural faith nourished by the popular practices of piety and
the sacramentalization of children and young people. They are
nominally members of the Church. But it is not surprising that
in contexts that are traditionally or historically considered Chris-
tian, but where faith has now been abandoned or is lived as a rou-
tine, one wonders if what is really needed is initial proclamation
or rather a new evangelisation.54
In fact, in these contexts, the initial proclamation that Chris-
tians have had at home from parents is poor and often not ade-
quate as the foundation for a strong faith. Without this initial
conversion and initial personal faith, their faith is likely to re-
main weak. Hence,  even  after  years  of catechesis, they easily
abandon the practice of their faith, or live it only as something
cultural. Therefore, the General Directory for Catechesis insists
that Christians who have abandoned the practice of the faith, as
well  as  those  who  live  the  faith  out  of  habit,  need  the  initial
proclamation of the Gospel to promote their personal re-adhesion
to Christ.55 In this light, initial proclamation is considered as the
necessary first step towards a new evangelisation.56
NEW EVANGELISATION AS ‘SECOND PROCLAMATION’
This initial proclamation to Christians who had received it inad-
equately could be called the second initial proclamation or simply
“second proclamation”57 to distinguish it from the initial proclama-
54 GLoRIA ELENA GARCIA PEREIRA, “Las oportunidades y los Desafíos del Primer Anun-
cio para SDB y FMA en América Latina y el Caribe” in Jornadas de Estudio del Primer
Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en América y el Caribe, 132.
55 CoNGREGATIoN FoR THE CLERGy,  General Directory for Catechesis (Vatican  City: 
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), n.61.
56 Synod on New Evangelisation, Proposition n. 9 on new evangelisation and initial
proclamation underlines the continuity of catechesis and initial proclamation: systematic
teaching of the kerygma in Scripture and Tradition; teachings and quotes from missionary
saints and martyrs and the formation of Catholic evangelisers today.
57 The expression had been used by Saint John Paul II on 9 June 1979 during his
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tion that targets those who do not know Christ. Speaking of a sec-
ond proclamation does not negate the theological basis of initial
proclamation. It is a “proposal of faith to those who were Christian
and no longer are so, for whom it is just a civil status or a habit;
for those who think they are Christian, as well as for those who ac-
tually are.”58 Its purpose is to stir up in Christians an interest that
reawakens their initial fascination with the person of Jesus Christ.
Hence, second proclamation takes into consideration the re-
ality that there has already been an initial proclamation that may
have left some Gospel values and habits that may surprise us. As
they are already baptised the starting point is the faith that is
more or less present. It was received, to some extent, as an inher-
itance; but it has lost its vitality, perhaps through forgetfulness,
neglect, hostility, the influence of a secularised culture or of other
religions. The Gospel has ceased to fascinate them because they
take it for granted, as something already known and obvious. In
some cases their image of the Church, of Catholicism or of Chris-
tianity  has  been  blurred  by  prejudices,  negative  experiences,
scandals and fears. When this is the case, a testimony of Chris-
tian life, an interpersonal relationship, or an experience of eccle-
sial life becomes a second free invitation to rediscover the person
of Jesus Christ and his Gospel.59 obviously, the second announce-
ment has profound consequences in catechesis.
This  second  proclamation  implies  four  challenges  for  every 
individual  Christian  and  for  the  entire  Christian  community. 
The first is to undertake a second listening to the Word of God to
promote  “an  encounter  with  Christ,  the  living  Word  of  God”.60
A second challenge is for us to become a reflection of this Word
for others. A third is to promote the dynamics of accompaniment,
homily at the Shrine of the Holy Cross in Mogila, Poland: “A new evangelisation is started
as if it were a second proclamation, even if in reality it is always the same”. Insegnamenti
di Giovanni Paolo II, vol II/1 (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1979) 1505.
58 ENZo BIEMME, “Catechesi e Iniziazione Cristiana”, in GILLES RoUTHIER, LUCA BRES-
SAN, LUCIANo VACCARo (ed), La Catechesi e le Sfide dell’Evangelizzazione Oggi (Brescia:
Morceliana, 2012), 113.
59 ENZo BIEMMI, Il Secondo Annuncio (Bologna: EDB, 2011) 37; SALVAToRE CURRò,
ENZo BIEMMI, “Il Secondo Annuncio e ... oltre. Dialogo su Questioni Catechetiche Attuali”,
in Catechesi, vol. 81/ 5 (2011-2012): 35-38; 40-41.
60 BENEDICT xVI,  Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (Vatican  City:  Libreria 
Editrice Vaticana, 2010), n. 87.
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so that the availability and openness of people may lead to a new
act of faith through the Spirit. Finally, the fourth challenge is the
pastoral care of families.
The family is the seedbed where faith is planted and nour-
ished in the hearts of children. But the ideal family does not exist;
so the pastoral ministry of accompaniment of families is impor-
tant  in  order  to  follow  them  up  with  steady  pastoral  mercy
through reflection and discernment. This is particularly needed
by families in situations of fragility and imperfection. In this way,
each family is helped to become the privileged place to support,
accompany and guide the human, social, sexual, ethical and reli-
gious education of children. Thus the family becomes the place
for the transmission of faith to all those it comes in contact with
as well as a truly missionary family!61
To promote the second proclamation it is necessary to encour-
age a pastoral ministry which reaches out to the peripheries in
order  to  help  rediscover  the  faith.  It  focuses  attention  on  the
places where it is possible to experience Christianity and to find
real opportunities to meet Jesus. By place is not meant merely
the concrete, geographic space, rather, the experiential and rela-
tional space: the family as a place where the beauty of the faith
is first picked up; the Christian community, as a place where faith
is experienced as a life of commitment; the liturgy, where Chris-
tians live and celebrate the beauty of their faith; the practices 
of popular religiosity as the expression of an inculturated faith;
sacred art as an expression of the beauty of faith; educational cen-
tres as a place of integral formation and the definition of one’s
identity and meaning in life; catechesis as an opportunity to un-
derstand Christianity and the Catholic religion. It is important
to have a systematic approach with a strategy which starts from
what already exists, recognises the present situation, and favours
the maturation of the ‘buds’ that have sprouted. These can be-
come places which are real thresholds for an access to faith.62
61 FRANCIS, Postsynodal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 2016), n. 287, 289, 293-312.
62 UBALDo MoNTISCI, “La Pastorale Giovanile e la Città: la Sfida e la Gioia del Primo
Annuncio”, 149, 168-159, 162-163, 166: GIoVANNI CASARoTTo, “Una Pastorale Kerygmatica
per il Rinnovamento Ecclesiale”, in Catechesi vol 85, no. 1 (2015-2016): 64-72.
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INITIAL PROCLAMATION IN URBAN CONTEXTS
The Church was born and grew in urban centres since its be-
ginnings. It developed in such contexts from the beginning. Today
it has to confront again the urban phenomenon, because most of
the faithful live in cities. Even most of our SDB and FMA pres-
ences are in urban contexts. The starting point of our urban min-
istry is to look at urban reality with a sympathetic eye following
the invitation of Gaudium et Spes. We need to learn to discern
the ‘signs of the times’, and avoid generalizations and attitudes
of preconceived judgments.63
In urban centres the social networks are the context inhabited
by young people of the app generation. our technological culture
has developed applications for tablets and smartphones that are
easy to use. They offer us numerous new ways of connecting and
sharing. This app world has become an environment that creates
culture. In the urban context the Church speaks and addresses
its message to the inhabitants of this ‘world’. The message of the
Church is in itself complex. often it is perceived as a judgmental,
an  incomprehensible  and  moralising  voice.  Instead,  in  the  app
world communication is simple and immediate. The challenge,
then,  is  how  to  foster  initial  proclamation.64 one  strategy  is 
to  enter  the  vibrant  world  of  cyberspace  and  understand  its 
language. This will enable us to create a space where the Gospel
can be discovered, experienced and lived by the digital natives.
This  is  better  than  just  carrying  on  a  mere  repetition  of  the 
traditional forms of Christian life.65
In the city, one must also confront the growing phenomenon
of migration which brings about a melting pot of numerous cul-
tures. This makes every urban society increasingly multireligious
and multicultural. on the one hand, globalisation has multiplied
the possibilities of relationships and exchange between cultures,
63 IBID, 32-34
64 HoWARD GARDNER, KATIE DAVIS, The App Generation. How Today’s Youth Navigate
Identity, Intimacy and Imagination in a Digital World (New Haven: yale University Press,
2013), 121- 154, 169, 441-443; GIoVANNI CASARoTTo, “Una Pastorale Kerygmatica per il
Rinnovamento Ecclesiale”, 66.
65 NoRBERT METTE, “Comunicazione del Vangelo nell’Era Digitale, in Particolare con
la Generazione che Cresce, in La Catechesi dei Giovani e i New Media, 39-40.
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people and individuals. A new global culture is emerging that is
increasingly homogeneous. on the other hand, this new culture
is imbued with principles of materialism and secularism, with 
no space for religious principles and ethical values. As a reaction
to globalisation, we also see a reassertion of cultural origins and
ethnic identity that could result in nationalist extremism.66
The process of secularisation is a positive feature of our time.
It has paved the way for an appropriate separation between the
Church and the state, bringing about a civil society where there
is a plurality of perspectives and worldview.67 on the other hand,
secularism is rooted in the Enlightenment and in the French Rev-
olution that forged laicity as a political doctrine. This has now be-
come  an  agnostic  and  atheistic  ideology,  often  expressed  in
opposition to what is religious and especially to the Church as an
institution. And “when secularisation becomes secularism, there
is a serious cultural and spiritual crisis”68 which is deeply felt in
urban contexts.
It is in the urban context that the consequences of aggressive
secularism are most strongly felt. It creates a soft secular culture
that favours religious indifference and avoids being deeply passion-
ate of one’s own faith or of the beliefs of others. It brings believers
to an obvious “faith fatigue “ and “the feeling of having enough of
Christianity.” It is in the city that one feels very much a new athe-
ism that presents beliefs that makes allowances for human frailty.
It is the bearer of a way of life which is less burdened by norms
and principles. In urban centres we see, especially among young
people,  a  rediscovery  of  religious  beliefs  and  practices  as  well 
as the phenomenon of fluid religiosity expressing itself in ‘being
spiritual’, but not religious, or in ‘believing without belonging’.69
66 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha
sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 165-166.
67 Gaudium et Spes, n. 36; DAVID WILLIS, “Initial Proclamation in Societies in the
Process of Secularisation”, in Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Procla-
mation of Christ in Oceania, 81-87.
68 PoNTIFICAL CoUNCIL FoR CULTURE, Towards a Pastoral Approach to Culture (Vatican
City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1999), n.23.
69 ALFRED MARAVILLA, “Dio Abita col Suo Popolo in Questa Città!” in Giornate di Studio
sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 27-30, 32-34; CARMELo DoToLo, “La Città e il Secolarismo
oggi: Sfide e opportunità per il Primo Annuncio”, in Ibid, 123-126.
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There is increasing human mobility, whether international
(from one country to another) or domestic (from villages to cities).
The reasons are varied and numerous – economic, cultural, po-
litical or religious; or for employment, to escape terrorism, vio-
lence or drug trafficking. The consequences are strongly felt in
urban areas, especially in deprived neighborhoods or in urban
slums of the mega cities. This often provokes manifestations of
intolerance, xenophobia and racism which are born out of the fear
and panic of many who see immigrants as a burden, a danger and
a threat. Violence has resulted in a significant flow of migrants
in several continents. Most of these are followers of other reli-
gions, and many of them are Muslims. The migrant is often in
need of gestures of openness, acceptance, and solidarity, so that
he may feel welcomed, acknowledged and valued as a human per-
son, a protagonist of his own future. The witness of life and the
expressions of concrete charity among migrants trigger their in-
terest and curiosity, and become a respectful but powerful initial
proclamation. There is also a large number of Christians among
the  immigrants,  particularly  from  Catholic  villages  and  from
Eastern Catholic rites.70 They turn to Church institutions to re-
ceive emotional and social support as well as to affirm their own
cultural  identity  or  liturgical  tradition.  The  pastoral  care  of
Catholic migrants offers the opportunity to foster initial procla-
mation, the first step necessary for a new evangelisation.71
In  the  urban  context,  we  also  see  popular  religiosity,  both
among immigrants and among the locals. These are different ex-
pressions of positive values (semina verbi) brought in from differ-
ent traditional cultures and their encounter with the Gospel.72
Although they are cultural expressions of a people, genuine forms
of popular religiosity are fruits of the Holy Spirit and are expres-
sions of the piety of the Church. Through a fruitful interaction
among the revealed Word, tradition and liturgy, popular religios-
70 PoNTIFICAL CoUNCIL FoR PASToRAL CARE oF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEoPLE, In-
struction Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004),
n. 6, 7, 10, 49-59, 65, 69, 96, 100; MILVA CARo, “Pastorale Interculturale a Favore dei 
Giovani e dei Migranti”, in Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 106-109.
71 CoNGREGATIoN FoR THE CLERGy, General Directory for Catechesis, 62.
72 Lumen Gentium, n. 16.
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ity not only helps many faithful to persevere in prayer, praise God
and bear witness to Christ, but may become an opportunity for
the initial or the second proclamation of Christ. It is a fact that
popular religiosity is most interested in extraordinary phenom-
ena and events, often associated with private revelations. In these
cases, it is the task of the Pastors of the Church to discern and
authenticate whatever is appropriate.73
The Way Forward
Every city is truly multicultural, multireligious, globalized and digital!
More than ever “we are called to understand in depth the style of Don
Bosco in his relationship with the city and with the young people who
let themselves be drawn to it. Each encounter of Don Bosco with his
youth was an opportunity to present them ‘the things of God’”.74 His
experience teaches us that, in order to foster initial proclamation in the
city, we need to place the person at the centre. A personal relationship,
and an attitude that welcomes, listens and promotes an encounter with
Christ create an opportunity to be challenged by Him. It is important
that there be a Christian presence in all places where people encounter
one another, places of exchange and culture: where public opinion is
created, in study seminars, in the editorial offices of newspapers and
publications, in conferences where social issues are discussed, in cir-
cles that cultivate the civil right to dialogue with diverse social, eco-
nomic and political situations, and to promote the human being and let
the common good flourish. It is here that a humanizing relationship, an-
imated by the faith of a disciple, becomes epiphany, a memory, and a
prophecy of the Kingdom. It may, then, trigger an interest in Jesus or
may become a starting point for re-launching a faith journey.75
73 ENRIQUE ALí GoNZáLEZ oRDoSGoITTI, “La Complejidad Religiosa de América Latina.
La Grande Como Texto y Contexto para una Nueva Evangelización” in Jornadas de Estu-
dio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en América y el Caribe, 70; ANA MARIA
FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha sin Miedo el 
Espacio de tu Tienda”, 166, 171; CoNGREGATIoN FoR DIVINE WoRSHIP AND DISCIPLINE oF
THE SACRAMENTS, Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Principles and Guidelines
(Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002), 84, 86, 90.
74 “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità
per il Primo Annuncio”, 207-208.
