After the General Council's Work in Valdocco

After the General Council's Work in Valdocco (Turin)

Fr. Stefano Martoglio, vicar of the rector major,

and Card. Angel Fernandez, rector major

(ANS – Turin – Jan. 29, 2024) – The December-January winter plenary session of the SDB general council ended on Friday, January 26. At the end of the work, the data relating to the work carried out during the session was shared.

The general council met 39 times, and Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, with the consent of the other members of the council, appointed the superiors of 10 provinces. 58 members of provincial councils, 84 directors, and a novice master were also appointed.

At the level of Salesian houses, three works were canonically erected (in the India, Guadeloupe, west central Africa), and a new presence was initiated. Eleven reports on extraordinary provincial visitations were studied.

On December 22 the SDB council met fraternally with the general council of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Another important time was the 42nd annual Salesian Family Spirituality Days in Turin.

The end of this winter session also marks the end of the general council’s presence in Valdocco (Turin), while the Salesian headquarters at Sacred Heart in Rome was being renovated. The council’s stay in Turin for all their plenary sessions began in the spring of 2022. Outside of plenary sessions, the different departments of the Congregation were distributed in different places between Rome and Turin.

The entire general council is grateful to the superior of the Piedmont-Valle d'Aosta Province and to the communities at Valdocco for their fraternal welcome during this period. The motherhouse was a favorable place for this period of life and work at the service of the Congregation.

In the coming months, the headquarters community will gradually return to Sacred Heart in Rome. The summer session of the general council will take place there.

The work on the house there has not been completed, but it is at such a point as to allow the community to return to its premises. The renovation will continue for another year, involving buildings for pastoral activity at Sacred Heart, and will thus complete the great and important works that have been done in recent years.