Ronald Menezes SDB

 Today is the death anniversary of Fr Ronald Menezes, a Salesian Priest from Mumbai.  I was in the same community as he in the year 2003 at Matunga.  I was a student then, studying outside the community or the Salesian educational institutions.  

I remember him for his gentle ways of keeping all of us in the community together.  He was a hard worker and expected everyone also to contribute their mite in keeping the works going on smoothly. One of his most striking features was his enthusiasm. He was always optimistic and enthused about life.  That was really contagious.  Be it among the confreres, the school teachers, people who came to the Shrine, or even the boys in the campus. 

He was always present in his rectors office which was in the school building.  Every school day morning, he would be at the entrance of the primary section greeting children and parents - always in his cassock.  He was such a familiar figure among the tiny tots that one day one of them walked up to him and said, 'Your mummy is at the gate!' Ronnie was shocked.  (His parents were long deceased). Looking at his face the boy realised that he didn't believe him. So the little one took Ronnie's hand and dragged him to the entrance.  And whom does Ronnie see there?  A nun, in a habit!  The little one had linked the 'matching clothes' and figured out that the one in the habit would be the mother of the one in a cassock!

I most appreciated his love and care of the boarders.  We then had nearly 60 boys with us in the Matunga boarding.  And he knew each of the boys, their family background and their strengths and weaknesses.  It was he who warmly exhorted us, three Brothers, to visit the homes of the boys during the holidays.  We went grudgingly.  But that one visit to the homes of the boys, made a big difference for our relationship with the boys.  When the boys returned to the boarding, most of them had a totally different outlook towards us.  They saw us Brothers as friends and relatives, who knew their families, their homes, their real living condition.  They didn't have to put on masks because we knew their real condition, and didn't treat them any different or less because of that.  

Ronnie was also very good in relating to people and roping them in to assist in the various works of the boarding or school.  He was keen that we three Brothers meet him every month.  And he was keen that we keep him abreast of our reading material and progress.  I think that was because he himself was an avid reader.  It was evident from his sermons and reflections.  

Anyway, I was blessed to have him as the Rector of the community when I was in Matunga.  And today, I thank God for him, in a special way.  

Measuring tapes, sewage pipelines and philosophy

 Three years ago, I was asked to take up this task of being the Economer of the Province.  At first when told, it did not make any sense to me.  All my Salesian life I was being prepared and had been working in the formation line, that too teaching Philosophy.  Now all of a sudden, one is asked to take up a task, which is astronomically miles away from teaching philosophy! 

The first time that the actual reality of taking on a totally different responsibility hit me was when measuring land at Mallepally.  Thathi was still around. It was not even a month after taking charge and both of us were at Mallelpally, assisting in the land survey.  While assisting, at one point, it was just Thathi and myself at one end of the measuring tape and he smiled. When asked what that smile meant, he replied, "Instead of a chalk you are now holding a measuring tape!" Of course, he was kidding and he knew the context even before his tenure as the Provincial. 

Even this morning was a crude reminder of the same 'change of line'. It struck me that the toilet pipeline of the second floor need not come down right to the ground level and run under the basement of the dining hall and kitchen to exit at the other end of the building.  Now that there evidently is some issue with its free flow, why break our head (again) digging up and investigating that 'underground' pipeline.  Why not run the sewage pipe along the first floor parapet and get it down at the other end of the building.  There is no toilet or bathroom on that side of the building, neither on the ground floor nor on the first floor!! 

And I said to myself, what lovely philosophical thoughts are these!!! 

That said, I hold no regrets! Being a Salesian has helped me see the great value of diversity and the utility of being a jack of all trades! 

Can Salesian Brothers be rectors

Can Salesian Brothers be rectors?

The question itself is wrongly posed. Rather than ask whether ‘Can SB be made rectors?, one should ask, ‘Who should be rectors?’ It is not about priests or brothers, but persons with charisma, with the passion of DB, with leadership skills who need to be appointed rectors! And in that list of qualities needed to be a rector, if priesthood is not a non-negotiable, then so be it. 

Let the holy ones among us, pray for us; the intelligent ones, teach us; and the prudent ones, lead us. (Fr Agilan)

What one needs to work on is the attitudinal change; a change about the perception of a leader.  In that sense I appreciate the GC 29 placing this question, under the structural proposals, rather than in the core topics of discussion. The argument of rectorship on the basis of priesthood and brotherhood, and whatever decision we arrive at on the basis of that criterion, is only doing a disservice to the congregation and the society at large. One direct negative outcome of it would be that the apprehensive and pessimistic attitude we live and exhibit towards the Salesian collaborators will continue! 