75 GIULIo ALBANESE, “Evangelizzazione Urbana. Città Terra di Missione”, in Giornate
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We need to see, understand and judge urban realities. We cannot be
naïve and accept indiscriminately all of these realities. We must learn
to discern the spirit that animates everything that happens in urban so-
cieties. To promote this pastoral discernment, we need a change of
mentality and modify structures by moving:
– from a traditional ministry to an attitude that welcomes all that is good
and beautiful in the new expressions of faith among young people
who are seeking a deeper meaning in their life;76
– from an attitude of mistrust and fear of what is different, from looking at
cultural diversity and the migrant as a danger and a threat, to an attitude
of openness to accommodate the other, the migrant, looking at cul-
tural expressions as an opportunity to foster the initial proclamation;77
– from a lack of contact with families to a pastoral care of families;78
– from indifference to social communications and technology to pro-
moting the initial proclamation; to a deepening of our knowledge
of new technologies, “new courtyards”, the language of the young;
solidarity to transform the “internet’s non-space” into a place of
encounter, friendship and solidarity with young people and by young
people;79
– from a confused understanding of secularisation and secularism, as
well as from our pastoral and conceptual judgements that consider
the city as a “non-place”, to a right understanding of the lights and
shadows of the process of secularisation with its consequent return
to the sacred, to the religious dimension and a search for God. All
this through a pastoral work that seeks to transform urban reality and
its existential peripheries into a more humane place, a place that
highlights the presence of God.80
di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 80-81; CARMELo DoToLo, “La Città e il Secolarismo
oggi: Sfide e opportunità per il Primo Annuncio”, 129-131; UBALDo MoNTISCI, “La Pas-
torale Giovanile e la Città: la Sfida e la Gioia del Primo Annuncio”, 165.
76 “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità
per il Primo Annuncio”, 207.
77 IBID; ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “En-
sancha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 165.
78 PAMELA VECINA, JoHN CABRIDo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 106.
79 “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità
per il Primo Annuncio”, 206-207.
80 IBID; ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “En-
sancha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 173; PAMELA VECINA, JoHN CABRIDo, “Emerging
Insights and Perspectives during these Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary
Praxis”, 106.
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– from an attitude of tolerance towards popular cultural religiosity to
a pastoral ministry that renews it so that it may encourage its
followers to live a life deeply inspired by the Gospel.81
81 IBID, 105; ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES,
“Ensancha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 166-169, 177.
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Chapter V
Kerygma
and Initial Proclamation

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“HURRY, CATCH UP WITH THAT CHARIOT!”
LLuke  recounts  in  the  Acts  (8:  26-40)  an  example  of  initial
proclamation  in  the  early  Church.  It  is  the  Spirit  that  pushes
Philip to seize this opportunity, because he may not get another:
“Hurry, catch up with that chariot!” A eunuch from Ethiopia, who
had just made his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was reading the book
of prophet Isaiah. This eunuch, considered a foreigner by ortho-
dox Judaism and excluded from salvation (Dt 23: 2), was a sincere
man and had an open heart. The Spirit was well ahead of Philip.
He had fueled the eunuch’s passion in his search for truth and
for  the  fullness  of  life.  Philip  joined  him  and  offered  him  the
prospect  of  faith,  passionately  sharing  with  him  his  own  faith 
in Jesus.
In the Acts we see that there was a strong apostolic passion
in the Primitive Church. The Christian community felt the urge
to seek constantly for ways and means to offer their faith through
their kindness. They had the art of a passionate heart, always in
search of those who did not yet know Jesus. In this specific case
it is a matter of presenting the fascination of Jesus to someone
who is already engrossed in his search for understanding. The
passage ends with the eunuch no longer seeing Philip but contin-
uing on his way filled with joy. In fact, the fire of faith triggered
by the initial proclamation continues to burn within and sustains
the path of every believer.82
THE KERYGMA
As we saw in Philip’s encounter with the eunuch, kerygma was
a response to the memory of Jesus. Its core consisted of his life,
his preaching, and his resurrection. This has been pondered upon,
accurately formulated, proclaimed, celebrated, and lived, as evi-
denced by various Christological formulas found in the New Tes-
tament (Mt 28:6; Mk 16:6; Lk 24: 6,34; Acts 2:24; 1 Tim 4:14). The
82 MARIA Ko, “Go Up and Join that Chariot!” in Study Days and the Salesian Mission
and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in East Asia, 178-182.
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Gospel is the word of truth (Eph 1, 13) and the truth of the Gospel
is the essence of kerygma (Gal 2: 5,14; 4,16; 5,7). In other words,
there can be no kerygma without a narration of the memory of
the person, life, and preaching of Jesus Christ. Indeed, as we have
seen  in  Chapter  I,  in  the  New  Testament  the  proclamation  of
John the Baptist (Behold the lamb of God) and Paul (Jesus Christ
and Him crucified) is presented not only as the narration of an
event. It is above all a proclamation of the story of Jesus Christ,
of which the four Gospels are the extended versions. This kerygmatic
narrative is, in fact, the confluence of Jesus’ story, the sharing of
the narrator’s experience of faith with the hopes and expectations
of a listener in search of a meaning in his life. When these con-
verge, a relationship develops between the announcer and the lis-
tener. This promotes the experience of the presence of the Lord
that  may  give  rise  to  an  interest  in  knowing  more  about  the 
person of Jesus. Ultimately it may give birth to faith (Rm 10:17),
resulting in radical conversion, metanoia, (Acts 5, 31, 11, 18) and
the commitment to follow and imitate Him (Phil 2: 1-11).83
As  the  faith  spread,  the  early  Church  gradually  made  a 
clear distinction between kerygma as preaching to nonbelievers
to lead them to the faith, and didach as teaching to strengthen
the faith of believers. Kerygma, by its very nature, is linked to the
essential and central data of Christian faith – the incarnation,
death, resurrection, and message of Jesus – and all that is to 
be believed in to be Christians. It is the kerygma that gives birth
to the Church.84 on the other hand, the boundaries between ini-
tial proclamation and kerygma are not clearly defined. It is incon-
ceivable  to  create  barriers  between  them,  or  to  put  them  in
separate water-tight compartments. It is necessary, however, not
to lose the identity of the initial proclamation because it is the at-
tention  given  to  it  that  puts  every  individual  Christian,  every
83 JEAN AUDUSSEAN, xAVIER LéoN-DUFoUR, “Prêcher”, in xavier Léon-Dufour (ed), Vo-
cabulaire de Théologie Biblique, Second edition., (Cerf: Paris, 1970), 1106-1011; CESARE
BISSoLI, “Il Primo Annuncio nella Comunità Cristiana delle origini”, CETTINA CACCIATo
(ed),  Il Primo Annuncio tra “Kerygma” e Catechesi (LDC:  Turin,  2010),  13-22;  CoLIN
BRoWN,  “Proclamation”,  in  CoLLIN BRoWN (ed),  New Testament Theology,  III  (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan Corporation, 1978), 44-68.
84 CARMELo ToRCIVIA, Teologia della Catechesi. L’Eco del Kerygma, 104- 105.
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Christian  community,  and  the  whole  Church  in  a  ‘permanent
state of mission’.85
It’s not enough to strike a match to light a fire. If the spark
created is not used to light a candle or a lamp, it will be put out
and become useless. Just as the “I love you” expressed by two
lovers must lead to engagement and marriage, so too the initial
proclamation must lead to kerygma; and kerygma is intimately
linked to initial proclamation.
As Philip shows in the Acts, kerygma is presented at that pro-
pitious moment in which the Spirit opens the door of the heart
through an initial proclamation. At this point, it consists only of
a brief, joyful, intelligent and respectful invitation such as “Jesus
is the Lord” (Rm 10: 9; Phil 2: 11), or “God has made Lord and
Christ the Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2: 36). only a brief
proclamation is enough because, at this stage, primacy is given
not to words, but to an experience that provokes interest; not to
a dogmatic formula, but to God who communicates Himself in
Jesus Christ. once interest is stirred up in knowing the person
of Jesus Christ, the proclamation of commitment follows at the
right time.
This proclamation becomes a verbal introduction to the life of
Jesus, his miracles and his preaching, but flowing from his own
experience of Christ. The narration becomes an initial proclama-
tion when it is woven into the listener’s search for meaning in
life;  it  raises  hope  and  gives  strength  to  face  the  struggles  of
everyday life. The Holy Spirit is a Master Weaver. He works in
the depths of every conscience. Through Him this narrative could
trigger existential questions that lead to a revelation of the truth
and the values profoundly desired by the human heart. He is the
one that stirs up the listener to the message of Jesus Christ and
to faith in Him.86
Certainly, it is through the strength and fervour of a person’s
faith that he feels the urgency and the need to repeatedly tell oth-
85 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, 25
86 RICARDo ToNELLI, La Narrazione nella Catechesi e nella Pastorale Giovanile (LDC:
Turin, 2002), 54-64; JoHANN BAPTIST METZ, “Breve Apologia del Narrare” in Concilium 5
(1973): 864-868.
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ers  of  his  own  personal  experience  of  Jesus,  without  wanting 
to impose anything on his listeners. This, in turn, promotes “an
encounter with an event, a person who gives a new horizon to life
and thus a decisive direction”.87 Eventually it could start off and
lay  the  foundation  for  a  process  of  evangelisation  that  lasts 
an entire lifetime.
ORIENTED TO CATECHUMENATE AND MISSIONARY CATECHESIS
Expressing your love to a loved one is not enough. Falling in
love is just the beginning. That needs to be followed up by an en-
gagement,  a  marriage  proposal  and  a  lifelong  commitment.
Therefore, once you decide to know the person of Jesus Christ,
faith is “explicitly proposed in all its amplitude and wealth”,88
using a pedagogy that introduces the person step by step to the
mystery of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.89 Catechesis
promotes and matures the initial conversion, the fruit of initial
proclamation. However, initial proclamation should not be con-
sidered in isolation. It is necessarily linked to the next stage in
the process of evangelisation. There is progression from an option
to begin a Christian initiation or catechumenate – or a renewal
of initiation for tepid and neglected Christians – to the rites of
Christian initiation, sacramental life, and permanent integral
formation to live the faith and to share it with others.90
Indeed, the initial grace which, through initial proclamation
has sowed the seed of faith, must be developed into an explicit
faith in Jesus Christ through catechesis.91 “There is no true evan-
gelisation if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the
Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God,
87 BENEDICT xVI, Deus Caritas Est, n.1.
88 JoHN PAUL II, Ecclesia in America, n. 69.
89 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensan-
cha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 178.
90 SERGE TyVAERT, “De la Première Annonce à la Nouvelle évangelisation”, 104 ; An-
tonio L. Arocha, “Del Primer Annuncio y la Educacion a la Fe”, in Jornadas de Estudio
del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en América y el Caribe, 113-114.
91 ENZo BIEMME, “L’Annonce de l’évangile dans l’Espace de la Gratuité” in JEAN-PAUL
LAURENT (ed), L’Évangélisation: Une Annonce Gracieuse, Cahiers Internationaux de Théolo-
gie Practique, Série “Actes” n. 9 (2016): 14-16.
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are  not  proclaimed!”92 Similarly,  catechesis  without  an  initial
proclamation, conversion and initial personal belief, risks becom-
ing sterile. The initial proclamation is indispensable for effective
catechesis throughout life.
A missionary catechesis changes the paradigm of faith trans-
mission from education (social patrimony) to initiation (personal
proposal). First, some provisions are promoted to help a better
acceptance of kerygma: closeness, openness to dialogue, patience,
and a cordial welcome that does not condemn. There follows a log-
ical proposal of a faith that depends more on affirmation and per-
sonal  ownership.  It  is  no  longer  seen  as  something  merely
cultural or only as a tradition to be maintained. This, in turn, has
practical consequences on catechesis.
Missionary catechesis always comes back to a listening to the
initial proclamation in various ways, in one form or another, in
all its stages and moments. Starting from the infinite yearning
that  exists  in  every  human  heart,  faith  is  centered  on  God’s
salvific love without limiting it to a few doctrines, or moral and
religious bonds. “Proclamation in the missionary-style is focused
on the essentials, on elements that are absolutely necessary: this
is also what makes it more fascinating and attractive, what sets
the heart on fire, as it did for the disciples of Emmaus.”93 Mis-
sionary catechesis, rather than impose the truth, calls for truth
to generate joy, vitality, and a harmonious completeness.
This  personalization  of  faith  is  like  learning:  the  disciple
learns to live the way of Jesus Christ and orientates his life as
an  effective  and  long-lasting  journey  towards  the  Kingdom  of
God, which at the same time requires exercise, endurance, per-
severance and asceticism. 
Therefore, catechesis is not seen solely or primarily as doctri-
nal instruction. Knowledge of doctrine does have its importance,
but the teaching of this doctrine is linked to places and celebra-
tions of faith, so that it can actually be seen, touched and visited.
It  begins  with  an  understanding  of  the  Word  of  God,  explains 
92 PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 22.
93 ANToNIo SPADARo, “Intervista a Papa Francesco” in La Civiltà Cattolica n. 3918 (19
Seeptember 2013): 464.
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the sacramental gestures of faith, incorporating them into one’s
life, and thus it walks in hope towards the Kingdom.94
The Way Forward
Our missionary zeal invites us to enter with respect into the culture of
those with whom we want to share the Gospel; to recognise the value
of their vision of the world and the expressions of their own identity (lan-
guage, art, architecture, folklore, rites of life ...); to discover in them the
presence of the seeds of the Word (semina verbi).95 To address the
needs of an experiential, educational and pastoral presence among
young people, it is necessary to convert our mentality and change our
structures by moving:
– from a perception of kerygma as identical to initial proclamation to
an understanding of the distinct identity of Initial Proclamation which,
at the same time, leads to and is intimately linked to kerygma.96
– from an improvised preparation for the Sacraments of Christian initi-
ation to a community awareness that realises an Initial Proclamation
before catechesis starts, and to providing a more systematic accom-
paniment in the preparation for the Sacraments of initiation.97
94 STIJN VANDENBoSSCHE, “Grandir dans la Foi toute la Vie: les Défis d’une Catéchèse
Permanente”, in L’Évangélisation: Une Annonce Gracieuse : 25-39.
95 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensan-
cha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 171.
96 RUTH DEL PILAR MoRA, ALExIUS MULoNGo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives
during the Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis in Africa and Madagascar”
129; ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha
sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 167-169.
97 PAMELA VECINA, JoHN CABRIDo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 108; RUTH DEL PILAR MoRA, ALExIUS
MULoNGo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during the Study Days in View of a Re-
newed Missionary Praxis in Africa and Madagascar” 130; ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL
MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”,
176; UBALDo MoNTISCI, LoRENZINA CoLUSI, “Horizons for Initial Proclamation by the Sale-
sian Family in Europe Today: Conditions, Strategy, Methodology, Content”, 97.
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Chapter VI
Witness
of Life and Charity
as Initial Proclamation

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“GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT YOURSELVES!”
MMark tells us in his Gospel (Mk 6: 30-44) that Jesus had com-
passion on the multitude that followed him because they were
like sheep without a shepherd. The disciples certainly did not
think it was their responsibility to feed such a crowd. They asked
Jesus  to  send  them  away.  Instead  He  tells  them:  “Give  them
something to eat yourselves!” He thus wants to make them un-
derstand that instead of distancing themselves from the needs of
people, they have to try and ask, “What can we do to help them?”
By ordering His disciples, “Give them something to eat your-
selves!” Jesus urges his disciples to pass from a passive attitude
to active involvement, from a cold distance from the world’s prob-
lems to a deeper dive into history. Here Jesus clearly showed his
wish that all those who follow him will also share His compassion
for people, that they will have His heart, and His strong and car-
ing love. Jesus goes on to ask his disciples, “How many loaves
have you? Go, see!” Five loaves and two fish are far too little for
a crowd. But these few things will become material for a miracle.
