SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 26 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Rector Major of the Salesians, Ángel Fernández Artime (Gozón-Luanco, Asturias, 1960), begins his visit to the Canary Islands on May 2. This is an institutional tour, framed in the acts of the 75th anniversary of Salesianos La Orotava and the centenary of Salesianos Las Palmas, which will allow the superior general of the congregation to see first-hand the Salesian work in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
During his trip, he will hold meetings with Salesians, members of the Salesian Family, educators, young people, representatives of the Church and civil authorities, among others.
The program on May 2 will begin at 09:30 with the arrival in Tenerife North, where it will be received by more than a hundred Salesian students from the island’s educational centers. After receiving the delegation, they will go to the house in La Cuesta where they will have a greeting with the Salesian community and, later, starting at 11:30 a.m., have a youth meeting in the courtyard of the educational center that will give way to songs, dances and the words of thanks for this trip.
After the photographic session with the students, there will be a blessing of a commemorative tile and a meeting with the bishop of the Diocese of Nivariense, Msgr. Bernardo Álvarez Alonso, and the mayor of the La Laguna City Council, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez.
During the afternoon there will be a dialogue between the Pastoral Educational Community of La Cuesta with the Rector Major (5:15 p.m.), to close the day with the Eucharist in the parish of Our Lady of Candelaria, starting at 7:00 p.m.
The program on May 3 will begin at 9:00 a.m. in Taco with a visit to the headquarters of the Don Bosco Salesianos Social Foundation to learn about the residential care, socio-educational and socio-labour insertion projects that the Salesian foundation carries out among young people in risk. There he will initially have a meeting with the technical teams. To then have a moment of meeting with young participants in the projects. At the conclusion it will be the turn of Salesianos La Orotava where they will share one of the central acts of their anniversary.
Starting at 11.30 am, there will be a festive meeting to recreate Don Bosco’s ‘oratorian’ style to thank in this way the visit of the tenth successor. After the photographic session with the students and the tour of the facilities (12:30 pm), there will be a visit to the town hall (1:15 pm) with a greeting to the mayor of Villa de La Orotava, Francisco Linares.
During the afternoon there will be a meeting of the entire Salesian Family and Pastoral Educational Community that will end with the blessing of a commemorative tile and the Eucharist for the renewal of the Salesian commitment. A project with deep roots focused on the work in favor of the social and educational promotion of the villeros. A mission that remains intact to this day and that is built on devotion to Mary Help of Christians, who continues to guide the steps of all those who make up this educational and pastoral community and promoting the fulfillment of the founding objectives of La Orotava: to be a benchmark in the environment and transformers of society.
The next stop will take place on May 4 with a visit to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria where they will have the opportunity to share the centenary of the local presence. He will arrive on the island that same Thursday at 8:30 a.m., coming from Tenerife. At 10:00 am he will meet with Monsignor José Mazuelos Pérez, Bishop of the Canary Islands in the Episcopal Palace of the Diocese of the Canary Islands. An hour later, at approximately 11:00 a.m., the arrival at the Salesian presence is scheduled, where young people from the school and from the centers of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians on the island will welcome the X successor of Don Bosco in an academic ceremony.
The morning will close at 1:15 p.m. with the blessing of the tile that commemorates the visit to celebrate the hundred years since the arrival of the first Salesians in the city.
During the afternoon, the scheduled events will begin at 5:00 p.m. with the development of a meeting of the Rector Major with members of the Educational-Pastoral Community and the Salesian Family of Gran Canaria in the assembly hall. Subsequently, starting at 7:00 p.m., the celebration of the Eucharist will take place, presided over by the Rector Major himself, for all those who want to participate in this historic day.
The day will conclude with a toast in the courtyard of the Sacred Heart, which will be open to all those who wish to greet the Rector Major.
The second day of the visit to Las Palmas, on Friday, May 5, will begin at 08:30 with a Eucharist in which the Daughters of María Auxiliadora of Gran Canaria will participate, and at the end they will travel to the airport where the Canarian meeting will end to continue with his itinerary of visits in the city of Málaga participating in the Assembly of Cooperators of the Province of María Auxiliadora.
The program of events and all the information on the visit of the Rector Major of the Salesians to Spain can be found on the web:
www.salesianos.info/visitadelrectormayor
