Africa-Press – Angola. More than five thousand faithful from various parts of the country are expected, starting Friday, for the traditional annual pilgrimage to the Diocesan Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mary Help of Christians, in the city of Ndalatando (capital of Cuanza Norte) , aiming at a journey of prayer and renewal of faith.
Under the auspices of the Salesian priests of Dom Bosco, the event has been attended by pilgrims from various municipalities in Cuanza Norte and the provinces of Cabinda, Luanda, Benguela, Moxico, Cuanza Sul, Huambo and Uíge, where the congregation is represented.
In an interview, the Salesian priest, Augusto Samuel Francisco, clarified that the event, lasting for three days, will be marked by prayer novenas, confessions, candlelight procession, prayer vigils and a closing mass.
He referred that the event will also be marked by the official presentation, to the faithful, of the space where the new Marian sanctuary of the diocese will be built, since the current infrastructures no longer correspond to the demand, on the occasion of the annual pilgrimage.
According to the priest, the new space, located in the town of Sobocoto, on the outskirts of the city of Ndalatando, the congregation of the Salesian priests of Dom Bosco intends to erect, in addition to the sanctuary with a larger temple, leisure areas and infrastructure for accommodation of the pilgrims.
The space will also include other services, which it did not specify, and accommodation for visitors who come to the site, at any time of the year.
The missionary said that the start of the works, to be carried out with funds resulting from the contribution of the faithful, is only dependent on the fulfillment of some bureaucratic situations at the level of the local administration bodies.
With its activity focused essentially on the pastoral mission, education and professional training of young people, the Missionary Congregation of the Salesian Fathers of Don Bosco, founded in Italy, arrived in Cuanza Norte at the end of the 1980s.
The Salesian Congregation or Salesians is a religious congregation of the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by Saint John Bosco and approved in 1874 by Pope Pius IX.
The official name of the congregation is Society of San Francisco de Sales, in honor of Francis de Sales, but its members are popularly known by the name of Salesians of Don Bosco, which determines its initials: SDB.
The main recipients of the Salesian mission are young people, especially the poor and at risk. In view of these recipients, they also work in popular environments, with attention to evangelizing lay people, the family, the social communication and among peoples not yet evangelized.
The congregation is composed of brothers of consecrated life, who take simple vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Salesians can opt for the priesthood, so there are Salesian priests and brothers.
The Salesian Congregation was the first institution to constitute the Salesian family. Among the works of the Salesian Congregation, one can mention the schools and charitable services, spread across various parts of the world.
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