In the hands of Jesus, these few gifts were transformed into suf-
ficiency to satiate a crowd. Even the disciples were transformed
from being spectators uninvolved in people into men immersed
in  the  compassion  of  Jesus,  into  active  collaborators  who  are 
instruments for a miracle.98
WITNESS
Evangelisation is achieved not only through the public procla-
mation of the Gospel or trough activities. It should not happen
that  the  haste  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  to  many  people  makes 
us  forget  personal  witnessing.  It  is  an  alternative  manner  of
transmitting  the  Gospel  from  person  to  person.  This  form  of
proclamation  is  always  a  highly  effective  way  of  evangelising, 
because it reaches and touches the conscience in a totally extraor-
98 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, ¿”Cuantos Panes Tienen? Vayan a Ver”, in Jornadas de Estudio
del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en América y el Caribe, 205-208.
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dinary way.99 This primacy of testimony and lifestyle does not
rule out an explicit proclamation when the right moment for it
arrives at the next stage of evangelisation.
Initial proclamation “cannot be dissociated from the positive,
existential testimony of the person making the proclamation”.100
In fact, witnessing is an important element in the transmission
of the faith because “faith comes from listening (fides ex auditu).
Listening in turn always involves a partner. Faith is not a prod-
uct of reflection and not even of an effort to penetrate into the
depths of my being. Both of these may be present, but they re-
main insufficient ... In order for me to believe I need witnesses
who have met God and make Him accessible to me.” 101
This testimony is also rooted in the initial attitude of respect
and appreciation of the human and religious values of one’s own
friends and neighbours who do not know Christ. “True witnessing
demands the recognition and respect of the other and a true open-
ness to dialogue. There is need for patience as a dimension of love,
the simplicity and humility of one who recognises himself as a
sinner before God and neighbour. There has to be the capacity for
forgiveness,  reconciliation  and  purification  of  memory,  at  per-
sonal and community level.”102
The witness of an authentic Christian life and the practice of
charity are initial proclamation because they dare the other to
examine his own lifestyle, values, and priorities. They are a con-
stant invitation and a challenge for the other person to go deeper
into himself in a more conscious, personalized, and profound way
that could trigger existential questions. The testimony of life and
the practice of charity are primary means of initial proclamation.
These require, first of all, to live in total availability to the Spirit
so  that  we  are  better  conformed  to  Christ  within  ourselves. 
In  fact,  “one  cannot  bear  witness  to  Christ  without  reflecting 
his image, which is made alive in us by grace and through the
99 CoNGREGATIoN FoR THE DoCTRINE oF FAITH, Doctinal Notes on Some Aspects of Evan-
gelisation (Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Vatican City, 2007), n. 11.
100 UBALDo MoNTISCI, LoRENZINA CoLUSI, “Horizons for Initial Proclamation by the
Salesian Family in Europe Today: Conditions, Strategy, Methodology, Content”, 93.
101 JACQUES SERVAIS, “Intervista al Papa Emerito Benedetto xVI”, 4.
102 BENEDICT xVI, Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, n. 12.
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work of the Spirit”.103 Hence, personal contact, interpersonal re-
lationship and dialogue that are preceded, accompanied and fol-
lowed by charity, and under the inspiration of the Spirit, are of
great importance because the testimony of charity inspires, ques-
tions and challenges.104 These questions are presented without
any shades of proselytism but, rather, with respect for human
dignity and freedom of conscience.
Celebrations of the faith and popular religious expressions are
also occasions that promote initial proclamation. Therefore, par-
ticular care and attention should be given to “traditional” pastoral
activities (celebration of sacraments, especially baptism and mar-
riage, pilgrimages, popular devotions) because they are a reflec-
tion  of  ecclesial  life.  When  these  celebrations  are  carefully
prepared, on the one hand, they may inspire a deepening of evan-
gelical life. They nurture and enhance hope among the partici-
pants.  on  the  other  hand,  these  realities  could  stir  up  within
those who do not know Christ a fascination of faith that could
trigger an interest in His person.105
It is equally necessary to address the opportunities and chal-
lenges offered by the new frontiers (e.g., the digital continent, mi-
gration, multicultural and multi-religious settings), as well as the
new situations resulting from cultural evolution (e.g., individu-
alism, fluidity, secularism). These do affect the lifestyle of Chris-
tians. It is also important to find and create occasions or places
of encounter where one can feel free to talk about existential and
religious questions and feel understood and listened to.106
We  need  to  be  women  and  men  of  God,  of  strong  faith  and
courage. We need to strive to live the Beatitudes, forgiveness, wel-
come, and love for all, to the point of offering our lives for others
“so that they may have life and have it in abundance “(Jn 10: 10).
Such a life would always be truly prophetic.107 The testimony of
103 JoHN PAUL II, Redemptoris Missio, 87.
104 “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità
per il Primo Annuncio”, in Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 206.
105 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensan-
cha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 176-177.
106 UBALDo MoNTISCI, LoRENZINA CoLUSI, “Horizons for Initial Proclamation by the
Salesian Family in Europe Today: Conditions, Strategy, Methodology, Content”, 97-100.
107 RUNITA BoRJA, PIERGIoRGIo GIANAZZA, “Emerging Perspectives in the Study Days
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apostles, burning with love for Jesus in ordinary everyday life,
becomes an interesting invitation to understand the motivations
and deeper reasons for such a lifestyle. A credible witness triggers
existential  questions  of  the  kind:  “Why  do  you  live  this  way?”
“Why do you do this?”108 So these questions really become a “gate-
way  that  leads  to  faith.”  This  focus  on  the  importance  of  the
Christian lifestyle in initial proclamation helps to overcome the
danger of reducing Catholicism or Christianity simply to a set 
of doctrines.
our witness of Salesian and apostolate life ought to trigger
the desire to pose existential questions in the minds of those we
encounter and those who observe us. That would start off a search
for truth.  It is then that our presence actually becomes true salt
and  true  light  (Mt 5:  13-16).  This  is  precisely  the  opposite  of 
a presence “without taste” (Mt 5:13). Indeed, the testimony of 
individual  Christians  or  of  the  Christian  family,  the  lifestyle 
of  SDBs  and  FMAs,  of  religious  communities  and  the  entire
Christian community, or the institutional and collective image 
of the Congregation and of the Church in all their public mani-
festations are all forms of initial proclamation or, unfortunately,
an obstacle to it.109 This implies that every Christian and every
Christian community lives in a state of constant conversion while
walking toward holiness. It starts first of all in the family, which
is a domestic church. The testimony of parents’ lives and the ed-
ucational environment in the family give children the opportunity
to know better about Jesus Christ. They foster the growth and
development of their faith so that they actually live the doctrine
and become credible witnesses.
in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, in Study Days on the Salesian Presence Among
Muslims, 153-154, 158.
108 JoHN PAUL II, Fides et Ratio, n.67.
109 ANDRé FoSSIoN, “Proposta della Fede e Primo Annuncio”, Catechesi 78, no.4 (2008-
2009): 29-34; 30; LUCA BRESSAN, “Quali Esperienze di Annuncio Proporre?”, Notiziario
dell’Ufficio Catechistico Nazionale 36, no.1 (2007), 61-68.
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CHARITY
The witness of life is necessary; however, it is not enough. It
needs to be preceded, accompanied, and followed by charity. The
testimony of charity inspires questions and challenges the intel-
lect and the will to ask existential or religious questions. on the
other hand, the practice of charity goes hand in hand with the
credible lifestyle of individual Christians, the Christian family,
and the entire Christian community. This testimony of life and
charity takes shape in specific cultural expressions at important
moments of human existence, in relationships and in socio-polit-
ical expressions of everyday life.
“Give  them  something  to  eat  yourselves!”  A  true  Christian
recognises Jesus in the hungry, in prisoners, the sick, the naked
or those who have no work but must sustain a family. He sees
Jesus in those who are alone, sad, in those who have made mis-
takes and need advice, in those who need someone to walk beside
them in silence so that they experience being accompanied.110 This
Christian witness finds expression also through the service of rec-
onciliation, justice and peace, through a concern for the oppressed,
the uninitiated, the marginalised, through a struggle for peace
and justice, and the commitment to integral human development,
reconciliation and the construction of a more humane society.111
Indeed, these works of mercy are the characteristics of the face 
of Jesus Christ, who takes care of “my little brothers” (Mt 25: 40)
to bring God’s tenderness and closeness to each one of them.112
That is why the testimony of charity and the sincere service
of every Christian living with faith, hope and love and immersed
in prayer become communicators of their own experience of the
Divine. The power of the witness of charity and sincere service
sound  loud  and  clear  in  the  words  of  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi:
“Preach always and, whenever necessary, use words!”
In addition, proclaiming Christ is first and foremost an act 
of charity because it makes known God’s love for each of us.113
110 FRANCIS, General Audience, 30 June 2016.
111 JoHN PAUL II, Ecclesia in Africa, n. 44-45, 68, 77; BENEDICT xVI, Africae Munus, n.15
112 FRANCIS, General Audience, 12 october 2016.
113 FRANCIS, Message for the World Mission Sunday (2016).
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Therefore, the places where the Church is committed to helping
the sick and the suffering, the poor, the migrants and the mar-
ginalised, where the Church struggles for justice, peace and the
integrity of creation, are open to initial proclamation. There are
two  dangers  to  avoid:  first  of  all,  that  of  losing  sight  of  initial
proclamation as the fundamental goal of our social commitment.
Without this primary concern to foster initial proclamation, our
social works are reduced to mere philanthropy and we become
only social workers. yet, neither the Church nor the Congregation
is an NGo.114 The other danger is that of allowing the testimony
of charity to degenerate into proselytism. This happens when,
through social services, we offer social or material benefits to people
for an apparent  interest and adherence to the person of Jesus.115
We are aware that in multi-religious contexts, in most cases,
our presence may be limited to a silent witness of life and action
through  an  authentic  Christian  life.116 This  is  the  reality  con-
fronting those who work among Muslims, Hindus, or even Bud-
dhists. That is the reason why Christianity as a “style” of life is of
great importance. It is a form of initial proclamation. In that light,
our friendship or the way of dealing with people of different cul-
tures, religions and social status, which is open and welcoming,
becomes initial proclamation.117 Thus, ordinary daily life among
people is an arena of dialogue, of intercultural and interreligious
dialogue, and the foundation on which to build theological and
spiritual dialogues. The Christian witness in ordinary everyday
life then becomes a manifestation of a living Christianity for those
who do not know Christ. The ‘style’ of life in ordinary daily life 
becomes initial proclamation and a gradual path to faith.118
114 FRANCIS, Homily at Casa Santa Martha, 24 April 2013.
115 PAoLo RICCA, “Il Primo Annuncio tra Afonia e Proselitismo”, AA. Primo Annuncio.
Tra Afonia e Proselitismo. Le Religioni si Interrogano (Livorno: Pharus, 2015) 62-66. 
116 PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 41.
117 TC GEoRGE, THERESA JoSEPH, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, Study Days on the Salesian Mission
and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in South Asia (Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013), 94.
118 JoHN PAUL II, Fides at Ratio, n.  67;  CHRISToPH THEoBALD,  Le Christianisme
Comme Style, vol. 1 (Cerf: Paris, 2007), 125-131, 188-189, 385-387; ANGELo FERNANDES,
“Dialogue in the Context of Asian Realities”, Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection
55 (1991): 548.
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CONVERSION IN MULTI-RELIGIOUS CONTEXTS
God wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of 
the truth. His Son, Jesus, is the only Saviour and “there is no sal-
vation in any other” (Acts 4:12). However, by the invisible action
of the Spirit, through ways that He alone knows, God can bring
to salvation those who, through no fault of theirs, do not know
the Gospel. It is, however, necessary for all to convert to Christ
and, through Baptism, to be incorporated in Him and in His body,
the Church.119
The theme of conversion in the context of the initial procla-
mation is certainly a thorny problem in multicultural and multi-
religious contexts. In fact, initial proclamation respects people’s
freedom of conscience. It is never violent to a person’s conscience
nor could it be confused with proselytism. Proselytism is not re-
spectful of the people we meet. It does not conform to our Salesian
charism, which uses reason and loving-kindness as our approach.
We are aware that the truth is not the private property of anyone
nor can it be imposed on others. It is, instead, a gift that unfolds
only in a loving encounter and by journeying together towards an
increasingly intensified assimilation of truth.120 In this journey,
“the  Holy  Spirit  is  already  at  work,  opening  up  and  disposing
hearts to the reception of evangelical truth”.121 However, “we will
not be timid when God opens the door to an explicit proclamation
of the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and as the response to fun-
damental questions of human existence.”122
True  conversion  leads  to  true  knowledge  of  God,  which,  in
turn, is geared towards mutual openness with others. This is con-
version to God, which is of fundamental importance and which is
the indispensable condition for initial proclamation. However, it
119 Ad Gentes, n.7; CoNGREGATIoN FoR THE DoCTRINE oF THE FAITH, Doctinal Notes on
Some Aspects of Evangelisation, n.10; PoNTIFICAL CoUNCIL FoR INTERRELIGIoUS DIALoGUE,
Dialogue and Proclamation (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1991), n. 29.
120 BENEDICT xVI, Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, n. 27; PoNTIFICAL CoUNCIL FoR INTERRE-
LIGIoUS DIALoGUE, Dialogue and Proclamation, n. 41, 79.
121 CoNGREGATIoN FoR THE DoCTRINE oF THE FAITH, Doctinal Notes on Some Aspects of
Evangelisation, n.4. 
122 FEDERATIoN oF ASIAN BISHoPS CoNFERENCES, “V Plenary Assembly”, 4.3 in Gau-
dencio Rosales, Cayetano G. Arevalo (ed), For All Peoples of Asia, vol. I (Quezon City:
Claretian Publications, 1997), 282.
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is also important to emphasise here that true conversion depends
exclusively on God’s internal calling and the free decision of the
person. Thus, the bishops of Asia insist that “a dialogue aimed at
converting the other to one’s faith and religious tradition is dis-
honest and immoral”.123 Indeed, sincere and authentic interreli-
gious dialogue cannot have conversion of others as its goal, even
if it is not entirely excluded. And if a sincere conversion happens,
this is God’s gift and not the fruit of human effort.
Instead, in an interreligious relationship, everyone is called
to a deeper conversion to God and a deeper conversion to his own
religious tradition and its potential. It promotes mutual enrich-
ment and communion in spirit with the followers of other reli-
gions. Thus, through initial proclamation, we share our “religious
experience  of  faith  and  the  love  of  Jesus,  not  to  proselytise, 
but merely to share what we are, in transparent friendship and
unity”.  We do not deny, however, that Christians “may bring the
Good News of Salvation to people who want to listen and receive
it freely.”124
123 BISHoPS’ INSTITUTE FoR INTERRELIGIoUS AFFAIRS V/3, “Working for Harmony in the
Contemporary World”, 6 in Franz-Josef Eilers (ed), For All Peoples of Asia, vol. II (Quezon
City: Claretian Publications, 1997), 158.
124 FEDERATIoN oF ASIAN BISHoPS CoNFERENCES, “VIII Plenary Assembly”, 97 in Franz-
Josef Eilers (ed), For All Peoples of Asia, vol. IV (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2007),
36; PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 53: “neither respect and esteem for these religions nor
the complexity of the questions raised is an invitation to the Church to withhold from these
non-Christians the proclamation of Jesus Christ. On the contrary the Church holds that these
multitudes have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ - riches in which we
believe that the whole of humanity can find, in unsuspected fullness, everything that it is
gropingly searching for concerning God, man and his destiny, life and death, and truth”.
