12-Reviving_Don_Bosco_s_Oratory_Salesian_Yo


12-Reviving_Don_Bosco_s_Oratory_Salesian_Yo

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Reviving Don Bosco ’s Oratory . Salesian Youth Ministry , Leadership and
Innovative Project Management . Copyright © 2017 by Michal Vojtáš . All
rights reserved.
No part of this volume may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans-
mitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording
or otherwise without the prior permission of the author.
This publication has been peer-reviewed by the Faculty members of the Salesian
Pontifical University, Piazza dell’Ateneo Salesiano, 1 00139 Rome (Italy).
Published by STS Publications
Studium Theologicum Salesianum
26, Rehov Shmuel Hanagid
P.O.B.7336
9107202 Jerusalem (Israel)
Book design copyright © 2017 by Michal Vojtáš. All rights reserved.
Cover illustration by Cyril Uhnák. Cover and interior design by Michal Vojtáš.
ISBN:978-965-7690-38-3

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Michal Vojtáš
Reviving
Don Bosco’s
Oratory
Salesian Youth Ministry,
Leadership and Innovative
Project Management

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Contents
1. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE SALESIAN
YOUTH MINISTRY ........................................................... 13
1.1 The Pastoral Echoes of Vatican II in the 19th General Chapter (1965) 14
1.2 The Post-Vatican II and the Special General Chapter (1966-72)
21
1.3 Educative and Pastoral Project Logic of Viganò and Vecchi (1978-90) 30
1.4 Collaboration Youth Ministry Department – UPS (1980-88)
45
1.5 Consolidation of the SEPP (1990-2002)
56
1.6 New Youth Ministry Challenges and Perspectives (2002-2014)
71
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS OF SALESIAN
LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT............ 79
2.1 Curriculum Design Influences (Bobbitt, Tyler, Stenhouse)
82
2.2 Animation as a Theoretical Leadership Model
100
2.3 Management by Objectives and Beyond
110
3. DON BOSCO IN THE ORATORY: PERMANENT
RENEWAL CRITERION.................................................. 126
3.1 Criterion for Vatican II Renewal Needed and Found
127
3.2 Consecrated Life and Organizational Research
136
3.3 Don Bosco’s Leadership and Management
144
3.4 Conclusion: Leadership – Management Synergy in Don Bosco
180
4. INNOVATION OF SALESIAN LEADERSHIP
AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................................... 183
4.1 Dialogue with Organizational Theories
183
4.2 Integral Methodological Framework
208
4.3 Virtues of Salesian Leader-Manager
218
4.4 Process of an Integral and Transformational Project Management 258
Appendices ................................................................................. 284
Indexes ........................................................................................ 288
List Of Schemes..........................................................................295
Bibliography ............................................................................... 296

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Abbreviations
ACG Acts of the General Council of the Salesian Society
ACS Acts of the Superior Council of the Salesian Society
Const. Constitutions of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales
EPC Educative and Pastoral Community
FMA Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
FSE Faculty of Sciences of Education at the Salesian Pontifical Uni-
versity
GC General Chapter of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales
MBO Management by Objectives
Reg. General Regulations of the Society of St Francis de Sales
SDB Salesians of Don Bosco (also Salesian Society or Society of
Saint Francis de Sales)
SEPP Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project
SGC Special General Chapter of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales
UPS Salesian Pontifical University
YM Youth Ministry

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The methods can become defective also through the infiltra-
tion of prejudices or arbitrary theories. The temptation to mix
in with them some unnecessary ideological suppositions is
unfortunately a real one. The new evangelization demands a
search for methods which can make an efficacious contribu-
tion to education in and of the faith, following integrally the
Church’s deposit of faith and ensuring the presence of well-
founded certainties that are well defined, simple and solid,
and stronger than the rationalistic misgivings that can arise.
Fr. Egidio Viganò

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9
Introduction
The “Salesians of Don Bosco” (SDB) are the largest Catholic reli-
gious order with a primary focus on youth ministry and education. If we
observe its action in synergy with the whole Salesian Family, uniting
more than 30 congregations, institutes, associations and movements, we
can state that the Salesian Youth Ministry influences millions of young
people worldwide through schools, youth centres, parishes, missionary
centres, informal activities, volunteering, and animation. Leadership
styles, governance models and project management methodologies are
therefore phenomena influencing concretely a vast and diverse educa-
tional and pastoral network. Here I would like to pose that were felt at
the beginning of the journey which progresses with this publication: How
were the main ideas of the Salesian Youth Ministry, the Leadership mod-
els and the Project Management methodologies developed? What was
their theoretical background? What is the central idea that organizes the
whole system? And, of course, how can we offer better ministry and ed-
ucation for the young of the third millennium? These fundamental
questions, and the respective efforts to answer them, organize the whole
publication.
The first chapter outlines the development of some key ideas. During
the post-Vatican II update of the Salesian mission, the Congregation had
to deal with the complexity of services, the insistent need of inculturation
and with the uncertainty of the future. The Salesian Educational and Pas-
toral Project (SEPP) was therefore one of the central issues and
instruments of Youth Ministry, decentralization, inculturation and oper-
ational effectiveness. The change from a faithful and often repetitive
education according to pre-Vatican II models towards a critical, culture-
sensible and future-centered approach to youth ministry brought devel-
opments connected with multiple risks.
The second chapter analyzes the main theoretical and organizational
perspectives. The particular post-Vatican II context and expectations
have influenced the Salesian Youth Ministry with many fruitful concepts

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10
of pastoral theology and educational sciences. It could, however, mark
the design with some exaggerated tendencies of the late ‘60s, ‘70s and
‘80s: an anthropocentric world vision, a technically designed project
management method, a weak appreciation of tradition, an accentuated
socio-political dimension of youth ministry, a radical idea of decentrali-
zation and inculturation, etc. After a period of initial enthusiasm about
the effectiveness of the planned educational and pastoral action, how-
ever, a moment of disillusion was reached. The almost impossible
translation from “paper to life”, the linguistic ambiguity of the term “pro-
ject”, the exaggerated multiplication of interconnected projects, a
constant production of texts to be implemented, a too technical method-
ology, or too short implementation times are just some of the symptoms
of a general discomfort around the desired “project mentality”.
The third chapter follows the path of some significant indications that
connect the difficulties with the Salesian Leadership and Project Man-
agement to the anthropological model and the design paradigm
underlying the SEPP theories. So we turn back to the original and per-
manent criterion for any renewal – the experience of Don Bosco in the
first Salesian house, the Valdocco Oratory. We locate it within different
organizational studies of consecrated life and, phenomenologically, read
the evolution of the leadership and management qualities of “Don Bosco
in the Oratory” in course of his life.
Don Bosco’s experience, new and innovative leadership concepts and
some solid bases of the Salesian Youth Ministry are sewn creatively to-
gether in the fourth chapter. The first concepts were contemplated upon
four years ago, but then we felt the need for prototyping and experimen-
tation in the field. Feedbacks from the academics, practitioners, students,
leadership seminars and from the process consulting at Borgo Don Bosco
in Rome were useful for developing an actionable proposal. First, we
created an integral anthropological and methodological framework. Then
six typical virtues of a Salesian educator were developed at the level of
action mentality, shared leadership and operative management qualities.

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11
Finally, we proposed five steps of a project cycle that merges planning,
community building and discernment. We will follow the red thread of
an integral anthropology, which incorporates deeper spiritual and voca-
tional dynamics into the practical planning to create a transformational
path for the entire Educative and Pastoral Community.
The ideas and experiments expressed in this publication have been
transformative and formative for me and for those who have shared in
the journey. I would like to thank the Faculty members of the Pontifical
Salesian University for their fraternal support, inspiration, dialogue and
research suggestions. In a special way, I would like to remember with
gratitude Francesco Casella, Jerome Vallabaraj, Michele Pellerey, Aldo
Giraudo and Rossano Sala. In addition, my gratitude goes to Peter Mi-
chael Senge, the founder of Society for Organizational Learning, Beth
Jandernoa from the Presencing Institute, Lumír Šarman from Franklin-
Covey, Reiner von Leoprechting from ProAction Learning, and the
members of the SOL Rome creative group. Putting into practice the
shared ideas has greatly contributed to the development of this book. In
particular, I would like to mention my friends from the Salesian Family
of Slovakia: the former provincial Karol Gabo Maník and my colleagues
Filip Vagač, Slávka Brigantová and Ján Mihálik. Last but not the least,
my acknowledgements go to the Educative and Pastoral Community of
Borgo Don Bosco, especially to the rector Stefano Aspettati that co-cre-
ated and put into practice the methodology presented in this book (see
Appendix 3). Thanks to Joe Boenzi, Cassius Correya, Patrick Lepcha and
Miriam Bicková for terminological suggestions and orthographic correc-
tions. These people remembered, and those not explicitly mentioned,
have become a part of a shared and witnessed project of life, through
research, education, ministry and trust in Providence.
Michal Vojtáš, SDB
Faculty of Education Sciences
Salesian Pontifical University
Rome, October 1st 2017

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 13
1. Historical Evolution of the Salesian Youth Minis-
try
Education and youth ministry can be considered, among other crite-
ria, in their dual temporal sense, as an appeal to the heritage of past
experiences or an outreach to possible future development. The dimen-
sion of the tradition, translated in a faithful reproduction of the faith-
culture model in the first hundred years of the Salesian Congregation,
tended to marginalize almost automatically any critical attitude towards
the traditional Salesian Youth Ministry model that had its strong roots in
the praxis of St. John Bosco (1815-1888) and in the faith-culture para-
digms of the Restauration.1 In a generalized way, we can state that in the
1960s there was a change of emphasis from a loyal and often repetitive
education to a critical pedagogical-pastoral approach. Juan Edmundo
Vecchi, a key figure of the Salesian Youth Ministry from 1978 to 2002,
expressed it in the following words: “In the last 40 years we should reg-
ister a significant innovation: education seen as a projection into the
future. It is a dimension that has been less relevant before”.2
The future in those years was imagined through the lens of aggiorna-
mento (bringing up to date) of the ecclesiastical culture, the pastoral
paradigm of Vatican II, the freedom of expression, the anthropocentric
point of view, the progress of science, the critical approach to the social
reality with a communitarian accent, the understanding of youth as a po-
litical force, the social commitment and the equality and self-
determination of nations. It is understandable that the youth ministry of
the sixties and seventies put a strong emphasis on the projection into the
future. The educative and pastoral projects were adopted as an instrument
that seemed appropriate to manage the future. It was an option that, as
1 See P. STELLA, Don Bosco. Religious Outlook and Spirituality, Salesiana Publishers,
New Rochelle NY 1996.
2 J.E. VECCHI, I guardiani dei sogni con il dito sul mouse. Educatori nell’era informatica,
Rettore Maggiore dei Salesiani di Don Bosco intervistato da Carlo di Cicco, LDC, Leu-
mann TO 1999, p. 21.

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14 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
we will see, was not exempt from risks and reductions. In the first chap-
ter of this study we would like to survey the fundamental traits of
frequently nonlinear evolution of the post-Vatican II Salesian Youth
Ministry model from the 1960s up to today.
1.1 The Pastoral Echoes of Vatican II in the 19th General
Chapter (1965)
The centenary of the Salesian Congregation was celebrated in 1959.
In the same year Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Ecu-
menical Council. This coincidence strengthened the anticipations of the
Salesians about a turning point in the years to come. The Rector Major
Renato Ziggiotti was invited to participate in the Council as a member of
the Commission for the Religious. The Rector Major evaluated this ex-
perience as a great school and a stimulus for the commitment to the
Salesian apostolic vocation.3 The Council’s influence on the Salesian
youth ministry model can be considered from interrelated aspects: the
pastoral content of the Magisterium and the practical ways in which the
pastoral efforts were intended to be put into practice.
1.1.1 General Chapter Methodology
The way and the method of realization of the GC19, influenced by the
Council, changed the Salesian Chapter paradigm regarding the duration,
the depth of the issues, and the openness to the human sciences. The work
of the Chapter held in Rome in the new Salesian University continued
for 53 days, setting a record compared to previous General Chapters that
lasted an average of ten days. The GC19 created a space for open discus-
sion that did not cover the different points of view of the assembly
members. In fact, the newly elect Rector Major Luigi Ricceri, feeling the
3 See R. ZIGGIOTTI, Lettera del Rettor Maggiore, in ACS 44 (1963) 229, 5-6.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 15
atmosphere of polarized tension between adaptation to the new chal-
lenges and fidelity to the charism, intervened: “Dear Brothers… ours
must be an atmosphere of charity. [...] We must realize this union of char-
ity at all costs. I have said already, union together in charity. Such union
presupposes understanding [...] my ‘opponent’ in the order of ideas – to
understand the man who thinks other than I do, to know him as my
brother, in our common father Don Bosco. [...] We have to be convinced,
by reason of that same deep understanding of yet another thing – in our
houses and communities there are today psychological situations existing
and malaise which cannot be ignored. They are the result of our living
and suffering in the life of Society and the Church at the present time”.4
The accumulation of tension and the necessary drive to change the
course is understandable if we comprehend the way of dealing with the
issues caused by the changed post-World War II context. Pietro Braido
describes the previous General Chapter 18 in 1958 as one that “does not
seem to feel the deep transformations that occurred in the previous six
years. As for the oratories, the use of social media and entertainment, and
even more the boarding schools, the speeches were almost identical to
those of previous chapters, reflecting echoes of the regulatory provisions
made in the 1920s and later”.5
Another element of change of the GC19 was the invitation of 19 ex-
perts, including two lay Salesians. Almost all the experts were scholars
(mostly specialists in education) and only a few were “full- time” educa-
tors. The term “expert”, therefore, has a scholarly emphasis in the
Salesian context, leaving behind the role of a facilitator or of a good prac-
titioner.6 The emphasis on the academic dimension of the “experts” in
4 GC19 (1965), pp. 313-314. See also the letter of Fr. Ricceri about dialogue in ACS 48
(1967) 247.
5 P. BRAIDO, Le metamorfosi dell’Oratorio Salesiano tra il secondo dopoguerra e il Post-
concilio Vaticano II (1944-1984), in «Ricerche Storiche Salesiane» 49 (2006) 2, 319.
6 The expert as facilitator is proposed, on the other hand, by the classic Lexikon der Pas-
toraltheologie edited by Karl Rahner: “What concerns all, must also be decided by all.
In accordance with this legal basis, in principle everyone is competent regarding the
pastoral planning [...] The task of the experts and managers is to enable persons to plan

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16 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the Congregation was strengthened in the 80s through the cooperation
between the Youth Pastoral Department and the Faculty of Sciences of
Education (FSE) at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome (UPS).
1.1.2 Implications for the Youth Ministry
The GC19 was the first Chapter that expressed an awareness of the
changes that took place in the educational and pastoral context of the
post-war period. Its pastoral attempts can be summarized in four areas:
reorganization of the central structures of the government; downsizing of
the structures; focus on qualification; formation of adults and some prac-
tical educative applications.
First, at the level of the General Council, the Councillor for the Youth
and Parish Ministry was experimentally introduced. His area of influence
united three former Councillors’ fields: schools, vocational training and
oratories-parishes. Six Regional Councillors were instituted in order to
decentralize the leadership and the pastoral ministry. The changes to the
General Council tended to enhance the specificity of the regions and, at
the same time, to hold together the different educational and pastoral di-
mensions and structures.7
The second area of reflections concerned the “downsizing”, a concept
that had a good fortune during the GC19, because of a widespread need
of the Congregation. The general principle was the simplification of ex-
tensive houses and the consolidation of small communities. As for the
type of educational structure, the boarding schools seemed to be in crisis
from the perspective of both the Salesians and the students.8 The Chapter
for themselves the necessary changes and implement them”. See N. HEPP, Piano pa-
storale, in K. RAHNER et al. (Eds.), Dizionario di Pastorale, Queriniana, Brescia 1979,
pp. 567-568.
7 See GC19 (1965), pp. 23-26.
8 72% of Salesian Past Pupils in Italy would have preferred education in a family context
with an average level of parenting compared to a well-organized boarding school edu-
cation with specifically prepared educators. Among the more negative aspects of
Salesian boarding school education were mentioned: unrealistic preparation to life,

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 17
then revalued the “primordial” structure of the oratory, “fittingly brought
up to date and reshaped [...] so that it may attract and serve as many
young people as possible, with a variety of subsidiaries (youth centres,
clubs, various associations, courses, night schools)”.9 Oratory was seen
already at that time as “a pastoral instrument of approach to all young
people opening out in this spirit of missionary dialogue, to all the youth
of the parish, area, city – to include those of no faith at all”.10
A third theme resounding in the GC19 was summarized in the key
word “qualification” of the Salesians. It meant primarily the acquisition
of the required skills for the mission in “today’s world”. Luigi Ricceri
made an appeal saying: “By now every manifestation of our activity
claim qualified people in the field of theology, liturgy, philosophy, edu-
cation, science, technology, instruction, art, recreation and
management”. It seems that the attention to the qualification, together
with the option to resize the structures to a human scale, was an applica-
tion of the anthropological turn of the Council.11
The last nucleus of the reflection focused on the educational and pas-
toral issues, still called by the traditional term “apostolate”. The
reflection on the Christian formation of the adults was added to the youth
ministry topic. Among the traditional areas of the adult apostolate, such
as assistance to the FMA, the Cooperators, the Past Pupils and the Mis-
sion ad gentes, six new areas were inserted: parish ministry; adult
catechesis; family apostolate; lay teachers’ formation; working class
ministry; and social communication. Some more concrete educational
and pastoral issues still reflected the dominance of the boarding school
suppression of personality, too many compulsory religious practices, excessive disci-
pline and un-readiness to engage in relations with the other sex. See P.G. GRASSO, La
Società Salesiana tra il passato e l’avvenire. Risultati di un’inchiesta tra ex allievi Sa-
lesiani, Edizione extra-commerciale riservata, Roma 1964, pp. 45-152.
9 GC19 (1965), p. 103.
10 GC19 (1965), p. 137.
11 See GC19 (1965), pp. 9-10.

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18 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
paradigm and its poor compatibility with the desire for freedom of ex-
pression lived by the young generation of the late 1960s.12 The actual
concerns of the confreres were linked almost exclusively to the life in
boarding school: a lively discussion about the compulsory attendance of
daily masses or the themes of sexual education, co-education, free time
and holiday management of the interns.13
1.1.3 Execution of Pastoral Conclusions and Recommendations
Undoubtedly, GC19 was a beginning of a new journey in the Congre-
gation. In 1982 Egidio Viganò spoke about many “anticipatory
directions”14 of the Chapter and in 2010 Pascual Chávez Villanueva saw
the GC19 as a representation of “the first collective stock-taking by the
communities in the Congregation with regard to the changes taking place
in the areas of youth, and the need to reformulate the traditional educa-
tive-pastoral praxis”.15 Given the importance of the GC19, it becomes
useful therefore to study not only the contents of the discussion but also
the “impact history” of the new ideas.16
The Rector Major Luigi Ricceri presented the Acts of the GC19 high-
lighting some criteria for the application of its conclusions. The first
12 The boarding school paradigm is noticeable in the presentation of the GC19 by the
Rector Major that omits the boarding school in the part about the downsizing of the
structures and also in the heterogeneous structure of the documents IX - XIX, which
describe boarding schools (and schools with an attached boarding structure) as the only
structures for youth apostolate. See GC19 (1965), pp. 9-13 and pp. 101-201.
13 See GC19 (1965), pp. 188-189; 194-198 and 336-338.
14 E. VIGANÒ, Il Capitolo Generale XXII, in ACS 63 (1982) 305, 10.
15 P. CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, “And he took pity on them, because they were like sheep
without a sheperd, and he set himself to teach them at some length” (Mk 6,34). Salesian
Youth Ministry, in ACG 91 (2010) 407, 6-7.
16 The “impact history” or the “history of effects” (ger. Wirkungsgeschichte) is a key
concept of Hans-Georg Gadamers’ hermeneutical theory. In the present publication we
will be using it as an interpretative category to capture the semantic nuances of the key
concepts such as education, youth ministry, pastoral ministry, project, plan, signifi-
cance, etc., which are linked closely with the context in which they arose, with
interpretations in subsequent Salesian documents and, last but not least, with the way
they were (or were not) carried out.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 19
criterion was “to mould in ourselves a mentality rather than set up an
inventory of injunctions to be carried out”.17 The second was intended
especially for superiors who should use a prudent gradual approach to
the application of the Chapter. Gradual application should not be impro-
vised, but guided by the norms issued by superiors to prevent the danger
of arbitrary interpretations and dispersion. Dialogue is emphasized as a
superior’s key skill in order to foster collaboration at various levels.
Resizing the structures served as the third criterion of the GC19. The
downsizing of educational structures was not concerned about the effec-
tiveness of the activity of the community but about paying attention to
the authentic good of the confreres. The Rector Major wrote: “Before
moving on to increase already existing activities in number and size we
should all of us feel a preoccupation for the man, the religious, the Sale-
sian, the one who plays the leading part in this whirlwind drama [...] The
apostolate is a delicate spiritual work. It cannot be effective if one’s soul
is tired out”.18
Paradoxically, it seems that the post-conciliar transformation implied
too many human resources. This happened right around the time of the
first serious demographic crisis of the Salesian personnel, the signs of
which date back to the beginnings of the 60s.19 Peter Braido noted that
after the GC19, only at the global level, “there were nearly thirty struc-
tural units to be worked on: manuals and regulations to be composed,
committees to be set up, centres and offices to be organized at the Gen-
eral Government level to be erected and studies on particular issues to be
carried out”.20 To get to a certain decentralization, many resources were
used in creating a more structured organization. The configuration of the
Provincial Conferences (in geographical regions) was to be built and set
up. Six years later, Luigi Ricceri evaluated the situation of the Salesian
17 GC19 (1965), p. 6.
18 GC19 (1965), pp. 9-10.
19 See the letters of Fr. Ziggiotti in ACS 44 (1963) 233 and 234.
20 BRAIDO, Le metamorfosi dell’Oratorio Salesiano, 336.

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20 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
staff in terms of “serious and sometimes almost chronic haemorrhage
suffered by various provinces, simultaneously with the ageing of person-
nel and the inability to cope any longer with tasks previously carried
out”.21 In his estimation, “for every two to three Salesians one should be
a leader”.22
The most immediate effects of the GC19 in the educative-pastoral
area was the election of Gaetano Scrivo, former superior of the Roman
province, as the Councillor for Youth Ministry and the establishment of
the Youth Ministry Centre in Turin with Michel Mouillard working as
the delegate. The medium of information diffusion was the magazine
Note di Pastorale Giovanile (Youth Ministry Notes), whose first issue
was published in 1967.
The new term Youth Ministry was introduced to the GC19 and was
applied in some decisions about general and regional structures. But the
pre-conciliar “youth apostolate” mentality linked to the boarding schools
was still shared by the majority of the confreres.23 The change of men-
tality and the personalization evoked by Ricceri required more time and
maturation. In 1982 the Rector Major Egidio Viganò made a remark in
regard to this paradigm shift: “The perception of the needs of the Council
was […] rather limited; not all, in fact, had even had a chance to grasp
the profound renewed ecclesiology of the Vatican II. However, the Chap-
ter Assembly had breathed the atmosphere”.24 In that sense, some key
principles of the youth ministry, such as respect for the young, the sense
of freedom, social awareness, adherence to today’s world, and the prin-
ciple of graduality would be developed only in the ‘80s in terms of
dimensions, methodology, tools and educational pastoral mentality.
21 L. RICCERI, Presentation of the “Report on the General State of the Congregation”, in
SGC (1972), p. 615.
22 See Idem, p. 619.
23 See S. FRIGATO, Educazione ed evangelizzazione. La riflessione della Congregazione
Salesiana nel Postconcilio, in A. BOZZOLO – R. CARELLI (Eds.), Evangelizzazione e
educazione, LAS, Roma 2011, pp. 70-72.
24 VIGANÒ, Il Capitolo Generale XXII, 9.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 21
One year after closing the Chapter, the Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio
Ecclesiae sanctae, which announced a Special General Chapter (SGC)
for all religious institutes, suspended the application of the ambitious
conclusions of the GC19. All operational and creative efforts were
shifted to the preparation of the Special General Chapter that stated after
six years: “Much of GC19 remained on paper”.25 The greatest effects of
GC19 were, therefore, the change of the Salesian General Chapter para-
digm towards a greater openness and dialogue, the embracing of the
Vatican II mentality, the simultaneous establishment of a global manage-
ment structure that enabled more dialogue and participation (Regions),
and finally giving value to experts-scholars in different fields of the Sa-
lesian life. The most worrisome side effect of the GC paradigm shift was
expressed by Vecchi: “The GC19 did not have a satisfactory operational
translation [...]; the mentality and the operational practice did not expe-
rience major changes at the grass root level of the Congregation”.26
1.2 The Post-Vatican II and the Special General Chapter
(1966-72)
The late 1960s were characterized by the growing self-awareness of
the young who emerged as a new generation and a political force accord-
ing to the underlying ideological-critical vision. This process was
catalyzed by the phenomena of underdevelopment of the “third world”;
oppression of the underprivileged; racial discrimination; wars for world
domination; educational and cultural subordination to the economic sys-
tems. In the intellectual world, the Marxist ideology, the criticism of
mass society dynamics of the Frankfurt School, and the critical pedagogy
of the oppressed often linked with the theology of liberation resurfaced
with new strength.
25 SGC (1972), n. 393.
26 J.E. VECCHI, Pastorale, educazione, pedagogia nella prassi Salesiana, in Il cammino
e la prospettiva 2000, Documenti PG 13, SDB, Roma 1991, p. 10.

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22 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The Zeitgeist of that period was described as the “civil rights move-
ment” in the USA, “contestation” in Italy and France, and in the Spanish-
speaking countries a more “revolutionary” lexicon was used. The youth
movement adopted an anti-establishment ethos fighting academic, indus-
trial, and capitalist oppression. The ideal and utopian world to be built
was seen through the lenses of participation, decentralization, dialogue,
social awareness, freedom, justice and new ethics. There were different
paradoxes, on the one hand, between the proclamation of the principle of
dialogue and peace, and the actual ways of protesting and ideologically
dividing the world into separate “classes” on the other. All these ideals
and paradoxes were interpreted within the economic, technological and
mass-media developments of the post-war period. After some years, the
mid-1970s energy crisis tested strongly the utopian idealism of the move-
ment’s prospects. In the Salesian context, the post-Ricaldonian
traditionalist Salesian mindset, the Vatican II paradigm shift and the
proximity to the feelings of the young generation can explain the strong
controversies of those years. The post-conciliar period can be effectively
called a real crisis era in the Church and in the Salesian Congregation.27
1.2.1 The Crisis and the Special General Chapter Preparations
The Rector Major Luigi Ricceri (1965-77), the sixth successor of Don
Bosco, gathered the results of the work done by his predecessors. In fact,
in 1967 the Salesians reached the peak number of 21,614 members and
1,196 novices. But there was also a double crisis: one arising from the
same world expansion of the Congregation, not always purified and con-
trolled ; and another deriving from the cultural and ecclesial context
concurrent with the celebration of the Vatican II. Gradually, but inexo-
rably, the new situation became evident in Europe and America. The
27 See M. WIRTH, Da Don Bosco ai nostri giorni. Tra storia e nuove sfide (1815-2000),
LAS, Roma 2000, pp. 447-449; M. TOLOMELLI, Il Sessantotto. Una breve storia,
Carocci, Roma 2008 e A. BERNHARD – W. KEIM (Eds.), 1968 und die neue Restaura-
tion, Jahrbuch für Pädagogik 2008, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2009.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 23
1968 movement implied a contestation of young Salesians, which
reached its peak during the years 1969-70. The Salesian Pontifical Uni-
versity in Rome became a visualizer of everything that was blistering in
different countries, especially in Latin America.28
The crisis in the Salesian context was evident especially in the rapid
decline in vocations and desertions of the Salesians during the formation
and also increased priest laicization requests. The number of Salesians in
the decade 1968-77 fell by about a quarter. The demographic crisis was
only the most visible effect of a religious order that was in a strong pro-
cess of transformation. On the one hand, there was the opening of new
forms of apostolate, a substantial number of new initiatives in the pasto-
ral field, especially in the context of dialogical opening to the world and
the commitment for the underprivileged. On the other, there were lively
discussions and polarizations between the “progressists” and the “funda-
mentalists” and, in the specific field of the youth ministry, between the
“pastoralists” (new school) and the “educators” (old school).29
In the first six years of his mandate, Fr. Ricceri had concentrated his
attention on the almost impossible realization of the conclusions of the
GC19 and he made every effort to balance decentralization and unity in
the Congregation.30 We can state that the Congregation experienced the
paradox of the “decentralization from the centre” which stands for the
28 See R. ALBERDI – C. SEMERARO, Società Salesiana di San Giovanni Bosco, in G.
PELLICCIA – G. ROCCA (Eds.), Dizionario degli istituti di perfezione, vol. 8, San Paolo,
Roma 1988, pp. 1690-1691 and WIRTH, Da Don Bosco ai nostri giorni, p. 532.
29 See WIRTH, Da Don Bosco ai giorni nostri, pp. 527-532; F. DESRAMAUT – M. MIDALI
L’impegno della Famiglia Salesiana per la giustizia. Colloqui sulla vita Salesiana 7.
Jünkerath 24-28 agosto 1975, LDC, Leumann (TO) 1976.
30 In his abundant publication of letters, Luigi Ricceri defended his right and duty of
directing, animating, and indicating the right way, promptly correcting the errors, re-
porting abuses, defining at times the right positions, so that everyone at a given moment
can know the path to be walked on with the necessary clarity. See ACS 54 (1973) 269
and ACS 54 (1973) 270.

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24 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
primary involvement of the hierarchy in the implementation of a com-
plex decentralized model with some specific limits and guidelines
decided in Rome.31
Roman directives were not followed automatically also under the in-
fluence of the decentralization paradox that produced a certain pushback
from the provinces on the periphery. Riccardo Tonelli, the director of the
magazine Note di Pastorale Giovanile (Youth Ministry Notes) and one
of the prominent figures of the post-Vatican II Youth Ministry model
stated: “These were the years of change. There was, in fact, the beginning
and the consolidation of a very original model of culture, of reflection,
and of socio-political planning [...] Of course, because of the urgency of
the problems [...] it was not always easy to proceed with the necessary
tranquility and balance”.32
In the letter of October 1968, the Rector Major described a complex
9-stage and 15-step process which should be realized within the first
months of 1971. An important step was the publication of the proposals
sent by the Provincial Chapters held in 1969. The publication was edited
by the pre-SGC Commissions, divided into four volumes, and published
with the subtitle of The X-ray of the Congregation.33 It gave an insight
on the type of problems and on the prevailing mindset of the confreres.
A majority of provinces expressed the idea of rethinking and restructur-
ing, but the concrete implementation proposals differed in almost every
province. The preferred ways of the restructuration were decentraliza-
tion, expert consulting and rational planning, themes that returned like a
refrain from different provinces. The editors of the X-ray noted that the
31 See S. KÜHL, Sisyphos im Management. Die vergebliche Suche nach der optimalen
Organisationsstruktur, Wiley, Weinheim 2002, pp. 36-39; 65-88 and 131-166.
32 R. TONELLI, Ripensando quarant’anni di servizio alla pastorale giovanile, intervista a
cura di Giancarlo De Nicolò, in «Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 43 (2009) 5, 14-15.
33 See CGS-COMMISSIONI PRECAPITOLARI CENTRALI, Ecco ciò che pensano i Salesiani
della loro congregazione oggi. “Radiografia” delle relazioni dei Capitoli Ispettoriali
speciali tenuti in gennaio-maggio 1969, 4 vols, Istituto Salesiano Arti Grafiche, Castel-
nuovo D. Bosco (AT) 1969.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 25
Provincial Chapters were continually talking about “integration”, “coor-
dination”, “planning”, and “projects”. The decentralization of the
government had to be established by setting up other institutions, depart-
ments, teams, groups and commissions, following the path opened by the
GC19 in 1965.34 Reflecting the climate of the time, there was an almost
naive trust in planning, in scientific solutions and in dialogical confron-
tation, not taking into account the necessary human resources needed to
make it all happen. This planning mindset was not only a Salesian “ob-
session”, the aforementioned Pastoral Dictionary speaks very clearly:
“By means of science and management, man is now able to plan, manip-
ulate and change the environment and the society [...] These means are
available also to the Church, in order to plan consciously the future and
develop a proper strategy”.35 In those years as in GC19, the concrete
Youth Ministry issues were almost completely sidelined. We consider it
one of the paradoxes of the Vatican II “pastoral turning point” that was
intended to be carried out through a new set of government and ministry
structures and little was done about pastoral formation of the personnel.
1.2.2 Special General Chapter
The general goal of the SGC was to “rediscover in depth our own
identity in the light of today’s reality”.36 The specific purpose of the SGC
was to formulate a new text of the Constitutions and Regulations that
would conform to the Vatican II guidelines. Therefore, it is understand-
able that operational pastoral issues remained a secondary theme and the
search for solutions was practically delegated to the provinces following
the decentralization logic.
The identity of the Salesian educational and pastoral activity was ex-
pressed in terms “mission” and “ministry”. The Mission referred
34 See Ecco ciò che pensano i Salesiani, vol. 1, p. 108.
35 HEPP, Piano pastorale, in RAHNER et al. (Eds.), Dizionario di Pastorale, p. 567.
36 SGC (1972), p. VIII (The translation is ours in order to maintain the original meaning).

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26 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
primarily to the salvation of the poor and abandoned young people with-
out reference to the activities and structures, in order to emphasize its
integrity in opposition with the variety of activities. The relationship be-
tween the mission and the pastoral ministry was defined as follows: “The
‘pastoral ministry’ is a practical realization of the mission under the guid-
ance of the ‘pastors’.”37 The Salesian Youth Ministry was further
updated with the christocentric and ecclesiocentric views of the Vatican
II. From this horizon, the SGC stated the absolute priority of the Youth
Ministry with the need to update all activities, communities and struc-
tures according to this new “pastoral” mindset.38 In the Acts of the SGC
one can read some courageous formulations like: “the existence of a
purely mechanical and pastorally inefficacious work which merely wears
out the confreres is inadmissible”.39 The pastoral ministry became theo-
retically an integral key that connects human promotion and
evangelization.40
As a first step, the Special Chapter participants needed a criterion for
the renewal efforts in order to balance the return to the sources with the
adaptation to the changed conditions of the times. This was found in the
formula: “Don Bosco in the Oratory”. It did not entail a reference to the
concept of the oratory structure, but to the person of Don Bosco, who
had carried out his ministry in the chronologically well-defined Valdocco
Oratory. First it was a simple Sunday oratory, later it became the “Ora-
tory” in its entirety, with a secondary school, vocational training centre,
boarding facilities and annexed places for cultural and recreational free-
time activities. The ideal criterion was represented by Don Bosco in the
37 SGC (1972), n. 23. We are using the term “pastoral ministry” to unify the different
translations of the Italian term “pastorale”. The English translation uses different
terms: “pastoral action”, “pastoral work” or “pastoral apostolate”.
38 See SGC (1972), n. 180.
39 SGC (1972), n. 398 (The translation is ours in order to maintain the original meaning).
The reference to an inefficacious work is to be linked to the traditional boarding houses.
See FRIGATO, Educazione ed evangelizzazione, in BOZZOLO – CARELLI (Eds.), Evange-
lizzazione e educazione, p. 73.
40 See SGC (1972), n. 61.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 27
Oratory, in which the Oratory has to be intended as “the matrix, the syn-
thesis, the sum total of all the genial apostolic creations of our Founder,
the mature fruit of all his efforts”41 and Don Bosco, “faithful and dy-
namic, docile and creative, firm but at the same time flexible at the same
time stands out as a model of behaviour for all his sons”.42
The Salesian rethinking effort in a pastoral key, according to the
Council, and the accentuation of social engagement sidelined implicitly
the concept of “education”, which should be a distinctive characteristic
of the Congregation according to the GC19. We agree with a posterior
Vecchi’s assessment of the SGC: “There are many educational ideas and
inspirations scattered here and there. Still, many complements, media-
tions, and reorganizational efforts are needed to make the ideas become
applicable by operators and embraced by beneficiaries”.43 Note also the
varied use of the term “education” according to the context. It can be
linked to evangelization, care, instruction or socialization, but it can also
mean any type of intervention that requires a certain level of expertise.
Despite the diminished importance of the educational dimension, we
must acknowledge the importance of a newly introduced term of the “ed-
ucative community”, a term that will have its later development. As
conceived by the SGC, the educative community was to be composed of
Salesians, lay educators, young people and parents who regularly plan
and review their action in a family atmosphere of co-responsibility.44
1.2.3 Application of the SGC guidelines
We can agree with Viganò that the SGC with its more than 200 days
of work in the new headquarters in Rome was “an intense effort of the
confreres to enter in a new mindset. It was certainly one of the strongest
41 SGC (1972), n. 195.
42 SGC (1972), n. 197.
43 See VECCHI, Pastorale, educazione, pedagogia, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000,
p. 18.
44 See SGC (1972), n. 395.

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28 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
moments of the Salesian community reflection in the history of the Con-
gregation [...] It made a huge and largely successful work, even judged
positively by non-Salesian scholars and specialists”.45
The SGC emphasized the identity of the Salesians, following the re-
newal of the Vatican II, rather than the operational responses to the needs
of youth. However, at the end of nearly every document there was a chap-
ter called “operational guidelines”. For example, the section dealing with
the Salesian mission contained over 50 specific instructions. Some of
them regarded the necessity of studies and qualification opportunities for
confreres, the Youth Ministry structural change, the criteria for institu-
tional downsizing, the creation of research and study centres, the creation
of teams and planning of meetings at different levels. The difficulty of
applying these conclusions was reinforced by the diversity of the content
and the style of the SGC documents. The Rector Major Fr. Ricceri per-
ceived this risk and in his presentation intervened against a manipulative
use of the documents: “sometimes there may appear a lack of homoge-
neity, this in no way lessens their validity, for there is always a global
oneness between the individual documents”.46 The application of numer-
ous tasks was also operationally complicated because of the principle of
decentralization, which left an “ample scope for the creativity and initi-
atives of the individual provinces”.47
Another point of view on the execution of the SGC guidelines can be
seen in the Report on the State of the Congregation from 1977 and in the
Provincial Chapter reports. The descriptions present an image of many
different initiatives that were poorly coordinated with the risk of disper-
sion or contrast among them. Some strong individuals or small groups
acted as protagonists but it seems they failed to involve the majority of
45 See VIGANÒ, Il Capitolo Generale XXII, pp. 10-11.
46 SGC (1972), pp. X-XI. Interesting interpretation is to be noted in the translation of
“organicità” as “oneness”.
47 SGC (1972), n. 759.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 29
the communities in the provinces. It is understandable given the com-
plexity of the youth phenomenon, pluralism of settings and different
interpretation theories.
The “general institutional downsizing”, which both GC19 and SGC
insisted on, could have been the most concrete indicator of changes at
different levels. After some years, Juan E. Vecchi interpreted the Report
on the State of the Congregation and came to a strong conclusion: “The
failed experience of a ‘general downsizing’ seems to bring the provinces
towards a long-term progressive policy, which consists of partial reduc-
tions, developments and changes of communities; creation of some new
service or human resources displacement”.48 It seems that new proposals
and initiatives, which demanded new and prepared personnel, were
simply added to the existing activities, sometimes producing only a de-
ceptive façade change. Later, the GC23 in 1990 would resume the
discussion on the new-old structures in a perspective of “significance”.
Recently, also the mid-term provincial chapters after the GC27 have had
to discuss the criteria of “structures management” with an accent on the
numerical consistency of the communities. It must be noted that long-
term helplessness in the institutional resizing has led to the weakening of
communities and to the work overload of the confreres active in different
types of ministry. As seen by the Rector Major Luigi Ricceri, and often
reaffirmed afterwards, the work overload often leads to activism and to
a faith that is “rather epidermal, superficial, is only an information, an
external fact, a cliché, that does not explode from the inside to become
vitality”.49
48 VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di PG Salesiana, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000,
p. 79.
49 L. RICCERI, Lettera del Rettor Maggiore, in ACG 51 (1970) 260, 14. See also A.
GIRAUDO, Interrogativi e spinte della Chiesa del postconcilio sulla spiritualità Sale-
siana, in C. SEMERARO (Ed.), La spiritualità Salesiana in un mondo che cambia,
Salvatore Sciascia, Caltanissetta 2003, pp. 138-141.

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30 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
1.3 Educative and Pastoral Project Logic of Viganò and Vecchi
(1978-90)
GC21, held from the end of October 1977 until February 1978, could
have brought to fruition some of the big number of proposals indicated
by SGC. The previous turbulent six-year period was characterized by a
non-coordinated rise of many initiatives despite the ongoing demo-
graphic crisis. With regard to the central structures, some developments
can be mentioned. In 1973 the Salesian Pontifical Athenaeum became
the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS), an intellectual centre that
would play an important role in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Noteworthy is the
European Conference on “Don Bosco’s Educational System Between an
Old and a New Pedagogy” with about 300 participants (some of them
from America and Asia) and the “European Youth Week” which evalu-
ated different educational and pastoral experiences.50 In that period, the
Centre for Don Bosco Studies at the UPS published 37 volumes of Opere
edite that summed up all the works published by Don Bosco and, in this
way, contributed to the deepening and sharing of knowledge about the
Founder. In the logic of decentralization of the government, we could
mention three meetings of Luigi Ricceri and some General Council
members with the Provincials and delegates from different continents in
1975.
During the GC21, the seventh successor of Don Bosco was to be
elected. In the second ballot Egidio Viganò, former Councillor for For-
mation, was chosen. Braido characterizes the personality of Viganò as a
“multifaceted figure, a personality with lucid, penetrating intelligence
and a strong disciplined passion; a visionary leader and an illuminated,
50 See Il sistema educativo di Don Bosco tra pedagogia antica e nuova. Atti del convegno
europeo Salesiano sul Sistema Preventivo di Don Bosco, svoltosi a Roma dal 31 di-
cembre 1973 al 5 gennaio 1974, LDC, Leumann (TO) 1974 and A servizio
dell’educazione. La Facoltà di Scienze dell’Educazione dell’Università Pontificia Sa-
lesiana, a cura di G. Malizia ed E. Alberich, LAS, Roma 1984.

4 Pages 31-40

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 31
imaginative and firm legislator”.51 In his letters, the new Rector Major
emphasized the rising of spiritual superficiality and proposed an apos-
tolic interiority as a fruit of the “grace of unity”. Already in the closing
address to the GC21 he introduced the concept of the “oratorian heart”,
linking it with the spirit of initiative and pastoral creativity of every Sa-
lesian presence.52 Thanks to his leadership and governance abilities, the
Congregation became more peaceful and united in thought and in action
as compared to the previous fifteen-year period.53
1.3.1 SEPP as the Actualization of the Preventive System
The work of GC21 focused on the Salesian education and youth min-
istry. The document “Salesians Evangelizers of the Young” can be
considered as the first treatise on Salesian education and evangelization.
In fact, the themes that had been developed by this Chapter determined
the priority themes for the Chapters of the next three decades: the close
relationship between education and evangelization; the Salesian commu-
nity as the animating nucleus of the Educative and Pastoral Community
(EPC); the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project (SEPP); and the
theme of oratorian “criterion” or “heart” developed particularly by
Viganò in terms of preference for young people linked with the tradi-
tional Salesian motto Da mihi animas, cetera tolle.
The Chapter, recognizing “the actual risk of educational disaffec-
tion”,54 confirmed the close link between education and evangelization
in reference to Don Bosco, the Salesian tradition and to Evangelii Nun-
tiandi (1975). The strong connection of the two moments was translated
as a plan of practical commitment for the salvation of the young. “As
sharers of the evangelizing activity of the Church we believe in Don
51 BRAIDO, Le metamorfosi dell’Oratorio Salesiano, p. 350.
52 See GC21 (1978), nn. 565-568.
53 See WIRTH, Da Don Bosco ai giorni nostri, p. 466.
54 FRIGATO, Educazione ed evangelizzazione, in BOZZOLO – CARELLI (Eds.), Evangeliz-
zazione e educazione, p. 77.

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32 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Bosco’s charism and hence in our particular way of evangelizing the
young. This we do in a realistic way by means of the Salesian Educa-
tional Project, the ‘Preventive System’, rethought and reactivated”.55
With regaining the educational dimension, which balanced the rela-
tionship between education and pastoral ministry, we see the emergence
of an epistemological and methodological axiom for the following years:
“We are well aware that education and evangelization are specifically
distinct activities of their class, but there is nevertheless a strict connec-
tion between them on the practical plane of existence”.56 The document
specifies that education and evangelization, “in themselves, are not
chronologically successive, nor divergent, but they cover two major as-
pects of the human vocation, that is outlined in the plan of God.”
Riccardo Tonelli witnessed the risk to perceive education and evangeli-
zation in the logic of “before and after”, which was unfortunately
implemented in some contexts.57 The risk of passing from autonomy to
separation between education and evangelization is perceived in
Viganò’s letter about the SEPP. He recalls the need for unity of vocation,
motivation, fundamental option for Christ, concrete action, proposing a
practical possibility of a “Christian education”.58 The solution to bring
together these two dimensions “on the practical level of existence” has
been often neglected because of both diversity of the contexts in which
the Congregation carries out its mission, and employing of the few re-
maining Salesians in organizational and administrative tasks.59 Still it
seems that the theme of the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project was
vital for its practical implications and attracted a lot of educators, pastors,
scholars and leaders from the late ‘70s to the ‘90s. Let us now see the
55 GC21 (1978), n. 14. See also nn. 4, 81 and 569.
56 GC21 (1978), n. 14.
57 See TONELLI, Ripensando quarant’anni, pp. 41-42.
58 See E. VIGANÒ, The Letter of the Rector Major Rev. Fr. Egidius Viganò on the Pre-
ventive System, The Salesian Publication – The Citadel, Madras, pp. 40-60.
59 See GC21 (1978), nn. 14 and 85.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 33
beginnings and the development of the reflection about these very par-
ticular “projects” or “plans”.
The rethinking of the Salesian education and youth ministry through
the SEPP was distributed by the General Chapter in the “content” section
(the situation, objectives and means of realization) and in a section about
the style and the “spirit” (the attitudes of educators and the characteristics
of the environment). As we will see in the next paragraphs, the first sec-
tion had a good translation in a series of practical brochures (called
Handouts) published by the Youth Ministry Department under the guid-
ance of the newly elected Councillor Juan Edmundo Vecchi. The second
section about the spirit or style, always vital to the Salesian Youth Min-
istry, was neglected and it seems that this lapse would lead to serious
questions and practical difficulties.
1.3.2 Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project as an Operational
Tool
In the closing address of GC21 Viganò presented the Salesian Educa-
tive and Pastoral Project as a new understanding of the Preventive
System of Don Bosco. He did not see it exclusively from a theoretical
pedagogical perspective that only reorganizes the contents and the vo-
cabulary: “If anyone were to think that this system is something only
theoretical or secondary, I do not hesitate to say that he would show very
clearly that he has understood neither the heart of Don Bosco nor the
sensitivity of the present moment for the Congregation”.60 The Rector
Major contemplated the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project to be the
unifying point of the six-year plan. In this sense, he proposed to study, to
learn, to analyze the educational heritage of Don Bosco and to translate
it into practice in the areas or environments of the Salesian evangeliza-
tion.61
60 GC21 (1978), n. 569.
61 See GC21 (1978), n. 571.

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34 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The GC21 once again emphasized the aspect of decentralization and
attention to the unique realities of each context and the SEPP became its
main instrument: “Every province (or group of provinces) will draw up
an educational project suited to the local conditions as a basis for plan-
ning and evaluating its various works in line with the basic options made
by the Congregation: oratories, youth centres, day and boarding schools,
residences for students and artisans, parishes, missions, etc. To foster
unity within decentralization, the Youth Ministry Department, in the
light of the Salesian experience and self-evaluation, will draw up the
broad outlines of this project (objectives, content, method, characteris-
tics...) with due regard to the diversity of geographical and cultural
situations”.62
The dissemination of decisions and of information was designed by
the Chapter in an obvious logic “from the centre to the periphery”, start-
ing from the Chapter’s decisions, then continuing with the instructions
of the Youth Ministry Department, with the subsequent processing of the
Provincial SEPP and finally concluding the series with the work of a lo-
cal SEPP. This logic is understandable in a Chapter assembly but it is not
necessarily the best for specific purposes. It realized the paradox of “cen-
tralization through decentralization” with a number of practical
implications that have been part of the later “impact history” of the Sa-
lesian project management mindset.63 Having proposed the sequence of
the implementation of projects from the largest structure to the smaller
units has induced the Salesians to adopt an imitation (copy/paste) mind-
set. The General Chapter documents and decisions were often
linguistically adjusted by the Provincial Chapters and the local SEPP of-
ten reproduced faithfully the contents of the Provincial project as the
62 GC21 (1978), n. 105. N.B. in order to maintain uniformity of terms, we translated
“plan” and “master plan” as “project”, and “Department for the Youth Apostolate” as
“Youth Ministry Department”.
63 See KÜHL, Sisyphos im Management, pp. 131-166.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 35
community had to be tuned with it. We think that the mentality, the im-
plications and the risks would have been definitely different, if the
proposed projects started locally and followed a more “inductive” logic.
Six months after the closing of GC21, the Rector Major sent a circular
letter which presented a summary of the Chapter’s results regarding the
Salesian Educational and Pastoral Projects and reaffirmed that reassem-
bling “the synthesis of the preventive system at the level of ideas and of
praxis [...] is one of the programmatic requirements of the six-year pe-
riod”64 and it should include every Salesian and every community.
According to Viganò, the Salesian way of composing the SEPP means:
- “to call together individuals for study and reflection,
- to focus attention on the social and ecclesial phase of our work,
- to search with creativity ways and solutions of situations, […]
- to unite the community with a unified criterion to which all members
can aspire and by which each can recognize one another, […]
- to assure integrity and to free ourselves from sectionalism and im-
provisation”.65
Juan Edmundo Vecchi, the Councillor for Youth Ministry elected
during GC21, noted that “since 1978, there is proliferation of motivation
literature, production of handouts and practical models. The first steps
involved the animation at the provincial level, which local communities
were struggling to adopt”.66
64 See VIGANÒ, Letter on the Preventive System, 1978, pp. 66-67.
65 VIGANÒ, Letter on the Preventive System, 1978, pp. 67-68.
66 Cfr. VECCHI, Pastorale, educazione, pedagogia, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000,
p. 26. The pastoral projects and planning experiences in a wider Church context were
very similar. Various dioceses elaborated projects for their youth ministry. The design,
however, was heterogeneous, the interventions were of different sizes and different
autonomy, sometimes they were the result of long preparation, sometimes they ap-
peared in the diocesan synods, were more extended or too synthetic. We can agree with
Giuseppe Angelini who, in 1979, spoke of the youth ministry in Italy as a “fine dust
cloud made of extremely varied practical experiences, very diversified and generally
poorly developed in theoretical-practical reflection”. See G. ANGELINI, Pastorale gio-
vanile e prassi complessiva della Chiesa, in FACOLTÀ TEOLOGICA DELL’ITALIA
SETTENTRIONALE, Condizione giovanile e annuncio della fede, La Scuola, Brescia

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36 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
1.3.3 SEPP in the Youth Ministry Department Handouts (1978-80)
Various studies, manuals and handouts about the project manage-
ment, produced by the Youth Ministry Department from the 1970s until
today, have been influenced by the ambiguity of the multiple semantic
functions of the word “project”. The ambiguity of the term has two main
sources: the use of the expression “project” in the Italian language and
its dual use in the Salesian documents. These are, obviously, linked to
the difficulty of translation into other languages. In Italian, the term “pro-
getto” has two different denotations: a more precise one, signifying an
ordered and detailed work plan; and the other, more indeterminate sig-
nificance, understanding “project” as only a vague idea or a generic
purpose for the future which can be hardly implemented in an operative
way.
In the other Neo-Latin languages the word “project” retains both
meanings, though in some cases the Salesian documents’ translations
choose “plan” or “design”. Also, the semantic relationship between “pro-
ject” and “ideario” was not always clear in the Salesian environments,
especially in the Spanish-speaking countries. The Spanish word
“ideario” which was also used by the GC21 does not have an Italian term
that exactly matches.67 It indicates the guiding principles of an Educa-
tional Project linked to an inspiring “memory”, a term often used by
Vecchi to indicate “tradition”. A major problem is found in the English
and German contexts where the terms “project” and “project manage-
ment” have, almost exclusively, the sense of a structured and precise
work plan with a clear methodology. In sciences of education the terms
“educational design” or “instructional design” were also used. The Ger-
man term for “project” is “Projekt”, but the Salesians in the German-
speaking countries adopted a more linguistically appropriate solution and
1979, p. 81. See also A. DEL MONTE, Una Chiesa giovane per annunciare il vangelo
ai giovani, in «Il Regno-documenti» 3 (1979) 63-76 e G. COSTA, Pastorale giovanile
in Italia. Un dossier, La Roccia, Roma 1981.
67 See GC21 (1978), n. 84.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 37
did not translate the term SEPP as “Projekt”, but as “Pastoralkonzept”
(pastoral draft) or “Leitlinien” (guidelines). These terms express better
the very nature of the documents produced in the Salesian contexts under
the name of “project”.68
We can also note that the use of the term “project” in the Salesian
environments emphasizes two different aspects. GC21, on the one hand,
stressed the theoretical aspect, so the Salesian educational project was
envisioned as a re-interpretation of the Preventive System of Don
Bosco;69 and on the other hand, it highlighted the operational and practi-
cal application that examines programming of goals, processes,
strategies and means.70 We consider critically the Salesian term “project”
as a conceptual container in which the quantity of the contents is in-
versely proportional to the accuracy required by the operational needs of
the project management methodology.71
Handout No.1: Methodology of the SEPP (1978)
The first Youth Ministry Handout was published in December 1978,
ten months after the closing of the GC21. Prior to more detailed studies,
this document should have been fairly simple in order to accompany the
68 For the ambivalences and the background of the term “project” see G. MORANTE, Pro-
getto educativo, in Z. TRENTI et al. (Eds.), Religio. Enciclopedia tematica
dell’educazione religiosa, Piemme, Casale Monferrato (AL) 1998, pp. 752-753. For
the importance of cultural diversity paradigm in project management and leadership
see the in-depth analysis in R.D. LEWIS, When Cultures Collide. Leading across cul-
tures, Nicholas Brealey International, Boston 32006, pp. 3-80.
69 See GC21 (1978), nn. 14, 4 and 81.
70 See GC21 (1978), nn. 105 and 127-161.
71 As an emblematic example see the letter of E. VIGANÒ, Riprogettiamo insieme la san-
tità, in ACS 63 (1982) 303, 3-28, which uses the Italian term “progetto” in expressions
such as: there is to re-project our holiness together; man as project willed by God; re-
project in us the capacity for conversion, expiation and prevention; a larger project in
which God intervenes as Father: it is a vast project of love and victory; project of the
Father; divine project of redemption, etc.

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38 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
“first steps towards a project”.72 The text, containing 25 pages plus the
addendum, is brief but substantial and the composition reveals the expert
touch of the Councillor Juan E. Vecchi. As an education sciences scholar
and the Regional Councillor of South America, Vecchi had abundant ex-
perience in educational projects and curriculum design.
Although the Congregational “Big Scheme” had a top-down structure
starting with the General Chapters and descending to the local commu-
nities, Vecchi’s proposal privileged the Provincials and their Youth
Ministry delegates to play the role of promoters and facilitators of the
local community SEPP. Comparing the Handout to Vecchi’s lecture at a
1978 conference on the Preventive System, we understand the theoretical
framework of the document.73 He emphasizes the real dynamics in the
communities and the necessary integration of the “bottom-up” logic. The
Provincial Animator of the SEPP had to put into action a provincial ani-
mation group with the following tasks: engage, enlighten, motivate,
indicate methodologies, facilitate, that is, to help those who do not know
how to proceed, formulate conclusions and send them back to the con-
freres to enhance the learning process.74 With a healthy realism the
Handout proposes a project that has only provisional formulations and
which evolves dynamically, not following a regulation mindset, but see-
ing the aim of “helping the groups to operate consciously, carefully, with
a shared responsibility”.75
72 See DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Progetto Educativo Pastorale. Meto-
dologia, Sussidio 1, [s.e.], Roma 1978, p. 3.
73 See J.E. VECCHI, Per riattualizzare il Sistema Preventivo, in ISPETTORIA SALESIANA
LOMBARDO-EMILIANA [ILE], Convegno sul Sistema Preventivo, Milano-Bologna 3-4
novembre 1978, [s.e.], [s.l.] [s.d.] and Le principali difficoltà emerse dal dibattito sulla
relazione di don J.E. Vecchi, in ILE, Convegno sul Sistema Preventivo, 1978. See also
the conclusion of the conference about the project logic, “not from a superior position
of power (authority) neither from a superior professional position (experts)”, in A.
VIGANÒ, Alcuni punti fondamentali riaffermati dal convegno sul Sistema Preventivo in
ILE, Convegno sul Sistema Preventivo, 1978.
74 See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Metodologia, Sussidio 1, p. 6.
75 Idem, p. 8.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 39
The second part of the Handout speaks about the elements of the “Sa-
lesian memory” that constitute a SEPP framework. It returns to Don
Bosco and his educative and pastoral legacy that “configures our iden-
tity”. In nine points, with references to documents, it offers a practical
and brief summary of the Youth Ministry as conceived by the previous
two General Chapters:
- Starting point: love for the young and the consciousness of a mission;
- Subject of the action: Educational Community;
- Fundamental attitude: being in tune with young people;
- Educational methodology criterion: prevention;
- Educational understanding: education as a total service;
- Unifying focus: holistic salvation of the young in Christ;
- Proposal: itinerary towards Christian maturity;
- Constant dimension in the educational process: vocational discern-
ment;
- Some shared options for the educational praxis: educational environ-
ment, personal relationship, appeal to the inner forces of the young,
groups and associations, assistance.76
The third part of the Handout offers some practical methodological
suggestions for the process of project development. The methodology
proposes a set of stimulating questions for reflection dividing the SEPP
into three stages: situation analysis; operational planning; and assess-
ment of the project.
The analysis of the situation stage starts the planning process from
the understanding of the situation of the youth. It is not just a statistic and
an objectifying description of the context, but it must also include the
experience of young people, trends, opinions, aspirations and, as a coun-
terpart, the answers that the Educative and Pastoral Community gives to
these challenges. The situation has to be interpreted from a faith-based
76 Idem, pp. 10-13.

