Don Bosco's 200 Birthday Celebration

The Rector Major Announces Bicentennial

Our Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chaves Villanueva,  is calling us to prepare for a huge celebration of the centenary of the birth of Don Bosco, August 16, 1815. Do you remember the bicentenary of the United States in 1976? Well that was a national celebration. The Bicentenary of the Birth of Don Bosco will be a worldwide celebration.

 Fr. Chaves has developed a three-year preparation for this celebration.  The First Year began this August 16th and asks the Salesian Family to enrich ourselves by inhancing our knowledge of Don Bosco.

Yes, we can start saving up for the fireworks, rallies and banquets, but that is only a very small part of the celebration. Fr. Chaves sees this as an opportunity to grow in our knowledge and appreciation of Don Bosco and his Salesian spirit. He asks us to deepen our salesianity by study, prayer, and renewal. Here is an outline of what the Rector Major proposes.

• First year of preparation:
  Knowledge of Don Bosco’s history: August 16, 2011 - 1 August  15, 2012
• Second year of preparation: Don Bosco’s Pedagogy August 16, 2012 - August 15, 2013
• Third year of preparation:
  Don Bosco’s Spirituality August 16, 2013 - August 15, 2014
• Year of celebration:
  Don Bosco’s mission with the young and for the young
  August 16, 2014 - August 16, 2015