by SrDeniseSickinger | Apr 13, 2023 | Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Anniversary Celebrations, Children, Outreach, Preventive System, Salesian News, Teens and Young Adults
Italy – 13 April 2023 (ANS – Rome) – Seventy-five years ago, in the spring of 1948, the Salesians of Rome led the caravan of boys who from Via Marsala moved along Via Prenestina until they came to populate those courtyards and sheds that still today welcome, educate and give attention to hundreds of needy and at-risk minors. From that moment, the “Borgo dei Ragazzi di Don Bosco” was born, a small town in which the children and their growing needs were the focus of the attention and care of so many Salesians and people. Those youngsters were the orphans taken in by the Salesians, who after World War II had responded diligently to the appeal of Pope Pius XII, who recommended the very sons of Don Bosco to care for the forsaken and lonely youth of the Capital. A few months later, in L’Osservatore Romano, and precisely on July 19, 1948, on the day after the official inauguration of the Borgo Ragazzi Don Bosco by Card. Pizzardo wrote: “Who would have thought, a few years ago, that the vast land surrounding Fort Prenestino would have become a haven for a multitude of children and that the sheds, set up...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Jan 14, 2022 | a current event, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Anniversary Celebrations, Fraternal Love, Missions, Outreach
12 January 2022 (ANS – New Rochelle) – Beginning this month, “Salesian Missions”, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joyfully celebrates its 75th anniversary – a significant milestone in its long and fruitful partnership with generous friends. Together with its donors and friends, it has helped more than three million children around the world turn their lives around. Ever since Father James O’Loughlen first established the Salesian Missions office in 1947, with a charter to tell the stories of our global works and rally support for our efforts, it has achieved success after remarkable success, not for themselves, but for the poorest, most disenfranchised, and most vulnerable children and families living in more than 130 countries around the world. “Those successes are truly countless,” says Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “More importantly, they are individually significant and transformative. Ever since I stepped into this role three years ago, I have heard about so many children and adults whose names I will always remember. These very real people are building much brighter futures thanks to the education, training, social support and other assistance they needed but never could have accessed on their own.” And it...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Dec 21, 2021 | a current event, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Missions, Outreach, Past Pupils, Salesian Family Gatherings, Salesian Past Pupils, Social Commitment
By Mr Peter Kovac, DBPP General Secretary – Don Bosco World Confederation Slovakia – USA, 21-12-21 — The Di BOSCo Coffee Salesian Family Gathering took place last Saturday, 11 December at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon, New Jersey (USA) from 2:30 – 4:00 PM. It was a great opportunity to meet Mr Peter Kovac, Don Bosco Past Pupil from Slovakia and Co-Founder of Di BOSCo Coffee, and get him to tell the Di BOSCo story. The event was free and conducted in the spirit of Don Bosco’s Oratory and everyone, especially families with children and students, were welcome! All felt at home in this Salesian atmosphere of faith, fun, friends, and delicious snacks: coffee, chocolate, and cookies galore! Fr Tom Dunne, SDB with Sr Denise Sickinger, FMA and other animators of the Salesian Family in SUE province were present at the event (photo). DI BOSCo is a company made up of Don Bosco Past Pupils network – coffee growers, processors, retailers, distributors and coffee shop owners. Started with an inspiration during the Don Bosco Past Pupils World Congress by Thai Past Pupils (Chiang Mai) who brought their coffee to Rome. The...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Dec 20, 2021 | Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Christmas, Outreach, Sacredness of All Life
A must-read Christmas story from Vatican News A file photo from the Good News Ministries archive STORIES WORLD UNITED STATES PRISONS Dale Recinella, the former Wall Street finance lawyer who assists prisoners on death row in Florida together with his wife Susan, shares his experience with a non-profit organization in Tallahassee assisting homeless people with mental issues. By Dale S. Recinella Decades ago, in the streets of Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city, the itinerant mentally ill taught me many important lessons about our shared humanity. I had never intended to get involved with the social security administration and the mentally ill on the streets of Tallahassee. My wife and I were simply trying to be alert to the suffering of human beings in our city and especially in the vicinity of our center-city apartment. While still working part-time in the Tallahassee branch office of a Florida law firm, I am becoming experienced in street ministry. God’s vehicle for this development was Good News Ministries, a non-profit organization founded by a small group of former corporate businessmen. What they all share is the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has radically interfered with their self-seeking secular careers. So, when I meet this group...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Dec 20, 2021 | Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Missions, Outreach, Persecutions, Salesians of Don Bosco, SDB
By Fr. Gabriel Cruz SDB Lahore, Pakistan 20 December 2021 — In the second week of December the Salesian community, Don Bosco Lahore was able to distribute humanitarian aid to Afghan immigrant-refugees and communities in Pakistan. The beneficiaries of this aid have been 200 Afghan families who are in the community of Peshawar. This activity has been carried out with the cooperation and coordination of the local authorities, the police and city administration, who have facilitated the distribution. We are infinitely grateful for the joint donations of the offices of Don Bosco Missio Aachen, Don Bosco New Rochelle, and Don Bosco Switzerland who were the main benefactors. Afghan refugee families in Pakistan are still waiting for a lot of help. Let us continue to pray for them. ...
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