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40 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
point of view: “We must therefore assess the facts according to their abil-
ity to make it easier or more difficult for the young to grow in both the
humanity and the faith”.77 In this way the GC21 guidelines were imple-
mented linking education with evangelization in the interpretation phase
of the planning. Yet, in this model, a fundamental dimension which char-
acterizes the situation was not considered. It is the resource analysis of
the EPC, of the young and of the institution. Paradoxically, in a time of
the Salesian demographic crisis, the possibility of failure to provide the
necessary resources was not considered. This omission could be inter-
preted within a typical anthropology of the ‘70s that emphasized the
future and did not look to the past or to the present. As we will see in the
next chapter, only a few decades later the project management scholars
gave more importance to the “human resources management” aspiring to
obtain balance between “production” and “production capacity”.
The second step consists in operational planning. It proposes the first
objective of the formation and the development of the Educative and Pas-
toral Community. The next objectives should be the main educational
and pastoral choices. To express the objectives with sufficient clarity, the
EPC should: give a description of the desired results at the end of the
process; determine the priority of the objectives based on fundamental
values and on the situation’s needs; formulate specific, clear and com-
municable secondary objectives. It seems that the objectives set in this
way tend to accentuate the clarity and measurability of the typical Man-
agement by Objectives (MBO) of the ‘70s. In the Handout No.1, the
attention to the “educational style”, the “spirit of the project”, the educa-
tor’s attitudes (virtues) and characteristics of the environment have been
put aside although these themes occupy an important part of the GC21
document. Handout No.2 later tried to repeat a study on educational
style, but it was only an additional patch that did not fit into the linear
77 Idem, p. 14. See also GC21 (1978), n. 13 that refers to PAULUS VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi
(1975), n. 19.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 41
logic of analysis-planning-assessment.78 In this way, we can see why
these themes were not included in the planning mindset.
The third and final step of the project cycle consists in assessment.
The project must be checked according to two perspectives that are mu-
tually enriching. The first one is the evaluation of all parts of the project
with the Salesian tradition. The second perspective examines the ob-
tained results according to the planned objectives, thus assessing the
operational efficiency of the project.
Handout No. 1 was to accompany the first steps of the Salesian Edu-
cational and Pastoral Project in the communities. Despite its thinness,
different omissions and a very simple appearance, it is a little gem of
Vecchi’s first synthesis on this topic. The methodology of the project
cycle in the analysis-planning-assessment logic has remained un-
changed, with small additions, until now. The logic of the animation
process at the provincial level maintained the balance between invest-
ment in people and the tasks of planning, between the role of the
animation group and the involvement of the communities. What is also
interesting is the integration of the systemic logic in the paragraph on the
EPC seeing it as a whole and thus as a community. Vecchi had put it this
way: “Often when we speak of the Preventive System, we do not go be-
yond the individual perspective: it is easy to think of one educator [...] It
is more difficult to grasp and implement what the word SYSTEM means,
i.e., convergence and mutual reference, the organic nature of many ele-
ments”.79 He expressed the systemic-circular relationship between the
project and the community with two slogan-titles: “The Educational
Community produces a Project” and “A Project creates Community”.80
It seems that in Vecchi’s mindset the systemic-holistic logic balanced the
linear-operational logic of the project management. However, as we shall
78 See DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Elementi e linee per un progetto edu-
cativo pastorale Salesiano, Sussidio 2, [s.e.], Roma 1979, pp. 13-14.
79 VECCHI, Per riattualizzare il Sistema Preventivo, in ILE, Convegno sul Sistema Pre-
ventivo, p. 1.
80 Idem, pp. 5 and 7.

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42 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
see in the following paragraphs, the history of the SEPP did not go in the
direction of this equilibrium and the authors focused more on the linear
operational objectives logic pressed by needs of concrete situations or,
following a different mindset, they lost themselves in exuberant logor-
rheic copy-paste projects in order to be legally in line with the newest
Salesian Magisterium.
Handout No.2: Elements and Guidelines for the SEPP (1979)
The second Handout, entitled “Elements and Guidelines”, was pro-
duced by the Youth Ministry Department in October 1979, just ten
months after the publication of the first one. Of course the time was too
short for an evaluation of the educational and pastoral impact of the pro-
jects in the field. In that sense, the feedback from the provinces was based
mainly on reading the written provincial projects or drafts. Given the het-
erogeneity of the SEPPs examined in the Department and the diversity
of interpretations on what should be an educational project, Handout
No.2 focused on the organization of the written text, and it paid attention
to the technical precision of the steps of the project cycle.81 The nucleus
is defined as follows: “The Handout will be used to organize the raw
material of a project, to give an idea of the areas of the main concern for
our project”.82 Attention to the “content” or the “final product” tends to
marginalize attention to the “process” of planning and to the systemic
dynamics within the local Educative and Pastoral Community and the
Provincial Animation Team.83
In many points Handout No.2 clarified the issues in continuity with
the previous one: “Having made its fortune, the word [educational pro-
ject] is likely to be wrought in multiple and generic sense and, therefore,
81 See the presentation in DICASTERO PER LA PG, Elementi e linee, Sussidio 2, pp. 5-7.
82 Idem, p. 5
83 As we will describe in the second chapter, there are three fundamental project manage-
ment paradigms: 1. Project is a “product”, 2. Project is a “process”, 3. Project is an
“identity”.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 43
not to serve as clarification on one issue. For this reason, we would like
to illuminate the technical sense and the different scope of the three terms
that indicate different levels of realization”:84
1. The frame of reference, understood as a set of ideal guiding principles
on anthropology, theory of education, objectives and methods that
can be integrated into the project in the form of “guidelines”.
2. The educational project as a general plan of action that indicates the
operational objectives, proposes specific implementing courses of ac-
tion with their means and creates the roles and functions.
3. The programming defined as the moment of task management in
terms of personnel, time and place.
The central part of Handout No.2 describes five areas of intervention:
Educative and Pastoral Community; education and culture; evangeliza-
tion and catechesis; vocational guidance; and social experience. For each
area, the guidelines describe the overall objective and specific objectives,
criteria85 and intervention choices. The roles and functions of the person-
nel were developed in the next Handouts because of their dependence on
a particular educational structure (school, parish, oratory).
The division into five areas introduced a real risk of losing contact
with the overall Salesian priorities and criteria. As some studies suggest,
84 DICASTERO PER LA PG, Elementi e linee, Sussidio 2, p. 6.
85 Handout No.2 introduces a new methodological category, called “criterion”, defining
it in a very generic sense: “The criteria [...] help us to achieve the goals and to put into
practice the guidelines in a given situation”. This definition differs from the common
sense of the term criterion that stands for “a principle for evaluating, judging or dis-
cerning”. As the Provincial SEPPs of the ‘90s are demonstrating, the criteria were not
a methodological principle that guides the design, the discernment and the assessment.
They became one of the many so-called “operational elements” such as “educational
intervention”, “activities”, “educational experience”, “action line”, “intervention
choice” or “concrete line of work”. The high number of criteria combined with the
semantic ambiguity often created a big confusion at the text level that could induce an
operational paralysis. See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Elementi e linee, Sussidio 2, pp. 5;
20-22; 28-30; 35-39; 46-48; 53-55 and DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Il
Progetto Educativo-Pastorale Salesiano. Raccolta antologica di testi, Dossier PG 9,
SDB, Roma 1995.

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44 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the division of interventions and activities into distinct areas can lead to
fragmentation of the educational and pastoral mission.86 The division of
the project areas, moreover, multiplies the content of the project, which
makes it too long at the level of the text and too problematic to be put
into practice. If we count the guidelines, objectives, criteria and interven-
tion choices for the five areas, we can get to 250 elements interconnected
at various levels. This high number of elements could also grow as the
authors expected that “the individual elements will be further elaborated
by the provincial communities”.87
Summarizing, we can state that Handout No.2 increased the attention
of the Salesians to the correct wording, to the compositional linguistic
ability and introduced the division into five areas of intervention. It lost
the attention to the processual variables (e.g. the Provincial Animation
Team is not mentioned); to the execution of a project; and to the conver-
gence among areas, or dimensions.
Handouts No. 3a, 3b, 3c: Parishes, Oratories, Schools
The third series of Handouts, published in November 1980, were ex-
plicitly “more a series of tips than of mandatory requirements”,88 though
they were referring to the Constitutions, the Regulations and different
General Chapter conclusions. The Handouts, therefore, combined some
compulsory elements and some practical suggestions. Every Handout of
this series had its own structure that tried to adapt to the specific type of
86 See e.g. G. ANGELINI, Il vincolo ecclesiastico, la pratica religiosa, la fede cristiana, in
G. AMBROSIO et al., Progetto pastorale e cura della fede, Glossa, Milano 1996, pp. 38-
39. For a more organizational approach see P.M. SENGE, The Fifth Discipline. The art
and practice of the learning organization, Doubleday, New York 22006.
87 DICASTERO PER LA PG, Elementi e linee, Sussidio 2, p. 5.
88 DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Elementi e linee per un Progetto Educativo-
Pastorale nelle parrocchie affidate ai Salesiani, Sussidio 3a, [s.e.], Roma 1980, pp. 3-
4.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 45
activity. A common point was the discussion about the definition of ob-
jectives and lines of action; an another point was the omission of both
evaluation and the “criteria”.
Handout 3a is addressed to the parishes entrusted to the Salesians.
After a description of the Church model and of the Salesian parish char-
acteristics, it is divided into three parts: the parish as a community; the
parish for youth; and the parish as a centre of evangelization and educa-
tion. The SEPP design in the Salesian oratories is the aim of Handout 3b
which describes the typical oratorian aspects of education and youth min-
istry linked with the Educative and Pastoral Community model. Handout
3c, speaking about the ministry in schools, is divided into three parts,
namely, the EPC, the educational and cultural dimension, and the dimen-
sion of evangelization and catechesis.
We can note a quite heterogeneous presence of the SEPP’s five areas
in the third series of Handouts. A common characteristic is to describe
the EPC in a separate chapter. The areas of education, evangelization and
social experience are sometimes explicit as a chapter, other times they
are implicit in small allusions scattered in different parts of the text. The
area of vocational discernment is reduced to a few sentences and in this
way virtually neglected. The next Handout No.4, released in September
1981, proposed an essential outline for a Provincial Plan for Vocations
to bridge this gap, but it was presented as a separate category designed
and organized centrally by the Province, not by the local communities.89
1.4 Collaboration between the Youth Ministry Department and
the UPS (1980-88)
The joint effort between the Department for YM and the Faculty of
Education of the Salesian Pontifical University began with a series of
meetings in January 1979, in which the common interest in the study of
89 See DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Lineamenti essenziali per un Piano
Ispettoriale di Pastorale Vocazionale, Sussidio 4, [s.e.], Roma 1981.

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46 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
certain points of the Preventive System in connection with the SEPP
emerged. This collaborative effort began with a series of conferences and
publications. The most significant ones on the themes of educative and
pastoral project management and leadership were: the Seminar on “Plan-
ning Education Today with Don Bosco” held in 1980,90 the publication
of Modular Elements of the Salesian Educational Project 91 in 1984, and
the Conference on “Educative and Pastoral Practice and the Sciences of
Education” organized on the eve of Don Bosco Centenary celebrations,
in 1987.92
1.4.1 Seminar on “Planning Education Today with Don Bosco”
The first workshop, held in Rome with the participation of 35 scholars
and pastoral agents from Europe, faced some problematic aspects of the
SEPP. The primary difficulty was the ambiguity of the concept and the
practice of the “project”. Vecchi states in the presentation of the Acts: “It
is, at times, a small treatise, a declaration of principles, a lecture on an
educational problem with some practical advice, an exhortation to put
certain guidelines into practice”.93 The second perceived problem
stemmed from an “inadequate cultural preparation [...] We face difficul-
ties in the understanding of the historical components in which the core
of the Preventive System is offered”.94 The path to be walked in order to
find a solution was the systematic and scientific study of the Preventive
System seen as a guarantee of pastoral creativity and fidelity. The semi-
nar moved in advancing the line of thought and offering insights on the
90 See R. GIANATELLI (Ed.), Progettare l’educazione oggi con Don Bosco, Seminario
promosso dal Dicastero per la Pastorale Giovanile della Direzione Generale “Opere
Don Bosco” in collaborazione con la Facoltà di Scienze dell’Educazione dell’Univer-
sità Pontificia Salesiana Roma 1-7 giugno 1980, LAS, Roma 1981.
91 See J.E. VECCHI – J.M. PRELLEZO (Eds.), Progetto Educativo Pastorale. Elementi mo-
dulari, LAS, Roma 1984.
92 See J.E. VECCHI – J.M. PRELLEZO (Eds.), Prassi educativa pastorale e scienze dell’edu-
cazione, SDB, Roma 1988.
93 J.E. VECCHI, Presentazione, in GIANATELLI (Ed.), Progettare l’educazione oggi, p.14.
94 Ibidem.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 47
following topics: loving kindness in the educational relationship; Educa-
tive and Pastoral community management; education for freedom;
sexuality; social and political commitment; evangelization; liturgy; sense
of the Church; and vocational orientation. The third mentioned difficulty
to be faced was practical in nature: the confreres’ preference for individ-
ual educational interventions without seeking the convergence with the
community.
The different lectures, although declaring ta goal to target practical
applications, were general and theoretical in nature proposing theoretical
models of interpretation, documents to be taken into account and struc-
tures to be implemented. We can note lack of an organic linkage of
different lectures and the absence of a concrete methodological applica-
tion. An important theme was the Educative and Pastoral Community
prepared by Riccardo Tonelli that focused more on principles than on
their procedural and methodological translation. Tonelli’s synthesis
gives us different insights into the mindset of the ‘80s: “Each community
creates its own structures for discussion and dialogue. Once affirmed the
necessity, we can offer only examples from a fairly widespread educa-
tional tradition: councils at different levels, assemblies, planning
methods, goal setting and assessment methodologies, decision making
and coordination structures... It is convenient to recall that the proper ex-
ercise of these participatory structures requires technical expertise, to be
acquired through the study of specialized disciplines (e.g. group dynam-
ics, or the socio-cultural animation). The respect and trust in these
technical tools are a precise requirement for all Salesians, as it is a logical
consequence of the close relationship between education (and related sci-
ences of education) and evangelization”.95 As a result, methodological
issues are considered a question of technical expertise and confidence in
the “technical apparatus” is required in the name of an epistemological
axiom. As it was usual for pastoral theorists, Tonelli did not discuss the
95 R. TONELLI, Impostazione della comunità educativa in un contesto pluralista, in
GIANATELLI (Ed.), Progettare l’educazione oggi, p. 83.

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48 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
differences between various models of participative group management.
The “participative” label was given importance because it differed from
the old “hierarchical” leadership model. In the other lectures of the sem-
inar, there were parts dedicated to meeting some operational
requirements, but they were either ad hoc interventions facing the old
collegial mentality or an intelligent copy of the Salesian or Ecclesial op-
erational guidelines.
The “Planning Education with Don Bosco“ seminar showed the Sale-
sian adaptation of the “leadership through management” paradigm of the
organizational sciences of the ‘70s and early ‘80s.96 It brought the feeling
of touch with the modern world, although it widened the gap between the
content and the method of the Salesian education. The content about lov-
ing kindness, proximity in the educative relationship and the importance
of group animation should have been carried out through technical skills
of a project management team. The last trend to be noted in this seminar
is the rise of the experts, seen as scholars or technicians, thus breaking
away with the tradition of “educational practitioners” that dated back to
Don Bosco.
1.4.2 Publication of “Modular Elements of the Salesian Educa-
tional Project”
The volume tried to answer the difficulty of the educative and pastoral
projects, expressed by Vecchi as follows: “Once you understand the dy-
namics and learn the techniques, you realize that the real difficulties are
at the roots. They originate in the fundamental understanding of some
key points concerning education and the youth ministry”.97 Instead of
understanding the Youth Ministry as a whole, we think that the academic
96 See M. WITZEL, A History of Management Thought, Routledge, Abingdon 2012, pp.
198-218 and G.P. QUAGLINO (Ed.), Leadership. Nuovi profili di leader per nuovi sce-
nari organizzativi, Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2005.
97 J.E. VECCHI, Presentazione, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Elementi modulari, p. 5.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 49
approach strengthened the division into different dimensions. The vol-
ume of Educative and Pastoral Project: Modular Elements published in
1984 is a fine example of scholarly compartmentation.
The publication constitutes a mini-encyclopedia of the Salesian edu-
cation and Youth Ministry divided in 34 themes that followed the same
structure: the definition of the term with conceptual or historical refer-
ences; the importance of the theme; the essential contents; and
bibliography. The goal of the volume was not to present practical strate-
gies, but to broaden the sensitivity and form a mentality by offering “a
safe and substantially complete framework”98 on the key issues of the
SEPP. Experts in the theological, philosophical, psychological, sociolog-
ical and educational field cover the development of the themes following
the basic elements of a project: general issues, objectives, methods, sub-
jects of action and environments. Specific aspects of project
methodology are treated in the modules connected to the area of school
education, leaving aside the fields of the oratory, parish, vocation dis-
cernment or missionary activities. The link between the project and the
school pedagogy was again confirmed by Vecchi: “The terms project and
plan did not enter in the pedagogical language until recently [...] This
seems due especially to the developments in the sciences of education
area, in which the need emerged more clearly of an organic connection
between the different requirements of the complex process of the person-
ality development. The decisive push was given by the didactics that
introduced the concept of the curriculum”.99
Another intent of Vecchi was to harmonize various elements of the
project, reflecting the fragmented situation of the young and of the soci-
ety. In this sense the SEPP should propose: a single coherent framework
98 Idem, p. 8.
99 J.E. VECCHI, Progetto educativo pastorale, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Elementi modulari,
p. 15.

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50 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
of values, an organic vision of convergent interventions, and a conver-
gence of roles and execution.100 The rhetoric highlights interdisciplinary
approaches, convergence of instruments and interventions, but the meta-
message of the volume seems to be the division into separated modules
in fragmentation of themes, instruments, theories and vocabulary of the
different sciences. Also the module about the “integral promotion” writ-
ten by Giuseppe Groppo, which could be unitary par excellence, is made
up of too many distinctions and subsections. It seems that this disjoint-
edness has to be linked to the nature of science that tends to be
specialized in a particular area and is necessarily fragmented. The ques-
tion arises, therefore, whether the scientific-technical approach is the best
tool for achieving holistic education.
The authors’ attention to recent developments in the field of education
and the youth ministry gives an overall broad vision. The widening of
perspectives comes at the cost of losing the specificity of the Salesian
tradition. The Salesian identity of the SEPP is present only in one module
redacted by Vecchi which links the historical development of the Pre-
ventive System with the current experiences of education and youth
ministry. His module is an excellent summary of the Salesian education
but it is a stand-alone unit that does not permeate, as an underlying par-
adigm, the rest of the publication.
Among the potentially interesting theoretical references on the plan-
ning methodology and project management, we can list the theories of
catechesis developed by Emilio Alberich and Giuseppe Groppo; the an-
imation theory developed by Mario Pollo, Riccardo Tonelli and Aldo
Ellena; the value education proposed by Pietro Gianola and theories of
leadership cited by Pio Scilligo. We will attempt a deeper analysis of the
positions of these authors in the second chapter of this study in order to
grasp the theoretical background of the SEPP.
100 Idem, pp. 16-19.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 51
1.4.3 Conference on “Educative and Pastoral Practice and the Sci-
ences of Education”
The Conference was held on the occasion of the Don Bosco’s cen-
tenary celebrations in 1988 and addressed two fundamental issues: the
fragmentation of different educative approaches and the widening gap
between the scientific and practical approaches to the youth ministry.
Unlike the previous initiatives, the conference promoted the “dialectic
convergence between theory and practice”,101 between scholars and the
educative sensitivity of the operators. The seminar involved a hundred
SDBs and FMAs from thirty different contexts. The reports were struc-
tured in four parts: the historical perspective, the current situation, new
questions, and finally proposals and guidelines.
In an interesting contribution, the sociologist Giancarlo Milanesi
analyses the use of educational sciences in three significant Salesian ped-
agogical experiences: the shoeshine boys of Rome, the reeducation home
in Arese (Milan), and the experience of Bosconia-la Florida in Colombia.
He noted an essentially eclectic and functional use of educational sci-
ences. The Salesians in the selected experiences juxtaposed the
originality of the Salesian approach with an exclusive psychological one,
selecting only some techniques or methods, while remaining critical of
the anthropological assumptions of the individual sciences. As for edu-
cational and pastoral planning, in the first two experiments, Milanesi
observed a lesser influence of the science education in the formulation of
the project. If it was used, it was only ex post to justify the already estab-
lished educational choices. The design work of Bosconia-la Florida,
which is considered as the most explicitly connected with a theoretical
framework, is described as focused on the people involved in the pro-
gramme, the theory, the objectives, strategies and assessment.
101 J.E. VECCHI – J.M. PRELLEZO, Introduzione, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Prassi educativa
pastorale e scienze dell’educazione, p. 6.

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52 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Eclecticism was present also in Bosconia, but unlike the other works,
there it was presented as intended and justified.102
The theme of the educational and pastoral projects is only treated di-
rectly in Vecchi’s reflection. He saw planning as an educational tool in
the age of complexity. Provinces that use the SEPP are characterized by
the first fruits: greater convergence between evangelization and educa-
tion; educative environment management; attention to the needs of the
young and; last but not least, innovation of the contents and of the meth-
odology. Vecchi analyzed the data of the Provincial visits and the Report
on the State of the Congregation and concluded that the Provinces had
only arrived at an early stage of progress in the area of the educative and
pastoral projects. For the most part, he noted, the SEPPs were almost
absent in local communities.
Other interventions address the issues of epistemological diversity;
the need for an operational synthesis that would involve clear choices;
the need for a new ministry for the secularized young people; the rethink-
ing of the Salesian associations in the light of the cultural changes; the
promotion of teaching and educational skills; the lifelong learning atti-
tude, etc. The proposals resembled more a set of desires or a
brainstorming list than a systematic plan. The SEPP was seen as a con-
crete application of the sciences of education at the practical level.
Similar to other proposals, there were only some generic cues, like “en-
hance and deepen the SEPP [...]; support the validity and centrality of
education assessment at all levels; apply a model of institutional analysis
to our context”.103
The conference, which ended a decade of close collaboration between
the UPS and the YM Department, noted the existence of two existential
and mental “worlds”. The first was composed mainly of scholars, who
102 See G. MILANESI, L’utilizzo delle scienze dell’educazione nell’impegno dei Salesiani
per i giovani “poveri, abbandonati, pericolanti”, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Prassi edu-
cativa pastorale e scienze dell’educazione, pp. 89-115.
103 Sintesi dei lavori e conclusioni, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Prassi educativa pastorale e
scienze dell’educazione, p. 326.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 53
were fairly critical of the educational and pastoral practices, expressing
their point of view by highlighting “the need for qualifying the Salesian
educational action at all levels”.104 The second “world” was broader and
more connected with the daily life of the Salesian works. Viganò stated:
“In the present moment of expansion and acceleration of the educational
changes, we see the lack of the ability to take on the renewal of content,
structures and know-how determined by the cultural evolution in order
to make with competence the right choices”.105 The future development
of the 1990s seems to indicate a gradual consolidation of the gap between
these two “worlds”.
1.4.4 Evaluation of the SEPP implementation in the ‘80s
In the ‘80s the Salesians of Don Bosco invested many efforts and en-
ergies in the educative and pastoral projects development. Progress has
been made with the SEPP tool, but unfortunately some shadows were
present from the beginning, especially on the practical or operational
level. Juan E. Vecchi described the final image as a “gap between the
amount of proposals and the ability to implement them”.106 There are
different aspects of the little operational translation of the SEPP to be
pointed out:
- Stages of implementation were too short. A continuous succession of
new proposals has blocked a real assimilation of the SEPP mindset in
provinces and rendered impossible the translation into everyday prac-
tice. Viganò’s motto “to move from paper to life”107 pointed to the
104 Idem, p. 327.
105 E. VIGANÒ, La Società di S. Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1978-83, in VECCHI,
Pastorale, educazione, pedagogia nella prassi Salesiana, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO,
Prassi educativa pastorale e scienze dell’educazione, p. 148.
106 See VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di PG, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000, p.
88.
107 VIGANÒ, Opening address, in GC22 (1984), n. 19.

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54 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
necessary (but missing) internalization, the danger of the spiritual me-
diocrity and the weakening of Salesian identity;108
- In some regions the SEPP planning has produced only a change of a
few terms leaving untouched the previous pastoral mindset;109
- Educational and pastoral planning “involves in the first place the SEPP
animators at provincial level, while local communities are struggling to
adopt it”;110
- The variety of proposals to be carried out created a dispersion in too
many commitments obstructing the desired integration and unity of the
Educative and Pastoral Community;
- Suggestions in the field of the Youth Ministry were only “general en-
couragements, not innovative decisive and operational structural
pressures, which would apply to persons, resources and mandatory
guidelines [...] The Ministry is considered only an object of ‘animation’
and not a field of government decisions”;111
- The communities had to accelerate learning processes in an era that re-
quired stable and deep convictions and operational mindset;112
- The work of the YM Department in the General Headquarters, the re-
gional YM centres and provincial teams was not coordinated. The
teams were more concerned for the presence of their publications on
the market, than for the implementation of the directions. Problematic
108 See La società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1984-1990, pp. 151-159. See
also VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di PG, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000, p. 88
and A. GIRAUDO, Interrogativi e spinte della Chiesa del postconcilio sulla spiritualità
Salesiana, in SEMERARO (Ed.), La spiritualità Salesiana, pp. 142-143.
109 See CHÁVEZ, Salesian Youth Ministry, pp. 9-10.
110 VECCHI, Pastorale, educazione, pedagogia nella prassi Salesiana, in Il cammino e la
prospettiva 2000, p. 2.
111 La società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1984-1990, pp. 155-157.
112 See VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di PG, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000, p. 88
and La società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1984-1990, pp. 156.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 55
communication channels and also the lack of personnel in the structures
of animation have to be noted;113
- The ambiguity and multiplicity of directions was increased by the dif-
ferences of the contexts and in this way an unidirectional proposal was
impossible;114
- The Youth Ministry proposals were separated from and neglected the
vocational dimension, as can be seen in the GC21 document structure
and in the YM Handouts’ theme structuration.115
There were also some paradoxical or unwanted effects. The excessive
amount of the Youth Ministry proposals combined with the fruitful co-
operation between the YM Department and the UPS, has led to an
undesired side effect: a widening gap between the “world of the experts”
that does not care about the slowness of mentality change, and the “world
of practitioners” immersed in the everyday practical problems.
A loss in the integrality or wholeness of the SEPP can be noted in the
division into five areas within the SEPP in Handout No. 2 (1979) and in
the thirty modules of the Pastoral Educational Project (1984) that re-
flected the different specializations of experts. Salesian historian Aldo
Giraudo notices a separation between ministry and spirituality, observing
a “prayer that moves in between intellectualism and emotionalism, often
unable to move the life of the young”. The educative and pastoral expe-
riences often tend “to resolve or close on themselves, have a gratifying
and anesthetic character, without a real consistency and inner quality. If
it were really so [...] the educational and pastoral projects are in danger
of becoming a wasted effort, moving on without a soul and a back-
bone”.116
113 See La società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1984-1990, pp. 156-157 and
VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di PG, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000, pp. 88-89.
114 See Ibidem.
115 See also GC23 (1990), nn. 251-253 and TONELLI, Ripensando quarant’anni, pp. 48-
49.
116 GIRAUDO, Interrogativi e spinte della Chiesa del postconcilio sulla spiritualità Sale-
siana, in SEMERARO (Ed.), La spiritualità Salesiana, p. 154.

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56 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
A reaction to the division between evangelization and education is
clearly expressed in the 1991 Viganò’s letter The new education. His in-
sistence on the grace of unity suggests that the tendency to separate the
two areas is not only virtually possible, but it is a real problem in the
Salesian Youth Ministry. Tonelli confirms the intuition speaking about
the YM: “One of the limits of the work of these years has been ... the
game of ‘before’ and ‘after’. Someone said: first education and then the
announcement. Some other preferred to reverse the moments”.117 Sabino
Frigato in his analysis of the relationship between education and evange-
lization in the Congregation noted that “despite the multiplicity of
definitions, the role of faith is revealed substantially ‘extrinsic’ to the
educational process. Faith and education are considered ‘distinct’, ‘mu-
tually independent’ and ‘polarized’ dimensions”.118
Meanwhile, the only way to make a synthesis in the Salesian Youth
Ministry seemed to be the 1990 volume of Salesian Youth Ministry,
which collected the various issues in the form of symbolic illustrations,
gave a brief explanation and listed a more extensive bibliography on the
subject. The “symbolic” way of presenting the contents with a picture
evaded the problem of the interrelations between the elements and gave
the impression of unity. The volume could be considered as the icon of
the content and aspirations of Youth Ministry between 1978 and 1990.119
1.5 Consolidation of the SEPP (1990-2002)
In the ‘80s the Congregation invested heavily in the development of
the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project, which expressed with
greater clarity the ultimate goals of education and facilitated the setting
117 R. TONELLI, Ripensando quarant’anni di servizio alla pastorale giovanile, intervista
a cura di Giancarlo De Nicolò, in «Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 43 (2009) 5, 41-42.
118 S. FRIGATO, Educazione ed evangelizzazione. La riflessione della Congregazione Sa-
lesiana nel Postconcilio, in BOZZOLO A. – CARELLI R. (Eds.), Evangelizzazione e
educazione, LAS, Roma 2011, p. 89.
119 See DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Pastorale giovanile Salesiana, SDB,
Roma 1990.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 57
of some standards for different environments, such as schools, oratories
or parishes. The formation of Delegates for the Youth Ministry should
be also mentioned as part of the process.120 In some Regions, like Latin
America, the effort to develop the SEPP was stronger and the project
mentality had more influence on the everyday life of the provinces. Be-
sides the achievements there were, however, some more or less defined
shadows, especially in the area of the operational translation of the pro-
jects. Based on the Rector Major’s assessments we could describe the
final image, along with Juan E. Vecchi, as a “gap between the amount of
proposals and the ability to implement them”.121
1.5.1 GC23 and the Programmes of Education to the Faith
The GC23 was purposely designed as an ordinary General Chapter,
since the post-Vatican II review of the Salesian Identity was essentially
completed. For the convocation of the GC23, the Rector Major Egidio
Viganò wrote: “Now the Chapter that is being prepared can be said to be
“ordinary” […] It means, in fact, to focus the attention of the confreres
on a specific operational topic”.122 In fact, the GC23, which lasted “only”
two months, from March until May 1990, set a duration standard for the
future GCs. The Chapter accepted the pre-chapter document as a good
basis but wanted the final document to be a pastoral document, very prac-
tical, operational and addressed to the Salesians seen as educators in the
faith for different situations and contexts.123 Egidio Viganò was re-
120 See e.g the course for Provincial Youth Ministry Delegates in the Pisana General
Headquarters from November 1986 until January 1987 or the formation manuals used
in the hispanic world: CENTRO INTERNACIONAL SALESIANO DE PASTORAL
JUVENIL/ROMA, Comunidad educativa en formación. Guiones para educadores, 5
vols., CCS, Madrid 1985-86.
121 See VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di PG, in Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000, p.
88.
122 E. VIGANÒ, Convocazione del Capitolo Generale 23°, in ACG 69 (1988) 327, 6.
123 See Chronicle of the GC23, in GC23 (1990), n. 370.

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58 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
elected Rector Major for a third six-year term, Vecchi became his vicar
and Luc Van Looy was elected Councillor for the Youth Ministry.
The Programmes of Education to the Faith had to be the operational
element of the GCs for it was a translation of the theory into practical
programmes of structured learning, in gradual stages, suited to the con-
dition of the young people who are to implement them (objectives,
attitudes, knowledge, concrete commitments and experiences) with some
clearly defined content. These Programmes had to be structured in four
areas, in line with the dimensions of the SEPP, but with the omission of
the “Educative and Pastoral Community Area”, which, at that time, was
the fifth area of the projects.124
At this moment, a natural question can arise: What is the difference
between a project and a programme? Riccardo Tonelli, a key figure in
the preparation of the GC23 pre-chapter document expressed himself in
these words: “There is no big difference between the terms project and
programme. The two formulas are often used interchangeably”.125 After
the Chapter, Tonelli explained the difference with a theoretical and am-
biguous definition stating that “a programme is a dynamic synthesis of
the project”.126 It seems that the introduction of the new term “pro-
gramme” should have been the solution for the lack of operative
translation of the “old” projects. The tendency of the General Chapters
to introduce new terms to solve old and structural issues appears to be a
defined trait of the post-Vatican II Salesian mindset.
Although there are not many differences between a project and a pro-
gramme at the definition level, there have been two practical shifts of
124 See GC23 (1990), nn. 116-118. The four areas are: human growth, meeting with Jesus
Christ, insertion in the community of believers, commitment and vocation for the trans-
formation of the world.
125 R. TONELLI, Un itinerario di educazione dei giovani alla fede, in «Note di Pastorale
Giovanile» 18 (1984) 8, 62.
126 R. TONELLI, Progetto Educativo-Pastorale, in ISTITUTO DI TEOLOGIA PASTORALE
UNIVERSITÀ PONTIFICIA SALESIANA, Dizionario di Pastorale Giovanile, a cura di Mario
Midali e Riccardo Tonelli, LDC, Leumann (TO) 21992, p. 906.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 59
attention. The first concerns the application field of a programme. Gen-
erally, a programme should be carried out in a group or by a single young
person. In this sense a programme is more specific than a project and the
introduction of the “programmes” brought the project management
method and mentality to a more concrete level.127 The second shift en-
forced the already present linear logic of project management. Van Looy
adopted a clear linear thinking: “The progressive logic of achieving the
objectives in each area specifies a logical order of intermediate mile-
stones. Starting from the point where the young people are, we proceed
step by step to reach the objective, you go from X to Y, and again from
the arrival point you reach the next grade, from Y to Z”.128 A more sys-
temic and nonlinear logic of the educative programmes proposed by
Michele Pellerey in the publication on Modular Elements of the SEPP
seems to be neglected and a linear Management by Objectives logic is
reinforced.129
The GC23 did not only offer the reflection on the Programmes. In
connection with the theme of the education to the faith, the Chapter de-
veloped the concept of Salesian Youth Spirituality, which expressed a
new way of being a disciple in the world. It integrates the insights of the
faith, choices of values and lived attitudes. It is a spirituality for young
people and therefore it is an educational spirituality developed in five
basic dimensions: daily life, joy and optimism, friendship with the Lord
Jesus, ecclesial communion and responsible service.130 Another new el-
ement in the area of the Youth Ministry structures is the Salesian Youth
127 See GC23 (1990), n. 280. The accent on the specificity and concreteness of the pro-
grammes is confirmed later by Ruta, Sigallini and Domènech in Itinerari di educazione
alla fede. Un confronto interdisciplinare: orizzonti e linguaggi, Intervista a C. Bissoli,
A. Domènech, G. Ruta, D. Sigalini, R. Tonelli, G. Venturi a cura di G. De Nicolò, in
«Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 39 (2005) 8, 5-6.
128 L. VAN LOOY, Mentalità di itinerario, in ACG 74 (1993) 345, 55.
129 See M. PELLEREY, Itinerario, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Elementi modulari, pp. 191-195.
130 See GC23 (1990), nn. 158-161.

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60 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Movement (SYM) formed by all groups who identify with the Salesian
spirituality and education.131
1.5.2 Revision of the Provincial SEPPs in the early ‘90s
In the letter of convocation of the General Chapter 23, Viganò spoke
of the need to “verify the effectiveness of the Salesian education seen in
relation to the life of faith of the young people we work with, and then
review with more operational approach the SEPPs of each Province and
of the individual houses”.132 The GC23 formulated clearly the need to
review the Provincial Educative and Pastoral Projects133 in order to give
an operational answer to the failed resizing of the Salesian institutions
proposed in the ‘60s. Vecchi expressed a realistic estimate of this effort
in 1991: “The resizing problem is now taken over with the theme of the
‘significance’ of the Salesian presence. There are some attempts to relo-
cate or to entrust the institutions to others through shareholding forms of
management. There are also some presences in new contexts. But the
new projects require additional use of resources, they simply add tasks
to existing commitments, weakening the consistency of communities and
overloading the confreres with new responsibilities”.134
Evaluations of the Youth Ministry Provincial Teams
Despite the emphasis of the Chapter on the operational concreteness,
the review launched by Luc van Looy wanted “to examine the quality of
the written provincial projects; for now, it has not entered in the verifi-
cation of the actual implementation of these projects in the
131 See GC23 (1990), nn. 275-277.
132 VIGANÒ, Convocazione del Capitolo Generale 23°, 1988, 7.
133 See GC23 (1990), n. 230.
134 J.E. VECCHI, Verso una nuova tappa di Pastorale Giovanile Salesiana, in Il cammino
e la prospettiva 2000, Documenti PG 13, SDB, Roma 1991, p. 79.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 61
institutions”.135 The review gave a “great attention to the written princi-
ples”136 and the completeness of the issues addressed in the projects,
emphasizing again the choice of not wanting to get into the problematic
field of projects’ execution or that of the impact on reality. In the area of
the complete formulation of the project, the review has revealed a sub-
stantial satisfaction. The Provincial SEPPs were generally well written
with updated references to the previous Salesian Documents. There is an
interesting remark on the integration of the multiple dimensions of the
project. The answers regarding the relationship between the various di-
mensions of the project were interpreted and reported as follows: “there
is no real relationship of integration” and “the relationship with the other
dimensions is a bit uncertain”.137
Among the 45 items of the questionnaire, only three deal with the
operational phase of the project. The survey results concerning these
three questions were formulated in a very brief and generic way: “We
can see a slow movement in the educational commitment which trans-
lates itself into the formulation of the project and begins to involve the
laity”.138 The fairly generic findings of the review can be specified with
some statistical data taken from van Looy’s 1994 letter about the SEPP
in the Provinces. The Councillor for the Youth Ministry highlighted the
following issues:
- Lack of project methodology: 38% of the houses do not have a written
project. 17% of the provinces do not have a SEPP approved by the Pro-
vincial Chapter. Of those provinces that have the project, in 76% of
135 L. VAN LOOY, Il Progetto Educativo Pastorale nelle Ispettorie, in ACG 75 (1994)
349, 36.
136 DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Il Progetto Educativo-pastorale Salesiano.
Rilettura dei progetti ispettoriali. Risultati dell’inchiesta ai delegati ispettoriali di PG e
loro équipes sul “Progetto educativo-pastorale”, Dossier PG 8, SDB, Roma 1995, p. 6.
See also VAN LOOY, Il Progetto Educativo Pastorale nelle Ispettorie, 34-38.
137 See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Rilettura dei progetti ispettoriali, pp. 20-24.
138 Idem, p. 28.

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62 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
cases it was written only by some Salesians without a co-responsible
involvement of others.
- Deficiency of co-responsibility with the laity in the Educative and Pas-
toral Community: In 36% of the houses there is no EPC. 78% of the
responses show no knowledge of the EPC being the guarantor of the
Salesian charism, and 67% say they do not understand very well how
to share responsibility with the laity. 78% are not really clear of the
Salesian community’s task to form the laity.
- Failed insertion in the social and ecclesial context. Only 3% consider
the relationship with the social and political organizations important
and only 4% value positively the relations with cultural organizations.
The insertion in the local church is considered important for 19% of
respondents; relationships with the families of the young people are
important for 11%, and 14% want to build relations with other educa-
tional organizations.139
Some results, especially the co-responsibility with the laity and in the
territory insertion, were quite alarming. Three quarters of the Salesian
communities did not know how to apply it or did not consider teamwork
with the laity as important and, of course, the same percentage of the
projects was written only by the Salesians. The communion and sharing
between Salesians and lay people in the EPC was, therefore, chosen as
the guiding theme for the next General Chapter in 1996.
Provincial SEPPs Text Analysis
Another source of analysis of the Salesian project management mind-
set of the ‘90s is the SEPP: Anthology of the Texts published by the
Youth Ministry Department in 1995.140 The texts that are found in it were
selected in order to serve as an inspiration to other provinces or local
139 See VAN LOOY, Il Progetto Educativo Pastorale nelle Ispettorie, 36-40.
140 See DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Il Progetto Educativo-pastorale Sale-
siano. Raccolta antologica di testi, Dossier PG 9, SDB, Roma 1995.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 63
communities.141 In that sense it is a good source of “the best material”
that represents the shared mindset of these years. Reading the texts, we
can summarize a simplified typical scheme of an educative and pastoral
project composition in three steps:
1. Describe the contextual challenges seen as an absence of quality (A,
B, C…) or as a negative phenomenon (X, Y, Z…) and divide them
into four dimensions. This operation could be possibly inspired by the
documents of the previous General Chapter;
2. Choose an objective from the following ones: promote (educate, en-
hance, improve, endorse, encourage, sponsor, support, boost,
develop, form attitudes of) A, B, C or non-X, non-Y, non-Z;
3. Decide a guideline and formulate it as a gerund: promoting (educat-
ing, enhancing, improving, endorsing, encouraging, sponsoring,
supporting, boosting, developing, forming attitudes of, taking steps to
get to) a1, a2, a3…, b1, b2, b3…, c1, c2, c3… or non-x1, non-x2, non-
x3…, non-y1, non-y2, non-y3…, non-z1, non-z2, non-z3… etc.
Some typical examples could be the following: Example 1: In re-
sponse to the lack of sufficiently prepared lay teachers (situation), the
province decides to enhance their formation (objective), by sponsoring
specific Salesian formation programmes, by improving their teaching
skills and by developing a long-life formation attitude (guideline). Ex-
ample 2: The rising number of dropouts challenges our pastoral ministry
(situation), therefore, we choose the objective to enhance the existing
services for disadvantaged families by improving those specific pro-
grammes that deal explicitly with the dropout risk, by sponsoring
responsible parenting formation course and by developing major aware-
ness to the phenomenon (guideline).
As one can see, this project methodology has two main risks. The first
is to engage only in linguistic issues with little attention to the execution.
141 See Idem, p. 7.

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64 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Some Provinces preferred to play it in a safe way: make the project be-
come a reformulation of the Preventive System. In those projects, the
theoretical aspects prevail and practical guidelines are generally ab-
sent.142 In fact, the assessment of the project’s results was treated only by
two provinces that have used the tool of a questionnaire. They planned
to ask the provincial team about the achievement of the objectives, alt-
hough no sets of indicators were specified.143
The second risk of this planning mentality was the proliferating of
objectives that generally follow the exhortations of the last General
Chapters. In many projects, the number is so large that their achievement
is highly improbable.144 However, some provinces tended towards cer-
tain operational concreteness. There were provinces that embraced a
realistic number of objectives.145 Some SEPPs specified a programme for
animators’ formation; others presented concrete action steps for the local
EPC formation.146 A realistic approach can be found in those provinces
that decided on a brief set of criteria for the recruitment of teachers or for
the significance of their institutions.147 Some projects integrated short
and synthetic parts of the mission statement and mission criteria, as part
of the SEPP framework.148
142 In an emblematic case of a philosophical-theoretical approach, a nine-page description
of the world situation from the perspective of the poor introduces the project. See Idem,
pp. 317-325.
143 See Idem, pp. 247-249.
144 In Chapter 2 we will address more specifically the limits and paradoxes of Manage-
ment by Objectives. For a critical view on too many objectives see e.g. J.Y. SHAH – R.
FRIEDMAN – A.W. KRUGLANSKI, Forgetting all else: on the antecedents and conse-
quences of goal shielding, in «Journal of Personality and Social Psychology» 83 (2002)
6, 1261-1280.
145 See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Raccolta antologica di testi, pp. 231-232; 233-235 and
292-293.
146 See Idem, pp. 94-98; 119-122; 102-110 and 189.
147 See Idem, pp. 237-238 e 243-246.
148 See Idem, pp. 253-256.

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1.5.3 Synthesis of the First Two Editions of the “Frame of Refer-
ence” (1998, 2000)
The review of the provincial projects of the first half of the ‘90s car-
ried out by Luc van Looy was followed by two six-year periods (1996-
2008) of Antonio Domènech’s animation. His influence can be summa-
rized as an effort to diffuse and to synthetize the Salesian Youth Ministry
mindset. These two lines of action have not been interrupted since the
two Frame of Reference editions reflected the feedback from the provin-
cial YM teams received during regional meetings that have served, in
turn, as an occasion to form a shared mentality.
Pascual Chávez Villanueva characterizes this effort by stating: “There
was an extraordinarily rich and sound heritage of reflection and practice
of the Salesian pastoral action, and the need was felt to have a complete
overall view, and to bring together, in a structured and shared synthesis,
the fundamental guidelines so as to facilitate their personal assimilation
and provide directives for the praxis. The Youth Ministry Department
tried to respond to this need by offering the Provinces and the communi-
ties a guidance manual, and providing a systematic process of pastoral
formation in these years, in particular for those confreres with responsi-
bilities for animation and the government, insisting on certain key issues
to be borne in mind”.149 In the following paragraphs we will briefly ex-
amine two chapters of the first edition of the Frame of Reference (1998),
which are linked to the content and to the methodology of the SEPP. The
third paragraph will describe some improvements of the second edition
(2000).
Wholeness and Dimensions of the SEPP
The second chapter of the volume focuses on the fundamentals of the
SEPP, dividing it into four parts following the logic of the “dimensions”.
149 CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, Salesian Youth Ministry, 2010, 20.

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66 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The dimensions follow the division into five areas of Handout No. 2
(1979) removing the so called “community area”, which becomes a sep-
arate chapter on the identity and the animation of the Educative and
Pastoral Community. The four dimensions (education-culture, evangeli-
zation-catechesis, social experience, vocation) are present in every
previous document linked to the SEPP.150 The decision to deal with the
EPC in a separate chapter brings with it advantages and disadvantages at
the same time. The benefit is the emphasis on the community subject,
which is understandable after the GC24 (1996) that deepened and inten-
sified the theme of communion and mission between the Salesians and
lay people. However, there is a collateral risk of the mental separation
between the SEPP and EPC, with the practical consequence of not paying
attention to the construction and formation of the community within an
educative-pastoral project.
The division of the project into dimensions comes together with high-
lighting the integral growth and the organic unity of all the elements of
the SEPP. The text of the first edition expresses that, “The SEPP as a
mediation of the SYM, has to express the organic unity in different ob-
jectives, measures and actions that are mutually intertwined with one
another and all are guided to the same purpose, expressing their concrete
complementarity and forming a global unity. This organic unity is ex-
pressed in the four dimensions of the SEPP”.151 Unfortunately, the call
to organic unity is not accompanied by methodological suggestions that
might answer the question of how to arrive at unity out of the different
150 See the following documents in a chronological order: Const, 40; Reg, 5-10;
DICASTERO PER LA PG, Elementi e linee, Sussidio 2, p. 15; DICASTERO PER LA
PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Pastorale giovanile Salesiana, SDB, Roma 1990, pp. 63-73;
GC23 (1990), nn. 116-118 and 158-161; DICASTERI PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE
FMA-SDB, Spiritualità Giovanile Salesiana. Un dono dello Spirito alla Famiglia Sale-
siana per la vita e la speranza di tutti, [s.e.], Roma 1996.
151 DICASTERO PER LA PG, Quadro di riferimento, 11998, p. 26.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 67
dimensions.152 Even trans-dimensional themes, such as: prevention, ani-
mation, Salesian Youth Spirituality and Salesian Youth Movement are
placed inside the respective dimensions neutralizing their potential for a
multidimensional synergistic integration. The text, on the one hand, ex-
presses a strong need for integration, and on the other, is dominated by
the dimension logic.
Unchanged Methodology after Twenty Years of Practice
The sixth chapter on methodological lines on processing and assess-
ment of the Salesian Educational and Pastoral Project is located at the
end of the volume and takes up a little more than five pages of the text.
The title does not seek to explain an entire project management method-
ology; it only states some principles. The fact of entering only into a few
basic methodological issues is confirmed in the last page of the Frame of
Reference that recommends creating a methodology that encourages par-
ticipation of all groups and organizations of the EPC according to their
responsibilities and possibilities. This broad approach gives one the free-
dom to choose a methodology, but on the other side it leaves unresolved
some real methodological dilemmas without offering a unifying method
harmonized with the theoretical framework. In this sense a community
risks to be playing the role of a “secretary” that prepares all requested
documents without raising questions about execution, implementation,
feasibility, interrelations, sustainability, resources, group dynamics,
roles, etc.
152 There are only some rhetorical suggestions, e.g.: “raise positive development of the
cultural reality of the human group towards a synthesis of faith and life”; “A unified
personality”; “Educating socializing”; “The prospect of education that evangelizes and
evangelization which educates the ultimate goal of the process is the synthesis of faith
and life in a particular culture”; “Vocational choice is an ever-present dimension at all
times, activities and stages of our educational and pastoral action”; “The youth group
has to look at the social and ecclesial insertion outlet according to its vocational
choice.” See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Quadro di riferimento, 11998, pp. 27-38.

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68 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The content of this chapter summarizes the methodology as it was
presented in the two first Handouts in 1978 and 1979. In summary it
describes:
- levels of the design (frame of reference, educative and pastoral project,
annual plan, planning programme, timetable);
- steps of planning (situation analysis, operational planning, assessment);
- design criteria (involvement and participation of all, clarifying the
points of reference, clarity about the different levels of participation,
continuous assessment);
- Educative and Pastoral Community seen as the subject of the whole
process.153
Methodological Improvements of the Second Edition
Antonio Domènech and his team154 took concrete steps to promote
the organic unity of the Salesian Youth Ministry, to translate the Frame
of Reference into different languages, and in organizing regional courses
for the Provincial Youth Ministry Teams. The YM Department collected
the fruits of the regional courses’ experience and decided to revisit the
text and make it clearer and more precise. The result of their work was
the publication of the Frame of Reference in 2000 (Italian version) and
in 2001 (English version).155
The first change of a considerable importance was shifting the EPC
chapter from the “working model” to the “fundamental elements” part of
the publication. Following the editors’ intentions, the Community had to
be considered a fundamental reality of the Youth Ministry model, not
only a pragmatic or operational structure.
153 N.B. There are improvements in the proper use of the term “criterion” and in the
introduction of the term “continual evaluation”.
154 In Domènech’s Youth Ministry team there were: Jerome Vallabaraj, a Salesian scholar
and practitioner in the area of catechetics from India, and José Raúl Rojas, a Salesian
expert in cooperative learning in the Latin-American context.
155 See SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY DEPARTMENT, Salesian Youth Ministry. A Basic
Frame of Reference, Direzione Generale Opere Don Bosco, Rome 22001, p. 5.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 69
The second interesting shift concerns the concept of the frame of ref-
erence that not only declares “principles that define a philosophy of
education”,156 but rather the fundamental answers “to the question, Who
are we and what are we doing? What do we want to achieve and where
do we want to get to?”.157 In this way the frame of reference is connected
with the concepts of “mission”, “vision” or “propuesta educativa” which
did not appear in the first edition.158
The third interesting common line of thought of the second edition is
a more precise use of project management terms such as criterion, objec-
tive, assessment, evaluation, etc. (for example, the term “educational-
pastoral decisions” was changed to a more appropriate and common term
“objectives”). In the assessment section, the list of ten instructions of the
first edition was simplified and an important “holistic” attention recalled:
assess “whether a genuine educative process has evolved through the dif-
ferent activities (continuity, interaction, new possibilities and resources,
involvement of the people concerned)”.159
The paradigmatic concluding task of the EPC, recommended on the
last page of the publication, to “think of a method of encouraging the
participation of all” remains the same also in the second edition. We in-
tend it as an open ending, confirmed by the authors’ initial statements:
“This document remains open to revision and enrichment brought on by
reflection, experience and life itself”.160 The need of a new methodology,
a new type of presence and a unified organic vision was confirmed in
2010 by Rector Major Pascual Chávez Villanueva: “All this effort in re-
thinking the educational practice necessarily implies openness to new
schemes and new practices, a new way of thinking and a new way of
156 See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Quadro di riferimento, 11998, p. 117.
157 YM DEPARTMENT, Salesian Youth Ministry, 22001, p. 166
158 See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Quadro di riferimento, 22000, p. 129. N.B. we are quoting
the Italian version because the concepts of “mission”, “vision” and “propuesta educa-
tiva” were omitted in the English translation.
159 YM DEPARTMENT, Salesian Youth Ministry, 22001, p. 172.
160 See DICASTERO PER LA PG, Quadro di riferimento, 22000, p. 5. N.B. The whole presen-
tation section is missing in the English version.

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70 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
organising those elements which are part of the educational process, a
new methodology and a new way of being present among the young […]
It is important to adopt a unified and organic vision of a ministry, cen-
tered on the individual young person and not so much on works or
services, overcoming a compartmentalization still present in everyday
practice”.161 As we will see in the following paragraphs, some of his ex-
hortations were followed in the revision and the integrations of the third
edition in 2014.
1.5.4 “Planning Mentality” that Implies an Unsustainable Number
of Projects (2002)
A legacy of the General Chapter 25 held in 2002, besides deepening
the understanding of the Salesian community today, accentuated the so
called “planning mentality”. An immediate operative translation of it was
the introduction of three new types of projects: Personal Plan of Salesian
life,162 Plan of Salesian Community Life,163 and the Organic Provincial
Plan.164 These projects are an addition to an already complex web of var-
ious projects and plans designed at different levels (provincial, local,
personal), with different perspectives (education, pastoral, economy, for-
mation of Salesians, formation of lay people, etc.) and in different times
with different teams coordinated by different facilitators-animators.
Counting all projects and plans one could arrive at 24 units.
An optimist could read this situation as a ubiquitous application of the
“planning mentality” to the whole life of a Salesian. These three new
projects should, as the GC document wishes, become an asset of integral
coordination and unification of intent at the personal, communitarian and
provincial level. But a more realistic approach could also see several
161 CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, Salesian Youth Ministry, 2010, 48.
162 See GC25 (2002), nn. 14 and 56.
163 See GC25 (2002), nn. 15; 46; 61; 64; 72-74.
164 See GC25 (2002), nn. 82-84.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 71
problems of the current rather complex project management model that
could lead to an organizational paralysis or to a formal planning model:
- Priority: Which project is given top priority? Is there always a top-
down mindset? If so, are we only implementing the newest directions
from the centre (Rome) that imply a re-active (not pro-active) mindset?
- Heterogeneity: How to solve different proposals of different design
teams? Does the Organic Provincial Plan override the Provincial
SEPP? Which project has the priority in my personal life: Personal or
Communitarian Project?
- Synchronization: Which is the right synchronization sequence of pro-
jects? Is the newer project more valid only because it is more “updated”
to the current situation?
- Continuity: If the team that designed the current project has changed,
is the project still valid? Is the schematic language of a project suffi-
cient to guide a community through the change of key players?
- Method: Which model of planning is the “right” one for the creation of
a mentality (Vecchi’s educative-pastoral approach, Domènech’s OPP
logic, Cereda’s formation logic)?
1.6 New Youth Ministry Challenges and Perspectives (2002-
2014)
Some of the questions posted above combined with new challenges
of the third millennium have introduced some new perspectives or ideas
concerning planning and project management. Some of them found their
way also in the texts of the General Chapters or in other manuals. We
shall synthetize some lines of development in the following chapters.
The different evaluations underline the following: in some Provinces
the SEPPs are in the hands of individual Salesians and do not direct the

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72 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
pastoral ministry of the communities;165 there is only a small portion of
provinces that accompany the processes in order to achieve the objec-
tives and to verify the processes in due time;166 favouring the
organizational aspect over the pastoral one;167 SEPPs designed and EPCs
built by the planning mentality are not easily assumed;168 a practical re-
duction of the whole ministry to pastoral actions, which implies little
attention to processes;169 little assimilation and practical implementation
of the operational model of the Salesian Youth Ministry;170 and finally,
the predominance of a rigid organizational mindset in the setting of pas-
toral activities pays little attention to the rhythm of young people’s life
and does not promote cooperation.171
1.6.1 “Planning Mentality” as a Broader Holistic Concept
From GC25 (2002) to GC27 (2014) the planning mentality was not
only about planning more and increasing the number of projects, plans
and programmes. The concept evolved and tried to become a new project
management mentality linked with the category of the “new presences”.
It is useful to remember that in the ‘70s and ‘80s the expression “new
presence” was often interpreted in reference to new forms of service to
the poorest or it was intended as a “small community” and therefore the
165 See La Società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1996-2002. Relazione del
Vicario del Rettor Maggiore don Luc Van Looy, SDB, Roma 2002, n. 110.
166 See La Società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1990-1995, n. 137.
167 See GC25 (2002), n. 194 and CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, Salesian Youth Ministry, 2010,
56-57.
168 See La Società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 1996-2002, n. 118.
169 See La Società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 2002-2008. Relazione del
Rettor Maggiore don Pascual Chávez Villanueva, SDB, Roma 2008, p. 45 and GC25
(2002), nn. 44-47.
170 See La Società di san Francesco di Sales nel sessennio 2002-2008, pp. 41 and CHÁVEZ
VILLANUEVA, Salesian Youth Ministry, 2010, 20-22.
171 See GC26 (2008), n. 103.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 73
newness did not apply to all houses of the Congregation.172 In the third
millennium, the attention shifts from a “new type of structures” to a “new
type of presence” in all educational and pastoral works or structures. The
ninth successor of Don Bosco Pascual Chávez Villanueva insists: “To
make the traditional works that we have, Schools, Vocational Training
Centres, Parishes, Oratories and Youth Centres, University hostels etc.
new requires that we concentrate the role of the Salesian community not
so much on the management and organization of the work as on the ac-
companiment and on the formation of the educators and of the young
people”.173 We can summarize some traits of this “new presence” mind-
set in the following way:
- Change focus from work management to accompaniment and for-
mation together between the Salesians and lay people;
- Move from a mentality that favours roles of direct management to a
mentality that favours evangelizing presence among young people;
- Cultivate co-responsibility through planning together with the Salesian
Family and creating collaborative networks;
- Have apostolic courage to rethink the works for young people and to
promote more flexible forms of presence;
- Ensure the quantitative and qualitative consistency of the communities,
which is coordinated by a director available for its primary role.174
172 See SGC (1972), nn. 510, 619 and GC21 (1978), n. 159. This type of interpretation
was criticized for example in Relazione Generale del Rettor Maggiore sullo stato della
Congregazione, in GC21 (1978), n. 157.
173 CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, Salesian Youth Ministry, 2010, 56-57.
174 Cfr. GC (2002), nn. 26; 46; 50; 60; 138; 157; GC26 (2008), nn. 10-11; 20; 31; 38;
100; 103; 112; 113. Note that GC27 (2014) sometimes omits the term “planning men-
tality” and speaks about the “Salesian culture” of communion and co-responsibility in
the Salesian community and the Educative and Pastoral Community, in GC27 (2014),
n. 71.

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74 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
1.6.2 Cereda and Domènech’s Method of Discernment
In the formal structure of the last three General Chapters (2002-2014)
we can find a new line of a project design methodology.175 It has been
called the “discernment method” and it is also intended for the designing
process of the three new “projects” introduced by the GC25: Personal
Plan of Salesian life, Plan of Salesian Community Life, and the Organic
Provincial Plan. The methodological approach is linked to the proposals
of Francesco Cereda and Antonio Domènech which differ from the SEPP
methodology in different points.176
1. Firstly, the discernment process begins with recognizing the “God’s
call”, which allows to capture urgent calls and priorities. The focal
point is to distinguish what is essential from what is secondary so
choices can be made around priority issues. The stage of the “call” is
similar to the SEPP operational planning phase, but in this method it
comes as the first step.
2. The second step is the analysis of the situation that identifies re-
sources, foundation of hope, limitations and challenges, but always
seen in relation to the fundamental choices identified in the previous
phase of God’s call.
175 See e.g. P. CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, Presentation, in GC26 (2008), pp. 11-12 and ÁNGEL
FERNÁNDEZ ARTIME, Presentation, in GC27 (2014), pp. 10-11.
176 ANTONIO DOMÈNECH, The Organic Provincial Plan, in ACG 84 (2003) 381, 35-42
and FRANCESCO CEREDA, The Salesian Community Plan. A process of discernment and
of sharing. Letter of 13 December 2002 addressed to Provincials, Provincial Councils,
Provincial Delegates for formation and Provincial Commissions for formation, in
sdb.org/images/en/Formazione/Documenti/zip/Salesian_community_plan.zip; ID.,
The Personal Plan of Life. Initial Formation. Letter of 5 July 2003 addressed to Rectors
and Members of Formation Communities, Provincials and Provincial Formation Dele-
gates, in sdb.org/images/en/Formazione/Documenti/zip/Personal_plan_Initial.zip; ID.,
The Personal Plan of Life. Ongoing Formation. A process of creative faithfulness to-
wards holiness. Letter of 21 June 2003 addressed to Provincials, Provincial Councils,
Provincial Formation Delegates and Provincial Formation Commissions, in
sdb.org/images/en/Formazione/Documenti/zip/Personal_plan_ongoing.zip.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 75
3. Guidelines are set in the third moment, following this succession: first
come the processes to be activated in order to move from challenges
to a new mentality and structures. Only in the second moment con-
crete actions, events or decisions are made, planned and scheduled.
Cereda synthetizes the method in his letter: “The three moments of
the process of discernment could be expressed in the form of expecta-
tions, invitations or desires as a first step describing God’s call; in the
form of resources, difficulties and above all challenges as a second step
describing the situation of the community; and in the form of objectives,
strategies or processes and interventions as a third step, spelling out the
lines of action”.177
Compared to the traditional logic of the SEPP, some methodological
improvements have been added. The horizon of the change of mentality
broadens the model and it could become less linear and mechanistic.
There are measurable and concrete objectives to be pursued, but their
achievement is not the only purpose. The fundamental aim is to follow a
call and that is a more holistic concept compared to measurable improve-
ments of concrete educational and pastoral challenges divided into four
dimensions. The method of discernment could promise therefore a
shorter project with a more integrated vision of God’s call valuing the
spiritual and motivational resources of the individual and of the commu-
nity.178
The main difficulty of the discernment method was the placement of
the moment of the “God’s call” at the beginning of the process, leading
implicitly to considering the vocation as a disembodied reality without
significant relations to the context in which it takes place. In this sense,
the second step of the analysis of the situation that followed the call was
177 CEREDA, The Salesian Community Plan.
178 See Address of the Rector Major Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva at the conclusion of
the GC25, in GC25 (2002), n. 185; PASCUAL CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, Presentation, in
GC25 (2002), pp. 15-16; GC25 (2002), nn. 73, 81; CEREDA, The Salesian Community
Plan.

