Pizza for planning

Aldo Giraudo, Marco Bay and I went out to the Pizzeria Falco Matto for pizza last night. It is more than a month that we keep telling each other that “we need to get together and catch up on the news among us.”

Both Aldo and Marco have spent some time at Don Bosco Hall in Berkeley and are acquainted with the workings of the ISS, the DSPT and the GTU. Their interest goes beyond tourism, however. Aldo has been the one to push for the publication of Arthur Lenti’s monumental study of Don Bosco, and Marco has been the one to make set in motion our own ideas about distance learning. They have spoken; they have acted. All this interest needs to be reaffirmed with the serious planning for the future that can only take place while tasting bruschetta and sharing pizza. So, for the advancement of both the arts and the sciences, we braved the rain storm and the intense darkness, and made our visit to Falco Matto.

First on the agenda was a briefing on latest developments in our respective … um, respective? can I say departments? No, that is not right. Habitats? ummm… well, you work on the bruschetta for now and I will come up with the correct word. What I mean is, I let them know of the latest developments at the ISS and DSPT, and the concrete determination of both Gael Sullivan and Michael Sweeney to affiliate with the UPS through the School of Theology (facoltà di teologia).

Marco Bay surveys the Menu

Marco Bay spent the summer of 2000 at Don Bosco Hall, and has kept close ties with that community ever since. Last night he shared about his work in the School of Education in the area of adult learning packages, videocasts, and the steps he is taking to create distance-learning units for various courses and programs; clearly, Salesian spirituality is to be part of this, in Marco’s mind.

Aldo Giraudo on the terrace balcony of Don Bosco Hall: San Franciso Bay in the background

Aldo Giraudo visited Don Bosco Hall in 2003 and then again in 2006. He made his last visit to Berkeley in January of this year. Since then he has done a lot to talk up the ISS, even addressing the delegates of the General Chapter last March. As we nibbled on our mushroom salad last night, he told us of the developments at the Centro Studi Don Bosco, the courses for those doing spiritual theology with a specialization in Salesian Studies, and the final hurdles to clear for publishing the last three volumes of Arthur Lenti’s work on Don Bosco.

These three topics were nearly exhausted when the pizzas arrived.

Our conversation calmed for a few moments, as we cut into the hot pizza and took abundant care not to burn our mouths on the hot cheese. However, with heroic determination, we continued through our grueling agenda.

Aldo commented on how significant he found the symposium in 2007 on the motto of Don Bosco, Da mihi animas, coetera tolle. He had, in fact, been one of the participants in that week-long event organized at Don Bosco Hall by Ian Murdoch of Australia and Thomas Prendiville of San Francisco. Twenty Salesian scholars from Europe, Asia, Australia and America participated in the study symposium, and the acts were published. A follow-up should be taking place at Berkeley next summer, but Aldo also feels that we should plan an international, day-long seminar at the UPS. The theme of that could well be the Introduction to the Devout Life. The year 2009 will be the 400th anniversary of the publishing of that important work by Francis de Sales. This cannot be neglected, said Aldo.

As we waited for dessert, we brainstormed the names of Salesian scholars in Europe. Marco wrote down names and topics on a piece of the newsprint table cloth, and before we could spoon into the lemon custard, he was promising to enter all these names into his computer and email us with an outline of a proposal.

Espresso and a little glass of grappa ended the planning session. Ah, such rigor. With the second glass of grappa, we simply exchanged pleasantries, and ended the evening gathering… not without a lot of laughter.