As we all celebrated the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary this week, Fr John Dickson SDB (pictured) had an additional cause for celebration. Fifty years ago, on 15th August 1968, he became a Salesian of Don Bosco.

Fr John is a highly respected historian who has published widely on Salesian history, especially on the foundation of the mission to England. He is currently Rector of the Chertsey community, and for the past six years, has been the RC Chaplain at the Royal Holloway, University of London. He is pictured above with Royal Holloway's Chaplaincy & Faith Support Intern, Nina Mattiello Azadeh.

In a recent interview with the South African Salesian Bulletin, he summed up the importance of knowing our history: "If you don't know the tree of which you are a branch, you are in danger of clipping yourself off. In other words, if you don't understand where you come from, then the danger is you think you are doing something new and you end up chopping yourself off from the whole tree ... The history of a province and the history of the congregation is a question of identity. There must be a dialogue between the present situation you are living in and your origins".

We give thanks for Fr John's five decades of Salesian ministry, and for his work in keeping us connected to our history. Ad multos annos!