SAFCAM Communique #57 - English

SAFCAM Communique #57            20/06/2021       

Dear Subscribers

Happy Father’s day!

SAFCAM team update:

Fr Camiel sends news from his ‘Pauline’ journey across ATE –

‘I visited Bouar in CAR by road. It was the only community to visit in CAR; the others were visited by Don Guillermo. Then, I returned to go back to Guinea ... but, in the meantime, plans have changed again: now it's Chad first. I am waiting for an official document from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chad (today) to go to their embassy and obtain the visa. I need another Covid test today (my nose has already been well trained after so many tests!). If all goes well, I should travel tomorrow afternoon to Douala, stay with the Brothers of La Salle, and take the plane to N'Djamena on Friday morning (06/18).

I’ll visit 3 houses between June 18 and 27: these will also be a rather brief, but it is necessary, because at the beginning of July, I should already be in Equatorial Guinea at last to finish there on the 7^th July. It remains to be seen how I will get there (after a detour through Addis perhaps!). On July 8, the meeting of the Rectors of  ATE with the provincial council is planned, in order to conclude the visit with a draft of the final report. I will need to prepare the final report later in July. I am waiting for a notice from the Rector Major to see when I should report to Rome. At the moment, I am maintaining my return trip to Nairobi for July 12th.

Greetings to the confreres!’

As for myself I have been involved with the DBTech project which is preparing a manual for Child-Safeguarding and Protection for the Salesian works in the region. Today I leave for Addis to present a quinquenium workshop and two annual retreats for AET confreres. I look forward to this first opportunity for face-to-face intervention in a long time. I hope I will be able to connect while there. If not, there will be no weekly Communiques for the next 3 weeks!

A response to last week’s communique from Don Silvio Roggia

Regarding devotion to the hearts of Jesus and Mary, I would like to contribute a little reminder of how SALESIAN these two ‘highways of the Spirit in the Church’ are.

Mary-Margaret Alacoque was a member of the Visitation Sisters, the order founded by St Francis de Sales. She had the revelation from the Sacred Heart - that opened the way to all that the Devotion to the Sacred Heart has been for the Church – 51 years after the death of Francis de Sales! That is surely not just a coincidence. All the formation of the Sisters of the Visitation was personally monitored by Francis de Sales and all based on the heart. The treatise of the Love of God is based on the frequent conferences Francis had for the first group of the Sisters. The symbol he chose for them is a Heart pierced by two arrows: the love of God and the love of neighbour. Of this second ‘treatise’ we have the list of chapters and contents which he intended to write but did not due to his untimely death.

We can say that the devotion to the Sacred Heart has a deep Salesian taproot.

The consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was done by Pius XII at the request of the Salesian Co-operator Alexandrina da Costa – supported by the great and inexplicable mystical gift that accompanied it before and after the consecration done in October 1942. Of course there is a connection with Fatima, but in Fatima, Russia was the main focus… With Alexandrina it became the entire world! So, there is a ‘connection’ between the Sacred Heart the Immaculate Heart of Mary with Salesian grassroots!   Ciao, Silvio

Have a look at the latest postings on www.safcam.org !

God bless - have a great week and remember Joseph Cafasso on Wednesday.

Camiel (from N'Djamena) and François (Nairobi, and Addis by Sunday night)