(ANS – Rome) – On Wednesday, 1 July 2026, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Fabio Attard, appointed Fr Pedro André Pinto Junior as the new director of ANS – Salesian iNfo Agency, succeeding Fr Harris Pakkam, who had held the post since June 2021.
The new director
Fr Pedro André Pinto Junior is Brazilian, a journalist, aged 38, and hails from the Salesian Province of São Paulo (Brazil). He holds a degree in Philosophy and one in Theology from the Salesian University Centre in São Paulo, and a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication Sciences from the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, where he is currently completing his licentiate in the same discipline. He was ordained a priest in 2015 and has served as a catechist, parish priest, rector, director, head of a social welfare organisation and Salesian representative for Social Communication in his home Province.
His career in the field of communication began early, with initiatives focused on young people and communication. Between 2016 and 2019, he served as national communications adviser to the Episcopal Commission for Youth of the CNBB (Brazilian Episcopal Conference). Since 2022, he has been working with Vatican Radio – Vatican News in Portuguese. In January 2026, he was transferred to the Salesian Congregation’s headquarters in Rome as a member of the Social Communication Sector.
The Salesian iNfo Agency
ANS responds to a very specific desire of the Salesian Congregation to have a professional information structure at the service of the Salesian Mission. Conceived, designed and launched as a press agency in 1992, ANS is now a digital news outlet which, recognising the ‘rapid development’ of the world of communication, aims to provide accurate information on Salesian affairs.
It seeks to provide accurate information on developments, events and opinions concerning the governing and leadership bodies of the Congregation; the life and work of the Salesians and the various groups within the Salesian Family; young people; issues relating to education and formation; and the life of the Church, with particular reference to Consecrated Life, young people, education and culture.
ANS, precisely because it is an expression and instrument of information for the Congregation, has a global reach. It is currently published in six languages: Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Polish.
ANS draws on the work of a central editorial team, based at the Salesian Headquarters at Via Marsala 42, Rome, and a network of correspondents and volunteer contributors in many countries across five continents.