Pope Paul VI Beatified: For the Salesians and the family of Don Bosco, Pope Paul VI was a father full of kindness and affection. (ANS – Rome) – On Sunday 19 October, at the end of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, Pope Francis proclaimed Pope Paul VI Blessed, a little more than five months from the recognition of the miracle of the scientifically unexplainable healing of a newborn child through his intercession. For the Salesians and the family of Don Bosco, Paul VI was a father full of kindness and affection. by Fr Pier Luigi Cameroni, SDB Giovanni Battista Montini was born in Concesio (Brescia) on 25 September 1897. On his election as Pope on 21 June 1963, he stated that he wished to continue the Second Vatican Council and the ecumenical movement that had begun. He implemented the deliberations of the council with great courage, in the midst of many difficulties and disputes. He ushered in the era of great apostolic journeys going first of all to Jerusalem in 1964, and later to many other parts of the world. He wrote numerous encyclicals and apostolic exhortations. Towards the end of his life he was deeply saddened by the kidnapping and killing of his friend Aldo Moro. He died at his residence in Castel Gandolfo on 6 August 1978, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. First as a young priest, and later as Substitute at the Secretariat of State, as Archbishop of Milan and as Pope, he always showed great interest and affection for Don Bosco, the Salesian Family and Salesian work. In Rome, his ties with the Sons of Don Bosco began to intensify when, in 1924, he was appointed Assistant to the Circle of Catholic University Students. For years he had cordial contacts with the members involved in the office of the Procurator to the Holy See and with some communities of the Castelli Romani. Immediately after the war the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians were doing all they could to assist boys and girls in particular need, organizing as many as fourteen centres for them and establishing the work of Don Bosco Boys Town. Monsignor Substitute” as he was called, showed a real love for these young people in ways that were both discreet and effective. On arriving in Milan as Archbishop, he begged the Salesians to bring the relics of St. Dominic Savio to Milan for veneration. It was a practical demonstration of the deep love for young people that characterized his pastoral ministry. Another important sign of his respect for the Salesians and his love for those in need was his decision to entrust the juvenile reformatory at Arese to the Salesians. His had frequent contacts with the Salesians during pastoral visits or at the administration of Confirmations. He had an annual appointment for31 January, the feast of St. John Bosco, when he used to spend the whole day with the Salesians, in the morning at the parish of St. Augustine in Milan and in the afternoon at the Provincial House of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. The talks he gave on those occasions have been preserved. They are evidence of his closeness in spirit, his sharing in the family atmosphere, and the spiritual depth of those visits. As Pope, on his trips to the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, he got firsthand experience of the size of the Salesian world and the relevance of the method of Don Bosco to the needs of contemporary youth. He also intensified relations with the Salesians. He felt at home with the Salesians working in the Vatican Polyglot Press and the Apostolic Library, at the Catacombs of St Callistus, and in the parish of Castel Gandolfo. With some timely interventions, Paul VI guided and supported the delicate work of renewal that the congregation faced especially in the two General Chapters of 1971 and 1977. He urged them to take on some very challenging enterprises, but at the same time to remain faithful to the Salesian spiritual tradition of education and to guard strictly against possible deviations. With some signs of extraordinary benevolence he confirmed the confidence of the Church in the evangelizing and humanizing work of the Salesians. He praised the approach of Don Bosco which was seen to bear fruit abundantly in the various fields of catechesis, education and the Missions. In 1972 he beatified Michael Rua, the first successor of Don Bosco, and in 1973 elevated the Salesian Pontifical Athenaeum to the level of a Pontifical University. For the Salesians and the family of Don Bosco, Paul VI was a father full of kindness and affection. The Salesians often had the impression of being the object of a preferential love, and he himself explicitly stated that he found in their sentiments the right key to understanding his teachings, even the most official ones. Towards the end of his life, Paul VI addressed the members of the 21st General Chapter of the Salesians: May you be blessed, truly understood and supported, and may you be filled with the graces that the Lord prompts us to desire for you and for the world and for the Church! May the Salesian Family always be in the vanguard of the living Church, in touch with the problems of everyday life, well versed in many different phenomena, but always human, always Christian. May you be true Salesians! If you knew how many people, how many events, we have encountered in the past, but your story moves us in a special way and gives us the joy and hope that indeed the Church of today may be that of Don Bosco, the living Church. Finally, it is worth remembering that it is the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians who are the guardians of the memory of Paul VI in his hometown of Concesio. The beatification of this great pope is a source of joy and hope for the whole Salesian Family that recognizes in Paul VI a powerful intercessor on behalf of the mission to which we are called. Published by the Salesian News Agency (ANS) 17/10/2014
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:08:05 +0000
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