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- Journeying with the young

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Click here to view the statistics and circulation of the Don Bosco's Madonna Magazine

Kindly note : The links to the latest issue will take you to the Don Bosco's Madonna Magazine's website outside this site. Please close the issue window to return to this site - Webmaster

The Website of the Don Bosco's Madonna is http://donboscosmadonna.org

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History of the Don Bosco's Madonna Magazine

Which Catholic periodical in English has the widest circulation in India today? There's no prize for guessing the answer "The Don Bosco's Madonna!" Disseminated from the Shrine office at Matunga once every month, This magazine reaches 95,000 homes and institutions : 82,000 in India and 12,500 in India and abroad.. and the number keeps  growing steadily every year.

The brainchild of Fr. Aurelius Maschio, the Don Bosco's Madonna was launched in 1937. It first appeared in the form of a two-page folder that gradually developed into a 16-page booklet (including the covers). In 1960, it had grown into 28 pages (including the covers). in 1964, the cover pages began to appear in 4-clour print, then in 1971, the magazine reached its present size of 36 pages. Finally in 1990 there was a qualitative leap with the switching over from Linotype to offset printing and computerized formatting.

Fr. Maschio himself was the founder-editor of the magazine and he guarded his editorial rights even later as the publisher of the magazine. Even when Fr. Antonio Alesi became its declared editor and publisher in 1976 it was Fr. Maschio who screened everything that went into print. And so it continued till 1990, when after three years of editorship, Fr. Joseph Moja came into the open as the registered editor of the Madonna, and claimed a reasonable amount of autonomy in his task as editor.

Over the past 60 years of its existence, the Madonna can claim a large share of the credit for the updating of the Catholic family with news and views of the church. Thanks to the Madonna there has been a phenomenal rise in the devotion to Mary Help of Christians and to St. John Bosco.

Among the earliest regular contributors were Frs. Peter Gatti and Dennis Duarte of happy memory. More recent contributors are Frs. Erasto Fernandes, J. Pimenta and Vincent Vaz.. all of them highly appreciated, thanks to their readable and popular style.

The line that the Madonna pursues is certainly not theologically trendy. On the contrary, not a few critics have berated the pietism that is writ large all over its pages. And yet, there is something here that immediately touches the heard of the ordinary Catholic! The reason for the popularity of the Madonna, I believe, is its constant striving to be a Catholic Family Magazine.. Ever seeking to instruct, to inform, to encourage, to exhort.. through its articles, letters, stories, photographs, illustrations, and even its jokes.

In fact, the Madonna is sort of minor miracle in itself. No subscription fees are charged; no advertisements are allowed and yet, the contributions that come in, more than cover the cost of printing and postage.

Former Editor Fr. Joseph Moja  was a worthy inheritor of  Fr. Maschio's mantle. He had been editing the Madonna almost single-handedly over the past decade, through sickness and health, conscientiously seeing to it that a new issue is out before the beginning of every month.

"What are your hopes for the Madonna?" I once had the occasion to ask Fr. Moja. Quick came the reply: To have an editorial board working on this project! Its too much for one man and an old one at that to handle. Fr. Moja would like to see more pages of the Madonna telling real life stories of ordinary Indian Christians in a manner that inspires.

How much the Madonna is worth, can be gauged from this little conversation that took place some years ago.  Fr. Moja once asked Fr. Maschio: "Just suppose for the sake of fantasy , that everything you have done in Bombay is destroyed in some great catastrophe. With what would you start again?" Without a moment's hesitation Fr. Maschio replied: "With the Don Bosco's Madonna!"

- Fr Kenneth Pereira.

The Present Editor of the Madonna is Fr. Ian Doulton.


ANNUAL CALENDARS

Every year the Shrine prints and distributes its ANNUAL CALENDAR known as the DON BOSCO CALENDAR. Together with it is also printed a pictorial album based on the apparitions of our Blessed Mother, dreams of Don Bosco or lives of Salesian Saints. The last four years, 2006 included, we presented the mysteries of the Rosary. These were to be a source of reflection and meditation as one prayed the rosary. These were a reprint of the originals printed by LDC (Turin) many years ago. For the year 2007 we are presenting the first of three parts on the life of Don Bosco. It makes interesting reading for youngsters and also as material for vocation promotion.

 

DON BOSCO'S CALENDAR 2018 (Online Version)
Click Here...

   
   

HOLY PICTURES  / PRAYER CARDS
Please click on the thumbnail to view . You may also download and print the images for your home etc.  - Webmaster

New Books on The Story of Don Bosco (Comic Book Version) & Mamma Margaret - Rs. 20 each
Where it all happened The Life of Don Bosco (in 3 parts)
Part 1 : A boy with a dream
Part 2 : Home for a thousand boys
(also available)
Part 3 : To ends of the earth.
(To be made available next year)

Front Cover Inside

Mamma Margaret

Margaret Occhiena
The Mother of Don Bosco
A Popular Biography

Inspired by : Teresio Bosco & P. Pascacucci


Zepherin Namuncura
Youthful Holiness For Today

From the heart of the Gaucho country, Argentina, rises this ‘Flower of The Pampas’ – Zepherin Namuncura (1886-1905) a product of the Salesian system of Education. Zepherin was drawn to the Family Spirit of Don Bosco by the gentle persuasion of Cardinal John Cagliero. His life that began in the hinterland of the Pampas trundled through the rugged Argentinean terrain taking him to Buenos Aires and to Viedma. At a very early age, he demonstrated the qualities of a true Araucano Indian – stubbornness and purposeful dedication. That was the fertile soil where the seed of Salesian sanctity would blossom. Because of his frail health he was taken to Italy by Monsignor Cagliero where he had the privilege of seeing the cradle of Salesian life and sanctity. Zepherin gave himself to study and an exemplary life of prayer, yet even as his health declined, the ardor of his sanctity shone through his frail body. As tuberculosis took its toll on young Zepherin, he breathed his last on the May 11, 1905.

On November 11, 2007, this 19 year old native of the Pampas will be beatified at Chimpay, (his birthplace) Argentina, potentially joining the ranks of Dominic Savio and Laura Vicuña and showing us once more the effectiveness of the Salesian method of Education and the Salesian style of Sanctity.

The Shrine of Don Bosco’s Madonna and Tejprasarini are happy to present the colourful life of this youngster inspired by Teresio Bosco and P. Lappin in a 32 page colour booklet prized at Rs. 20.

Available at 
Tej-Prasarini,
Don Bosco Communications,
Matunga, Mumbai 400 019, INDIA
Phone: (91-22) 415 4106, 4150680

 

 

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