Madrid, Spain, Jan 29, 2010 / 12:51 pm
The Salesians will celebrate the feast of their founder, St. John Bosco, on January 31 with a series of initiatives to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Several of the congregation's facilities in the country were destroyed or significantly damaged due to the January 12 disaster.
The Salesians have been present in Haiti for 80 years, opening new facilities in Port-au-Prince and other regions of the country. However, after the earthquake, nearly 500 students were buried beneath the rubble of a Salesian school, areas of the congregation's formation house were destroyed, and three Salesian religious were killed.
Currently, 3,500 people are taking refuge at the Salesian center in Carrefour Thorland.
According to recent statistics, the Salesians number 15,952 in 130 countries worldwide.