Santiago (Chile). From 21 to 24 April 2025 in Santiago, at the Salesian Theologate, the annual meeting of the School Leaders of the SEPSUR School Sector of the CICSAL Interprovincial Conference of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the CONO SUR Region of the Salesians of Don Bosco, composed of 9 Provinces from four countries: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The objective was to draw up an annual regional plan that integrates the principles of the Salesian school and the needs of the regional context, with the intention of offering a quality education that promotes the integral growth of young people of the Salesian realities.
At the meeting – organized by Sister Cecilia Poblete, Referent of Saint Gabriel Archangel (CIL), CICSAL, and by Marcela Galindez from Argentina North, representative of CONO SUR – there were 16 participants, including some representatives of Youth Ministry of the SDB and FMA Provinces, to strengthen the synergy of educative and pastoral processes.
After the prayer and united to the whole world in suffrage for Pope Francis, during the initial greetings took place the presentation of the participants, the objectives, and the agenda of the meeting. They then listened to the messages of the General Councilors for Youth Ministry – Sister Runita Borja, FMA, and Fr. Rafael Bejarano, SDB, through video – and representatives of the Sector and the Dicastery for Youth Ministry for the American continent, Sister Ivone Goulart Lopes and Fr. Claudio Cartes, present at the meeting.
“Your appointment as Provincial Referents for the school is a sign of confidence on the part of each of your Provinces. It is a good opportunity to weave networks and relationships so that in all our schools a typical Salesian environment is ensured, as places suitable for a critical cultural elaboration, matured in the constant comparison with the Christian vision of the person, of existence, history, and the construction of professionalism according to a life plan inspired by the values of the Gospel,” said Sister Runita Borja.
While Fr Rafael proposed a metaphor: “Together, as the Salesian Family, we are walking to reach our goals in reflection on sustainability, in the significance and identity of our Salesian charism, in our shared schools. How to achieve this? I propose an image. What is sustainability? It is the balance between the social, economic, and ecological for all organizations at international level, in order to achieve integral human development. Here we find the figure of the surfer who is riding the wave. It faces many variables that can affect its activity: sunlight, wave speed, water strength… And what should the surfer look for? Balance. This is what we seek with sustainability: a balance between our finances, our social commitment, and the impact we generate on the environment. This is connected with significance, which is the other side of the sustainability coin. The significance is in harmony with our charismatic identity, with the committed work of lay and religious people, and with our constant action, always oriented and inspired by the Preventive System.”
Sister Ivone Goulart began her message by encouraging, “Let us dream, let us imagine together the school of the future! A meaningful, quality, sustainable, integral school.” She then recalled that the Jubilee will be the culmination of many educative projects and initiatives that are developing around the world in Catholic and non-Catholic schools and universities, where millions of people build their own project of life.
On 30 and 31 October, when the Jubilee of the Educative World, will be held in Rome, the program will be structured around the three “languages of education” proposed by Pope Francis. The language of the mind, with moments of reflection and thought on the great educative challenges; the language of the hands: with the Education Village, a space to present experiences and new educative models; the language of the heart, with spiritual proposals and inner experiences that link education to the totality of reality.
The calendar will be enriched by other proposals that bring into dialogue with the Church’s doctrine on education: the conciliar declaration Gravissimum Educationis (60 years), the apostolic constitutions Ex Corde Ecclesiae (35 years), and Veritatis Gaudium, as well as the recent Global Pact on Education and Culture. Sister Ivone then delivered the text, translated into Spanish, of an article published in Portuguese in the ANEC Magazine of 2021 with the title, “Recalling our charismatic identity: creation of a Salesian educative network in America”, together with some reports.
Fr. Claudio Cartes recalled some fundamental principles of the journey of the Schools saying:
“The process of the Salesian School is well reflected and expressed in the history presented in ESA V and in the Identity Card, whose principle and foundation concern an educative network that, starting from the Preventive System, is at the service of children, young people, and their families, in a key of collaboration, identity, and collaborative work. The journey towards Salesian significance in schools began with the four axes developed in ESA IV, in 2017, precisely in relation to the proposal to continue deepening the unity of the educative proposal in reference to the quality of education, sustainability, and the Salesian charism.
Starting from this unit, we continued to use the term that seemed more relevant, already present in scholastic work (salesian significance), and so, after the work of the commission and the diagnosis of the regions, which allowed us to highlight the state of the processes, some axes (dimensions) were elaborated, in the light of the experience of the regions and their Countries, which made it possible to monitor and accompany the journey: Salesian Leadership, Pedagogical Management Evangelizing, Animation and pastoral accompaniment, Management of significant results”.
In the formative moment, Fr. Manolo Cayo, SDB of Argentina, deepened the theme: “Evangelize the Currículum”, and Sister Cecilia Poblete presented the Model of Significance. There was also a presentation of the ESA Planning, and group work, coordinated by Marcela Galindez, followed by the elaboration of the planning and the continuation of the work by Country.
The days were held in an atmosphere of great fraternity, enthusiasm, and interest for the continuity of the processes generated.
“To educate is to wager and give meaning to life. Educating is accompanying and teaching to find a meaning in things” (Pope Francis, Address to Catholic Educators, 13/02/2020)
