Dear Fr Angel,
our Rector Major and Tenth Successor of Don Bosco,
Today we remember, the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the first anniversary of your election during General Chapter XXVII. It is nice that in this celebration there are some inspectors, confreres and lay people coming from all over the world as a sign of the unity of the whole congregation.
It is a day in which we address ourselves first and foremost to God, expressing to him, especially in this Eucharist, our gratitude and our thanks for the gift he made to you all, to the Congregation, to the Salesian Family and to the young people. Let us also raise our invocation to him, asking for you the necessary grace in the exercise of your guide service: fidelity to the Lord Jesus and to Don Bosco, the gifts of counsel and discernment, courage and prudence in decisions, fraternity and closeness to all, serenity and joy, health.
Today we remember what you lived and experienced in your heart on that day of the election: the awareness of the responsibility that awaited you, the trepidation for the burdensome commitments that you had to take, but also the trust in God, in Mary Help of Christians and in the confreres who would have helped you. Then as Maria answered: "Here I am".
We spent an intense year together and we experienced your authoritative guidance, in the multiplicity and variety of commitments due to the beginnings of your service, to journeys to get to know the Congregation and the Salesian Family, to the Bicentenary of Don Bosco's birth. We know and appreciate the ways that you repeatedly propose to us starting from your closing address of the GC27: the charismatic identity rooted in Don Bosco; the predilection for the young, especially the poorest; the commitment to the "mission ad gentes" and to the internationality and interculturality of the communities and provinces; the shared mission with the laity and the Salesian Family; transparency and responsibility in the management of economic resources; the testimony of poverty; the humble service that shuns the display of power and strength.
God reward your dedication, your tireless activity and your efforts with the most beautiful fruits that you expect from all of us, especially from our community of the General House: generous availability, loyal collaboration, competence and study, work precise and punctual, fraternity and sharing, but above all our love for the Lord Jesus and Don Bosco, the radical and joyful witness of our consecrated vocation, the Salesian identity, the sense of belonging to the Congregation. This is what we want to offer you today as a gift.
Best wishes for the journey ahead of us and thanks for everything
