BIS #1367 - DON BOSCO ARRIVES IN ROME

ANS News ROME, MAY 1, 2009: Yesterday evening, April 30, over a thousand of the faithful outside the Basilica of Don Bosco in Cinecittà, welcomed the casket of the Saint of Youth. From children to pensioners, people of all ages and condition, who in their own lives have experienced being the subjects of his love and his mission, were there to welcome him. After fifty years, Don Bosco has returned to Rome, to the district dedicated to him, one of the largest in the city. On the steps of the basilica, after the Police Band had finished playing, several people spoke briefly: the Rector of the Salesian community, Fr Gianni Sirca, the Superior of the FMA, Sr Flora Aldieri, the President of the Province of Rome, Dr. Nicola Zingaretti. These were followed by a Salesian Cooperator, a Past Pupil and a child representing all those who in various ways wanted to greet the arrival of the Father of youth and to express their thanks. The President of the Province, Dr Zingaretti, in his address said: “Don Bosco has arrived, but in fact he has always been here during these fifty years, with his educational work on behalf of the young people of this district and likewise of the whole Province.”