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The Way Forward
From experience we know that people suffering from material poverty
are often richer in religious and cultural expressions through their sym-
bols and rites. At the same time we are aware that we cannot proclaim
Jesus to them without relieving their miseries so that they can live with
dignity as God’s children. We are also aware that many people appre-
ciate our services for their human development but are not Interested
in knowing more about Jesus. Unfortunately, often enough, we our-
selves do not make efforts to stir up in them any profound questions
about the meaning of human life.125 In many places where we work,
it is not possible to explicitly proclaim the Gospel. Many times we
are compelled into silence and restricted to a mere presence. In these
contexts, our witnessing is an incisive proclamation.126 To make our
witness of life and charity a true initial proclamation it is necessary to
convert our mentality and modify our structures by moving:
– from an attitude that considers poverty as an obstacle to evangeli-
sation, and the poor as only recipients of our social work, to an
attitude that sees the poor we are serving as an opportunity for a
better understanding of the Gospel, and our social services (projects
of rural development, people’s housing, health care, education,
vocational training) as a space and opportunity to foster initial
proclamation;127
– from frantic social activities and initiatives to a contemplative spirit
that gives greater importance to being than to doing and succeeding,
becoming the living Gospel to our brothers and sisters of other
religions;128
– from a relativistic and simplistically naïve attitude towards followers
of other religions who come to our centres (young and adult), to an
integral education (of educators as well as of the young), starting from
125 JoSEPH PHUoC, ALMA CASTAGNA, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 115; 118.
126 “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità
per il Primo Annuncio”, 206.
127 JoSEPH PHUoC, ALMA CASTAGNA, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 115; TC GEoRGE, THERESA JoSEPH,
“Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these Study Days in View of a Renewed Mis-
sionary Praxis”, 94.
128 RUNITA BoRJA, PIERGIoRGIo GIANAZZA, “Emerging Perspectives in the Study Days
in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 154.
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positive elements, bearing in mind the recommendation and the
example of Jesus, “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves”
(Mt 10:16);129
– from an attitude that considers followers of other religions as targets
of our proclamation of the Gospel to an appreciation of their religious
traditions and of what God has done for them (in particular, their
propensity to contemplation, which leads to silence, self-detachment,
care and compassion for others) and consider them as resources
for initial proclamation;130
– from a mentality that Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians will learn “in the field” how to work with followers of other
religions, to a preparation in all stages of initial formation and voca-
tional training so that appropriate pastoral educational programmes
may be carried out.131
129 IBID, 158, 159.
130 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensancha
sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 177: TC GEoRGE, THERESA JoSEPH, “Emerging Insights
and Perspectives during these Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 94.
131 RUNITA BoRJA, PIERGIoRGIo GIANAZZA, “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di
Studio in Vista di una Rinnovata Prassi Missionaria”, 159, 160.
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Chapter VII
Initial Proclamation
and Salesian Charism

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“WIDEN THE SPACE IN YOUR TENT!”
CChapter 54 of Isaiah returns to a symbol dear to Hosea, Ezekiel
and Jeremiah: Israel is going to be married to God. Because of her
infidelity Israel was alone, childless and disgraced. Now, through
the covenant, she is the Lord’s bride and a fruitful mother. It is
God who makes her fruitful. So she needs to enlarge her tent to ac-
commodate her many children: “Widen the space in your tent, and
let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; hold not back,
lengthen  your  cords  and  strengthen  your  stakes.  For  you  will
spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your descendants
will possess the nations and will populate the desolate cities.” (Is
54: 2-3). In the Bible, the tent is the meeting place of God with 
His people and a space that is alive with encounters and exchange.
The tent gives shelter from the weather. It is used to rest in and
then to go on with the journey. Hence it is important that the tent
be wide enough to welcome and accommodate everyone.
our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who pitched His
tent among us (Jn 1:14), invites us, as Salesians and Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians, to widen our missionary horizons so
that initial proclamation becomes the main concern of our lives
as consecrated educators and evangelisers. Attention to initial
proclamation will certainly make our pastoral work more fruitful
among young people.
A GLANCE AT OUR ORIGINS
Don Bosco’s pedagogical style was all oriented towards the cre-
ation of the family spirit as an indispensable educational environ-
ment  to  accomplish  initial  proclamation  among  the  poor  and
abandoned boys of Turin. Don Bosco made people feel that they
were not entering a school. They were being welcomed into a family
under the guidance of a father whose only desire was their spiritual
and material good. In fact, he always meant the oratory to be a
‘home’ rather than an institution. In this educational setting, he
stirred up in the young a thirst for God. They were made to per-
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ceive that He is lovingly close to them and that he manifests Him-
self in their desire to embark on a journey of faith. Don Bosco did
not differentiate between initial proclamation and catechesis, but,
whenever he met a boy, he immediately invited him to a Christian
life. He thus integrated catechesis into the lives of his boys.132
In his letter from Rome, 1884, he wrote about the necessity of
“breaking the fatal barrier of mistrust and replacing it with the
warmest  confidence.  ...  How  many  conversions  were  brought
about by a few words of his, whispered unexpectedly into a young
man’s ear while he was having fun. He who feels loved, loves, and
he who is loved gets everything, especially from the young. This
confidence releases a flow as of an electric current between the
young and the superiors. Hearts open up and make known their
needs, and they recognise their faults.” 133
Likewise, in Mornese, Maria Domenica Mazzarello spent her
life with the young girls of the village to draw them to the practice
of the faith. Fr. Pestarino asked every Daughter of the Immacu-
late to teach mothers how to educate their children in the Chris-
tian  way.  young  Maria  Mazzarello  prepared  her  catechism
lessons and her counsels with great care. She was convinced that
the Christian life of girls and of the entire family depended on
the  mother.  In  fact,  the  religious  education  of  girls,  especially
those who were neglected and abandoned, was deeply imprinted
on her heart even before she became a Daughter of Mary Help 
of Christians.
The catechetical style of Mother Mazzarello was colloquial.
She used a simple and practical pedagogy as regards prayer and
relationship with God. Her catechesis was based on the Word of
God and focused primarily on the interests of young people and
their experience of Jesus. For her, catechesis depended on the en-
tire educative environment. It was not merely a matter of style
or method.
132 SALESIAN yoUTH MINISTRy DEPARTMENT, Salesian Youth Ministry. Frame of Refer-
ence (Rome: SDB, 2014), 143.
133 JoHN BoSCo, “Lettera da Roma alla Comunità Salesiana dell’oratorio di Torino-
Valdocco”, in ISTITUTo SToRICo SALESIANo, Fonti Salesiane. 1. Don Bosco e la Sua Opera
(Rome: LAS, 2014), 444-451.
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Her biographers recall that Maria Domenica introduced dance
into  the  oratory  to  counteract  the  effects  of  the  carnivals  in 
the villages. Teaching girls to dance was something unheard of
among the inhabitants of Mornese of that time. She encouraged
dancing because she saw it as a way of being happy without of-
fending God. Later, at Don Costamagna’s suggestion, she organ-
ised  theatrical  performances  to  which  she  invited  also  the
inhabitants  of  Mornese.  The  educational  style  inaugurated  in
Mornese by Mother Mazzarello and the early FMA was a true
mystagogy, the art of leading the young to Christ.
For  Don  Bosco  and  Mother  Mazzarello,  everything  could 
be  an  appropriate  opportunity  to  proclaim  the  Good  News  of 
salvation. They gave the maximum importance to the creation 
of  an  educational  environment.  In  it,  people,  activities,  and 
words could stir up in everyone the awareness of the presence of
God; and this could take place in the oratory, in schools, in homes,
in  workshops,  and  even  in  recreation,  in  playgrounds,  or  on 
outings.134
THE PREVENTIVE SYSTEM
Don Bosco gave great importance to young people’s experi-
ences. He used their life experiences as the foundation on which
to build his educational system, and that has been very fruitful.
Pope John Paul II summarised it well:
“One may say that the peculiar trait of his brilliance is linked with
the educational method which he himself called the “Preventive Sys-
tem”. In a certain sense this represents the quintessence of his peda-
gogical wisdom and constitutes the prophetic message which he has
left to his followers and to the Church, and which has received atten-
tion and recognition from numerous educators and students of peda-
gogy. The term “preventive” which he uses is to be understood not so
much in its strict linguistic sense as in the richness of the character-
134 GLoRIA ELENA GARCIA PEREIRA,  “Las  oportunidades  y  los  Desafíos  del  Primer
Anuncio para SDB y FMA en América Latina y Caribe”, 134-135, 139-140; 146; ISTITUTo
FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE, Perché Abbiano Vita, Vita in Abbondanza. Linee Orientative
della Missione Educativa delle FMA (LDC: Turin, 2005) 30.
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istics typical of the Saint’s educative skill. It implies in the first place
the intention of foreseeing and preventing anything that might give
rise to negative experiences which could compromise youthful energies
or commit young people to long and distressing efforts at recovery.
But the term also includes deep intuitions, precise options and
methodological criteria, all lived with particular intensity: examples
are: the art of positive education by putting forward what is good
through appropriate experiences which call for the involvement of the
pupil and are attractive because of their splendour and lofty nature;
the art of producing growth in the young persons “from within” by
appealing to their inner freedom to oppose external conditioning and
formalism; the art of winning the heart of young people so as to incul-
cate in them a joyful and satisfied attraction to what is good, correct-
ing deviations and preparing them for the future by means of a solid
character formation.” 135
PREVENTIVE SYSTEM AS INITIAL PROCLAMATION
The heart of Don Bosco’s educational system is the religious
dimension. In fact, Don Bosco’s love for young people cannot be
understood unless it is seen as rooted in his fiery zeal for their
integral salvation. In his dream at the age of nine, it was revealed
to him for the first time that his vocation was to bring young peo-
ple  to  God  through  persuasion  and  loving-kindness,  showing
them “the beauty of virtue and the ugliness of sin.” However, it
was in the oratory at Valdocco that he himself was able to verify
the effects of this educational method.
Presence is critical to the Preventive System. The educator is
present as a sign and witness of God’s radical love for mankind.
Through this presence an I-you dialogue is developed. This rela-
tionship  is  at  the  centre  of  this  educative  pastoral  practice.136
Education and evangelisation of young people take place through
relationship  and  exchange,  through  friendship  and  dialogue,
through  proposal  and  proclamation.  This,  in  turn,  creates  an 
135 JoHN PAUL II, Letter Iuvenum Patris (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana,
1988), n.8. 
136 MARIA ARoKIAM KANAGA, “Meaning, opportunities and Challenges of the Salesian
Presence among Muslims”, in Salesian Presence among Muslims, 131-132.
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educative  environment  in  which  the  young  person  lives  the
beauty and charm of Christian life expressed in the joy of loving
and serving God: Servite Domino in laetitia! 137
Don  Bosco  knew  every  boy  well,  not  only  by  name  and  by 
character, but also  interiorly.  For  his  boys, he was a  ‘faithful
friend of the soul’ who knew what to tell them without ambiguity
for the good of their soul. In such a context, permeated by trust
and confidence, the short, precise, but intense words – refered 
to  in    salesian  pedagogy  as  the word in the ear – became  like 
a dart that penetrated the young man’s mind and illuminated 
his heart. They were words that Don Bosco said confidentially 
to the young man at totally unexpected moments (such as while
he was at play in the courtyard). For this reason, the word in
the ear remained imprinted in the mind and heart of the young
man  and  it  could  no  longer  be  erased.  The  word  in  the  ear 
was  therefore  a  way  of  whispering  the  Gospel  into  the  young
man’s heart such that it would trigger in him an interest in know-
ing Jesus and his Gospel. This is, indeed, a method of realizing
initial proclamation provided that whoever uses it is committed
to being consistent with the message it proclaims.138
A YOUTH MINISTRY PERMEATED BY INITIAL PROCLAMATION
The  pastoral  care  of  the  young  is  an  organic  action  of  an 
Educative-Pastoral  Community  that  wants  to  enable  young 
people to grow to their personal maturity and to communion in the
Church with Jesus Christ.139 Fr. Pascual Chávez, the then Rector
Major, had pointed out to Salesians that “our pastoral work is still
too weakly missionary, i.e., it pays little attention to initial procla-
mation, or to a renewed proclamation of the Gospel”. He went on
to urge a rethinking of youth ministry to give our educative-pas-
toral project a greater educational and evangelising quality and
137 PIERA RUFFINATTo, “Il Sistema Preventivo Spazio del Primo Annuncio in Stile 
Salesiano” in Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 184-186, 196-199.
138 IBID, 193-195.
139 ISTITUTo FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE, Perché Abbiano Vita, Vita in Abbondanza,
5, 37.
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thus lead the young to an encounter with Jesus.140 The result of
this rethinking is the Framework of Reference which is an excel-
lent organic synthesis, an overview of Salesian pastoral heritage
that responds to today’s challenges.141 Unfortunately, as Ubaldo
Montisci points out, “there are only five references to initial procla-
mation.”142 In the same line, the Guidelines for the Educative Mis-
sion of the FMA143 that  has  as  its  core  “the  explicit  message  of
Jesus” makes only one reference to initial proclamation!
Let us enlarge the space in our tent! This implies a real mis-
sionary conversion of the entire service of youth ministry to place
it at the service of initial proclamation or of a renewed proclama-
tion of the Gospel. In this light, a change of mentality is required
in order to rethink, elaborate and experiment with different and
perhaps unpublicized strategies that meet the expectations and
hopes of teenagers and young people in our centres. The stage of
defining one’s identity by teenagers and the initiation of young
people  to  intimacy  are  opportunities  to  face  up  to  questions  of 
the truth and meaning in life: there we propose the most stable
foundations  for  a  faith,  which  can  then  be  lived  out  as  adults. 
It  is  therefore  crucial  to  build  an  environment  with  minimal
structures  in  which  personal  relationships  are  taken  care  of;
where the young man can do what he enjoys most (sports, music,
groups, trips ...), or study and qualify himself; where Gospel val-
ues are breathed; where they meet people with convictions and
who bear witness to them. Consequently, the formation of evan-
gelising educators is indispensable. Their spiritual qualification
is more important than all else. They need to become people with
a strong missionary conscience and an intense experience of the
faith, capable of narrating their experiences of faith, hope and
charity in the first person singular.144
140 PASCUAL CHAVEZ VILLANUEVA, “Salesian youth Ministry” in ACG 107 (2010), 23.
141 FABIo ATTARD, “Presentation”, Salesian Youth Ministry. Frame of Reference, 17.
142 UBALDo MoNTISCI, “La Pastorale Giovanile e la Città: la Sfida e la Gioia del Primo
Annuncio”, footnote 68, p.160.
143 ANToNIA CoLoMBo, “Presentation”, Perché Abbiano Vita, Vita in Abbondanza, 5.
144 ISTITUTo FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE, Perché Abbiano Vita, Vita in Abbondanza,
161, 171, 173-174, 175-179.
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The Way Forward
If our pastoral care of the young is to be permeated by initial procla-
mation and if the practice of the Preventive System is to become a
way to carry out initial proclamation, a threefold conversion is needed:
anthropological, spiritual and pedagogical. Anthropological conversion
requires that Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians deeply
feel anguished at the fact that many young people have not yet heard
the Gospel, or live their faith as something merely cultural. SDBs and
FMAs seek out young people in the peripheries. They are convinced
that, in the midst of their struggles, these young people have a heart
open to the Gospel and that, as consecrated educators, they also have
Someone to Offer: Jesus Christ. True spiritual conversion leads to a re-
newal and strengthening of our vocation as a faithful friend of the soul
and educator to the faith. Every encounter with them becomes educa-
tive and evangelising. Finally, pastoral conversion means committing
our missionary ardour and apostolic courage so that our educative-
pastoral work is innervated by initial proclamation and truly becomes a
way to bring the Gospel to the young.145 To accomplish this, we need
to convert our mentality and modify our structures, moving:
– from a routine presence among young people to a presence that is
always attentive to various opportunities that come up to foster initial
proclamation;146
– from a concern for the management of our works through our man-
agerial roles to the attention and promotion of positive cultural values,
together with the local Church, so that they enrich the practice of the
Preventive System;147
– from a routine service among young people to Salesian assistance
as a way of accompanying young people in their choices of life, lead-
ing them to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to stir up their interest in
Jesus and His Gospel;148
145 Piera Ruffinatto, “Il Sistema Preventivo Spazio del Primo Annuncio in Stile Sale-
siano” in Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città, 199-202. 
