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Salesian Youth Ministry Councillor Fr Rafael Bejarano Visits Shillong Province

Shillong, September 8:

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Salesian Youth Ministry Councillor Fr Rafael Bejarano Visits Shillong Province

9 September 2026

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News reported by: Michael Makri (INS)

Fr Rafael Bejarano SDB, General Councillor for Youth Ministry, Rome, arrived at Shillong Airport on September 8 for his maiden visit to the Salesian Province of Shillong. He was briefly received at Siloam before proceeding to Don Bosco Provincial House, Mawlai, where Salesian priests, brothers and staff welcomed him warmly.

In the evening, Fr Bejarano animated members of the Province’s Youth Ministry Commission, representing its four dimensions—Social Experience, Education and Culture, Education to Faith, and Vocation and Career Guidance—as well as members of the Young at Risk (YaR) Commission. Around 25 Salesian priests and brothers took part in the session.

Focusing on the Oratory Criterion, Fr Bejarano emphasised the need to understand youth ministry as a synodal process, rooted in Salesian identity and expressed in how Salesians accompany young people.

He highlighted the importance of community-based youth ministry and explained how a Salesian community carries out its mission through the Educative Pastoral Community (EPC). He stressed that the EPC should include lay collaborators and that lay members should play an active role in the EPC Council.

According to Fr Bejarano, the EPC provides the framework for jointly planning and implementing youth ministry through the Educational Pastoral Project (EPP). He noted that this process enables Salesians and lay collaborators to work together to discern the needs of young people and respond in a coordinated manner.

He also introduced participants to the Framework of Reference, the principal manual guiding Salesian youth ministry, and briefly outlined its relevance to the Province's pastoral work.