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76 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
only functional to the operative and executive logic. It is interesting to
see how the GC27 in 2014 reverses the order and goes back to the old
SEPP order of the three steps: listening, interpretation and way forward
(i.e. situation analysis, interpretation and operational planning).179 An-
other limit of the discernment method is the lack of assessment although,
paradoxically, it requires measurable objectives. This fact confirms the
shift towards a more motivational and less operational type of projects
which is understandable because formation is the area where it was de-
veloped. The dilemma between concreteness of the objectives and the
integral vision is one of many theoretical and epistemological core issues
to be addressed in the following chapters.
1.6.3 Changed Perspectives in the Third Edition of the “Frame of
Reference”
The Councillor for the Youth Ministry Fabio Attard received from the
GC26 a mandate for an update of the Salesian Youth Ministry Frame of
Reference. He, together with his team, has coordinated a wide consulta-
tion on the required “deeper understanding of the relationship between
evangelization and education in order to put the Preventive System into
practice, and adapt the frame of reference for youth ministry to changing
cultural circumstances”.180 The third edition wants to be in continuity
with the previous editions enriching them with theological, spiritual and
more consciously charismatic reflection developed in the last 15 years.
Some themes are emerging with more strength bringing a valuable con-
tribution to the pastoral-education balance: need to open up to the life
and culture of today’s young people (Chapter 1); importance of inspira-
tion in Christ the Good Shepherd and inclusion in the evangelizing
Church (Chapter 2); accentuation of the relationship between education
and evangelization (Chapter 3); the methodological importance of the
179 See FERNÁNDEZ ARTIME, Presentation, in GC27 (2014), pp. 10-11.
180 See GC26 (2008), n. 45.

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 77
process of discernment; and finally, the Preventive System of Don
Bosco, “a project of holistic education, [that] comprises essentially two
aspects. It is a project of Christian life (Salesian Youth Spirituality) and
a practical pedagogical method”.181
The concept of the SEPP is explained in the last chapter of the Frame
of Reference. It does not seem to have been substantially affected by the
theological foundation perspective of the first three chapters. The Man-
ual emphasizes the role of discernment understood as being the
transverse attitude of listening to God’s plan,182 but the phases of plan-
ning (situation analysis, operational planning, assessment) are retained
in their Management by Objectives logic. Discernment is conceived as
global attention that accompanies the whole process to prevent extrem-
ism of commercial, economic, political projects on the one hand, and a
spiritualistic vagueness on the other. Discernment is the criterion that
should maintain the educative and pastoral spirit of the SEPP and its
evangelical nature in offering salvation in Christ to the young and over-
come the risk of a static, rigid and anonymous project. 183
The introduction of discernment, the call to the simplicity of the pro-
jects, the known risk of the technical project management mindset, the
danger of the one-man-made project made at the desk, the organizational
complexity that can overshadow the educational and pastoral spirit,
could be considered as the Congregation’s distress signal about a dys-
functional project management model. One can add that, according to the
text, the Salesians do not even have a unique design methodology. Com-
pared to the second edition that suggested “thinking of a method of
encouraging the participation of all”, in the third edition three methods
of discernment (1. see, judge, act; 2. God’s call, situations, action plans;
181 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 85. See also F. ATTARD, Ripensare
la pastorale giovanile, LAS, Roma 2013
182 See YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, pp. 35-36.
183 See YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 300.

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78 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
3. review of life) are mentioned. The Frame of Reference gives the oper-
ators freedom to choose a methodology depending on circumstances and
contexts.184 The same methodological freedom, with a different set of
criteria, concerns the methodology of the “programmes” introduced by
the GC23.185
The hypothesis of this study, as we will see in the second chapter, is
that the SEPP has already had a method since 1978 and it is inspired by
the Management by Objectives theory. Of course its use in the educa-
tional and pastoral settings seems too technical, thus the Salesians have
been adjusting it with different “criteria” without touching the problem-
atic core of the theory. So it happens that the different documents
emphasize, on the one hand, the concreteness and measurability of the
objectives, and, on the other, give the operators the right to choose what-
ever methodology. In the next chapters we would like to propose a
methodology inspired by Don Bosco’s experience in the Oratory of Val-
docco following this principle: “The pedagogical approach of the
method, closely linked to the content and dynamics, is important. […]
There are some very important ‘points of no return’, based on reality.
[…] Youth Ministry is authentic if it is characterised by flexibility and
creativity. In this sense, the method is also the message”.186
184 See YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, pp. 289-290.
185 The chapter on the Preventive System states: “We need to translate the theory into
practical programmes of structured learning, in gradual stages, suited to the condition
of the young people who are to implement them (objectives, attitudes, knowledge, con-
crete commitments and experiences) with some clearly defined content.” Then it
indicates four areas of human and Christian maturity (not aligned to the four dimen-
sions of the SEPP); a set of four practical and seven methodological criteria. See YM
DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, pp. 107-111.
186 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 109.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 79
2. Theoretical backgrounds of Salesian Leadership
and Project Management
In the previous chapter we covered the main turning points of the Sa-
lesian Youth Ministry that had an impact on educative and pastoral
project management. After the preludes of the General Chapter 19 in
1965, the crucial period came of Juan Edmundo Vecchi’s systematical
and methodological approach to the Youth Ministry (YM) from 1978 to
1990. We have seen the fundamental evolution of the Salesian Educative
and Pastoral Community (EPC) being the active subject of the Salesian
Educative and Pastoral Project (SEPP) developed in four dimensions and
planned through a three-step methodology (situation analysis, opera-
tional planning, assessment). From the mid-1980s the evolution has been
terminated and the YM Department consolidated the model through the
idea of “planning mentality”. In the third millennium we could find indi-
cators of some limits of the post-Vatican II Salesian project management
model on the one hand and proposals for improvement on the other.
In this chapter, in the first place, we will analyze the theoretical back-
ground of the Salesian project management methodology, its strong
points and blind spots. The second step will lead us to the recent but al-
ready consolidated developments of the organizational sciences in order
to find a more balanced theoretical model.1 The third part of this chapter
will summarize the different approaches to management and leadership
in the area of consecrated life in order to see its uniqueness. These three
steps should lead us to adopting a more integrated organizational model
that builds on tradition, to dialogue with the organizational sciences and
with its recent practical improvements, to respect the specific traits of
Christian and consecrated life’s organizational needs, and lead us in the
1 In this study we understand the “organizational sciences” as the area of scientific man-
agement, leadership theory and reflective organizational practice.

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80 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
reshaping of the Salesian Leadership and Project Management method-
ology.
The Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project methodology developed
by the Youth Ministry Department from 1978 to 1984 under the guidance
of Juan Edmundo Vecchi was not created as a tabula rasa. It was not
inspired only by the “Salesian memory”, but also and especially by pro-
ject management theories popular during the years around Vatican II.
Vecchi describes the situation of the ‘60s and ‘70s and its implications
for education emphasizing these aspects: “There were new levels of ed-
ucational needs and a new way of putting educational issues in a basically
urban society with post-material needs dominated by the spirit of science
and technology. In this way the changed mindset gives more importance
to becoming than to persevering, to existence rather than to being, to a
man-as-project more than to a man-as-subject”.2 The new way of looking
at human beings, society and education influenced the thinking of Sale-
sian educators and education theorists. The main, but not exclusive,
source of study of the theoretical background of the SEPP is the ency-
clopedic publication on the Educative and Pastoral Project edited in 1984
by Juan Edmundo Vecchi (from the YM Department) and José Manuel
Prellezo (from the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Salesian Pon-
tifical University).3
Vecchi made some explicit references to the sciences of education in
the very first paragraph of the module on the Educative and Pastoral Pro-
ject: “The terms project and project design have only entered the
pedagogic language recently [...] This seems mostly due to the develop-
ments in the educational sciences area. The organic connection among
different needs of the complex personality evolution emerged more
clearly. The decisive push was given by the didactics that introduced the
2 See J.E. VECCHI, Pastorale, educazione, pedagogia nella prassi Salesiana, in Il cam-
mino e la prospettiva 2000, p. 20.
3 See J.E. VECCHI – J.M. PRELLEZO (Eds.), Progetto educativo pastorale. Elementi mo-
dulari, LAS, Roma 1984.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 81
concept of the curriculum”.4 Vecchi then uses the definition of curricu-
lum given by the educationist Lawrence Stenhouse that influenced most
his concept of the educational and pastoral project: the curriculum is “an
attempt to communicate the essential principles and features of an edu-
cational proposal in such a form that it is open to critical scrutiny and
capable of effective translation into practice”.5
Scholars that have studied the theory and practice of educational
and/or pastoral projects, the educational community, the objectives, pro-
grammes and curriculum design can be divided into three groups. The
first consists of the Salesian scholars in the area of didactics or curricu-
lum design, authors of the articles in the 1984 “encyclopedic” publication
of Progetto Educativo Pastorale: Juan E. Vecchi, Youth Ministry Coun-
cillor and editor of the publication together with two professors at the
UPS; Michele Pellerey, an expert in curriculum design;6 and Silvano
Sarti, a specialist in statistics and in the education assessment field.7
The second group of scholars is linked to the field of didactics and
curriculum design and consists of explicitly quoted authors in the meth-
odological aspects of the educative and pastoral project. There is an
American group consisting of students and collaborators of Ralph W.
Tyler: Benjamin S. Bloom, Robert M. Gagné, and Leslie J. Briggs. In-
fluential European authors are Belgians Erik de Corte, Gilbert L. de
Landsheere and the aforementioned British scholar Lawrence Sten-
house.8
4 J.E. VECCHI, Progetto educativo pastorale, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Progetto educativo
pastorale, p. 15. See also VECCHI, Per riattualizzare il Sistema Preventivo, ILE, Con-
vegno sul Sistema Preventivo, p. 4.
5 L. STENHOUSE, An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, Heinemann,
London 1975, p. 4.
6 See M. PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, SEI, Torino 1979; ID. (Ed.), Progettare
l’educazione nella scuola cattolica, LAS, Roma 1981.
7 See S. SARTI, Valutazione, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Progetto educativo pastorale, pp.
310-321.
8 See e.g. VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Progetto educativo pastorale, pp. 100; 196; 312 and 321.

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82 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The third group of scholars is distinguished by their main reference
to the animation theory developed in the 1970s and ‘80s. The leading
influential author is the Salesian Riccardo Tonelli, the author of an article
on the educational community, followed by the Salesian Aldo Ellena and
Mario Pollo who develop a more specific reflection on forms of anima-
tion.9
In this section we will describe the theories and main ideas of these
authors in order to understand the model and methodology of the SEPP.
We will begin with the development of the curriculum design theories
until 1984, the year when Progetto Educativo Pastorale was published
that concluded the building of the SEPP methodology. Afterwards we
will analyze the animation theory that influenced significantly the Sale-
sian leadership model. The animation theorists only adopted some
diluted principles from the field of didactics for the project management
methodology.10
2.1 Curriculum Design Influences from Bobbitt through Tyler
to Stenhouse
Pellerey describes the educational projects of the ‘60s and ‘70s as a
movement that wanted to “overcome both the risk of bureaucracy and
the inefficiency of the spontaneous wishful thinking model. And so the
field of pedagogy was invaded by the curricular design theories and the
educators were following the educational technology directions”.11 The
beginning and the background of this impressive movement of those
years originated in the early twentieth century.
9 See Idem, pp. 285-309; 355-363; 399-417 and R. TONELLI, Per fare un progetto educa-
tivo, in «Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 14 (1980) 6, 57-66 mentioned by Vecchi in
VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Progetto educativo pastorale, p. 25.
10 Tonelli acknowledges that the inspiration for the projects in the animation area came
from curriculum design in TONELLI, Per fare un progetto educativo, 3-13.
11 PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, p. 10.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 83
The origin of the innovative curricular theories can be traced back to
John Dewey. In his 1902 book, The Child and the Curriculum, he traces
an innovative and flexible theory of curriculum seen as both “the child’s
present experience” and “the subject-matter of studies”.12 But in the be-
ginning of the 20th century efficiency was prized more. Strongly
influenced by time and motion studies in industry, scientific curriculum
designers applied an industrial design to schools: a systematically de-
signed programme, including tracking and testing, would efficiently sort
students by aptitude and achievement.
In the first years of the century, a pioneer curriculum maker Franklin
Bobbitt surveyed the knowledge, skills, and values possessed by success-
ful adults in Los Angeles and designed curricula in the Philippines. He
gave precedence to subjects he believed to have a major utility in daily
life, such as spelling and arithmetic. His theory is summarised in his pub-
lication of The Curriculum: “Human life, however varied, consists in the
performance of specific activities. Education that prepares for life is one
that prepares definitely and adequately for these specific activities. How-
ever numerous and diverse they may be for any social class, they can be
discovered. This requires only that one go out into the world of affairs
and discover the particulars of which these affairs consist. These will
show the abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations, and forms of
knowledge that men need. These will be the objectives of the curriculum.
They will be numerous, definite, and particularized. The curriculum will
then be that series of experiences which children and youth must have by
way of attaining those objectives”.13
Bobbitt’s way of conceiving education was strongly influenced by the
rise of scientific management. In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor, in his most
important work on scientific management, proposes three elements to
12 J. DEWEY, The Child and the Curriculum, in D.J. SIMPSON – M.J.B. JACKSON, John
Dewey’s View of the Curriculum in The Child and the Curriculum, in «Education and
Culture» 20 (2003) 2, 25. See also C. KRIDEL (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Curriculum, Sage,
Thousand Oaks CA 2010, pp. 199-200.
13 J.F. BOBBITT, The Curriculum, Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1918, p. 42.

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84 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
raise substantially the efficiency of any process: 1. scientific study of the
tasks; 2. detailed description and breakdown of activities; and 3. exten-
sion of managerial control and the scientific study of all the elements of
space and time in which the activities take place. The educational process
would be, according to this rationalist and voluntarist model, similar to a
production line in industry.14
Bobbitt’s theory and practice did not win a big acclaim in the ‘20s
and ‘30s due to the popularity of Dewey’s “progressive education” which
focused more on experiential learning and the personality of the pupil. In
the changed context of the late ‘40s there was a possibility of new devel-
opments of curricular theories. Although there is no direct influence of
Bobbitt’s theory to the methodology of the SEPP, we can perceive his
influence through the link he introduced between organizational thinking
and curriculum design. In the post-World War II period there were dif-
ferent educational needs that fostered the exchange between project
management and curriculum design. We could divide the most influen-
tial schools according to three major paradigms: curriculum as a product;
curriculum as a process; and curriculum as an inquiry.
2.1.1 Product Model
The leading figure of educational curriculum design of the 1950s was
Ralph W. Tyler. A key reference is his 1949 book entitled Basic Princi-
ples of Curriculum and Instruction, a bestseller with 36 editions and a
14 See J.F. BOBBITT, Some general principles of management applied to the problems of
city-school systems, National Society for the Study of Education, Bloomington 1913;
R. CALLAHAN, Education and the Cult of Efficiency, University of Chicago Press, Chi-
cago 1962; C.H. EDSON, Curriculum Change During the Progressive Era, in
«Educational Leadership» 36 (1978) 64; T. BUSH, Leadership and management devel-
opment in education, Sage, London 42011, p. 10; R. BATES, History of Educational
Leadership/Management, in P. PETERSON – E. BAKER – B. MCGAW (Eds.), Interna-
tional Encyclopedia Of Education, vol. 4, Academic Press, Oxford 32010, p. 724.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 85
considerable influence on educative practice.15 The publication, among
other things, intended to reaffirm the importance of the education and
instruction against the invasion of psychometrics and the statistical think-
ing. Tyler begins his book with four questions that determine, together
with their answers, the rational framework that encompasses the issues
relating to the curriculum and education. The questions are:
1. “What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain
these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?”.16
In the first part of his book, he introduces the concept of an educa-
tional objective. In the concept of the “objective” he connects
interdisciplinary contributions of philosophy and psychology with the
learner’s needs, with his relationships to the physical and social environ-
ment and with values, skills and abilities to promote. There is a clear
emphasis on the concept of the “objectives” with a sketch of a taxonomy
of educational objectives for a social studies curriculum.17 The linearity
of his scheme starts with stating the objectives, continues with the selec-
tion of learning experiences, and ends with the evaluation of the
objectives’ achievement. The key to design a curriculum is the set of ob-
jectives to be reached. In this sense this model is based on the final
“product” and organizes all activities looking to the “output”. Other
15 See R.W. TYLER, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago 1949. N.B. “Instruction” and “Education” have different nu-
ances in American and British English. Here we perceive “Education” as a holistic
integrated process of personality development and we see “Instruction” as the process
of acquiring specific knowledge and competencies.
16 TYLER, Basic Principles of Curriculum, p. 1.
17 Idem, pp. 3-62 e 89-94.

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86 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
names given to this paradigm are “Outcome-Based Education” or “Or-
ganizing for Results” model.18
Tyler also tries to formulate the concept of continuity of different
learning experiences threads. “It is also essential to identify the organiz-
ing principles by which these threads shall be woven together”.19
Unfortunately, an integrating “organizing principle” remains a concept
without wider developments and the author focuses almost exclusively
on the organizational structures of the curriculum such as lessons, units,
and topics. Also the examples he uses in the curriculum design are linked
to the contents of the school subjects and there are very few values, skills
or attitudes to be acquired.20
Some of Tyler’s students and colleagues integrated his model with
some instances of programmed learning theories of Burrhus F. Skinner
and Norman A. Crowder. There is a clear technological accent on the
programming of sequences that consist in: a clear design; the project im-
plementation process; the systematic monitoring of both the product
(quality control) and the process (evaluation).21 Education technology
and teaching machines experimentation were combined with some out-
comes of radical behaviourism and with the popular Management by
Objectives (MBO) theory. The “Decade of education” in the United
States (1957-68) that followed the impression of being left behind by the
Soviets in the “Space race” had created a context for the development of
a massive curriculum design movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s.22
18 See J. MCKERNAN, Curriculum and Imagination. Process theory, pedagogy and action
research, Routledge, London 2008.
19 TYLER, Basic Principles of Curriculum, p. 95.
20 Idem, pp. 95-100.
21 R. GLASER – A.A. LUMSDAINE (Eds.), Teaching Machines and Programmed Learning.
A Source Book, National Education Association, Washington DC 1961 and J.
HARTLEY, Programmed Instruction 1954‐1974. A Review, in «Innovations in Educa-
tion & Training International» 11 (1974) 6, 278-291.
22 J.I. GOODLAD, Improving Schooling in the 1980s: Toward the Non-Replication of Non-
Events. We have learned some painful lessons about how not to achieve change, in
«Educational Leadership» 40 (1983) 4; P.M. SENGE, The Industrial Age System of Ed-
ucation, in P.M. SENGE et al., Schools That Learn. A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 87
Hilda Taba, a curriculum design scholar, after collaboration with
Dewey, Tyler and Bloom, develops her own curriculum theory. She in-
troduces the concept of “needs”, upgrading Tyler’s curriculum
development steps by diagnosing the needs at first point and only then
formulating the objectives.23 Her theory distinguishes between the gen-
eral aims of education and the more specific educational objectives. The
aims are general intentions so as to transmit culture or to pass on a style
of democratic life. The objectives are more specific and related to a de-
sired behaviour. The aims are defined, but the importance is attached to
the objectives – the effectiveness of the educational process is seen in
proportion to the concreteness of the objectives because it guides the
choices in the creation and the assessment stage of the curriculum.24
The problem of the correct formulation of educative objectives drew
attention of a large portion of scholars who often focused on clear word-
ing and precise formulation of the objectives. Ralph Tyler has dedicated
half of the Basic Principles of Curriculum to this theme. The attempt to
produce a taxonomy of educational objectives arose in the United States
in the late ‘40s and had its highest development in Benjamin S. Bloom’s
publications. Bloom published two of the three planned volumes in
which the taxonomy of cognitive and affective objectives was described.
The third volume, published after some years, describes the areas of psy-
chomotor development. Bloom’s taxonomy describes human growth in
Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education, Doubleday, New York
2000, pp. 27-49 and J.L. MILLER, Curriculum and Poststructuralist Theory, in
PETERSON - BAKER - MCGAW (Eds.), International Encyclopedia Of Education, vol. 1,
32010, pp. 499-500.
23 See H. TABA, Curriculum development: theory and practice, Burlingham: Harcourt,
Brace & World, New York 1962, pp. 12; 284-289.
24 See Idem, pp. 196-199 and W.J. POPHAM – E.L. BAKER, Systematic instruction, Pren-
tice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ 1970, p. 19. The influence of the aim-objective
distinction is to be noted in M. PELLEREY, Obiettivi, in VECCHI - PRELLEZO, Progetto
Educativo Pastorale, pp. 94-95; 99-100.

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88 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
three areas, eleven sub-areas, with a total of 54 items that need to be
further specified with curricular objectives.25
Later, tools were prepared to facilitate the formulation of educational
objectives using Bloom’s taxonomy. As an example we can mention the
publication by Newton S. Metfessel, William B. Michael and Donald A.
Kirsner that offers an instrument arranged in three columns: the first con-
tains the original classification of Bloom’s; the second presents examples
of verbs that express the related action; and the third column provides
examples of an object that can further specify the described action.26 The
same linguistic formulation issues, as we have already seen, emerged in
the analysis of the Provincial SEPPs of the early ‘90s. There is a similar
logic also to be seen in other applications: the Instructional Objectives
Exchange bank of educational objectives developed for teachers in the
‘70s could be compared with the anthology of the SEPPs published by
the YM Department intended to be an inspiration for the project designs
of the Provinces and Salesian houses.27
There are other authors who can help us understand the overstated
number of objectives of the SEPP. Following Bloom’s logic, they prefer
a complete rationalistic description of education to a realistic number of
objectives. One of these authors, quoted by Pellerey, is Louis D’Hainaut,
a chemistry researcher turned education theorist, who has developed a
25 See B.S. BLOOM – D.R. KRATHWOHL et al., Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. The
Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook 1: Cognitive domain, David McKay,
New York 1956 e D.R. KRATHWOHL – B.S. BLOOM – B.B. MASIA, Taxonomy of Edu-
cational Objectives. The Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook 2: Affective
domain, David McKay, New York 1964 and A.J. HARROW, A taxonomy of the psycho-
motor domain. A guide for developing behavioral objectives, David McKay Company,
New York 1972.
26 See D. BROWN, Usiamo il cervello, SEI, Torino 1976, pp. 287-291 that reproduced the
quoted instrument and was proposed later in PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, 1979,
pp. 240-244.
27 See W.J. POPHAM, Instructional Objectives Exchange rationale statement, UCLA Cen-
ter for the Study of Evaluation, Los Angeles CA 1970 and DICASTERO PER LA
PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Il Progetto Educativo-pastorale Salesiano. Raccolta antolo-
gica di testi, Dossier PG 9, SDB, Roma 1995.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 89
detailed model of educational objectives based on 20 intellectual opera-
tions. These twenty intellectual operations are subdivided into more than
100 objectives, which in turn are further specified in more than 200 sub-
objectives.28 Pellerey used this model because it was the most complete
one in the late ‘70s, confirming the rationalistic scientific paradigm of
those years. Based on the model of natural sciences, the authors believed
in the creation of a complete rational model of human growth and the
corresponding educational projects.
Pellerey’s model presented in the Progetto Educativo Pastorale and
in his previous publications29 is based on the theories of “Tyler’s circle”:
Bloom, Gagné – Briggs, Glaser, Mager and Taba. We will only list some
of his proposals which soften the technical approach to educational pro-
jects. The first interesting distinction in his theory is between educational
and teaching (didactical) objectives. Following Taba’s differentiation be-
tween aims and objectives, he defines educational objectives as basic
guidelines, principles of action that create an educational horizon or a
framework of values to be implemented. The teaching objectives are
more specific goals to be achieved in the context of teaching specific
subjects or areas.30 This distinction is useful when designing an educa-
tional project in a less formal or informal structure: family, youth group,
oratory, sport organizations, etc., where the educational objectives
should impact more concretely the designed activities.31
28 See L. D’HAINAUT, Des fins aux objectifs de l’éducation, Labor, Bruxelles 1977, pp.
106-120.
29 Pellerey‘s primary curriculum design experience is in the field of mathematics didac-
tics. See M. PELLEREY, L’educazione matematica. Problemi e sperimentazioni, in
PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, p. 245; ID., Per un insegnamento della matematica
dal volto umano. Contributi per una didattica della matematica per la scuola media,
SEI, Torino 1983 and ID., L’insegnamento della matematica, SEI, Torino 1986.
30 See PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, pp. 54-55.
31 See PELLEREY, Obiettivi, in VECCHI - PRELLEZO, Progetto Educativo Pastorale, pp. 96
and 99. This equilibrium is not found in the article about project assessment which is
seen only in a teaching perspective. See SARTI, Valutazione, in VECCHI - PRELLEZO,
Progetto Educativo Pastorale, pp. 310-321.

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90 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The second innovative idea is the definition of an educational need,
seen as a gap between an existing situation and a desired educational
ideal, or between “what should be” and the situation “as it is”. The defi-
nition was thought to overcome the dilemma of the starting point of the
curriculum design: Do we start with the ideal objectives or with the situ-
ation analysis? Developing this definition, Pellerey proposes various
types of educational needs:
- Need as a variance compared to a norm;
- Need as a desire in a person’s soul;
- Need as an expressed demand;
- Need that arises from the confrontation with people who own some-
thing more;
- Need as an anticipation of future necessities.32
There is a third group of useful concepts put together by Pellerey’s
intuitions that were not followed in the SEPP model. The notion of “in-
stitutional aims” could introduce some specific elements of the Salesian
tradition in the objectives formulation process. Different institutions re-
spond differently to the same need.33 Another useful, but not applied
proposal in the Salesian Youth Ministry documents was the introduction
of the socio-cultural project model, based on the interaction between peo-
ple, values and resources present in the community and in the territory.
Often a socio-cultural project does not provide a clear linear path of its
realization. Also the theory of nonlinear design sequences within the pro-
grammes had no following in the future.34
32 See PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, pp. 90-93.
33 See PELLEREY, Obiettivi, in VECCHI - PRELLEZO, Progetto Educativo Pastorale, pp. 93-
94.
34 See PELLEREY, Itinerario, in VECCHI - PRELLEZO, Progetto Educativo Pastorale, pp.
191-192 and 194-195.

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2.1.2 Process Model
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 91
In his proposal, Pellerey is confronting two concepts of the curricu-
lum design: the product model and the process model. His solution, or
synthesis, lies in the distinction between educational goals, which are
linked more to the whole educative “process”, and the teaching objec-
tives, linked to specific didactical units or competences seen more as a
“product”. This solution of the dilemma remains altogether linked to the
product paradigm design model because it only makes a subdivision in a
general Management by Objectives logic.
There are authors worth mentioning which have gone further in the
processual logic and changed the paradigm of curriculum design. Rich-
ard Stanley Peters, professor of education philosophy at the University
of London, goes beyond the linear scheme of need-objective-assessment.
Knowing that education needs the participation in different activities, the
worthwhile activities “can be appraised because of the standards imma-
nent in them rather than because of what they lead on to”.35
In his theory, Peters distinguishes between “aims” and “principles of
procedure”, where the former are behavioural objectives and the latter
are the criteria for the selection and adaptation of worthwhile activities.
As an example, we can consider the intrinsically rewarding process of
understanding concepts like tragedy from reading Macbeth that goes be-
yond a simple behavioural objective. Teachers and theorists in the arts
and humanities in particular have countered that in these fields the con-
cern is not for students to reach objectives or outcomes once and for all,
but rather for them to develop standards of judgment, criticism, and taste.
Peters confirms his position in his later publication on philosophy of ed-
ucation, seeing the notion of “being educated” as not arriving at the
destination, but travelling between different perspectives. What is
needed is not a feverish preparation for something beyond, but to work
35 R.S. PETERS, Ethics and Education, George Allen and Unwin, London 1966, p. 155.

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92 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
with precision, passion and taste in things that are worthy and valid at
hand.36
James D. Raths, an American expert in curriculum design and teacher
formation, offers an interesting list of twelve criteria to identify activities
that have an inherent value in themselves regardless of the content or the
objectives. A worthwhile activity:
1. helps to make informed choices and to reflect on the consequences;
2. assigns to students active roles rather than passive ones;
3. asks students to engage in inquiry into ideas, applications or current
problems;
4. involves children with realia (concrete objects, materials, artifacts,
etc.);
5. may be accomplished successfully by children at several different lev-
els of ability;
6. asks students to examine in a previously studied idea, or problem;
7. requires to examine topics that are normally or systematically ne-
glected in the society;
8. involves in taking a risk of failure or success;
9. requires students to rewrite, rehearse, and polish their initial efforts;
10. involves students in the application and mastery of meaningful rules,
standards, or disciplines;
11. gives a chance to develop a project, carry it out and share the results
with others;
12. is relevant to the expressed purposes of the students.37
It seems that the process model is therefore focused on the intrinsic
quality of the activities and by its nature it does not tend to have a final
exam in order to test the achievement of the designed objectives. This
characteristic makes it less applicable in formal education, especially in
36 See R.S. PETERS (Ed.), The Philosophy of Education, Oxford University Press, Oxford
1973.
37 See J.D. RATHS, Teaching without specific objectives, in «Educational Leadership» 28
(1971) 714-720.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 93
a complex society setting that requires various standards. It is more nat-
ural to adopt the process paradigm in humanities teaching and in non-
formal or informal education programmes. Another important difference
between the two mentioned curricular paradigms is the different weight
given to the uniqueness of each specific setting of class, school or stu-
dent38 and the diversification about the view on “results” or “educational
success” of the processes that take place in environments and with unique
people. The students, according to the paradigm of the process, are not
passive objects. They have an important voice in deciding the way in
which the lessons and curriculum evolve. The focus of the process is
therefore centred on the interactions that shift the accent from teaching
to learning.
2.1.3 Research Model
Lawrence Stenhouse is a British education scholar who has developed
a framework that wants to go beyond the product-process dilemma. His
thinking moved around a central point in curriculum design – the teacher
as an active part of the educational research. Overcoming the rigid stand-
ardization of the product model and at the same time avoiding the not
very applicable vagueness of the procedural model is not an easy task. In
a polarized situation between product and process theories, every re-
searcher risked to be understood within these two paradigms and not as
an author of an original third model. In fact, Stenhouse’s successors John
Elliott and Stephen Kemmis identify him as a follower of Peters and call
his theory “processual”, neglecting the originality of his approach.39 As
38 See Raths’ valorization of educational activities that do not have a specific objective
but create a learning environment in RATHS, Teaching without specific objectives, 716.
39 See J. ELLIOTT, Education in the Shadow of the Education Reform Act, in J. RUDDUCK,
An Education that Empowers. A collection of Lectures in Memory of Lawrence Sten-
house, BERA, Clevedon (Avon) 1995, pp. 54-55 and M. JAMES, An alternative to the
objectives model. The process model for the design and development of curriculum, in
J. ELLIOTT – N. NORRIS (Eds.), Curriculum, Pedagogy and Educational Research. The
Work of Lawrence Stenhouse, Routledge, London 2012, pp. 64-83.

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94 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
we have seen, Stenhouse was a primary inspiration for Vecchi’s SEPP
methodology. Both of them put in place a balanced model that is not easy
either to understand in all theoretical equilibriums and to apply in prac-
tical applications linked with the theory. As it seems, not every scholar
has the fortune to be understood by his successors, and so Stenhouse was
linked to the process paradigm and Vecchi seems to be interpreted within
a linear product model of project management.40
Stenhouse turned his attention to the relationship between the theory
and practice in education and brought forward a new perspective. He
noted that a large-scale research does not necessarily lead to the improve-
ment of local educational practice. In order to arrive at sustainable
improvement in the quality of education, there is always a need of every
single teacher’s research on their specific educational practices. In this
sense the author conceives the curriculum as the interaction between the
teacher and students in the curriculum construction, understood as a pro-
cess of research and verification of educational assumptions.41 His
proposal is not easy to implement, as we can see in the first pages of his
publication where he defines curriculum. “As a minimum, a curriculum
should provide a basis for planning a course, studying it empirically and
considering the grounds of its justification. It should offer:
“A. In planning:
1. Principle for the selection of content – what is to be learned and
taught.
2. Principles for the development of a teaching strategy – how it is to
be learned and taught.
3. Principles for the making of decisions about sequence.
40 The interpretation of Vecchi‘s model has to do mostly with the general scientific con-
text of the ‘70s that preferred technological linear solutions. The synthetic explanations
of his theory are more balanced and his personal facilitation method was very inclusive
and functional. In this sense, SEPP’s simplified history of effects overrides the balance
of his theory and practice.
41 See L. STENHOUSE, An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, Heine-
mann, London 1975, pp. 123-141.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 95
4. Principles on which to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of
individual students and differentiate the general principles 1, 2 and
3 above, to meet individual cases.
B. In empirical study:
1. Principles on which to study and evaluate the progress of students.
2. Principles on which to study and evaluate the progress of teachers.
3. Guidance as to the feasibility of implementing the curriculum in
varying school contexts, pupil contexts, environments and peer-
group situations.
4. Information about the variability of effects in differing contexts and
on different pupils and an understanding of the causes of the vari-
ation.
C. In relation to justification:
A formulation of the intention or aim of the curriculum which is
accessible to critical scrutiny”.42
Stenhouse reaffirms the British tradition of individual schools and of
teachers’ autonomy, decentralizing both the product and the process of
the curriculum creation. His integration of the previous models accepts
the curriculum with its objectives, but only as a hypothesis. He also in-
tegrates the processual logic, applying it not to the teaching process but
to the curriculum design process.
In this way, the teacher becomes a researcher and the curriculum a
problem-solving research tool for a classroom or a school.43 In the prod-
uct model, school is primarily a workshop where the teacher is a worker
and the child is the product. For Stenhouse each class is a laboratory and
the teacher is a member of the scientific community. He sees “curriculum
as a policy, but to take the Popperian view of policies, asserting that pol-
icies evolve and improve continuously and progressively by the study of
their shortcomings and their gradual elimination. On such a view the con-
cepts of success and failure become irrelevant. A curriculum without
42 STENHOUSE, An Introduction to Curriculum, p. 5.
43 See Idem, pp. 142-165.

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96 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
shortcomings has no prospect of improvement and has therefore been
insufficiently ambitious. […] Its dilemmas should be important dilem-
mas. Its shortcomings should reflect real and important difficulties”.44 In
addition to Popper’s falsification research model, it seems that Stenhouse
is not far from Kurt Lewin’s model of Action-Research developed in the
USA in the late 1940s. In fact, different authors affirm that under the
influence of Stenhouse, Action-Research regarding sciences of education
was rediscovered in Britain and Australia.45
2.1.4 Critical Evaluation of the Models of Curriculum Design
The described models have a deeper underlying philosophical
groundings. We want to pinpoint some advantages and limits of each of
these conceptions.46 In this sense, different models can be more suitable
for different organizational settings that embody a specific line of
thought. Simplifying, we can state that the product model has strong ref-
erences to natural sciences and technical solutions; the process model is
more linked to arts, literature, philosophy or the humanities. Stenhouse’s
model is not only linked to a set of specific subjects, but to a practi-
tioner’s philosophy of action in the field of curriculum design.
It seems that the Salesian context of the post-Vatican II required a
simple and clear model for the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project.
Pellerey confirms that the SEPPs should have become an instrument of
the central government after the turbulent years. The product model with
its concreteness, which was shared by many scholars of the ‘70s, re-
sponded to the technocratic optimism of those years and was practised
especially in the Spanish-speaking Salesian countries. On the contrary,
the process model was too generic and not suitable for central govern-
ment purposes. And Stenhouse’s (and Vecchi’s) research model was
44 Idem, p. 125.
45 See KEMMIS, Some Ambiguities in Stenhouse, in RUDDUCK, An Education that Empow-
ers, p. 77.
46 See MCKERNAN, Curriculum and Imagination, pp. 3-36.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 97
quite fluid, complicated and required too many roles and qualities from
the same person: teacher, researcher, curriculum designer and project
manager. It has to be noted that Stenhouse’s experimentation with the
Humanities Curriculum Project took place in a specific “optimistic” set-
ting of the years 1967-72 under the authority of the Schools Council for
Curriculum and Examinations in England and Wales.47 We can conclude
that the product model, linked with the Management by Objectives
(MBO), had the main influence on the SEPP methodology. We will de-
scribe its strengths and limits in the following paragraphs.
The strength and appeal of the product paradigm is mainly the organ-
izational strength and the simple linearity of the model. The concreteness
and measurability of results is rooted in the formulation of behavioural
objectives, in linking objectives and specific activities, and finally in the
assessment of the objectives achievement. Besides these organizational
advantages, which can be applied in certain structures and programmes,
there are some difficulties inherent to the paradigm itself.
There is the risk of depersonalization or even alienation for both stu-
dents and teachers. This difficulty is heightened because the curricula are
created once for all, outside the concreteness of an educational environ-
ment. The curricula tend to be standardized and “teacher proof”. Being
driven by a prescribed programme, teachers become educational techni-
cians that cannot positively exploit the concrete interaction in the
classroom.48
Another difficulty was already seen by Joseph J. Schwab consisting
in the excessive theorization of curricular studies after Tyler. The core of
47 See STENHOUSE, The Humanities Curriculum Project, in «Journal of Curriculum Stud-
ies» 1 (1968) 1, 26-33.
48 See H.M. KLIEBARD, Curricular Objectives and Evaluation. A reassessment, in «The
High School Journal» 51 (1968) 246; STENHOUSE, An Introduction to Curriculum, pp.
98-106; J. FORESTER, Planning in the Face of Power, University of California Press,
Berkeley CA 1989; M. GALTON, Big change questions: Should pedagogical change be
mandated? Dumbing down on classroom standards. The perils of a technician’s ap-
proach to pedagogy, in «Journal of Educational Change» 1 (2000) 2, 199–204.

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98 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
his criticism attacks the process of the formulation of objectives, which
are often equivocal and ambiguous and therefore not suitable for practi-
cal educational decisions. A group of teachers will willingly agree on the
objectives and, right after that, each one will follow a different path of
concrete educational decisions.49 It should be noted that the use of auxil-
iary instruments for the formulation of objectives, like the Instructional
Objectives Exchange database or the Metfessel’s model, reinforces the
ambiguity of the theoretical objectives that could remain empty concepts
without contextual semantic concreteness.
The third difficulty concerns the measurability and concreteness of
educational objectives. In education there is always uncertainty and
doubt about the method and the object of measurement. In continuity
with Taylor’s scientific management and Management by Objectives, the
objectives are split in different levels of sub-objectives. Thus we come
to endless lists of skills often more trivial than significant, losing the
whole picture and reducing education to a repetition of gestures or con-
tent.50 Pellerey also criticizes the taxonomy logic that cannot take into
account the diversity of situations, and according to him, if the taxonomy
becomes more specific and detailed it becomes also too bulky and im-
practicable.51 We could see this tension between concreteness and
extension in the development of the SEPP Handouts. The model pro-
posed by the Handouts has become increasingly extended and less
applicable.
A fourth risk of this outcome-based education is that it should guar-
antee passing the exams, but does not take into account the long-term
outcomes considered in its entirety as a whole. The product paradigm
adopts an analytical look at the educational reality and prefers a linear
49 See J.J. SCHWAB, Science, curriculum and liberal education, The University of Chi-
cago Press, Chicago 1978.
50 See M.J. PICKARD, The New Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview for Family and Con-
sumer Sciences, in «Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education» 25 (2007)
1, 52.
51 See. PELLEREY, Progettazione didattica, pp. 109-110.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 99
causality project management. It puts aside the non-linear causality, un-
anticipated consequences, delayed effects, complexity of the interactions
and other implications of the general theory of systems applied to the
educational reality.52 Stenhouse states: “Knowledge is primarily con-
cerned with synthesis. The analytic approach implied in objectives model
readily trivializes it”.53 In this sense, we think that the Salesian Docu-
ments constantly reminding of an integral or organic oneness of the
SEPP’s dimensions could be perceived as an expression of the lack of
systemic approach, inherent in Management by Objectives.
A final difficulty comes from the field of educational praxis. After a
period of initial enthusiasm scholars that have adopted the curriculum
based on objectives have noted the lack of real impact on concrete edu-
cational practices. It seems that the product paradigm is more suitable for
a theoretical model of human behaviour and education than for a concrete
educational methodology. In the Salesian environments the mentioned
practical difficulty becomes stronger because of the solid presence of
general educational objectives, like ability to love, generosity, active cit-
izenship, etc. The difficulty persists if we consider the application in less
structured Salesian educative environments like the traditional oratory or
the newer ones like youth centres, groups and movements.
Stenhouse, as a practitioner, notes a negative aspect of the MBO that
can be referred to the development of the SEPP in the ‘90s: “I believe
there is a tendency, recurrent enough to suggest that it may be endemic
in the approach, for academics in education to use the objectives model
as a stick with which to beat the teachers. ‘What are your objectives?’ is
more often asked in a tone of challenge than one of interested and helpful
inquiry. The demand for objectives is a demand for justification rather
52 Cfr. A.L. WILSON – R.M. CERVERO, Program Planning, in PETERSON - BAKER -
MCGAW (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 1, 32010, pp. 53-54 e Z.
DENG, Curriculum Planning and Systems Change, in PETERSON - BAKER - MCGAW
(Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 1, 32010, pp. 384-389.
53 STENHOUSE, An Introduction to Curriculum, p. 83.

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100 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
than description of ends. As such it is part of a political dialogue rather
than an educative one”.54
2.2 Animation as a Theoretical Leadership Model
The term “animation” has been successful especially in the neo-Latin
language contexts such as Italy, Spain, France, Canada and Latin Amer-
ica. In every setting it had a different focus ranging from a praxis of
community development through programmes of informal education to
a holistic education methodology. In Italy, animation started as a trend
of theatrical experimentations in state schools and as new participative
techniques of community development. 1968 and the succeeding years
are the take-off period of animation that embodied a good part of the
political tension of that time. In the ‘80s animation moved to a more ed-
ucational horizon promoting collaboration with education and
socialization agencies. Especially in France and Canada, animation was
perceived as a continuation of educational methodologies used in infor-
mal settings of summer camps, free time activities, youth centres, etc.,
dating back to the last decades of the 19th century.55
In the Italian context, which is fundamental for Salesian animation,
we can distinguish three major types of animation theory and practice. In
two of them there was a key presence of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The
first type refers to theatrical animation and we have authors such as
Gianni Rodari, Giuliano Scabia and Franco Passatore, supporting it. This
type of theatre was developed as a means for liberation of expressiveness
and imagination. The second category is called cultural animation and its
main authors are Riccardo Tonelli and Mario Pollo, both professors at
the Salesian Pontifical University and contributors to the Italian Youth
54 Idem, p. 77.
55 See M. POLLO, L’animazione culturale: teoria e metodo, LAS, Roma 2002, pp. 13-15;
J.P. AUGUSTIN – J.C. GILLET, L’animation professionnelle. Histoire, acteurs, enjeux,
Harmattan, Paris Montréal 2000, pp. 23-40 and H. CAMPFENS (Ed.), Community De-
velopment Around the World, University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1997.

11 Pages 101-110

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 101
Ministry Journal Note di Pastorale Giovanile. The third line of animation
is built around the activity of the Salesian Aldo Ellena in the northern
Italy and the journal Animazione Sociale. We will analyze the cultural
and social animation in their references to the SEPP through Tonelli,
Pollo and Ellena’s publications and articles in the compendium Progetto
Educativo Pastorale.56
2.2.1 Cultural Animation
The fundamental publication for this type of animation is Mario
Pollo’s L’animazione culturale: teoria e metodo. Una proposta that of-
fers a theoretical scheme of cultural animation. In his concept, “cultural
animation is an overall education methodology that aims at the growth
and harmonious development of the individual considered as an indivisi-
ble unity and not as a sum of parts or functions. The individual and social
groups develop through the awareness about the inhabitance of a sym-
bolic world. Then, as a first and foremost task, they must develop their
ability to learn, use and create symbolic systems”.57 This definition pro-
vides us with the elements that guide Pollo’s thought through the entire
publication: wholeness of the person inserted in a symbolic world; ani-
mation as a holistic education methodology; the interaction between
individuals in social groups; communication as creation and use of sym-
bolic systems; and finally, research methodology.
Pollo’s animation puts together different pieces of theories that were
popular among scholars of the ‘70s and the ‘80s. Man, the subject and
object of animation, is seen through the lenses of Ernst Cassirer’s theory
as an animal symbolicum. The concept of Cassirer is upgraded with Ber-
nard Kaplan’s communication theory, Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s systems
56 See VECCHI – PRELLEZO (Eds.), Progetto Educativo Pastorale, pp. 285-309; 355-363;
399-417 and POLLO, L’animazione culturale, p. 12.
57 M. POLLO, L’animazione culturale: teoria e metodo. Una proposta, LDC, Leumann
(TO) 1980, p. 33.

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102 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
theory, and James G. Miller’s living systems model. From this anthro-
pology Pollo expects some meaningful results: “It is the belief of many
social science scholars that the only real passage to get out of the banality
of the numerous results is to approach the study of homo symbolicus”.58
The cultural animation offers, according to the author, a comprehensive
approach to the education methodology: “It is undoubtedly a rather tough
approach to see in man an area of emotional, intellectual and finally so-
cial life [...] The cultural animation tends to exceed this whole series of
dichotomies that have long characterized human choices, like rationality-
emotions, mind-body, thought-instinct”.59 For him, the unity of man “is
guaranteed by the fact that he builds and inhabits symbolic worlds”.60
High hopes to overcome the dichotomies of reality in the creation of
symbolic worlds are combined with systems theory, which exceeds the
linearity of Newton’s world, and with Fromm’s idea of social ethics that
goes beyond the alienating power of conformity.
This theoretical framework, in order to be linked with the Salesian
Educative and Pastoral Project, has to be seen in two important aspects:
the place of religious or spiritual dimension in the educative process and
the methodological implications of animation. Pollo’s position about re-
ligion is between mysticism and science, and he starts his thoughts on
the matter with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s quotation about the limits of
knowledge: “There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words.
They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical. […] What
one cannot speak about, one must remain silent”.61 With this starting
point he cannot move forward and sees the religious dimension only as
the inexpressible, as a non-linguistic symbolism, and postulates that an-
imation is an existential communication, a tool that succeeds in this
difficult, impossible task of expressing the inexpressible. We can see
58 Idem, p. 13.
59 Idem, p. 34.
60 Idem, p. 35.
61 L. WITTGENSTEIN, Tractatus logico-philosophicus, in POLLO, L’animazione culturale.
Una proposta, p. 67.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 103
how Pollo practically accepts Wittgenstein’s invitation to silence and
does not develop applications about spirituality or religion. In fact, the
chapter about the religious dimension is the shortest one, occupying only
seven pages. Without significant connections to the rest of the theory,
religion and spirituality remain at the margin of his interests.
There are some methodological implications of Pollo’s animation the-
ory. He suggests three so-called “instruments”, but two of them are
supporting theories and only one is a practical method to make animation
more real – it is called “the primary group”. Pollo describes seven evo-
lutionary stages of the life of a group and introduces some elements of
the animation applied to group dynamics: interactions, psychological
unity of the group, norms, common purposes, informal-formal structure,
collective subconscious, equilibria for stability, climate, stereotypes,
standards and compliance.
In the animation theory, group dynamics became an almost “magical
formula” that should solve many organizational issues in a paradigm cen-
tred at co-responsibility, collegial democratic decision making and civil
rights logic. The author confirms the necessity of educational planning:
“Within a given social system, the link between any educational theory
and its translation into a concrete activity is carried out by an educational
project”.62
Educational project design within the animation theory was influ-
enced mostly by the collegial egalitarian decision making. For Pollo it is
difficult not to contradict a real practice of liberation within the practice
of educational projects. Liberation is achieved when a project is not writ-
ten at the desk or only by animators, but is designed by the group that is
the subject of animation. Pollo tries to go beyond the mechanistic and
linear model of planning speaking about systemic models of project man-
agement. However, he gives no indication of authors and does not
provide procedures, models or concrete methodologies. The definition of
62 POLLO, L’animazione culturale, p. 51.

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104 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
objectives is seen as the “creation of a conceptual system”, the activities
or means to achieve the objective are called “moral and cultural coordi-
nates”, and finally, assessment should be realized as the “creation of
feedback systems”.63 It seems he remains in his preferred domain – lib-
eration participative theory at the level of principles.
Some methodological indications come from the Salesian Riccardo
Tonelli, who has written about pastoral projects in youth ministry since
1968.64 The author focuses mainly on the general approach to the youth
ministry and not on the methodology, which is considered by him as a
rather technical issue, that “requires a technical skill to be acquired
through the study of specialized disciplines [...] This trust and respect of
technical equipment is an accurate Salesian need, as a logical conse-
quence of the realization that there is a close relationship between
education (and related sciences of education) and evangelization”.65
Despite the emphasis on the technical aspect of the projects, Tonelli
offers interesting methodological steps of the pastoral planning.66 As a
beginning, he presents two already mentioned schemes of planning from
Pellerey’s publication: one begins with the objectives, the other with the
situation analysis (See Scheme A). Tonelli rejects the two schemes for
epistemological reasons: the first is too objective and the second too sub-
jective. His proposal is therefore a further “hermeneutic model”. The
objectives and the questions that arise from the analysis of the situation
must be read in the light of the so-called “event of God”. Tonelli states:
“We must use faith as a key. It cannot replace the descriptive sciences.
When these sciences want to research deep existential human needs, they
63 POLLO, L’animazione culturale, p. 66.
64 See the monographic issue of «Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 2 (1968) 8-9, 4-84. Parti-
cularly important are the articles: R. TONELLI, Riunioni di verifica, in «Note di
Pastorale Giovanile» 2 (1968) 8-9, 60-65 e ID., Punti fermi per una programmazione
valida, in «Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 3 (1969) 8-9, 43-59.
65 R. TONELLI, Impostazione della comunità educativa in un contesto pluralista, in
GIANATELLI (Ed.), Progettare l’educazione oggi con Don Bosco, p. 83.
66 See R. TONELLI, Per fare un progetto educativo, in «Note di Pastorale Giovanile» 14
(1980) 6, 57-66.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 105
cannot proceed without faith”.67 The interpretation in the light of “event
of God”, in the light of faith, is important both for reading of the youth
situation and for the formulation of objectives. The interpretation of the
situation in the light of faith has already been present in the SEPP meth-
odology since 1978, but the link between objectives and faith is not
accentuated. Tonelli affirms that objectives have to be in a close relation-
ship with the truths of faith, “to prevent that the re-invention of the
objectives would empty and reduce the event of God to an anthropolog-
ical level only”.68 Tonelli’s interesting remarks remain at the level of
theoretical principles without applying it to the methodological level.
The question of how to interpret the situation in the light of the “event of
God” remains unanswered.
Objectives defini-
tion
Starting situation
analysis
Starting situation
analysis
Objectives defini-
tion
Curriculum
design
Curriculum
design
Assessment
of the results
Assessment
of the results
Pellerey
Questions
Event of God
Objectives
Method
Assessment
Tonelli
Scheme A: Tonelli’s and Pellerey’s Project Methodology
2.2.2 Social Animation
A different type of animation was structured around the activities of
the Salesian Aldo Ellena, the founder of the journal Animazione sociale
67 Idem, p. 61.
68 Ibidem.

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106 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
in 1971. His reflections are closely connected with the activities carried
out in the ‘70s and ‘80s that consisted mainly in leader formation and in
community development activities.69 Ellena’s theoretical interests were
wide-ranging from the translation of Psychology of the Leaders by H.
Harroux and J. Praet, through publishing an Encyclopedia of Social Stud-
ies to editing two volumes on educational presence.70
Looking more closely at his first publication on animation, one can
understand his interest in animation as a social practice that “aims to raise
awareness and to develop the latent potential of an individual, a group or
a community that was suppressed or removed”.71 Animation is not seen
as a new specific profession and neither as a technical method of social
practice, but as a “new way to adapt a professional profile in a changing
society”. The animation activities are described in the areas of physical
and social well-being, expressiveness, creativity, volunteering, free-time
activities, group dynamics, values education, commitment to the territory
or active citizenship.
Interesting is his set of criteria applied to a formation project for
young animators, published in the already mentioned Vecchi and
Prellezo’s volume of Progetto Educativo Pastorale. We reproduce it
here because this list is a good synthesis of the shared anthropological
paradigms on the animation theory. According to Ellena, the application
of these instances should make a qualitative difference between a tech-
nical use of animation activities and a genuine approach to life and
people:
69 See e.g. G. CONTESSA – A. ELLENA – R. SALVI, Animatori del tempo libero, Società
Editrice Napoletana, Napoli 1979; G. CONTESSA – A. ELLENA, Animatori di quartiere,
Società Editrice Napoletana, Napoli 1980 and P.G. BRANCA – G. CONTESSA – A.
ELLENA, Animare la città, Istituto di Scienze Amministrative e di promozione sociale,
Milano 1982.
70 See H. HARROUX – J. PRAET, Psicologia dei leaders, SEI, Torino 1957; A. ELLENA
(Ed.), Enciclopedia sociale, vol. 1: Introduzione ai problemi sociali, Paoline, Roma
1958; F. DEMARCHI – A. ELLENA (Eds.), Dizionario di Sociologia, Paoline, Roma 1976
and A. ELLENA (Ed.), Presenza educativa, 2 volumes, LDC, Leumann (TO) 1976-77.
71 CONTESSA – ELLENA – SALVI, Animatori del tempo libero, p. 132.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 107
▪ keep in mind some fundamental values:
- priority of concrete human persons;
- freedom of conscience;
- secular state;
- social pluralism as an assurance of freedom of individuals and
groups;
- not a depository or adaptive education, but a critical and evolu-
tionary approach (see Paulo Freire), realized through a process of
ongoing formation.
▪ think of the animator as:
- a person who knows how to deal with the strategy of freedom ra-
ther than the strategies of non-freedom: fear, waiting, prudence,
regulation, tradition, ambivalent compromise, anonymity;
- a person with some basic “meanings” of life that match the usual
typology of an adult: openness to the truth, loyalty, responsibility,
respect, fidelity, sense of reality and of its limits, sense of gradual
experimentation, priorities, historical awareness, sense of the par-
ticular, sense of the collective, sense of risk, capacity for dialogue,
sensibility to poverty;
- a unified personality opened to the universality of values;
- a person of hope and utopia.
▪ in consistency with the values and fundamental directions indicated,
the animator has to follow with wise flexibility some operating prin-
ciples:
- do not persist in an identity crisis with masochistic attitudes seen
as an excuse and a compensation of own limits;
- do not live animation as a compensatory dynamic to unsettled per-
sonal psychological situations;
- animate according to the practice-theory-practice concept, which
can be expressed also in the trio see-judge-act;

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108 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
- live according to the situation and at the same time follow a direc-
tion;
- constantly perform self-questioning through a reasonable review
of life model;
- develop imagination: invent new activities; catch up and to antic-
ipate the future;
- overcome the social worker technical role (specific, vertical with
defensive and corporate function) by a functional role (shared,
horizontal, unifying all social workers) for the needs of the com-
munity;
- act according to the principle of mediation et-et, and not according
to the principle of exclusion aut-aut (embraced with determination
by pseudo-revolutionists).72
2.2.3 Animation Theories Critical Evaluation
Animation theory seems to provide an anthropological point of view
with some applied methodological principles. From the analysis of some
principal writings we can conclude that animation, especially in Pollo’s
and Ellena’s view, is linked with selected “civil rights movement” views
on persons and society choosing group dynamics and critical pedagogy
as methods of education. Cultural animation has a high aspiration of be-
ing “a method that does not only allow the educational activities to be
organized in a certain way, but also redefining and selecting objectives
they pursue”.73 As we have seen, this operation was done partially on a
principles level. Animation mixes the conception of homo symbolicus,
systems theory, democratic philosophical principles and communication
theory, and rejects a mechanic and deterministic conception of human
72 CONTESSA – ELLENA, Animatori di quartiere, pp. 92-94 and A. ELLENA, Animatori, in
VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Progetto Educativo Pastorale, pp. 359-360.
73 POLLO – TONELLI, Animazione, in VECCHI – PRELLEZO, Progetto Educativo Pastorale,
p. 288.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 109
beings linked to a hierarchical organization model.74 In this sense, ani-
mation could be considered more as a shared or community leadership
theory than as an innovative project management theory.
On a more practical and methodological level, animation does not of-
fer a different project management methodology. The Management by
Objectives that comes from the curriculum design theories is accepted
with some generic advice of unification, participation, co-responsibility,
etc. Interesting is the way Pollo defends his theoretic position: “To pro-
vide a detailed programme of animation is an overly technical operation,
based on a mechanistic model of animation”.75 He does neglect the ex-
istence of a methodology that exists between a pure theory and a “to-do
list” technical type of management. This axiom leads the authors to adopt
a dual approach: they either remain in the general theory or they adopt
the product model of the curricular theories.76
Despite the stated limitations, we can perceive some marked method-
ological innovations typical for animation. The first and most significant
is project building through group dynamics, which balances the implicit
individualism of Stenhouse’s proposal, focused on a single teacher and
not the educational community. The second innovation is Tonelli’s ac-
cent on the hermeneutic moment in the project design process. The
interpretation of the situation and of the objectives with the eyes of faith
is an integration with curricular theories demanded by the complemen-
tary relation between education and evangelization within the SEPP.
74 Although Tonelli made different adjustments and applied animation in the field of Sa-
lesian Youth Ministry, animation theory does not require in se the religious and
spiritual dimension of educational or pastoral action. This limit of its anthropology
summed with the position of disregarding the hierarchical model, makes animation in
the Salesian EPC setting problematic if it is the only model. It requires other elements
in order to balance the theoretical and practical framework.
75 POLLO, L’animazione culturale, p. 75.
76 This approach is present in different master degree theses guided by Pollo at the UPS.