For example, if I’m genuinely interested in the welfare of the young people of a school, I’ll ensure that one who is best suited for them would be appointed as principal. Even if that person is a lay person, who is imbued with the spirit of DB. Why should we deny the young, the competence and spirit of a capable lay person; that too purely to give the ‘cassock’ or ‘my friend’ or ‘a titled SDB’ a chance? But if I have no objection to someone passionate about DB and academically competent, as the principal of a school, then what has changed is the attitude; not the role, not the position. My ‘position’ as an SDB, far from being ignored or denigrated, has only been enriched because I have acted in the best interest of the children. We need to strive for such an attitudinal change rather than engage ourselves in power games. 

To those who fear that tomorrow a Salesian collaborator will be proposed and appointed a rector, we need to educate him or her to see that only a Salesian is to be the rector of a house. Therefore, it is then to clarify the identity of a Salesian (as consecrated to God and committed to the young). A Salesian collaborator however committed to the young he or she may be, is not a consecrated religious. 

Again, as a Salesian what marks me out is not my priesthood or brotherhood but my CONSECRATION (something most of us Salesians ourselves either do not know, or understand or are unwilling to accept). So even without being a priest I can be a Salesian – this no one can dispute (and if someone does, then the Salesian Brothers are not Salesians at all; so no question of whether he can be a rector or not!). 

Last of all, I joined the congregation because I loved Don Bosco and wanted to live and work like him. I did not join the congregation to become a rector or principal or administrator or (least of all) the role that I'm now carrying out. Moreover, when I made my profession AS A BROTHER, I was very well aware that a brother is not appointed as the superior. So, the ongoing debate – amusing as it sounds – is something I’m the least bothered to break my head about! I only take this opportunity to see how the Brothers identity, and all the more, the Salesian identity, was, is and will be defined...! 

The lost tribe

 In between the frequent tussle – not so much in person, but at least in principle – between the priest and the brother in the Salesian world, now all the more invigorated due to the recent discussions on whether a Salesian brother can be made rector of a Salesian community or not, there is a silent lost tribe! It is the Salesian cleric. Most often the cleric is either taken for granted or totally forgotten. 

 From the perspective of the cleric himself, I gather most of them like it that they are forgotten! They would prefer to be left alone, lying in wait, a period of tolerant mode, waiting for ‘my time’ ie., post-ordination!

Study for?

 I came across the following passage in the Biographical Memoirs of Don Bosco (BM, XVII, 356)... quite direct and true: 

Don Bosco considered teaching catechism so much the core of his mission, that in one of his dreams the best way the devils could think of for destroying the congregation was to make the Salesians study for the sake of learning and attaining fame.  Then they would give up the festive oratories, teaching catechism and educating poor youth.  This would cut the congregation at its roots and destroy it. 

Once again, a radical challenge to stay committed to the poor, the young!  And of course, the warning about the real purpose of our study: For you (young people), I study...! 

Being young

Today, after a very long period, we went out as a community, to a water park.  Playing in the swimming pool, having a good time, especially on the slides, watching children and their eagerness to play in the water.  Nonetheless at some moments it struck me that young couples and children would have found it hard to understand why 'old men' like myself are also having fun!! 

In fact the realisation that I am not 'their' age, that I'm almost double the age of most of those who were there in the theme park hit me quite strong on a couple of occasions.  But that didn't make me feel any 'older'; in fact, I felt happy to realise that contrary to my bald head and greying hair, I still am quite young!! 

Thanks be to God for this grace of being and feeling young at heart; being a Salesian! That's one of the amazing quality of being a Salesian: being with the young and being so focused on them, one never ages!! 

Vocation story

I was at Karunapuram today.  They began the three-day vocation camp of the Telangana region today morning. I was asked to speak to the 32 boys present about the mysterious ways of God, in the context of a vocation.  I chose to narrate my own vocation story to illustrate the theme.  I also took the opportunity to share about my choice of being a Salesian Brother and its insignificance in the context of my larger choice to be a Salesian!  I'm not sure if the boys understood the gravity of that distinction; but I really do not expect them to - at least at this point. 

Nonetheless, a couple of boys did meet me later and thanked me for the sharing. On my part, I was indeed happy to relive my own camp experience of 1993.  

