by Father Chris Valentino
MUMBAI, APR 20, 2018: The Mumbai Salesian leaders of communities gathered for a day-long meet at the Don Bosco Provincial House, Mumbai on April 19. The meet was coordinated by Father Savio Silveira, the Mumbai Salesian Vice-Provincial. The purpose of this meeting at which 40 leaders were present, was to review the academic year 2017-2018, and to plan for the next academic year.
The meeting began with a concelebrated holy Eucharist, following which Father Godfrey D’Souza, Mumbai Salesian Provincial welcomed and addressed the leaders. He invited the leaders to take note of the two big events at the national level, of which the Boscoree - the national gathering of Don Bosco scouts and guides - will be held at Nashik and the Brothers’ Congress scheduled at the same time in Bengaluru. He further added, “All our communities have expressed solidarity with each other. It is good that we continue this practice under the guidance of Father Manuel Murzello, the Provincial Economer. Furthermore, we need to prepare ourselves for the forthcoming Provincial Chapter 2019.”
Father Savio Silveira then coordinated the feedback and evaluation of the team visits, the PASIF, the retreats and invited the leaders to voice their opinions. The leaders then went through the draft province calendar, with suggestions and clarifications. Father Glenford Lowe, the provincial delegate for youth ministry then presented the highlights from the Salesian Family and Youth Ministry International Conference, in which along with Father Anton D’Souza and Father Richard D’Silva, he represented the province. He said, “It was a very good learning experience, especially in the light of the Youth Synod that is coming up and we have tried to invite some of the facilitators for our own Salesian Youth Movement animation beginning June 2018.”
Post lunch, the leaders gathered together to evaluate the community lines of action within the perspective of the Provincial Chapter 2016. In a moment for group sharing, the leaders shared how the life of the communities has been enhanced, the key changes that these lines of action produced, and the issues that could have been dealt with but were undone. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate whether the objectives have been met through the lines of action, resulting in productive outcomes. The various commission heads then presented a brief report of the implementation of the lines of action expected, as a consequence of the Provincial Chapter 2016.
The day ended with a hymn to Don Bosco with the leaders expressing their gratitude to Father Goyal Anthony and Father Vinod Mascarenhas for the warm and cordial hospitality.