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110 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
2.3 Management by Objectives and Beyond
Previous analysis allowed us to cast a glance on the theories quoted
directly in the formulation and articulation of the SEPP methodology,
especially in the 1984 publication on Educative and Pastoral Project.
Curricular and animation theories were presented in their interdiscipli-
nary interaction with management and organizational sciences. From the
1970s to the present day, the Salesian project management methodology
has been substantially influenced by the Management by Objectives
model (MBO) which was inspiring the curriculum design theories of the
sixties. Among the education theorists who have had the greatest impact
upon the formulation of the SEPP we find Ralph Tyler, Leslie Briggs,
Robert Gagné, Robert Mager, Hilda Taba and, above all, Lawrence Sten-
house, who influenced Juan Edmundo Vecchi the most. It is to Vecchi,
who was the Councilor for the Youth Ministry in the Congregation from
1978 to 1990, that we owe the main ideas around the SEPP. The different
difficulties with the objectives logic present from the first evaluations of
the ‘70s to the provincial projects of the ‘90s could be understood if we
study the objectives model for itself. Often the Salesians were correcting
the model with external theological principles and criteria but the model
logic remained unchanged. Let us see the development of the MBO
model and the attempts to overcome its flaws by contemporary organi-
zational models.
2.3.1 Management by Objectives
The political, economic and social post-war situation favoured the de-
velopment of project management as a specific branch of studies. The
increasing economic collaboration of the ‘50s, the military strategy of
the Cold War and the Space Race gave chance of managing projects on
a scale incomparable with the past. The denomination Management by
Objectives (MBO) was made famous by Peter Drucker’s 1954 bestseller
The Practice of Management and was successfully developed further in

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 111
his later publications.77 The MBO was trying to involve managers in a
team decision-making process around the formulation of goals, overcom-
ing the traditional loyalty to the defined tasks and the loyalty to the
hierarchy. According to Drucker, the MBO is not only a management
tool, used in many profit and nonprofit organizations, but is a philosophy
of action that transforms real needs into objectives. A person is conceived
as a free being who decides to implement an objective that is not imposed
by others but reflects a real need. The subsequent implementation of the
objective in actions and events is carried out mainly through self-con-
trol.78
Some particular aspects of Drucker’s theory were examined by vari-
ous scholars and were integrated with the help of psychology. As an
important example, we could mention the pioneering studies of Edwin
A. Locke and Gary P. Latham formulated as Goal Setting Theory that
correlates motivation and effectiveness of action with specific and chal-
lenging objectives.79 Other theorists and practitioners develop the MBO
of the ‘80s suggesting SMART objectives with five characteristics: Spe-
cific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related.80
77 See P.F. DRUCKER, The Practice of Management, Harper & Row, New York 1954; ID.,
Management. Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Truman Talley Books, New York
1986; J. DAVIDSON FRAME, The New Project Management. Tools for an Age of Rapid
Change, Complexity, and Other Business Realities, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco CA
22002, pp. 1-6 and M. WITZEL, A History of Management Thought, Routledge, Abing-
don 2012, pp. 162-164.
78 See DRUCKER, Management, pp. 10-11 and 303-304.
79 See E.A. LOCKE – G.P. LATHAM, Goal setting: A motivational technique that works,
Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ 1984; ID., A theory of goal setting and task perfor-
mance, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ 1990; ID., Building a practically useful
theory of goal setting and task motivation. A 35-year odyssey, in «American Psycholo-
gist» 57 (2002) 9, 705-717 e ID., New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory, in «Current
Directions in Psychological Science» 15 (2006) 5, 265-268.
80 See G.T. DORAN, There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objec-
tives , in «Management Review » 70 (1981 ) 11 , 35 -36 and K. BLANCHARD – P.
ZIGARMI – D . ZIGARMI , Leadership and the one minute manager : Increasing
effectiveness through situational leadership , William Morrow and Company , New
York 1985

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112 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Although MBO is still widely used in different organizations, espe-
cially in the industrial sector where the concreteness and measurability
of the objectives are easier to apply, the model’s validity has been ques-
tioned. Already in the ‘80s and ‘90s, researchers suggested different
factors as contributors to the failure of MBO: problems in MBO’s imple-
mentation process, lack of appropriate incentive systems, inadequate top
management support, inadequate staff training, etc.81 And yet, it seems
that giving up on MBO is uneasy to digest and so different scholars are
trying to make it work. As a recent example of many similar attempts,
Sharon Gotteiner asks himself the main question: “If goal setting alone
works, why doesn’t the whole MBO system work?” Then he searches for
answers trying to fix MBO by proposing an “Optimal MBO” model.82 In
the following pages we will see the inherent flaws of MBO and then we
will summarize the development of alternative models.
2.3.2 Critics of Management by Objectives
After years of practice, the founding father of the objectives approach
Peter Drucker remarks: “MBO is just another tool. It is not the great cure
for management inefficiency. [...] Management by Objectives works if
you know the objectives: 90% of the time you don’t”.83 Locke and Lat-
ham, for their part, recognize the pitfalls of their objectives theory but
only propose some symptomatic adjustments remaining at the same level
81 See J.N. KONDRASUK, Studies in MBO Effectiveness, in «The Academy of Manage-
ment Review» 6 (1981) 3, 419-430; J.P. MUCZYK – B.C. REIMANN, MBO as a
Complement to Effective Leadership, in «The Academy of Management Executive» 3
(1989) 2, 131-138; M.F. DUFFY, ZBB, MBO, PPB and their Effectiveness within the
Planning/Marketing Process, in «Strategic Management Journal» 10 (1989) 2, 163-
173 and R. RODGERS – J.E. HUNTER, Impact of Management by Objectives on Organi-
zational Productivity, in «Journal of Applied Psychology» 76 (1991) 2, 322-336.
82 S. GOTTEINER, The Optimal MBO. A Model for Effective Management-by-Objectives
Implementation, in «European Accounting and Management Review» 2 (2016) 2, 43-
56.
83 T. HINDLE, Guide to Management Ideas and Gurus, The Economist, London 2008, p.
122.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 113
of thinking, that is, using primarily the logic of the objectives. A symp-
tomatic solution is the proposal of an additional layer of intermediate
objectives to rediscover the lost link between the specific objectives and
the long term aims.84
Having in mind the historical evolution of the Salesian project man-
agement methodology, it is important to point out various limits of the
MBO viewed from different perspectives. Many of the mentioned diffi-
culties were also present in the Salesian educative and pastoral setting.
- According to William Edwards Deming, MBO causes the organization
to focus on the fulfillment of the objectives and to neglect quality. In
his famous 14 points of quality management he insists to abandon the
MBO and substitute it with leadership.85
- Aaron Wildavsky, one of the first critics, was showing deficiencies in-
herent in MBO. Wildavsky argues that “the planner has become the
victim of planning; his own creation has overwhelmed him. Planning
has become so large that the planner cannot encompass its dimensions.
Planning has become so complex planners cannot keep up with it. Plan-
ning protrudes in so many directions, the planner can no longer discern
its shape. He may be economist, political scientist, sociologist, architect
84 See LOCKE – LATHAM, Has Goal Setting Gone Wild, p. 21 e G.P. LATHAM, Work mo-
tivation: History, theory, and practice, Sage, Thousand Oaks CA 2007, p. 183. See also
an interesting dispute between Locke-Latham and Ordóñez-Schweitzer-Galinsky-Ba-
zerman in L.D. ORDÓÑEZ – M.E. SCHWEITZER – A.D. GALINSKY – M.H. BAZERMAN,
Goals Gone Wild: How goals systematically harm individuals and organizations, in
«Academy of Management Perspectives» 23 (2009) 1, 6-16; E.A. LOCKE – G.P.
LATHAM, Has Goal Setting Gone Wild, or Have Its Attackers Abandoned Good Schol-
arship?, in «Academy of Management Perspectives» 23 (2009) 1, 17-23 and L.D.
ORDÓÑEZ – M.E. SCHWEITZER – A.D. GALINSKY – M.H. BAZERMAN, On Good Schol-
arship, Goal Setting, and Scholars Gone Wild, in «Academy of Management
Perspectives» 23 (2009) 3, 82-87.
85 See W.E. DEMING, Out of the Crisis, MIT Press, Boston 1986 and WITZEL, A History
of Management Thought, pp. 196; 202-204.

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114 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
or scientist. Yet the essence of his calling-planning escapes him. He
finds it everywhere in general and nowhere in particular”.86
- MBO does not consider reliance on human and material resources. The
number of objectives should be scaled up or down to the resources. In
organizations there are various paralyzing dynamics linked with the
disproportion between resources and objectives.87
- MBO overlooks the fact that objectives are interconnected, dependent
on cognitive and contextual variables. The objectives also have an im-
pact at the subconscious level and they can counteract each other. It is
normal that different means, tools or activities lead to the accomplish-
ment of an objective but, at the same time, they bring many side effects
that can paralyze the accomplishment of other objectives. There is also
an associative transfer between objectives and means (or vice versa)
that affects the motivation.88
- The anthropology of the MBO, linked to the conception of Drucker, is
incomplete and flawed. The mechanism of a rational decision to pursue
an objective and the subsequent implementation through conscious
self-control is pretty simple and convincing. But in recent years it has
faced a strong criticism, not only from a philosophical or theological
point of view, but also from an evidence- based organizational one. We
86 A. WILDAVSKY, If Planning Is Everything, Maybe It’s Nothing, in «Policy Sciences»
14 (1983) 4, 127.
87 See B. WERNERFELDT, A Resource-Based View of the Firm, in «Strategic Management
Journal» 5 (1984) 2, 171-180; R.M. GRANT, The Resource-Based Theory of Competi-
tive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation, in «California Management
Review» 33 (1991) 3, 114-135 and G. HAMEL – C.K. PRAHALAD, Competing For the
Future, Harvard Business School Press, Boston 1994.
88 See A.W. KRUGLANSKI et al., A Theory of Goal Systems, in M.P. ZANNA (Ed.), Ad-
vances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 34, Academic Press, San Diego CA
2002, pp. 331-378.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 115
mention especially Daniel Kahneman’s line of thought on the interre-
lations between intuitive and rational components in human action for
which he received Nobel Prize in the field of economy.89
- MBO often inhibits organizational learning especially in complex situ-
ations by turning all the attention to specific objectives and neglecting
the study of the complexities and interrelations in the organization.90
- MBO promotes competition rather than cooperation and tends to ne-
glect community building because it is not related to specific roles that
have responsibilities for achieving concrete objectives.91
- An overly specific set of objectives causes a narrowing of the field of
perception. It is a dangerous condition causing wrong and ineffective
decisions especially in unstable situations with many variables.92
- Too specific objectives can cause lower long-term results because all
the energy is spent on the achievement of specific objectives, and the
more important general objective or aim is neglected.93
89 See the synthesis in D. KAHNEMAN, Thinking Fast and Slow, Farrar Straus and Giroux,
New York 2011 and other research together with Amos Tversky: ID. – A. TVERSKY,
Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk, in «Econometrica» 47 (1979) 2,
263-291; ID. – P. SLOVIC – A. TVERSKY (Eds.), Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics
and biases, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1982 and A. TVERSKY – ID., Ex-
tensional versus intuitive reasoning: The conjunction fallacy in probabilistic
reasoning, in «Psychological Review» 90 (1983) 293-315.
90 See D. CERVONE – N. JIWANI – R. WOOD, Goal setting and the differential influence of
self-regulatory processes on complex decision-making performance, in «Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology» 61 (1991) 2, 257-266 and LOCKE – LATHAM,
Building a practically useful theory of goal setting, 2002.
91 See T.R. MITCHELL – W.S. SILVER, Individual and group goals when workers are in-
terdependent: Effects on task strategies and performance, in «Journal of Applied
Psychology» 75 (1990) 2, 185-193 and P.M. WRIGHT – J.M. GEORGE – S.R.
FARNSWORTH – G.C. MCMAHAN, Productivity and extra-role behavior: The effects of
goals and incentives on spontaneous helping, in «Journal of Applied Psychology» 78
(1993) 3, 374-381.
92 See M.H. BAZERMAN – D. CHUGH, Decisions without blinders, in «Harvard Business
Review» 84 (2006) 1, 88-97.
93 See B.M. STAW – R.D. BOETTGER, Task revision. A neglected form of work perfor-
mance, in «The Academy of Management Journal» 33 (1990) 3, 534-559 e A.E.

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116 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
- In the case of too many objectives, people tend to prefer one goal and
consider the others as secondary.94 In the situation of multiple objec-
tives they favour a quantitative rather than qualitative objective95 and a
short-term rather than a long-term one.96
- People tend to perceive objectives as the top limit of their performance.
After their achievement they tend to relax diminishing commitment to
the whole project.97
- It is true that challenging objectives tend to mobilize more energy. But
there is evidence suggesting that challenging objectives are also linked
to riskier or morally questionable strategies. Also they induce exagger-
ated expectations of the people working in the project, a situation that
can get the organization to a paralyzing stalemate in relation with the
real context.98
- MBO can lead to unethical behaviour in extreme cases, but it also af-
fects the ethical dimension indirectly through its effect on the
TENBRUNSEL et al., Understanding the Influence of Environmental Standards on Judg-
ments and Choices, in «The Academy of Management Journal» 43 (2000) 5, 854-866.
94 See J.Y. SHAH – R. FRIEDMAN – A.W. KRUGLANSKI, Forgetting all else: on the ante-
cedents and consequences of goal shielding, in «Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology» 83 (2002) 6, 1261-1280.
95 See S.W. GILLILAND – R.S. LANDIS, Quality and quantity goals in a complex decision
task: Strategies and outcomes, in «Journal of Applied Psychology» 77 (1992) 5, 672-
681.
96 See M. CHENG – K.R. SUBRAMANYAM – Y. ZHANG, Earnings Guidance and Manage-
rial Myopia, in kellogg.northwestern.edu/accounting/papers/k.r%20subramanyam.pdf.
(accessed 1. 1. 2017)
97 See ORDÓÑEZ – SCHWEITZER – GALINSKY – BAZERMAN, Goals Gone Wild.
98 NEALE – BAZERMAN, The Effect of Externally Set Goals, 1985, pp. 19-32; D. KNIGHT
– C.C. DURHAM – E.A. LOCKE, The Relationship of Team Goals, Incentives, and Effi-
cacy to Strategic Risk, Tactical Implementation, and Performance, in «The Academy
of Management Journal» 44 (2001) 2, 326-338; A.D. GALINSKY – T. MUSSWEILER –
V.H. MEDVEC, Disconnecting outcomes and evaluations: The role of negotiator focus,
in «Journal of Personality and Social Psychology» 83 (2002) 5, 1131-1140; M.E.
SCHWEITZER – L. ORDÓÑEZ – B. DOUMA, Goal Setting as a Motivator of Unethical
Behavior, in «Academy of Management Journal» 47 (2004) 3, 422-432 and B.
HOFMEISTER, Werte im Management, VDM Verlag, Saarbrücken 2006.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 117
organizational culture. Objectives draw the attention rather to the ac-
complishment of results than to the ethical questions around the means.
An aggressive MBO blurs the awareness of ethical issues and endorses
the rationalization of unethical behaviour.99
- Challenging objectives have a counterproductive side effect: they de-
crease the satisfaction with the achieved results and lead people to
perceiving themselves as less effective. It obviously has consequences
for their actions and performance in the future.100
- If the purpose of an activity is to achieve an objective, we work on a
level of controllable external motivations. It decreases the internal mo-
tivations connected with the essence or the typical dynamics of the
activity.101
- A specific objective is not related to the environmental variables and
does not respect the idiosyncrasies of a personal action.102
2.3.3 Change of Organizational Paradigm
It is important not only to criticize the MBO, but to see in which di-
rection it moved the researchers and practitioners in the organizational
99 See A. BARSKY, Understanding the ethical cost of organizational goal-setting: A re-
view and theory development, in «Journal of Business Ethics» 81 (2008) 1, 63-81 and
P. FLEMING – S.C. ZYGLIDOPOULOS, The Escalation of Deception in Organizations, in
«Journal of Business Ethics» 81 (2008) 4, 837-850.
100 H. GARLAND, Influence of ability, assigned goals, and normative information on per-
sonal goals and performance: A challenge to the goal attainability assumption, in
«Journal of Applied Psychology» 68 (1983) 1, 20-30; T. MUSSWEILER – F. STRACK,
The “relative self”: Informational and judgmental consequences of comparative self-
evaluation, in «Journal of Personality and Social Psychology» 79 (2000) 1, 23-38 and
GALINSKY – MUSSWEILER – MEDVEC, Disconnecting outcomes and evaluations, 1131-
1140.
101 See A.J. ELLIOT – J.M. HARACKIEWICZ, Approach and avoidance achievement goals
and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis, in «Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology» 70 (1996) 3, 461-475 and L.J. RAWSTHORNE – A.J. ELLIOT, Achievement
Goals and Intrinsic Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Review, in «Personality and Social
Psychology Review» 3 (1999) 4, 326-344.
102 See ORDÓÑEZ – SCHWEITZER – GALINSKY – BAZERMAN, Goals Gone Wild, pp. 15-16.

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118 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
field. Halfway through the ‘80s different management theorists began to
detect the social, political and economic changes and they started to de-
sign the passage from the management paradigm of the industrial society
to the shared leadership paradigm related to the interconnectedness of
the information society. The transition is well noticeable in the extensive
documentation of the 1990 edition of Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of
Leadership.103 It must be noted that this paradigmatic shift is in no way
meant to indicate that leadership is superior to management; rather it
speaks of their differences and of how they are a complementary dual
concept. This is the understanding of John P. Kotter and Warren Bennis,
two of the foremost scholars in the area of management and leadership
during those years.104
The change of paradigm has many facets present in the various theo-
ries. Similar to what we have seen in the Salesian area, there are
organizational studies scholars who keep the MBO logic and add a few
principles or tools that help manage a further element of turbulence or
uncertainty. But we are interested in leadership theories that go beyond
the MBO in order to see the core dynamics of projects and planning.
Having the SEPP history in mind, it is useful to recall some aspects of
the paradigm shift as it developed with some key concepts of its meth-
odology.
As the first aspect of change there is an appreciable integration of the
linear objectives-activities-assessment logic with a systemic approach to
organization, introduced by William E. Deming. Through his well-
known publication named Out of the Crisis he inspired a vast movement
103 See B.M. BASS, Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership. Theory, Research and
Managerial Applications, Free Press, New York 1990.
104 See J.P. KOTTER, A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management,
Free Press, New York 1990; W. BENNIS, An Invented Life. Reflections on Leadership
and Change, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA 1993; W. BENNIS – J. GOLDSMITH, Learn-
ing to Lead. A workbook on Becoming a Leader, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA 1997,
pp. 9-10.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 119
of Total Quality Management.105 His systemic concept is a profound
knowledge that understands the organization as a whole and recognizes
the overall processes. The study of interactions and feedbacks between
the elements of a system can make the system behave as a single organ-
ism that automatically seeks a steady state. The systemic vision also
inspires applications in the education area. Among many authors, we will
study more in depth the theory of Peter M. Senge, Deming’s successor
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.106
The second aspect of the paradigm shift was the passage from trans-
actional change to transformational change. The transactional change
is the use of planning, command and centralized control; the transforma-
tional change on the other hand requires the involvement of a group, a
shared vision, a personalized communication and has the potential to
change models of thought and action. This distinction between the two
styles of leadership comes from James MacGregor Burns, who analyzed
the political leaders in the ‘70s, but it became well-known by the 1985
Bernard M. Bass’ book Leadership and Performance.107 A year later, the
transformational concept was further reinforced by Noel M. Tichy and
Mary A. Devanna in their publication of Transformational Leader.108
The ideas of transformation and the importance of the perspective change
105 See the bestselling edition: W.E. DEMING, Out of the Crisis, MIT Press, Boston 1986.
Deming’s explicit distances from the Total Quality Movement have to be noted. Ac-
cording to him, it has only become a set of tools and techniques leaving aside the
profound systemic knowledge linked with anthropology and epistemology of its own.
See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. XI-XV.
106 See P.M. SENGE et al., Schools That Learn. A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educa-
tors, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education, Doubleday, New York 2000.
107 See J.M. BURNS, Leadership, Harper&Row, New York 1978; B.M. BASS, Leadership
and Performance, Free Press, New York 1985 and MULFORD, Leadership and Man-
agement Overview, in PETERSON - BAKER - MCGAW (Eds.), International Encyclopedia
Of Education, vol. 4, p. 698.
108 See N.M. TICHY – M.A. DEVANNA, Transformational Leader, Wiley, New York 1986.

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120 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
are further developed in education, especially in Jack Mezirow’s trans-
formative learning.109
The third change of perspective, in connection with the previous one,
is the importance of participation and complementarity in leadership. It
was promoted by Edgar H. Schein with the learning organization concept
and by Arie de Geus with the idea of planning as learning.110 These ideas
found an application in the theory of organizational learning developed
later by Senge. In this perspective, the leadership is shared in a comple-
mentary manner among all active participants, eliminating the
identification of leadership with the formal hierarchical role. Senge de-
fines leadership as “the ability of a human community to shape their own
future”.111 The idea to integrate empowerment in organizational settings
goes beyond the polarization between the leader and the followers, pre-
sent in the traditional leadership theories and helps to expand a more
genuine educational type of approach. Here we can collocate Robert
Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership model.112 Significant is also the contri-
bution of Etienne Wenger and his community of practice concept that
focused on the dynamics existing between the relationships within a
community and practical sharing of knowledge. In this sense we change
from a project team to a community of practice.113
109 See J. MEZIROW et al., Fostering Critical reflection in adulthood. A Guide to Trans-
formative and Emancipatory Learning, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 1990 e ID.,
Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 1991.
110 See E.H. SCHEIN, Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco
1985; A. DE GEUS, Planning as Learning, in «Harvard Business Review» 66 (1988) 2,
70-74 and W.R. KING (Ed.), Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning,
Springer, New York 2009, pp. 301-384.
111 P.M. SENGE et al., The Dance of Change. The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in
Learning Organizations, Doubleday, New York 1999, p. 16.
112 See R.K. GREENLEAF, Servant Leadership. A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate
Power and Greatness. 25th Anniversary Edition, Paulist press, New York 2002.
113 See E. WENGER, Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cam-
bridge University Press, Cambridge 1998; E. WENGER – R. MCDERMOTT – W.M.
SNYDER, Cultivating Communities of Practice, Harvard Business School Press, Boston
MA 2002.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 121
The fourth aspect of the paradigm shift is given by the transition from
effectiveness in a managerial setting to the greatness of a leader in all
sectors and the roles of the life of persons and groups. The change goes
in an educational direction as there is a real need to develop competences
in different areas: communication, decision-making, strategic planning
and even ethical qualities of leaders going beyond successful “results”
according to “objectives”. The publications of Max de Pree, Warren Ben-
nis and John W. Gardner go in this direction.114 This type of
organizational thinking accepts the importance of values. The related
ethical commitment was further developed by Stephen R. Covey. He was
a bestselling author of the ‘90s and developed a character ethics within a
Principle-Centered Leadership model.115 The ethical dimension of lead-
ership and management is generally accepted in the theories developed
after the paradigm change of the late ‘80s.
The fifth input comes from the school of Resource-based Manage-
ment, that became popular with the publications by Coimbatore K.
Prahalad and Gary Hamel. Their theory brings the necessary considera-
tion of limited available resources to the objectives logic. The
organization should not imitate the success and objectives of other or-
ganizations regardless of its own resources. Instead, it is more realistic
to focus on its strengths and develop further its own “core competence”,
which consists in the ability to do a particular activity better.116
114 See M. DE PREE, Leadership is an Art, Michigan State University Press, East Lansing
MI 1987; W. BENNIS, On Becoming a Leader, Perseus Books, Reading MA 1989; J.W.
GARDNER, On Leadership, Macmillan, New York 1990 and J. COLLINS, Good to great.
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t, HarperCollins Publishers,
New York 2001.
115 S.R. COVEY, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Restoring the Character Ethic,
Simon & Schuster, New York 1989; ID., Principle – Centered Leadership, Free Press,
New York 1992; ID., The 8th Habit. From Effectiveness to Greatness, Free Press, New
York 2004.
116 See B. WERNERFELDT, A Resource-Based View of the Firm, in «Strategic Management
Journal» 5 (1984) 2, 171-180; C.K. PRAHALAD – G. HAMEL, The core competence of
the corporation, in «Harvard Business Review» 68 (1990) 3, 79-91; ID., Competing for

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122 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The sixth element is the spiritual dimension seen in organizational
settings that is also called transcendent leadership. Various theories con-
sider spirituality as an innate and integral dimension of all persons that
involves deep levels of meaning, direction, motivation, understanding,
inner completeness and deep connection with others. Spirituality is not
perceived as sectarian or confessional and the authors try to find common
features in spiritual experiences of different religious traditions. We can
see the importance of spirituality in the leadership theories of Covey and
Senge, as well as in Claus Otto Scharmer’s “Theory U”.117
The seventh deepening of organizational studies is linked to the ques-
tion of the method, seeking a research methodology that could guarantee
the scientific proceeding and simultaneously would be significant in the
leaders’ daily applications. The pioneering studies of the ‘70s of Chris
Argyris were resumed in the ‘80s by Dian Marie Hosking and Ian Mor-
ley, noting that practitioners saw managerial studies on leadership as
confused, disorganized, and poorly integrated with many discrepan-
cies.118 The new paradigm of the management scholar-consultant is
located in an intermediate position between an academic and a practi-
tioner. The dilemma between rigour and relevance suggests that an
organizational theory is either evidence-based but too reductionist, and
thus too trivial to have a practical significance, or relevant in a holistic
the Future, Harvard Business School Press, Boston MA 1994; DAVIDSON FRAME, The
New Project Management, pp. 2-5 and 252-273.
117 See especially the third millennium publications of the “second” Covey and Senge:
COVEY, The 8th Habit; C.O. SCHARMER – P. SENGE – J. JAWORSKI – B.S. FLOWERS,
Presence. Exploring Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society, Cur-
rency Doubleday, New York 2004 and for Scharmer see C.O. SCHARMER, Theory U.
Leading From the Future as it Emerges. The Social Technology of Presencing, SoL,
Cambridge MA 2007.
118 See C. ARGYRIS, How normal science methodology makes leadership research less
additive and less applicable, in J.G. HUNT – L.L. LARSON (Eds.), Crosscurrents in lead-
ership, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale IL 1979, pp. 47-63; D.M.
HOSKING – I.E. MORLEY, The skills of leadership, in J.G. HUNT – B.R. BALIGA – H.P.
DACHLER – C.A. SCHRIESHEIM (Eds.), Emerging leadership vistas, Lexington Books,
Lexington MA 1988, pp. 89-106.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 123
practice but lacking sufficient rigorous validation.119 Not without ambi-
guity and risks, the consultants and management gurus try to join the two
concepts of organizational theories entering, in some cases, into the phil-
osophical and metaphysical field that was abandoned by organizational
scholars long ago.120
LEADERSHIP
MANAGEMENT
people oriented
task oriented
spontaneity and serendipity
structure and formality
empowerment
control
principles and purposes
techniques and practices
transformation
transaction
discernment
measurement
process – do right things
procedure – do things right
process – direction and effectiveness procedure – speed and efficiency
act upon the systems
operate within the systems
Scheme B: Leadership and Management Binomials
119 J.M. BEYER – H.M. TRICE, The Utilization Process: a Conceptual Framework and
Synthesis of Empirical Findings, in «Administrative Science Quarterly» 27 (1982) 591-
622; D.A. SCHÖN, The Reflective Professional. How Professionals Think in Action,
Basic Books, New York 1983, pp. 3-69; J.B. MINER, The Validity and Usefulness of
Theories in an Emerging Organizational Science, in «Academy of Management Re-
view» 9 (1984) 296-306; J.E. VAN AKEN, Management Research Based on the
Paradigm of the Design Sciences: The Quest for Field-Tested and Grounded Techno-
logical Rules, in «Journal of Management Studies» 41 (2004) 2, 221.
120 See R. WHITLEY, The Management Sciences and Managerial Skills, in «Organization
Studies» 9 (1988) 1, 47-68; G. BURRELL, The Absent Centre. The Neglect of Philosophy
in Anglo-American Management Theory, in «Human Systems Management» 8 (1989)
307-312.

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124 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Scheme B presents a series of binomials (interrelated coupled con-
trasts) inspired by the synthesis of Stephen R. Covey.121 They illustrate
the change of paradigm in several interdependent aspects between lead-
ership and management. Organizational studies have passed from a
“leadership as management” paradigm to one which understands “lead-
ership as interdependent with management”. Leadership and
management are seen as two poles in the world of organization, because
of which there exists an equilibrium between concern for the persons and
concern for the systems and tasks. Even though the distinction between
leadership and management as interdependent aspects can run the risk of
becoming a mere cliché presuming to resolve all organizational prob-
lems, it still remains a valid theory which can exert influence on the area
of organizational studies.122
This paradigm shift was not explicitly perceived in the Salesian Edu-
cative and Pastoral Project methodology that still refers to the ‘80s MBO
logic. It seems also that the Salesian post-Vatican II leadership model
finds itself trapped between two models. The first is the classical eccle-
siastical hierarchy model that tends to micromanage the everyday life.
The second is the animation model of a leader as an animator-facilitator
of the community. The latter model incorporates a “leadership by project
management” logic of the ‘80s and it comprehends the director more as
a project team facilitator than as a real leader.
We will try to implement the organizational paradigm shift within the
SEPP core logic in order to balance the importance of planning effective-
ness (management reasoning) with the importance of government,
discernment and motivation (leadership reasoning). We suppose that
121 See S.R. COVEY, The 8th Habit. From Effectiveness to Greatness, Free Press, New
York 2004, p. 364.
122 See. J.P. KOTTER, Accelerate. Building Strategic Agility for a Faster Moving World,
Harvard Business Review Press, Boston 2014 and G. EDWARDS et al., Exploring power
assumption in the leadership and management debate, in «Leadership & Organization
Development Journal» 36 (2015) 3, 328-343.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 125
there must be equilibrium between the need for clear and shared objec-
tives (management), and working side by side with the others and
appreciating their insights (leadership). Without leadership, accompani-
ment and communal discernment one would most likely arrive at lists of
insignificant objectives neither shared by all nor with any value for the
day’s activity. The consolidated practice and organizational theories of
the past two decades confirm the inadequacy of Management by Objec-
tives model which aims toward realizing goals merely through self-
control. There is a clear need of deep spiritual motivation along with the
dynamics of communal co-responsibility not only as criteria but also as
methodology.

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126 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
3. Don Bosco in the Oratory: Permanent Renewal
Criterion
In the first chapter we have seen the development of the Salesian
Youth Ministry with a focus on Educational and Pastoral Project (SEPP)
as a main tool for management and leadership of the Educative and Pas-
toral Communities (EPC). In the second chapter we have analyzed the
theoretical background of the Salesian project management and leader-
ship model. In the final section we have moved forward some critical
remarks on behalf of the SEPP model that reflects a basic Management
by Objectives (MBO) mindset, popular in the years of the SEPP defini-
tion and major development. We have also seen that the Salesian
planning and project management model has remained without substan-
tial updates in the recent 30 years.
In order to update the SEPP model, we could simply integrate some
of the recent popular organizational theories and practices. But it would
only be a “running late” strategy that tries to catch up with the latest
models and does not have an internal criterion for sorting out theories
and practices. We want to learn some lessons from the past and in order
to do so, we would like to maintain some lines of continuity with the
post-Vatican II thought and organizational models. If we look closely
enough, the Special General Chapter (SGC) already defined an “endur-
ing criterion for the renewal of Salesian action” and called it “Don Bosco
in the Oratory”.1 The SGC states that the criterion for any authentic re-
newal has to go back to the first moments the of Salesian history – to the
person of Don Bosco in the developments of the Oratory of Valdocco.
As it often happens, the criterion was defined but was applied only to
some “hot issues” of that time and was neglected in other areas. In the
area of organizational and project management models, the Handouts of
1 See SGC (1972), p. 150.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 127
the Youth Ministry Department and other publications did not refer to
Don Bosco at all or if some authors did, it was only in a generic way.
This chapter will describe, in the first section, the “Don Bosco in the
Oratory” criterion and its (limited) application and use in the ‘70s and
‘80s. The second section will prepare the ground for the criterion’s ap-
plication in the organizational area by examining organizational studies
of consecrated life that refer to the legacy of their founders. The last, and
more substantial analysis section, will put forward some leadership and
management traits of Don Bosco with the purpose of giving organiza-
tional concreteness to the “Don Bosco in the Oratory” criterion. To do so
we will draw on historical studies that see Don Bosco in his time and in
the context of the development of his works.
3.1 Criterion for Vatican II Renewal Needed and Found
The Special General Chapter document uses clear argumentation of
the theme and here we will summarize its highlights. There are two es-
sential parts of an authentic renewal, in accordance with the Council: a
return (reditus) to the sources, and an adjustment (aptatio) to the new
and changed conditions of our times and context.2 The Chapter proposes
a fundamental concept of dynamic fidelity. Fidelity to the spirit of the
founder is “one of the principles of renewal, and one of the surest criteria
of what any institute should eventually undertake”.3
A suitable criterion must be found which can separate the authentic
formulae of renewal from their eventual imitations that go from mechan-
ical repetition to relativism. For a criterion to be ideal, it must be certain
in its function as a distinctive sign; specific in the concrete information,
and universal, i.e. accessible to everyone, everywhere and at all times.
As a result, such a criterion must necessarily be objective and external.
2 See SGC (1972), n. 192 that refers to Perfectae Caritatis, n. 2.
3 PAULUS VI, Evangelica Testificatio, as quoted in SGC (1972), p. 151.

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128 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
It seems that a mere appeal neither to the “spirit” of the founder, nor to
his concrete “works” alone meets these requirements. Not only the
“spirit”, because often enough one’s subjective evaluations encroach on
the matter, and give rise to a need for further criteria. Not only the
“works” alone, because they are not immune from being idealized and
even deformed, and therefore need a prior assessment. It is clear then that
the criterion of dynamic fidelity in the renewal of our specific field of
work demands more a “sign” than an identification with one particular
work.4
Then follows the central argumentative part stating in a concise and
rich manner: “The Don Bosco we see in the Oratory admirably fulfils the
requirements of an ideal criterion. We must go back to that figure, alive
and at work in the midst of his boys, throughout the period of his apos-
tolic life. We must go back to the Oratory itself, as pictured for us by his
biographers and remember the fascination of the early days. We ought
not to look upon it however as a concrete piece of work, as distinct from
the other works started by Don Bosco, but rather as the matrix, the syn-
thesis, the sum total of all the genial apostolic creations of our Founder,
the mature fruit of all his efforts”.5 The first criterion of our Salesian re-
newal must be found in the person of Don Bosco who in the Oratory
gives us an exemplary lesson of dynamic fidelity to his apostolic voca-
tion: “I have always gone ahead as the Lord inspired me, and as
circumstances demanded”.6
4 The SGC’s skepticism about the authenticity of the works is to be read in the context of
the Salesian boarding schools’ crisis and criticism about some “repressive” aspects of
the traditional Salesian educational model.
5 SGC (1972), n. 195.
6 Biographical Memoirs, vol. 18, p. 127 as quoted in SGC (1972), n. 197. This passage
is a crucial text in the debate about Don Bosco being only an educator or also an edu-
cation theorist. From the ‘30s to the ‘50s, different interpretations were given by
General Councilor for the Schools Fr. Bartolomeo Fascie, Rector Major Fr. Pietro
Ricaldone and also by the early scholarly writings of Pietro Braido. In this passage of
SGC it is one of the first times to give it a methodological meaning, seeing Don Bosco
as an example of a dynamic fidelity method.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 129
3.1.1 SGC’s Description of “Don Bosco in the Oratory”
In the following chapter of the document, the SGC recalls the crite-
rion and describes some typical and permanent traits of Don Bosco’s
action. By Oratory, as Don Bosco created it, we do not mean the institute
but rather a spirit that pervades the whole complex of work with youth
in need. When this is understood, the Oratory recalls everything Don
Bosco did and desired to do, and today it stands out as a constant re-
minder of what a Salesian should be. The Oratory, in this way, would not
be just one among many other Salesian works, but the fundamental for-
mula from which all others derive, different works carried on by a
Salesian community on behalf of all the young of a particular area, with
widely differing activities. This is precisely what the Oratory was origi-
nally. The SGC chooses to reconstruct Don Bosco’s line of thought on
his work either by starting from his early vocation and passing on to his
work as realized in the Oratory, or by starting from his many activities
and going back to the motives that inspired them. A simple way of doing
this is to recall his dreams about his vocation on the one hand, and to
read the Rules of the Oratory on the other.7
The narration analysis of Don Bosco’s boyhood dream, seen as the
origin of his educative and pastoral action, pinpoints some fundamental
aspects of his personality and activity. Don Bosco was convinced of a
higher vocation to be a shepherd of youth. His favorites were the poorest
and most abandoned youth. The style of his action had to be a fusion of
kindness and solicitous care. The catechism teaching was the first area
of his interventions and of the pedagogical art. Blessed Mary, as a Mis-
tress, was the icon of God’s care for young people deprived of the
warmth of a family and the love of a mother.8 The final article of this
paragraph makes a synthesis stating: “As desired by God in the dreams,
7 See SGC (1972), nn. 203-204.
8 See SGC (1972), nn. 206-210.

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130 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the Oratory was to become a house for the religious instruction of de-
prived youth. It was to be especially a training ground where they could
obtain an integral formation according to the living truths of the gospel,
and where (since the Mistress was also a Mother) they would also find a
real family, where poor orphans could discover the saving goodness of
the Father, made apparent to them through the pedagogy of the gospel,
which is a pedagogy of love”.9
The Regulations of the Oratory, on the other hand, identify Don
Bosco’s typical approach in a different way, but coming to similar con-
clusions. The first is the imitation of Christ in gathering together the sons
of God who were scattered. This was to be done in a happy, pleasant and
attractive way. But, at the same time, this action is formative, educative,
and aimed at the salvation of souls. The catholicity of Don Bosco is in-
terpreted as universal, in so far as it is open to all. The Regulations affirm
also the preference for the poor, the abandoned and the backward. Don
Bosco’s education and youth ministry see the whole young person, con-
sidering him as both a human being and a Christian. The method is
permeated by intense evangelical charity.10 The final synthesis recalls the
four fundamental elements of the later fortunate formulation of the “ora-
torian criterion” in the Constitutions: a home for those who have none; a
parish for those who do not know where their parish is; a school open to
all who might find insuperable difficulty elsewhere; recreation as the first
incarnation of evangelical charity, of a happy and serene friendship, of a
true family and of loving kindness.11
9 SGC (1972), n. 211.
10 See SGC (1972), nn. 212-218.
11 See SGC (1972), nn. 216 and 218.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 131
3.1.2 Criterion’s Application Contextualized
The “Don Bosco in the Oratory” criterion was further developed in
two chapters of the SGC document trying to balance a framework be-
tween dynamism and fidelity, speaking about “dynamism backed by
loyalty” and “dynamic aspect of fidelity”.12 It seems, nevertheless, that
the focus of the applications was typical of the ‘70s era. The Salesians of
that time focused especially on two topics: the possibility (and urgency)
of change and the restructuration of the works.
The document speaks about dynamic fidelity, but gives more space to
the changing aspect focusing on guaranteeing freedom of action: “No
unnecessary limitations need be feared in the true apostolic dynamism
already in action”.13 In this sense, Vatican II is perceived by the Salesians
as a call for innovation and so “the true Salesian attitude will therefore
be one of fidelity to the pastors of the Church so that while retaining our
Salesian identity we can even sacrifice some of our cherished family tra-
ditions”.14 They see themselves as facing “situations that are entirely
new”15 and exalt the daring courage of Don Bosco in a perspective of
expansion. The section about fidelity to Don Bosco’s legacy and the
grassroots of our works is therefore reduced to 4 from the total 45 articles
of the two chapters.
The main argumentation and applications are directed towards resolv-
ing the problem of the boarding school crisis that seemed to suffocate the
Salesians of the ‘70s. There are some clear signs of it: Salesian teacher’s
work is described as hindering or rendering impossible or precarious a
specifically pastoral work. There are too many occupations which pre-
vent direct contact with young people. The “works” are seen as a
correspondence to the basic ideal and should not be necessarily fixed in
12 See SGC (1972), nn. 228-273.
13 SGC (1972), n. 246.
14 SGC (1972), n. 238.
15 SGC (1972), n. 248.

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132 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
rigid outmoded structures.16 The argumentative mindset is synthetized in
the central article about fidelity to Don Bosco: “It is necessary to recon-
sider the traditional works for youth. In this regard there are neither
preferences nor limits. What matters is the harmony with the work of
Don Bosco. Rather than an enumeration of possible works it is better to
concentrate our attention on the point of Salesian action. Three principles
will control its legitimate expansion:
- that it tends to the finding and preparation of educators;
- that it is directed towards the human and Christian formation of youth;
- that it serves to facilitate meeting of those involved in the educative
process”.17
We can state that this synthesis of three elements is too poor and can
practically be applied to whatever educational work carried out by what-
ever Christian denomination or charism in any context. Some acute
remarks of Pietro Braido can be remembered. He speaks about the SGC
within a title about “fidelity and utopia”18 and criticizes the extreme use
of the new terms “pastoral” and “ministry”. The argumentation of the
SGC often uses them as a universal remedy that renders it almost an
empty semantical container. Big plans of expansion were to be carried
out in new frontiers such as: secular institutes, collaboration with inter-
national organizations as UNO, UNESCO, FAO, etc., immigrants,
apprentices, abandoned youth, universities, parishes. All these efforts
had to be executed with “absolute dedication” following the path of the
biblical, liturgical and pastoral movements of the 20th century.19 There is
only one concrete example for this type of expansion: openness to non-
Catholics.20
16 See SGC (1972), nn. 231-232 and 242.
17 SGC (1972), n. 244.
18 P. BRAIDO, Le metamorfosi dell’Oratorio Salesiano tra il secondo dopoguerra e il
Postconcilio Vaticano II (1944-1984), in «Ricerche Storiche Salesiane» 25 (2006) 49,
333.
19 See SGC (1972), nn. 250-265.
20 See SGC (1972), nn. 268-269.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 133
1st GC22 draft
In the concrete realiza-
tion of our activities
and works, we inspire
ourselves with dy-
namic fidelity in the
Oratory of Don Bosco,
seen as the lasting cri-
terion for discernment
and renewal.
---
For our Founder, the
Oratory is a repre-
sentative synthesis of
his brilliant action and
his educational style; it
is “a home for those
who have none, a par-
ish for those who do
not know where their
parish is, a school
open to all who might
find insuperable diffi-
culty elsewhere”.21
2nd GC22 draft
In the concrete reali-
zation of our
mission, we inspire
ourselves with dy-
namic fidelity in the
Oratory of Don
Bosco, seen as a
permanent criterion
for discernment and
renewal.
---
Every work of ours,
as the Valdocco, be-
comes for the
youngsters a home
that welcomes, a
parish that evange-
lizes, a school that
prepares for life, and
a playground where
friends could meet.
Final GC22 draft
Don Bosco lived a
pastoral experience
in the first Oratory
which serves as a
model; it was for the
youngsters a home
that welcomed, a
parish that evange-
lized, a school that
prepared them for
life, and a play-
ground where
friends could meet
and enjoy them-
selves.
---
As we carry out our
mission today, the
Valdocco experience
is still the lasting
criterion for discern-
ment and renewal in
all our activities and
works
Definitive version
Don Bosco lived a
pastoral experience
in his first Oratory
which serves as a
model; it was for the
youngsters a home
that welcomed, a
parish that evange-
lized, a school that
prepared them for
life, and a play-
ground where
friends could meet
and enjoy them-
selves.
---
As we carry out our
mission today, the
Valdocco experi-
ence is still the
lasting criterion for
discernment and re-
newal in all our
activities and works.
Scheme C: Evolution of the “Don Bosco in the Oratory” Criterion
21 SGC (1972), n. 216.

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134 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
3.1.3 Further Applications of the Criterion Needed
The “Don Bosco in the Oratory” or the Oratorian criterion had further
applications and developments. We focus here on two in particular: the
text evolution in the Constitutions and the Rector Major Egidio Viganò’s
teaching.
As we can see in the Scheme C, the Oratorian criterion was “fortu-
nate” entering the Salesian Constitutions during GC22 (1984).22 The first
draft resembles the Special General Chapter mindset. It uses the dynamic
fidelity concept, focuses in the first places on the works and quotes the
SGC text explicitly. It also uses a functional three dimensional view: Or-
atory is a home, parish, school for the needy young people. The second
draft moves ahead and gives priority to the mission, the works come only
in the second place. It also integrates a less functional dimension of the
playground where young people meet as friends (“cortile” in Italian
means courtyard a meeting place not only for recreation purposes). The
final draft and the definitive version accept the second draft developing
further accents. The changed order of the two paragraphs indicate that
Don Bosco’s lived experience comes first and the problem of carrying
out our works follows afterwards.
This evolution was probably influenced by the teachings of Egidio
Viganò that values the formula “Oratorian criterion” or another linked
concept of “Oratorian heart”. In 1978, the newly elected Rector Major
suggested the formula “Oratorian heart” in the closing address of the
Chapter. Until the end of his life he did not stop to propose it almost like
a summary of being and operating of a Salesian educator. Viganò in his
teachings links the Oratorian heart to the educative Preventive System as
depicted in the Memoirs of the Oratory. The Oratorian criterion is not
linked to the works and activities, but to a fundamental attitude of Don
22 See the unpublished reconstruction of the Article No. 40, in J.L. PLASCENCIA
MONCAYO, Costituzioni della Società di san Francesco Di Sales. Processo diacronico
dell’elaborazione del testo, vol. 1: Articoli 1-95, Roma-Guadalajara 2007.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 135
Bosco – the pastoral charity. It is not used in the sense of dedicating one-
self to a particular kind of works, but in the sense of living and expressing
a characteristic pastoral attitude that qualifies every Salesian presence in
any work. Practically it was urgent to prioritize the Salesian Youth Min-
istry, filling the hearts with an “Oratorian longing” and putting the
criterion of predilection for the young as the root of all our work. Orato-
rian heart is often linked by Viganò with the typical Salesian motto da
mihi animas.23
The “Don Bosco in the Oratory” is a fortunate synthesis, an evocative
and understandable criterion for the Vatican II renewal. It is present in
many documents of the Congregation and it has shaped the Salesian iden-
tity. Nonetheless, we have to note that although it is universal as a
synthesis, it is not complete. It means that it focuses on some elements
and neglects the others. The link to the material aspect of the works is
evident (house, parish, school, playground) and so is the ideal thrust of
the pastoral charity (da mihi animas). There are some aspects that could
be neglected:
- The Oratorian criterion misses concrete applications, as was already
noted by the SGC;24
- At the level of dimensions of the Youth Ministry, evangelization (par-
ish), education (school) and social experience (playground) are present,
but the vocational dimension is missing;
- It pinpoints the general educative passion or pastoral charity but it does
not describe concretely Don Bosco’s attitudes or virtues;
- An actual methodology linked to the criterion is missing, as noted by
Egidio Viganò.25
23 See GC21 (1978), pp. 328-33; E. VIGANÒ, Lettera del Rettor Maggiore, in «Atti del
Consiglio Superiore» 64 (1983) 310, 10 and BRAIDO, Le metamorfosi dell’Oratorio,
347-350.
24 See SGC (1972), nn. 270-273.
25 See E. VIGANÒ, Lettera del Rettor Maggiore, in «Atti del Consiglio Superiore» 61
(1980) 297, 28.

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136 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
In the following pages we would like to fill the gap and describe more
concretely Don Bosco in the Oratory. We will focus on his attitudes or
permanent principles of his action and also on some elements of his
methodology. But first we will see how religious orders describe their
Founders and charisms in relation to organizational issues.
3.2 Consecrated Life and Organizational Research
Leadership and management are not unknowns in the world of con-
secrated life. There are many studies which deal with this topic and the
points of view vary. We will recall just some authors who understand
that the binomial leadership – management as seen within religious or-
ders has much to say to the secular world and that the organization
scholars can enlighten some aspects of community life in religious orders
as well.
3.2.1 Consecrated Leadership as a Universal Model
In his book Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old-
Company That Changed the World,26 Chris Lowney, a former Jesuit,
now a consultant and manager, dwells at length particularly on the expe-
rience of the first generations of the Company of Jesus and selects four
key principles of leadership implicit in the Jesuit “way of proceeding”.
The author proposes this model as a universally valid method, not re-
stricted to the Company of Jesus. The Jesuit “heroic leadership” is
founded on four pillars:
Self-awareness: of one’s strengths, weaknesses, values and vision of
the future, nurturing the habit of self-examination and of deepening
their knowledge through the Spiritual Exercises;27
26 See C. LOWNEY, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old-Company
That Changed the World, Loyola Press, Chicago 2005.
27 See Idem, pp. 113-126.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 137
Ingenuity: which consists in embracing the world ever in change and in
initiating changes. Jesuit leaders “anchored by nonnegotiable princi-
ples and values, cultivate the ‘indifference’ that allows them to adapt
confidently”.28
Love: a concrete loving attitude towards all those involved in the mis-
sion. So everyone is disposed to “greater love than fear”;29
Heroism: nourished by heroic ambitions which pour energy into them
and others, leaders “endeavor to conceive grand resolves and elicit
equally grand desires”.30
The author’s starting point is John Kotter’s concept of leadership31
and he compares him with other authors of books dealing with manage-
rial sciences.32 However, he immediately makes it clear that his concept
is different, and that he speaks of a shared leadership; of the inner source
of leadership, the ongoing formation of leadership and of leadership un-
derstood as a way of life, not as a technique or a set of separated actions.
The author also describes the quality of Jesuit organization comparing it
with the already established traditions of the Benedictines, Dominicans
and Franciscans whose managerial structures he considers insufficient.33
Craig S. Galbraith, a Benedictine Oblate, student of management and
co-founder of several businesses in the area of biotechnology, has a sim-
ilar approach to Oliver Galbraith III. The latter is a professor emeritus of
San Diego State University. Both authors have described the Rule of St.
Benedict from the point of view of leadership and have produced a syn-
thesis reducing it to 15 principles: common interest; selection and
28 Idem, p. 39.
29 The Constitutions of the Company of Jesus, in LOWNEY, Heroic Leadership, p. 32.
30 Letters of St. Ignatius of Loyola, in LOWNEY, Heroic Leadership, pp. 33-34.
31 See J.P. KOTTER, Leading Change, in LOWNEY, Heroic Leadership, pp. 13-14.
32 See the references made to leadership authors as Badaracco, Collins, Drucker,
Goleman, Herzberg, Heskett, McGregor, and Zaleznik throughout the Heroic Leader-
ship by Lowney.
33 See LOWNEY, Heroic Leadership, pp. 137-149.

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138 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
formation; merit and seniority; focused ventures; innovation; ethics; sta-
bility; purposeful ritual; group reliance and respect; discipline; counsel;
grumbling; leader example; humility and moderation; iron resolve.34
3.2.2 Comparative Studies between Consecrated and Secular Set-
tings
A second type of approach is offered by Claudius Johannes Eckert,
Benedictine and Theology professor at the Ludwig Maximilian Univer-
sity in Munich, which makes a comparison between the organizational
culture of the Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) and of the Bavarian
Benedictine Congregation (BBK).35 The in-depth analysis, developed in
nearly 500 pages, starts by describing the actual cultural challenges that
question economic management models and at the same time the organ-
izational praxis of the Church. In the second part, the author follows the
path of reflection with a philosophical and theological anthropological
foundation (conscience, socialization, conflictual existence, freedom and
bonds, needs, work and formation of identity, society, community, or-
ganization).
From an exhaustive comparison of the two organizational cultures,
that build the centre of the publication, the final message originates: “It
is in our mutual interest that BMW and BBK learn from each other. If
we look over the factory fences and the walls of the monastery, we can
find common areas and on that basis learning opportunities arise”.36 Of
course Eckert sees the differences that consist especially in objectives
setting (creation of material values vs. creating ideal values), function of
the whole (industrial organization vs. life- sharing community) and in the
bottom line mindset (flexibility vs. stability). These do not prevent him
34 See C.S. GALBRAITH – O. GALBRAITH III, Benedictine Rule of Leadership, Adams Me-
dia Corporation, Avon, MA 2004.
35 See J.C. ECKERT, Dienen statt Herrschen. Unternehmenskultur und Ordensspirituali-
tät: Begegnungen, Herausforderungen, Anregungen, Schäfer Poeschl, Stuttgart 2000.
36 Idem, p. 234.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 139
from seeing an area of mutual learning built on these common principles:
continuous renewal awareness; achievement of the objectives through
communication (group reflection) and participation (mutual openness),
and finally, common guiding principles of formation (co-responsibility
and servant leadership).37 In his next publication the author offers prac-
tical leadership advice actualizing Bernard of Clairvaux’s sermon to
Pope Eugene III. The balanced view combines the contemplative spirit
with care and responsibility for ministry in the Church and integrates
practical experiences from leadership seminars guided by the author him-
self.38
The Salesian Reinhard Gesing, Director of the Institute for Salesian
Spirituality in Benediktbeuern, directs his reflections in the same course,
but with a specific focus. He compares the function of the traditional Sa-
lesian community rector’s monthly talk to the employee-manager
interview at RWE (a multinational energy company).39
The comparison of the two types of dialogue puts an emphasis on the
learning opportunities for both organizations: Salesians may value the
monthly talk more and return to its practice also being motivated by re-
cent managerial studies. In this sense, the role of the rector could
integrate some functions of the coach (giving and receiving feedback,
communication skills training). The dialogue should follow methodolog-
ical guidelines and could be enlarged also to the lay collaborators in
Salesian works as a coordination and ongoing formation tool. For RWE
the learning opportunities are: give attention to the dignity of the person
as a fundamental guideline of the dialogue; develop a set of guidelines
37 Idem, pp. 234-280.
38 See J.C. ECKERT, Die Kunst, sich richtig wichtig zu nehmen. Führungskompetenz aus
dem Kloster, Kösel, München 2012.
39 See R. GESING, Das Mitbrudergespräch in einer Ordensgemeinschaft und das Mitar-
beitergespräch im Unternehmen. Eine vergleichende Darstellung unter besonderer
Bezugnahme auf das Mitbrudergespräch bei den SDB und das Mitarbeitergespräch bei
RWE, Manuscript in the series „Benediktbeurer Schriftenreihe zur Lebensgestaltung
im Geiste Don Boscos”, Benedikbeuern 2004.

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140 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
for discretion and employee protection; give priority to empowerment,
and lastly , increase the ability to learn from mistakes.40
3.2.3 Leadership Theories Applied to Consecrated Life
A different approach is taken by the Maltese Jesuit Alfred Darmanin,
as professor of psychology and past president of the Conference of Eu-
ropean Jesuit Provincials, in his article on Ignatian spirituality and
contemporary leadership.41 He makes a list of the trends in contemporary
theories of leadership, and then looks for similarities with the organiza-
tional method spelled out by Ignatius of Loyola. In his article he
examines the following trends: shared vision-mission (Hesselbein); situ-
ational leadership (Hersey-Blanchard); transformational leadership
(Burns); organizational culture (Schein); leadership-management
(Kotter, Covey); organizational metaphors (Morgan); learning organiza-
tion (Senge); and servant leadership (Greenleaf). In a subsequent article,
Darmanin applies his analysis of managerial research to some of the ma-
terials of the 35th General Congregation of the Jesuits. Besides bringing
attention to the organizational structure he insists on the need for leader-
ship training within the Company of Jesus.42
A fourth study of the relationship between organizational sciences
and the life of religious institutes was made by the Vincentian Family
which adopted and implemented the systemic change theory in the life
of the Institutes of the Daughters of Charity, the Congregation of the
Mission and the Vincentian Volunteer Work, the Association Internatio-
nale des Charités (AIC).43 Robert Maloney, the Superior General
between 1992 and 2004, summarizes the essence of systemic change in
40 See Idem, pp. 45-47.
41 See A. DARMANIN, Ignatian Spirituality and Leadership in Organizations Today, in
«Review of Ignatian Spirituality» 36 (2005) 2, 1-14.
42 See A. DARMANIN, Governance in the Society of Jesus. What’s New?, in «Review of
Ignatian Spirituality» 39 (2008) 3, 75.
43 See The Vincentian Family, in aic-international.org/content.php?m=4&l=en (accessed
1.1. 2017).

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 141
the life and the pastoral activity of Vincent de Paul: changing social
structures; integral evangelization and witness, preaching and human
promotion; holistic service; quality; organization; solid foundations as
the basis for sustainability; transparency; education and job-training; net-
working; and advocacy.44
Still another viewpoint is that adopted by Pat Smith, a Franciscan
from the United States, who takes up the idea of a leader as proposed by
Lowney and compares it with the experience of Francis of Assisi, while
drawing from other sources as well.45 “A leader is one who has a pro-
found experience of and passion (love) for life coupled with a vision of
the future. A leader is one who can successfully communicate this vision
and who is able to inspire and motivate others to share in it and own it.
A leader can assist others to achieve it, despite conflicts and obstacles
that might have to be overcome”.46 Franciscan leadership is Gospel-cen-
tred and familial, rooted in being (not in doing), it springs from littleness,
and requires continuous conversion. Unlike Lowney and the Vincentian
Family leadership model, Smith’s article and other Franciscan publica-
tions are directed as formation texts above all to the religious family and
do not aspire to have a global organizational impact.47
A particular perspective of study is adopted by the Salesian Ric Fer-
nando Lorenzo in his doctoral thesis in canon law entitled Management
44 R. MALONEY, Ten seeds of systemic change in the life and works of St. Vincent, in aic-
international.org/pdf/publicationions/cahier13en.pdf (accessed 1.1. 2017).
45 See M. CARNEY – J. CHINNICI, Implications for Governance from Franciscan Christol-
ogy. Response to Zachary Hayes’ presentation on Christology, Franciscan Federation,
Anaheim, LA 1995; D. JULIEN, Clare’s Model of Leadership, in «The Cord» 51 (2001)
4, 184-198; P. SMITH, Franciscan Leadership: Mutual Love Generating a Future. Key-
note presentation at the Franciscan Federation Annual Conference 2009, in
franfed.org/Keynote - AFC2009, PatSmithOSF.pdf (accessed 1.1. 2017).
46 SMITH, Franciscan Leadership, p. 1.
47 See P. O’MARA, The Franciscan Leader: A Modern Version of the Six Wings of the
Seraph. An Anonymous Franciscan Treatise in the Tradition of St. Bonaventure, Fran-
ciscan Institute Publications, St. Bonaventure, NY 2013; D.D. REAM – T.A. REAM
(eds.), Handbook for Secular Franciscan Servant Leadership, in trouba-
doursofpeace.org/ Documents/Formation/SFO Formation Resource Manual.pdf
(accessed 1.1. 2017).

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142 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
of Governance structures in Religious Institutes of active life: Applied to
the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco.48 The author analyzes the world-
wide organizational structure of the Salesians (general, regional and
provincial level) from the point of view of canon law and organizational
sciences. Lorenzo proposes some courageous improvements in govern-
ance structures through the combination of various theories,
unfortunately without a thorough and unitary perspective.49 Inspired by
the Verbites, he suggests strengthening of the Regions as an intermediate
structure of government. Another proposal involves a major coordination
of the Departments within the Directorate-General through a “Coordina-
tion Office”.
3.2.4 Other Organizational Studies Written by SDBs or FMAs
Besides Gesing’s comparative study and Lorenzo’s structural reform
proposal, we can find publications of different nature written by the Sa-
lesians or the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. They do not write
explicitly about Don Bosco or the Salesian charism and their character-
istics vary from academic analysis to self-help or motivational books. An
interesting academic publication is presented by the Salesian Giuseppe
Tacconi, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Verona. The pub-
lication of Alla ricerca di nuove identità (“In Search of New Identities”)
broadens the horizon of ongoing formation of the religious orders of ac-
tive apostolic life. Tacconi affirms that organizational structures of the
religious orders are more ways of thinking rather than mere technical
instruments. In this sense, the author proposes Edgar Schein’s organiza-
tional learning as a tool for lifelong learning. Referring particularly to the
48 See F. RIC LORENZO, Management of Governance structures in Religious Institutes of
active life. Applied to the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco, Salesian Pontifical Uni-
versity; thesis no. 0810D; director: J.M. Graulich; date of discussion: 3. 4. 2006.
49 For organizational theories, the author makes references almost exclusively to man-
agement textbook: J.M. IVANCEVICH – M.T. MATTESON, Organizational Behavior and
Management, McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York 62002, pp. 4-32 and RIC LORENZO, Man-
agement of Governance structures, pp. 217-241.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 143
religious orders in the Italian context, he offers educational tools and
methods from psychological, sociological, narrative, autobiographical
and clinical areas. He follows the French philosopher and sociologist Ed-
gar Morin in affirming the need to pass from a “simple” paradigm of
consecrated life to a “complexity” paradigm. The publication also indi-
rectly offers different stimuli for the formation of the Educative and
Pastoral Community that will be taken into account in the next chapters.50
There are also some other publications by Salesian authors that are
not strictly academic or they focus on leadership in general. The Daugh-
ter of Mary Help of Christians Enrica Rosanna, who was the
Undersecretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life
and Societies of Apostolic Life from 2004 to 2011, wrote together with
Notkert Wolf a bestselling book Die Kunst Menschen zu führen (Art of
Leading People).51 The authors take cues from organizational ideals of
the consecrated life and integrate them with personal experience. In
Leadership Success: The Real Way, the Salesian Michael Biju, a special-
ist in moral theology, approaches the theme of leadership from a
Christian perspective and from a more general point of view of integrity
based on the relationship between the leader and the followers in a quest
to achieve the common good.52 A similar perspective on Christian lead-
ership that mediates between execution of plans and the sense of the
hidden presence of God in all events is proposed by David O’Malley.53
50 See G. TACCONI, Alla ricerca di nuove identità. Formazione e organizzazione nelle
comunità di vita apostolica attiva nel tempo di crisi, LDC, Leumann (TO) 2001.
51 See N. WOLF – E. ROSANNA, Die Kunst Menschen zu führen, Rowohlt Taschenbuch,
Hamburg 2007.
52 See M. BIJU – R.J. LOCHRIE, Integrity. The Core of Leadership, Tate Publishing, Mus-
tang OK 2009.
53 See D. O’MALEY, Christian Leadership in Education, Don Bosco Publications, Bolton
2007.

