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Fr Pascual Chavez is the new Rector Major of the Salesians
(ANS – Rome, 3 April 2002)
“I accept the decision of the assembly as an expression of the will of God, and as my response to the call made at my first profession I want to say ‘Yes’ again”. With these words, Fr. Pascual Chavez Villanueva replied to the question put to him by the president of the 25th General Chapter, Fr. Luc Van Looy, who asked whether he would accept the responsibility place on his shoulders by a great majority of Chapter members. All this happened at 17.00 after the first and only round of ballots was held in the hall of the Salesianum. The ballot box was opened for scrutiny at 16.39 and the vote counting was over 20 minutes later.
The official proclamation was accompanied by a very long applause which was repeated again after the acceptance of Fr. Chavez.
Fr. Pascual Chavez is the ninth successor of Don Bosco. Mexican by birth, his last assignment in the congregation was that of regional councilor for the Inter-american region. He is a doctor in Biblical Theology and has been involved in formation. As a superior of the Mexico-Guadalajara Province he consolidated and relaunched the oratories on the border of his nation.
After Fr. Chavez accepted this highest position in the congregation, the chapter members and the Salesians of the casa generalizia congratulated him and paid him tributes as the ninth successor of Don Bosco.
(ANS – Rome, 4 April 2002)
Fr. Pascual Chávez addressed his first Good night as Rector Major to the members of the GC25 and the Salesians of the Generalate. The Good night is a short reflection at the close of the day; it is a practice that goes back directly to Don Bosco and in Salesian tradition has not only an educative purpose but also that of a family conversation with the young and with the confreres.
Fr. Pascual, tongue in cheek, said he wondered whether a secret electoral propaganda had been carried out to “convince” the Chapter members to choose him as Rector Major, considering the number of times mention had been made of the “paschal” liturgy and the “paschal” candle! He thanked the Chapter members for the trust they had placed in him by choosing him as the Ninth Successor of Don Bosco. He invited them to pray that he might fully live up to the high regard they had for him.
Fr. Chávez highlighted the fact of his being the first non-Italian Rector Major; referring to the origins of Fr. Vecchi, he recalled that his parents had migrated to Argentina from Emilia Romagna. This led him to thank the Italians among the Chapter members and the Salesians for their openness and trust in choosing as Rector Major someone who had no links by birth with Italy, and above all for their zeal in being faithful to and communicating the person of Don Bosco, his traditions and his charism.
The new Rector Major recalled with a deep sense of gratitude his two immediate predecessors: he underlined the theological wisdom of Fr. Egidio Viganò and the anthropological and pedagogical concern of Fr. Juan Vecchi.
He then directed his considerations to the Congregation and the Salesian Family, inviting them to courageously launch out into the deep at the start of the new millennium, putting themselves at the service of all youth, especially the poor and marginalized, and strengthening their service to the Church and their love for Don Bosco. He also invited the Salesians to be resolute in imitating Don Bosco, and in embodying his person and his charism in the actual situations and the various cultures in which they find themselves.
Fr. Chavez concluded his Good night by quoting the biblical verse (Heb. 11,27) found in article 21 of our renewed Constitutions, which, by a quirk of providence, is the very same expression he took as his programme of life and printed on the souvenir of his priestly ordination on Dec. 8, 1973 (hence before the new Rule of life of the Salesians was drafted). The verse, which in the Letter to the Hebrews refers to Moses, and in the Constitutions to Don Bosco, confirms yet again – said the Rector Major - the newly-chosen one’s availability to God’s plan; and it defines his service to the Church, to the Congregation and to the young.
The day came to an enjoyable end with a fraternal academy put up by the Chapter members as a tribute to the IX Successor of Don Bosco.
Earlier in the day, soon after his election, Fr. Chavez received a visit from the Mother General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Antonia Colombo, together with her Council.
This morning, Fr. Chavez presided at the Eucharist and gave his first interview; the video-recording will be transmitted at our site sdb.org as soon as possible.
In the meanwhile numerous congratulatory messages and good wishes continue to pour in.
(ANS – Rome, 4 April 2002)
A large majority confirmed Fr. Luc Van Looy’s responsibility as Vicar of the Rector Major for the next six years 2002-2008. He will work alongside the IX successor of Don Bosco, Fr. Pascual Chávez. Two ballot rounds were required to arrive at the majority but already in the first round his name was prominent. The first of the two rounds enabled the gathering of a list of 12 names, but in the second the focus on Fr. Van Looy was obvious.
To the question put by the Rector Major if he would accept the office placed on him by the assembly of chapter members, Fr. Van Looy responded in his characteristic style: “First, to Don Bosco no one can never say no, therefore I say ‘yes’. Second, the work of the vicar is known to me since I have already experienced it. Third, with an excellent Rector Major as Fr. Chávez, who could say no?”.
Fr. Luc Van Looy is Belgian-Flemish, born in 1941. From 1984 he took part in the general council of the Salesians, taking up in succession the responsibilities of councillor for the missions, for youth pastoral, and vicar of the Rector Major. During the last days of Fr. Vecchi, the eighth successor of Don Bosco, and after his death, he held the responsibility of the ‘Deputy’ Rector Major and opened the 25th General Chapter. It was up to him to take up the task of preparing and presenting the report on the state of the congregation during the last six years 1996-2002. After the inaugural session of GC25, a road accident impeded his attendance as the president of the GC25, but he followed the Chapter from his confinement for a little more than a week. In time he took up his post as President which he relinquished yesterday to the newly elected Rector Major.
(ANS – Rome, 5 April 2002)
The members of the GC25 have chosen the first general councillors of the departments. They have chosen Fr. Francesco Cereda for the Department of Formation and Fr. Domenech has been re-elected for youth pastoral.
Fr. Cereda substitutes Fr. Giuseppe Nicolussi who was responsible for 12 years consecutively. After having thanked the latter for his service to the congregation, which had its fullest expression in the renewed Ratio, the Rector Major turned to Fr. Cereda to ask him if he would accept the responsibility proposed to him by the members. Fr. Cereda replied: “I say ‘yes’ to God who calls me through the election at this chapter. Dear Rector Major, I accept”. The applause of the assembly approved his acceptance.
After a few minutes pause, during which the members congratulated the new councillor, the members of the GC25 took up their places in the hall yet again to proceed with the election of the councillor for youth pastoral. The assembly reconfirmed the large majority of Fr. Antonio Domenech who already held this service in the preceding six years. Fr. Domenech also responded positively to the Rector Major: “After having listened many times to my name being mentioned, I want to consider this as a call of God through you all. Therefore I want to say ‘yes’ and will be available to collaborate to the best of my ability with the Rector Major and with all of you with all my heart”. The councillor for youth pastoral also had a long applause and he received the felicitations of the whole assembly.
Fr. Francesco Cereda, 51 years, Italian, is the superior of the vice province of the UPS. He was a teacher in the post-novitiate of Nave (Italy), director of the Salesian Institute of Parma and provincial of the Lombardo-Emiliana province.
Fr. Antonio Domenech, 59 years, Spanish, was the provincial of the Barcelona (Spain) province before he became General Councillor, he was also provincial delegate of youth pastoral and teacher of theology in the city of Catalana.
At 18.00, the assembly continued the process of discernment with Fr. Mc Sweeney to prepare for the election of the councillor for social communication, who will be know tomorrow morning. |
