Fr Francisco Lezama is the new Salesian Provincial of Uruguay, where our first mission was established in 1877: a small Country, which nevertheless reflects the opportunities and contradictions of Latin America, where the crisis of young people is manifested in the absence of hope for the future and in the shortage of public responses to social emergencies. And it is in places like this that the Salesian charism shines in all its potential for change.
“I was born and raised in Uruguay. I have always had a strong sensitivity for social issues, and in the Salesian Parish of San Isidro in Montevideo I found the environment that welcomed and nurtured this character of mine. There I approached the oratory life and specifically the Salesian one. And I can say that my vocation was born there, at the oratory, among the young people”.
Today’s Uruguay, between opportunities and contradictions
Uruguay of the third millennium is a highly secularized Country: this translates into great opportunities for action for anyone who wants to promote social development projects, but at the same time also the need to separate social activities from pastoral ones. And like the entire South American continent, Uruguay is also a place of strident contradictions, where modernity is accompanied by enormous inequalities and widespread fragility in the underprivileged social classes.
“The reality of Uruguay is particular, its population is different from those of Central America, rich in emigrants from different parts of Europe with an important relational baggage made up of the ability to dialogue and meet. We are open to cultural contamination. Here the Charism of Don Bosco has found fertile ground and has become peculiar, finding in the population a strong propensity for welcoming and mutual exchange. Today, Uruguay is a strongly secular and secularized Country and for us Salesians this represents a challenge, but also a great opportunity for growth in our Charism. This secularity of the State leaves great freedom of initiative, but on the other hand it does not support projects coming from any religious body. It promotes projects of a social nature, but ensures that in the carrying out of these projects no religious education is proposed nor that there may be an evangelizing imprint. For religious initiatives, the Province must independently provide for finding the necessary funds for implementation. Uruguay is a democratic, stable, and modern Country, but with strong social inequality and great contrasts. There are enormous pockets of poverty and it is precisely there that we Salesians want to make a difference and we are alongside fragile and vulnerable young people to offer them opportunities that they could not have”.
Youth emergency: high suicide rate and spread of drugs
Even in the social groups where there is economic well-being, Uruguay suffers from evident vulnerabilities, which over time have become an emergency: there are no responses to the lack of values of the youngest and there are no policies to support mental distress. A context in which, unfortunately, the increase in the rate of youth suicide and the spread of drugs have taken root.
“We can say that the economic well-being of the Country does not reflect the real social well-being, boys and girls feel lost and the poorest among them do not have access to care and adequate education. In recent years, Uruguay has seen an increase in the number of suicides, reaching the highest percentage in South America. A fact that makes us think. The Country has positive qualities, such as stability, democracy, and a high human development index, but among young people there is a profound lack of hope for the future. Many are anxious in the continuous search for the meaning of life. Furthermore, in the state programs there are no projects that support the mental health of young people in difficulty and who find themselves lost and without values or guidance. This constant anguish leads young people towards suicide and drug use”.
Fr Francisco Lezama’s priorities as Superior of the Province: psychosocial support for disadvantaged young people
In such a complex framework, the charism of the Salesians of Don Bosco represents a driving force of social support and development: a potential that resonates in the words by which Fr Francisco described the priorities of his work as Superior of the Province of Uruguay.
“First of all, I must say that after so many years spent serving vulnerable young people, where my vocational drive was born and nurtured, I would never have thought of being chosen to offer my general animation service to my Province. And now my priority as Superior of the Province is to continue to promote the closeness of the Salesians to the most disadvantaged young people and the psychosocial support projects that help them face the great doubts of life. To address this engagement, one of the greatest needs that emerges in the territory is the lack of priests due to the lack of Salesian vocations. We must rekindle the fire of the Salesian vocation and the renewal of our Charism both in the Salesians and in the lay people who work with us, so that they rediscover the meaning of their mission and keep alive the fire that fuels their vocation and their work”.
