By Fr. John Puntino, SDB
(Etobicoke, ON – April 18) – The annual meeting of the North American Salesian Network (NASN) took place at Camp DeSales in Brooklyn, MI, from Monday, April 8, through Wednesday, April 10. The institutes, associations, and congregations that form NASN find their connection in the spirituality and pastoral style of St. Francis de Sales.
This year, Fr. Tom Dunne and Sr. Denise Sickinger, SDB and FMA Eastern United States provinces’ delegates for [Don Bosco’s] Salesian Family, participated in person along with Fr. John Puntino, Sr. Alphonsine Roy, and Joe Conroy. They respectively represented the New Rochelle SDB province, Haledon FMA province, and the Salesian Cooperators’ Canadian province. Provincial Sr. Thuy Huong Nguyen, FMA, of the San Antonio province, participated by Zoom. Members of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, who run Camp DeSales, the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, the Secular Institute of St. Francis de Sales, the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales, and Visitation Salesian Network also attended.
NASN is moving toward recognition in the National Catholic Directory as an official entity in the Catholic Church. It is also in the process of reconstructing its website as a source of information, communication, and resources on St. Francis de Sales.