In his inaugural message, Salesian Provincial of Panjim Konkan, Father Clive Telles, exhorted the Capitulars to focus on the theme, Passionate about Jesus Christ, Dedicated to Young People. He invited the Chapter members to centre their lives on Jesus, focusing on their consecration to Christ. Our consecration, he said, needs to be manifested in our connection with God in moments of prayer and introspection. Furthermore, we have the privilege of working for the young, and we need to continue to ‘waste’ our time with the young, but never waste the time of the young! 

Father Telles invited the confreres to be accountable to God and to the youth; “The Province has given us a mandate by choosing us to be in this Provincial Chapter, and now we need to become accountable for offering creative options, keeping in mind the signs of the time as to how we want to continue to serve the young”. All in all, he hopes to see the Chapter bring about a spiritual renewal in the Province, with each of the Chapter members taking the first steps towards the much-needed spiritual renewal in the consecration to God and to the young. 

Session two, scheduled from January 4 to January 6, 2024, was a dynamic sharing and presentation of the study and ‘learnings’ undertaken by the five Commissions of Provincial Chapter 2024. After the preliminaries, the Moderator, Father Banzelao Teixeira, invited Commission I to make their presentation on the theme, To Animate and Accompany Every Consecrated Salesian. Commission I, headed by Father Ian Figueiredo, put forth their presentation that evoked frank discussion and sharing on the floor of the Chapter and also in the commissions.