Fr. Joseph Jeyaraj Swaminathan SDB of the Salesian Province of Chennai, has been appointed as a Consultor to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, on 11 August 2026. He will serve in this role for a five-year term from 2026 to 2031.

In a gesture of solidarity with the flood-affected people of Assam, St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, Harmutty, a Don Bosco institution, came forward to extend financial assistance of rupees two lakhs to flood victims in Sivasagar district. A delegation from the school travelled to Sivasagar to assess the situation of the flood-affected people and extend support to families struggling with the aftermath of the devastating floods. The relief fund was raised through the generous contributions of the teachers, students, parents and past pupils of St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, Harmutty.

A new unit of the Association of Devotees of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA) was inaugurated on August 15, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Panjim, with nine members making their promises during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Eucharist was presided over by Vice Provincial of the Salesian Province of Panjim-Konkan Father Banzelao Teixeira, in the presence of Ms Enid Varela, ADMA provincial coordinator, Father Loddy Pires, local animator of ADMA other Salesian priests and more than 400 faithful.