Juan Edmundo Vecchi – “Letter of the Rector Major” in “Acts of the General Council of the salesian society of St John Bosco”

The Rector Major is writing at the beginning of the year L997, expressing hopes for a happy and fruitful year marked by the presence of the Lord in community life and pastoral duties. He envisions recipients as deeply committed to implementing GC24, which serves as the collective agenda for the next six years. This commitment is reinforced by reports received from the Provinces.

Additionally, the General Council has focused its attention on key aspects deemed essential within the guidelines of the Chapter.

Contents:

• Introduction
• A history open to the future
• The new ecclesial sensitivity
• Starting again from the Constitutions
• The Salesian Family: constitutive principles
  • 1. It is a single entity
  • 2. An ensemble of groups
  • 3. A necessary element: ecclesiality
  • 4. A requirement: formally constituted groups
• The life of the Salesian Family
  • 1. Vocational participation in Don Bosco’s charism
  • 2. Diversified sharing in the salesian spirit and spirituality
  • 3. Cultivation of a love of preditection for the young
  • 4. Titles to membership of the Salesian Family
• Service to the Salesian Family
  • 1. Animation, a communal commitment
  • 2. The work of confreres who are qualified and willing
  • 3. A competent service from a salesian standpoint
• New perspectives emerging from the GC24
  • 1. The Friends of Don Bosco
  • 2. The Salesian Movement
• Let us return to the young
• Conclusion

Reference time period: 1972 – 1997

Reference institution:
Direzione Generale SDB