The 152d Salesian Missionary Expedition Has Been Sent Forth
(ANS – Turin – November 22, 2021) – A traditional and yet ever new gesture was repeated on Sunday, November 21, solemnity of Christ the King, at the basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin: that of presenting missionary crucifixes to the departing missionaries of the 152nd Salesian Missionary Expedition. “As Christians, we are all missionary disciples, called to be witnesses of the truth in the name of the Lord. And you, my dear missionaries, are much more so,” said the Rector Major during the homily of the Mass.
During the homily, after having illustrated the importance of the royal presence of Jesus in the life of each baptized person, Fr. Angel Fernandez referred to November 11, 1875, the day of the 1st Salesian Missionary Expedition, in which a new path was opened for the Salesians and the youth of the whole world – a path made of love, care, help, which, from Turin spread first to South America and then to all the other continents. It is a path that continues today, in the name of Don Bosco, thanks to the missionaries “to the nations, for life,” who leave everything to evangelize and educate peoples other than their own in the Salesian style.
Concluding his
reflection, the Rector Major recalled the spirit with which those departing
will carry out their mission: “They will go not as teachers, but as servants,
in the name of the Lord Jesus, to share life…. And in this sharing, they will
offer the best of themselves. I find it something really beautiful!” he said.
Then the rite of
handing over the crosses took place, introduced by the moving invocation to God
for the blessing of those departing, in which Don Bosco’s successor begged for
all of them “the heart of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.”
The festive
celebration of the missionary expedition was made even more solemn by the feast
of Christ, King of the Universe, this year and thus received even more
prominence thanks to the participation of numerous prominent Salesian figures.
Beginning with the new Mother General of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, who was at her first participation in a
similar event, flanked by the provincial of the Piedmont FMAs, Sister Emma
Bergandi, and of concelebrants who assisted Don Bosco’s 10th successor at the
altar, including Fr. Alfred Maravilla, general councilor for the missions, Fr.
Juan Carlos Perez Godoy, councilor for the Mediterranean Region, and the provincials
of the same region, who gathered in Turin.
Because of the
difficulties still existing for international travel, only 9 out of 23
Salesians and 10 out of 11 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians received the
missionary crosses, representing all the participants of the 152nd Salesian
Missionary Expedition. The other departing missionaries who were unable to
participate in yesterday’s ceremony will receive the cross from their
respective provincials, but always in the name of the Rector Major, Don Bosco’s
successor.
The video of the Mass can be seen on the ANS Facebook page.
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