Formation issues over coffee

My return flight to Rome yesterday was the same as that booked by Paul Formosa, who has come to Italy for a series of formation meetings in Turin. I met Paul at his house — St Alphonsus — at 7.00… and after a quick cup of coffee, Eric Cachia brought the two of us to the airport.

Paul Formosa, Salesian leader of Malta

Malta's airport is stupendous: open spaces, a great atrium, marble floors, spacious areas for clearing security… and there it was basically empty when we got there. So we had a chance to have another cup of coffee as we waited at the gate. How cool is that? Instead of tight chairs crowded in the gate area, Malta's departure lounge if filled with tables and chairs. There are diners and cafes here and there, and you can sit at a table and chat with friends while you wait for your flight to be called. Amazing, really.

Paul and I reviewed the events of the last few days before he went on to speak of his purpose in coming to Italy. Malta has two young Salesians in the second year of theology at the Crocetta in Turin, and one novice at Monteoliveto in Pinerolo. There are consultations these days of all the provinces that have young people in these formation programs, and Paul wanted to arrive early so he can speak personally with the two Maltese theology students before the meetings take place.

The problem of choosing the right formation program is felt very acutely by the Maltese Salesians. They are too small to have their own novitiate or theology school, so they must send their novices to other provinces. In the past they have sent them to England, to Ireland, to Sicily (for novitiate) to Rome, to Ireland, to Israel (for theology). Now they are choosing formation houses in the environs of Turin. This is where Don Bosco started… where the Salesians started. It is not a glamorous place, as Maynooth, Rome, Bethlehem or Jerusalem would be. But, do you know what? The young Maltese in formation really like these communities (Monteoliveto and Crocetta).

Salesian house at the Crocetta in the 1970s

What is wrong with the program in Jerusalem or Rome or All Hallows in Ireland? Great programs, all of them, but they leave a feeling of discomfort for the Maltese Salesians, says Paul. The Salesians in Malta live in environments that are small and very personable. Rome is big and dispersive. All Hallows has a great academic program in pastoral theology, but Ireland itself has no young Salesians, so to study there is to forego a peer group. Jerusalem is … well, besides being a bit dangerous at the present time, is not as organized as it could be. It offers a program in English, but all the resources remain in Italian.

It may seem strange to say that formation in Turin is more on the small, personable side which appeals the the Maltese. Turin has a population of two million people, but there is a small town feel to it.

This comes through with the theology program at the Crocetta. It is community based. Studies in theology are done in an environment of discernment, vocational and personal. The community is international, with about 60 students, but everything is oriented to the same goal. This differs from Rome, where each person works out his own program in a university setting. Rome stresses degrees; Crocetta stresses preparation for a life of ministry in community.

So this was the gist of the discussion between Paul and I. We spoke of all this and more over coffee, and during that time several people came up to greet him… several of them cousins, actually. At 9.10 we began to the boarding process for our flight to Rome, and continued the discussion of formation, of youth ministry, of education and catechesis, of the life of the Salesian Family in Malta, in Ireland, and a few English-speaking countries where we have common friends. 

Once we arrived in Rome, Paul continued to Torino for his week of meetings, and I took the local train to Rome's northern end. I got off at Nuovo Salario and walked back to the University. It was clear, sunny, windy, wonderful. It took me 20 minutes to make the uphill trek, and I had just enough time to clean up for the mid-day meal: Sunday dinner. For the rest of the day I washed clothes and got nostalgic for Malta.

Easter journey and retreat preparation

Last night (Easter Sunday night) a group of us left Rome for Torino. The group included students and staff from the UPS, from Testaccio, as well as various Salesians from the Roman province. Our destination is Annecy, for the annual retreat. We will be led through the retreat by Morand Wirth through the places of St Francis de Sales.

I am making this my annual retreat, and while I have been to Annecy three times already, I have never spent more than two days there. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this.

Okay, we got to Torino at 6:30, and reached the mother house at Valdocco at 7:15. Waiting for us was John Roche, who is from my own province of course. John is also taking part in this retreat, as are several others from the Don Bosco community of the UPS. He did not come with us on the bus last night because he traveled to Torino directly from Treviso, where he has been helping with Holy Week confessions. He has now had the experience of the Cure of Ars, for from the Saturday before Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, he was hearing confessions for seven hours every day. And because there were a lot of people for the masses too, he was needed to preach. He said he learned more Italian in the confessional than in the Italian classes he took last September!

After morning prayers in the church of St Francis de Sales, and breakfast in the pilgrim lunch room, there was free time until 11:00 mass in the basilica. I saw a friend of mine from the 1970s, Franco Lotto. We visited for about an hour, but then I noticed that our Roman group was wandering around aimlessly. That's when it dawned on me. It is Easter Monday, which is a holiday in Italy. All the shops are closed today! So what are these guys going to do for the next two hours before Mass?

Saying goodbye to Franco, I went and found John Roche and a couple of Indian classmates of his (both of whom are named Sebastian) and offered to show them some of the historical places in the vicinity. They were pleased with this, and so I took them on a brisk walk to see some of the places within walking distance: the Rifugio, the little Hospital of St Filomena, the mother house of the Sister of St Anne (all founded by the Marchesa Barolo), the Cottolengo, the Insane Asylum (where they tried to cart off Don Bosco, but he slammed the carriage door on the monsignori, and they ended up there instead), the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, the main street of 19th Century Torino (Grosso Dora) and the path that Dominic Savio and John Cagliero used to take to get to school, the school where Savio, Rua, Cagliero, and classmates did their Middle School, the church of St Francis of Assisi, the City Hall, the church of the Dominicans where Don Bosco and the Oratory Boys ministered to the Cholera Victims in 1854…

Monument to St Joseph Cottolengo at the famous hospital that he founded

As I say, I brought them to these places really quickly, just touching the surface, since we only had about 90 minutes. But John and the two Sebastians were very happy, since they had heard of these places, but never even seen a photo of any of them. If there had been time, I would have taken them to the Cathedral to see the Shroud (encased, not on display), but there was no time really.

After mass and a quick lunch, we left Torino for the four hour bus ride to Annecy. Annecy is the home town of Francis de Sales. There were 57 of us on the bus (a bus which was designed for 40, but which has squeezed in more seats. It is not exactly American Airlines for leg room!) Then this evening, we started the retreat formally.