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144 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
3.3 Don Bosco’s Leadership and Management
The aforementioned approaches could be categorized with different
criteria. All the authors make an analysis of the order’s charism and com-
pare it with contemporary organizational theories. If we go beyond extent
and quality of analysis, the difference lies mainly in the purpose of the
publication:
1. phenomenological approach (Lowney, Galbraith, in part Darmanin
and Eckert) starts from the founding experience of an order to extract
an explicit model of leadership or management;
2. comparative approach (Eckert, Gesing) dialogues between the reli-
gious order organizational model and a practical business
organization model to draw some consequences for the organizational
learning of both parties;
3. applicative approach (Maloney, Smith, in part Lorenzo and Dar-
manin) adopts a management - leadership set of theories, reads the
charism of the religious order through its lenses and provides opera-
tional guidance for the order.
In the presented study, we see a problematic point in the comparative
and applicative approaches. The authors following them often apply a
specific theory or practice to a religious order without a deeper analysis
of the implicit mental frameworks that are often contrary to the founding
charism. In the last section of this Chapter we will therefore develop a
phenomenological approach to describe Don Bosco in the concreteness
of the evolving Oratory. We will take a deeper look on his mental worlds
and profound Christian and Salesian organizational attitudes he put in
practice in different phases of his life. Afterwards, in the next Chapter,
rooted in Don Bosco’s anthropological model, we will choose some or-
ganizational theories that can help develop the potential of the Salesian
Educative and Pastoral leadership and project management.
In the following paragraphs, which will be framed from a phenome-
nological point of view, we will examine the life of Don Bosco with the
help of the universal dual concept leadership-management. Our aim is to

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 145
uncover how he was able to unify these two perspectives in his life. By
leadership we understand a type of human activity which is directed to-
wards persons, searching for direction and for ultimate goals with the
help of principles and criteria. Emphasis is placed on methods of trans-
formation, empowerment, informality and reorganization of systems.
Management, on the other hand, is a type of human activity focused on
things and objects using formal and structured methods, efficient cus-
toms and techniques, relying on the strategy of control, measurement and
evaluation within existing systems.
3.3.1 The Various “Worlds” in the Life of Don Bosco
Every person exists in a physical, cultural and spiritual setting and
carries with himself the paradigms that have been handed on to him dur-
ing his formative years. These physical, cultural and spiritual systems are
the “worlds” in which Don Bosco’s personality developed, as well and
they constitute the coordinates within which his activity took place.
These “worlds” that have now become a part of the person usually carry
a tension among various elements as they relate to one another. The ten-
sion between “worlds” or their components can stimulate the
development of the person or, if handled improperly, it can paralyze any
growth. As regards the managerial style in Don Bosco’s activity we shall
examine above all the aspects related to how he responded to the reality
in which he found himself; his leadership style, on the other hand, will
appear within the coordinates of a meaningful horizon or the ideal future
that gives a purpose to the day-by-day managerial endeavours. In this
perspective we intend to sketch Don Bosco’s multifaceted relationship
with his socio-cultural milieu.
1. The rural world of Piedmont during the post-Napoleonic Restora-
tion period (1815-48) was the first context in which Don Bosco was born.
Pietro Braido describes it in relation to his leadership and management
style: “In this soil abound the psychological and mental roots of a frugal
man and priest in the handling of large amounts of money that would

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146 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
come his way, being firm and cautious in business, simple and prudent,
clever in making himself well-liked and in soliciting funds, resolute and
flexible in putting into effect his projects ‘for the greater glory of God
and the salvation of souls’, as he might have heard in sermons and in
catechetical and moral instructions”.54
Don Bosco, true to his roots, managed to combine prudence with a
wealth of wisdom, of anecdotes and experiences drawn from his Pied-
montese lore, all of which could be summarized as “an austere school of
entrepreneurship together with trust in Providence.”55 The binomial man-
ual work – trust in Providence, when it is a person’s actual way of life,
could very well be a suitable description of the binomial management-
leadership within a rural setting.56 This binomial reveals the interdepend-
ence between both elements and prevents falling into a form of fatuous
reliance upon providence or a kind of practical Pelagianism. Pietro Stella
has synthesized, in his own words, this mentality that appears in Don
Bosco’s writings: “God dominates human events, even though human
beings are the actors”.57
2. The world of the working class and that of the Christian humanism,
assimilated during the years of study in Chieri, are another two coordi-
nates of Don Bosco’s relation to the reality. The contemporaneity of
craftsmanship with his studies nurtured in him a strong mindset: hard
work needed to manage everyday tasks is as necessary as the study that
broadens horizons and gives sense to the day. However, both of these
“cultures […] would continue to be two distinct worlds in Don Bosco’s
54 P. BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani nel secolo delle libertà, vol. 1, LAS, Roma
22003, pp. 111-112.
55 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 118.
56 Regarding Don Bosco’s affinity with rural life and environment, see P. STELLA, Don
Bosco nella storia economica e sociale (1815-1870), LAS, Roma 1980, pp. 11-27; P.
STELLA, Don Bosco, Il Mulino, Bologna 2001, pp. 23-26; BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete
dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 112-121. For the binomial “Providence – human history” in Don
Bosco, see P. STELLA, Don Bosco. Religious Outlook and Spirituality, Salesiana Pub-
lishers, New Rochelle NY 1996, pp. 45-86.
57 STELLA, Don Bosco. Religious Outlook, p. 53.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 147
personal and institutional mindset. Also the youngsters he was educating
were from different socio-economic extraction and had different life as-
pirations, yet they were sharing common life in a brotherly and organized
society, each one in the hands of Providence”.58 The joining of these two
worlds creates the strong communion of the lay Salesians and clerical
Salesians in the Congregation.59
3. The formation that Don Bosco received in the Chieri Seminary
(1835-41) and at the “Convitto Ecclesiastico” in Turin (1841-43) left him
with the imprint of an austere spirituality of salvation as well as a benign
spirituality of love. The years in the seminary were marked by insistence
on saving one’s soul; the theology taught at that time was abstract but
left some theological notions in young John Bosco that stayed with him
throughout his life: examining all things in the light of eternity, being
accountable before the Divine Judge, awaiting either eternal life or eter-
nal death; and also the relationship between Divine Law and freedom as
understood by moral Probabiliorism.60 The formation imparted at the
Convitto, besides practical pastoral experiences, introduced the young
priests to a spirituality founded on love as exemplified in the lives of St.
Philip Neri, St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul, and proposed solu-
tions to moral problems which promoted the glory of God and the good
of the person.61 As he begins his mission as an educator of the young in
Turin, Don Bosco realizes that he must mesh together several different
points of view.
58 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 125.
59 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 329-361, and L. PAZZAGLIA, Ap-
prendistato e istruzione degli artigiani a Valdocco (1846-1886), in F. TRANIELLO (ed.),
Don Bosco nella storia della cultura popolare, SEI, Torino 1987, pp. 39-46.
60 See P. STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, Don Bosco Publications, New Rochelle
NY 1985, pp. 45-54 and BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 152-155.
61 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 160-164; STELLA, Don Bosco. Life
and Work, pp. 88-91 and F. CASELLA, L’esperienza educativa preventiva di Don Bosco.
Studi sull’educazione Salesiana fra tradizione e modernità, LAS, Roma 2007, pp. 45-
49.

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148 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
“The seminary and the Convitto […] had instilled in him a basic struc-
ture which, given his uncommon intelligence and innate realism, made it
possible for him to make the right choices at the beginning of his ministry
to the young. The Convitto had induced an evolution in his ecclesiology,
in the practice of certain devotions and moral guidelines, which were
further enriched through his personal readings. The encounter with the
teachings of Alphonsus Liguori and with the reality of the youth in Turin
enabled a substantial approach of his methods to the Salesianity under-
stood in a broad sense, including the blending of the Philippian and
Vincentian spiritualities”.62
4. Some of Don Bosco’s ingrained economic management methods
belonged, on the one hand, to the rural society, and on the other hand, to
the industrialized liberal society.63 Stella describes Don Bosco’s anti-
planning mindset in the example of balancing his accounts. His works
“were entrusted beyond understanding to ‘goodwill’, deaf to the most
elementary demands of statistics or scientific management […]. Even in
handling the finances his practice reflected the organizational culture of
the Oratory, lying between urban and rural life, between scientific and
illiterate worldview. In many ways Don Bosco’s methods were those of
the peasant family-like lifestyle but already showing some changes sug-
gested by his experiences in the city. From his rural background Don
Bosco had assimilated certain habits, such as keeping oral accounts or
assessment of even complex situations based on essential data situated
within a horizon of his daily experience”.64
Very revealing is the reaction of the physician and writer Serafino
Biffi who collected data for his report on youth correctional institutions,
in which he summarizes Don Bosco’s deep roots in the rural culture:
“One might say that that respected priest makes light of all that modern
62 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 185.
63 See STELLA, Don Bosco, p. 61; and P. BRAIDO, Prevention not repression. Don Bosco’s
Educational System, Kristu Jyoti Publications, Bengaluru 2013, pp. 154-159.
64 STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, p. 371.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 149
science has to say in this field. For him it seems that it is enough for a
person to do good with pious intention, leaving to Providence the care
about the good seed to sprout, grow and bear fruit. When speaking of
statistics, of making distinctions, of taking precautions, of regulations,
he usually responded with a smile sparkling with surprise, incredulity
and compassion”.65 In the conclusion of his volume on the organizing
activity of the Founder of the Salesian Society Stella gives his summary:
“Don Bosco went along with the capitalistic economy always aware of
his civil rights. He became an owner of a growing movable and immov-
able property […]. While the Marchioness Barolo financed her
institutions with the steady income from her rent, Don Bosco based his
own finances on the funds available from private donations, public assis-
tance, school tuition, workshops production and publishing activities”.66
If on the one hand, Don Bosco rejects the liberal frame of mind and
certain progressive ideas, on the other hand, he is to be considered a
“modern saint” because of his entrepreneurship, his methodological open
mindedness, his distinct ability to motivate others in achieving a signifi-
cant role in the society, his ability to ensure that the Congregation would
stand on its own feet even to the point that others, such as businesses, the
social media and health services, would want to partner with it.67
The four “worlds” mentioned above moulded Don Bosco’s personal-
ity, his method of action (work – Providence), cultural coordinates
(classical studies – craftsmanship), his spirituality (austere salvation –
benign love), and his managerial style (rural – modern). In every one of
these dimensions there is a polarity enabling the existence of a tension
65 S. BIFFI, Sui riformatori pei giovani, in STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, p.
369.
66 STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, p. 398.
67 See P. BAIRATI, Cultura Salesiana e società industriale, in TRANIELLO, Don Bosco
nella storia della cultura popolare, pp. 331-357; F. MOTTO, Start afresh from Don Bo-
sco, s.e., Roma 2006, pp. 29-31 and 34-35; G. COSTA, Don Bosco in terza pagina. La
stampa e il Fondatore dei Salesiani, Istituto Teologico S. Tommaso, Messina 1991.

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150 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
which becomes the spark of Don Bosco’s synergy and creativity in his
education and pastoral ministry.
3.3.2 Don Bosco’s Childhood and Formation (1815-1841)
From the day of his birth until his residence in the “Convitto Ecclesi-
astico” in Turin John Bosco adopted his own cultural and spiritual
standards laying the initial foundations for his educative-pastoral style,
which then matured in the following years. When he began his studies,
immersed in the cultural environment of the Piedmontese countryside,
“he had to adjust to the experience of ‘two cultures’.”68 He writes in the
Memoirs of the Oratory: “The walk to and from school afforded me some
time to study. When I got home I would take the hoe in one hand and my
grammar in the other”.69 Studying as a symbol of the ideal future and the
practical struggles of the waiter, the tailor and the bookbinder, became
the forces that were part of young Bosco’s everyday life.70 From the per-
spective of this article one can say that the dynamic principle operating
in this period of his life was the binomial duties – vocation. John’s
priestly vocation at such a young age constitutes the essence of leader-
ship he exercised throughout his entire life, broadening the horizon of his
vision in which he effectively placed the managerial duties of study,
work and prayer.
The harmony and the blending of both components are apparent in
his proactivity, his passion and joy which were the elements of a success-
ful although difficult synthesis. “Reading became a passion. John’s relish
for literary works deprived him of sleep, but it also encouraged reflection
68 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 120.
69 G. BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales from 1815 to 1855. The
Autobiography of Saint John Bosco, trans. Daniel Lyons, Don Bosco Publications, New
Rochelle NY 1989, pp. 41.
70 See STELLA, Life and Work, pp. 23-26; S. CASELLE, Giovanni Bosco a Chieri 1831 –
1841. Dieci anni che valgono una vita, Edizioni Acclaim, Torino 1988, pp. 24–25; 46;
79; 84-85; and 121. See also M. BAY, Giovanni Bosco a Chieri 1831-1841. Scuola
pubblica e seminario, LAS, Roma 2010.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 151
and introspection”.71 His proactivity is visible not only in his love for
study, but also in his determination to be quickly promoted to advanced
classes.72 The glue that bonded all of the above was the cheerful attitude
that characterized all of his activity as a sign of his inner serenity. Link-
ing the fulfillment of one’s duties with the cheerfulness of a youth group,
which he founded in Chieri and was known as “the Society of Good
Cheer”, became a paradigm for the future. This duty-cheerfulness link
will be part of his educational method73 as we can see it testified in the
biographies of Dominic Savio, Michael Magone and Francis Besucco.74
Don Bosco’s daily bread is study, work and prayer, guaranteed by the
structures of public education and that of the Chieri seminary and the
Convitto in Turin. “Cultural, moral and religious formation were manda-
tory”,75 not only in the Seminary and the Convitto, but also in the
secondary school in Chieri as dictated by the School Regulations of
1822, fruit of the Restoration and based on the Ratio Studiorum of the
Jesuits. John lived each day as prescribed by the regulations76 spurred on
by the lists of resolutions that became his first experience of planning.
We may recall the bits of advice given by his mother Margaret on the
occasion of his First Communion, the seven resolutions along with the
advice of his Mother when he donned the cassock, his decisions during
his stay in the seminary, the nine resolutions prior to his ordination and
71 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 26. See also BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei
giovani, vol.1, p. 127.
72 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol.1, p. 126 and F. DESRAMAUT, Don Bosco en
son temps (1815-1888), SEI, Torino 1996, pp. 49-50 and 56-57.
73 See BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 233-251 and 307-319. See also J.M.
PRELLEZO, Sistema educativo ed esperienza oratoriana di Don Bosco, LDC, Leumann
TO 2000, pp. 69-77.
74 See G. BOSCO, Vite di giovani. Le biografie di Domenico Savio, Michele Magone e
Francesco Besucco. Saggio introduttivo e note storiche, ed. Aldo Giraudo, LAS, Roma
2012, pp. 61-62; 19-120; and 195-196. See also A. GIRAUDO, Maestri e discepoli in
azione, in BOSCO, Vite di giovani, pp. 27-28.
75 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 129.
76 See BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, pp. 71-73.

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152 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the three resolutions for priestly life in 1842.77 Braido describes the rela-
tionship between his proposals and the existing regulations in these
words: “The seven resolutions reflect to a certain degree the rules pre-
scribed for students as found in the Regulations for schools as of 1822.”78
So, Don Bosco’s first method of planning consists, in brief terms, in the
fulfillment of one’s daily duties as required by existing regulations and
in selecting a few chosen ones as resolutions.
A second way to plan the future and his life goes beyond the day-to-
day reality and is connected to his vocational choice. Discernment and
advancement along this second path were not of immediate realization.
In the mindset of the time the vocational choice was given an exagger-
ated importance even to the point of seeing it as decisive for one’s
salvation or damnation. This setting combined with the conviction that
everything was already predisposed by God caused John some moments
of anxiety.79 There were two steps for a managerial handling of the vo-
cational dilemma: following the path of obedience and/or the path of
logic. As to obedience to his confessor Giuseppe Maria Maloria, es-
teemed as the most learned ecclesiastic in Chieri, John would have
expected more concrete advice that would help him decide on his voca-
tion.80 Young John was pleased with his guide81 and would continue to
go to him for confession while in the seminary; however, he was not
satisfied with his advice in regards to vocational discernment: “In this
matter everyone must follow his own inclinations and not the advice of
others.”82 There might be many reasons why Maloria was not more con-
crete; it is the fact that John simply could not blindly obey the advice of
another person. The remaining alternative was to make a well thought-
77 See BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, pp. 32-33; 122-123; 144-146, and 172. See also
F. MOTTO (ed.), Memorie dal 1841 al 1884-5-6 pel Sac. Gio. Bosco a’ suoi figli Sale-
siani (Testamento spirituale), LAS, Roma 1985, pp. 21-22.
78 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol.1, p. 138.
79 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 28-30.
80 See BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, p. 110.
81 See Idem, p. 72.
82 Idem, p. 111.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 153
out choice. Several elements came into play: the appropriate time for
making a decision (the last year of high school), the esteem he had for
the dignity of the priesthood, his awareness of his own weaknesses and
the dangers of the world, and finally the question of finances. The real
and rational result of this discernment logic was the application to join
the Franciscans.83
Although a rational decision was made, he was beset by anxiety and
indecision, as is evident in the dream of the Reformed Conventuals.84 In
this context of managerial logic and voluntaristic spirituality of salvation
that produces anxiety, Don Bosco develops a further step of “planning”
linked to trust in a vision of the future with faith as the key, activating
the inner motivational energy, giving inner peace that has no semblance
of the rigidity of a cold rational process.
This second method of planning the future is connected to the leader-
ship aspect of human action, giving a fundamental compass to the life,
and not only a set of criteria to be applied. This typically Bosconian way
of envisioning his future life path requires a context of prayer in order to
focus, with a deeper attention to the process of discernment. It can be
described phenomenologically as the creation of a vision of the future
totally permeated by trust in Divine Providence.
We must understand that John entrusts himself to Providence while
engaged in prayer: he is making a novena with this intention in mind and
receives the Sacraments with great fervour. With the help of his friend
Luigi Comollo, he then seeks advice once more. The counsel given by a
priest, the uncle of Luigi Comollo, is very important. He suggests that
John enter the seminary where he might better come to know God’s plans
for him.85 Rather than being a final decision, this is an act of surrender to
a slow lifelong process of discernment.
83 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 135 and BOSCO, Memoirs of the
Oratory, pp. 110-111.
84 See BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, pp. 18-19 and 110-111.
85 See Idem, p. 111.

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154 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The question of dreams is not indifferent as it is related to the envi-
sioning process lived by Don Bosco, as we have seen with the uneasy
dream of the Conventuals. There is a more important dream connected
to his vocational discernment process which happened at the age of nine
years. Compared with the dream of the Conventuals, this one is not only
a signal of an uneasy dilemma but has a pro-positive message, a call.
Stella writes about its importance: “This particular dream affected Don
Bosco’s whole way of thinking and acting”.86
We agree only to a certain degree with Braido that “the dream at the
age of nine or ten […] was nothing other than his desire to become a
priest”,87 because it reduces the richness of the envisioning process only
to the result of it. And that result could be then planned and pursued in a
rational-voluntaristic way. In important moments of John’s life, we see
instead a strong vocational dynamic at play. His vocational discernment
is a more interior, passive and receptive process lived as both listening
and searching for God’s will. In that sense the form of a dream is an ideal
narrative form of the discernment process: passivity of the subject, visu-
alization and story-evolving are common to both of them. In these events
of Don Bosco’s life, we can find the roots of his leadership qualities: his
identity of a disciple. Only an authentic follower can evolve into an au-
thentic and inspired leader in the future. The leadership type of process
86 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 10.
87 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 114. It is to be noted that Braido is
more concerned about historical critics and the nature of Don Bosco dreams. Our aim
is not to answer these questions; our purpose is to insert the dreams in the context of
Don Bosco’s motivational and decision making processes. For historical-critical ap-
proach see P. STELLA, Don Bosco’s Dreams. A historico-documentary analysis of
selected samples, Salesiana Publishers, New Rochelle NY 1996; BRAIDO, Don Bosco
prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 373-376; M. GUASCO, Don Bosco nella storia religiosa
del suo tempo, in Don Bosco e le sfide della modernità, Centro Studi «Carlo Trabucco»,
Torino 1988, p. 34 and A. LENTI, I sogni di Don Bosco. Esame storico-critico, signifi-
cato e ruolo profetico-missionario per l’America Latina, in Don Bosco e Brasilia:
profezia, realtà sociale e diritto, ed. Cosimo Semeraro, CEDAM, Padova 1990, pp. 85-
130.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 155
comes first in John’s vocation as a priest and educator, whereas the man-
agerial aspect of his action is located, among other factors, in the context
of the institutional regulations, pursuing his resolutions, as part of the
product of the discernment process.
There is a second use of dreams which is connected to Don Bosco, a
leader. It is the educational and formational use of dreams in his later
years. This kind of story- and dream-telling is essential because, in addi-
tion to offering material that is understandable and in vivid and attractive
language, it also stimulates the motivations of the listeners. Don Bosco
is a visionary type of leader, and his dreams should not be seen merely
as a functional part of the story; they are the very expression of his iden-
tity and his mission. Only in that identifying sense they are transmitting
the educative-motivational power to the young people formed by Don
Bosco through those dreams. The intention of the narrator was not to
convince to take a path that was technically within reach, but to follow
and have others follow the same path traced by Providence to which he
entrusted himself.88
The link between the two methods of planning thus becomes most
important.89 Fifty years later, in a letter to John Cagliero, Don Bosco at-
tested the balance between ideals as expressed in visions and regulations
that guide the day-to-day reality: “Once again I beg you, do not pay much
attention to dreams, etc. If they happen to clarify some moral problem or
explain some of our rules, that is fine. Make use of them. Otherwise see
no value in them”.90
Don Bosco’s ability to create a harmonic synthesis between the man-
agement and leadership approach to action is visible in the importance
88 See STELLA, Don Bosco‘s Dreams, pp. 71-76. It is worth noting how this trust in Prov-
idence is stressed especially when he recalls the difficult moments in his life, for
example, the time he spent in Capriglio after the death of Don Calosso. See STELLA,
Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 19-20.
89 See MOTTO, Start afresh from Don Bosco, pp. 49-52.
90 Don Bosco‘s letter to mons. Giovanni Cagliero of 10th february 1885, in BRAIDO, Don
Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 3.

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156 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
he gives to cheerfulness, as already mentioned, in his ability to build re-
lationships and in his commitment to the good of others. His vision that
guided him day by day did not consist only in the fulfillment of his re-
sponsibilities in the formative path in being a priest, but also in living
already the mission in situations and with people he found himself with.
In his formative years, for instance, he assumes the role of an acrobat
prior to repeating the homily,91 he teaches catechism and tells edifying
stories, he nurtures friendships in the Society of Good Cheer with Gug-
lielmo Garigliano, Paolo Braja, the Jewish boy Giona, and Luigi
Comollo.92 In his relationships his leadership qualities were evident; they
were also based on being a follower of the priests such as Giovanni
Calosso, Pietro Banaudi and Giuseppe Maloria. Already visible were the
signs of his ability to create synergy in organizing events that combine
enjoyable recreation and edifying storytelling or in leading youth groups
such as the Society of Good Cheer within the coordinates of cheerfulness
and duties.
In conclusion, we may say that the element of Don Bosco’s daily du-
ties, managed by resolutions, went hand in hand with his vocation to
being a leader eventually as a priest and an educator, as seen in his
dreams, and with his passion for study and his commitment to be an ac-
tive part in the web of relationships, with followers and friends.
3.3.3 Encounter with the Reality of the Young in Turin (1841-
1846)
During the first five years of his priesthood, Don Bosco’s desire to
spend his life for the needy young people is achieved by moving forward
91 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 11-13; BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei gio-
vani, vol. 1, p. 119; BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, pp. 27-29 and 98-105.
92 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 132-135; STELLA, Don Bosco.
Life and Work, pp. 30-32 and 70-74; BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, pp. 71-80 and
90-93.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 157
different educative and pastoral activities. In 1846 it found concrete syn-
thesis in his full-time devotion to the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales
in the Valdocco quarter of Turin. Observing Don Bosco’s encounter with
the reality of the young in Turin in the early 1840s, we can detect three
underlying dynamics: the typical style of his presence among the young,
the choice of prevention, and the total commitment to the educative mis-
sion.
In the first place there is the decision to be with them, to mingle with
them, and to take part in their world. This attitude is shown in two dif-
ferent ways. Not only does Don Bosco fulfill his ministerial
responsibilities, as for example, catechizing, preaching, visiting the pris-
ons of Turin;93 but he also feels comfortable in the informal world of the
young. While in the Convitto “he also found the moral conferences and
lessons in sacred eloquence congenial. Posing practical cases, they did
not teach a theological system or a theory of the apostolate but the art of
caring for souls. Situations from everyday life were presented, and then
put to the test in such priestly activities as preaching, giving catechism
lessons, and so forth”.94
Taking part in these formative courses offered at the Convitto, such
as catechesis, preaching and prison ministry in Turin, was in reality a
training in pastoral management. But his style of presence among the
young went beyond that; it was directed towards the realization of his
vision, open to “originality and creativity, hand in hand with his sensi-
tivity towards the preferences of the young and for what was for their
benefit”.95
His style of leadership, reflecting what he saw in his dream, urged
him to be totally involved with the young, without formal structures, and
93 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 91-99; BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei gio-
vani, vol. 1, p. 205-208 and BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, p. 182.
94 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 98.
95 A. GIRAUDO, L’importanza storica e pedagogico – spirituale delle Memorie dell’Ora-
torio, in G. BOSCO, Memorie dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales dal 1815 al 1855.
ed. Aldo Giraudo, LAS, Roma 2011, p. 47.

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158 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
supporting their aspirations. Pietro Stella speaks of “a rowing apostolate
to shops, offices and markets”96 carried on by a new generation of priests.
Don Bosco, “starting from the catechetical experiences of the Convitto,
felt driven to initiate new models of the oratory, which he wanted to con-
sist of more than the usual methods of religious instruction or a school
of Christian doctrine. It was the prelude to his final decision”.97 Before
1844 Don Bosco participated in every activity of the programme at the
Convitto, however he also worked with a group of boys on his own ini-
tiative.
In 1844 Don Bosco transferred to the Refuge and the little hospital or
infirmary (Ospedaletto) of the Marchioness Barolo, serving as an assis-
tant to Father Borel. He was followed there by the group of youths who
had gathered around him at the Convitto, and he did not send them away.
Then and there he started the Oratory, which he named after St. Francis
de Sales. If he did that with all due consideration, then it was one of the
most carefully calculated and decisive steps he had ever taken in his life
so far.98 Then followed the months of the wandering Oratory from St.
Peter in Chains to St. Martin of the Mills, then to the Moretta house and
the Filippi fields.
There is a second dynamic operating here, namely how he responds
to the needs of the young. Don Bosco does have an answer, even if it is
initially only a part-time solution. It consists in the activities of the festive
oratory: offering friendship in an anonymous city undergoing a demo-
graphic and early industrial expansion; religious instruction of the young
who do not belong to a parish; healthy entertainment for the youngsters
who spend most of their time at work; and evening schools for the unlet-
tered.99 This is a management type of answer to a single dimension need
96 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 105.
97 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 166.
98 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 107.
99 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 200-202.

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of the young that could be reduced to mere assistentialism were it not
characterized by a deeper intention: education understood as prevention.
Don Bosco, in fact, inserts his activity into a rich tradition of preven-
tion that shaped his times.100 Leadership in the mind of Don Bosco, who
saw the need for prevention, consists in finding the causes of the prob-
lems that afflict the young that he meets. Obviously he is interested in
psychological or educational individual causality, leaving behind the so-
ciological or political solutions. So he observes the underlying structures
behind the behaviour of the street urchins and their gangs in order to de-
velop a programme of prevention.101 His ultimate mission as a leader is
the choice of prevention-education that has managerial implications seen
in his decision to abandon the pastoral work in prisons and in re-educa-
tion institutions as practised by the Marchioness Barolo. He chooses an
insecure long-term mission over a clear role in a system that provides a
salary. Don Bosco writes his thoughts during his visits to the jails: “On
such occasions I found out how quite a few ended up once again in that
place; it was because they were abandoned to their own resources. ‘Who
knows?’ I thought to myself, ‘if these youngsters had a friend outside
who would take care of them, help them, teach them religion on feast
days… Who knows but they could be steered away from ruin, or at least
the number of those who return to prison could be lessened?’ “102
Lastly, there is a third dynamic apparent in the life of Don Bosco in
the early 1840s, and it is his ability to grasp the relationship existing be-
tween the education of the young and his identity. During his stay in the
Convitto Ecclesiastico Don Bosco, on the one hand, is totally involved
100 See the good analysis by Braido in four chapters of his Prevention not repression, pp.
17-114.
101 See the two paragraphs “Prevenzione in senso socio-assistenziale” e “Prevenzione in
senso pedagogico”, in Francesco Motto, Un sistema educativo sempre attuale, LDC,
Leumann TO 2000, pp. 22-30 and the paragraph “Fuggire il male e fare esperienza del
bene”, in J.M. PRELLEZO, Sistema educativo ed esperienza oratoriana di Don Bosco,
LDC, Leumann TO 2000, pp. 36-37.
102 BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, p. 182.

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160 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
in various activities of the formation programme, but at the same time,
he continues to question himself regarding the realization of his vocation
as a priest and educator. Pietro Braido states that during these years Don
Bosco, “priest and shepherd, becomes more and more an educator and
his ministry more and more directed towards the young”.103 There is an
evident vocational pattern in the recurrence of his childhood dream in
1844 with some new details: the lambs are transformed into shepherds
and there is the presence of a magnificent church. Pietro Stella sees be-
hind it the development of the project, the need of collaborators and of a
place of worship for himself and his boys.104 Don Bosco allows the trans-
formation of his own life, he discards other possibilities, committing
himself to the work of the Oratory.
It is during these years that his new identity matures: “Don Bosco’s
activity was […] a conscious, willed ‘consecration’; a ‘mission’ with a
precise objective: ‘The full accomplishment of the salvation of the
young’.”105 Don Bosco’s mission becomes clearer and more defined due
to the synergy between the two factors of the binomial formative activity
– vocational choice which is a reflection of the management – leadership
dynamic. The study of pastoral theology and the many apostolic minis-
tries available in the Convitto are the context where he develops the
certainty of his educative and preventive vocation. There is an impossi-
bility to manage the equilibrium between his choice of the Oratory and
other pastoral activities as seen in his health crisis in the 1846. This dif-
ficulty and the lead of his recurring dream facilitate the totalizing choice
to dedicate himself totally to the preventive education of the youngsters
of the Oratory.106
103 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 185. See also MOTTO, Start afresh
from Don Bosco, pp. 69-73.
104 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 93-94; and BOSCO, Memoirs of the Ora-
tory, pp. 209-210.
105 BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 166-167.
106 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 181-183.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 161
The three dispositions mentioned above point to a two-fold sensitivity
in Don Bosco which could be described as a synergy between a struc-
tured, linear, operative aspect and an informal, systemic, integral and
mission-driven aspect of education/ministry. Pietro Stella states that al-
ready in these early years Don Bosco appears as a leader, an “active,
appealing priest, a kindly man of the people who was ready to participate
in sports and games when the occasion arose. But he was already gaining
a reputation as an extraordinary priest as well […]; there was something
singular about him, something that came from the Lord. He seemed to
know the innermost secrets of conscience, he could switch from light-
hearted jests to stunning private revelations, and he somehow made peo-
ple appreciate the problems of their soul and their eternal salvation”.107
3.3.4 Development of the Oratory and the Adjoined House (1846-
1863)
Pietro Braido describes the years between 1846 and 1852 as the “rapid
take-off of a diocesan institution that was virtually universal”.108 The Or-
atory with its activities was an ingenious answer to a fundamental need
that was part of the reality on the fringe districts of Turin. Don Bosco’s
powerful vision of the integral salvation of the young fueled several new
activities of the Oratory marked by a strong creative tension between the
ideal and the actual everyday reality. It is during this time that the Ora-
tory gives birth to Sunday and evening classes, the hospice, and the
sodalities.
After the difficulties of Don Cocchi, Don Bosco takes over the man-
agement of the Oratory of the Guardian Angel. Later, in 1852, the
Archbishop confirms Don Bosco as the Director of the three Oratories of
St. Francis de Sales, Guardian Angel and St. Aloysius. The expansion
continues and it is in the next decade, between 1853 and 1863, that “most
107 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 108-109.
108 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 212.

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162 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
of Don Bosco’s initiatives took firm root or reached full maturation”.109
These are the golden years of his educational activity: the presence of
Savio, Magone and Besucco marked the Oratory ideal and expanded the
possibilities of his educative method. It is also a period in which the Con-
gregation is founded; Don Bosco publishes his most innovative books,
and guides a series of construction projects at Valdocco. Finally it is a
time filled with extraordinary phenomena, which Don Bosco does not
hesitate to publish.110 Through all of this growth and expansion Don
Bosco developed a more evolved and deeper sense of balance.
Don Bosco’s decision to work full time among the youngsters in the
Oratory carried with it an underlying uncertainty about his role as a
priest. Pietro Stella writes: “In the 1840s the composition of boys visiting
the so-called oratories in the Vanchiglia district and in the fields of Val-
docco reflected both the influx of young seasonal workers, not yet
anchored in the city, and the sons of the working class who had already
lived in the growing outskirts of the city for years […]. Don Cocchi and
Don Bosco did not compete with other clerics in the area of the tradi-
tional ecclesiastical roles; yet responding to the urgent critical situation
and accepting the risk of an uncertain future, they proved able to success-
fully solicit subsidies and other resources which the clergy would have
been unable to gather”.111
Thanks to his practical managerial style and the growing number of
cooperators who believed in his ideal, Don Bosco, unlike Don Cocchi,
knew how to balance the situation of uncertainty which arose from his
educational vision.112 The balance between the uncertainty in following
his bold dream and his prudent management is the primary fundamental
109 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 119. See also MOTTO, Start afresh from Don
Bosco, pp. 73-75.
110 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 119 and STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia
economica, pp. 71-100.
111 STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, pp. 394-395.
112 G. CHIOSSO, Carità educatrice e istruzione in Piemonte. Aristocratici, filantropi e
preti di fronte all’educazione del popolo nel primo ‘800, SEI, Torino 2007, pp. 199-
200 and 207-212.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 163
dynamic during this period of expansion. Braido states clearly: “Don
Bosco had acquired the patience of the farmer. He could harbor grand
dreams, but he knew that they would become a reality only a step at a
time and as long as the means and the people were available”.113
A second dynamic results from the teamwork with other priests and
lay persons. In the Turin of that period a new class of students and priests
was born. They were no longer tagged as nobility or common people,
instead, they were instead attracted by a project, a future, an idea.114 In
the case of Don Bosco his colleagues included Giovanni Battista Borel,
Sebastiano Pacchiotti, Antonio Bosco, Sebastiano Trivero, Giovanni
Battista Vola, Roberto Murialdo, Pietro Ponte and Giovanni Marengo.
The existing cooperation implied sharing basic values, a certain com-
radeship and frankness; there was also room for disagreement regarding
methods and management.115 Historians have detected the collaboration
– personal identity binomial. Stella writes: “Even before 1848 Don
Bosco had fought for the autonomy of his own Oratory. When meetings
were held to unify the management of the Turin oratories, he had turned
down amalgamation with the other oratories. He supported collaboration
between various oratories and the priests connected with them, it seems,
and he may even have offered his own services in that cause. But he re-
fused to submit to any sort of formal subordination to others, whose ideas
he did not fully share”.116
He maintained that same balance even after 1848. Don Bosco held to
his independence, slowly arriving at a point of advantage compared to
other oratories. While his preeminence was reinforced by the decree of
1952, he did not belittle other models as, for example, the oratory of Don
Cocchi and Don Ponte. Stella annotates: “Some priests and laymen began
113 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 235.
114 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 104-107.
115 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 197-199 and 240-243.
116 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 110.

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164 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
as helpers of Fathers Cocchi and Ponte, went on to help Don Bosco be-
tween 1848 and 1856 (perhaps noticing his neediness), and then returned
to Father Cocchi’s circle without giving up their friendship and collabo-
ration with Don Bosco”.117
In the expansion of the Oratory a third dynamic emerged: expansion
of the works – growth of self-donation. Stella sums it up describing Don
Bosco’s state of mind when founding the Adjoined House (boarding fa-
cility): “If you choose to go out and make personal contact with poverty
and misery, and if you do not succumb to compromises in trying to do
something about it, you will be drawn irresistibly to give your all: your
time, your possessions, your whole life”.118 It was precisely in the situa-
tion of material poverty and in the midst of the everyday life of an
educator that his total self-donation became a reality. “At the Valdocco
oratory the boarders, who later came to be called the interns, led a simple
and rather rustic life as one big family. There was no pretentiousness
because all were convinced that they could not ask more of Don Bosco
or others”.119
Although Don Bosco’s transformation was hardly noticeable at an
empirical level, yet there were some indicators of something extraordi-
nary being connected to his profound spirituality of total self-donation.
Pietro Stella quotes a paragraph from the records of 1861 which describe
the atmosphere that reigned in Valdocco because of the image his young
helpers had of him: “Don Bosco’s outstanding brilliant gifts, his extraor-
dinary experiences which we admire to this day, his unique guidance of
young people along virtue’s arduous paths, and his grand plans for the
future are indications to us of some supernatural intervention; they por-
tend a glorious career for him and for the Oratory”.120
117 Idem, p. 112.
118 Idem, p. 113.
119 Idem, p. 116.
120 AS 110 Ruffino as quoted in STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 118.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 165
The fourth and final dynamic is the deepening of one a mentioned
before: managerial boldness – trust in Divine Providence. The extraor-
dinary phenomena surrounding Don Bosco and his trust in God, which
made him undertake plans beyond his possibilities, were not detached
from a careful examination of the situation.121 He was certainly not the
first person that joined the spiritual and managerial elements in the youth
ministry. Pietro Braido sees different patterns and traditions describing
Don Bosco’s approach: “In all of his affairs Don Bosco made every effort
to follow the steps not only of his liguorian moral tradition mentors, but
as well as of persons, such as the theologian Guala and Don Cafasso,
prudent and honest in the financial management of resources, originating
mostly from donations. From the very beginning his benefactors knew
that their contributions were being deposited into honest and skillful
hands that would administer them for the benefit of his charitable insti-
tutions”.122
The power of the vision which was becoming a reality has to be seen
as the driving force of the expansion of Don Bosco’s work. Braido gives
us this description of the years that followed 1848: “Don Bosco is a coun-
tryman coming from the rural world. He could have been unnoticed and
his accomplishments could have been confined to a neighborhood, or at
most at the urban level of events. Instead the methods and the style of the
oratorian initiative, born at the right moment between the old and the new
regime, the resourcefulness of the developer, the favorable conditions,
all of these guaranteed him a quick establishment and an astonishing res-
onance”.123
121 See STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, pp. 71-100.
122 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p.218.
123 Idem, vol. 1, p. 233.

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166 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
3.3.5 Collegialization, Foundations and Missions (1863-1888)
From the 1860s onward, we see another trait in Don Bosco which well
explains the indisputable development of his works and of his leadership:
generativity and the co-responsibility. The best evidence of these traits is
the courage, identification and entrepreneurship shown by the first gen-
eration of the Salesians that shared the vision and mission of Don Bosco.
The fundamental dynamic in this period springs from the binomial
shared vision – search for stability.
The first prototype of the expansion out of Turin was the brief exper-
iment with the minor seminary in Giaveno that was discontinued after a
short time. The year 1863 marks the Salesian Congregation’s move into
the boarding school education with the opening of the minor seminary in
Mirabello.124 The structure of the secondary boarding school (collegio),
which found itself between Restoration tendencies and the laws of the
liberal state, responded to many needs of Don Bosco’s institutions at that
historical moment.125
His boarding high schools ensured a population of students less tran-
sient and more organizable than the population of the oratories. His
schools took their place among the educational institutions specializing
in private high school education just as those institutions were being de-
manded by the milieu. This ensured greater growth, a larger range of
action, and more solid support. There were less creative demands on
these schools than on the Festive Oratories; but they served as multiple
seedbeds from which to draw new recruits into the family of his educa-
tors.126
124 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 124-131; BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei
giovani, vol. 1, pp. 363-469; and STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, pp. 123-
153.
125 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 124-127 which describes the Piedmontese
context of the early 1800s, when educators with some authority, such as Lorenzo Mar-
tini, supported the boarding school education. See L. MARTINI, Emilio, 12 vols., Tip.
Marietti, Torino 1821-1823.
126 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 127.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 167
Stella uses the term “collegialization” (collegializzazione), meaning
the predominance of secondary boarding schools, to describe the new
paradigm created in the 1860s. Because of the rising number of boarding
schools, the college type of structured education became the standard for
Salesian education, marginalizing the oratory style of catechesis and
free-time education. Together with it changed also the nomenclature:
“house” turned into to “boarding school”. During this period Don Bosco
“often thought primarily or even exclusively of collegial communities
and the Salesians as educators in ‘collegi’.”127
The predominance of the managerial pole of the dynamic we are con-
sidering stands out clearly, assuring the stability of the growing
institutions. The same can be said of the personnel: “The experience
showed that volunteers did not guarantee stability, continuity, or stand-
ards of action”.128 Securing stability for both the educational institutions
and the personnel is bound historically with the commitment to boarding
schools combined with the approval process of the Salesian Society. The
other pole of Don Bosco’s leadership is linked to his capacity to share
the inspirational vision which is in the process of development. This vi-
sion of Christian education of the young, so much at the heart of Don
Bosco, starts to grow and to spread through Piedmont and later to other
countries. From the ‘60s onward it is precisely the synergy between Don
Bosco’s leadership (dynamic of growth and sharing his vision) and pru-
dent management (creating sustainable conditions of growth) that
accompanies the rise of his new religious family.129
Unfortunately, the shift towards boarding schools as related to the
founding of the Salesian Society could be seen as a turn towards a rigor-
ous institutionalized type of stability. Some historical clarifications are
127 Idem, p. 128.
128 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 364.
129 See the concept of reinforcing and balancing feedback and their role in management
as described by P.M. SENGE, The Fifth Discipline. The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization, Doubleday, New York 2006, pp. 79-91.

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168 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
necessary in order to overcome a simplified idea of the process of stabi-
lization. The “college” was an institution which not only guaranteed
constancy but also freedom in the educative process as compared to the
expectations and stereotypes typical of the parish.130 The Congregation
in an analogous way providing some ministerial autonomy in its activity
not enjoyed by the Diocesan clergy. Pietro Stella identifies 1864 as the
year in which Don Bosco realized that to be successful and expand the
Congregation he would need the guarantee of self-government, free from
Diocesan control.131
During those years there were several growth limiting factors which
demanded a different managerial approach. Motivated by two reasons,
there was need for defining the educators, teachers and the administra-
tors’ roles. The first are the government inspections in Valdocco at the
onset of the 1860s which demanded better organization. The second rea-
son is the need of a certain managerial standardization because not every
Salesian house in the years of expansion could be governed directly by
Don Bosco. The third reason was the need to define better the procedures
for admitting youngsters and personnel because of the growing adminis-
trative complexity as the number of persons involved grew.132
Later, during the ‘80s we can detect a thrust in the Salesian schools
towards a balance between the multiplying regulations and the original
identity of the Valdocco Oratory, which was characterized by openness,
spontaneity, and absence of formality.133 We will deal with this later
when commenting on the Preventive System.
Don Bosco wanted the Salesian Congregation to have an institutional
form that balances the relationship both to the Church and to the state.
130 See Deliberazioni del terzo e quarto capitolo generale della Pia Società Salesiana.
Tenuti in Valsalice nel settembre 1883-86, tip. Salesiana, S. Benigno Canavese 1887,
p. 5; E. CERIA, Annali della Società Salesiana, SEI, Torino 1941, vol. 1, pp. 247-260;
See also STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 127-129.
131 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 127-171.
132 See Idem, pp. 159-171.
133 See STELLA, Don Bosco, pp. 66-70.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 169
He creates an association of consecrated citizens who live in a commu-
nity with public vows recognized by the Church.134 The Salesians are
bound “in conscience” to the superiors, “who together with their subjects
are bound to the Head of the Church, and as a consequence, to God Him-
self”.135 Meanwhile in the eyes of the state the Congregation appears as
“an association of free citizens, who gather and live in community for
the purpose of charitable works […]. Any such society of free citizens
has a right to exist as long as its purpose and activity are not contrary to
the laws and the institutions of the state”.136
During the drawn-out struggle leading to the approval of the Congre-
gation, Don Bosco is blending the divine with the human, the ideal with
the practical.137 At the end of the chapter dealing with the foundation of
the Salesian Society, Stella summarizes: “Notice that it is not easy to
pinpoint Don Bosco’s outlook between reality on the one hand and the
dreams he takes to be prophetic on the other. One gets the impression
that his actions are based on the conviction that he has a mandate from
heaven, a goal to be reached, something to accomplish, even though his
dreams do not make evident what exactly that thing is going to be.
Don Bosco indicates that the course of events gave the congregation
a configuration that was not exactly what he had wanted or thought it
should be. This does not mean he did not like the way it turned out, or
that he was unsatisfied. Don Bosco’s attitude seems to be that of a person
explaining how things happened, not that of a person indulging in re-
criminations and clinging fondly to a fanciful ideal in preference to
134 See the study of Don Bosco‘s mindset as a man of the Church and as a founder in K.
BOPP, Kirchenbild und pastorale praxis bei Don Bosco. Eine pastoralgeschichtliche
Studie zum Problem des Theorie-Praxis-Bezugs innerhalb der Praktischen Theologie,
Don Bosco Verlag, München 1992, pp. 199-218.
135 Regole o Costituzioni della Società di S. Francesco di Sales secondo il decreto di
approvazione del 3 aprile 1874, in G. BOSCO, Opere edite, LAS, Roma 1977, vol. 29,
p. 217.
136 Storia dell’Oratorio de S. Francesco di Sales, in «Bollettino Salesiano» 7 (1883) 97.
137 See L’evoluzione dei testi delle Costituzioni, in F. MOTTO (ed.), Costituzioni della
Società di S. Francesco di Sales 1858-1875, LAS, Roma 1982, pp. 6-20.

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170 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
reality. […] Here again his temperament is revealed: practical and ag-
gressive rather than passive; extrovert rather than introvert. His ideas
were modified and defined more precisely by the course of actual events.
He always paid close attention to the latter, not to accept them in a pas-
sive way but to adapt to them in a constructive and creative way. […]
This is not pragmatism because the whole project is governed by a well-
established goal and a series of religious and moral principles. It is the
ability to seek and find the right moment, a radical optimism based on
the conviction that the course of events will always provide suitable
ground in which to plant one’s own seeds. It is a feeling of confidence
that those seeds, however affected by ‘sorry weather’, will somehow find
a way to survive disasters and bear fruit”.138
His realism stands out in his awareness of a mission given him from
on high, in his trust that the good seeds would, in the long run, produce
dividends, all of which point to the harmonic leadership – management
synergy that are part of Don Bosco’s personality. The Constitutions of
the Society of St. Francis de Sales139and the Regulations for the Houses
of the Society of St. Francis de Sales140 are guidelines, “a firm, secure,
and, I [Don Bosco] may add, infallible basis”141 for Salesian ministry.
The way in which he composed and published these documents is signif-
icant. In the first place, Don Bosco describes the leadership dimension,
his vision, the reasons for the existence, aspirations, and the identity of
the Congregation, and its members.142 Then follows the managerial as-
pect: the description of roles within the community, the behaviours
138 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 173-174.
139 See Regole o Costituzioni della Società di S. Francesco di Sales 1874, in BOSCO,
Opere edite, vol. 29, pp. 199-288.
140 See Regolamento per le case della Società di S. Francesco di Sales, in BOSCO, Opere
edite, vol. 29, pp. 97-196.
141 Costituzioni della Società di S. Francesco di Sales 1874, in BOSCO, Opere edite, vol.
29, p. 201.
142 See Il Sistema Preventivo nell’educazione della gioventù which precedes the Regola-
menti and Ai soci Salesiani precedes the Costituzioni in the 1877 edition. See Bosco,
Opere edite, vol. 29, pp. 97-113 and 201-241.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 171
needed in community, the regulations to be observed. These are under-
stood as norms essential to their identity which must not be changed. In
the language of management researchers we might say with Scharmer
that after twenty years of prototyping it was time for the implementation
phase.143
In the founding of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)
there are several differences arising from the experience with the Sale-
sian Congregation. These reveal Don Bosco’s managerial acumen in
adapting his vision to a different situation: roots of the FMA are found
in a pre-existing group of “virtually consecrated women in the world”;144
Don Bosco prefers not to be personally involved (he acts through the
priests Domenico Pestarino, Giuseppe Cagliero, Giacomo Costamagna
and Giovanni Battista Lemoyne);145 the juridical recognition of the Insti-
tute by the local Bishops and a certain “merge” with the Salesian
Congregation was to be preferred for practical reasons seeing the proba-
ble decennial independent recognition process through the Sacred
Congregation of Bishops and of Consecrated Life.146 In the founding of
the FMA (Don Bosco and Mary Mazzarello) and in that of the Salesian
Cooperators, besides the classical equation of vision – context, we can
find also the interdependent dynamic of autonomy and centralization in
view of the synergy binding the educative-pastoral action.
According to Stella, although Don Bosco, being in tune with the
thinking of Catholic Italy in the 1870s, accepted the autonomy of the
Institute and the Association, “the idea of unity dominated his thinking:
‘vis unita fortior’. In it was reflected another solid idea from his own
religious heritage: that of a single family in the image and likeness of the
human family whose Father is God, and the ecclesial family whose father
143 C.O. SCHARMER, Theory U. Leading from the Future as it Emerges. The Social Tech-
nology of Presencing, Society for Organizational Learning, Cambridge MA 2007, pp.
191-229.
144 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 2, p. 56.
145 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 221-223.
146 See Idem, pp. 223-231.

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172 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
is the pope. […] This centralism was certainly one of the reasons for the
vitality of the Union of Cooperators, which was solidly bound to the Sa-
lesians and dependent on the same center. It was also one of the reasons
behind the respectable growth of the Salesian Cooperators”.147
There is accord between the juridical and administrative elements of
unity and the bonding resulting from friendship, trust and the shared vi-
sion that had become reality. Braido states: “Don Bosco certainly did not
believe that regulations and conferences by themselves could create com-
munity and communion. There were prescribed meetings for the
Association of the Cooperators. But Salesian brotherhood was created
especially through personal relationships, kindness, gratitude, faith-shar-
ing, prayer, working together”.148 Not only were there strong bonds of
affection with the benefactors, but they were also offered spiritual direc-
tion.149
The missionary expeditions to Latin America, beginning with 1875,
are a good example to see the interdependency between the missionary
effort, as Don Bosco visualized it, and the practical running of the mis-
sion entrusted to the first generation of missionaries. His vision of a
Salesian missionary approach generated a complex of strategies binding
missionary posts, education and Salesian lifestyle: “Schools, boarding
schools, shelters, orphanages must be opened on the frontiers. This will
attract the young; while you are educating the young, begin catechizing
their parents. There are two ways of doing this: by natural instinct the
parents will listen to whoever treats their children with kindness or better,
once the children have been instructed they will share the Good News
with their families, who will accept the word of God proclaimed by their
young ones”.150
147 Idem, p. 255.
148 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 2, p. 192.
149 Idem, vol. 2, pp. 35-43 and 192-195.
150 J. BORREGO, La Patagonia e le terre australi del continente Americano [pel] sac.
Giovanni Bosco, in «Ricerche Storiche Salesiane» 7 (1988) 13, 413-414.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 173
Don Bosco’s was an ingenious method: take advantage of the indirect
missionary effects of education which is the standard Salesian mission
(“children have been instructed and will share the Good News”) in a Sa-
lesian way (“treat them with kindness”) but also with direct
evangelization of the adult population (“begin catechizing their par-
ents”).151
The leadership dynamic characteristics are seen in the various ways
Don Bosco operates from a distance guiding the missionary effort. He is
not a planner who develops plans for what must be done from far away;
rather he fuels the dream by creating a climate in Italy that makes mis-
sionary work an “epic saga” in progress.152 At the same time he knows
how to instill the gift of leadership in his followers creating an “environ-
ment of orderly, yet not constraining, interdependence.”153 The first
generation of the Salesians sent to the Americas, among them Giovanni
Cagliero, Francesco Bodrato, Giacomo Costamagna and Luigi Lasagna,
were known for their strong leadership in laying the foundations for Sa-
lesian work in this new context.154 In his famous three letters sent to the
Salesians in America155 it is clear that his concern is the family spirit and
the method of education, based on the Valdocco experience, and not the
exact imitation of his earlier plans.
After reflecting the various phases of the evolution of Don Bosco’s
educative-pastoral activity we can distinguish three stages which also de-
fine Don Bosco’s mindset: the first is the call to be an educator as
151 See M.G. VANZINI, El Sistema Preventivo en los internados de Viedma y Rawson
(Patagonia Argentina), in J.G. GONZÁLES – G. LOPARCO – F. MOTTO – S. ZIMNIAK
(eds.), L’educazione Salesiana dal 1880 al 1922. Istanze e attuazioni in diversi conte-
sti. Atti del 4° Convegno Internazionale di Storia dell’Opera Salesiana Ciudad de
México, 12-18 febbraio 2006, LAS, Roma 2007, vol. 2, pp. 79-80.
152 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, pp. 200-203.
153 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 2, p. 148. See also MOTTO, Start afresh
from Don Bosco, pp. 94-95.
154 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 2, pp. 147-161.
155 G. BOSCO, Tre lettere a Salesiani in America, ed. Francesco Motto, in BRAIDO (ed.),
Don Bosco educatore, pp. 439-450.

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174 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
expressed in a dream but not yet as a clear project as we would under-
stand it today. There follows the phase of experiments creating a
prototype. Finally there is the regulation of best practices that attempts
to describe the more efficient procedures and the decennial lived experi-
ence.156 This can be applied to the development of the festive oratory
(1841-52), the Annexed Home and the boarding schools (1853-1877).
All of this planning comes to a definitive point in 1877 with two sets
of regulations. The Regulations for the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales
for externs has three sections dealing with the roles within the festive
oratory, the regulations for various activities, and the regulations for the
elementary grades in the oratory.157 The Regulations for the Houses of
the Society of St. Francis de Sales has four sections: “The Preventive
System in the Education of the Young”, which is his synthetic essay on
pedagogy; ten “General Notions” describing the young and their atti-
tudes; the “Particular Regulations” which define the roles of the staff;
and lastly, the “Regulations for Houses of the Congregation” which deals
with the various areas and activities in the life of a Salesian house.158
3.3.6 The Preventive System, Leadership and Management
In the following paragraphs we will examine in a concise manner the
dynamics at work in Don Bosco’s educative experience intrinsic to the
binomial leadership – management. Pietro Braido defines Don Bosco’s
Preventive System as “an adequate expression of everything he said and
did as an educator,”159 in which the concept of prevention transcends the
managerial idea of prevention as mere discipline or organization.160 His
156 See P. BRAIDO, Pedagogia perseverante tra sfide e scommesse, in «Orientamenti Pe-
dagogici» 38 (1991) 906-911.
157 See Regolamento dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales per gli esterni, in BOSCO,
Opere edite, vol. 29, pp. 31-92.
158 See Regolamento per le case della Società de S. Francesco di Sales, in BOSCO, Opere
edite, vol. 29, pp. 97-196.
159 BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, p. 1.
160 See Idem, pp. 2-3.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 175
Preventive System “is not exhausted by simply protecting or watching
over”.161 Preventive management becomes meaningful when joined with
a pro-positive style of education which encourages the student to become
an upright citizen and a good Christian.
Joined to this pro-positive leadership is the concept of assistance
which differs significantly from an oppressive surveillance,162 instead, as
we read in the 1884 letter from Rome, it has a dual synergic operational
way. It is bound to the “soul of recreation” creating a familiarity and life-
sharing that leads to trust, and it is linked to the “exact observance of the
rules of the house” which integrates the supervision dimension.163 In this
way discipline and management are not only held in a balance, but they
are also facilitated with a proximity and assistance of a leadership style
that empowers the student. The Salesian style of assistance and supervi-
sion is not far away from the concept of servant leadership as theorized
by Robert Greenleaf.164
There is another important kind of balance to keep in mind. It is the
dynamic which exists among the three pillars of Salesian education: rea-
son – religion – loving kindness. Braido writes: “Reason, Religion and
Loving kindness are not simply juxtaposed; they are interrelated; rather,
they co-penetrate one another. This occurs not only at the level of objec-
tives and content but also [at the level of] means and methods”.165 This
attraction existing among them appears in kindness as the preferred
method, and in reason and religion as the preferred content.166 Reason
and religion go hand in hand with the goals of Salesian education, namely
161 H. HENZ, Lehrbuch der systematischen Pädagogik, in BRAIDO, Prevention not repres-
sion, p. 3.
162 See the Jansenistic conception of the petit écoles de Port-Royal intended as a small
“monitored universe” in BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 54-59.
163 See G. BOSCO, Lettera ai giovani dell’Oratorio di Torino – Valdocco del 10 Maggio
1884, in BRAIDO Don Bosco educatore, pp. 382-386.
164 See R.K. GREENLEAF, Servant Leadership. A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate
Power and Greatness. 25th Anniversary Edition, Paulist press, New York 2002.
165 BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, p. 276.
166 See Idem, pp. 276-277.