146 JoSEPH PHUoC, ALMA CASTAGNA, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during these
Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 114, 119; “Prospettive Emergenti
nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità per il Primo Annuncio”, 208.
147 RUTH DEL PILAR MoRA, ALExIUS MULoNGo, “Emerging Insights and Perspectives
during the Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis in Africa and Madagas-
car”, 128-129; RUNITA BoRJA, PIERGIoRGIo GIANAZZA, “Emerging Perspectives in the Study
Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”, 158.
148 ANA MARIA FERNANDEZ, ISABEL MADRID CISNERoS, RAFAEL ANDRéS BoRGES, “Ensan-
cha sin Miedo el Espacio de tu Tienda”, 175,176, 178.
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– from a “comfortable pastoral criterion of “we have always done it this
way’149 to being women and men of great faith and courage, inflamed
by the fire of the Da mihi animas, who live their lives in a permanent
state of mission, able to rethink, elaborate and experiment with
original strategies that serves as Initial Proclamation among young
people.150
149 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 33.
150 “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e opportunità
per il Primo Annuncio”, 209-210.
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Conclusion

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MMary’s conception of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk
1: 35; Mt 1, 18:20) was “a culminating moment of His action in
the history of salvation.”151 She not only became a temple of the
Holy Spirit but also “let herself be led by the Spirit, through a
journey of faith, towards a destiny of service and fruitfulness.”152
Her fiat was truly a total openness to the will of God and “to the
person of Christ, to all of his work, to all of his mission”.153
In the Gospel of Luke the announcement by the angel Gabriel
to Mary is immediately followed by her visit to her cousin Eliza-
beth (Lk 1: 26-57). The angel gave Mary a sign to confirm what
had just been announced to her: “And behold, your kinswoman
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the
sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God noth-
ing will be impossible “(Lk 1: 36). At Ain Karim Maria was able
to verify for herself that “nothing is impossible to God” (Lk 1:37).
At  the  conclusion  of  our  reflection  on  initial  proclamation, 
let us look at Mary and draw strength from her who hurried to
Elisabeth to proclaim the Good News - Jesus Christ, the Saviour.
Hers was a real missionary journey. Her going “in a hurry to the
mountainous region” became the image of the Church, which, im-
mediately after Pentecost, went out to spread the Gospel to the
extreme ends of the earth. on that morning of Pentecost she saw
in her prayer the beginning of the evangelisation brought about
by the Holy Spirit.154
on her journey to the home of Elizabeth at Ain Karim, Mary
gave no thought to the distance, the time, the discomfort or the
risks associated with it. Mary, “the handmaid of the Lord,” be-
151 PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 1974), n. 26.
152 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 287.
153 JoHN PAUL II, Encyclical Redemptoris Mater (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vati -
cana, 1987), n. 39.
154 PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 82.
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come  the  one  who  revealed  God  through  her  love  and  service.
Throughout  her  journey,  bearing  Jesus  within  herself,  she  re-
mained united with Him. She “kept all these things, pondering
them  in  her  heart”  (Lk 2:19).  She  went  “in  haste”;  she  went
quickly, but remained with the Lord. Her exterior journey as she
moved quickly along winding paths reflects her inner journey of
faith. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit she moved from the
docile acceptance of her fiat at the visit from the messenger of
God to the joyous explosion of her magnificat as a messenger of
God for others. It was Mary’s interior journey of faith to God in
her heart that directed and gave meaning to her external actions.
In her we have a model of someone who carries out Initial Procla-
mation.  She  merges  her  inner  life  with  her  external  activity. 
She  harmoniously  intertwines  her  beliefs  and  her  deeds.  Her
journey is also a symbol of the journey of faith of every Christian
who  moves  from  an  initial  adherence  to  God’s  plan  to  being  a 
missionary disciple.
The journey of Mary culminates in her encounter with Eliza-
beth: the two women bear within themselves the ineffable mys-
tery. This encounter placed them at the threshold between the
old and the New Testament, between the time when God spoke
through signs and wonders and the time when He manifests Him-
self through His Son incarnate. Their mutual support became the
space within which God revealed Himself and did great things.
Elizabeth had John in her womb, the one who is to bring a mes-
sage from almighty God, while the child in the womb of Mary is
the almighty God Himself. Indeed, we have attained the “fullness
of time” (Gal 4: 4).155
Luke  concludes  his  story  from  the  Annunciation  until  the
early infancy of Jesus (Lk 2: 8-20, 51), pointing out that “His
mother kept all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:51). From the mo-
ment  when  she  starts  to  meditate  on  all  the  events  that  have
taken place up to her understanding of the extraordinary works
155 MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country”, Study
Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ, 179-186; IDEM, “Mary
the ‘First Evangelised’ and the ‘First Evangeliser’”, in The Salesian Mission and the Initial
Proclamation of Christ in the Three-fold Context of South Asia, 146-147.
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of God in her life, “she can recognise the footsteps of the Spirit of
God in the great events and even in those that seem impercepti-
ble. She is a contemplative of the mystery of God in the world, in
history and in the everyday life of one and all.”156
In his Gospel, John has given us the last recorded words of
Mary, those at Cana, the only ones addressed directly to people.
It is like her “spiritual will and testament.” She asks the servants
at Cana’s to do “whatever He tells you”.  In those words Mary ex-
pressed the idea that is essential for every human person, that
is, to open their own heart to Jesus, who alone has “words of eter-
nal  life”  (Jn 6:  68).  yet,  this  short  injunction  was  real  Initial
Proclamation. In fact, when we read these last words of Mary in
conjunction with the last words of the Risen Lord, we see clearly
that Mary leads us to Jesus: “Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28: 19). At Cana the deep faith she had ex-
pressed in her fiat became a convincing facite addressed to others.
In Mary we see that it is only a profound personal attachment to
God that can make us bring others to God.157
on the Cross Jesus gave us his mother (Jn 19: 26-27) to be
our mother on our journey. Mary, in fact, is the mother and the
help of the Church. She is close to us, walks by our side, shares
our struggles and constantly surrounds us with the love of God.
She is the inspiration and model of that motherly love that all
missionary disciples must nourish.158
The Church, missionary by its very nature, constantly looks
at the example of Mary to reveal the hidden God more effectively,
not only through a proclamation but also by stirring up an inter-
est in her Son through a testimony of love and service, especially
to those who are in the existential peripheries of our society.
For Don Bosco, the Virgin Mary was the guide and support of
his work for young people. For Mother Mazzarello, young people
were entrusted to her by the Virgin. This has deeply marked the
156 FRANCESCo, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 288.
157  MARIA Ko HA FoNG, “Mary the ‘First Evangelised’ and the ‘First Evangeliser’”,
148-150.
158 FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, 285-286; JoHN PAUL II, Redemptoris Missio, n.92.
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charismatic and spiritual identity of the groups that make up the
Salesian Family. As we continue our journey in faith, through the
deserts of our time, we entrust ourselves to her so that we may
respond generously to our mission of being instruments of initial
proclamation.159
With a prayer on our lips and hope in our hearts, along with
all the young people entrusted to us, we ask Mary to be with us
as she was with the first community of disciples waiting for the
coming of the Spirit (Acts 1, 14). She is our help and our guide.
We implore her to help us so that our prayers and our lives can
be  one  and  so  that,  through  us,  the  Spirit  may  arouse  in  the
hearts of many young people the desire to know and follow the
blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus Christ!
159 Identity Card of the Salesian Family (2012), art 11, 37.
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Appendices

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Practical Proposals during the Study Days
(2010-2015)
Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations
and Initial Proclamation in Europe Today
Prague, 4 - 10 November 2010
SDB
1. To open new presences in the European countries where there is no
Salesian presence yet, so as to stir up missionary sensitivity and apos-
tolic enthusiasm among the Salesians of Europe.
2. Intensify and promote pastoral care for families, especially through
family catechesis.
3. Follow up more closely the new missionaries arriving in Europe and
help them integrate better.
4. Promote reflection among the Provincials of Europe to arrive at a com-
mon policy for European confreres who have made a discernment and
recognised a vocation to be missionaries within Europe.
5. Strengthen processes so that our ministry becomes more evangelising,
for an integral Salesian youthful ministry.
6. Each Province will undertake a study in view of launching a concrete
project whose priority will be the initial proclamation of Christ.
Salesian Mission and Initial Proclamation of Christ
in the Three-fold Context of South Asia
Kolkata, 7-11 August 2011
FMA
To foster a new mentality in the minds and hearts of our Sisters in the light
of initial proclamation:
1. Let every ministry be a proclamation of Jesus.
2. Formation of the Proclaimer (also those still under formation, initial and
ongoing), with a deeper experience of God, of the Word of God and
open to the reality of our locality
3. Prepare our lay collaborators in the proclamation of Jesus.
4. During village/family visits to focus systematically on initial proclama-
tion
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5. Revive the Marian dimension in the work of initial proclamation.
6. Respect for and tolerance of people of other faiths; courage to pro-
claim Christ with prudence
7. Transmit the content, experience and conclusions of these Study Days
at local and provincial levels with a focus on mission ad gentes. Present
the conclusions in one’s own Province. The forthcoming PCI Meet will
be a privileged moment for this presentation.
8. To study the teachings of the Church regarding initial proclamation (es-
pecially the documents under preparation for the forthcoming synod
of bishops, which has initial proclamation as its theme)
9. To make initial proclamation a point of evaluation
10. To make a commitment to evaluate our existing ministries in the
Provinces to see whether of they are in line with initial proclamation.
SDB
In order to foster concrete ways of giving primacy to initial proclamation in
the Salesian Provinces of South Asia:
1. A Provincial level meeting is needed as part of the follow up of this pro-
gramme. This should be done through the SPCSA. The PDMA can
organise it as well as introduce it at the meeting of the leaders of
communities.
2. The primacy of initial proclamation should be evident in the EPP of
each community. This should be followed up by the Provincial during
his annual visitation.
3. We need to start and follow up missionary groups in our various
settings.
4. Networking with the other members of the Salesian Family and other
missionary religious communities will help in the sharing of experiences
and successful methods of initial proclamation.
5. Undertake a national level research regarding the impact of initial
proclamation in our various settings.
6. Christian families should be sensitised not to restrict the number of
their children on the pretext of responsible parenthood.
7. We need better collaboration and coordination among the four Provin-
cial Commissions (Youth Ministry, Social communication, Formation
and Mission).
8. The PDMAs will create in the Provinces like-minded groups on the
primacy of initial proclamation.
9. Provincials should regularly send confreres to study Missiology at
Sacred Heart Theological College at Shillong, Meghalaya.
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10. A short-term course can be regularly organised at the national level on
initial proclamation (regional level at Bangalore or Shillong).
11. Initial proclamation should be given appropriate attention during the
Rectors’ Course.
12. Greater emphasis could be given to initial proclamation in the curricu-
lum for initial formation.
13. Personal exposure to the missions should be a part of the annual
Deacons’ course in our theologates.
Salesian Mission and Initial Proclamation of Christ
in the Three-fold Context of East Asia
Sampran, 14-18 August 2011
FMA
1. To Create in all the sectors of our mission a climate that is immersed
in the love for Christ
2. To transmit the fruits of these Study Days to the sisters of the Province,
involving the provincial council and the mission animation team
3. To continue our reflection on initial proclamation, above all committing
ourselves to a deeper understanding of the documents of the local
Churches and to know the initiatives of other institutes working in this
field in order to create a network
4. To accompany and empower the Christian youth, so that they may be-
come missionaries for other youth
SDB
1. We make conscious efforts to stir up a desire to know the person of
Jesus. We need to develop personal skills (linguistic, information tech-
nology, good knowledge of cultures, religions and socio-political reality,
etc...) and prepare ourselves through immersion.
2. To promote a proper understanding of the life and nature of the mis-
sion, missiological formation should be included in the programme of
initial formation.
3. To re-enforce the role of the mission animator of the provinces. Mis-
sionary animation in the provinces is done in 2 dimensions: “ad gentes”
and “inter gentes”; give special importance to “inter gentes”.
4. Awareness is to be given to individuals as well as to communities on
the need to live a life of Christian witness as a way to proclaim Christ
to others.
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5. To empower lay members of the Salesian family (co-operators, volun-
teers, SYM members, etc...) so that they, too, become agents of initial
proclamation
6. To make a better use of our traditional settings (schools, oratories,
youth-centres, etc.) as auspicious places for initial proclamation; to go
out to the new frontiers of ministry and apostolate.
Salesian Mission and Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania
in the Context of Traditional Religions and Cultures,
and Cultures in the Process of Secularisation
Port Moresby, 21-25 November 2011
FMA
1. Deepen the personal experience of Jesus to proclaim His message,
that is, to make a witness of our life a “primary and authentic” procla-
mation of Jesus.
2. Study and reflect personally and as a community the documents of the
Church (universal and local) and of the Institute, in a missionary per-
spective.
3. Reflect on one’s own life experience from the point of view of mission.
4. Reread personally and as a community our pastoral activity in the light
of mission.
SDB
In order to face up to the requirements of the call and the challenges of
initial proclamation in Oceania in the context of traditional religions and cul-
tures, as well as cultures in the process of secularisation, we need to
change our mentality and our way of evangelisation, moving:
1. from doing mission only within our educational institutions and
parishes, to reaching out to the young where they are (through the
festive oratory, youth centres, etc.);
2. from sharing the faith in formal venues (parish, religious education, re-
treats, etc.) to greater awareness that all activities are occasions for
initial proclamation (Basic Ecclesial Communities, youth groups, etc.);
3. from ignoring culture (traditional, postmodern, secularised, etc.) to
committing ourselves to understand and comprehend our peo-
ple’s cultures and religious beliefs through patient and trusting listen-
ing, taking them from where they are;
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4. from a lack of contact with the family to reaching out to families and
involving them more, because Initial Proclamation takes place first of
all in the family;
5. from doing mission ourselves (mission ad gentes, initial proclamation,
ordinary pastoral activity, renewed evangelisation) to forming and
engaging lay people as our mission partners, co-responsible with us
in Initial Proclamation and evangelisation, especially in families, through
living the Preventive System as our way of witnessing the Gospel way
of life.
Salesian Presence among Muslims
Rome, 30 July - 4 August 2012
FMA
The FMA participants in the “Study Days on Salesian Presence among
Muslims” have underlined a few points to be kept in mind for a continuity
and deepening of the Study Days:
1. To bring their voice to the Provincial Councils, Provincial Assemblies,
Interprovincial Conferences;
2. To raise the awareness of Provincial Superiors, so that they get in-
volved in giving a picture of the reality on the said theme;
3. To grow in the knowledge of the reality of Islam at the European level;
4. To enhance the presence of the Coordinator for the Mission ad/inter
gentes as a significant “voice” within the Council and Provincial Team;
5. To take into account the reality and richness of the dioceses that work
with Muslim immigrants, and to find ways to integrate themselves into
this work and collaborate therein;
6. To incorporate the contents of the Study Days in the initial formation
(next year there will be young people from the Middle East arriving in
Turin for their postulancy);
7. To encourage the Sisters to become sensitive to the mission and the
Islamic context through reading and personal encounters (cf. Louis
Massignon);
8. To enhance local literature that helps in the dialogue with Muslims;
9. To make known the phenomenon of migration and Islam as an emerg-
ing “pastoral ministry”;
10. To organise other similar meetings;
11. To plan meetings of FMA and SDB working in Europe to reflect on ways
to face the reality of Islamic migration;
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12. To include the topic of Islam in the preparation for the 23rd FMA
General Chapter.
