Why do the Salesians of Don Bosco organise cultural and artistic events? The answer comes from Don Bosco himself, who dedicated all his life to the education of the young people, especially the poorest.
He had a humanist approach to education.
Don Bosco wrote books, published books and had a very organised library because he believed that a good book is the best friend to a young person in the process of his education and maturity.
Don Bosco’s love for books was demonstrated by Giovanni Albertotti, his personal doctor, who wrote about the Salesians’ founder physical, pathological and psychic life.
Don Bosco was endowed with boundless energy and drive, coupled with confident submission to the designs of providence, and everything was directed towards the salvation of souls. While he perceived the need for some order of priorities in meeting the various needs, the one thing he could not do was remain idle as new institutions were created around him.
As he himself often said, the fact that many intellectually gifted boys were being denied an opportunity to achieve their real potential, gave him no rest.
The Salesians of Don Bosco will be holding various cultural activities in aid of their mission among young people most in need in Malta and Gozo. With this in mind, a book fair will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, between 9am and 7pm on both days at St Patrick’s Salesian School, St John Bosco Street, Sliema.
A book contains a world of culture, information and knowledge- Don Bosco
Among the items on sale at bargain prices, will be hundreds of old and rare Melitensia books.
Apart from raising funds to assist in our mission among the less fortunate young, the aim is also to stimulate the love for the book and promote Maltese history and culture.
Many people throw away books which we, Salesians, collect with love and dedication, having in mind what our founder used to teach us:
“A book contains a world of culture, information and knowledge.”
I am convinced that the best friend you can have is a book. I believe that what we are doing is saving precious and, sometimes, very rare treasures, which are not appreciated by some, from being thrown away or destroyed.
We have been organising book fairs these past 20 years and many books were collected during the COVID pandemic, so the choice keeps getting wider.
So, please, come and bring your friends to buy these books and help the Salesians of Don Bosco in their sterling work among the young, especially those most in need.
And bear in mind what Mark Twain once said: “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
For more information, contact Fr Charles Cini on 7949 2555 or via charlescini@ gmail.com.