San Paolo (BAP). On 7 December 2022, the last formation meeting of the year 2022 was held for the team of Communication Coordinators and Collaborators of the Our Lady Aparecida Province (BAP), which was attended by 29 participants, responsible for communication processes in the schools and social works of the province, and in Our Lady Help of Christians hospital in Três Lagos.

In the initial prayer on the eve of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the group recalled one of the most significant charismatic events: Don Bosco’s meeting with Bartolomeo Garelli, which took place on 8 December 1841. The memory of this page of the Salesian spirit recalled the invitation of the Provincial, Sr. Alaide Deretti, to all the Educating Communities to meet on the day dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary and to pray a Hail Mary together, as Don Bosco had done with Bartholomew. It is from this Hail Mary that the Salesian work began.

This was followed by the presentation of the projects selected to participate in the 1st Seminar of Good Educational Practices of the Salesian Network in Brazil, scheduled for 12 and 13 April 2023. Among the ten selected practices, four come from the BAP Province.

In addition to the practical agreements for the face-to-face meeting to be held with all the communicators of the Province in March 2023, in synodality with Social Action and with the collaboration of the Project Manager, Rose Gomes, some concluding points were presented of theProvince Assembly held in mid-November 2022, with the guidelines for action and the strategic choices in response to the Deliberations of General Chapter XXIV.

During the year, the communication coordinators and collaborators undertook a systematic process of formation starting from the Chapter theme, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2: 1-12).

The BAP communication team was also presented, born from the Provincial Assembly, whose members are: Sr. Ivone Calvo Marcuzo, Provincial Councilor for Communication; Sr. Maike Loes, Communications Coordinator; Sr. Maria de Lourdes Becker, Sr. Aline Leite, and Andréa Pereira, contact persons for communication.

The meeting concluded with sharing among the participants and mutual expressions of gratitude for the journey of the year. What emerged most were teamwork, the strength of the network, and the sense of belonging to the Province.