The Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Fr Ángel Fernández
Artime, has launched the Salesians worldwide an "ad gentes" missionary
appeal, addressing "all those confreres who feel called by the Lord to
live their Salesian vocation in this particular form: being available to
be Salesian missionaries 'ad gentes, ad exteros, ad vitam'."There are three reasons for this appeal. The evangelizing mission in the world requires Salesians to go beyond, to open up even more "to give a response to the many requests that continually come to us from the Church".
Furthermore, "in some nations of the five continents there are no Salesians who can offer their service, whereas in other places the apostolic strengths are more numerous".
He mentions the young people waiting "in the context of Project Europe, in the Middle East, in countries with a Muslim majority, in the islands of Oceania, in South Sudan, Mongolia, Siberia, Cambodia and Malaysia, as well as among the young migrants of the American continent".
Finally we need to retrieve the great "missionary passion" of Don Bosco. The Rector Major writes in his appeal to have visited 44 provinces in the world in recent years, and is increasingly aware that "it was the missionary impulse that made the Congregation universal in the Church and in the world".
Fr Ángel Fernández Artime therefore launches a "strong appeal" and calls for generosity and prayer, urging the Provincials and Rectors not to quench their "missionary restlessness" but rather to fulfil their desire in the proper manner already well-established in the Congregation, namely, the usual, serious process of discernment needed to cope with this restlessness. He also invites all the Salesians in the world to pray for this intention".