Dunne is the temporary Director of
the community until Fr. Mike Pace
is able to return from Tijuana where
he has been waiting to receive his
visa to re-enter the United States
and is helping out with the Haitian
immigrants who are there.
On Tuesday I return to San Fran-
cisco to spend a few days before
Christmas and Christmas Day at the
Provincial House.
Last Thursday, December 14th, I
nished my visitation of Don Bosco
Technical School in Rosemead and
St. Joseph’s Novitiate and Retreat
Center in Montebello. I spent al-
most a week with the community in
Rosemead. I am appreciative and
thankful for all the work my broth-
ers are doing both at Don Bosco
Tech and at the Retreat Center.
While the community has a number
of brothers and priests who are in
their retirement age, they continue
to give what they can whether it is in
teaching, tutoring or being present
among the young people and sta.
I found the school environment
very positive and friendly. There
is a hunger for Salesianity and for
our presence. Unfortunately, we are
few and not so young. But, we do
what we can. I have challenged the
community to be open to possibili-
ties of making our Salesian presence
and spirit more visible and stronger.
Don Bosco Tech has struggled in the
last few years but there are many
good and positive signs of hope and
growth. We see and hear of more
and more recognitions of excellence
from Industry, the world of science
and other areas of education. So,
congratulations to the Tech com-
munity and thank you for your hard
work and welcoming spirit.
While at Don Bosco Tech, on my
last day of the visitation, the Alum-
ni organized a beautiful Christmas
meal for the faculty and sta. I wish
to thank the Alumni Organization
for their generosity and thoughtful-
ness. The meal was delicious and
plentiful. As I travel around the
province I have become very aware
of the many alumni who love the
Salesians and are extremely grate-
ful for their Salesian training and
the dedication of so many during
their formative years and now. I en-
courage all our SDBs in our works
to continue to cultivate this spirit of
Salesian family and belonging. We
must reach out to them and continue
to invite them to help us reach out
to more young people. We want
to continue to make a dierence in
young people’s lives as others have
done so beautifully in the past. In
my visits to communities I have
spoken of “Institutional Memory”
and the lack of it. I have been made
more aware of how we are losing
our Institutional Memory. As new
people come into leadership we are
forgetting those who have gone be-
fore us and have given so much to
our Salesian Institutions. Donors,
friends, alumni are pushed aside
by some new people in leadership
because they are new and have no
connection to the past. These good
friends of ours are forgotten and
many do not receive appreciation or
a “thank you.” This lack of Insti-
tutional Memory is causing many
hurts and a loss of those who can
help us continue our mission. We
need to reect deeply and honestly
where we might have been responsi-
ble for this lack. We must continue
to cultivate these relationships and
friendships, not just with those we
presently know, but with those from
the past. Don Bosco was a master in
maintaining these friendships.
These days, here at Don Bosco Res-
idence in Orange, we have begun
singing the beautiful Christmas No-
vena. I cannot help but go back to
my memories of Don Bosco College
in Newton, New Jersey where this
novena was sung by close to one
hundred men in formation. This no-
vena continues to be sung in many
of our communities, not by a hun-
dred young men, but by many broth-
2
INTOUCH • December 18, 2016