Look
at this news published by the Salesian
News Agency (ANS):
July 17, 2013 - Portugal -
Initiatives to promote the cause of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa
(ANS – Balasar) – Celebrations were held
at Balasar, Portugal, on Sunday, July 14, to mark the 50th
anniversary of the death of Fr. Mariano Pinho, a Jesuit and the first spiritual
director of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa. Some members of the Salesian
Family from Portugal and Italy took part, as did Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator
general of the causes of the saints of the Salesian Family.
To commemorate this
great spiritual director of Bl. Alexandrina, an exhibition of his life was
organized and two talks were given, one by Fr. Darioo Pedroso, SJ, and the
other by a Salesian Cooperator, Maria Rita Scrimieri. The day ended with a
solemn concelebration.
Interest has been
growing in the spirituality and the message of Bl. Alexandrina since the time
of her beatification in 2004. Every weekend, between 3,000 and 5,000 people
visit the places that preserve the memory of her life and testimony. In response
to requests from many pilgrims for accommodation and spiritual accompaniment,
on July 14 the diocese of Braga with Archbishop Jorge Ferreira da Costa Ortiga,
the parish of Balasar with its pastor Fr. Manuel Casado Neiva, and the Alexandrina de Balasar Foundation,
inaugurated a competition for the planning and building of a Eucharistic shrine
dedicated to Bl. Alexandrina.
Work was also started on
the critical edition of the writings of the mystic from Balasar. The Salesian
Family is present in Balasar with the Da Mihi Animas, Cetera Tolle (Give
me souls, take the rest of) Spirituality Center, approved by the Portuguese
Province and promoted and served Ms. Scrimieri.
Bl. Alexandrina, great
devotee of the Eucharist and spokeswoman for the entrustment of the world to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, had as her second spiritual director Fr. Umberto
Maria Pasquale, SDB, who also became a great promoter of her cause for
beatification. He encouraged Alexandrina to continue to dictate her diary when
he noticed the spiritual heights she had reached. She did so in a spirit of
obedience until her death.
In 1944 Alexandrina became a member of the Association of Salesian Cooperators. She wanted her certificate of enrollment placed “where it would be always before her eyes” so that she could collaborate with her suffering and her prayer in the salvation of souls, especially those of the young. Her witness underlines the need for constant personal conversion, and she offers an outstanding example of the sacrificial dimension of the Salesian charism.
In 1944 Alexandrina became a member of the Association of Salesian Cooperators. She wanted her certificate of enrollment placed “where it would be always before her eyes” so that she could collaborate with her suffering and her prayer in the salvation of souls, especially those of the young. Her witness underlines the need for constant personal conversion, and she offers an outstanding example of the sacrificial dimension of the Salesian charism.
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