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176 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
forming “the upright citizen” through the humanities, while forming “the
good Christian” through the religious education programme. Both of
these components include a content to be assimilated and competences
to be acquired which are beyond the scope of loving kindness. The Sale-
sian education theorist Reinhold Weinschenk describes this dynamic
very well in his book Grundlagen der Pädagogik Don Boscos (Funda-
mentals of Don Bosco’s Pedagogy). He understands reason and religion
as the fundamental ideas behind Don Bosco’s educative project, while
kindness is the basis of his educative style.167
The second dynamic at work among these three elements of the Pre-
ventive System indicates that the managerial aspect of education, which
includes the contents and strategies of the various programmes and ac-
tivities that help achieve the goals of the educational project, is acquired
in a specific form of leadership that includes loving kindness, trust and
friendship. This type of leadership, seen as trust and kindness, gives
greater depth to the educative process. According to Stella, loving kind-
ness is the art of “winning the heart” and expresses “the most profound
understanding and symbiosis between educator and student (or former
student). Winning or stealing the ‘heart’, or to say it another way, creat-
ing the most profound interpersonal relationship between educator and
student, is the premise for a successful educational program; that is to
say, the sharing of both, the goals and the chosen means”.168
There is a third dynamic at work among the three elements of reason
– religion – loving kindness: the primacy of religion. “The search for
salvation is presented to the young as the lesson needed to learn the high-
est profession of being a Christian, for it is the one which gives meaning
and fulfilment to all other professions”.169 For Don Bosco the phrase
“good Christian” does not denote a mediocre Christian (efficacy); for
167 See R. WEINSCHENK, Grundlagen der Pädagogik Don Boscos, Don Bosco Verlag,
München 1987, pp. 40-44 and 116-129.
168 STELLA, Don Bosco, p. 60.
169 BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, p. 223.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 177
him it directs his entire ministry as an educator towards holiness (excel-
lence). Dominic Savio is his most significant example. With Braido we
can say that the ideal of holiness becomes the most important objective
of the entire educative project.170 Don Bosco’s sermon on holiness, found
in the biography of Dominic Savio, is directed to everyone as the goal of
educative – pastoral ministry: “The will of God is that we all become
saints; it is God’s will that we become saints; it is quite easy to do so;
there is a great reward in heaven for one who becomes a saint.”171 The
biography of Dominic Savio, intended as a model for the boys of the
Oratory, is in part idealized; but it is also “an autobiography of Don
Bosco himself, the mirror image of the spirituality he lived and taught.
The spiritual journey of the pupil is at the same time the story of Don
Bosco, the priest and educator, in his role as a guide in the ‘story of a
soul’ […]. The two paths are intertwined.”172
The educative-pastoral ministry transcends the mere fulfillment of
one’s duties, or in the management language, the realization of the activ-
ities and strategies in pursuit of the goals of the project.173 The dynamics
of the theological virtues, or in the language of leadership, the habits
which incorporate the creative tension pointing towards a dream, a vi-
sion, are introduced. The Exercise of a Happy Death, which reflects the
view of life as seen through the lens of eternity and is typical of the spir-
ituality of the times, does not end in a spirituality that agonizes over one’s
salvation; instead it finds balance in a spirituality of love which fills the
soul with inner joy.174 Braido says: “From his first writings, with wisdom
and normality, in a moral system consisting of obligations he introduced
170 See Idem, p. 225.
171 G. BOSCO, Vita del giovanetto Savio Domenico allievo dell’oratorio di San Francesco
di Sales, Tipografia e Libreria Salesiana, Torino 1880, pp. 140-141.
172 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 324.
173 See Idem, vol. 1, pp. 185-195.
174 See BOSCO, Vite di giovani, ed. Aldo Giraudo, pp. 27-28.

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178 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the bright sunshine of the theological virtues.”175 Stella describes “reli-
gion” as the unitive power which has not to be referred “solely to
obligatory religious practices or the educational value of frequenting the
sacraments. He goes beyond a fragmentary view of sacramental piety and
the task of education, not stopping at merely methodological issues. For
him religion does not have merely external and instrumental functions.
He sees the sacraments as instruments of grace enabling us to attain ho-
liness and eternal salvation”.176
There is a fourth dynamic: put into practice the vision of Give me
souls, take away the rest among both educators and pupils, even though
their roles are different. The difference between the roles is of minor im-
portance because “educators and students would work together, each
party in its own proper way to carry out God’s saving plan. […] In short,
the sole nucleus of Don Bosco’s pedagogy and spirituality was a soteri-
ology that had become personal conviction. It balanced a wide variety of
elements that had their proper place: e.g., outings, music, theater, and the
full liberty for the boys to ‘run, jump, and shout as much as they
pleased’.”177
This is the dynamic behind the one and only project leading to salva-
tion which transforms the lives of educators and students in fulfilling
their call to holiness.178
Upon these four dynamics lie other equilibriums that are part of the
Preventive System. Below follows a list of some of them, by no means
exhaustive:
175 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, p. 187. See also G. GATTI, Dall’osser-
vanza della legge alla crescita delle virtù. Lettura etica della “Vita”, in A. GIRAUDO
(ed.), Domenico Savio raccontato da Don Bosco. Riflessioni sulla Vita. Atti del Sim-
posio, Università Pontificia Salesiana, Roma 8 maggio 2004, LAS, Roma 2005, pp.
177-183.
176 STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 483.
177 Idem, p. 484.
178 See Pietro BRAIDO, “Memorie” del futuro, in «Ricerche Storiche Salesiane» 11 (1992)
20, 97-127.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 179
- a balance between the pedagogy of duties (discipline) and the pedagogy
of cheerfulness (spontaneity);179
- a complementarity of the goals of the education of a good Christian and
an honest citizen;180
- a continuity, development and integration among the several “versions”
of the Preventive System as applied in the various institutions (oratory,
boarding school, day school, vocational training, university, parish, so-
cial works, etc.);181
- a feasibility of Don Bosco’s educative-pastoral project which finds a
balance between regulations and formulation of projects on the one
hand, and assimilation of the vision in the form of a narrative pedagogy
on the other;182
- a managerial and leadership balance;
- among the roles of Director, Prefect, Catechist, counselors and Assis-
tants;183
- between the strong educative-pastoral Salesian identity and the open-
ness in the creation of a network of cooperators;184
- between spontaneity and discipline in the running of the house185 which
finds its expression in the exercise of formal and informal direction;186
179 See BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 307-319 and P. BRAIDO, Il Sistema Pre-
ventivo di Don Bosco alle origini (1841-1862). Il cammino del “preventivo” nella
realtà e nei documenti, in «Ricerche Storiche Salesiane» 14 (1995) 27, pp. 283-287.
180 See BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 213-232.
181 See Idem, pp. 335-359 and BRAIDO, Il Sistema Preventivo di Don Bosco alle origini,
255-320.
182 See the three biographies of Savio, Besucco and Magone written by Don Bosco. See
also the Preface in Bosco, Memoirs of the Oratory, 3.
183 See BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 295-301. See also BRAIDO, Don Bosco
prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 306-308.
184 BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 208-212 and 222-225; STELLA, Don
Bosco nella storia economica, pp. 397-398 and CASELLA, L’esperienza educativa pre-
ventiva di Don Bosco, pp. 123-137.
185 See BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 292-295.
186 See F. MOTTO, I “Ricordi confidenziali ai direttori” di Don Bosco, in «Ricerche Sto-
riche Salesiane» 3 (1984) 4, 150-160; BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 295-299

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180 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
- between an intervention affecting the entire student body and the per-
sonal accompaniment which finds in youth groups an intermediate
level of realization;187
In the pursuit of his desire to save the whole person Don Bosco does
not choose a theoretical systematic path; instead he offers practical steps
with simple words, not all of them original, which demonstrate the bril-
liant managerial-educative vision of an inspiring leader. “Don Bosco,
unlike Therese of Lisieux, does not write of ‘the little way’ to holiness.
But he does suggest easy ways for boys that some might consider too
trivial. These trivial means were undoubtedly not a royal road, but they
were a path that led ‘to a marvelous level of perfection’.”188
3.4 Conclusion: Leadership – Management Synergy in Don
Bosco
After having analyzed the person and the accomplishments of Don
Bosco, although not in great depth, we can verify the presence and the
synergetic connectedness between leadership and management in his life
and mindset. The following dual concepts are a synthesis of the relation-
ship existing between leadership and management as he exercised them:
1. Manual work – trust in Providence that so deeply enriched his early
years immersed in the rural setting constitute his point of departure as
well as main mindset. His leadership is God-centred and he is simultane-
ously called to entrust himself to Providence and to work effectively as
his gifts and knowledge allow;
2. Prudent management – powerful dream binomial becomes the op-
erative translation of the previous one. His vocation as a priest and
and C. COLLI, La direzione spirituale nella prassi e nel pensiero di Don Bosco: “me-
moria” e “profezia”, in M. COGLIANDRO (ed.), La direzione spirituale nella famiglia
Salesiana, SDB, Roma 1983, pp. 53-77.
187 See BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 214-214 and 318-320. See also
BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 302-306.
188 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Life and Work, p. 206.

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CHAPTER 3: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION 181
educator gives direction to all later choices and creates a horizon of
meaning where his skills as entrepreneur and prudent manager find their
realization;
3. Expansion of the work – developing of self-giving explains the inner
harmony existing between the man and his activity. His total dedication
to his vocation is not limited to the spiritual dimension; it penetrates all
of his activity, also in the educative-pastoral and managerial-organiza-
tional sense;
4. Personal identity – team collaboration represents the bonding
which Don Bosco created and which led to a huge movement of persons
involved is his mission. His ability to be a leader with a mighty dream,
capable to appreciate and combine the gifts and differences of everyone
is a typically Salesian trait;
5. Answer to a need – preventive action which describes the synergy
between education that both responds to the actual needs of the young
and at the same time offers a way to escape the conditions that cause their
neediness or poverty. They are empowered, given education, knowledge
and the tools that prepare them for a better life;
6. Structured education – narrative education. Here reference is made
to a style of leadership that excites and spurs involvement and knows
how to share the dream. It is complemented by the necessary regulations,
different roles and tasks. As for spiritual growth, management is equated
with forming resolutions, while leadership is exercised through the biog-
raphies of exemplary students;
7. Reason and religion – loving kindness in a family environment ex-
presses the managerial aspect of education, which includes contents,
strategies, programmes and activities, all directed towards the attainment
of the goals (good Christian and honest citizen); all of this done with love
and a style of leadership that is characterized by trust, friendship and fa-
miliarity;
8. Stability management – expansion of a vision. Here we refer to how
Don Bosco now mature, balances the expansion in Piedmont, in Italy and

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182 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
in the missions with the opening of boarding schools which were finan-
cially sound and would nurture new vocations. In this way there is a
balance between productivity and care of resources;
9. Enacted regulations – informal osmotic education shows the com-
plementarity within Don Bosco’s educative method. Study, work and
prayer are “tasks” in a programme but realized in an environment that is
forward-looking and informal, expressed in recreation, trust and friend-
ship.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 183
4. Innovation of Salesian Leadership and Project
Management
In order to bring some answers to the organizational issues of the Sa-
lesian Youth Ministry, we have studied its post-Vatican II evolution (1st
Chapter) and its theoretical background (2nd Chapter). In this Chapter we
will be guided by the permanent criterion of renewal called “Don Bosco
in the Oratory” (3rd Chapter) with the purpose of: putting in place a dia-
logue with organizational sciences; tracing a set of necessary operative
virtues of a Salesian leader and, finally, proposing an updated methodol-
ogy of Educative and Pastoral Project management.1
4.1 Dialogue with Organizational Theories
The SEPP methodology was influenced substantially by the Manage-
ment by Objectives logic, diffused in the ‘60 and ‘70s. In a successive
period, from the late ‘80s, there has been a paradigm shift in the organi-
zational field. Until now, we can find too many different theories and
practices that go beyond a reductive MBO anthropology and methodol-
ogy. We have to choose a set of criteria for the choice of theories to be
dialogued with, in order not to be paralyzed by their differences and also
to remain faithful to the Salesian charism and its fundamental anthropol-
ogy.
4.1.1 Criteria for the Selection of Organizational Models
Before doing that, let us specify the differences between different
types of criteria. The Oratorian criterion (Don Bosco in the Oratory) will
be a constant criterion, so we will dialogue between the Salesian tradition
1 See a more extended argumentation in M. VOJTÁŠ, Progettare e discernere. Progetta-
zione educativo-pastorale Salesiana tra storia, teorie e proposte innovative, LAS,
Roma 2015.

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184 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
and organizational theories. A second type of criteria is needed for the
selection of significant organizational theories. These are:
1. overcoming the pure Management by Objectives logic;
2. compatibility with the four dimensions of the SEPP anthropology;
3. balance between the scientific nature of the theory and its consoli-
dated application in different cultural contexts.
The first criterion relates to the overcoming of Management by Ob-
jectives that has influenced the Salesian projects methodology. It adopts
an analytical approach to reality, dividing it in parallel dimensions often
losing the wholeness of the man or the community. The linearity of its
method analyzes the situation with its needs, formulates objectives that
respond to the needs, chooses activities or other means and finally ends
a project cycle with the evaluation of the results. In the MBO mindset, a
leader is fundamentally a project manager. For an update of the Salesian
Youth Ministry organizational model it is necessary that the theories in
the dialogue elaborate substantial steps beyond MBO reaching a balance
between management and leadership. This synergic and complementary
balance is seen in various keys described earlier: systemic logic, trans-
formative change, organizational ethics, spiritual leadership,
empowerment and community integration, organizational learning, re-
source-based approach.
In a second place we choose a simple anthropologic criterion. Adopt-
ing MBO in the Salesian project methodology there has been a lack of
processes that put focus on discernment; evangelical interpretation of the
situation; search for meaning and deeper motivations. Practically, the
SEPP method often remained in the position of a purely rational educa-
tional planning.2 The biggest challenge, addressed in the study presented,
2 Since GC25 (2002), the method of discernment has created two types of methodological
paths: the discernment of the Provincial Structural Plan, the Community Project and
the Project of Life on one side and the educational and pastoral planning on the other.
The third edition of the YM Frame of Reference tries to introduce the discernment in
the SEPP design, but more like an external focus, not touching the steps of a project
cycle.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 185
is to consider man integrally or holistically not only at the level of theo-
retical content but also at the level of methodological processes. Theories
we dialogue with should have an integral vision of man as expressed in
the unity of the four SEPP dimensions: the dynamic of the educational
transformation within the educational-cultural dimension; the dynamic
of spiritual growth as the core dimension of evangelization and catech-
esis; the dynamic of the call as the cornerstone of the vocational
dimension; the dynamic of community-building within the group expe-
rience dimension.
The last criterion puts in place a balance between scientific and prac-
tical nature of organizational models. The union of theory and practice is
of primary importance for the SEPP3 as we often noticed the failure “to
pass from paper to life”.4 The practical use of a theory in project man-
agement also follows two principles of knowledge validity proposed by
Chris Argyris and Edgar H. Schein, two scholars of organizational be-
haviour: “I know that I know when my knowledge is actionable – that is,
when I can produce it [...] I know that I know when my knowledge is
helpful to the various clients and practitioners in the field”.5 An organi-
zational model’s proliferation on a global scale becomes an important
indicator of the explanatory and practical power beyond limits of a spe-
cific culture. The possibility of using a method in different cultures is an
obligatory requirement, because the SEPP was established primarily to
3 Juan Vecchi proposes an interesting harmonic concept: “Intelligence of love is the con-
stant fusion of experience, wisdom and scientific knowledge with which we approach
the youth, and responds to the ‘synthetic’ attitude of Don Bosco‘s ‘unity’, who did not
miss any means or way to understand better the world of young people and to get to
them effectively”, in J.E. VECCHI, Per riattualizzare il Sistema Preventivo, in
ISPETTORIA SALESIANA LOMBARDO-EMILIANA, Convegno sul Sistema Preventivo, Mi-
lano-Bologna 3-4 novembre 1978, [s.e.], [s.l.] [s.d.], p. 14.
4 See E. VIGANÒ, Opening address of the Rector Major, in GC22 (1984), n. 19.
5 C.O. SCHARMER, Theory U. Leading from the Future as it Emerges. The Social Tech-
nology of Presencing, SoL, Cambridge MA 2007, p. 98.

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186 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
favor the inculturation of the Preventive System in local cultures and in
different situations.6
Following the criteria, we will be considering the following three
models: Peter M. Senge’s Organizational Learning diffused by the Soci-
ety for Organizational Learning; Stephen R. Covey’s Principle-centered
Leadership applied by FranklinCovey; C. Otto Scharmer’s Theory U and
linked proposals of the Presencing Institute. The choice of the three the-
ories has also been motivated by the following factors. First, the
recognition of the educational and the spiritual dimension within the or-
ganizational processes could make the models suitable for a dialogue
with the SEPP. Covey’s Principle-centered Leadership proposes a set of
organizational habits based on ethical principles. His character ethics has
had a great impact throughout the world and is a neglected, or taken for
granted, aspect in the SEPP model. The implementation of Senge’s sys-
temic and holistic vision in leadership theory centered on learning could
balance the linearity of the MBO’s logic. Scharmer’s emphasis on the
study of the project cycle processes could balance the SEPP’s emphasis
on objectives. It could provide instruments to go beyond the product par-
adigm inherited from curricular theories. Each model, of course, has its
weaknesses and so we have chosen to dialogue with multiple authors in
order to balance one model with another.
In the following brief presentation of the theories and connected edu-
cative practices we want to offer a concise understanding of the authors’
paradigms and proposals. After the presentation, a synthesis will follow
with the goal to sum up the three models’ overcoming of the MBO and
the compatibility with SEPP dimensions of the Youth Ministry.
6 See GC21 (1978), nn. 82-83 that quotes PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975), nn. 20;
38-39 and GC21 (1978), nn. 91 that integrates Nostra Aetate, n. 2.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 187
4.1.2 Peter M. Senge’s Organizational Learning
Peter Michal Senge is a senior lecturer in leadership and sustainability
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Management. His
consulting and lecturing activity dates back to the middle 1970s. His
1990 publication of The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the
learning organization has influenced organizational thinkers on a global
scale through the activities of the Society for Organizational Learning.7
After a decade, the focus of his studies shifted to issues concerning edu-
cation and deep social transformation.8
His model approaches leadership and management from a systemic
perspective focusing on the evolving dynamics of living systems. The
core of his leadership theory views the organization as an interconnected
whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Therefore, the long-term
sustainable and responsible growth of the organization is linked to life-
long learning of its members and teams. The view on the wholeness of
reality implies such concepts as circular causality, deep transformation,
organizational culture or process consultation.
The central term “discipline” is linked to its original Latin meaning
“to learn” (discere). The practice of the five disciplines is to be a lifelong
learning process of a single person and an organization. Living a disci-
pline is not putting in place a planning technology; it is not an emulation
7 See P.M. SENGE, The Fifth Discipline. The art and practice of the learning organization,
Doubleday, New York 1990; ID et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Strategies and
Tools for Building a Learning Organization, Doubleday, New York 1994 and ID et al.,
The Dance of Change. The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organi-
zations, Doubleday, New York 1999.
8 See P.M. SENGE et al., Schools That Learn. A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators,
Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education, Doubleday, New York 2000; C.O.
SCHARMER – P.M. SENGE – J. JAWORSKI – B.S. FLOWERS, Presence. Exploring Pro-
found Change in People, Organizations, and Society, Currency Doubleday, New York
2004 and P.M. SENGE et al., The Necessary Revolution. How Individuals and Organi-
zations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World, Doubleday, New York
2008.

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188 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
of a model or copying a best practice. It is rather a flow of experimenta-
tion and advancement.9 For Senge “metanoia”, in the sense of a change
in mentality, is the more appropriate term to describe a learning organi-
zation. He argues that the “real learning goes to the heart of what it means
to be human”.10 The disciplines are not implemented in an organization
at a formal or managerial level. They have to be lived by the practitioners
and teams. Only then an organization can “learn” in a genuine way. The
disciplines are the following:
1. Personal Mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deep-
ening our personal vision, of focusing energies, of developing
patience, and of seeing reality objectively. As such, it is an essential
cornerstone of the learning organization – the learning organization’s
spiritual foundation. An organization’s commitment to and capacity
for learning can be no greater than that of its members. This discipline
starts with clarifying the things that really matter to us, living our lives
in the service of our highest spiritual aspirations.11
2. Working with Mental Models. The models are deeply ingrained as-
sumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence
how we understand the world and how we take action. Working with
mental models is a discipline that helps to get our representations of
the world, bring them to the surface and keep them under rigorous
examination. Part of the discipline deals with the ability to conduct
meaningful dialogues that balance inquiry advocacy.12
3. Building Shared Vision. When there is a genuine vision (as opposed
to the all too familiar vision statements), people excel and learn, not
9 For quotations we will refer to the second updated and revised edition: P.M. SENGE,
The Fifth Discipline. The art and practice of the learning organization, Doubleday,
New York 22006. Note the similarities with Stenhouse’s curriculum research model
adopted partially by Vecchi.
10 Idem, p. 13.
11 See Idem, pp. 7-8.
12 See Idem, pp. 8 and 163-190.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 189
because they are told to do so, but because they want to. Too often
different objectives and visions of the organization are focused on the
personal charisma of a leader or a crisis that galvanizes temporarily.
The practice of the shared vision discipline implies unearthing shared
images of the future that foster shared, genuine, heartfelt and volun-
tary commitment, rather than compliance.13
4. Team Learning. We know that teams can learn and the intelligence of
the group can exceed the intelligence of the individuals with an ex-
traordinary ability of coordinated thinking and action. This discipline
starts with dialogue that, unlike the discussion, suspends assumptions
and moves to a genuine “thinking together”. It is also the ability to
recognize patterns of interaction within the group that can promote or
compromise learning. Often some patterns of defensiveness are
deeply ingrained in how a team operates.14
5. Systems Thinking. Senge considers the organization as a set of many
components arranged in an interconnected system. The application of
systems thinking does not conclude at the level of the whole organi-
zation, it is also a methodology applied to the five disciplines of
organizational learning. “It is vital that the five disciplines develop as
an ensemble [...] This is why systems thinking is the fifth discipline.
It is the discipline that integrates the disciplines, fusing them into a
coherent body of theory and practice. It keeps them from becoming
separated gimmicks, or the latest organization change fads. Without
a systemic orientation, there is no motivation to look at how the dis-
ciplines interrelate. By enhancing each of the other disciplines, it
continually reminds us that the whole can exceed the sum of its
parts”.15
13 See Idem, p. 9.
14 See Idem, pp. 9-10.
15 Idem, pp. 11-12.

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190 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The interconnectedness goes both ways: not only does systems think-
ing keep together the other disciplines, but it also needs them to realize
its potential. “Building shared vision fosters a commitment to the long
term. Mental models focus on the openness needed to unearth shortcom-
ings in our present ways of seeing the world. Team learning develops the
skills of groups of people to look for the larger picture beyond individual
perspectives. And personal mastery fosters the personal motivation to
continually learn how our actions affect our world”.16
The learning organization does no longer see itself as detached from
the world, but connected to it. Consequently, all issues and challenges
are not caused by external influences, the “enemy”, the “condition” or
“situation” that are out there and independent. The issues of an organi-
zation are mostly related to how we think and operate, it is our actions
that create the problems which we experience. In this way systems think-
ing is the discipline to see the whole. It is a framework for seeing
interrelation rather than things, to see the patterns of change rather than
static snapshots. Our language shapes the perception of reality that in
many cases is not linear and cannot be described by a linear causal logic
following the basic structure of subject-verb-object.
To understand the complexity, Senge uses the “circle of causality”
and “feedback process”. The two terms describe processes where many
variables are organized in circles of cause-effect relations. The classical
examples are cases of a self-fulfilling prophecy or virtuous and vicious
circles. Often the effects of actions occur with a considerable delay or
with a short-term effect linked to a different long-term effect. Virtually
all feedback processes contain some delay, but often the delays are not
recognized and accepted. Consequently, delays are not taken into ac-
count in the operational planning and evaluation. The work with the
delays constitutes therefore another brick of systems thinking.17 Along-
side the basics of circular causality, feedback process and delays, Senge
16 Idem, p. 12.
17 See Idem, pp. 68-91.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 191
introduces ten systemic archetypes, which make explicit many typical
situations in an organization. Here, we present two fundamental arche-
types because they illuminate real issues linked to the Salesian Project
Management model.
“Shifting the burden” archetype is characteristic for problem solving
processes. Usually a problem shows symptoms that require attention.
People often have a difficulty dealing with the underlying problem, be-
cause it is complex and its solution requires a lot of energy. So they
transfer their attention to a symptomatic solution that is easier and less
expensive. After some time, the underlying problem gets worse and be-
cause the symptoms have for a moment, the system loses ability to solve
it with a fundamental solution.18
“Erosion of the objectives” archetype is typical for Management by
Objectives. There is always a gap between reality and the ideal expressed
in a set of objectives. Since actions to improve the actual conditions pro-
duce effects with some delay, there is a tendency to adopt a short-term
solution to erode or to reformulate the objectives the easy or generic way.
While this produces a brief breather from the operational pressure, it
leads to a long-term operational mediocrity. In the presence of dynamic
erosion of the objectives we must be adhered to the vision and invest in
actions that will produce real effects of improvement. 19
Senge’s systems thinking also tries to deal with deeper levels of hu-
man action going beyond the reactive mindset that puts its attention on
the events. If an organization wants to learn in a sustainable way, it has
to focus on “patterns of behaviour” and more profoundly on “systemic
structures”. Systemic structures are connected with our deep mental
models and artifacts of the organization that may be of real, symbolic or
legislative nature. The more we go in depth into the circles of causality,
the greater is the possibility of influence on the process, but with the risk
18 See Idem, pp. 103-112.
19 See Idem, pp. 394-395.

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192 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
of a longer delay. The following Scheme D correlates the depth of anal-
ysis with the type of actions:20
Events analysis – Reactive action
Patterns of behavior analysis – Responsive action
Systemic structure analysis – Generative action
Scheme D: Senge’s Levels of Analysis and Action
Senge’s publication of Schools That Learn applies systems thinking
to education after two decades of experiments and experiences in the
field.21 The theoretical background is built upon the critics of the current
model of public education that is based on industrial-age management of
Taylorian mindset: “Primary and Secondary education is a more purely
industrial-age institution than is business”.22 This model breaks the sys-
tem into pieces, creates specialists, lets everybody do his or her piece,
and assumes that someone else makes sure that the whole system
works.23 The authors propose a systemic integration of classes, schools
and communities referring to real-life experiences and to education the-
orists such as John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Paolo Freire, Howard Gardner
and Parker Palmer. The school should provide, as part of its core purpose,
the promotion, development and care of its teachers. The teacher is seen
as a life-long learner and a steward for all students. Students should be
20 See Idem, pp. 51-54. The risk of being a victim of activism is connected with manage-
ment paradoxes and “learning disabilities” of an organization. We mention only four:
illusion of taking charge; paradox of the cure that is worse than the disease; paradox of
acting fast in short run that becomes slow for long distances; paradox of small changes
that produce big results. See Idem, pp. 20-21 and 61-65.
21 The publication refers to experiences at the level of schools, communities, school dis-
tricts and also at national level in the context of the United States, Latin America,
Middle East, Asia and Europe.
22 SENGE et al., Schools That Learn, p. 33.
23 See Idem, p. 43.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 193
empowered to be co-creators of knowledge and participants in the evo-
lution of the school.
4.1.3 Stephen R. Covey’s Principle-Centered Ethical Leadership
Stephen Richards Covey provides a summary of organizational and
ethical thoughts in his best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People. Restoring the Character Ethic.24 If we compare the two authors
according to Schön’s rigor-relevance criterion, we can state that Senge’s
theory is more scientifically rigorous (while having good practical appli-
cations) and Covey’s principles are primarily relevant for practical use
(with a sufficient scientific basis).25 In the first decade of the third mil-
lennium, Covey was considered as the pre-eminent management guru of
North America with a global impact of his consulting firm Franklin-
Covey in more than 140 nations around the world.26
The basis of the seven habits theory was born during the eight years
of research that concluded with the interdisciplinary doctorate in educa-
tional and managerial sciences in 1976. Covey conducted a critical study
on the “success literature” published in the United States over the past
200 years. He noted a fundamental shift in the concept of success in the
1920s from “character ethics” to a “personality ethics”.
24 See S.R. COVEY, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Restoring the Character
Ethic, Simon & Schuster, New York 11989 and 22004. In this study we will quote the
second edition.
25 The 7 Habits has had a strong impact on the practice of leadership selling over 25
million copies in 38 languages. His theory was further applied to leadership for fami-
lies, young people and kids. See S.R. COVEY, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families,
Simon & Schuster, New York 1999; S. COVEY, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,
Simon & Schuster, New York 1998 e ID., The 7 Habits of Happy Kids, Simon & Schus-
ter Books for Young Readers, New York 2008.
26 See B. JACKSON, Management Gurus and Management Fashions. A Dramatistic In-
quiry, Routledge, London 2001, p. 94-99; S. GANDEL, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People (1989) by Stephen R. Covey, in The 25 Most Influential Business Management
Books, in «Time» (9 August 2011). For a list of received awards see COVEY, The 7
Habits, p. 373.

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194 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
The character ethics is grounded on the notion that there are basic
principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true
success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these princi-
ples into their character. The personality ethics is based on ideas of public
image, behaviours, skills and techniques that solve problems and facili-
tate interpersonal relations. This “quick-fix” ethic incorporates
techniques of public relations techniques, positive mental attitude com-
bined with manipulative techniques and different strategies of power
gaining.27 For Covey “it becomes obvious that if we want to make rela-
tively minor changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on
our attitudes and behaviours, But if we want to make significant, quan-
tum change, we need to work on our basic paradigms”.28 These
paradigms should be aligned to a few key principles, natural laws, real,
immutable and unquestionably present. The basic principles are present
in all the great religions and ethical systems: fairness, integrity, honesty,
justice, consistency, human dignity, service and growth understood as
development of one’s potential. “Although people may argue about how
these principles are defined or manifested or achieved, there seems to be
an innate consciousness and awareness that they exist”.29
The growth in effectiveness is a continuous passage from dependence
through independence to interdependence. Covey offers an insightful
reading of the independence social paradigm as a reaction to dependence,
to control and manipulation. In this way, independence is taken by the
majority as the absolute value, while communication, teamwork, coop-
eration and synergy are marginalized as if they were second degree
27 COVEY, The 7 Habits, pp. 18-21.
28 Idem, p. 31.
29 Idem, p. 35. See also an interesting remark: T.K. SMITH, What’s so effective about
Stephen Covey? The author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People sells a
message of moral renewal, and corporate America is buying it. Is this a good thing?,
in «Fortune Magazine» 12 December 1994, in money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/for-
tune_ archive/1994/12/12/80049/index.htm (accessed 1.1. 2017).

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 195
values. For this theory, independence is only a passage to a more inte-
grated or systemic concept of interdependence of teams, families or
communities. Also the structure of the seven habits follows this path of
maturity. The first three habits bring the person from dependence to in-
dependence and self-realization, while the fourth, fifth and sixth habit
helps the construction of social relations with the transition from inde-
pendence to interdependence. The seventh habit is linked to the
integration of the whole and to the continuous renewal. The growth path
is defined “inside-out” because the interior change has to come before
the attempts of an external or social change. Personal change and coher-
ence build trust, a key element for building interdependence.30
The concept of trust and trustworthiness is the common denominator
in the so-called “continuum of growth” from dependence through inde-
pendence to interdependence as shown in Scheme E:
1. Be proactive. Pro-active is used as opposed to re-active. Reactive
strategies are only adaptations to the environment that do not allow
acting in freedom, given their dependence on external stimuli. Proac-
tivity is the ability to control the space between stimulus and
response, using self-awareness, imagination, conscience and inde-
pendent will.
2. Begin with the End in Mind. Persons wishing to act with the utmost
freedom and efficiency must develop the habit of having a vision of
life. This vision can integrate roles they have and orient individual
actions to the overall goals.
3. Put First Things First is the ability to put the vision or the project in
everyday reality. The second habit develops a “mental creation” while
this habit creates the vision in reality.
30 See Idem, pp. 42-44 and the publication of S.R. Covey’s son: S.M.R. COVEY – R.
MERRILL, The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything, Free Press,
New York 2006.

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196 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Interdependence
Seek First to
Understand…
5
PUBLIC
VICTORY
Synergize
6
4 Think
Win/Win
Independence
3 Put First
Things First
1
Be
Proactive
PRIVATE
VICTORY
2
Begin with
the End in Mind
Dependence
Scheme E: Covey’s Continuum of Growth
4. Think win-win. A big part of the quality of human life is based on
joint efforts. Consequently, the purpose of decision-making must be
to find win-win solutions for all, overcoming the competitive attitude
that is based on the resource scarcity mindset.
5. Seek First to Understand … then to be Understood. Trustworthy peo-
ple start from the needs of those who they meet. The person has to be
understood first if we want to develop and maintain a positive rela-
tionship that is necessary for any type of collaboration.
6. Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation that allows to accom-
plish more than could be achieved by individuals working

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 197
independently, according to the conception of the whole that is greater
than the sum of its parts.
7. Sharpen the saw. Self-care and continuous self-improvement is one
of the most important habits in order to perform any activity in a sus-
tainable way, maintaining the balance between “production” and
“production capacity”.
These seven habits and the underlying principles seem to be rather
simple and obvious. We think that the strength of Covey’s theory is
grounded on two aspects. First, the whole picture of the intertwined hab-
its with the underlying principles is presented in an understandable way
and lights up the purpose of single instruments. The second strength is
the application of every habit with concrete instruments or practices so
they can be experimented immediately right. Of course it also implies a
weak theoretical grounding and arbitrary interpretations.31
Covey’s Seven Habits theory was further enriched and found instant
applications in the education sector. Hundreds of school district teams
and half a million teachers participated in the formation seminars. The
2008 publication named Leader in Me describes experiences of different
schools and lays an implementation methodology in the everyday school
life.32 Covey’s book begins with the analysis of the expectations of stu-
dents, teachers, parents and business leaders of the local community. He
claims that decision-making, interpersonal, collaborative, ethical, crea-
tive and problem-solving skills are more important for the stakeholders
31 See some critical viewpoints in T. CLARK – G. SALAMAN, The Management Guru as
Organizational Witchdoctor, in «Organization» 3 (1996) 85-107; B. JACKSON, Man-
agement Gurus and Management Fashions. A Dramatistic Inquiry, Routledge, London
2001 e D. CARLONE, The Ambiguous Nature of a Management Guru Lecture. Providing
Answers While Deepening Uncertainty, in «Journal of Business Communication» 43
(2006) 2, 89-112.
32 See S.R. COVEY, The Leader in Me. How Schools and Parents Around the World Are
Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time, Free Press, New York 2008 and SMITH,
What’s so effective about Stephen Covey.

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198 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
than the performance in a single academic subject suggesting a distinc-
tion between primary and secondary greatness. The first has to do with
the integrity of the person, work ethic, interaction with others, motivation
and initiative. The secondary greatness is the quality of the specific skills
achieved by comparing a person with the standards in connection with
votes, positions, awards, fame etc. Education for leadership, proposed in
the Leader in Me, focuses on primary greatness in schools integrating the
aspects of secondary greatness.
The applicative approach of integrating the primary and secondary
greatness is called “Ubiquitous Strategy”. Principles and habits permeate
every subject and almost everything students and teachers do. In other
words, leadership is not “one more thing” teachers have to teach. It is
part of everything they teach. A new culture of the school is created
through the selection of discussion topics, examples in teaching, change
of language, artifacts in the environment, traditions and folklore of the
school. The strategy is accomplished in four phases: inspire trust; clarify
purpose; align systems; unleash the talent. The whole proposal integrates
educational research with different didactical instrumentation.33
Comparing Covey’s and Senge’s perspective on school education
change, we can see fundamental points of contact: both authors interpret
a series of experiments that were inspired by their theories. Senge’s view
is wider because it proposes a change of the school organizational culture
integrating the systems theory. At the same time, one can observe
Covey’s strength in proposing a unified strategy – a point where the com-
plexity of systems theory often fails.
33 See COVEY, The Leader in Me, pp. 165-190. Integrated are education studies of Robert
J. Marzano from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Larry
W. Lezotte’s school effectiveness studies, studies on school change sustainability by
Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker, Daniel Goleman’s multiple intelligence theory and
both Balridge and Deming’s quality tools.

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4.1.4 Otto C. Scharmer’s “Vocational” Theory Linked to Second
Senge and Covey
The year 2004 can be considered a turning point for both Senge and
Covey. The latter published The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Great-
ness in which he integrates the concept of “voice”. For Covey, voice is
not an 8th habit to be simply added to the previous seven – it is rather a
new dimension that shifts the attention from effectiveness to everyone’s
greatness and uniqueness. There is a deep and almost inexpressible
yearning within each one of us to find our voice in life. It is often revealed
as we face our greatest challenges in life. The voice or calling or soul’s
code lies “at the nexus of talent (your natural gifts and strengths), passion
(those things that naturally energize, excite, motivate and inspire you),
need (including what the world needs enough to pay you for), and con-
science (that still, small voice within that assures you of what is right and
that prompts you to actually do it)”.34
In the same year, Peter Senge together with Claus Otto Scharmer and
two other co-authors published Presence: Exploring Profound Change
in People, Organizations, and Society. Senge shifts his focus from sys-
tems theory to cognitive studies of profound change, which is Scharmer’s
field of interest. The vocation is a “call to service that most of us deny
throughout our whole life [...] this call to give ourselves to something
larger than ourselves and to become what were meant to become”.35 The
moment of vocation is identified with the time of “Presence” conceptu-
alized by Scharmer in which the person and the community find their
new identity and their future emerges. The authors also refer to the Bible,
but choose to use more universal not explicitly religious terms.36 Their
34 S.R. COVEY, The 8th Habit. From Effectiveness to Greatness, Free Press, New York
2004, p. 5.
35 SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, p. 223.
36 The authors are aware that universal non-religious formulations can be sterile and ab-
stract. So they choose the analysis of the “call experience” as the central point of their
endeavor. See Idem, pp. 226-230.

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200 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
concept is inspired by the philosophy of Martin Buber that writes about
“freedom and destiny […] solemnly promised to one another and con-
nected together in meaning”.37 Senge applies the concepts of “Presence”
in his next book The Necessary Revolution (2008),putting together
themes of cooperation, new ways of thinking and perceiving the change,
the emerging “vocation” of the future and a world that needs sustainabil-
ity.
Claus Otto Scharmer is a German organization researcher and P.M.
Senge’s colleague at the MIT School of Management. He is the founder
of the Presencing Institute and works on different development and sus-
tainability projects.38 His research is in continuity with the organizational
learning theory and focuses on the cognitive processes of deep transfor-
mation of persons and communities. His theory and practice has a
developed philosophical grounding, taking inspiration from Husserl’s
phenomenology, Buber’s philosophy of dialogue, different existentialist
philosophies with a fundamental reference to Kurt Lewin’s action re-
search.39 The central point, both theoretical and methodological, is the
notion of “presencing” that is the moment of spiritual insight into the
identity and mission of a person or community.
Scharmer’s so-called “Theory U” is born of the integration of various
influences: previous research in the area of strategic leadership, change
theories of Friedrich Glasl from the Netherlands Pedagogical Institute;
action research projects in global business companies at MIT and the
qualitative research with the participation of 150 prominent thinkers in
the field of strategy, innovation, leadership and learning. One of the rea-
sons that led Scharmer to the development of the Theory U was the fact
37 M. BUBER, I and Thou, as quoted in SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, p. 222.
38 C.O. Scharmer is also the founder and co-director of “Emerging Leaders for Innova-
tions Across Systems”, a development joint initiative of the leadership of the United
Nations Global Compact, the SOL, the World Bank and various NGOs. Scharmer takes
part in projects of Transforming Capitalism Initiative, MIT’s Green Hub Project, the
African Public Health Leadership Initiative and the Global Dialogue Project.
39 See C.O. SCHARMER, Theory U. Leading from the Future as it Emerges. The Social
Technology of Presencing, SoL, Cambridge MA 2007, pp. 105-109.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 201
of not being “able to create schools and institutions of higher education
that develop people’s innate capacity to sense and shape their future”,
perceived as “most important core capability for this century’s
knowledge and co-creation”.40
Scharmer uses the artistic creation analogy to understand the distinc-
tion between three different perspectives on human action: focus on the
product (work of art), process (painting), or the person before he takes
action (artist as he stands in front of a blank canvas). Scharmer argues
that the third perspective has been the most neglected in the recent or-
ganization theory, forming a hardly noticeable blind spot. In the
argumentation, the most important leaders in various fields of human en-
deavor are different not for “what” they do or the “how” they run the
process, but for the answer to the question: “Where is the source of your
actions?” The notion of “presencing” is the combination of “presence”
and “sensing” trying to express the state of a person that slows down,
becomes connected to the real self and connects to something larger than
the self-identity. Scharmer tries to express in a non-religious way the hu-
man experience we are used to describing theologically with terms of
“grace”, “communion” and “call”.41 The core capacity of presencing is
the contemporary connection to the inner self and the future that is
emerging from which we act and operate with most energy, profundity
40 Idem, p. 3. See also Scharmer’s previous publications about education: ID, Neues Wohl-
standsmodell als Bildungsaufgabe, in F-T. GOTTWALD et al. (Eds.), Bildung und
Wohlstand, Auf dem Weg zu einer verträglichen Lebensweise, Wiesbaden 1994, pp. 14-
25; ID, Kopf, Herz und Hand. Die Anforderungen eines zukunftsfähigen Wohlstands-
modells an die Universitäten, in «Politische Ökologie» 39 (1994) 51-54; K. KÄUFER –
C.O. SCHARMER, Universität als Schauplatz für den unternehmenden Menschen, Hoch-
schulen als “Landestationen” für das In-die-Welt-Kommen des Neuen, in S. LASKE –
T. SCHEYTT – C. MEISTER-SCHEYTT – C.O. SCHARMER (Eds.), Universität im 21. Jahr-
hundert. Zur Interdependenz von Begriff und Organisation der Wissenschaft, Rainer
Hampp Verlag, Mering 2000, 109-134.
41 See Idem, pp. 6-13.

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202 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
and impact. The “U process” is a description of key moments of this deep
transformation (see Scheme F):42
downloading
patterns of the past
performing
through practices
and infrastructures
seeing
with fresh eyes
Open mind
prototyping
strategic microcosms
sensing
the whole
Open heart
crystallizing
vision and intention
letting go Open will letting come
presencing
Who is my Self? What is my Work?
Scheme F: Scharmer’s Transformational Process
1. Stopping to download the patterns of the past. The first step of the
shift in focus begins in the recognition of habitual patterns of action
and thought derived from the experiences of the past. People often
use the models that have worked in the past without inquiring about
them. Stop to download is the precondition for entering the U process
of deep change. There are four organizational barriers that hinder the
awareness about old habits: not recognizing what you see; not saying
what you think; not doing what you say; not seeing what you do.
2. Looking with fresh eyes. To move from repetition to a new way of
seeing, there are three different principles to be practised: clarify the
42 See Idem, pp. 119-226.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 203
question and the intent; move in a context that matters and can offer
new inputs; suspend the judgement and connect to wonder. These
principles practically form Husserl’s epoché in a procedural context
with the goal to push the observer outside the margins of his usual
perception. A genuine dialogue is proposed as a positive attitude to
be practised. Dialogue is a genuine “thinking together” process which
is beyond simple discussion or debate.
3. Sensing the whole. In Scharmer’s theory, when a person moves from
seeing to sensing, perception begins to refer to the whole rather than
to isolated objects. In this sense the person closes the feedback loop
between the subjective experience of reality (what the system does to
us) and the participation in the process (what we are doing to our-
selves). There are four principles to feel a whole: creation of a
collective physical and relational space; deep diving in the living
presence of the phenomenon which suspends judgment; redirecting
attention to the connections that form the whole; opening the heart,
where heart is seen as the central point of a deeper emotional percep-
tion.43
4. Presencing – connecting to the source. Presencing is similar to sens-
ing, but it goes deeper in the perception and connects “to the source
of an emerging future whole – to a future possibility that is seeking to
emerge”.44 In this step there are two constitutive moments, in which
the subject is contemplatively passive: “letting go” of the past and
“letting come” of an emerging future. In a more concrete way pres-
encing answers two questions: “who is my Self?” and “what is my
43 Scharmer links the notions of “deeper knowledge” and “heart” to Eleanor Rosch and
Henri Bortoft’s cognitive research. See F.J. VARELA – E. THOMPSON – E. ROSCH, The
embodied mind. Cognitive science and human experience, MIT Press, Cambridge MA
1991; E. ROSCH – B.B. LLOYD (Eds.), Cognition and categorization, Erlbaum, Hills-
dale NJ 1978 and H. BORTOFT, Wholeness of Nature. Goethe’s Way of Science, Floris,
Edinburgh 1996.
44 SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 163.

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204 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Work?”. The “Self” is the highest self that transcends pettiness and
signifies one’s best future possibility and “Work” is the purpose of
human existence, what you are here on earth to do. Scharmer agrees
with Eleanor Rosch, a researcher in the field of cognitive psychology,
distinguishing between two kinds of knowledge: analytical
knowledge and primary knowledge. Presencing is a moment of pri-
mary knowledge of an interconnected whole, without time limits,
direct, open and bearing a non-instrumental value in itself. Scharmer
links presencing to the Heideggerian concept of the “self from an
emerging future” (German zukünftiges Dasein).45
5. Crystallizing vision and intentions. Presentiment “is connecting to
source. Crystallizing means sustaining that connection and beginning
to operate from it”.46 It is the clarification of the vision and intent of
the emerging future that is brought into reality. It is a narrative process
located in a given linguistic context. More precisely, Scharmer offers
four principles: create a clear and shared intention; tune in the new
intention logic and practise the letting go and letting come cognitive
processes; reinforce the call understood as Martin Buber’s “Grand
Will” sacrificing the arbitrary self-will;47 create environments that fa-
vor crystallization process.48
6. Prototyping strategic microcosms. Having established a connection
to the source and having clarified the sense in a vision, the next stage
in the U process is explore the future by doing and experimenting.
Prototyping means “modeling or simulating your best current under-
standings precisely so you can have a shared set of understandings
45 See M. HEIDEGGER, Sein und Zeit, as quoted in SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 477.
46 SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 195.
47 See M. BUBER, I and Thou. First Scribner Classics Edition, Scribner, New York 2000,
pp. 64-65.
48 See Idem, pp. 197-202.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 205
that enable communication, especially between people with very dif-
ferent discipline bases”.49 The concrete attitudes associated with
prototyping are: connect daily to the source; seize opportunities when
they arise; fail often to succeed sooner; protect the organizational pro-
totypes that are strategic but vulnerable microcosms.
7. Performing through practices and infrastructure. This stage is the
shift from small experiments to larger institutional organizational sys-
tems. It is about creating a systemic infrastructure of persons that
incorporates: vision, roles within teams, shared principles, practices,
tools, processes, learning facilities and work environments. The
whole process should go beyond the modern analytical Management
by Objectives logic of an Ego-system to an interconnected organiza-
tional Eco-system.50
4.1.5 Evaluation of Selected Models
As we have stated earlier, we will use three criteria to evaluate the
selection of Senge, Covey and Scharmer’s leadership-management mod-
els: 1. overcoming the pure Management by Objectives logic; 2.
compatibility with the four dimensions of the Salesian Youth Ministry
anthropology; 3. balance between the scientific nature of the theory and
its consolidated application in different cultural contexts.
The first aspect to be verified is if the theory and practice go beyond
the linear objectives logic. The following Scheme G makes a synthesis
of the authors’ key concepts linked to the different aspects that charac-
terize the paradigm shift from MBO to more integrated models:51
49 SENGE – SCHARMER, Presence, p. 147.
50 See SCHARMER, Theory U, pp. 220-226.
51 For a deeper analysis see VOJTÁŠ, Progettare e discernere, pp. 201-213.

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206 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Overcoming MBO
Senge
Covey
Scharmer
Systemic approach 5th discipline interdependence wholeness
Transformational
change
metanoia paradigm change U process
Participative com- organizational
plementarity
learning
public victory
organizational
ecosystems
From effectiveness
to greatness
Resource-based
management
organizational
learning
resource arche-
types
8th habit
balance between
production and
production ca-
pacity
learning from
emerging future
resources imply
creative re-
sponses
to challenges
Scheme G: Overcoming of the MBO
The second criterion of evaluation requires the theories to have an
integral anthropology. As a reference we consider the four-dimensional
model of the Salesian Youth Ministry. It consists in four fundamental
aspects which are mutually linked and complementary to one another:
education to the faith; education-culture; social experience; vocation. In
the following Scheme H we link the anthropological dimensions with the
key aspects of the organizational theories.
The third point of view considers the equilibrium between the theo-
retical scientific grounding and a significant application in different
cultures and contexts. All three models have a good diffusion all over the
world through the activities of consulting organizations (Society for Or-
ganizational learning, FranklinCovey, Presencing Institute). We can state
that the models are scientifically grounded as a result of doctoral research
and further developments and applications in the context of scientific
communities in different universities. Covey was a professor at Brigham

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 207
Young and Utah State universities. His model is based on an interdisci-
plinary research in the field of success manuals. Senge and Scharmer are
professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Senge’s model
is based on a research in organizational aspects of systems engineering.
Scharmer developed his model combining a philosophical basis with
cognitive psychology and organizational applications.
SEPP dimen-
sions
education to
the faith
education
and culture
social experi-
ence
Senge
Covey
deeper systemic
archetypes,
presencing
5 disciplines of
learning
shared leader-
ship
spiritual dimen-
sion, spiritual
intelligence
character educa-
tion through 8
habits
public victory
Scharmer
presencing,
source, spiritual
intelligence
deep transfor-
mation process
collective field
vocation
presencing
voice
Presencing
Scheme H: Integral Leadership Anthropology
Although the authors make a good contribution to the dialogue with
the Salesian leadership and project management model, it is necessary to
note some limitations of their theories. The first limit of Covey and Senge
regards the rigor-relevance balance.52 According to Senge’s critics, it
seems that his organizational learning model, having a good theoretical
grounding, was admired rather than practised.53 Differently Covey, want-
ing to be relevant to the practice, slipped especially in public lectures into
52 See S. KÜHL, Sisyphos im Management. Die vergebliche Suche nach der optimalen
Organisationsstruktur, Wiley, Weinheim 2002, pp. 32-36.
53 See WITZEL, A History of Management Thought, p. 224.

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208 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
simplifications and generalizations that did not take account of different
contexts and complexity of the change processes.54 Scharmer, trying to
bring a secular spiritual perspective, invented a “Grammar of the Social
Field” with many neologisms that made his theory cryptic and in some
way gnostic.55
4.2 Integral Methodological Framework
The Salesian Youth Ministry and the SEPP are expressed in four di-
mension of human growth. These “can be understood as inter-
communicating vessels that not only refer to one another ideally but nur-
ture one another. Although in any description they seem to follow one
after the other it is worth noting that they form a whole, a unity: each
lends its own specific nature to the whole but also receives direction and
certain original features from the others. They are inseparable and pre-
sent themselves in reciprocal manner such that one cannot develop
without explicit reference to the others. The logic behind them is that of
system, where the dynamics of one element provokes adaptation in all
the others”.56
This statement describes the wholeness of the four dimensions at the
level of thought. In this study, our concern is to propose a method that
puts the wholeness “on the practical plane of existence”.57 It is obvious
that the concrete educative and pastoral actions are always specific and
reflect concrete circumstances. Therefore, they cannot be planned in se.
The question is: how can we insert these single actions in an integral
ubiquitous framework that would have a concrete educative and pastoral
impact on the single action? We think that only an intellectual integration
is not enough, it is too abstract and distant. We need some more concrete
54 See CARLONE, The Ambiguous Nature of a Management Guru Lecture, pp. 89-112.
55 See J. REAMS, Illuminating the Blind Spot: An Overview and Response to Theory U, in
«Integral Review» 3 (2007) 5, 255.
56 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, pp. 148-149.
57 GC21 (1978), n. 14.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 209
operational and methodological paradigms that mediate between the
“wholeness mindset” and concrete actions (see Scheme I). Previously,
we have seen that the Management by Objectives methodological para-
digms are very analytical and favor a sectorial approach – every
dimension is parallel to the other. In the following sections we would like
to present an integral methodological framework that implies concrete
virtues of a minister and an updated series of methodological steps for an
integral SEPP planning. We will consider the contributions of Senge,
Covey and Scharmer who have taken seriously the wholeness paradigm
at a methodological level.
Educative and pastoral action – Decision Making
Cognitive and operational paradigms – Methodology
Systemic wholeness mindset – Anthropology
Scheme I: Levels of the “Wholeness Mindset”
4.2.1 Knowing the Whole
Peter Senge starts his famous publication with an analysis: “From a
very early age, we are taught to break apart problems, to fragment the
world. This apparently makes complex tasks and subjects more manage-
able, but we pay a hidden, enormous price. We can no longer see the
consequences of our actions; we lose our intrinsic sense of connection to
a larger whole. When we try to ‘see the big picture’, we try to reassemble
the fragments in our minds, to list and organize all the pieces. But, as
physicist David Bohm says, the task is futile – similar to trying to reas-
semble the fragments of a broken mirror to see a true reflection. Thus,
after a while we give up trying to see the whole altogether”.58 Senge then
58 SENGE, Fifth Discipline, p. 3.

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210 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
proposes the fifth discipline as an art and science of knowing the whole
through feedback processes, circular causality, delays in causality and
different organizational archetypes.
Knowing the systems is not the only way of seeing the whole. Howard
Gardner and Daniel Goleman’s multiple intelligences framework is also
shared by all three above mentioned authors. In this context, Scharmer
makes interesting references to Aristotle, seeing him as the greatest pio-
neer and innovator of Western inquiry and thought. Scharmer quotes and
puts into practice the notion of different ways, faculties or capacities in
the human soul to grasp the truth: “Science (episteme), according to Ar-
istotle, is limited to the things that cannot be otherwise than they are (in
other words, things that are determined by necessity). By contrast, the
other four ways and capacities of grasping the truth apply to all the other
contexts of reality and life. They are: art or producing (techne), practical
wisdom (phronesis), theoretical wisdom (sophia), and intuition or the ca-
pacity to grasp first principles or sources (nous)”.59 Covey, especially in
the 8th Habit, makes references to a general synthesis of the Greek gno-
seology speaking about logos (rational intelligence, analysis, abstract
thinking, language understanding); pathos (emotional intelligence that
determines effective communication, relationships and leadership);
ethos (ethical nature, personal credibility and trust that others are placing
in one’s consistency and competence). Ethos at its highest is linked with
the concept of spiritual intelligence, which is the ability of consciousness
to perceive and process meanings and find a vocation (voice).60 In this
sense, the authors go beyond the modern progress logic, they make ref-
erences to classical authors affirming “older is often better”.61
Senge’s systems theory and the notion of multiple intelligences are
integrated with contemporary research coming from the area of action
research, Gestalt psychology, Francisco Varela and Eleanor Rosch’s
59 SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 16.
60 SEE COVEY, 8th Habit, pp. 50-58 and 129-131.
61 Cfr. SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, pp. 177-179 and COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 18-21.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 211
cognitive psychology, but find also references with philosophical cogni-
tive concepts of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz and Johann Wolfgang
von Göthe.62 These points of view could be useful to enlarge the type of
analysis proposed in the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project. There
is not only a scientific (often only sociological) analysis of the situation.
The situation has to be interpreted in order to live a real dynamic of dis-
cernment and vocation discovery. An enlarged view on cognitive
processes can also help us understand better Don Bosco’s creative ways
of thinking and operating, overcoming a strict modern gnoseology. In
fact, a historical and critical view of Don Bosco, focusing mainly on facts
and rational reconstruction, very often misses the point of his leadership
genius (vocation, vision, narrations, charisma, etc.) and levels his action
mainly to managerial abilities. We propose these forms of knowledge:
- Knowledge of the whole that comes from the study of the phenomenon
from within. The knowledge of the whole is inspired by a growing eco-
logical awareness and by cognitive models that refer to
phenomenology, hermeneutics and the Gestalt theory. Scharmer uses
Kurt Lewin’s holistic term “field” in the sense of “the totality of coex-
isting facts, which are conceived of as mutually interdependent”.63
- Reflection in action developed by Chris Argyris and Donald A. Schön.
“Phrases like ‘think on your feet’, ‘keeping your wits about you’, and
‘learning by doing’ suggest not only that we can think about doing but
that we can think about doing something while doing it”.64 A reflective
practitioner goes beyond the axiom of the detachment from the object
62 See references of the authors to F.J. VARELA – E. THOMPSON – E. ROSCH, The Embodied
Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience, MIT Press, Cambridge MA 1991;
F.J. VARELA, Ethical Know-How: Action, Wisdom and Cognition. Edited by Timothy
Lenoir and Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1999 and
H. BORTOFT, Wholeness of Nature: Goethe’s Way of Science, Floris, Edinburgh 1996.
63 K. LEWIN, Resolving Social Conflicts & Field Theory in Social Science, as quoted in
SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 232.
64 D.A. SCHÖN, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professional Think in Action, as quoted
in SENGE, Fifth Discipline, p. 176.

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212 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
and moves towards a phenomenological epoché (blocking biases and
assumptions in order to let the phenomenon presents itself to the world
of the participant in terms of its own inherent system of meaning).
- Intuitive knowing integrates the analytical-rational knowledge.
Grounded on leadership studies and on examples of great thinkers who
were characterized by a synergy of reason and intuition, Senge aims to
foster brilliant insights which are converted into rationally verifiable
propositions.65 As people become familiar with systems thinking, long-
term effects, circles of causality, as an alternative language, they dis-
cover that many of their intuitions become explicable.66
- Narrative and imaginative knowledge. The narrative is very useful in
both interpretation of the situation and in the description of a vocation.
In the project design process, the narrative is useful for downloading
the mindsets. The linguistic analysis discovers the paradigms that guide
the action. In a second area, narratives and imaginative language are fit
to express the ideal of a vocation. An immediate translation of a voca-
tion into a series of objectives is a reductive operation and diminishes
the motivational impact.67 In this sense Don Bosco’s Memoirs of the
Oratory are an excellent example of vision formulation.
- Tacit knowledge regarded as an embodied knowledge that is simply
known and carried out in everyday actions.68 Scharmer and Senge use
the iceberg image to describe the levels of knowledge: explicit
knowledge is known and measurable over the surface; tacit knowledge
is already below the surface as embodied in behavioural and cognitive
65 See studies of Weston Agor and Henry Mintzberg in SENGE, Fifth Discipline, p. 412
and also the notion of intuition as a key connection between Covey’s and Scharmer’s
model in A.R. SZAMEITAT – H. NESTLER, Intuition as a Key Factor for Implementing
Theory U, in «The Systems Thinker» 21 (2011) 8, pp. 8-10.
66 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 157-158.
67 See SCHARMER, Theory U, pp. 120-122; 195-202; COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 130-135;
SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 136-156.
68 See SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 69.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 213
paradigms of persons; systemic structure knowledge is a deeper level
that is not yet embodied and transcends the individual. Ikujiro Nonaka
and Hirotaka Takeuchi state in their groundbreaking publication that
the real knowledge is a “situational living process that evolves in a spi-
raling movement between explicit and tacit dimensions of knowledge
held by individuals, teams, and the organization”.69
- Metaphysically based ethics. Although different scholars contest met-
aphysical references in organizational studies, our three authors
connect their methodological and ethical reasoning with “reality as it
is”. Covey’s ethical leadership presumes principles which are real, im-
mutable and unquestionably present laws of nature, e.g. the principle
of impartiality, justice and human dignity.70 These principles are the
measure of the adequacy for our paradigms. Senge similarly speaks of
“deep systemic structures” and Scharmer postulates a “source of social
field” but they use more caution and a “critical realism approach” than
Covey. The reality is the last instance for the commitment to the truth
seen as a whole.71
4.2.2 Enacting the Whole
Fragmentation of thought into analytical dimensions and objectives
in the MBO also produces projects divided into sectors which then trans-
late into operational lines and finally into isolated actions. Of course, we
cannot let go analytical thinking (it is very useful in specific situations),
we have to integrate the panorama of cognitive and operational methods
backing wisdom, intuitions, contemplation, concrete practical approach,
etc.
69 I. NONAKA – H. TAKEUCHI, The Knowledge-Creating Company, as quoted in
SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 70.
70 See COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 31-40 and ID., 8th Habit, pp. 46-49.
71 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 52-54; 92-94; 148-162 and SCHARMER, Theory U, pp.
243-245; 436-442.

