San José (Costa Rica). The 26th CIMAC/NAC-MESOAMÉRICA Regional Meeting was held in San José, Costa Rica, from 9 to 14 February 2025. The event brought together 18 Provincial Referents of Education from Central America, Mexico, the Antilles, and Haiti, representing 16 Provinces of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Salesians of Don Bosco, and the Daughters of the Divine Savior, present in 13 Countries where the Salesian Charism animates numerous educative centers where children, young people, and adults are formed.
The central theme of the meeting was, “Paths for the future: planning for the next five years and implementation of the Salesian Significance Document in schools”. During the meeting, the key objectives for strengthening Salesian education in the region were discussed: to elaborate the strategic planning of the region; to organize the phases of regional formation; promoting the discussion and implementation of key actions related to Strategic Planning and the Salesian Significance model, in order to advance in the future Paths by implementing the Document on Significance.
The event was opened by the regional referents, Sister Eva Doris Meza (FMA-Divine Savior Province (CAM) and Fr. Carlos Alberto Montoya (SDB-MEG), along with the local referent, Jessie Arroyo (CAR), who welcomed the participants. Also the Referents of the Salesian School America (ESA) – Sister Ivone Goulart Lopes, collaborator of the Youth Ministry Sector, and Fr. Claudio Cartes, of the Dicastery for SDB Youth Ministry – welcomed everyone.
The General Councilor for Youth Ministry, Sister Runita Borja, reached the participants through a video message, emphasizing the aspect of hope and saying: “The true place of encounter and accompaniment of the new generations is the school, the educative work. In these days, let us remember all the schools that exist in our Countries to commit ourselves to develop the strategic plan of the Region.” She also cited three guidelines for action inspired by Pope Francis, summing up the seven commitments of the Global Educative Pact: “The first line of action is to focus on the essential. The second is welcome. The third is involvement.”
The Vicar of the CAM Province of the Salesians, Fr. René Antonio González, highlighted, “our hope is a journey towards Christ and this is what we offer to young people and to those who work with us. The love of God, which is reflected in our Founders as pastoral charity, to bring young people to Christ, educate them, and evangelize them, requires the courage to be themselves, to recognize one’s own identity in the gift of God, and to invest their energies in a precise responsibility.”
The Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province (CAR), Sister Sandra Elizabeth Fernández Yela, expressed her joy at hosting the event, recalling the challenge to facilitate the encounter with the Lord in the school. “I believe that one of the secrets of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello was their union with God. The challenge we have now is to bring God into the hearts of young people, because this is one of the strongest threats we have in school: that families bring their children without any knowledge of the Lord.”
Sister Lesbia Arecelis Rodas, Provincial of Most Holy Savior Province (CAM), through a video message encouraged to “ensure the relevance of the Salesian School in the American continent; it is an exciting challenge for those who labor in educative works.”
The Superior General of the Daughters of the Divine Savior, Sister Amarilis Noemí Orozco Vásquez, also sent a video message of encouragement “to continue working with hope, like Don Bosco and our Founders, with a big and loving heart for young people.”
Sister Ivone Goulart Lopes invited to “look to the past with gratitude and to the future with hope in this jubilee year ‘Pilgrims of hope’. Education is an act of hope that, starting from the present, looks to the future. Let us dream, imagine together the school of the future! A meaningful school, of quality, sustainable, integral, at a time when we are experiencing an epochal change.”
While Fr. Claudio Cartes added, “In the continent we have decided to go forward, to continue strengthening the meaning of our educative projects for the new generations and their families in today’s new socio-cultural contexts. We will be significant through an increasingly Salesian leadership; through a pedagogy oriented to integral growth and evangelizing; through a pastoral accompaniment that takes care of all; Promoting integral and therefore meaningful results that enable the transformation of our societies.”
A family whose children are students of the FMA Schools presented a cultural moment, a lively folk dance performance.
Several formation sessions were held during the meeting, including:
– Strategic results, Salesian identity and meaning with Christian Jiménez.
– The Rector Mayor’s Strenna and the Jubilee Year with Fr. Carlos Montoya.
– Dimension 4: Managing significant results with Laurens Torres.
– Digitalization and evangelization with Sister Kirce Veras Quezada and Jose Ramón Concepción.
– Significance and motivation model – salesian Leadership – with Sr. Patricia Parraguez.
– Guidelines of the Department of Education and OIEC, UISG-USG, CIEC, ESA Central Commission – with Sr. Ivone Goulart Lopes.
– Evaluation of the ESA 2024-2029 Strategic Plan with Fr. Claudio Cartes.
– Animation and pastoral accompaniment with Jessie Arroyo.
There were also moments of sharing on the reality of each Congregation and on the evaluation of the strategic plan, with conclusions and challenges for the Salesian School
The participants also experienced a special moment of spirituality, visiting Casa Maria Auxiliadora “Obras Sociales Sor Maria Romero” in San José, where the Mausoleum with the remains of the Blessed are present.
This meeting reaffirmed the commitment of the Salesian schools in the integral formation of children, young people, and adults. Through strategic planning, educative innovation, and strengthening the Salesian charism, the future transformation paths up to 2029 have been mapped out. At the end of the event, the participants shared an evening of fraternity in the Salesian spirit.
