Was it a push notification? Or did you have to open the app to see it?
It's silent unless there was a proactive message to you from Facebook that your face will start to be recognized. This facial recognition happens even when you're not using the app.
So Facebook is waiting for you to take action before telling you anything. That is not proactive, it is silent.
What if you don't go on Facebook any more but have an account? You'd never know this was happening.