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214 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
In recent organizational studies, we can observe a controversy with
the reflective learning model used by Dewey which became part of the
SEPP methodology through curricular theories.72 While the connection
between learning and experience is the strength of the theory, Scharmer
and Senge point out two shortcomings of observation-planning-execu-
tion cycles. The first is the fixation on superficial events, ignoring the
deeper levels of change processes. The second problem is the implicit
reactiveness of the action guided only by the challenges of the situation.
See Scheme J for the schematic illustration of the two models.73
Thinking
Doing
“Downloading”
mental models
Reenacting
habits
Thinking
Doing
Reactive Learning
Deeper levels of Learning
Scheme J: Deeper Reflective Learning
72 See SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, pp. 10-12; 86-92 and P.M. SENGE et al., The
Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, Doubleday, New York 1994, pp. 59-65. For Dewey’s the-
ory see J. DEWEY, How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking
to the Educative Process, D.C. Heath&Co., Boston 1933; ID., Experience and Educa-
tion, Macmillan, New York 1938.
73 SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, pp. 10-11.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 215
Having dealt with integral knowledge in previous paragraphs, now
we focus on the reactiveness of Dewey’s model. Overcoming reactive
behaviour by proactive action is the strong point of Covey’s model that
focuses more on vision than on events.74 Senge enumerates 11 paradoxes
of behaviour that does not take into account systemic-integral parame-
ters. He fundamentally describes how today’s problems come from
yesterday’s solutions.75 Adam Kahane, an integral leadership scholar,
sums up Senge and Scharmer’s position: “Planning, deciding, and mon-
itoring and controlling the ensuing process may be all that are needed in
situations where change is essentially about reacting to the new circum-
stances. [...] When you’re facing very difficult issues or dilemmas, when
very different people need to align very complex settings, and when the
future might really be very different from the past, a different process is
required”.76 Overcoming reactiveness begins with stopping the down-
loading or creating a space between stimulus and response. Then
proactive responses come into place acting “for” a big picture ideal, not
only “against” a concrete threat. These are the steps in the dynamic dis-
cernment process of vocation (voice), which appears when we respect,
develop, integrate and balance all the dimensions and intelligences.77
It this sense, we agree with the Frame of Reference that speaks about
the vocational dimension: “The three earlier dimensions converge on this
one, the ultimate horizon, reference point for our ministry”.78 Rector Ma-
jor Pascual Chávez states: “All ministry, and especially youth ministry,
is radically vocational in nature: the vocational dimension is what natu-
rally inspires it and is its natural outcome”.79 We therefore consider
“Salesian anthropology” dimensions not only as intertwined aspects of
74 See Covey’s first two habits: “be proactive” and “begin with the end in mind”.
75 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 57-67.
76 SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, p. 87.
77 See COVEY, 8th Habit, pp. 83-86.
78 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 160.
79 P. CHÁVEZ VILLANUEVA, “Come and see” (Jn 1,39). The need for vocation ministry,
as quoted in YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 161.

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216 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the educative project towards the development of the young people, but
also as organizational attention on different levels of depth. If lived to-
gether, they can reinforce one another and lead to creative solutions held
together by a vocational logic.
We can find some interesting remarks in this sense made by Egidio
Viganò, quoting Alberto Caviglia, in his letter on the SEPP: “In the Pre-
ventive System Don Bosco manifests a strong creative ability. His
creativity is not a creativity of elements. Creating from nothing is the
work of God alone. Don Bosco’s creativity is a creative synthesis which
is a sign of genius. I call it creative synthesis because its originality, its
beauty, its greatness does not reside so much in its novelty of particulars
but in the discovery of that idea which bands them into a new and results
into a whole”.80 Some pages further, Viganò develops the idea of the cre-
ativity linked to the “whole” with proactive, cognitive and spiritual
aspects: “Perhaps his early disciples spoke so enthusiastically in a lan-
guage which pre-dated the development of the science of education and
the inevitable changes have created a certain remissness, a certain slack-
ening for serious study which could have negative results on our identity.
Don Bosco instead incarnated in this ‘system’ his own sanctity. He con-
ceived pedagogy ‘beyond theory and beyond the narrow confines of
methodology’ to the realm of a wisdom which is based on the charism
and special gift of the Holy Spirit. In this manner ‘the originality’ of his
system has acquired a future dimension”.81
An integral or holistic way of action or organization is not only pro-
active, creative, deep, vocational and interdimensional. One can
recognize it from the fruits it bears: synergy and trust. Important is the
vocation and the correlated vision that is beyond the measurable and,
80 A. CAVIGLIA, Pedagogy of Don Bosco, as quoted in VIGANÒ, The letter on the Preven-
tive System, pp. 13-14.
81 VIGANÒ, The letter on the Preventive System, pp. 14-15.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 217
once received, permeates all with the “ubiquitous strategy”.82 The voca-
tion does not add one more element, but resets the interrelationships,
creates alignment and synergy of particular elements. The concept of
synergy translates operationally in the search for “third” solutions, which
are not a compromise but a solution that creatively puts together the best
energies of two or more (apparently) conflicting solutions.83 Speaking in
the language of Senge and Scharmer, who criticize visions that come
from a place of powerlessness, an authentic vocation works on the main
levers of the system, because of the deeper awareness of the people and
of the mobilizing of motivational energies.
Trust, as a second indicator of an integrated action, begins with the
ethical trustworthiness of the educator and only then evolves in the mu-
tual trust throughout the community. Trustworthiness is a key element
for creating synergy as well. Without trusting relationships, we hardly
manage to exchange rational opinions, not mentioning deeper levels of
dialogue, interpretation and discernment.84 This is the reason in the next
section we propose six ethical virtues that facilitate a deepening transfor-
mational process.85 The operational planning is preceded by the creation
of an Educative and Pastoral Community with trusting relationships. The
virtues and reciprocal trust are key elements for the passage of a project
“from paper to life”.
82 See COVEY, The Leader in Me, pp. 52-61.
83 See Covey’s 6th habit named “synergize” and the publication by COVEY, The 3rd Al-
ternative. Solving Life’s Most Difficult Problems, Free Press, New York 2011.
84 Relationship qualities in the key of loving kindness (amorevolezza) are the key to see
the whole Salesian Youth Ministry for Viganò. He agrees with Caviglia stating: “This
system of Don Bosco is the system of kindness or, for better words, kindness built into
a system”. See CAVIGLIA, Pedagogy of Don Bosco, as quoted in E. VIGANÒ, The letter
on the Preventive System, p. 15.
85 We will refer also to Jerome Vallabaraj‘s transformational and holistic education to
the faith, which is partially inspired by Senge’s organizational learning. See J.
VALLABARAJ, Animazione e pastorale giovanile. Un’introduzione al paradigma oli-
stico, LDC, Leumann (TO) 2008, pp. 115-128 and ID., Educazione catechetica degli
adulti. Un approccio multidimensionale, LAS, Roma 2009.

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218 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
4.3 Virtues of Salesian Leader-Manager
The theme of virtues is an application of a general idea of authentic
leadership: “We must be the change we seek to create”.86 The educational
transformation promoted by Educative and Pastoral Community occurs
first, and above all, in the interaction of people and not mainly in organ-
izational systems update. Who one is as a person is inseparable from who
he or she is as a leader, manager, educator or minister within an educa-
tional and pastoral project.
There are different terms that express the notion of more or less stable
characteristics of human behaviour: attitude, capacity, competence, dis-
cipline, habit, trait or virtue. We have chosen the last term “virtue” with
the following motivations: It is a term that expresses best the link be-
tween a certain behaviour and an ethical value. It is not only about an
effective or functional behaviour in order to get results, as the terms atti-
tude, capacity or competence may suggest. Other terms may have other
connotations that could imply misunderstandings: habit could be linked
to “routine”, discipline to “drill” and trait to “innateness” of the capaci-
ties.
The term “virtue” also implies an everyday lived excellence that re-
flects the shift in organizational studies from effectiveness to excellence
(greatness). Virtue-based approaches, or character education, seem to
turn back not only in organizational but also in educational sciences.87
86 It is a quote of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi taken as a paradigm in SENGE –
SCHARMER et al., Presence, p. 147.
87 See e.g. A. MACINTYRE, After Virtue, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame
1981; T. LICKONA, The return of Character Education, in «Educational Leadership»
51 (1993) 6-11; C. PETERSON – M.E.P. SELIGMAN, Character strengths and virtues. A
handbook and classification, American Psychological Association Press – Oxford Uni-
versity Press, Washington DC – New York 2004; H. GARDNER, Truth, Beauty, and
Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Age of Truthiness and Twitter,
Basic Books, New York 2011.

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We also do not have problems with a traditional Catholic term, although
some specifications have to be made.88
Personal virtues
Prosocial virtues
Mentality
1. Dynamic Fidelity
4. Abundance Mentality
Leadership 2. Call Discernment 5. Generative Accompaniment
Management 3. Operational Consistency 6. Synergic Integration
Scheme K: Virtues of a Salesian Leader-Manager
In the following section we will develop six virtues that are necessary,
a sine qua non condition for a functional Salesian leader or SEPP man-
ager. These virtues are important in terms of processes in organizational
setting, which does not mean they have to be prioritized to theological or
classical moral virtues in character education. Of course to build trust-
worthiness of a leader, a complete character ethics is to be put in place.
In this sense, these organizational virtues are cognitive, emotional and
operational character qualities that refer to a set of values and express
themselves in everyday organizational behaviour.
The set of organizational virtues is organized in Scheme K. The first
three personal virtues precede the prosocial virtues in order to respect the
inside-out logic: first comes the personal change that builds trustworthi-
ness of a person and only afterwards comes the leading of a community
or the management of greater social systems. There is also a certain sym-
metry between the personal and the prosocial virtues. The first virtues,
both personal and prosocial, favor the creation of a cognitive mindset;
88 We agree with Alexandre Havard’s argumentation for a leadership based on classical
aretology and anthropology, but we find his practical proposals less penetrating . See
A. HAVARD, Virtuous Leadership. An Agenda for Personal Excellence, Scepter Pub-
lishers, New York 2007.

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220 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the second virtues develop the aspect of leadership accentuating the emo-
tional dimension in the search for a vision to pursue and, finally, the third
virtues of both sets stress out the managerial operational and practical
qualities. The next paragraphs about the organizational will follow this
structure: definition of the virtue; references to Don Bosco’s legacy; the
internal dynamic and organizational implications; tools for training and
practice.
4.3.1 Dynamic Fidelity
The virtue of dynamic fidelity is the mentality and the connected at-
titudes of a person who is striving to know the surrounding reality
integrally in its complexity, who is inserted in the flow of tradition and
who searches spaces for creative intervention. Dynamic fidelity was in-
troduced by the Special General Chapter as a key concept in the Vatican
II renewal.89 In that context it was applied more on the restructuration of
the works and not on the underlying balanced mentality. The focus of the
‘70s was the necessary change that put aside the fidelity aspect. Dynamic
fidelity as we understand it here is the cognitive rooting in tradition and
open-minded attitude towards the future possibilities without rushing to
practical applications.
In the organizational field we can find references to Covey’s first
habit of proactivity, Senge’s discipline of mental models and Scharmer’s
attitude of looking at the reality with fresh eyes, capable of stopping the
downloading of the past solutions and stereotypes. Fidelity and dynamic
creativity produce the semantic space that describes the virtue. Fidelity
is to be understood both as a true relationship with the world (fidelity to
reality) and as continuity with the good cognitions, beliefs and practices
of the past (fidelity to tradition). The dynamic creativity is also meant in
89 See SGC (1972), nn. 192-273.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 221
two ways: the knowledge of the situation that uses all forms of the inte-
gral knowledge (cognitive creativity) and the search of possible
educational and pastoral interventions (operational creativity).
Don Bosco’s Legacy
In the beginning of his ministry in Turin, Don Bosco positioned him-
self as a creative innovator of various traditions. He operated a creative
synthesis from the interweaving of educational, spiritual and organiza-
tional mindsets. As a practitioner, he did not tend to design an
educational institution from scratch, but rather reorganized creatively
other currents of thought and experience. Don Cocchi’s educational
model of the Oratory was integrated with the influences of Filip Neri’s
and Lombard oratorian traditions. The same dynamic fidelity approach
was used by Don Bosco with the educational model of the Jesuit college
revived in the mid-nineteenth century, or with the Combonian mission-
ary method adapted to the reality of Latin America of the last decades of
the nineteenth century. At the level of spiritual traditions, he incorporated
more practically than theoretically St. Francis de Sales’ teachings with
St. Alphonsus de Liguori’s moral doctrine and with Philippine or Vin-
centian spirituality. His managerial style combines a fundamental rural
family base upgraded with the aspects of modern managerial thought,
such as a strong entrepreneurship, economic autonomy, expansive ca-
pacity, motivational ability and the striving for the conquest of a
significant social role.90
Pietro Braido summarizes the operative mentality of Don Bosco:
“The project of Don Bosco, beyond certain accidental stiffness, has to be
taken not as a ‘closed system’, but as an ‘open system’, pro-active and
not re-active. It is able to maintain the internal formal and organizational
90 For further details, see the analysis of Don Bosco’s leadership and management qual-
ities in Chapter 3.

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222 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
equilibrium and at the same time to grow in complexity and differentia-
tion to more advanced equilibria, which allow an intense and enriching
transactional relationship with the environment”.91 Dynamic fidelity is
also one of the most important virtues of the first generation of Salesians
who were called to be faithful to the educational heritage of Don Bosco
in many contexts that differed significantly from Valdocco. Historical
studies show that the second Rector Major Michael Rua was strongly
characterized by dynamic fidelity to the Salesian educational method. He
left ample margins for creative action in the Oratories developments, in
the missions in Amazonia, Patagonia, Middle East, Africa and India.92
Internal Dynamic
The Salesians of Don Bosco, taking inspiration from the Founder, de-
fine in the Special GC the ideal criterion for every renewal as “Don
Bosco in the Oratory” where he is seen as “faithful and dynamic, docile
and creative, firm but at the same time flexible”. The formation of a com-
bined mentality of fidelity and creativity will be developed in dialogue
with the three theories of leadership that offer some insight and important
balance.
Dynamic fidelity is close to Covey’s concept of proactivity which is
the first habit and the starting point of the whole growth model. It is
linked to the interdependence paradigm that recognizes the freedom of a
mature person with strong ties that is inserted to a concrete context. This
way, the dynamic fidelity goes beyond a pure mentality of dependence,
91 P. BRAIDO, Il progetto operativo di Don Bosco e l’utopia della società cristiana, LAS,
Roma 1982, p. 29.
92 A scientific conference on the person of Michael Rua concludes its deep analysis, stat-
ing that Rua’s leadership developed original traits of creative fidelity that interpreted
the style of the Don Bosco. See G. LOPARCO – S. ZIMNIAK (Eds.), Don Michele Rua
primo successore di Don Bosco. Tratti di personalità, governo e opere (1888-1910),
Atti del 5° Convegno Internazionale di Storia dell’Opera Salesiana Torino 28 ottobre
– 1° novembre 2009, LAS, Roma 2010, pp. 1039-1040.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 223
which repeats the patterns of the past in an absolute loyalty. The inde-
pendence mentality is also insufficient, because of the subject’s isolation
in a fiction of pure creative freedom.93
Senge and Scharmer’s theoretical framework about creativity refers
to the work with mental models. In this setting, dynamic fidelity could
be linked with a constant disposition to consider reality as complex and
interconnected. In the search for truth that has operative implications dy-
namic fidelity searches in the complexity of the world for strategic
leverages with the contributions of the analytical, rational, intuitive, nar-
rative, tacit knowledge and of reflection in action.
In the Salesian Youth Ministry publications we can find some close
positions on the matter. Juan E. Vecchi and Elisabetta Maioli, writing
about the educative and pastoral projects for young animators, call the
dynamic fidelity a “mentality of change “ and suggest the animators fuel
the tension between security and crisis in order to bring a group to
change.94 The closest position to the virtue of dynamic fidelity is found
in Giuseppe Groppo’s module about the “integral promotion” within the
publication about educative and pastoral project. Groppo proposes pro-
activity as opposed to reactivity and describes it as a trait of emotional
stability, cognitive realism, inner security, humor that relativizes rigidity
and security in carrying out choices in reality. Proactivity is also con-
nected to a wise creativity that comes from experience, intuition, docility,
sagacity, discursive rationality, foresight, carefulness and a realistic
sense of risk. Groppo then connects proactivity with the theological vir-
tue of hope that “becomes a way of life according to the fundamental
93 There are some limits of Covey’s notion of proactivity: risk of activism and an absence
of concrete value systems that lead freedom in choosing concrete actions. See also
Senge’s critics in SENGE, Fifth discipline, pp. 20-21.
94 See E. MAIOLI – J.E. VECCHI, L’animatore nel gruppo giovanile. Una proposta “Sale-
siana”, LDC, Leumann (TO) 1988, pp. 133-147.

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224 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
trust in God’s faithfulness to his promises”.95 This theological hope be-
comes mature, when the Christian has already moved from reactivity to
proactivity. Then, and only then, hope can be a component of Christian
maturity.
Tools and Practices
Dynamic fidelity is seen as a cognitive mentality that is part of a deep
and sustainable process of change. A practical approach implies not only
the description of the internal dynamic, but also some concrete tools to
practise that virtue. However, it should be stressed out that a virtue is not
“created” by using tools and activities because, saying it with Senge, it
is located at the level of systemic structures, not at the level of observable
events. In this sense we propose some basic tools in a very concise form:
1. Listen to your language in order to become more self-conscious about
actual mental models. We can distinguish two types of language: re-
active and pro-active. In the reactive mindset, the emphasis is on the
description of the external influences of human action that imple-
ments a deterministic paradigm (“I cannot”, “if only”, “I must”,
“They won’t allow”, etc.) In proactive language, the emphasis is
placed on decisions that are rooted in motivating visions (“I want”, “I
choose”, “I can”, “Let’s look on our alternatives”, etc.).96
2. Cultivate all types of knowledge regarding the situation, tradition,
community and oneself: analytical-rational knowledge of empirical
studies about the current situation or historical studies that analyze
the tradition; listening to the intuitive knowledge of others that in-
volves imagination and narrative knowledge; reflection in action with
analysis of one’s mindsets, motivations and stereotypes that influ-
enced the concrete action; search for tacit knowledge patterns.
95 G. GROPPO, Promozione integrale, in J.E. VECCHI – J.M. PRELLEZO (Eds.), Progetto
Educativo Pastorale. Elementi modulari, LAS, Roma 1984, p. 129.
96 See COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 76-90.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 225
3. Study different educational and pastoral models in their cultural and
historical context. Historical and hermeneutical study of practical
models foster critical thinking giving instruments that help under-
stand decisions, mental models, historical development of thought
and the history of the effects of ideas.97
enforces the project hinders the project
internal
strength
weakness
external
opportunity
threat
Scheme L: SWOT Matrix
4. Use alternative representations of the analysis of the situation, such
as the SWOT matrix (see Scheme L), developed by Albert S. Humph-
rey, which divides the elements into the fields of strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities or threats.98 Other useful tools are dialogue
visualization techniques, story walls, mind mapping, visual artifacts
design, systemic flow mapping etc.
4.3.2 Call Discernment
The first virtue of dynamic fidelity creates an open cognitive mental-
ity that facilitates many types of knowledge. Discernment, as a second
step, accentuates the leadership and orienting part of the process. It is
97 See e.g. Lenti, Stella or Braido’s historical critical studies about Don Bosco and the
Salesian tradition evolution.
98 See e.g. L.G. FINE, The SWOT Analysis: Using your Strength to overcome Weaknesses,
Using Opportunities to overcome Threats, Kick it LLC, Charleston WV 2010.

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226 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
sensitive to the links between single pieces of information, interprets
them spiritually with a deep and unifying view and finally tries to make
a vocation emerge. Discernment of the calls is a virtue of personal lead-
ership; it moves from the cognitive domain to the search for direction. It
consists in open, deep and unifying listening to different calls of the re-
ality seen as connected to oneself, in a way that welcomes a concrete
vocation letting aside various disturbing voices.
The profound harmony of the whole is also understood as beauty, in
terms of aesthetics. In the sense of Gardner, it is good to remember that
the whole is designed with all the intelligences. It comes from different
types of knowledge and tends operatively to a vocation that expresses
itself in a vision of the future and afterwards orientates the concrete
choices. Discernment accentuates the passive component, discipleship,
as the man listens to the Spirit and the reality that precedes and exceeds
him.
Call discernment is in connection with the theories of leadership, es-
pecially with Covey’s second habit (begin with the End in Mind), with
the personal vision creation within the discipline of personal mastery of
Senge, which in turn, correlates with Scharmer’s design phases of sens-
ing the whole, presencing and crystallizing of a vision.99
Don Bosco’s Legacy
As we have seen in the third Chapter, Don Bosco created a harmony
between leadership and management in his life and in his educational
model. The personality of Don Bosco was built around a strong leader-
ship centre. If one is not careful, the image of Don Bosco could be
falsified by a charismatic and visible aspect of leadership that consisted
99 Darmanin, by referring to the categories of Covey, sees the Ignatian discernment as an
exercise of leadership that empowers the emotional intelligence in the analysis of the
spiritual experiences of consolation and desolation. See A. DARMANIN, Ignatian Spir-
ituality and Leadership in Organizations Today, in «Review of Ignatian Spirituality»
36 (2005) 2, 8.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 227
in a powerful vision involving and energizing many people. The virtue
of discernment is the internal aspect of the same authentic leadership.
Don Bosco, only by being disciple and steward to a worldwide vision
beyond his person, could become a great leader in the accompaniment of
others.
Personal discernment is present in many moments of Don Bosco’s
life. It begins with the dream of nine years that brings the question of
vocation. The vision of him being a priest and educator crystallizes
slowly in the adolescence, during the seminary years and also in the first
years in Turin. Since the tasks and the concreteness of his vocation were
changing in different stages of his life, he learned to link the process of
discernment with two fundamental attitudes: trust in Providence and dy-
namic fidelity. At first, he discerned his personal vocation. Being
ordained a priest, he sought to understand the concrete way of the com-
mitment to the abandoned young people. Later in the years of the
wandering oratory, he discerned step by step the concrete way to put his
educational model into practice. Afterwards the building process of the
Oratory of Valdocco was to be determined. Subsequently, as the director
in the three oratories in Turin, he searched for the right formula other lay
and priest cooperators’ involvement in the education of the young. The
virtue of discernment is lived even later in the expansion of the Salesian
work in Piedmont with the boarding school structure. Then came the
search for the shaping of the Congregation and, ultimately, for the for-
mula of global expansion.
Among the typical features of Don Bosco’s discernment, along with
the trust in Providence and the dynamic fidelity, one can notice dreams,
dialogues and narrations as typical forms of the vision formulation. This
form of knowledge developed a high grade of motivational transfer, con-
veying the beauty of an integrated life through the vocation to holiness
lived with and for young people. The wholeness of Don Bosco’s vocation
and vision was also expressed in the integration of the novissimi (lat. “the
last things”) and the question of eternal salvation in the concreteness of

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228 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
everyday life. Time and eternity harmonized in his vision and the narra-
tive formulae enforced the wholeness of his “project”.
Internal Dynamic
The personal discernment is preceded by a mentality of dynamic fi-
delity that makes the person stand in the midst of different types of
knowledge about the situation, traditions, structures and themselves. In-
spired by the theories of leadership, we describe the discernment
dynamic in four related steps. First the person has to “feel the whole”,
which not only means thinking about the connections among traditions,
knowledge and oneself, but also feeling existentially involved with the
situation that produces a cognitive empathy. Secondly, entering into si-
lence is required. The person focuses on the source of the situations and
actions remaining existentially involved. The silent focus is the contem-
plative attitude of an open heart, seen as the centerpoint, not only as a
symbol of emotions.100 In the third step the spiritual “letting come” atti-
tude is essential. The accepted vocation is a gift of the Spirit that brings
together elements of truth, beauty and goodness. In the final fourth step
the person describes the vocation in a symbolic, narrative, engaging,
cross-disciplinary and short form. This vision thus becomes a point of
reference for personal identity.101
100 See references to the “knowledge of the whole” by Bortoft, Scharmer, Eleanor
Rosch’s cognitive psychology and Gestalt psychology in SCHARMER, Theory U, pp.
148-159 and H. BORTOFT, Wholeness of Nature. Goethe’s Way of Science, Floris, Ed-
inburgh 1996. See also the importance of different types of knowledge during
discernment process in A. CENCINI, Discernimento in J.M. PRELLEZO – G. MALIZIA –
C. NANNI (Eds.), Dizionario di Scienze dell’Educazione. Seconda edizione riveduta e
aggiornata, LAS, Roma 2008, pp. 333-334.
101 COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 107-139; G.P. QUAGLINO, La vita organizzativa. Difese, collu-
sioni e ostilità nelle relazioni di lavoro, Fabbri, Milano 2007, pp. 370-385; L.
HIRSCHHORN, The Psychology of Vision, in E.B. KLEIN – F. GABELNICK – P. HERR
(Eds.), The Psychodynamics of Leadership, Psychosocial Press, Madison CT 1998, pp.
109-126.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 229
In transactional project management, the challenges of the situation
are described first. Afterwards objectives are set to overcome the diffi-
culties of the current state of things. Finally, interventions and activities
are planned in a linear logic for every objective. In transformative
change, however, the vision is used in a constant correction of the oper-
ation course, as shown in Scheme M. 102 A transition plan may also exist,
but it does not eliminate the discernment awareness to the feedbacks
coming from reality. These are “calling” to be recognized and a personal
and organizational learning has to take place. Ultimately discernment
recognizes the reality as a whole, puts it in relation with the vision and
corrects the course of action or its accents. Discernment is therefore nec-
essary not only in the beginning of the planning but as constant attention
during the execution of a project.
In the SEPP management model, we can find some elements that con-
verge with the transformational change and the discernment model. The
Handout No. 1, speaking about the SEPP methodology, proposes the in-
terpretation of the situation: “We must therefore assess the facts
according to their ability to make it easier or more difficult for young
people to grow their humanity in faith”.103 Unfortunately, more concrete
indications for interpretation are lacking and the entire category is over-
flown with a list of General Chapter 21 conclusions. The 2nd edition of
the Frame of Reference repeated the need of interpretation, but offered
102 Inspired by D. ANDERSON – L.A. ANDERSON, Beyond Change Management. How to
Achieve Breakthrough Results Through Conscious Change Leadership, Pfeiffer, San
Francisco 22010, p. 66.
103 DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Progetto Educativo Pastorale. Metodolo-
gia, Sussidio 1, [s.e.], Roma 1978, p. 14.

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230 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
the concept of a vision of the future that must be open, inspiring, detailed
and positive.104
Objectives
Vision
Current reality
TRANSACTIONAL CHANGE
Current reality
TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
Course correction
Learning
Wake up calls:
Feedback telling
you to learn and
course correct
Scheme M: Transformational and Transactional Change
A significant emphasis is offered by Alberich and Vallabaraj in their
holistic model of catechetics. Speaking of interpretation, they emphasize
the impossibility of operational decisions deduction directly from the
analysis of the situation. The authors propose discernment in order to
analyze the meanings, look for the causes and connections to get to a new
awareness about the situation.105
104 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 22000, pp. 171 and 173.
105 E. ALBERICH – J. VALLABARAJ, Communicating a Faith That Transforms. A Handbook
of Fundamental Catechetics, Kristu Jyoti Publications, Bangalore 2004, p. 271.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 231
The method of discernment suggested by Domènech and Cereda de-
clares, of course, the term discernment, but it is perceived as a whole
design method. Cereda proposes the creation of a personal vision in an
integral way: “It is important that this vision for the future is not de-
scribed as something intellectual or cold, but as something you are
enthusiastic about that is attractive and encouraging, that corresponds
with your desires and expectations, that shows the possibilities that can
result from the efforts you make. The more the goal attracts you and fills
you with enthusiasm the more determined you will be to take the neces-
sary steps to reach it”.106
Tools and Practices
Creating daily space and time for silence and listening is required for
the growth in the virtue of discernment. In the language of Scharmer, it
comes to creating fourfold physical space, time space, relational space
and intentional space. This still environment allows persons and commu-
nities to plunge into the depth of experience, to shift attention from
events to the source of the dynamic, and finally, to open the heart. There
are different tools inspired by the Jesuit spirituality,107 but we focus here
on a small set of simple and concrete tools:
1. Writing down a personal vision by analyzing one’s objectives. The
question to ask is if the objective is a real purpose in itself or just a
means to get to another goal. The chain of these purifying questions
and answers should get one to the last inherent desire that can be the
basis of vision and is an “end” in itself. The vision conceived in this
way has the attributes of definitiveness (end in itself) and concrete-
ness (tied to a concrete personal desire or passion).108
106 See CEREDA, The Personal Plan of Life. Ongoing Formation.
107 See e.g. M.E. THIBODEAUX, Reimagining the Ignatian Examen. Fresh Ways to Pray
from Your Day, Loyola Press, Chicago 2015.
108 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 136-139.

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232 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
2. Create the personal vision with the visualization of the future, imag-
ining one’s funeral, retirement or other anniversaries of life, in a sort
of “exercise of the good death”. Within this imagination, one can re-
call dear or loved people that sum up one’s life and legacy in order to
distinguish the important objectives or activities from the instrumen-
tal ones.109
3. Writing meditation is proposed by Cereda with the following motiva-
tion: “taking notes, writing down what in the Spirit you have seen as
the plan of your life. It is a methodology of the spiritual life that our
Salesian tradition has always had recourse to and that is effective in
the unfolding of the journey. You can refer to what you have written
at any time in order to check progress. Writing is a means to prevent
you being superficial, to help you with your reflection and prayer, to
reach the depth of your life”.110
4.3.3 Operational Consistency
After the proposal of dynamic fidelity, which creates a necessary pre-
condition for change process, and the virtue of discernment, which
concretizes a vocation in a formulated vision, we focus on the operational
and managerial aspect. The third and final step of personal change is syn-
thesized in the virtue of operational consistency that is defined as the
implementation of the vision in everyday reality. The consistency as a
virtue accentuates, therefore, the skills, attitudes and deeper practices of
personal management. The triad of personal virtues describes a sustain-
able change process in three phases: 1. the creation of an open and
realistic mentality; 2. the reception of a vocation which is formulated in
109 The praxis of the “exercise of good death” was abandoned by the Salesians as an
anachronism and is instead proposed in a secular management setting in COVEY, 7
Habits, pp. 96-97.
110 CEREDA, The Personal Plan of Life. Ongoing Formation.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 233
a vision; 3. the harmonization of everyday life around and according to
the vision.
Operational consistency is connected with the SEPP’s third step of
“operational planning” that plans and carries out policies, interventions,
strategies and activities. The fact of describing a virtue will guide us to
provide not only some techniques, but also a connected ethical reasoning.
In this sense, operational consistency will have references to Covey’s
third habit “Put first things first” and to Senge’s discipline of personal
mastery, which address both the implementation of the vision in the re-
ality of every day. Covey emphasizes more the aspect of time-
management and Senge focuses instead on the creative tension between
the vision and the current reality.111
Don Bosco’s Legacy
Referring to the lived harmony between leadership and management
in Don Bosco, we can remember some of the binomials that express the
connection between his visionary leadership and the organizational ra-
tionality, order and operational harmony. “Manual work – Trust in
Providence”, “Prudent management – Powerful dream” and “Stability
management – Expansion of a vision” create the coordinates for the
many educative, pastoral and organizational activities inserted and
fuelled from the creative tension between his vision and the reality. Also
when Don Bosco narrates his dreams or visions, an operational transla-
tion follows immediately. After the dream of nine years, he tries out an
experimental apostolate with his fellow countryside boys, forming a
“kind of oratory”. At the end of his life, when he remembered the begin-
nings of the Oratory, he wrote a letter from Rome and after his return a
111 Cfr. COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 146-182; SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 129-162 and Covey’s
publication on operative consistency S.R. COVEY – A.R. MERRILL – R.R. MERRILL,
First Things First, Simon & Schuster, New York 1994.

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234 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
series of interventions in Valdocco were carried out according to the vi-
sion.112
In the Salesian educational model, we can correlate the operational
consistency with the so-called “pedagogy of duties”. Don Bosco’s narra-
tives, especially the Memoirs of the Oratory, describe his mindset, where
the vocational discernment is often linked with a list of concrete pro-
posals to be carried out. After describing the important place of duties in
the biographies of the Oratory boys Dominic Savio, Michael Magone
and Francis Besucco, Peter Braido sums up the argumentation: “The ped-
agogy of duty and work is substantially part of the entire life of an
educational institution, with its continuous succession of various occu-
pations and moments of recreation, tight rhythm of activities in the
classroom, workshops and study halls, with eagerness to achieve one’s
best, emulating others, all the while accompanied by the example and
energy of the educators”.113
Internal Dynamic
Operational consistency is the virtue that implements the vision in the
daily life. It is important to emphasize that it is not a simple linear trans-
lation of the vision into smaller separated operating units (lines of action,
interventions, activities, etc.). Following the integral paradigm, opera-
tional consistency finds itself in the tension between the vision and the
current reality. In the Salesian setting, a proposal by Vecchi and Maioli
to the young animators states the need to feed the tension between utopia
and the search for practical mediations.114
It is important to live all three personal virtues, in order to be and act
in this “uncomfortable” position of “tension”. If one forgets the dynamic
fidelity mentality and does not make the vision concrete and present, he
112 See J.M. PRELLEZO, Valdocco nell’Ottocento tra reale ed ideale (1866-1889). Docu-
menti e testimonianze, LAS, Roma 1992, pp. 273-276; 287-307.
113 BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, p. 237.
114 See MAIOLI – VECCHI, L’animatore nel gruppo, p. 146.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 235
is likely to fall in the evasion strategies, mentioned by Senge: 1. vision
erosion lowers the tension by putting away the challenging parts of the
vision; 2. with conflict manipulation we try to manipulate ourselves into
greater effort by focusing on not wanted consequences of failure; 3. the
willpower strategy, instead, tries to psych ourselves up to overpower all
forms of resistance.115 Commitment to the truth is suggested by Senge as
a positive solution that helps to live creatively the tension between the
vision and the reality. Senge’s view on creative tension is a good start,
but we need a more concrete set of instruments to make the vision hap-
pen.
The simplest and most straightforward instrument for operative plan-
ning is a to-do list. Covey refers to it as the 1st generation of time
management because a to-do list translates the whole vision as a series
of often randomly sorted tasks of different nature. The 2nd generation of
time management already implements the list within the calendar, the 3rd
makes a leap forward by grouping tasks according to priorities and di-
viding them in successions of long, medium and short-term objectives.
These are implemented accordingly in the calendar. The 4th generation
of time management proposed by Covey not only plans the objectives
and results, but also manages all needed resources. This is the application
of his conception of effectiveness: the harmony between “production”
and “production capacity”.116
Time management is a strong point of Covey’s model and so he offers
other useful categories and distinctions. A second upgrade is the division
of tasks between urgent and important. The urgent ones are within the
logic of reactivity and demand an immediate response. Urgent tasks
“push the buttons” of social pressure, stereotypes, previous commitments
115 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 146-147.
116 See COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 149-172. It seems that the SEPP and other Salesian projects
lack prioritization of objectives. Considered according to Covey’s categories, Salesian
projects are the second generation of management at best. See e.g. the operative guide-
lines of the previous General Chapters: CG25 (2002), nn. 14-16; 31-36; 46-48; 56-62;
64; 72-84 or CG26 (2008), nn. 7-22; 31-51; 60-78; 85-97; 104-113.

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236 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
or manipulation. Important tasks are instead in the logic of creative fi-
delity as they have a direct relationship with the vision and need to be
brought in the current situation. Important tasks’ fulfilment can be pro-
crastinated but at elevated long-run costs. For the interrelationship
between the two types of tasks see Scheme N describing some typical
activities.117
Important
Not im-
portant
Urgent
I
crises
pressing problems
deadline-driven projects
III interruptions, some
calls, some mail, some re-
ports, some meetings
proximate pressing matters
popular activities
Not urgent
II prevention, capacity
building, relationship build-
ing, recognizing new
opportunities, prayer
planning, recreation
IV trivia, busy work
some mail, some calls
time wasters, compensa-
tions
pleasant activities
Scheme N: Important and Urgent Activities Matrix
Covey, in its proposal for fourth-generation management, being con-
sistent with what was stated before, emphasizes the role of Quadrant II
(important and not urgent activities). The activities in Quadrant I are im-
portant and urgent, and thus attract and mobilize many personal
117 See COVEY, 7 Habits, p. 151. See also M. KROGERUS – R. TSCHÄPPELER, The Decision
Book. Fifty models for strategic thinking, Profile Books, London 2011, p. 10. See also
analogous tools such as PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM
(Critical Path Method) in Y.Y. HAIMES, Risk Analysis, Systems Analysis, and Covey’s
Seven Habits, in «Risk Analysis» 21 (2001) 222 and H. KERZNER, Project Manage-
ment. A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Wiley, New
Jersey 102009, pp. 494-500.

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resources almost automatically. Quadrants III and IV refer to not im-
portant activities, so discipline and determination have to be applied
constantly in order to spend less resources and recover time, energy and
motivations for the activities related to important issues. Quadrant II is
called the effectiveness quadrant because there are activities that nurture
the mentality of dynamic fidelity, discernment, creation of the vision,
capacity and relationship building, etc. Covey’s time management strat-
egy suggests to move the resources allocated to Quadrants III and IV to
the important activities of Quadrant II in a logic of prevention of Quad-
rant I crises and capacity building for unforeseen issues.
Operational consistency, as a personal operational virtue, is not far
from the description of the attitude of responsibility described in the
“Personal Project of Life”: “It is easy to see that it is possible to pass a
whole life-time caught up in a whole variety of activities and not be
aware of the obstacles that are blocking personal development. You can
be living your vocation, following the rules, accepting roles, allowing
yourself to be carried along by events, following the current fashions, the
accepted ideas, other people’s values. It is as though you had all the nec-
essary material available to build your house, but not having any plan
you haphazardly pile one thing on top of another. On the other hand, with
a personal plan, guided by the Spirit of God and by His grace you take
charge of your own growth, using your freedom to assume your identity
as a consecrated salesian apostle, priest or brother, and so becoming what
God is calling you to be”.118
Tools and Practices
Operational consistency can be put into practice with many tools.
Management handbooks and self-help publications are full of advices
and tools. We prefer to stick with Covey’s model because of the linearity
of the argumentation and the interconnectedness of the virtues within his
118 CEREDA, The Personal Plan of Life. Ongoing Formation.

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238 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
model. There are some practices in the logic of the 4th generation of time
(and resource) management:
1. Move out from Quadrant III, investing the focus, motivation and time
resources from urgent issues to important ones. It is basically an ex-
ercise of assertiveness, meaning to say “no” to different pressures of
the environment, organizational stereotypes, reactive mental models
and manipulative behaviour. Saying a decisive and constant “no” can
only occur if there is a previous concrete “yes” to the personal vision
that encompasses the important elements of one’s life and vocation.
2. Invest preventively in the Quadrant II, turning your attention to the
discernment, vision fulfillment, relationships care, talent develop-
ment, study of new opportunities and to the renewal of production
capacity. Typical Quadrant II activities are the base for sustainable
project management according to the deep transformation paradigm
that goes beyond crisis management. Preventive investments help to
avoid activism and “fixes that fail” paradox.
3. Plan weekly involving all your roles and priorities for each role. Man-
agement experts suggest the day is too small a unit to achieve a
balanced and holistic investments in all one’s roles. A weekly plan-
ning, therefore, could be carried out incorporating the vision,
identifying the roles, setting priorities for each role, including the in-
vestments into the renewal of personal resources.
4.3.4 Abundance Mentality
The virtue of dynamic fidelity creates a mentality needed for sustain-
able personal leadership and management. The abundance mentality, in
a similar way, is the grounding for sustainable caring relationships that
build a mutual responsibility in a community. We define it as the men-
tality and linked attitudes related to a person who recognizes the
interrelationships between different persons as an opportunity for syn-
ergy. Abundance mentality is built when God’s personal love and trust

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 239
in his providence are experienced in a habitual way. It “flows out of a
deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that
there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody”.119 The abun-
dance mentality is the opposite to the mentality of scarcity, which leads
to reactive behaviour and deep competitive zero-sum mindset. A person
with a scarcity mentality deduces their sense of worth from being com-
pared to others, and someone else’s success, to some degree, means their
failure. Mentality of abundance is also near to Senge’s systemic thinking
understood as the mentality of seeing the whole rather than separate en-
tities, and the dynamic of change rather than static images of reality.120
The Salesian documents do not define directly the mentality of abun-
dance, as if it were automatic for a Christian to think and live according
to it. The post-Vatican II terms that recur frequently are sharing, service,
shared responsibility, communion, community, experience of the
Church, etc. The Educative and Pastoral Community is an important con-
cept that expresses the abundance mentality and occupies a significant
place in the structure of the GC21 documents preceding the treatise on
the Educative and Pastoral Projects.121 The Frame of Reference of Sale-
sian Youth Ministry states: “Evangelization is always an ecclesial
activity. The first key element for realizing Salesian Youth Ministry is
the community involving young people and adults, parents and educators
in an atmosphere of family, so that it becomes an experience of the
Church. It implies a communion whereby the different gifts and services
are seen as complementary. There is mutual reciprocity in the service of
the same mission”.122 It is interesting to see the authors of the Frame of
Reference understand that such an EPC “demands a new mature sense of
119 COVEY, 7 Habits, p. 220.
120 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 68-73. For a more detailed description of the two
mentalities see L. FREEBAIRN-SMITH, Abundance and Scarcity Mental Models in Lead-
ers, ProQuest, Ann Arbor MI 2011.
121 See Const., articles 44-48; CG21 (1978), n. 62 and GC24 (1996), nn. 61-67.
122 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 116.

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240 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
belonging and a new mentality, a new way of thinking, judging and act-
ing, a new way of confronting problems and a new style of
relationships”.123 In the following paragraphs we will develop some basic
traits of this mentality.
Don Bosco’s Legacy
The cooperative abundance mentality is evident in Don Bosco’s way
of building relationships. The search for cooperation is obvious in the
later years when he was launching a vast movement of persons of differ-
ent proveniences and vocations for the education of the disadvantaged
and abandoned youth. Most of the times he tried to find a common plat-
form of motivations to promote his projects, appealing both to Christian
values and humanistic principles.
Let us go back in time to see his mentality in its shaping during the
first years of his mission in Turin. Don Bosco, as well as Fr. Cocchi, the
founder of the first oratory in Turin, tried not to put his youth ministry
activities as an opposition to classical ecclesiastical roles. They were
seeking support, cooperation and resources not yet mobilized.124 An
abundance mentality became a prerequisite for the rise of a new type of
priests who did not identify with a given social status, but united them-
selves through a common pastoral project for the future. Within this
fledgling group, Don Bosco was trying to keep clear the autonomy of his
work and at the same time to help one another.125
At the base of the cooperation and a deep abundance mentality there
is a lived spiritual belief in divine providence that accompanies and
guides human efforts. God provides for the salvation of everyone and
everyone contributes with his work to the building of God’s Kingdom.
Don Bosco’s combination of hard work and trust in Providence, as we
123 Idem, p. 118.
124 See STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia economica, pp. 394-395.
125 See BRAIDO, Il prete dei giovani, vol. 1, pp. 197-199.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 241
have seen in the previous chapter, is a concrete synthesis of dynamic fi-
delity and abundance mentality.
Internal dynamic
The abundance mentality wants to be a virtue of deep awareness of
the value of relationships, trust and the community understood systemi-
cally as a whole that is larger than the sum of the individuals and where
everyone can find their right place. This virtue is a mentality that pre-
cedes cooperation and shared responsibility strategies in educative and
pastoral projects. Abundance mentality does not identify itself with the
love or charity, it is just a paradigmatic assumption that creates a base
for cooperation. In this sense, Antonio Domènech talks about the sense
of community as an attitude to be developed during the Salesian pastoral
formation.126
References to the leadership theories can be summarized in two
points: the systemic vision of reality proposed by Senge and Covey’s
win/win strategy which incorporates concepts of transactional analysis.
Senge develops 11 laws of systems thinking127 that give a good theoreti-
cal foundation to Covey’s fourth habit “Think Win/Win” which, in turn,
enriches Thomas Gordon’s transactional scheme.128 According to Covey,
human interactions have six basic paradigms: “Win/Lose” (competitive
mentality), “Lose/Win” (losing mentality), “Lose/Lose” (revenge men-
tality), “I Win” (self-centered mentality), “Win/Win” (mutual benefit
126 See A. DOMÈNECH, La formazione pastorale salesiana. Atteggiamenti e competenze
da sviluppare, in ACG 87 (2006) 393, 62-63.
127 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 57-67.
128 See P. SCILLIGO, Gruppo, in J.E. VECCHI – J.M. PRELLEZO (Eds.), Progetto Educativo
Pastorale. Elementi modulari, LAS, Roma 1984, pp. 386-398 and T. GORDON, P.E.T.
Parent Effectiveness Training, P.H. Wyden, New York 1970; ID. – N. BURCH, T.E.T.
Teacher Effectiveness Training, P.H. Wyden, New York 1974; ID., Leader Effective-
ness Training L.E.T., Wyden Books, New York 1977; R. TASSAN, Leadership &
Analisi Transazionale. Come migliorare le proprie capacità manageriali, Franco An-
geli, Milano 2004, pp. 31-54.

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242 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
mentality), and “Win/Win or No Deal” (realistic mutual benefit mental-
ity).129 The virtue of abundance mentality gives a grounding to the
realistic mutual benefit relationships, which seeks the synergy between
people, but also counts with the possibility of no agreement as the best
solution in some cases.
Lose/Win
Win/Win
Lose/Lose
Win/Lose
Low
Courage
High
Scheme O: Cooperative and Competitive Mentality
There is a strong bond between the dynamic fidelity and the mentality
of abundance: the integral vision of reality that goes beyond a positiv-
istic, deterministic and mechanistic worldview. The dynamic fidelity
surpasses the apparent dilemma between tradition and creativity. The
abundance mentality solves instead the seeming negation between “me”
and “you”. A “win/win or no deal” paradigm is necessary for a SEPP that
is designed and carried out with mutual responsibility of the EPC mem-
bers. A genuine dialogue and praxis cannot exist if the members of the
community are rooted in the four scarcity paradigms (win/lose; lose/win;
lose/lose; I win). As a maximum result only a debate or discussion can
129 COVEY, 7 Habits, p. 218.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 243
occur, followed then by individual activities that are coordinated only by
force or by appearance. In a scarcity setting, a process of lifelong learn-
ing is highly improbable and the intra-communitarian relations are
managed as a dynamic of power or as a formal and bureaucratic system.
The abundance mentality requires an interior conversion of the EPC
members and this way the whole SEPP methodology can be simultane-
ously a process of personal formation, organizational learning,
transformational change, vocational discernment and operative educa-
tive and pastoral planning.
Tools and Practices
The abundance mentality can and has to be exercised on many occa-
sions. We offer only a few suggestions:
1. Explore your beliefs and mentality using the “Ladder of Inference”
by William Isaacs (See Scheme P). This tool helps to analyze the
normal process of generalizations, simplifications and hasty infer-
ences that occur naturally in the communication process. First we
select data from what we observe; then we add cultural and personal
meanings; afterwards we make assumptions linked to the meanings;
then we draw conclusions; from them we adopt beliefs about the
world; and finally we take actions based on our beliefs.130
2. Grow in multicultural and historical awareness. Study of other cul-
tures and past times creates an experiential basis for the
130 See P.M. SENGE et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Strategies and Tools for Build-
ing a Learning Organization, Doubleday, New York 1994, pp. 242-246 and P.M.
SENGE et al., Schools That Learn. A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators, Parents,
and Everyone Who Cares About Education, Doubleday, New York 2000, p. 101-104.
See also other tools in T. BENSON – C.S. IMMEDIATO, Educating the Next Generation
of Systems Thinkers: An Interview with Tracy Benson, in «Reflections. The SoL Journal
on Knowledge, Learning and Change» 10 (2011) 4, 13-22.

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244 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
I take: actions
(based on my beliefs)
I adopt: beliefs
(about the world)
I draw: conclusions
I make: assumptions
(based on the meanings)
I add: meanings
(cultural and personal)
Ladder of Inference
The reflexive loop
(Our beliefs affect
what data we select
next time.)
I select: “data”
(from what I observe)
Observable “data” and ex-
periences (as a video
recording might capture it)
Scheme P: Ladder of Inference
understanding of the other people’s paradigms. The historical stud-
ies about Don Bosco and the Salesian Youth Ministry applications
in various cultural and historical contexts can be a good start. In
multicultural settings the awareness about different culturally con-
ditioned leadership styles can be useful. Different cultures

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 245
understand differently categories like time, loyalty, duty, truth, pro-
ject, plan, hierarchy, etc.131
3. Build win/win relationships, growing in mutual trust, which is a
concrete expression of abundance mentality and of win/win rela-
tionship. Covey advises six main actions that are an investment in
trust: understanding the person; attending to little things; keeping
commitments; clarifying expectations; showing personal integrity;
apologizing sincerely.132
4.3.5 Generative Accompaniment
The virtue of the generative accompaniment is built through commu-
nication between two or more persons that surpasses the simple exchange
of information and generates change in the paradigms and motivations.
This type of accompaniment, according to Covey, provides high levels
of consideration for other people combined with equally high levels of
courage. Consideration for others translates concretely in the ability to
listen empathically and courage turns in the ability to clearly express the
expectations, requirements and more generally all the aspect of reality
involved in the process. Courageous and empathic dialogue has, in the
last instance, the goal of creating a shared vision of a community.133
Scharmer, being inspired by Isaacs, puts an emphasis on the deepening
process of dialogue between members of a community. The virtue of
131 See e.g. R.D. LEWIS, When Cultures Collide. Leading across Cultures, Nicholas
Brealey Publishing, Boston MA 32005 or A. MOLINSKY, Global Dexterity. How to
Adapt Your Behavior Across Cultures without Losing Yourself in the Process, Harvard
Business School Publishing, Boston MA 2013.
132 See COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 190-199. Stephen M.R. Covey, son of S.R. Covey, offers a
more elaborate programme for trusting relationships in S.M.R. COVEY – R. MERRILL,
The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything, Free Press, New York
2008, pp. 125-232.
133 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 191-215.

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246 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
generative accompaniment highlights the leadership aspect of a commu-
nity brought together by a shared vision. The management effectiveness
will be addressed through the next virtue of synergic integration.
The theme of accompaniment is also a central category of the 3rd edi-
tion of the Frame of Reference for Salesian Youth Ministry. It seems the
terms recurring in the previous editions such as communication, dia-
logue, animation and sharing came together in the accent put on the
process of accompaniment. “Every EPC must ensure the promotion and
care of the many different ways of animating and accompanying the peo-
ple. This is why we can speak of an original Salesian style of pastoral
accompaniment. We support people at different levels, through the gen-
eral environment of the EPC, groups, personal relationships and personal
guidance”.134 According to Egidio Viganò, the Salesian accompaniment
and animation of the community is a synthesis of the capacity for dia-
logue, the attitude of reciprocity, the ability to listen, discernment of
hearts and communication skills.135
Don Bosco’s Legacy
There are some typical traits of Don Bosco’s accompaniment. The
main characteristic is the preventive nature of the process. His educative
accompaniment is proactive and educational process placed in the area
of primary prevention. Therapeutic aspects of an accompaniment in-
tended as cure of bad habits or deviant behaviour come only in a second
place. His “Preventive System” is a synergy of protection and promotion
of character education through accompaniment of individuals, groups
and environment.136 An excellent example of organizational accompani-
ment is the building process of the shared vision of the Salesian
Congregation. It included personal spiritual accompaniment, dialogue
134 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 122.
135 See VIGANÒ, Closing Address, in GC21 (1978), n. 586.
136 See M. VOJTÁŠ, Implicazioni metodologiche del principio religioso nell’educazione
salesiana, in «Orientamenti Pedagogici» 64 (2017) 1, 11-37.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 247
with the traditions of other religious orders, study of legal aspects of a
religious order in a liberal state, experimentation with the first committed
group, slow process of Constitutions approval, etc.
At a more concrete level, we can focus on Don Bosco’s capacity for
dialogue and narration. We can find several important dialogues that
have affected the progress of his projects. A strong sense of discernment
is found in the dialogues with his spiritual directors like Don Maloria in
the period of studies in Chieri, and afterwards with Don Giuseppe Ca-
fasso. The dialogue about the future of Don Bosco, as reported in the
Memoirs of the Oratory, is a turning point in his life. Other examples
worth to be mentioned are the paradigmatic educational dialogues with
Bartholomew Garelli, Dominic Savio or Michael Magone, or the dia-
logue with Urbano Rattazzi about the legal form of the Salesian
Congregation, to name only a few.137
Secondly, we can state that for Don Bosco the dialogue is not only an
operational tool, but a paradigm that structures his actions and his think-
ing. The art of describing meetings, dialogues and dreams reveals a
narrative mindset, rather than systematic or abstract. Aldo Giraudo, call-
ing the Memoirs “a manual of narrative pedagogy and spirituality”,
asserts in Don Bosco a strong and structural dialogical frame of mind
that prefers a familiar colloquial communication. In fact, the narrated di-
alogues become generative not only by reproducing an experience, but
also by motivating a particular educational style.
Internal Dynamic
The generative type of accompaniment can happen when some basic
conditions are met. First of all is the mentality of abundance that “per-
meates” the community. In such relational environment trusting
137 See G. BOSCO, Vite di giovani. Le biografie di Domenico Savio, Michele Magone e
Francesco Besucco. Saggio introduttivo e note storiche a cura di Aldo Giraudo, LAS,
Roma 2012, pp. 53-55; 115-117 and 120-122.

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248 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
relationships can be developed. In the second place, a generative dia-
logue has to be searched as an ideal on the individual and communitarian
level.
Abundance mentality would only be a philosophical or theological
worldview if it did not permeate the concreteness of the community life.
Covey proposes five dimensions of attention in order to build a win/win
and trusting environment: win/win character; win/win relationships;
win/win agreements; win/win supportive systems and win/win processes
(see Scheme Q).138 Character ethics is the foundation of trusting win/win
relationships that can be translated in an organizational setting in
win/win agreements where we specify the desired results, guidelines, re-
sources, accountability mode and consequences.139
win/win
Character
win/win
Relationships
win/win
Agreements
Supportive Systems and Processes
Scheme Q: Supportive Systems and Processes
As a second element, generative dialogue can be searched as one of
the highest modes of abundance mentality processes. It happens when
the high empathic regard for others is combined with great courage to
present one’s ideas. The universal principle of “diagnose before prescrib-
ing” can be applied as listening that seeks to understand the other
138 See COVEY, 7 Habits, p. 216.
139 See COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 216-234.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 249
integrally avoiding autobiographical self-centered communication.140
The Frame of Reference reminds us: “The vocation to the service of ed-
ucation requires the ability to question oneself and allow oneself to be
questioned on one’s deepest convictions, motivations and expectations.
Self-knowledge takes away fear and strengthens one’s identity”.141 If we
do not want to remain only at a level of exhortation, we have to point out
some distinctions about different types of conversation and about the
fundamental choices connected with the flow of communication.
Reflective dialogue
Suspend Explores underlying
Listening without causes, rules, and as-
resistance; sumptions to get to
dis-identify deeper questions and
framing of problems
Generative dialogue
Invents unprecedented
possibilities and new
insights; produces a
collective flow
Conversation Deliberation FUNDAMENTAL
“to turn together” “to weigh out” CHOICE POINT
Skillful conversation
Analytic, uses hard data to
get to answers to problems;
Dialectic
Tension and synthe-
sis of opposites
reasoning made explicit
Defend
“to ward off, FUNDAMENTAL
protect from attack” CHOICE POINT
Controlled discussion
Advocacy, competing; ab-
stract verbal brawling
Debate
Resolve by
beating down
Scheme R: Types of Dialogue
140 See Covey’s fifth habit “Seek First to Understand … then to be Understood” in
COVEY, 7 Habits, pp. 235-260. We consider its practical applications too simplistic and
fit only to a one-to-one dialogue, not to a community setting.
141 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 133.

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250 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
William Isaacs and Peter Senge offer a model of conversational dy-
namics based on choices participants make (see Scheme R).142 If people
make the first choice to defend themselves, they are assuming to be right
and tend to ward off attacks of the others. The chosen defensiveness can
be guided in a productive way and will consequently result in a skillful
but dialectic conversation with hard data, rigorous argumentation and ex-
plicit reasoning in order to solve problems re-actively. If the defensive
position escalates in unproductive dynamic, the community finishes in a
debate where one wants to defeat the others in a sort of wars. Those do
not resolve problems, they generate them by that power dynamic, stere-
otypes, generalization, shouting, humiliation, etc.
The second scenario opens up if the community, through informal or
formal leaders and facilitators, deliberately makes the choice to suspend
the judgement not defending contrasting positions. Empathic listening
can result in a reflective dialogue where people are willing to think about
the rules and assumptions underlying what they think and do. They see
more clearly what they have taken for granted, or been doing but not
noticing. A genuinely reflective dialogue can give rise to generative dia-
logue, where we pro-actively begin to create entirely new possibilities
and levels of interaction.
A beneficial side-effect of the generative dialogue is the identification
with the new shared vision and the new level of relationship ties. Com-
munity building is necessary to put the vision into practice and to endure
the tension between the current reality and the vision. Probably just a
project built with a generative accompaniment dynamic can discern the
“vocation” of a community. It brings the benefits listed by Cereda in the
motivational part of the Salesian community project: a sense of identity,
sense of direction, a sense of communion, sense of responsibility.143
142 See W. ISAACS, Dialogue. The Art of Thinking Together, Doubleday, New York 1999
and also SENGE et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, p. 361.
143 See CEREDA, The Salesian Community Plan and also Fr. Pascual Chávez Vilanueva’s
motivations in P. CHÁVEZ VILANUEVA, Progetto di animazione e governo del Rettor

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 251
Tools and Practices
Any relationship between people, where there is a communication
channel, can be a place of growth in generative dialogue. The planning
process itself is a good formation opportunity. Animation theory also of-
fers many instruments for the development of communication and
accompaniment attitudes.144 For example, they also suggest other tools,
which strengthen one aspect or perspective of the dialogue:
1. Listen empathically and give feedback, using both hemispheres of the
brain. The effort to comprehend the other person is expressed in the
logical and analytical content of the feedback. Understanding is a
more integral category that involves emotional, creative, narrative or
non-verbal expressions of feedback.
2. In group, explore different narrations of the Educative and Pastoral
Community members around a concrete issue. The authors of the
Fifth Discipline Fieldbook propose a narration in the following
stages: description of a chronic issue without rushing to conclusions;
narration of its historical development; offering explanatory hypoth-
eses; listing the key factors in the narration; drawing an image that
represents the underlying dynamic.145
3. Practise the “Two-Column Exercise”. Think of an accompaniment
conversation that captured the moment when you came face-to-face
with a significant issue. Take two or three pieces of paper and divide
them into two columns. On the right-hand side, write down what you
and the other(s) actually said or did in the situation. On the left-hand
side of the page write down any thoughts and feelings you might have
Maggiore e del suo Consiglio per il sessennio 2002-2008, in ACG 84 (2003) 380, 9-
12.
144 See e.g. M. COMOGLIO, Abilitare l’animazione. Riflessioni teorico-pratiche sulle com-
petenze dell’animatore, LDC, Leumann (TO) 1989.
145 See SENGE et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, pp. 103-108.

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252 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
had but did not say. Try to understand what happened by linking the
content of both columns.146
4.3.6 Synergic Integration
As we have seen previously, generative dialogue based on the men-
tality of abundance is necessary to build an Educative and Pastoral
Community around a shared vision. The next step, in a modern rational
and voluntarist mindset, would be splitting the vision into dimensions,
deduction of objectives, division of roles, planning of activities and in-
terventions. After the operational planning, everyone would execute the
assigned tasks and at the end of the project, cycle effectivity would be
evaluated. We propose a more integral alternative managerial model.
The virtue of synergic integration is the ability to create sustainably
operational wholes (communities, teams, systems) according to a syner-
gic and reinforcing logic. This virtue has a more concrete application in
the alignment of managerial systems within the community: system of
objectives, communication system, motivational and belief system, sys-
tem of government and animation roles, financial management and all
other formal or informal subsystems. This alignment has two strategies:
synergy (cooperation that produces a total effect that is greater than the
sum of the individual efforts) and sustainability (investing in people’s
growth and in resources).
The synergic integration is not based on effectivity motivations, but
mainly on a very Salesian ideal of “family spirit” that permeates our liv-
ing and working together. The Youth Ministry Frame of Reference
defines the EPC as a community “because it involves young people and
adults, parents and educators in a family atmosphere. The thing that
unites us is not work or efficiency, but a set of values of life (educational,
spiritual, Salesian ...) that form a shared identity willingly accepted by
146 See Idem, pp. 235-247.

