Hajja Salesjana Jan-Mar 2019

5 H AJJA S ALESJANA In 1983 the first Salesian Congress was held in Sliema from the 21st to 22nd May. To mark the occasion, several superiors were present: Don Gaetano Scrivo, vicar of the Rector Major, Madre Maria del Pilar Leton, vicar of the Superior General of the Salesian Sisters, and Dott. Giuseppe Castelli, President of the World Confereration of Past Pupils. In 1985 Fr. Charles Cini was appointed World Delegate of the Rector Major for the Past Pupils of Don Bosco, a role he kept until 1992. It is worth noting that two Maltese past pupils have also been appointed as World Treasurers of the Association, since. 1986 saw the opening of Dar Dun Bosco, better known as the Dingli Oratory, in the centre of Dingli village. Many boys and girls and older youth have been attending regularly ever since it opened. It has proved to be a blessing for the village and for the Parish of Dingli. In 1987, the Salesians opened a hostel in Sliema. Thanks to Fr. Carmel Mifsud, Ms. Osanna Pia Bell left her house to the Salesians to be used by boys in need. It was later enlarged when the Salesians bought the house next door and is presently offering a residential programme for homeless young men of both Maltese and foreign extraction. Following developments, in 2010 the work of Dar Osanna Pia was extended to another large house for young adults in need when Dar Mamma Margherita was leased to the Salesians for 30 years. This building was extensively refurbished and received its first residents in June 2014. In 1989, the Salesians in Malta accepted the responsibility of a big school in Tunisia. Frs. Joe Cini, Fabio Attard and Mario Mule’ Stagno were the first to go there. Many confreres were assigned to the work in La Manouba, and worked hard to make this new initiative as successful as possible. Fr. Mario was also for some time in charge of a large Marist school in Tunis. However, for many confreres the work in Tunisia was not an easy mission. This was understandable given the overarching impact of Christianity and Islam and the cultural dissimilarities between the Maltese and Tunisian milieu. A shortage of available confreres coupled with the shocking murder of the Bursar, Fr. Marek Rybinski in 2011 led us to ask the Superiors to relieve us of this mission. The remaining confreres in the community, Fr. Laurence Essery and later, Fr. Mario Mulé Stagno, were reassigned and in 2013 the school in Manouba, Tunisia started to be run by confreres from the Sicilian Province.