Wolves to lambs?

Don Bosco, in his dream at the age of 9, saw the vast group of children before him.  He later saw the wolves and was invited to change them in to meek lambs.  

I was pleasantly amused to hear Fr Pascual Chavez, as part of his retreat talks to the GC29 members, speak about the modern need or task of the Salesians: To prevent the lambs from becoming wolves!  

Very very true and challenging indeed. 

Greater challenge, as for me, is to ensure that we Salesians do not turn in to wolves!!! 

Remembering those gone before us

On the first of every February we Salesians remember the deceased members of our Salesian family.  I always felt there couldn't have been a better day to do this than immediately after the feast of Don Bosco.  Of course, we remember those gone before us on their anniversary or birthday and again collectively during our annual retreats, but this commemoration has always been special for me.  It is a nice way of saying 'Thank you' to all those who professed and committed themselves to God and the young and poured out themselves in their own unique Salesian ways in God's Kingdom.  

A collage of the souvenirs of deceased Salesians and Sisters
of this GBR Salesian Province

Among those whom I know and heard, I am grateful for all those with whom I had the good fortune of living and working with.  Specially remember those I've been greatly inspired by ... Fr John Lens and Fr Ronald Menezes, among the many others!

Hope

After long, heard something this morning about the Salesian coat of arms.  The first time I heard of it was in the novitiate, with Fr Samala explaining to us the different elements and their significance.  However, did not bother about it anytime later.  But I do remember writing something about it years ago, perhaps when I was the secretary and helping out with the communication department.  Anyway it was good to revise something of it today: that the anchor on the Salesian coat of arms signifies hope.  

Here's what each component signifies: 

The shining star, the large anchor, and the heart on fire symbolize the theological virtues; the figure of St. Francis de Sales recalls the patron of the Society; the small woods in the lower part reminds us of the Founder; the high mountains signify the heights of perfection toward which members strive; the interwoven palm and laurel that enfold the shield on either side are emblematic of the prize reserved for a virtuous and sacrificial life. The motto Da mihi animas, caetera tolle (Give me souls, take away everything else) expresses every Salesian’s ideal.

The Salesian coat of arms appeared for the first time in a circular letter of Don Bosco on December 8, 1885.

Luckily it has been kept simple and clear.  No one (yet) has had the bright thought to modify it.  Am sure someone sometime will come up with a different, more modern representation.  But for now, this will do! 

MHoC novena (day 7)

Aptly dedicated and in appreciation of women...

Women, especially all mothers, are truly doctors of the body and the spirit!

Reminiscing Br Dennis

My first and the most profound memories of Br Dennis are related to his time at Punganur. It was during a summer formation programme held at Punganur (I think in 2003 or so) that I met and interacted with Br Dennis for the first time. Initially when he addressed us, practical trainees, during Goodnight talks in the summer formation programme in Punganur, I hardly understood anything at all. I thought I was the only one not to get him, only years later to learn from my companions that most of them too were no better than me in understanding his talks. However, interacting with him in person, individually, was a different matter. I understood and appreciated better the little he said. Not that his language was articulate, but his expressions were! Very much like his name-sake cartoon strip, Dennis-the-menace! Short, laden and sharp.

Since that first interaction, the name 'Br Dennis' was no more just a name. There was a face to it. A known person behind it. Though I never lived with him in the same community, we did meet occasionally and for brief encounters. With his short and whacky haircut, stout stature and that wobbling gait he always stood out among the rest. My appreciation for Br Dennis grew when I was in the Provincial house, as the secretary and I heard his ayurvedic doctor, whom he used to meet once in a way for treatment of his legs, say that the condition of his legs was due to constant hard labour – with utter disregard for his own body! His long years of hard relentless work in the fields was catching up with him. And this time, his leg wouldn't let him outrun the strain and pain.

My most profound memory of him brings me back again to Punganur. This time in 2015 – by this time he was away from Punganur for quite some time. During the few months that I spent in the community there, I occasionally went out into the fields to lend a helping hand with the farm work or repair of the motors. On several such occasions, I ran into some of the neighbouring farmers. Striking a conversation with them, one name that would come up constantly and with great admiration, was that of Br Dennis. The local farmers there still remember him as a true farmer. Someone whom they connected with, more as 'of their own kind' rather than an aristocratic clergy or academic. Some of them even disliked him because he proved more efficient at farming than they did!

