MESSAGE OF THE PROVINCIAL | OCTOBER 1, 2020

Dear Confreres,

The Salesian Family Provincial Council met on July 20, 2020. There, 11 leaders from the FMA, Salesian Cooperators, DBVs, and SDBs evaluated last year’s action plan, shared changes in leadership at the world and regional level, and reviewed a common calendar. The majority of the meeting was spent discussing the needs of the young today and the responses of the Salesian Family in Canada and Eastern USA. In the end, the leaders present agreed to this simple, achievable action plan for 2020-2021:

1.) The members of the Salesian Family Provincial Council in Canada and Eastern USA commit themselves to support and strengthen the Salesian Family Councils at the local level, in accordance with Art. 46 of the Salesian Family Charter. This might include:

– Requesting a meeting with the local Salesian Family Council during a provincial visitation or attending a local meeting virtually.

– Asking the local director/animator/coordinator to give a report on the activity of the Salesian Family in that area.

– Encouraging the local/regional leaders to coordinate their calendars and plan the important Salesian celebrations together.

– The SDB and FMA delegates will maintain an up-to-date list of the leaders of the groups of the Salesian Family in Canada and Eastern USA.

2.) The members of the Salesian Family Provincial Council will work together to organize Salesian Family Days focusing on the Rector Major’s Strenna.

– 2021 and 2022 Salesian Family Days will be organized at the local or regional level.

– 2023 Salesian Family Day will be organized at the Province level.

– The SDB and FMA delegates and a representative from each Cooperator provincial council will help prepare resources for these Salesian Family Days.

3.) The provincial leaders of the Salesian Family will support some common efforts at communications:

– The new book, The Salesian Family of Don Bosco

– Salesian Family Snippets

– Don Bosco Salesian Portal

– The Salesian Family Vocation Kit

– Salesian devotional materials, especially those that promote the Rosary, Mary Help of Christians, St. Joseph, and the Salesian holy men and women

– Other publications, social media, and digital resources from each Province, as appropriate.

The next meeting of the Salesian Family Provincial Council will again be virtual on Sunday, January 17, 2021, at 1:30 PM EST.

We find in the Action Program after GC28: “In Salesian provinces and Salesian presences, we will make the evident and strong witness of the Salesian Family within the EPC significant.”  The simple action plan of the Salesian Family Provincial Council is a practical way to strengthen the Salesian charism in our territory. We ask the Spirit of God, who inspired St. John Bosco to found a vast movement of people dedicated to the salvation of the young, to renew that same apostolic zeal in each one us and in all the groups of the Salesian Family in our provinces.

Fr. Tim Zak