The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians celebrate 150 years
After 150 years of foundation, the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, present in 97 nations, revive their
commitment to the education of young people, with a preventive imprint of their
own
By Sr. Piera Ruffinatto*
We, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, are a relatively young institute. We were born in 1872 in a small town in the northern Italian province of Alessandria. A few years later, our founder, Saint John Bosco, and our co-founder Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, spurred us to the missions. The institute, thus, had a very broad range of inculturation, and we reached many countries. Today we are present in 97 countries and have more than 1,500 homes. We can say that our educational work has traversed the world. We have made significant contributions particularly to the education of young women — because we were founded precisely for young women — but also to the education of teenagers and children on all continents.
Reading
the reality in which we place ourselves
Throughout these 150
years, there has been an effort to read the reality in which we placed
ourselves in an evangelical way, with a great capacity to adapt and
to respond to the specific questions arising from different locations:
questions about education, but also about the promotion of women, of assistance
if one thinks about the truly difficult periods of the world wars, or of
moments of emergency scattered around the world.
We always seek to respond
first of all with our presence: to be there to listen to questions and respond
to emergencies, always with a focus on promoting education, also in
collaboration with a variety of institutions, such as with centers for the
promotion of women, oratories, schools of all kinds and levels, universities —
a variety of institutions that respond to a variety of people and questions.
Looking
to the future
The future of the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians will certainly be aimed at rekindling this
commitment to education, even though with all religious institutes the number
of sisters is dropping, at least in some parts of the world, but
growing in others. Young people are everywhere. In some contexts, like Africa
and Asia, the number of young people is truly massive. Thus, we continue our
education work aimed at them, preventively. I believe that to educate means
leading the person to walk on their own two feet, and in order to do
so, Pope Francis asks that new generations be trusted so as to make them
the protagonists. On the one hand, we must remove all that is in opposition or
that prevents the serene growth of young people: indifference, resignation and
lack of trust. On the other, we have to experiment educational pathways that
are more suitable, that lead young people to encounter themselves and others,
to live a culture of encounter and an ecological spirituality that today is to
be experienced on a global level. We foster the hope that young people instill
in us, even when situations seem rather difficult to face.
A Roman
conference
We also looked to the
future through an International Conference that was held in Rome from 25 to 30
September 2022 with the title, “Contribution of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians to Education (1872–2022). Paths, Challenges, and Perspectives.” It
was above all a challenge for the Institute and for organizers of the
conference, perhaps the only one in the Institute’s history. There were nearly
300 participants present, and between 600 and 1,000 online. The conference was
not meant to be simply a workshop for academics and experts, but a contribution
for all those who care about the great theme of the challenge of education. The
first session, which offered some statistical data, was based on historical
data with the aim of outlining the profiles of educators who have creatively
interpreted the preventive system in different contexts. Then there was a time
for a pedagogical reflection of the Institute through the
contribution that our faculty has given to the systematization of this
female preventive System.
An open
window
We also completed
impressive investigative research conducted by an international team on the
perception of Salesian formation today, interviewing many education communities
scattered around the world. On another evening, young people from the Salesian
world connected with us, and told us what they think about us and about
education. This was like a window opened wide onto the youth cross-section, in
which we were able to dialogue, also through the use of the language of music
and dance.
* Dean of the “Auxilium” Pontifical
School of Education
Source: Vatican News Newsletter newsletter-en@ml.vn.va,
November 4, 2022
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