SDB
These suggestions take into account the reality of each participant of the
Study Days.
1. What can we bring into our provinces at the operational level?
• Educative Pastoral Project (PEPSI) and Directory of the Province:
let the Provinces take into account the conclusions of the reflection
of these days; let them draw up projects, and give directives in the
directory during the Provincial Chapter 2012-2013.
• Dedicate time in the Provinces to contextualise the conclusions of the
Study Days.
• Take advantage of the next Provincial Chapter to talk about the issue
of new frontiers.
• Seek ways to participate in the commission for Interreligious Dialogue
of the Bishops’ Conferences (sub-Saharan Africa ...); get into direct
contact with the experiences and resources of the local Church; share
our own experiences.
• Organise similar meetings among the Provinces (as was already done
by the ‘AFO-AFW in 2010).
• Collect everything that has been shared in the various groups, espe-
cially the good practices, facts and concrete inspirations.
• Give opportunities to the participants to share in their Provinces (coun-
cil, rectors, Youth Ministry Team, local communities, annual or quarterly
retreats).
• Have some young SDBs specialise in dialogue with Muslims, who can
guide the path of dialogue in the Provinces.
• Share the conclusions of these Study Days during the course for new
missionaries.
• At the local level invite local leaders and Muslim scholars to share with us.
• Integrate the ministry among Muslims into the youth ministry of the 30
Provinces. It is important to work with the Provincial Delegates for
youth ministry and other commissions.
• What importance do we give to the formation of missionary confreres?
Emergencies reveal our situation of unpreparedness. We should be
more informed about the possibilities of formation centres in the re-
gions and countries - not only PISAI in Rome (e.g. Hyderabad - India...)
• Add “an introduction to Islam” in the initial formation of confreres.
• Aim at making a collection of positive experiences that encourage,
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inspire or motivate confreres towards a Salesian presence among
Muslims.
• The bulletin of missionary animation “Cagliero 11” is important. Take
advantage of it, especially for the topic of our presence among
Muslims. Make a special invitation to document our experiences of
missionary life and concrete good practices.
• We must be careful not to be just ‘politically correct’ as per the expec-
tations of the media, but to be ‘prophetically correct’ as Jesus wants
us to be.
2. How can we strengthen our work through networking (among the
participants, among the Provinces, in the Congregation)?
• We need a reference point to ensure the continuity of this reflection on
our presence among Muslims.
• Attach to the documents of the Study Days also a personal record
of the Salesians who work among Muslims (personal profile, specific
experiences) to facilitate a further journey, which may bear fruits.
• Here is a more specific request: an exchange of people and experi-
ences, besides digital spaces. (For example, in Project Europe our mis-
sion to/with migrants is in the pipeline. In this light, we need to have
a platform for sharing of information (see www.sdb.org / AGORA, a
reserved area; or the Salesian Digital Library SDL, an open space).
• Exchanges and, possibly, regular meetings among the Provinces,
especially between adjacent ones and more homogeneous zones.
3. Concrete suggestions for some provinces
• AFW – Nigeria: Involve the confreres and communities in trying out
some experiments in the North where we are not yet present (only
some summer camps).
• MOR – Not to expect immediately great results from our presence
among the Muslims. At times we are limited to just a few opportunities
for a large number of baptisms, which may be the only satisfaction
from the mission.
• INK – Promote devotion to Mary and other saints (popular devotions)
as a method of initial proclamation; e.g., the shrine at Bangalore, India.
• SLK – Azerbaijan: We need to send here non-Slovak missionaries for
the inculturation of the Gospel and our charism so that we become
more effective in our pastoral work.
• ITM – Indonesia: It is important to help the Indonesian confreres to be
more missionary.
• FIS – Mindanao: These study days may help the confreres to open up
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to the mission among Muslims (to go beyond the two communities
with nine confreres, which is only 10% of the province).
• AFE – Delegation of South Sudan: Sensitize the confreres of the South
towards a presence among the Muslims of Sudan (in the North).
Study Days on the Initial Proclamation of Christ
in Africa and Madagascar
Addis Abeba, 5-9 November 2012
FMA
For the FMA the conclusions of the Study Days could be summarised
this way:
1. To transmit with enthusiasm the contents of these Study Days to the
whole Province, in agreement with the Provincial
2. To focus all our efforts on Initial Proclamation, during this year of faith
3. To review the aspect of evangelisation in the Provincial plan
4. To organise community moments on initial proclamation in order to
carry out missionary animation in every reality
5. To insist on the quality of our personal and community witnessing,
which is fundamental to initial proclamation
To give continuity to the Study Days, the FMA propose:
a. To plan formative encounters together with the SDB and FMA partici-
pants in these Study Days in their respective Provinces
b. To maintain contact among the participants for the sharing of reflec-
tions, contents and experiences on Initial Proclamation, through all
available means of communication
c. In the long term, to develop a basic plan for the SDB and FMA
Provinces to have an event similar to these Study Days, that is, of a
missionary nature, as well as an evaluation of work jointly undertaken
SDB
1. What can we take back to our respective Provinces at the practical
level?
a. In the area of ‘Awareness of initial proclamation’ for the formation
and animation of SDBs:
• we will use the tools already available in our Provinces (Newsletter,
Salesian Bulletin, Missionary animation bulletins) especially for the
formation and animation of SDBs.
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• we shall break down the topic of the dynamics of Initial Proclamation
for each month.
• the upcoming Provincial Chapter in our Provinces is a good oppor-
tunity to raise awareness about Initial Proclamation with some
concrete suggestions on how to foster it in the different sectors of
our ministry.
b. The Year of Faith and Salesian Mission Day 2013 are opportunities
to promote awareness of the importance and relevance of Initial
Proclamation.
• we shall share our experiences of initial proclamation with the youth
and adults in our educative and pastoral presences (parishes, orato-
ries, social works, schools - animators, catechists, parents, teachers,
educators, volunteers, missionary groups) or, prepare a celebration
with Initial Proclamation as its theme.
• the push for Initial Proclamation could be a good starting point
for the missionary animation in all Provinces in the region since it
attracts and stirs up a lot of missionary enthusiasm.
c. Produce some simple materials on initial proclamation (for the use
of our lay collaborators or youth):
• possible content: What is Initial Proclamation? Presentation on how
initial proclamation is done. Some simple formation materials in pro-
moting initial proclamation both as a lifestyle and as praxis (break
down the concepts to daily life in a very simple and practical way).
• since we are working in many different contexts (parish, formation,
social communication, rural or urban mission stations) an exchange
of materials might be very helpful and inspiring.
2. How do we reinforce our networking on this matter among the
participants, within our Provinces and in the Congregation?
a. Ongoing Missionary Formation: We endorse the idea that was devel-
oped during these Study Days on the need to launch the concept of a
‘Regional Centre’ for Ongoing Formation or, at least, to start the for-
mation of a Reflection Group of 3 African SDBs from each language
zone, who would promote a critical reflection on our African cultures
and study the inculturation of the Gospel and our charism.
– We, as a group of Province Delegates for Missionary Animation, need
to network with the already existing two working commissions
of CIVAM (Formation - Youth Ministry) and also with the CONFORM
(Ongoing Formation Commission).
b. Networking among the Study Days’ participants could be facilitated
by
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• keeping in touch with one another by e-mail (as a minimum); this
would encourage us to keep going.
• as we have the internet, the best way would be to save all materials
in some Province’s server and facilitate access to it (upload or down-
load through links).
• create a BLOG of missionary animation or, possibly, create a Facebook
page.
c. The Radio is an important means for Initial Proclamation. It might
be enriching to network among the already existing Salesian Radio
Stations, Internet Radio Broadcasting, Radio Don Bosco (MDG),
Sudan Tonj (AFE), etc.
Initial Proclamation and Missionary Discipleship
in America and Caribbean
Los Teques, 20-25 November 2013
FMA
The practical conclusions of the FMA could be summarised as :
1. An initial proclamation requires, first of all, a personal encounter with
Jesus and a consistent commitment to growth in one’s faith. To live
the initial proclamation, we need to enter into the cultural context. God
is present in every culture! We need to go out to meet people, not wait
for them to come to us. We need to overcome fear and other blocks;
to strengthen our missionary resolve and revive the fire of missionary
passion in the Province.
2. We are called to live in a permanent state of mission: may our pres-
ence, starting from our personal encounter with Jesus and with our
sisters, speak to people and provoke questions.
3. Let us ask ourselves: How can we carry forward, through missionary
animation, what we have learnt during these Study days? How can we
be witnesses before young people? We need formation that is specif-
ically missionary, formation that results in a growth of true convictions
in the whole Institute.
4. Strengthen our work with the Salesian Family; renew our enthusiasm
which, so often, due to circumstances of age or other difficulties, has
become enfeebled. Renew our desire to announce the Gospel with joy,
to listen to the young, to the community, to those who share the mis-
sion with us. Perhaps this is our greatest challenge!
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5. Our charism is alive! Sharing our experience and giving the witness of
our life are silent pre-proclamation, but are meaningful.
6. Strengthen the missionary spirit of the young during initial formation,
as well as that of all the rest of us. Restudy our formation programme
for initial formation, taking into consideration not only the missionary
dimension of our vocation, but promoting initial proclamation also
among us, the FMA. We need to welcome this experience of a personal
and liberating encounter with Jesus. Live the experience of initial
proclamation with young people who are in the process of vocational
discernment.
For the continuity of the Study Days the FMA propose:
1. To integrate the reflections of these Study Days into initial formation,
in the formative processes of our Provinces and in the experiences we
offer to young people who are in the process of vocational discern-
ment, in the programmes that the Province organises (monthly recol-
lection, spiritual retreats, community projects ...); in the formation of
animators and coordinators of local ministries
2. To see to the witness of our community life; to see to missionary prayer,
whether of the FMA or of lay people. Benefit from the limited possibil-
ities within our reality to accompany the young and propose new pro-
grammes as alternative responses, giving primacy above all to
moments of personal encounter with Jesus.
3. To encourage a change of mentality towards initial proclamation and
the universal mission of the Church and of the Institute. We need to
see every single presence of ours as a “missionary house”. To educate
ourselves personally and as a community to the use of the means of
communication for evangelisation and not merely for our personal sat-
isfaction. We need to evangelise ourselves and our context. To propose
experiences and formation that will make us unlearn old paradigms
and open our hearts to new horizons, changing a mentality that does
not let us march ahead in the mission or do not promote a personal
encounter with Jesus.
4. To offer profoundly missionary experiences to the young people in our
Province. To run an open house, allowing young people to come in and
share our life. This is a very meaningful way of proclaiming Jesus.
5. To get the provincial councilors of the FMA and SDB to provide space
for formation and reflection on initial proclamation, which support con-
crete activities. To do pastoral work together with the SDB.
6. To promote Study Days and intercultural formation (by regions,
Provinces ...) to accompany the process of inculturation in the
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Province, in the areas that are home to ethnic minorities, for mutual
education and help. To promote inter-sectoral formation in our
Provinces. To arrive at greater synergy and to network among the
Provinces. To remain in contact among ourselves to ensure continuity
to what we have learnt about integrating initial proclamation into our
realities.
7. To integrate the missionary dimension and ethnic identities into our
curricula. To promote the inculturation of our liturgy using our knowl-
edge of cultures and their spirituality.
8. To verify at the provincial level where we are at on the missionary front
and in initial proclamation in all our institutions. We truly are in need
of conversion and re-dimensioning. To make concrete proposals of
formation and missionary experience (groups, volunteering, ...) for the
sisters, the young, etc.
9. To strengthen the movement of Missionary Childhood in our Provinces.
SDB
1. To benefit from the processes of on-going formation to help Salesians
to understand and deepen the importance of initial proclamation and
to live their Salesian vocation in a permanent state of mission
2. To rediscover Salesian presence in the playground as an opportunity
for initial proclamation
3. To rediscover the volunteer movement as an opportunity for initial
proclamation for the young and, through them, also for their families
4. To arrive at synergy among youth ministry, social communication and
missionary animation in order to promote better focus on initial procla-
mation, above all within our youth groups
5. To invite some young people to have an experience of community life
together with Salesians, as an opportunity for initial proclamation
6. To celebrate the Missionary Week or the Salesian Mission Day as an
opportunity for initial proclamation
7. To promote the new experience of missionary families
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Initial Proclamation of Christ in the City
Rome, 15-21 November 2015
FMA
The FMAs have synthesized all the Study Days of the previous six years
in this way.
1. Deepen the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus to proclaim
his message, through our personal and community witnessing in a per-
manent missionary state.
2. Strengthen our formation in the missionary spirit together with the
young people at all levels (initial formation, continuing formation and
educating community).
3. Introduce into the provincial plan the missionary dimension of our vo-
cation and evaluate all pastoral activity in this perspective.
4. Improve the quality of our missionary activity through networking with
the Salesian Family and other civil and religious institutions.
SDB
At the congregational level:
1. Let the whole Congregation know the relevance of initial proclamation,
using existing spaces, such as: websites (sdb.org); Salesian News
Agency (ANS); materials for initial proclamation (working modules);
‘worksheets’ found in the Acts of the Study Days.
2. Take advantage of the Salesian Family Spirituality Days to talk about
initial proclamation using media tools (video clips) featuring the expe-
rience of the Study Days on Initial Proclamation in the City.
At the regional level:
1. Take advantage of the regional meetings of the Provincial Delegates
for Missionary Animation (PDMA) to help them re-echo the Study Days
in the Provinces of the Region.
At the Provincial level:
1. PDMAs will involve other Provincial delegates (Formation, Youth Min-
istry, Communication) for a synergy in the work of helping our confreres
understand well initial proclamation, using the Salesian Bulletin, video
clips and other initiatives in their contexts, eg., re-echo to the Provincial
and his Council, good nights, Provincial Study Days with the Salesian
Family and with all local communities using a suitable language.
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The Letter from Rome (1884)
In this letter, so well-known in Salesian circles, Don Bosco narrates in two
parts, a dream he had on two consecutive nights. The theme of the dream
was the boys of the Oratory in Valdocco and its educative climate: above
all the happy environment of the early years of the Oratory, and then the
different atmosphere in 1884. Given the pedagogical importance of the
dream, which underlines the value of the indispensable educative environ-
ment which fosters Initial Proclamation, we publish here the full text. The
subtitles are ours.
Rome, 10 May 1884
My dear sons in Jesus Christ,
Whether I am at home or away I am always thinking of you. I have
only one wish, to see you happy both in this world and in the next. It was
this idea, this wish of mine, that made me write this letter. Being away
from you, and not being able to see or hear you, upsets me more than you
can imagine. For that reason I would have liked to write these few lines
to you a week ago, but constant work prevented me. And so, although I
shall be back very soon, I want to send you this letter in advance, since I
cannot yet be with you in person. These words come from someone who
loves you very dearly in Christ Jesus, someone who has the duty of speak-
ing to you with the freedom of a father. You’ll let me do that, won’t you?
And you will pay attention to what I am going to say to you, and put it
into practice.
The early Oratory in 1870
I have said that you are always and exclusively in my thoughts.
