In the list of the recently announced upcoming creation of 21 Cardinals, Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, who will become the first successor of Don Bosco to receive this title, amid the joy of his family religious.
Following the proclamation made by the Holy Father at the Angelus on Sunday, the Salesian News Agency ( ANS ), the congregation’s press department, said in a statement that this appointment “is a sign of the confidence and hope” that the Pope deposited in his superior and in the Salesians (SDB).
Likewise, according to Vatican News, the Salesian world became a “festive atmosphere” and the members of the Salesian Family expressed their prayers and good wishes to Fr. Fernández.
The youngest, for their part, expressed their joy “by changing the images of their statuses and profiles and publishing posts and stories with his face and photos of the best moments lived with the Rector Major.”
It is necessary to remember that among Don Bosco’s successors, there are blessed (Fr. Miguel Rúa and Fr. Felipe Rinaldi) and many others who collaborated closely with the Pope, the curia, and the bishops, but none had been named Cardinal until now.