These few and scattered interactions with those who knew and worked with him, and with Br Dennis himself brought out for me certain characteristics of a true Salesian Brother – totally dedicated to his duty and responsibilities, greatly passionate about manual labour, and for better or for worse, with the Salesian community. He never felt bad about not being in the elite white-collared rung of society (civil or Salesian). He was perfectly at home with the mud and crops and the rugged TVS which carried him and the farm produce to the market! No huge construction or financial project or erudite book may bear his name, but his rugged strong hands and his wonky feet bear testament to his dedication and passion – constant, prolonged and total. His personal needs were very very limited – and those who knew him, know exactly what they were! Thus besides the community life and his responsibilities there was hardly anything at all that distracted – or attracted – him!

For me, he leaves behind a legacy of hard work, immersed community life and detached sense of living one's religious life. And of course, his sharp witty sense of humour! For this and much more, I feel honoured to have known him in my lifetime.

Service from the ambulance

Today is the death anniversary of Fr John Connelly, who died in 1991, aged 71.  He belonged to this Salesian Province of GBR. 

It is said that he was a diligent bursar.  On one occasion, when he was the bursar at Battersea, there was a meeting for which confreres were slowly arriving.  Unfortunately Fr John suffered a heart attack.  And as the ambulance was taking him to the hospital, Fr John noticed Fr John Gillhiney arrive.  Lying in the ambulance he looked out and told Fr Gillhiney, "Yours is room number 47!" 

Old habits die hard!  Even though his heart was struggling to beat, his brain was ticking sharp and focussed! 

Fr Casarotti

Today is the birthday of Fr Mauro Casarotti, one of the great Salesians I have had the fortune of meeting and interacting - though not very closely - especially during my early years of formation.  I met him for the first time while in Nashik while studying philosophy.  He was actually based in Mumbai but would occasionally come to Nashik and hear our confessions.  I don't really remember much of the confessions I went to him for but remember very clearly his joyful presence along with us along the corridors of Divyadaan.  He was already very elderly then but he was a typical grandfather to all of us. 

As if that personal experience was not enough, I also heard about a very intense and tragic incident that happened during his term as provincial of Mumbai many years ago.  Hearing it first hand from the one who was at the centre of it all and how he truly felt Fr Casarotti's support, not as a provincial, but as a very loving and understanding father, made a great impression on me. 

I got to know him more closely when I was back in Mumbai Province for my communication studies in 2005 - just two years before he passed away.  I was in Matunga, the school community and he was in the Provincial house.  He was still working in the propaganda office of the Shrine and I did meet him once at his desk in the Shrine office.  But it was mostly as my confessor that I remember him during my year at Matunga.  I met him regularly in the provincial house in his room or in the parlour.  Still the same lively smile and welcoming spirit.  Age had only managed to bend his spine, slightly.  Nothing more!  For me he was like Fr John Lens.  The same spirit of generosity, openness, a kind of understanding that made me feel completely at home.  Even if there was any hesitation or doubt about whether I should ask him or speak to him about something, the moment I would meet him, all those hurdles would just vanish.  That was his simple presence.  The same for Fr Lens.  And I didn't have to explain things in detail or at length, they just understood me perfectly. 

Consider myself truly blessed for having met and lived in the time of such stalwarts of the Spirit and Salesian life!  

The Father knows!

Last night I was asked to give a talk to the Salesian Cooperators of Chertsey.  They were about 20 of them present.  I was asked to speak about Don Bosco and the Sacrament of reconciliation.  I shared of how my personal insight changed my understanding of Don Bosco's notion of confession. 

The sacrament of reconciliation was always a kind of obligation that I felt needed to be fulfilled, earlier as a baptised member of the Church and then much more later as a professed Salesian.  However, it was only a few years ago that I began to really appreciate the sacrament for its great value.  And it was mostly the person of the confessor that made a whole difference in this aspect.  Have seen ample confessors who were so strict and abiding by the rule that confession was a real act of pain and suffering.  After the confession it a sense of relief that a 'job' is done, rather than savouring the grace of being blessed! 

What changed for me was the simple insight that the "Father knows!" So it was not something new that I was speaking to him about. There was nothing that would surprise Him, given the fact that I'm living in His presence.  So what's the whole confession about if He already knows? It is basically an acknowledgement of my present state of life, coupled with a genuine desire to be better.  This realisation helped me change my attitude towards confession and I really began to cherish this sacrament. 