Well, a couple of evenings ago I had gone to my room, and while I was
preparing for bed I began to say the prayers my good mother taught me,
and whether I simply fell asleep or became distracted I don’t know, but
it seemed that two of the former pupils of the Oratory in its early days
were standing there before me. One of them came up to me, greeted me
warmly, and said: “Do you recognise me, Don Bosco?”
– “Of course I do,” I answered.
– “And do you still remember me?”, the man went on.
– “I remember you and all the others. You’re Valfre, and you were at
the Oratory before 1870.”
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– “Tell me,” went on Valfre, “would you like to see the youngsters
who were at the Oratory in my time?”
– “Yes, let me see them,” I answered. “I would like that very much.”
Valfre then showed me the boys just as they had been at that time,
with the same age, build and looks. I seemed to be in the old Oratory at
recreation time. It was a scene full of life, full of movement, full of fun.
Some were running, some were jumping, some were skipping. In one
place they were playing leap-frog, in another tag, and in another a ball-
game was in progress. In one corner a group of youngsters were gathered
around a priest, hanging on his every word as he told them a story. In
another a cleric was playing with a number of lads at “chase the donkey”
and “trades”. There was singing and laughing on all sides, there were
priests and clerics everywhere and the boys were yelling and shouting
all around them. You could see that the greatest cordiality and confidence
reigned between youngsters and superiors. I was overjoyed at the sight,
and Valfre said to me: “You see, closeness leads to love and love brings
confidence. It is this that opens hearts, and the young people express
everything without fear to the teachers, to the assistants and to the supe-
riors. They become frank both in the confessional and out of it, and they
will do everything they are asked by one who, they know, loves them.”
The Oratory in 1884
At that moment the other past pupil, who had a white beard, came
up to me and said: “Don Bosco, would you like to see and know the boys
who are at the Oratory at the present time?” This man was Joseph
Buzzetti.
– “Yes,” I replied, “it is a month since I last saw them.” And he
showed them to me.
I saw the Oratory and all of you in recreation. But no more could I
hear the joyful shouts and singing, no longer was there the lively activity
of the previous scene. In the faces and actions of many boys there was ev-
ident a weary boredom, a surliness, a suspicion, that pained my heart. I
saw many, it is true, who ran about and played in light-hearted joy. But
I saw quite a number of others on their own, leaning against the pillars,
a prey to depressing thoughts. Others were on the steps or in the corri-
dors, or up on the terraces near the garden so as to be away from the com-
mon recreation. Others were strolling about in groups, talking to each
other in low tones and casting furtive and suspicious glances in every
direction. Sometimes they would laugh, but with looks and smirks that
would make you not only suspect but feel quite certain that St Aloysius
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would have blushed to find himself in their company. Even among those
who were playing, there were some so listless that it was clear they were
not enjoying their games.
– “Do you see your boys?”, asked my former pupil.
– “I can see them,” I replied with a sigh.
– “How different they are from what we used to be,” went on the past
pupil.
– “Too true! What an apathetic recreation!”
– “This is what gives rise to the coldness of so many in approaching
the sacraments, to neglect of the prayers in church and elsewhere; to their
reluctance to be in a place where Divine Providence heaps every possible
blessing on their bodies, their souls and their minds. This is why so
many do not follow their vocation, why they are ungrateful to their su-
periors, why they are secretive and grumble, with all the other regrettable
consequences.”
We miss the best
– “I see, I understand,” I said. “But how can we bring these young-
sters to life again, so that we can get back to the liveliness, the happiness,
the warmth of the old days?”
– “With charity!”
– “With love? But don’t my boys get enough love? You know how I
love them. You know how much I have suffered and put up with for them
these forty years, and how much I endure and suffer even now. How
many hardships, how many humiliations, how much opposition, how
many persecutions to give them bread, a home, teachers, and especially
to provide for the salvation of their souls. I have done everything I pos-
sibly could for them; they are the object of all my affections.”
– “I’m not referring to you.”
– “Then to whom are you referring? To those who take my place? To
the rectors, the prefects, the teachers, the assistants? Don’t you see that
they are martyrs to study and work, and how they burn out their young
lives for those Divine Providence has entrusted to them?”
– “I can see all that and I am well aware of it, but it is not enough;
the best thing is missing.
“That the youngsters should not only be loved, but that they them-
selves should know that they are loved.”
– “But have they not got eyes in their heads? Have they no intelli-
gence? Don’t they see how much is done for them, and all of it out of
love?”
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– “No, I repeat: it is not enough.”
– “Well, what else is needed?”
– “By being loved in the things they like, through taking part in their
youthful interests, they are led to see love in those things which they find
less attractive, such as discipline, study and self-denial, and so learn to
do these things too with love.”
The Salesian: soul of recreation
– “I’m afraid you’ll have to explain that more clearly.”
– “Look at the youngsters in recreation.”
I looked, and then asked: “Well, what is special about it?”
– “You’ve been educating young people for so many years and you
don’t understand! Look harder! Where are our Salesians?”
I looked, and I saw that very few priests and clerics mixed with the
boys, and fewer still were joining in their games. The superiors were no
longer the heart and soul of the recreation. Most of them were walking
up and down, chatting among themselves without taking any notice of
what the pupils were doing. Others looked on at the recreation but paid
little heed to the boys. Others supervised from afar, not noticing whether
anyone was doing something wrong. Some did take notice but only
rarely, and then in a threatening manner. Here and there a Salesian did
try to mix with a group of boys, but I saw that the latter were bent on
keeping their distance from teachers and superiors.
Then my friend continued: “In the old days at the Oratory, were you
not always among the boys, especially during recreation? Do you remem-
ber those wonderful years? They were a foretaste of heaven, a period of
which we have fond memories, because then love was the rule and we
had no secrets from you.”
– “Yes, indeed! Everything was a joy for me then, and the boys used
to rush to get near me and talk to me; they were anxious to hear my
advice and put it into practice. But don’t you see that now with these
never-ending interviews, business matters, and my poor health I cannot
do it any more.”
– “Well and good; but if you cannot do it, why don’t your Salesians
follow the example you gave? Why don’t you insist, why don’t you
demand, that they treat the boys as you used to do?”
– “I do. I talk till I’m blue in the face, but unfortunately not everyone
nowadays feels like working as hard as we used to.”
– “And so, by neglecting the lesser part they waste the greater, mean-
ing all the work they put in. Let them like what pleases the youngsters
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and the youngsters will come to like what pleases the superiors. In this
way, their work will be made easy. The reason for the present change in
the Oratory is that many of the boys no longer have confidence in their
superiors. There was a time when all hearts were wide open to their su-
periors, when the boys loved them and gave them prompt obedience. But
now the superiors are thought of precisely as superiors and no longer as
fathers, brothers and friends; they are feared and little loved. And so, if
you want everyone to be of one heart and soul again for the love of Jesus
you must break down this fatal barrier of mistrust, and replace it with a
happy spirit of confidence. Then obedience will guide the pupil as a
mother guides her baby; and the old peace and happiness will reign once
again in the Oratory.”
– “How then are we to set about breaking down this barrier?”
– “By a friendly, informal relationship with the boys, especially in
recreation. You cannot have love without this familiarity, and where this
is not evident there can be no confidence. If you want to be loved, you
must make it clear that you love. Jesus Christ made himself little with
the little ones and bore our weaknesses. He is our master in the matter
of the friendly approach.
“The teacher who is seen only in the classroom is a teacher and noth-
ing more; but if he joins in the pupils’ recreation he becomes their brother.
If someone is only seen preaching from the pulpit it will be said that he
is doing no more and no less than his duty, whereas if he says a good
word in recreation it is heard as the word of one who loves. How many
conversions have been brought about by a few words whispered in the
ear of a youngster while he is playing.
Loving-kindness and Supervision
“One who knows he is loved loves in return, and one who loves can
obtain anything, especially from the young. This confidence creates an
electric current between youngsters and their superiors. Hearts are
opened, needs and weaknesses made known. This love enables superiors
to put up with the weariness, the annoyance, the ingratitude, the troubles
that youngsters cause. Jesus Christ did not crush the bruised reed nor
quench the smouldering flax. He is your model. Then you will no longer
see anyone working for his own glory; you will no longer see anyone pun-
ishing out of wounded self-love; you will not see anyone neglecting the
work of supervision through jealousy of another’s popularity; you won’t
hear people running others down so as to be looked up to by the boys:
those who exclude all other superiors earn for themselves nothing but
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contempt and hypocritical flattery; people who let their hearts be stolen
by one individual and neglect all the other boys to cultivate that partic-
ular one. No one will neglect his strict duty of supervision for the sake of
his own ease and comfort; no one will fail through human respect to rep-
rimand those who need reprimanding.
“If we have this true love, we shall not seek anything other than the
glory of God and the good of souls. When this love languishes, things no
longer go well.
“Why do people want to replace love with cold rules? Why do the su-
periors move away from the observance of the rules Don Bosco has given
them?
“Why the replacement little by little of loving and watchful prevention
by a system which consists in framing laws? Such laws either have to be
sustained through punishment and so create hatred and cause unhap-
piness or, if they are not enforced, cause the superiors to be despised and
bring about serious disorders.
Let the educator be everything
“This is sure to happen if there is no friendly relationship. So, if you
want the Oratory to return to the happiness of old, then bring back the
old system: let the superior be all things to all, always ready to listen to
any boy’s complaints or doubts, always alert to keep a paternal eye on
their conduct, all heart to seek the spiritual and temporal good of those
Divine Providence has entrusted to him. Then hearts will no longer be
closed and deadly subterfuge will no longer hold sway. The superiors
should be unbending only in the case of immoral conduct. It is better to
run the risk of expelling someone who is innocent than to keep someone
who causes others to sin. Assistants should make it a strict duty in con-
science to refer to the superiors whatever they know to be an offence
against God.”
Then I asked a question: “And what is the best way of achieving this
friendly relationship, this kind of love and confidence?”
– “The exact observance of the rules of the house.”
– “Nothing else?”
– “At a dinner the best dish is a hearty welcome.”
With that my past pupil finished speaking, and I went on looking at
that recreation with great displeasure. Little by little I felt oppressed by
a great weariness that became worse at every moment. Eventually it got
so bad that I could resist no longer, and I shook myself and woke up. I
found myself standing beside my bed. My legs were so swollen and hurt
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so much that I could not stand up any longer. It was very late and I went
to bed, resolved to write these lines to my sons.
I wish I did not have these dreams, they tire me so much. The fol-
lowing day I was dead tired, and I could hardly wait for the hour to come
to go to bed that evening. But I was hardly in bed when the dream began
again. Before me once again was the playground, with the boys at present
at the Oratory and the same past pupil as before. I began to question him.
“I’ll let my Salesians know what you have told me, but what should
I say to the boys of the Oratory?”
“Tell them,” he said, “to realise how much the superiors, the teach-
ers, the assistants, plan and wear themselves out for love of them, since
they would not sacrifice themselves so much if they didn’t love them. Let
them never forget that humility is the source of all peace of mind; let
them be able to put up with each other’s shortcomings, because there is
no perfection in this world, only in heaven. Tell them not to grumble be-
cause it freezes the heart. But especially, tell them to live in the holy grace
of God. If you are not at peace with God, you cannot be at peace with
yourself, nor with others.”
– “Are you telling me, then, that among my boys there are some who
are not at peace with God?”
– “Among other reasons you already know, this is the principal cause
of bad spirit. There is no need for me to tell you that you must do some-
thing about it. The one without trust is the one with secrets to guard, the
one who is afraid the secrets will become known and bring him shame
and trouble. At the same time, if his heart is not at peace with God he
will be a prey to restless anxiety, intolerant of obedience, and get upset
over nothing. Everything seems to go wrong for him and, because he has
no love himself, he thinks the superiors do not love him.”
– “But see here, my friend; look how many go to confession and com-
munion here at the Oratory.”
– “It is true that many go to confession, but what is radically lacking
in the confessions of so many youngsters is a firm resolution. They tell
their sins but they are always the same, always the same occasions, the
same bad habits, the same acts of disobedience, the same neglect of duty.
This goes on, month in, month out, even for years and some even con-
tinue in this way till they leave school. These confessions are worth little
or nothing, and so they do not restore peace, and if a youngster in that
state were to be called before God’s judgement seat, it would be a serious
matter indeed. But in comparison with the whole group in the house they
are only a few. Look.” And he pointed them out to me.
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I looked, and I saw those boys one by one. There were not many, but
in them I saw things that brought profound bitterness to my soul. I do
not want to put such things in writing, but when I come back I want to
have a word with each one about what I saw. For the moment I limit my-
self to saying that it is time to pray and make firm resolutions, with facts
and not just words, so as to show that the Comollos, the Dominic Savios,
the Besuccos and the Saccardis are still among us.
I put a final question to my friend: “Have you anything else to tell
me?”
– “Preach to all, young and old alike, that they must remember they
are children of Mary Help of Christians. Tell them she has gathered them
here to take them way from the dangers of the world, so that they may
love one another as brothers and give glory to God and to her by their
good behaviour. Tell them that it is Our Lady who provides them with
bread and the means to study, by endless graces and wonders. Remind
them that they are at the vigil of the feast of their holy Mother, so that
with her help that barrier of mistrust will fall which has been raised be-
tween boys and superiors by the devil, who knows how to use it to ruin
certain souls.”
– “And will we be successful in breaking down this barrier?”
– “Certainly you will, as long as young and old are ready to put
up with some small mortifications for love of Mary and do what I have
told you.”
Meanwhile I continued to watch my youngsters, but at the sight of
those I had seen heading for eternal damnation I experienced such
heartache that I awoke. I still have to tell you many important things
that I saw, but I have neither time nor opportunity at present.
Let the days of affection and confidence return
And now I must finish. Do you know what this poor old man who
has spent his whole life for his dear boys wants from you? Nothing else
than, due allowances being made, we should go back to the happy days
of the Oratory of old: the days of affection and Christian confidence be-
tween boys and superiors; the days when we accepted and put up with
difficulties for the love of Jesus Christ; the days when hearts were open
with a simple candour; days of love and real joy for everyone. I want the
consolation and hope that you will promise to do everything I desire for
the good of your souls.
You do not realise how lucky you are in having come to the Oratory.
I declare before God: it is enough for a young person to enter a Salesian
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house for Our Lady to take him under her special care. Let us all agree
on this then: may the charity of those who command and the charity of
those who must obey cause the spirit of St. Francis de Sales to reign
among us. My dear children, the time is coming when I will have to tear
myself away from you and leave for eternity.” (Secretary’s note: at this
point Don Bosco broke off the dictation; his eyes filled with tears, not of
sorrow but because of the inexpressible tenderness that was evident from
his face and voice; after a few moments he went on.) “And so, I want to
leave you, my dear priests and brothers and my dearest boys, on the road
the Lord himself wants you to follow. For this purpose the Holy Father,
whom I saw on Friday 9 May, sends you his blessing from the bottom
of his heart.
I will be with you on the feast of Mary Help of Christians, before the
statue of our loving Mother. I want this feast to be celebrated with full
solemnity, and that Fr. Lazzero and Fr. Marchisio see to it that you have
a good time in the dining-room as well. The feast of Mary Help of Chris-
tians should be a prelude to the eternal feast that we will all celebrate
one day together in heaven.
With much love, your friend in Christ Jesus,
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GALLI, CARLoS MARíA. “La Pastoral Urbana en la Iglesia Latinoamericana”.
