Hajja Salesjana - Oct-Dec 2021

27 H AJJA S ALESJANA MUCH GREATER THAN THE HILLS OF MONFERRATO THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR DON ÁNGEL FERNÁNDEZ ARTIME It was the month of August 2015. More precisely, it was the afternoon of August 15th and we were celebrating the 200th anniversary of Don Bosco’s birth with 5,200 young people from all over the world in the International Youth Encounter (SYM DON BOSCO). Initially, with an idealism far removed from reality, we on the planning team thought it would be possible to walk with those 5,200 young people from Turin to the hills of Becchi, the place where John Bosco first saw the light of day. The distance would be about 35 kilometers. But we soon realized that we had to give up our plan. It would be very difficult to keep up a good pace with so many young people. In the end, we decided to do something very simple, which is directly connected with many of Don Bosco's autumn walks with his boys. We started the walk in Castelnuovo Don Bosco, the town where he was baptized and where he celebrated one of his first Masses. We walked those eight kilometers that separated us from Becchi together with that great column of young people — but under a torrential downpour all the way. The rain had been predicted — and it came. But this mattered nothing to us and much less to those young people. I could not stop imagining Don Bosco surrounded by his boys, carrying baskets of bread for their lunch or snack, and musical instruments to cheer them up wherever they went. Do you know that behind it all is a precious vision — one both educational and spiritual? I could continue to develop this thought myself in telling the story, but I have chosen to leave it to one of my Salesian brothers, José Miguel Núñez, who has an extraordinary talent for writing: For many years, Don Bosco used to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary at Becchi, accompanied by a handful of boys who All of Don Bosco’s pedagogy is encapsulated in these autumn outings: familiarity and camaraderie; joy and celebration; a time to walk, as one walks along the paths of life; space for conversation and friendship; and Don Bosco’s good and kind presence.