Don Bosco's own writings and goodnights are rife with hell, sin, death, and all that stuff usually related to the sacrament of reconciliation, as was the trend of his times.  However, from my reading of his teachings, he never advocated confession to his boys as a fulfilment of an ecclesial obligation. He always recommended it as a means of personal experience, for growth and progress.  Boys loved going to confession to him. He personally gained and learned much about this sacrament from his own confessor, Joseph Cafasso.  It was from all that reading and especially observing the following photo of Don Bosco (one of the earliest original photos of DB) that it struck me that the boys not only were convinced of the fact that the "Father knows", but also felt greatly reassured by the knowledge that even "Don Bosco knows!" So it was a double, "Father knows!"

Notice the faces of the boys.  They are so serene.
No one's distracted or curious about the photograph itself - given this is the earliest history of photography
(at least in the oratory)

Confession was not restricted to the confessional anymore.  It was a continued relationship. It is in this light that Don Bosco's quote made great sense to me:

Want to be saints?  Here's the secret: Confession is the lock; the confidence in the confessor is the key.  This is how you open heaven's gates. 

Confession is the lock.  Confidence in the confessor is the key!  My earliest experience of shame and fear and guilt were replaced by a sense of love and comfort.  Mostly thanks to some of my confessors, especially Fr Lens. With him, I was at home. I did not have to be different.  I did not have to sift and mince words.  There was no fear or shame.  He knew me well enough that there was no need of a confession at all; but me confessing was me taking responsibility for my growth and him assuring his - and God's - continued support! 

As I was putting down these thoughts for the talk, it then occurred to me why Don Rua felt greatly pained when in 1908, the Vatican forbid the Rector to be the regular confessor of inmates.  I always thought he should have felt happy that he could focus more on being with the boys rather than being confined to the confessional.  But like Don Bosco, he had grown so intimately with his boys that not being with them in the confessional was like cutting out one important portion of their lives.  I realized how difficult it would have been for his boys!  That is not recorded anywhere!  In my years in the formation commission, I had neatly collapsed the distinct roles of the rector, as best non-compatible.  But I also understood my predicament why there should be such a fuss about Rector also being the confessor (and final authority on voting).  If I've been open to him, in and out of the confessional, I should have nothing to fear.  And if it in confidence that I have opened up to him, then I am also convinced that what he says and does is for my own good - even if it meant him asking me to pack up and go home!  Of course, in all of this the person of the rector or confessor does make a huge difference!  

Don Bosco without the young

Attending the (anticipated) feastday Mass of Don Bosco in the Salesian parish today was very ironical for me.  There was already the announcement in the Parish last week of this day being the feastday Mass.  However, there were only the cooperators present for the occasion.  In all we were about 30 people.  But looking around I noticed that I was one of the youngest of those present in the church!  The only two who were younger than me were small children (less than 8 years old).  In a sense it was a very weird feeling that I could not shake off - celebrating the feast of the father of youngsters without any youngster! 

What I consoled myself with - or tried to - is the fact that this is true of every Sunday.  If there are no young people on any given day, expecting them to appear on the feast of Don Bosco is most illogical.  At one moment I was asking myself if Don Bosco were to have appeared on the scene today, rather than in 1815, if he would do the work he then initiated.  Perhaps not!  He certainly wouldn't feel the need for a religious congregation, perhaps an NGO. 

Living tombstones

The other day I took a walk to the cemetery and also to check if the undertakers had completed their restoration work of the two plots of deceased Salesians.  They indeed did a decent job and was happy to note the names of the second plot, the slab of which had fallen and I couldn't get it up to read the names of those buried therein.  

 I did click these two photos and then too a small stroll round the place. Just when I was about to leave I remembered that there are a few Salesian Sisters too buried right next to the Salesians.  In fact, the FMAs were here in Chertsey much before us.  And it is their school and property that we are now owning.  So I took a while to pray at their tomb too.  They have 14 Sisters buried there in two separate plots - the same number of deceased Salesians buried in Chertsey.  The statue of Mary Help of Christians is on one of their tombstones.

On one of the tombs of the Salesian Sisters I noticed flowers.  I had seen them earlier too.  I guess someone in the vicinity still remembers atleast one of them.  I doubt if any of the relatives of these Salesians or FMAs ever visited this place.  But I suppose those buried don't mind or miss them!  All the good that they did when they were still walking on the earth would certainly be more than what they ever wanted.  All those touched by them and now making a difference in the lives of others, would be the real tombstones and memorials of these deceased.  