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GALLI,  CARLoS MARíA. “La  Teologia  Pastoral  de  Aparecida.  Una  de  las
Raices Latinoamaericanas de Evangelii Gaudium”. Gregorianum 96/1
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GALLI,  CARLoS MARíA. “La  Teologia  Pastoral  de  Pastoral  de  Evangelii
Gaudium en el Proyecto Misionero de Francisco”. Revista Teología vol.
51/114 (2014): 23-59.
GARCIA PEREIRA,  GLoRIA ELENA.  “Las  oportunidades  y  los  Desafios  del
Primer Anuncio para SDB y FMA en América Latina y el Caribe”. MAIKE
LoES (ed). Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Mi-
sionero en América y el Caribe. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2014. 73-85.
GARDNER, HoWARD. DAVIS, KATIE. The App Generation. How Today’s Youth
Navigate Identity, Intimacy and Imagination in a Digital World. New
Haven: yale University Press, 2013. 
GEoRGE, TC. JoSEPH, THERESA. “Emerging Insights and Perspectives during
these Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis “. Alfred Mar-
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tion of Christ in South Asia. Rome: SDB-FMA,  2013. 93-95.
GoNZáLEZ oRDoSGoITTI,    ENRIQUE ALí.  “La  Complejidad  Religiosa  de
América  Latina.  La  Grande  Como  Texto  y  Contexto  para  una  Nueva
Evangelización”. MAIKE LoES (ed). Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anun-
cio al Discipulado Misionero en América y el Caribe. Rome: SDB-FMA,
2014. 57-73.
HERVEAU, JoSEPH. Moment 3. Le Bulletin de la Première Annonce, n. 1 (April
2012).
Identity Card of the Salesian Family, n.d. (2012).
ISTITUTo FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE. Perché Abbiano Vita, Vita in Abbon-
danza. Linee Orientative della Missione Educativa delle FMA. Turin:
LDC, 2005.
KANAGA, MARIA ARoKIAM. “The Meaning, opportunities and Challenges of the
Salesian Presence Among Muslims”. A ALFRED MARAVILLA (ed). Study days
on the Salesian Presence Among Muslims. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013. 127-141.
KIPoy, PoMBo. “Evangelizzazione, Tradizione ed Inculturazione”. Catechesi
78/2 (2008-2009): 22-32.  
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA.  “Mary Arose and Went with Haste into the Hill Coun-
try”. MAIKE LoES (ed). Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial
Proclamation of Christ in Africa and Madagascar.  Rome:  SDB-FMA,
2014. 179-185.”, 
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Comprenden lo que Acabo de Hacer con Ustedes?”.
MAIKE LoES (ed). Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado
Misionero en América y el Caribe. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2014. 211-217.
115

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Ko HA FoNG,  MARIA.  “Take  Courage,  Get  up,  He  is  Calling  you!”! 
MAIKE LoES (ed).  Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial
Proclamation of Christ in Africa and Madagascar.  Rome:  SDB-FMA,
2014. 159-167.
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Cuantos Panes Tienen? Vayan a Ver”. MAIKE LoES
(ed). Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero
en América y el Caribe. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2014 205-210.
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Ecco l’Agnello di Dio”! “Abbiamo trovato il Messia!”
“Che cosa cercate” “Venite e Vedrete”. ALFRED MARAVILLA (ed), Missione
Salesiana in Situazione di Frontiera e Primo Annuncio Cristiano in
Europa Oggi. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013. 21-30.
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Gesù Percorreva tutte le Città e i Villaggi”! ALFRED
MARAVILLA (ed). Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio di Cristo in Città.
Rome: SDB-FMA, 2016. 245-252.
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Go Up and Join that Chariot”! ALFRED MARAVILLA
(ed), Study Days and the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation
of Christ in East Asia. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013. 175-183.
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “L’Incontro di Gesù con tre Personaggi in Situazione
Diversa”! Missione Salesiana in Situazione di Frontiera e Primo Annuncio
Cristiano in Europa Oggi. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013. 44-55.
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Mary the ‘First Evangelised’ and the ‘First Evange-
liser’”.  ALFRED MARAVILLA (ed).  The Salesian Mission and the Initial
Proclamation of Christ in the Three-fold Context of South Asia. Rome:
SDB-FMA, 2013. 145-150 
Ko HA FoNG, MARIA. “Paolo, Missionario della Città”. ALFRED MARAVILLA
(ed). Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio di Cristo in Città. Rome:
SDB-FMA, 2015. 253-259.
MARAVILLA, ALFRED. “Dio Vive in Questa Città”. ALFRED MARAVILLA (ed).
Giornate di Studio sul Primo Annuncio in Città. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2016.
13-46.
MARAVILLA, ALFRED. “El Primer Anuncio come Fundamento del Discipulado
Misionero”. MAIKE LoES (ed). Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al
Discipulado Misionero en América y el Caribe. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2014.
43-56.
METTE, NoRBERT. “Comunicazione del Vangelo nell’Era Digitale, in Parti-
colare con la Generazione che Cresce. La Catechesi dei Giovani e i New
Media. Elledici, Turin, 2015. 27-41.
METZ, JoHANN BAPTIST. “Breve Apologia del Narrare”. Concilium 5 (1973):
649-676.
MoNTISCI, UBALDo. “La Pastorale Giovanile e la Città: la Sfida e la Gioia
del Primo Annuncio”. ALFRED MARAVILLA (ed).  Giornate di Studio sul
Primo Annuncio di Cristo in Città. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2016. 141-179.
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MoNTISCI,  UBALDo.  “Initial  Proclamation:  Towards  a  Shared  Concept”.
Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial Proclamation in
Europe Today. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013. 32-40.
MoNTISCI, UBALDo. CoLUSI, LoRENZINA. “Horizons for Initial Proclamation
by the Salesian Family in Europe Today: Conditions, Strategy, Method-
ology,  Content”.  Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial
Proclamation in Europe Today. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013. 89-100.
MoRLANS, xAVIER.  El Primer Anuncio. El Eslabon Perdido. PPC : Madrid,
2009.
PASQUALETTI, FABIo. ALVATI, CoSIMo. Reti Sociali: Porte di Verità e di Fede.
Nuovi Spazi di Evangelizzazione. Rome: LAS, 2014.
PHUoC, JoSEPH. CASTAGNA, ALMA. “Emerging Insights and Perspectives dur-
ing these Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”. ALFRED
MARAVILLA (ed).  Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial
Proclamation of Christ in East Asia. Rome: SDB-FMA, 2013.113-121.
_____. “Prospettive Emergenti nelle Giornate di Studio: La Città, Spazio e
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Annuncio di Cristo in Città. Romea: SDB-FMA, 2016. 181-202.
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Notiziario dell’Ufficio Catechistico Nazionale 36. no.1 (2007). 7-16.
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è un’Idea ma la Vita”. L’Osservatore Romano (17 March 2016). 4-5.
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SPADARo, ANToNIo. Cyberteologia. Pensare il Cristianesimo al Tempo della
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ToRCIVIA, CARMELo. Teologia della Catechesi. L’Eco del Kerygma. Turin:
Elledici, 2016.
TyVAERT, SERGE. “De la Première Annonce à la Nouvelle évangelisation”.
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VECINA, PAMELA. CABRIDo, JoHN. “Emerging Insights and Perspectives dur-
ing these Study Days in View of a Renewed Missionary Praxis”. ALFRED
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WILLIS, DAVID. “Initial Proclamation in Societies in the Process of Secula -
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and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania.  Rome:  SDB-FMA,
2013. 81-87.
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Publications of the Missions Sector
(by title and year of publication)
1. Il Missionario (1980)
2. Salesian Africa (1986)
3. Pastoral Amazónica. Semana de Estudos Missionários - Campo Grande
(1986)
4. Evangelization in India. Study Sessions for the Salesian Family on Evan-
gelization in Tribal Areas of India - Shillong (1987)
5. Africa Salesiana. Visita d’Insieme - Lusaka (1988) 
6. Spiritualità Missionaria Salesiana I. La Concezione Missionaria di
Don Bosco (1988)
7. Spiritualità Missionaria Salesiana II. L’Educazione Cristiana e Missionaria
di Don Bosco (1988)
8. Salesian Missionary Spirituality III. Prayer and the Salesian Missionary
(1988)
9. Espiritualidad Misionera Salesiana IV. The Ideal of Mission (1988)
10. Spiritualité Missionnaire Salésienne V. The Missionary Project of the
Salesians of Don Bosco (1988)
11. Pastorale Salesiana in Contesto Islamico (1989)
12. Animazione Missionaria Salesiana II. Secondo Incontro di Studi per
DIAM - Madrid (1989)
13. Pastoral Mapuche. Encuentro DIAM Salesiano -  Junin  de  los  Andes
(1989)
14. The Far East. Cultures, Religions, and Evangelization- Hua Hin (1989)
15. Lettura Missionaria di “Educare i Giovani alla Fede” CG XXIII. Incon-
tro di Procuratori e DIAM dell’ Europa - Roma (1991)
16. Animación Misionera Salesiana. Primer Encuentro de DIAM de America
Latina - Lima (1991)
17. Missionary Animation. First Meeting of the PDMA for Asia and
Australia - Bangalore (1992)
18. Spiritualité Missionnaire Salésienne, Les Jeunes Africains en Quête de
Leur Identité. Séminaire d’Animation - yaounde (1992)
19. Evangelización y Cultura en el Contexto de Pastoral Amazonica. Semi-
nario de Animación - Cumbayá (1993)
20. Evangelización y Cultura en el Contexto de Pastoral Andina. Seminario
de Animación - Cumbayá (1994)
21. Evangelización y Cultura en el Contexto de Pastoral Mapuche. Seminario
de Animación - Ruca Choroi (1993)
22. Evangelization and Interreligious Dialogue. Missionary Animation
Seminar - Batulao (1994)
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23. Evangelization and Interreligious Dialogue. Missionary Animation Seminar
- Hyderabad (1994)
24. Evangelización y Cultura en el Contexto de Pastoral Mesoamericana.
Seminario de Animación - Mexico (1994)
25. The Volunteer Movement and Salesian Mission (1995) – ENG, ESP, ITA,
FRA, PoR 
26. Educating to the Missionary Dimension (1995) – ENG, ESP, ITA, FRA,
PoR
27. Presenze dei Salesiani in Africa (directory  published  annually  from 
1986 to 1996)
28. Church - Communion and Mutual Missionary Relationship. Missionary
Animation Seminar - Addis Abeba (1997)
29. Incontro Europeo Delegati Ispettoriale per l’Animazione Missionaria
[DIAM] - Rome (1997)
30. National Missionary Animation Meeting for PDMA - Mumbai (1997)
31. Manual of the Provincial Delegate for Missionary Animation (1998) 
32. Uniqueness of Salvation in Jesus Christ and Need of Primary Evange-
lization. Animation and Missionary Formation Seminar SDB-FMA East
Asia Oceania - Hua Hin (1998)
33. Missionary Praxis and Primary Evangelization. Animation and Mission-
ary Formation Seminar SDB-FMA - Calcutta (1999)
34. Seminário de Pastoral em Contexto Afro-Americano. Seminario de Ani-
mação e Formação Missionária-Belo Horizonte (1999) 
35. G. Ballin, I Fioretti d’un Missionario. Paraguay Cuore d’America (1999) 
36. Le Projet-Afrique face au Defi de la Première Evangelisation et de
la Phase de Consolidation. Seminaire d’Animation et de Formation
Missionnaire-yaounde-Mbealmayo (1999) 
37. La Primera Evangelización en Diálogo Intercultural. Experiencias y For-
mación de Catecquistas. Seminario de Animación y Formación Misionera
en el Contexto Pastoral Andino y Mesoamericana - Cumbayá (2000)
38. Seminário Sobre a Práxis Missionaria na Região Amazônica. Seminario
de Animação e Formação Missionária - Manaus (2000)
39. Missionari nel Paese del Sol Levante Discepoli di Don Cimatti. Figure
che Parlano ancora (2000)
40. P. Baldisserotto, Rio de Agua Viva. Cartas de Pe. Antonio Scolaro Para
a Missão e Testemunho (2000)
41. Sprazzi di Vita. Figure che Parlano Ancora (2000)
42. Project Africa Between the Challenges of First Evangelization and the
Phase of Consolidation. Animation and Missionary Formation Seminar
SDB-FMA - Nairobi (2001)
43. Seminario di Animazione e Formazione Missionaria. SDB-FMA in Con-
testo Islamico - Rome (2001)
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44. Presenza Salesiana SDB-FMA in Contesto Ortodosso. Seminario di
Animazione e Formazione Missionaria - Rome (2002)
45. Salesian Family Missionary Seminar. Mission Animation Notes 1 - Port
Moresby (2005)
46. East Asia and the Challenges of Mission Ad Gentes. Salesian Family
Missionary Seminar. Mission Animation Notes 2 - Hua Hin (2005)
47. Planning and Development Office. Proceedings of the Seminar - Rome
(2005) 
48. Les Défis de la Mission Ad Gentes en Afrique. Seminaire de Missiologie
de la Famille Salesienne. Animation Notes 3 - Kinshasa (2006) 
49. Mission Ad Gentes Today in Africa. Challenges to Mission Ad Gentes in
the English Speaking Provinces of Africa in the Light of the Apostolic Ex-
hortation Ecclesia in Africa. Mission Animation Notes 4 - Nairobi (2006)
50. Pueblos Indígenas y Evangelización. V Encuentro de Misioneras y
Misioneros Salesianos en Contextos Pluriculturales - Cumbayá (2006)
51. Project Africa [1980-2005] (2006)
52. Impegno Salesiano nel Mondo Islamico. Dossier (2008)
53. The Volunteer Movement and the Salesian Mission (2008) – ENG, ESP,
ITA, FRA, PoR
54. Mantén Viva tu Llama Misionera. II Seminario Americano de Animación
Misionera SDB-FMA - Cumbayá (2012)
55. Planning and Development Office at the Service of the Salesian Charism
in the Province - Hyderabad (2012) – ENG, ESP, FRA, PoR
56. Provincial Mission Office at the Service of the Salesian Charism - Bonn
(2012) – ENG, ESP
57. Study Days on the Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial
Proclamation in Europe Today - Prague (2013) – ENG, ITA
58. Study Days on the Salesian Presence Among Muslims (2013) – ENG,
ITA, FRA
59. Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of
Christ in Oceania in the Context of Traditional Religions and Cultures
and Cultures in the Process of Secularisation – Port Moresby (2013)
60. Study Days Study Days on The Salesian Mission and the Initial Pro-
clamation of Christ in the Three-fold Context of East Asia – Sampran
(2013)
61. Study Days Study Days on The Salesian Mission and the Initial
Proclamation of Christ in the Three-fold Context of South Asia - Kolkata
(2013)
62. The Missionary Formation of the Salesians of Don Bosco (2014) – ENG,
ESP, ITA, FRA, PoL, PoR
63. Study Days on the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Africa and Mada-
gascar - Addis Abeba (2014) – ENG, FRA, PoR
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64. Jornadas de Estudio del Primer Anuncio al Discipulado Misionero en
América y el Caribe (2014) – ESP
65. Salesian Missionaries in Europe. Acts of the Meeting of Missionaries for
Project Europe (2016) – ITA, ENG
66. Acts of the Study Days on Initial Proclamtion of Christ in the City (2015)
– ITA, ING, PoR, SPA, FRA
67. Initial Proclamation Today (2017) – ITA, ING, PoR, SPA, FRA
122

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Tipolitografia Istituto Salesiano Pio XI Via Umbertide, 11 - 00181 Roma - tipolito@donbosco.it
Finish of printing: July 2017

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Do not speak
about God
to one who
does not ask you
to do so.
But live
in such a way
that sooner or later
he will ask you
about Him.
St. Francis de Sales