Hajja Salesjana

Cordial greetings, my friends, readers of the Salesian Bulletin and friends of Don Bosco’s charism. I know that speaking of anything that refers to armed conflicts and totalitarian regimes of one or another ideological ilk is always a delicate matter because it touches people in many different ways. There is “family heritage” in terms of political positions and then there is the cultural environment in which one lives. Although I am aware of this, history cannot be changed. It can be rewritten to fall short of the truth, but that does not change what happened. In the case I wish to relate, it is the history of a young Salesian of Don Bosco, a Brother, Stephan Sándor. Stephan Sándor is not a young man whom I met on one of my trips but he was a young Salesian martyred in Hungary and now beatified. At the age of thrity- nine, Stephan was sentenced to death and executed during the dark years of communist rule in Hungary. Of what crime was he accused? He would gather boys for sports, youth activities, and to teach a trade. This was considered high treason to the regime. Yet Stephan’s story is very special: in terms of his conviction, how he saved STEPHAN SÁNDOR COMES HOME THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR: Don Ángel Fernández Artime (ANS) «A series of miraculous coincidences surrounded and enhanced the solemn celebration for the blessing of the relics of Blessed Stephen Sandor, who had been martyred for “being a Salesian.”» 20 Ottubru - Diċembru 2022 hajja