AFW DECEMBER 2010 Ghana – Liberia – Nigeria - Sierra Leone
Dear Confreres, Receive warm greetings from Rome, from the Rector Major, all the members of the General Council and the 9 provincials who have just concluded their formation course held at Casa Generalizia in Rome from 5 th to 20th December. This ongoing formation experience has been for me the crown of a series of graces received from the Holy Spirit in these past two months after sharing our CIVAM meeting and the annual retreat with the RM in Johannesburg.
Fr George Crisafulli is in Rome attending the meeting held at the Pisana for New Provincials. As he wrote in the circular letter his heart is still very much in Africa: “Every day my mind and heart fly to West Africa”. While in Europe he is taking the opportunity to visit our students studying there in different study centres as well as visit our benefactors and collaborators. In the picture we see him with Fr Chuks and Br Job. From Rome he writes to us sharing his thoughts and reflections in his familiar, open and direct way.
I came to Rome with a deep desire of sharing, learning and listening to the RM and his councillors and the other provincials. From the first moment I felt warmly received and at home despite the cold weather and the freezing galleries of “La Pisana” (thank God I got a warm jacket from a Salesian brother who died 2 months ago!) We had 4 working sessions a day with 2 intervals. The Eucharist was presided by one of the General Councillors everyday and the good night was given by the Regional Councillors who in turn presented the reality and challenges of their own regions. Each evening we had the chance of having a personal talk with each General Councillor and of course a personal talk with Don Pascual Chavez. It was amazing for me to see how deeply the RM and his Council know the reality, the people, the problems and challenges of our dear AFW Province. In each personal chat with them I was able to present each one of our presences, the situation of our communities, especially our formation communities. Don Pascual, all our superiors have so many dreams and so much hope on Africa, on our Province and its future. They look at us with strategic mind as I told them that God is blessing us with many vocations, that out of 139 confreres, we have 103 in initial formation; that we have 12 communities but we are dreaming with and like Don Bosco about expanding our presence to new geographical and youth frontiers in our 4 countries. I insisted about the potential of AFW for the Church and the Congregation, that in our Province we have more than 100 million young people who are below 25, that they are waiting for us and that we are trying to embrace them with our missionary heart, 1