Remembering Fr Panampara

Yesterday was the fifth death anniversary of Fr Panampara Abraham.

that's him with his worn out multi-purpose towel!

I'd known him only as a fervent missionary who was often fooled by confreres for being a 'hose-pipe missionary'... the sort who believes in merely baptising everyone whom he comes across within the first day of meeting the person and not bothering about them later on!

However, I'm also aware of what he was before he consciously opted to be part of Hyderabad Province and this radical evangelization mode.  He was the one who threw open the doors of Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur, the then largest institute of higher education in Salesian India, to the poor and the dalits.  It was Fr Panampara who took that bold and radical step of making higher education possible and feasible for the dalits.  Many of those who were the initial beneficiaries of this decision of his, were in touch with him even till the end of his days (read this news bit on donboscoindia).  They attributed their present well being in society to his generous and visionary personality.  He always had a standing and open invitation to the past pupils meet.  All his trips were sponsored and he always returned with gifts... one of which was a laptop, which I was helping him learn to use (that was when I was in the Provincial house in 2008)!!

Of course, later on in years, he totally gave up the education field he was initially involved in and was a fervent advocate of direct evangelisation.  He would not spare any occasion or anyone, when it came to 'preaching Christ!'  He wrote books on catechism and sacraments, was the first to bring out Telugu hymn cassettes (Stuthigeethalu), printed telugu hymnals, started the catechists training centre at Ponnur... never one to back off from a challenge.  Most of us youngsters loved pulling his leg and he loved it too.

the province pioneers: Br Gabriel, Fr Benji, and Fr Panampara

So on this day would like to remember him and thank him specially for his legacy of hard work, dedication and commitment to live and work for the poor and those really on the margins of society.  

Universality

We concluded the meeting of the revision of the Salesian Rector's manual this afternoon.  Not much achieved by way of new ways or thoughts, but the process itself is appreciated.  The fact that confreres, at both personal and community level all over the world/congregation had an opportunity to offer their feedback was itself something good and great.

Listening to the various views and opinions I realised the diversity of our worlds.  Most often the only thing that seemed common to all of us in the hall was that we were all 'Salesians'. Apart from that everything else seemed different.  We were divided by our languages, cultures, experiences, age groups, regions, thoughts, plans and even convictions about how things ought to be in the future.

This emergence and understanding that the Salesian world has outgrown the 'Italian' origin and stronghold only gets confirmed and takes different expressions.  I had heard of this, read of it and in some ways even felt it.  But being the first international meeting that I was attending, this fact was so strongly felt in person for the first time.  

Salesian Rectors' Manual (history)

Some excerpts from a discussion with Fr Barro Erra Giovani, one of those closely involved in the formulation of the first edition of the Rector's manual which was published in 1986.

Paul Natali was the main brain and hand behind it.

Context:

• Ongoing formation a new emerging topic of discussion.   How to go ahead in the light of the resistance of confreres to take part in the ongoing formation, was one of the highly discussed issue. 
• With whom does the rector work? (concept of the community) Issue of the numerical consistency of the community ... A survey done then showed that half of the congregation had only 3 or less confreres.  In such communities, religious life was lived as ideal.  (So among them they agreed that one practices poverty, one obedience and one chastity).
• The question of work. The intricate connection between consecration and mission. 

Contextual challenges for today:

• Multi-cultural context of the present times.
• Pope Francis' insistence on the spirituality of communion ... different from merely living in a community (The 80's had hardly any discussion on communion, it was only on community).

Salesian Brothers as Rectors?

• Volume of 600 pages on the issue of Salesian Brothers being Rectors of communities... Brs were asked, Holy See was approached, professors at UPS were consulted, Ricceri was the RM.  Later, Fr Vigano published the manual and also made an intervention on the Salesian Brother being a rector... highly theological.

Your suggestion for the revision team:

• I was more as a confrere than as a rector... but if there is one thing I must say, I insist on the numerical consistency of the community and relationship between the confreres.  Today there is individualism in the community.  Young confreres soon pick up a very fractured idea of community, from their apostolate... each confrere working in his own sector and meeting the community only at meals.  Take a look at the new document on religious life, 'New wine in new wineskins'. 

About 12 members in the drafting committee. Formation department surely had Fr Brocardo.
Duration: done quite fast, near a year after the release of the ratio

Reaction of the confreres to the manual:

• Well received, in general but also some commented that it was too lengthy... generally accepted because it was new, there was nothing like it before.