Country’s south turns into mission land for young people from Salesian environments

Porto Alegre, Brazil

Among the many Salesian entities that took advantage of the weeks of July to organize youth missionary expeditions, there is also the "St. Pius X" Province of Brazil-Porto Alegre (BPA). As such, the Salesian presences of Guarapuava (State of Paraná), Rio do Sul (State of Santa Catarina) and Porto Alegre, Viamão, Santa Rosa, and Rio Grande (State of Rio Grande do Sul) have become mission lands for about 340 people, including teenagers, religious, leaders, and organizers.

Coordinated by the Youth Mission Animation (AMJ, in Portuguese), a missionary volunteer project with teenagers from the BPA Province, the large team of "missionaries," divided into smaller groups, visited as many as 1,631 families in different stages during the period July 10-27, bringing them enthusiasm, joy and witness of the Christian life.

"We were very happy to have been able to give dynamism to this project of ours and to carry it out in presence, since for the last two years, due to the pandemic, we had been able to carry it out exclusively online. It was very nice to be together, to share life, dreams and above all to have a good experience of Salesian missionary volunteerism," testified Fr. Sérgio Ramos de Souza SDB, Provincial Delegate for Salesian Youth Ministry. In addition to the visits, the mission weeks featured prayer, workshops, oratory activities, and vocational accompaniment.

The missions in Paraná State were hosted by the "Dom Bosco" educational institute and "Dom Bosco" parish in Guarapuava, conducted during July 10-16. In the State of Santa Catarina, it was the Salesian institute "Dom Bosco" and the parish dedicated to St. Jude in Rio do Sul that hosted the missionaries, on July 17-23. While in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, the three missionary animation projects were held simultaneously, from July 23 to 27, with children and youth hosted by the "Dom Bosco" institute in Viamão, the "Novo Lar" center in Porto Alegre, and the "Dom Bosco" institute in Santa Rosa and the "Leão XIII" institute in Rio Grande.