The PYM Delegate: Pastoral Unity and Guidance

By Fr. Lou Molinelli, SDB, Province Delegate of Youth Ministry

The Salesian Youth Ministry Frame of Reference gives the Salesian Family a detailed description of the role of the Province Delegate of Youth Ministry. Over the next few weeks, I would like to share with our Salesian Family the role of the delegate and the role of the various groups associated with the province office. My hope is to give everyone a clear understanding of how the province office fits into the overall structure of the pastoral planning of the province.

The Province Delegate of Youth Ministry (PYM Delegate) is the provincial’s delegate and works in collaboration with the provincial and his council. His first contacts are the Salesian confreres and the Educative Pastoral Community (EPC). The province delegate is not the one in charge of initiatives or of a single area. Rather, he is the one who ensures a structured pastoral plan and operation of the province and is attentive to all its aspects. It is a role of animation in the Salesian charism, mission, and vision.

Here are some of the Province Delegate of Youth Ministry's direct responsibilities:

• He assists the provincial and his council in the formulation of pastoral programs, directives, and guidelines.
• He calls together and presides over the Office of Youth Ministry and the Province Youth Ministry Team. He supports the local communities in their pastoral planning, implementation, and assessment. He visits the communities of the province in consultation with the provincial for animation in the Salesian charism.
• He supports and cultivates the unity of pastoral care in the province by calling together various gatherings for formation of Salesians, lay colleagues and administrators of various ministries, and young people.
• In our province, he keeps close contact with the national organizations pertaining to youth ministry and the national conversation through involvement in the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministers and the National Catholic Education Association.
• He works together with the Salesian Sisters and the other branches of the Salesian Family in coordinating the Salesian Youth Movement.

The area of animation of the Salesian charism is the responsibility of all of us in the Salesian Family. The Province Delegate of Youth Ministry has the privilege of being able to be a part of all aspects of youth and young adult ministry in the various local and province ministries. This is impossible to do on one’s own!! Next week, I will reflect with you on the role of the staff of the Office of Youth Ministry in the coordination of these efforts.