Hajja Salesjana Jan-Mar 2019

24 H AJJA S ALESJANA (ANS - Vatican City)  – Being open and near young people, with special attention to those from immigrant communities, was the focus of the Salesians’ Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, as he spoke at the Synod of Bishops on young people in Rome last October 2018. “Holy Father, first of all, receive my profound and sincere gratitude for the gift you offer to the Church through this Synod. Without a doubt, this is a time of Grace and Presence of the Holy Spirit. I begin by telling you all that I have imagined the theme of the Synod as a pyramid. At the base, there are all the young. Halfway up, young people on their way to the Faith; and at the peak, the young in vocational discernment, to which certainly many less young people arrive. Allow me to tell you what happened to me the day before yesterday. On leaving here, in the afternoon, two young people, about 26 or 28 years old, told me in Spanish. ‘Excuse me, could you tell us why there are people who come out dressed in colored bands and something on their heads ...?’ I immediately understood that they knew little or nothing about the Church and its Pastors. I sensed they did not know what a bishop was. So I explained what we were doing here. I told them that the Pope had summoned many people to reflect upon young people, and that young people are also participating. They asked me if they could see the Pope, because they would have been happy to meet him. Also because they consider him a “man good with everyone.”  I also noticed that they had rings on their fingers. I asked if they were engaged or already married. They told me they were married and had a three-year-old boy. I asked them what their son’s name was and their face lit up. “He’s called Julian.” I gave them my best wishes and greeted these Colombian friends. And in my heart the conviction resounded strongly: these too are our young people! ALL  YOUNG PEOPLE ARE OUR YOUNG . There are no young people inside and young people outside. “All young people are our young people” The Rector Major at the Youth Synod - Vatican City