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all”.147 The inspiration and model is the Don Bosco in the Oratory crite-
rion: already “from the early days of the Oratory Don Bosco formed
around him a community – a family in which the young people them-
selves were the key players. He created a youthful environment in which
the values of the Preventive System were embodied. There were well-
defined spiritual and pastoral characteristics with clear objectives and a
convergence of roles designed to suit the needs of the young people”.148
Don Bosco’s Legacy
In the third chapter we have analyzed the synergic integration be-
tween leadership and management qualities in the life of Don Bosco. We
can go beyond his personal project of life and see briefly how his educa-
tive method and the Valdocco Oratory were integrated into one. Pietro
Braido agrees with Bartolomeo Fascie, General Councillor and the au-
thor of Salesian pedagogy, and asserts that the “one who approaches Don
Bosco’s education system with the idea of subjecting it to painstaking
analysis, dissecting it, dividing it into many parts, rigid patterns, is fol-
lowing the wrong lead. Don Bosco’s method of education should be
looked at as a living form in its entirety, by studying the principles which
gave origin to its life, its bodies, its vitality, and the functions developed
from them”.149
The proximity of integration and generative vitality are confirmed by
Stella using the biological term “osmosis” in a broad sense. Don Bosco,
his cooperators and the young of the Oratory lived an indelible osmosis
which integrated people at Valdocco in a real community. This type of
integration was experienced by Don Bosco with an attitude of loving
kindness and confidence, lived not only with the people of the Oratory,
but also with various categories of people, friends, co-workers, civil or
147 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 118.
148 Idem, p. 117.
149 B. FASCIE, Del metodo educativo di Don Bosco. Fonti e commenti, as quoted in
BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, p. 122.

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254 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
religious authorities. Valdocco was an open community that experienced
concretely the generativity of open living systems.
Stella speaks about a spiritually based integration at Valdocco and
understands the entire educational system of Don Bosco, in his deepest
soul, as a spirituality. The education brings educators and students to
work together, each in its own way of being, to the saving plan of God.150
Management
What do you
do about it?
Mentality
How do you
see reality?
Leadership
Where are
you called
to go to?
Personal Virtues
Prosocial Virtues
Mentality
1. Dynamic Fidelity
4. Abundance Mentality
Leadership 2. Call Discernment 5. Generative Accompaniment
Management 3. Operational Consistency 6. Synergic Integration
Scheme S: Mentality, Leadership and Management Virtues
150 See STELLA, Don Bosco. Religious Outlook, pp. 483-487.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 255
Internal Dynamic
The virtue of synergic integration can be lived and practised on three
different levels that have different dynamics: personal level, team level
and the systems level. Personal integration is a multifaceted issue. At this
point, we want to approach it from the point of view of integration around
the six operational virtues. In this sense, synergic integration is a special
virtue that blends together the others, similarly to Senge’s fifth discipline
and Covey’s eighth habit. It is a final point of a formation cycle that be-
gan with the conversion of mentality, proceeded with search for vision
within the dimension of leadership, concluding with operational manage-
ment attitudes. Similarly, it can be said that without the previous virtues
the synergistic integration is not possible: without the mentality of dy-
namic fidelity and abundance (virtues 1 and 4) there is no real vocation
and shared vision (virtues 2 and 5) that could guide the operational con-
sistency on the personal and the communitarian level (virtue 3 and 6).
The integration of the six virtues also follows a generally accepted prin-
ciple inside-out: the personal change is required before acting to change
the community or larger systems.
On the level of team, groups or small communities, it is crucial to
practise a generative dialogue in order to find synergic solutions. These
consider the good of all (win/win) and through a courageous process that
goes beyond compromises and previous alternatives create superior
“third solutions”. Of course there are real-life situations where a compro-
mise or a no-deal is the best viable solution. The virtue of integration
practises synergy when possible, tends to third solutions and develops a
sensibility for synergy potential progressively. The synergy in teams is
not only a surplus of quality in project management, it is often a necessity
in resource shortage situations. In teams, a wise management of talents

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256 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
(natural predispositions) and charisms (gift of the Spirit) is a good begin-
ning of synergic processes.151
In organizational settings, everyday systems override rhetorical solu-
tions. If we agree on a shared vision but the systems are designed
according to scarcity mentality, nothing significant can happen, only the
level of frustration will rise. Covey puts it simply: “alignment is institu-
tionalized trustworthiness. This means that the very principles that
people have built into their value system are the basis for designing struc-
tures, systems and processes”.152 In scarcity mentality systems not
everyone can “win”, there is a lack of transparent information and ac-
countability, motivations are personal not shared, differences are a
source of conflict not of synergy, etc.
In the Salesian settings, Youth Ministry organizational structures
were growing for more than 50 years and the world-wide model has al-
ready been set.153 As we have seen in the first chapter, there are numerous
projects, plans and programmes (over 20 to be integrated at the local
level), institutions (at the global, regional, provincial and local level),
documents (Constitutions, Regulations, directories, manuals, etc.),
teams, commissions, councils, chapters, etc. If we add the local Church’s
hierarchical and collegial structures, plans, NGO projects, governmental
legislation, etc., we can gain the impression of a hard-to-manage not
synced chaos. With a dose of critical realism, we can state that the official
structural level is only an appearance of a system and that many honest
and trustworthy persons with a mentality of loyalty are incompetent
when it comes to managing. They lose themselves in the bureaucratic
complexity and the hidden agendas of informal leaders take over. It
seems that synergic solutions in Salesian settings are first of all simpli-
fying and begin with one crucial vision shared by the “animating
151 See e.g. “Called and Gifted” workshops and publications in siena.org.
152 COVEY, 8th Habit, p. 235.
153 See YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, pp. 107-111; 119-127; 144-162
and especially 7th Chapter (Activities and Works of Salesian Youth Ministry) and 8th
Chapter (Salesian Youth Ministry Animation Structures) in pp. 184-301.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 257
nucleus” patiently implemented in the projects and systems with the
“ubiquitous strategy”. No new structures are added, only the accompani-
ment of strategic personnel is reinforced, communication is filled with
meaningful content linked to the vision, transparency and correctness cri-
teria are applied. Systems cannot be linked bureaucratically, they have to
be loosely coupled with ties based on trust and transparent communica-
tion.
Tools and Practices
Preferring Covey’s “ubiquitous strategy”, which does not create new
activities but prefers to implement a new mindset in the existing activities
and structures, we offer the following:
1. Create win/win systems. First of all, one should know what a real
“win” for the other members of the community is. Those objective are
often tacit and underlying. Then examine if the systems enable people to
execute their top priorities, or they only create roadblocks. Afterwards
you can scan if people’s real objectives are consistent with the organiza-
tion’s vision and values. Finally, implement small experimental changes
and after a successful prototype change the system together as a commu-
nity.
2. Search for the third alternative. For the integration of various
points of view, use a three-step process. In the first step check the avail-
ability of persons to open up and get in the interaction (abundance
mentality), the second step consists in the effort to understand all points
of view (generative dialogue) and finally third superior solutions can be
proposed (synergic integration). If no solutions are found, return to dia-
logue or to check the mentality.
3. Practise mutual accountability. In collaborative groups there are
often monthly or weekly coordination meetings. By applying the three
prosocial virtues, the meetings can be managed in a logic of mutual ac-
countability. They consist of these moments: follow-up on everyone’s
previous commitments; celebration of successes; quick reporting of few

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258 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
vital issues (important, not urgent); search for third alternatives and new
solutions; everyone’s proposal of his/her commitment in the direction of
the emerged solutions in a logic of mutual accountability.154
4.4 Process of an Integral and Transformational Project Man-
agement
The Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project methodology started
with the Handout No. 1 produced by Juan Edmundo Vecchi and his team
in the Youth Ministry Department in 1978.155 The planning process pro-
posal did not change substantially in the following years maintaining the
structure of three stages: analysis of the situation, operational planning
and assessment. The last edition of the Youth Ministry Frame of Refer-
ence sums up the process:
1. Analysis of the situation that consists in careful observation and
knowledge of the situation in the locality and of the young people;
educative and pastoral interpretation of the situation in the light of the
fundamental elements of the Salesian mission; identification of pre-
cise options for the future.
2. Operational planning: Translation of the precise options into general
objectives that are considered the most important, urgent and possi-
ble; proposal of procedures through which the general objectives can
be put into practice and become operative; setting out practical
courses of action, that is activities that are precise, gradual and veri-
fiable.
3. Assessment measures the impact of the project on the real situation
objectively. It evaluates the results in the light of the proposed objec-
tives, uncovers new possibilities or the needs that emerge and
154 See COVEY, 8th Habit, pp. 286-288.
155 See DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Progetto Educativo Pastorale. Metod-
ologia, Sussidio 1, [s.e.], Roma 1978.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 259
determines new steps to be taken. Some important attentions not to
be overlooked: involvement of the various interested parties, creation
of a real educative and pastoral process, use of precise and measurable
indicators, an analysis of the causes that have helped or hindered the
process.156
As we have seen in the second chapter, this basic method of the SEPP
has been influenced by Management by Objectives through the media-
tion of curriculum planning theories. The analysis-planning-assessment
stages are an expression of a rational-analytic mindset that presumes it is
possible to describe, plan and assess with precision the whole process of
change. We think that the founding experience of Don Bosco in the Or-
atory and the recent development of organizational models have shown
some weaknesses of this planning methodology. For this reason, we offer
some updates to the present model that go in the direction of an integral
and transformational project methodology.
Our suggestions do not invent a totally new method; we think more
in a logic of developing potentially promising ideas from different fields.
There are different valuable elements that come either from Don Bosco’s
organizational experience or from organizational sciences and, last but
not least, from the Salesian methodological integrations proposed in the
last years. Domènech and his team introduced the concept of “vision” in
the second edition of the Frame of Reference and enlarged the stage of
assessment with an accompaniment processual logic. Through the
method of discernment Cereda some new planning stages, such as
“God’s call” in the GC25 and GC26, or the “interpretation” in the GC27.
In the following pages we will start with the fundamental criterion of
Don Bosco’s experience in order to develop, update and find both a log-
ical and methodological order of the potentially interesting elements that
have emerged in the Salesian project management methodology of the
past years.
156 See YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, pp. 296-298.

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260 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
4.4.1 Don Bosco’s “Project Methodology”
As we have seen before, on the one hand Don Bosco’s organizational
methods belong to the rural society, and on the other to some dynamic of
the industrialized liberal society.157 We think that Stella’s descriptions of
the organizational culture of the Oratory, lying between urban and rural
life, between the scientific and illiterate worldview, are more a descrip-
tion of Don Bosco’s organizational realistic excellence than a limit. His
managerial, educational and pastoral “good sense” and the entrusting of
important roles more to the young of “good will” than to external “ex-
perts”, are a sign of his knowledge of the whole. His “project
management methodology” was built on the realism of a man close to
nature, to young people and to situations which combined rational, emo-
tional, spiritual, social, intuitive, tacit knowledge into a harmonious
whole. The generative and synergic fruits of his organizational style and
the expansion of his works are a proof of the “knowledge of the whole”
and of the dynamic fidelity to his vocation.
If we pass from Don Bosco’s general organizational style to his man-
agement of single works or projects, some typical traits emerge. A strong
visionary leadership, connected to his youth ministry vocation, is clearly
foregoing the organizational management aspect. First there is the wan-
dering form of the oratorian activities, then comes the stabilization at
Valdocco, experimentation with the boarding facilities of the “Annexed
Home”, the expansion and only then come the definitive regulations of
the 1870s. The Special General Chapter confirms the twofold combina-
tion of Don Bosco’s dreams (visionary leadership) and Rules of the
Oratory (organizational management).158 The strong grounding in his vo-
cation and in a fundamentally traditional post-Napoleonic Reformation
mindset was balanced in a synergic way with his dynamic entrepreneur-
ship, methodological open-mindedness and his distinct ability to
157 See STELLA, Don Bosco, p. 61 and BRAIDO, Prevention not repression, pp. 154-159.
158 See SGC (1972), nn. 203-204

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 261
motivate others for his vision. More than a contradiction between the
tradition and creativity, his organizational synthesis is a dynamic fidelity
in action.
Don Bosco’s Dream of Nine Years (1825)
Project stage
“A crowd of children were playing there. Some
were laughing, some were playing games, and
quite a few were swearing. When I heard these
evil words, I jumped immediately amongst them
and tried to stop them by using my words and my
fists”.159
1. situation analysis
- description of facts
- symptomatic, quick
fix or old solutions
emerge
“You will have to win these friends of yours not
by blows but by gentleness and love. Start right
away to teach them the ugliness of sin and the
value of virtue”.160
2. communitarian inter-
pretation
- interpretative dialogue
- emotional connection
“This is the field of your work. Make yourself
humble, strong, and energetic. And what you will
see happening to these animals in a moment is
what you must do for my children”.161
3. embraced vocation
- new identity
- new mission
“I wasted no time in telling all about my dream
[…] Each one gave his own interpretation”.162 “I
did what was possible at my age and formed a
kind of festive oratory”.163
4. experimented vision
- narration and meaning
of the vocation
- experiments
Rules of the “Society of a Good Cheer”, interior-
ized rules of the Chieri secondary school and
different lists of resolutions.164
5. operational guidelines
- consolidation of the
practice
- regulations and guide-
lines
159 BOSCO, Memoirs of the Oratory, p. 18.
160 Ibidem.
161 Idem, p. 19.
162 Ibidem.
163 Idem, p. .
164 See Idem, pp. 32-33; 71-73; 122-123; 144-146; and 172.

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262 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Don Bosco’s Letter from Rome (1884)
Project stage
Description of the differences between the lively
recreation before 1870 and the apathetic one in
1884. “But don’t my boys get enough love? … I
have done everything I possibly could for
them”.165
1. situation analysis
- description of facts
- old solutions emerge
“You see, closeness leads to love and love brings
confidence. It is this that opens hearts and the
young people express everything without fear to
the teachers, to the assistants and to the superiors.
They … will do everything they are asked by one
whom they know loves them”.166
2. communitarian inter-
pretation
- interpretative dia-
logue
- emotional connection
“That the youngsters should not only be loved,
but that they themselves should know that they
are loved … By being loved in the things they
like, … they are led to see love in those things
which they find less attractive”.167
Don Bosco resolves to write his vision in a letter;
when he comes home he speaks with the young-
sters; discussion of the issue in two council
meetings; survey on the state of the Oratory en-
trusted to Fr. Bonetti; establishment of a
commission; proposals on the assistance of youth
or on the 5th grade restructuration.168
Change of the Valdocco student section in a
small seminar and the reorganization of the lead-
ership structure of the Oratory (two directors for
the two sections of the house, instead of one).169
Scheme T: Don Bosco’s Project Methodology
3. embraced vocation
- new identity
- new mission
4. experimented vision
- narration, dialogue
about the meaning of
the vocation
- experiments
5. operational guide-
lines
- managerial decisions
- regulations and
guidelines
165 See G. BOSCO, Due lettere datate da Roma 10 Maggio 1884 in P. BRAIDO (Ed.), Don
Bosco educatore. Scritti e testimonianze, LAS, Roma 31997, pp. 373 and 378-380.
Translation by P. Laws, with modifications by G. Williams.
166 Idem, pp. 378-379.
167 Idem, pp. 381-382.
168 See J.M. PRELLEZO, Valdocco nell’Ottocento tra reale ed ideale (1866-1889). Docu-
menti e testimonianze, LAS, Roma 1992, pp. 273-276 and 287-307.
169 See PRELLEZO, Valdocco nell’Ottocento, p. 276.

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4.4.2 Integral SEPP Methodology
CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 263
In the current method of the SEPP there are three stages of planning:
situation analysis, operational planning and assessment. It seems these
have to be updated, taking in account the criterion of Don Bosco in the
Oratory, development of the Salesian project management and the para-
digm shift of the management-leadership sciences. Some instances can
be briefly described in the following way:
- To strengthen the cyclical nature of the project we propose to join the
stages of assessment of the previous projects with the stage of situation
analysis for the new SEPP. If the assessment is an independent stage
at the end of a project cycle, it tends to be omitted with the impact of
low continuity with the next projects.
- Within the stage of situation analysis, we can see the presence of a sin-
gular element - the interpretation phase. The importance of the
interpretation is emphasized in organizational models and it is seen as
an analysis of mental models or paradigms that influence the develop-
ment and carrying out of the project.170
- The stage of the vocation or “God’s call” was already used in the
method of discernment and can be taken into account as a new stage.
In this way the project design extends to a spiritually deep discernment.
It is not only adopted in various Salesian projects, but also emphasized
by Senge – Scharmer in the presencing model and by Vallabaraj – Al-
berich transformational model speaking not about a call or vocation,
but about a “strategic moment” in the planning process.171
- There has been an increasing importance of the visionary element, too.
The 2nd and 3rd edition of the Frame of Reference included the term
170 A special emphasis on the interpretation stage is given also in Alberich and Valla-
baraj’s transformative catechetics. See E. ALBERICH – J. VALLABARAJ, Communicating
a Faith That Transforms. A Handbook of Fundamental Catechetics, Kristu Jyoti Pub-
lications, Bangalore 2004, pp. 271-273.
171 See Idem.

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264 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
vision, but the authors had difficulties to collocate it. Cereda states his
inspiration from a “vision planning” management for his method of
discernment.172 The vision that involves emotional and motivational el-
ements could be a next stage of the planning cycle.
- The operational planning stage has to be maintained in order to bring
a concrete and real implications of the vision, although some specific
changes have to be made in order to go beyond the Management by
Objectives shortcuts and paradoxes.
Perceptions
of Symptoms
level of
rational
thought
Described
Situation
Execution
of Activities
Operational
Planning
level of Communitarian
deeper
emotions
Interpretation
Experimented
Vision
level of
spiritual
perspectives
Embraced
Vocation
Scheme U: Integral Planning Stages
The five stages of the design will be organized in a “U” form that
reflects the different levels of approach to the transformational change
172 See “fcereda@sdb.org to misovojtas@gmail.com” (12. 7. 2012).

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 265
planning.173 In order to propose an integrated model we also connect the
five planning stages with the Salesian organizational virtues. The plan-
ning process, on the one hand, requires some degree of presence of the
virtues and, on the other, we see planning as a process of formation and
development of the virtues. (See Scheme V).174 Planning can be an edu-
cational and spiritual transformation journey of the individual members
of the CEP and of the CEP as a whole. The management aspect puts at-
tention on the planning outcomes (planning as a product) but we want it
to be integrated with the leadership aspect, which emphasizes the per-
sonal and communitarian development (planning as a process).
Personal Communitarian
Transformation Transformation
Described
Situation
Operational
Planning
Communitarian
Interpretation
Experimented
Vision
Embraced Vocation
Scheme V: Planning Stages and Operational Virtues
173 See Senge and Scharmer’s “U process” and Alberich’s deep change learning model
in SENGE – SCHARMER et. al, Presence, pp. 10-12; SCHARMER, Theory U and E.
ALBERICH, La catechesi oggi. Manuale di catechetica fondamentale, LDC, Leumann
(TO) 2002, pp. 107-121.
174 Giuseppe Tacconi, a Salesian scholar of formation in organizational settings sees plan-
ning as organizational learning of individuals and of the community. See G. TACCONI,
Alla ricerca di nuove identità. Formazione e organizzazione nelle comunità di vita
apostolica attiva nel tempo di crisi, LDC, Leumann (TO) 2001.

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266 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
4.4.3 Stage 1: Described Situation
The planning process begins by entering in contact with the current
educational and pastoral reality. An increased awareness about the situ-
ation is the priority and a desired outcome of this stage of planning. As a
second focus, the animator of the planning process should encourage the
involvement of all the sub-groups or interest groups within the Educative
and Pastoral Community. Every member of the EPC probably has differ-
ent motivations that can be linked to the curiosity around some issues,
the pressure to solve a problem, relational components, the planning seen
as a necessary evil of being in the field of the Youth Ministry, etc. The
facilitator should not address the different motivations directly, but it is
important that he pays attention and makes the involvement grow
through his/her choices and interventions. Authentic motivations are vi-
tal especially in the next stages of the planning and operating process.
The description of the situation aims to bring out the various types of
knowledge present in the EPC. Differently from the Frame of Reference,
in this stage it is important to keep together the different types of
knowledge without rushing to interpretations or objectives. The four-di-
mension model of the SEPP can be used in order not to forget important
issues concerning education, evangelization, the communitarian and vo-
cational dynamic. It is important to assess the impact of past projects at
the level of results and processes.
After the assessment, opening the horizons can be useful. Receiving
feedback from external learning or youth ministry organizations or ex-
perts can break the stereotypes in perception. In Scharmer’s language it
is stopping the download of old schemes. Learning trips or excursions to
different or unfamiliar educational and pastoral realities can have the
same impact. We consider as a standard to receive feedback from stake-
holders, especially from the young people’s parents or from the alumni.
The task of “knowing” the situation clearly highlights the rational intel-
ligence rather than the emotional or spiritual intelligences that will be

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 267
more important in the next stages. The following types of knowledge can
be emphasized:
- Historical knowledge of the environment, the Salesian presence and
the EPC;
- Assessment of the previous SEPPs;
- Sociological and demographic situation of the young;
- Current cultural trends that influence the education and pastoral
care;
- Educational and pastoral policies that affect the youth ministry;
- Management of resources and knowledge of the EPC’s limits;
- Intuitive knowledge about causal connections in the educative and
pastoral reality;
- Narrative knowledge of the success stories and failures in a learning
perspective.
4.4.4 Stage 2: Communitarian Interpretation
After the description of the situation, educational and pastoral inter-
pretation has to follow. The description offers different, and not yet
aligned, inputs on the youth situation. The methodology of the descrip-
tion is based on openness, on accumulation of data and on holding of
different themes and different types of knowledge with their tensions. An
interpretation is not only a rational criticism, comparison, interpretation
or hermeneutics of the facts, but it also strengthens the emotional in-
volvement, because the paradigms that are interpreted are connected with
the emotional experience of the EPC members. Our paradigms or habit-
ual mental models can be analyzed under two points of view. First come
the paradigms that underlie the educational and pastoral action and as
second those mental patterns underlying the description of the situation
of the young can be scrutinized. There are, therefore, operative and cog-
nitive paradigms. The access and understanding of them is fundamental
because without a paradigm shift planning, we do not pursue a transform-
ative change, but only a transitional one.

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268 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
In order to interpret the situation and analyze the shared paradigms
we need a dual cognitive and emotional movement. The first moment of
lesser identification with our paradigms can be called with Scharmer
“stop downloading”. It describes an epoché dynamic that shifts people’s
perceptions of themselves to the border between the observer and the
observed.175 In this detached position we seek to clarify the questions and
fundamental intentions regarding the educational and pastoral reality.
Besides the virtue of dynamic fidelity, virtue of discernment comes al-
ready in play as we operate judgments of value and importance around
various elements present in the situation. Some of the paradigms linked
to the Gospel and Salesian values have a major importance as criteria of
interpretation. It does not mean, however, that our paradigms of faith and
the Salesian charism have no need to be purified and updated. In the in-
terpretation stage it is better to leave behind the four-dimension model,
because it could leave aside some fundamental challenges concerning the
whole. A growing awareness of the whole attitude is to be cultivated by
the animator of the process. The establishment of the main challenges,
recommended by the second edition of the Frame of Reference,176 does
not mean to produce a list of unrelated facts, but to create a shared prior-
itization of interconnected issues. The systemic issues, like lack of trust
or blocked communication that cause other smaller symptomatic prob-
lems have a higher priority in our point of view than visible problems of
quotas, statistics or public image of single YM leaders.
A second cognitive moment can take place after the community has
taken some distance from itself and can see its shared paradigms with a
new look. These can be myths about how ministry functions, theological
concepts used as magical formulae without a shared understanding, some
175 See influences of Husserl’s phenomenology in SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 129.
176 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 22000, pp. 171. Authors of the third edition
skip the identification of challenges and go directly to the selection of “precise op-
tions”. See YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 297.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 269
operative mental shortcuts such as: “if we plan it, we will do it” or “de-
fine roles and tasks and the YM ministry will produce results”, etc. Here
begins the deeper journey of an EPC that differs from the classic Man-
agement by Objectives logic. Overcoming the rational debate and
evidence-based discourse, a genuine dialogue is required in order to
make a paradigm shift to a more enlightened understanding of the situa-
tion that will bring clarification or a possibility of change of the
question.177 Following Scharmer we could speak of moving in a signifi-
cant real context where we can find sketches of new responses and begin
to wonder.178 Learning journeys to new youth, educational and pastoral
contexts or institutions can be a good stimulus to see the situation with a
new and deeper awareness.179
In an atmosphere of genuine vulnerability, the community members
can act according to the abundance mentality and put into practice the
generative dialogue understood as “seeing together” (Scharmer) and as
“thinking together” (David Bohm and William Isaacs). The two cogni-
tive moments described before (distance from itself, new look) should
favor the passage through the first crisis of dialogue, where the commu-
nity is called to leave aside discussion and debate, as less productive
forms of interaction. In this way, the community moves from a conver-
sation to a reflective dialogue, where deeper issues and underlying
paradigms emerge.
The community, especially the animator of the process, has to stand
the emotional frustration connected with the loss of secure and certain
positions. The ideas and beliefs cease to be absolute. There is no clarity
to be taken for granted at the level of vision, theories, management or
leadership solutions. Uncertainty is a price to be paid in the logic of trust
177 See ALBERICH – VALLABARAJ, Communicating a Faith That Transforms, p. 271.
178 See SCHARMER, Theory U, pp. 133-135 e 245-246.
179 See Going on Learning Journeys, in J. JAWORSKI – A. KAHANE – C.O. SCHARMER,
Presence workbook. A companion guide of capacity-building practices, practical tips,
and suggestions for further reading from seasoned practitioners in allegro-
site.be/artikels/Presence Workbook.pdf (accessed 1.1. 2017).

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270 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
in Providence, so strong in various periods of Don Bosco’s life that they
brought him to “solutions” at qualitatively new levels of leadership or
management. In this sense we understand that “listening to the Scriptures
and prayer are the context and the parameters within which the planning
process takes place and through which it then becomes a real spiritual
experience for the community. Docility to the Spirit creates the condi-
tions necessary to be open to the Gospel and to life, so as not to get lost
in the face of uncertainties and mistakes, but to be always ready for re-
newal and conversion”.180 The communitarian interpretation is the stage
of planning that allows the EPC to interpret the situation, seeing the
deeper interrelationships with a new awareness. The importance of the
“process” at this point is greater than the attention to the “result”. There-
fore, a genuine dialogue at this point can be pursued only in an
environment of mutual trust and confidence in God’s plan. The third
component of “identity” will be the strong point of the next stage.
4.4.5 Stage 3: Embraced Vocation
The reception of vocation is a planning stage that heightens the im-
portance of the planning process and of the identity (communitarian
leadership) compared to the attention to the results (task and structures
management). At this moment the EPC discerns the direction and does
not walk the path, as illustrated in Scheme W. The stage of embraced
vocation is a procedural translation of the primacy of God, the author of
the Salesian vocation and mission.181 The dynamic of a deep community
discernment involves a recognition of God’s supremacy through two pas-
sive steps described by Scharmer. The first step is the “letting go” of
unwanted issues, barriers between people and paralyzing paradigms
about the reality and the future. This prepares a second step of “letting
180 See CEREDA, Salesian Community Plan.
181 See Cost., articles 1; 2; 3; 20; 26 and GC21 (1978), n. 16; 31. See also references to
“god” in a vocational setting in SENGE – SCHARMER et al., Presence, pp. 222-225 and
SCHARMER, Theory U, p. 190.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 271
come” a new future that emerges through the community and that has to
be embraced as a new vocation.182
Results Process Identity
Attention Attention Attention
Planning Stages
Described Communitarian Embraced Experimented Operational
Situation
Interpretation Vocation
Vision
Planning
Scheme W: Results – Process – Identity Attention
At the level of dialogue in the community, the moment of receiving
the vocation requires a transition to the third level of generative dialogue
that involves certain attitudes. The quality to think as a community in-
volves every person that is communicating as a part of the whole. It
implies a new empathic sensitivity that finds new “thin threads” which
weave together narration themes neglected before. In this way, dialogue
generates new prospects and scenarios without trying to find definitive
operational solutions. The quality and depth of the dialogue, in a very
high level of trust, guides the participants through a “crisis of collective
pain”183 in which the imperfection of each proposal, of each expression
182 See SCHARMER, Theory U, pp. 163-190.
183 David Bohm’s description is quoted in SENGE et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook,
p. 363.

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272 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
and the poverty of words and signs is felt. “The net of words may not be
fine enough to capture the subtle and delicate understandings that begin
to emerge; the people may fall silent. Yet the silence is not an empty
void, but one replete with richness”.184
Through this spiritual and transformational stage, a new level of
awareness and identity of the community is perceived. It is necessary to
remain in the discernment position for a certain time and not to rush to-
wards the operational issues of objectives, strategies, tasks. Building a
new identity is crucial not only for planning but especially for the SEPP
execution in the everyday ordinary reality. It is vital that the EPC sees
itself as participating in a mission that exceeds each of the members and
is bigger than the community.185 Embracing a communitarian educative
and pastoral vocation exercises the personal virtue of call discernment
and also the generative accompaniment of the whole process at the com-
munity level. A critical number of key community members should know
how to discern in their own lives, to know themselves, their stereotypes
and their own defense mechanisms in order to build a communitarian
discernment through generative dialogue.
Embracing a new vocation is close to Scharmer’s concept of “running
towards an emerging future”, to Senge’s metanoia that means transform-
ative learning, or to Alberich’s profound transformation that consists in
taking an all-encompassing central attitude linked to a new identity.186 In
this stage, Jaworski and Scharmer invite the community members to
share, not ideas, interpretations or analysis, but profound stories of per-
sonal transformation. It is not required to formulate the vocation in a
definitive way. The linguistic development of a vision that is linked with
the vocation comes in the next stage and there is a concrete reason for
this delay. Verbalization or narration of the vocation in a form of vision
184 Ibidem.
185 We find interesting Maslow’s argumentation about excellence of groups in which
identity and mission are identified. See A. MASLOW, Eupsychian Management, in
SENGE, Fifth Discipline, p. 194.
186 See ALBERICH, La catechesi oggi, p. 136.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 273
is always an action of distinguishing, making choices and introducing
different stories, metaphors, symbols, references, etc. The community
needs to hold the new identity linked to the emerging future in a meta-
logic communication. For this to happen the community has to take care
of the physical, temporal and relational spaces for deep listening, con-
templation and generative dialogue. Obviously there is also the risk of an
exaggerated spiritualistic dynamic that can separate the community from
the surrounding reality and from a healthy reasonableness of faith and
vocation. But we think that in the actual Salesian settings, the problem is
an opposite one – superficial, formal, sterile or repetitive planning with
a lot of meetings that badly needs leveled-up discernment processes.
4.4.6 Stage 4: Experimented Vision
After the acceptation and identification with the vocation, the next
stage is the vision development and making small experimentations in
the direction of the emerging vision. The vision in the method of discern-
ment “is only describing how this community should be, not what it
needs to do. And it is important that the community’s projection of itself
into the future, which emerges from what is said by everyone, be not a
cold, cerebral thing but something to make all the members of the com-
munity enthusiastic. It is something to attract them, to encourage them,
and that is realistic; it responds to their wishes and to their expectations;
it points to what could be the result of everyone’s efforts and sacri-
fices”.187 There are some characteristic features a vision should have; it:
- refers to the emerging future in between actual problems and a distant
utopia;
- talks about being a community more than managing objectives;
- uses a positive and stimulating narration in order to inspire enthusiasm;
187 See CEREDA, The Salesian Community Plan.

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274 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
- responds to the expectations of the people involved because it is a fruit
of generative dialogue
- expresses a general strategy or philosophy of action that will align the
community and will accompany the operational planning stage.
The chosen leadership models enrich the vision creation with two typ-
ical traits of the Salesian charism: narration and experimentation. Once
we find ourselves past the paradigm of a technical plan that works in a
deductive way, we have to integrate these two focuses. The first is the
implementation of various narrative or symbolic languages in order to
emphasize the emotional component of the planning process. The vision
is a connecting stage between the calling and operation. Therefore, it is
important to encourage artistic and narrative expressivity to create a
whole interpretive context in which both the vocation and operative plan-
ning is located. Following Senge’s principle, the focus should not be put
in a correct formulation: “It’s not what the vision is, it’s what the vision
does”.188 In their publications, Senge, Scharmer and Covey illustrate the
theoretical leadership and management principles through the real-life
stories, case studies or success stories. Often these are not only a way to
make the content more attractive or readable, but build a framework
within which the fairly general principles gain their importance and con-
creteness.189 The relationship and the balance between the narrative
pedagogy and project-based pedagogy is to be remembered in educa-
tional praxis of Don Bosco. The vision narrated through biographies,
memoirs, stories or dreams is completed with the concrete regulations,
division of roles and tasks.190 A formulated vision is not only a document,
188 P.M. SENGE et al., The Necessary Revolution. How Individuals and Organizations Are
Working Together to Create a Sustainable World, Doubleday, New York 2008, p. 324.
189 See B. JACKSON, Management Gurus and Management Fashions. A Dramatistic In-
quiry, Routledge, London 2001 and D.A. JAMESON, Narrative Discourse and
Management Action, in «The Journal of Business Communication» 38 (2001) 4, 476-
511.
190 See P. BRAIDO, Il progetto operativo di Don Bosco e l’utopia della società cristiana,
LAS, Roma 1982, pp. 6-7.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 275
it is a learning environment built by narratives, stories, symbols and the-
ories that imply a concrete organizational learning culture.191
A second connection between the vision creation and experimentation
or testing is offered by Scharmer. Integrating the lean management core
theory in the Theory U, he proposes the “crystallization” of the vision
that clarifies, shares and expands the intentionality born within the voca-
tion. The “prototyping” stage applies the nascent vision instantly in small
protected microcosms where the interaction between practice and vision
is experimented. Small educational and pastoral experiments offer an
early feedback on understanding the vision. Moreover, these prepare the
operational planning stage realistically and preventively. It is important
that experiments are flexible, not too complex and can be realized in
short execution times. In order to enlarge their impact on the whole EPC
afterwards, it is important not to bias the prototypes with a link to small
elite groups guided by charismatic leaders. Creating the vision is the de-
sired outcome of this stage of educational and pastoral planning. It
constitutes the contact point between leadership, accentuated with virtues
of discernment and generative accompaniment, and management, con-
sisting in the virtue of operational consistency and synergic integration.
4.4.7 Stage 5: Operational Planning
Speaking about a traditional SEPP, the operational planning is the
most typical stage of project creation. The Salesian Youth Ministry
Frame of Reference proposes the following:
“1. Translation of the precise options into general objectives that are
considered the most important, urgent and possible. These objectives
lead on to clear proposals taking into account the people in the EPC
and the innate effectiveness of the four dimensions of youth ministry.
191 See e.g. E.H. SCHEIN, Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Fran-
cisco 32004.

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276 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
2. Proposal of some procedures through which the general objectives can
be put into practice and become operative.
3. Setting out practical courses of action, that is activities that are precise,
gradual and verifiable. In these the following are clarified: the group
aimed at (for whom?); the responsibilities of the different individuals
or teams (by whom?); the employment of the resources available and
the time scale (how and when?)”.192
In the integral perspective we want to go beyond the traps of Man-
agement by Objectives and give more importance to the systemic view
on the project, objectives and the organization. In our point of view, op-
erational effectiveness of a SEPP is not pursued primarily through
organization of activities and events. Therefore, the more or less linear
attention to the activities and results related to the virtue of operational
consistency is balanced with systemic attention to the virtue of synergic
integration.
The modern anthropology that is rationalistic (define objectives) and
voluntaristic (carry out activities) is integrated with a more holistic view
on the man. The SEPPs of the 1980s had a technical focus on the estab-
lishment of precise objectives and interventions. Now the main attention
is shifted to the balance between the linear operation and the alignment
of the organizational systems according to the vision and vocation. Some
tools are offered by Covey’s Leader in Me and Senge’s Schools That
Learn, who propose an implementation of the vision in various systems:
organizational structure, communication systems, didactics, training, tu-
toring and motivational, economic, IT systems.193 The systemic
perspective is given importance also by Salesian scholars. Pellerey and
Grządziel insist on the integration of a linear project with building a re-
lational atmosphere and environment with a narrative perspective.
Alberich and Vallabaraj propose the balance between the objectives and
192 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 297.
193 See the systemic structure of the publication by SENGE et al., Schools That Learn and
also COVEY, Leader in Me, pp. 71-89; 173-179.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 277
activities logic with the alignment of the learning, organizational and fi-
nancial system.194
The alignment of organizational systems in itself is not only a one-
time decision of adjustment. Taking seriously the systemic paradigm and
synergistic integration virtue, it is rather the constant search for synergy
between the various systems and the vision. The vision is not simply im-
plemented, because it is not formulated in a structured and operative way.
The vision is more linked to questions, focuses and internal motivators
that the community can use for the search of contact points and mutual
enrichment situations. We could say that the EPC does not implement
the vision, but its logic, values and aspirations.
Operational planning could finish here, but there is the whole ques-
tion of “execution” that is fairly complicated if we abandon the modern
anthropology where everything is clear. Execution is a continuous pro-
cess of operative attention and evaluation motivated by the creative
tension between the vision and the current reality. The processual aspect
of execution is also present in the last pages of the Frame of Reference:
“the creation of a real educative and pastoral process [has not to be over-
looked]. It should not be limited to examining the results, but rather to
reawakening the individual and community maturing processes, encour-
aging, improving and providing motivation for better results”.195
The close link between the results (objectives and activities) and the
process (daily running routines) is important for the leadership models.
Senge has dedicated the team learning discipline to the link between
learning and practice and to overcoming of the defensive routines. Covey
introduced the term of the Execution Quotient (XQ) that measures the
194 See M. PELLEREY – D. GRZĄDZIEL, Educare. Per una pedagogia intesa come scienza
pratico-progettuale, LAS, Roma 22011, pp. 112-113 and 203-270 and ALBERICH –
VALLABARAJ, Communicating a Faith That Transforms, p. 273.
195 YM DEPARTMENT, Frame of Reference, 32014, p. 298. N.B. We think that the collo-
cation of this processual logic in the stage of assessment could be counterproductive,
because the EPC has to evaluate only at the end if a process has been put in place. In
the planning stage no mention of processes is found.

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278 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
collective ability to focus and execute and he carried out an empirical
study on a sample of 2.5 million people. Scharmer speaks about execu-
tion as a spiral movement between learning, commitment and doing.196
Covey offers the “triage reporting” as a crucial instrument for mutual
accountability about the execution of the project. In triage meetings on a
weekly or monthly basis each team member reports quickly on the few
vital issues of his field of responsibility and previous commitments, pre-
ferring the focus on importance not on urgency. Next, the community
can focus on the synergy by searching for third alternative solutions
emerging from the current reality. Finally, everyone takes a commitment
in order to carry out the proposals. Triage meetings are an application of
systemic and synergistic execution logic in the daily practice of the pro-
ject, as people take responsibility in front of the team and later report to
it.197
4.4.8 Application of the SEPP Integral Methodology
In the preceding pages we have presented the five stages of a full pro-
ject cycle. We are aware, however, that the full realization of all the
stages is neither a simple nor a technical management task. It involves
interdependence of many people, it requires an ethical, psychological and
spiritual maturity and, last but not least, quite a few resources of the
EPC’s time, motivation, organizational resources, leadership capacity,
etc. The leadership authors offer a good number of examples of integral
project management that were developed in a time span of years and im-
plemented in long processes that, in some cases, exceeded a decade.198
196 See SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 216-252; COVEY, 8th Habit, pp. 289-290; 369-373
and Scharmer, Theory U, pp. 216-218.
197 See COVEY, 8th Habit, pp. 286-288.
198 See e.g. SENGE et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, pp. 366-373; COVEY, 7 Habits,
pp. 16-44; 86-88; 103-106; 309-318; SENGE, Fifth Discipline, pp. 253-376; SCHARMER,
Theory U, pp. 32; 122-126;136-147; 192-195 and 203-205.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 279
We have started our innovative approach with references to the crite-
rion of “Don Bosco in the Oratory”. It is right to conclude in the same
manner. The development of different projects in Don Bosco’s life was
also a multi-year process with paradigm shifts, specific calls, experimen-
tation and implementation. As examples we can refer to the project of
the Festive Oratory from the late 1841 where he began meeting the first
boys to 1852 when Don Bosco stabilized the Oratory model as the Di-
rector of the three Turin Oratories. Another project of the Salesian
boarding school education took place in the decade between 1853 and
1863. In those years Don Bosco consolidated the Oratory schools and
vocational training facilities, and the educational experience with Savio,
Magone and Besucco developed a tension towards holiness as the final
aim of youth ministry. The founding of the Congregation is a good ex-
ample of a non-linear project. More than two decades of constant project
development challenged Don Bosco’s leadership and management vir-
tues and included many paradigm shifts, experimentations and
negotiations. Another type of project is the model of the Salesian mis-
sions in Latin America. The missionary idea started in 1864 with an
inspirational visit of the African missionary Daniele Comboni at the Val-
docco Oratory. The project idea grew until 1875 when the first expedition
took place and developed further in the 1880s as the model took its dual
shape. The first form under the leadership of Giovanni Cagliero devel-
oped boarding schools in the missionary territory (focusing especially on
Patagonia). The second form, with Giuseppe Fagnano as the protagonist,
founded reductions where Salesians took care of an entire population
(mostly in Tierra del Fuego).199
The SEPP developed in the restructuring after the Vatican II has in-
stead fixed project schedules. The choice was influenced by time
199 See J. BORREGO (Ed.), La Patagonia e le terre australi del continente americano
[pel]sac. Giovanni Bosco, in «Ricerche Storiche Salesiane» 13 (1988) 255-442 and D.
COMBONI, Escritos, Mundo Negro, Madrid 1996, pp. 821-822.

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280 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
schedules of the school or pastoral year, the three-year period of the lead-
ership of a Salesian Rector, or the six-year period for the General
Council. In this sense, the timing of the project is linked to the manage-
ment structures and not to time periods required by the nature of the
different projects. We have seen the projects of the 1980s that suffered
too short implementation times or nominalistic projects that focused on
the correct vocabulary in the 1990s, etc. Projects linked to the three or
six years of the usual governance periods have the implicit risk of no
continuity and so every rector or council begins their projects anew.
Senge’s archetypes of the symptomatic solution and of the erosion of
objectives are a good description of a recurrent project management
dynamic in Salesian settings.
Perception
of Symptoms
Described
Situation
Micro-Management
Leadership
Rational Project
Management
Execution
of Activities
Operational
Planning
Communitarian
Interpretation
Visionary Project
Management Experimented
Vision
Integral Project Man-
agement
Embraced Vo-
cation
Scheme X: Application of the SEPP Integral Methodology

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 281
To make a more realistic proposal, we will introduce four types of
project management that respect the demands of the real challenges and
of the Educative and Pastoral Community situation (Scheme X):
1. Micro-management leadership, which does not imply any kind of
real projects. The leaders’ decisions are based on the personal percep-
tions of symptoms and tend towards an immediate execution of the
orders. Almost every decision is made by the leader;
2. Rational project management, which is similar to the curriculum
design theories of the 1960-70s. A rational analysis of the situation de-
termines the needs and then switches directly to operational planning,
establishing objectives, interventions and activities which are executed
afterwards;
3. Visionary project management that deepens the description of the
situation with an interpretation in order to get to a stimulating and posi-
tive vision of the future that fuels the next stage of operational planning;
4. Integral project management, proposed in the presented chapter. It
is centered in the integration of rational, emotional and spiritual dimen-
sion and its central stage is the discernment of the vocation of the whole
Educative and Pastoral Community.
The described project management types are more or less suited to
different situations and to the EPC’s levels of maturity. We propose the
ideal of integral project management, but considering the principles of
realism and of the graduality of the human growth, we see the necessity
of less integral solutions adapted to the context. It resembles Don
Bosco’s principle of “the better is enemy of the good”. It is an Italian
proverb used by Don Bosco to indicate the realistic necessity to do the
good in any setting, without waiting to have better or ideal conditions.200
In a situation of crisis, conflict or danger of total anarchy, where there
is no real EPC, it is understandable and necessary that the hierarchical
200 See the concluding section of Braido’s biography of Don Bosco called “The desire for
the excellent and the search for the possible good” in BRAIDO, Don Bosco prete dei
giovani, vol. 2, pp. 680-683.

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282 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
(or charismatic) leadership takes immediate decisions. However, perpet-
uating this micro-management style for a long time leads to non-
productive patterns of thought and action. Management action is reactive
and without a long-term vision or the vision is linked directly to the
leader that does not favor the creation of an EPC. If there is an EPC, it is
often either formal or built by loyal people close to the leader.
Where there is an EPC that works well on a practical and a profes-
sional level in a structure without alarming symptoms, the rational
project management is generally adopted. The skillful conversation
likely leads to compromises produced with a democratic mindset. There
is generally a good working environment, but it lacks the sense of com-
munity, a shared vision or vocation. In order to grow as a community, it
is suitable that the leader or the process facilitator proposes deeper dia-
logues and tries to question some of the unproductive paradigms. In this
way the whole planning can be a formative process and can increase the
maturity of the involved people building mutual trust in the EPC.
An Educative and Pastoral Community with a good level of trust and
reflective dialogue can venture into the visionary project management. It
is an investment both in the quality of community relationships within
the EPC and in the operational effects of a vision that creates an inter-
pretive framework for objectives, activities and actions. There are multi-
religious or agnostic contexts, where a discernment of the vocation can
be difficult. In those settings two paths can be followed. The first is to
propose a deeper stage of embraced vocation to the core of the EPC. The
second proposal can be to see the vocation as a universal human experi-
ence and build on the processes described by Scharmer and Senge.
There are situations where an integral project management is re-
quired: after many years of rational planning; after substantial changes
in the current reality or in the group dynamic within the EPC; after a
change of persons in key leadership positions, or after some significant
achievements or failures. If there is a real potential to do so, it is optimal
to start the whole planning cycle in all five stages.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 283
In all situations, where the EPC is not able to adopt the integral project
management, it is advisable to create integral planning experiences in
small teams, such as the animating nucleus of the EPC. In this way the
“inside-out” principle is followed and the quality change is diffused from
small systems to larger ones; from the person to the group and finally to
the community. Even where the impact of such small experiences could
be limited on an operational level, one should not underestimate the for-
mational potential of integral planning that can lead to deepening of faith,
to spiritual conversions and, last but not least, to the maturation of oper-
ational virtues.

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284 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Appendix 1 – SDB General Chapters (1958-2014)
Year Rector Major Members Days
Topic
GC27 Ángel Fernández
(2014)
Artime
253
GC26 Pascual Chávez
(2008) Villanueva
222
GC25 Pascual Chávez
(2002) Villanueva
231
GC24 Juan Edmundo
(1996)
Vecchi
208
GC23
(1990)
Egidio Viganò
205
GC22
(1984)
Egidio Viganò
186
GC21
(1977/8)
Egidio Viganò
184
GCS
(1971/2)
Luigi Ricceri
202
GC19
(1965)
Luigi Ricceri
151
GC18
(1958)
Renato Ziggiotti
119
50
Work
& Temperance
50
Da Mihi Animas
Cetera Tolle
51
Salesian
Community Today
62
Salesians
& Lay People
62
Education
to Faith
120
Renewed
Constitutions
103
Evaluation
& Perspectives
206
New
Constitutions
53
Adaptation
& Renewal
13
Religious
Observance

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285
Appendix 2 – Theories, their Evolution and Rela-
tions
LEGEND
:

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286 REVIVING DON BOSCO’S ORATORY
Appendix 3 – Feedback from a Pilot Project
The community of Borgo Ragazzi Don Bosco in Rome is a complex
work involving three educational areas: A Vocational Training Center,
an Oratory and a work for unsettled youngsters called “Put the Wings
Back”. In 2010, the community embarked on a difficult path of designing
a shared Educative and Pastoral Project that would integrate the different
areas more. After a complicated process, in 2012, we concluded the de-
sign of the next four-year period project. It was divided into general
objectives and according to age-range target groups. In the course of im-
plementation, numerous verification indicators were added. This project
was well designed, but it also proved difficulties to interpret the complex
linguistic formulations. For the same reason it was hard to implement by
the same educators that designed it. In 2016, at the end of the execution
of this SEPP, the path for drafting the new project began with a shared
key-word asked by our operators: simplification. We were entrusted to
the guidance of Prof. Michal Vojtáš towards a simpler project. It was
clear that we would like to get to a basic inspirational vision, constructed
through a process of discernment. Omitting the excessive level of detail
would not hurt the process, of course.
We have therefore tried to simplify the project with respect to the past,
without forgetting the important results achieved, such as the mentaliza-
tion on a common project and the awareness about the importance of co-
ordination between educators, operators at different levels of leadership.
The stages of the situation analysis and interpretation were decisive.
The EPC members were really active, also thanks to creative dialogue
methodologies, like “World Café”, which favored the exchange without
falling into superficial talk. The challenge of discernment has been fas-
cinating, although it has not always been easy to distinguish a purely
human discernment from a genuine spiritual discernment, especially
when you bring together sixty / seventy very different people that operate
in different services and areas.

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CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION 287
It is normal to perceive the lack of motivation during the process, but
this news type of operational design has made people feel involved be-
cause everyone’s ideas found their place within a shared framework
without being put aside.
The vision has been synthesized in a visual image with only one title
and four key words. These have been specified in priorities (each one of
them was declined in indicative processes and interventions). Just the
visual image, along with the four priorities, helped the assembly to tune
into the newly completed project and to find the right interventions for
their specific educative areas.
Stefano Aspettati
Rector of the Borgo
Ragazzi Don Bosco, Rome

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Index
List of Abbreviations
Sdb: Salesian Studies Author/Scholar
Edu: Education Sciences Author/Scholar
Org: Management and/or Leadership Author/Scholar
Cons: Consecrated Life Author/Scholar
Abundance mentality; 238-248;
252; 255; 257; 269
Accompaniment; 73; 125; 180;
227; 245-252; 257; 259; 272;
275
Accountability; 248; 256; 257;
278
Alberich (Sdb); 30; 50; 230;
263; 265; 269; 272; 276-277
Animation theory; 9; 35; 38; 41;
47; 48; 50; 54; 55; 65-67; 82;
100-110; 124; 246; 252
Anthropology (as View on Hu-
man Person); 11; 40; 43; 102;
106; 109; 114; 119; 183-184;
205-206; 215; 219; 276-277
Archetype (Organizational);
191; 206-207; 210; 280
Argyris Chris (Org) 122; 185;
211
Artime Ángel Fernández (Sdb);
74-76; 284
Assessment; 27; 39; 41; 43; 47;
51; 52; 64; 67; 68; 69; 76; 77;
79; 81; 87; 89; 91; 97; 104;
118; 128; 148; 258; 259; 263;
266; 277
Attard Fabio (Sdb); 76-77
Authentic Leadership; 78; 127;
128; 154; 217-220; 227
Bass (Org); 111; 118; 119; 120;
275
Bennis (Org); 118; 121
Biju (Sdb); 143
Bloom (Edu); 81; 87; 88; 89; 98
Bobbitt (Edu); 82; 83; 84
Bopp (Sdb); 169
Bortoft (Edu); 203; 211; 228
Bosco (Sdb); 10; 13; 15; 26; 27;
30; 31; 32; 33; 37; 39; 48; 77;
78; 126-136; 142-182; 183;
185; 211; 212; 216; 217; 220;
221; 222; 225; 226; 227; 233;
234; 240; 244; 246; 247; 253;
254; 259; 260-263; 270; 274;
279; 281;
Braido (Sdb); 15; 19; 30; 31;
128; 132; 135; 145-180; 221;
222; 225; 234; 240; 253; 260;
262; 274; 281
Buber; 200; 204
Call (Vocation in a Broad
Sense); 74; 75; 77; 93; 114;
154; 173; 178; 185; 199; 201;
204; 207; 210; 215; 219; 225-
232; 237; 254; 259; 263; 272;
274
Carlone (Org); 197; 208
Casella (Sdb); 11; 147; 179
Caviglia (Sdb); 216; 217

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Cereda (Sdb); 71; 74; 75; 231;
232; 237; 250; 259; 264; 270;
273
Charism (Salesian Charism);
15; 32; 62; 132; 142; 144; 183;
216; 268; 274
Chávez (Sdb); 18; 54; 65; 69-
75; 215; 250; 284
Chiosso (Edu); 162
Circle of Causality; 99; 187;
190; 191; 210; 212
Communitarian Leadership; 33-
35; 38-41; 47; 62; 66; 72-76;
100; 106-109; 115; 120; 138;
169-172; 184; 185; 197; 199;
200; 217; 219; 238-258; 267-
274; 278; 281-283; 286-287
Comoglio (Sdb); 251
Complementarity; 66; 109; 118;
120; 179-182; 184; 206; 239
Complexity (Organizational);
52; 77; 99; 111; 115; 143; 168;
190; 198; 208; 220; 222; 223;
256
Consecrated Life; 79; 127; 136-
143; 166-172
Covey (Org); 121; 122; 124;
140; 186; 193-199; 205-217;
220; 222-224; 226; 228; 232;
233; 235-237; 239; 241; 242;
245; 248; 249; 255-258; 274;
276; 277; 278
Creative Tension; 161; 177;
233-236; 277
Curriculum Design; 38; 49; 81-
100; 105; 109; 110; 186; 188;
214; 259; 281
D’Hainaut (Edu); 88-89
289
Darmanin (Cons); 140; 144;
226
Deming (Org); 113; 118; 119;
198
Dewey (Org); 83; 84; 87; 192;
214
Dialogue; 15; 19 ; 21; 22; 47;
79; 100; 107; 139; 188 ; 189;
200; 203; 217; 225; 227 ; 242;
245-252 ; 255; 257; 261; 262;
269; 270-274; 282
Dimensions (of the SEPP); 20;
32; 44; 49; 56; 58; 59; 61; 63;
65-67; 75; 78; 79; 99; 113;
135; 184-186; 205-208; 213-
215; 252; 275
Discernment; 39; 43; 45; 49;
74-77; 123-125; 133; 152-
156; 184; 211; 215; 217; 219;
225-232; 234; 237; 238; 243;
246; 247; 250; 254; 259; 263;
264; 268; 270-273; 275; 281;
282; 286
Domènech (Sdb); 59; 65; 68;
71; 74; 231; 241; 259
Dream (Don Bosco’s); 129;
153-157; 160; 169; 227; 261
Dream (Organisational Vision);
162; 163; 173-174; 177; 180;
181; 227; 233; 247; 260; 274
Drucker (Org); 110; 111; 112;
114; 137
Eckert (Cons); 138; 139; 144
Ellena (Sdb); 50; 82; 101; 105;
106; 108
Empowerment; 120; 123; 140;
145; 175; 181; 184; 193; 226
Ethical Leadership; 102; 104;
116; 117; 121; 138; 184; 186;

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290
193-198; 210-213; 217-220;
233; 248; 278
Evangelization; 7; 26; 27; 31-
33; 40; 43; 45; 47; 52; 56; 66-
67; 76; 104; 109; 135; 141;
173; 185; 266
Faith; 7; 13; 17; 29; 39; 56; 57;
59; 60; 67; 104; 109; 153; 172;
206; 207; 217; 229; 268; 273;
283
Fidelity; 15; 46; 107; 127; 128;
131-134; 220-228; 232; 234;
236; 237; 238; 241; 242; 255;
260; 261; 268
Freebairn-Smith (Org); 239
Frigato (Sdb); 20; 26; 31; 56
Galbraith (Cons); 137; 138; 144
Gesing (Sdb); 139; 142; 144
Geus de (Org); 120
Gianola (Sdb); 50
Giraudo (Sdb); 11; 29; 54; 55;
151; 157; 177; 178; 247
Goal Setting Theory; 111-117
Goleman (Edu); 137; 198; 210
Gordon (Edu); 241
Governance; 9; 16; 19; 25; 30;
31; 54; 65; 96; 124; 140-142;
168; 252, 280
Graduality; 19; 20; 53; 58; 78;
107; 258; 276; 281
Grasso (Sdb); 17
Greatness as Excellence; 121;
177; 198-199; 206; 218-219;
260; 272
Greenleaf (Org); 120; 140; 175
Groppo (Sdb); 50; 223; 224
Havard (Org); 219
Heart as a Holistic Symbol; 33;
176; 188; 202-203; 228; 231;
246; 262
Hermeneutics; 18; 104; 109;
211; 225; 267
Heroic Leadership; 136-138
Hierarchy; 24; 48; 109; 111;
120; 124; 245; 256; 281
Integral (Holistic) Anthropol-
ogy; 11; 39; 50; 101; 122; 130;
184; 185; 206-207; 209-213;
215; 220-221; 226; 228-229;
239; 241; 242; 260; 276;
Integral (Holistic) Education;
48; 50; 77; 85; 91; 98; 100;
101; 130; 161; 180; 217; 223;
230;
Integral (Holistic) Manage-
ment-Leadership; 41; 55; 65;
66; 69; 70; 75; 99; 116; 119;
122; 138; 141; 170; 186-192;
197; 202-204; 206; 208-209;
213-217; 227-228; 230; 231;
234; 238; 251-252; 258-259;
263-283;
Industrial Management; 22; 83;
112; 118; 138; 158; 192
Isaacs (Org); 250
Jackson (Org); 83; 193; 197;
274
Jaworski (Org); 122; 187; 269;
272
Kahane (Org); 215; 269
Kahneman (Org); 115
Kotter (Org); 118; 124; 137;
140
Kühl (Org); 24; 34; 207
Lenti (Sdb); 154; 225
Lewin (Edu); 96; 200; 211

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Lewis (Org); 37; 245
Lickona (Edu); 218
Lifelong Learning; 52; 142;
153; 187; 192; 243
Locke – Latham (Org); 111-116
Looy (Sdb); 58; 59; 60; 61; 62;
65; 72
Lorenzo Ric (Sdb); 141; 142;
144; 166
Loving Kindness; 47-48; 129-
130; 172-176; 181; 217; 253
Lowney (Cons); 136; 137; 141;
144
Macintyre (Edu); 218
Malizia (Edu); 30; 228
Maloney (Cons); 140; 141; 144
Management by Objectives; 5;
40; 59; 64; 77; 78; 86; 91; 97-
99; 109-118; 124-126; 183;
184; 186; 191; 205; 206; 209;
213; 259; 264; 269; 276
Manipulation; 25; 28; 194; 235;
236; 238
Mental Models; 188; 191; 220;
223-225; 238; 263; 267
Metfessel (Edu); 88; 98
Mezirow (Edu); 120
Milanesi (Sdb); 51; 52
Motto (Sdb); 149; 152; 155;
159; 160; 162; 169; 173; 179
Mouillard (Sdb); 20
Narrative Practise; 143; 154;
179; 181; 204; 211; 212; 223;
224; 227; 228; 233; 234; 247;
251; 261; 262; 267; 271-276
O’Malley (Sdb); 143
O’Mara (Cons); 141
Oratory; 2; 3; 10; 17; 26; 78;
126-136; 144; 148; 150-153;
291
156-164; 168; 174; 177; 179;
183; 212; 221; 222; 227; 233;
234; 247; 253; 259; 260-263;
279; 286; 297
Ordóñez (Org); 113; 116; 117
Organic Wholeness; 28; 41; 47;
49; 50; 66; 68-74; 80; 99; 102;
119; 187; 254
Organizational Culture; 117;
138; 140; 148; 187; 198; 260
Organizational Learning; 115;
120; 142; 144; 184; 187-193;
200; 206; 207; 217; 229; 243;
265; 275
Paradigm Change; 117-125;
183; 194; 206; 241-243; 267-
270; 279
Participative Leadership; 21;
22; 46; 48; 67- 69; 77; 91; 109;
100; 104; 120; 139; 200; 203;
206
Pedagogy; 21; 49; 82; 86; 97;
108; 130; 174; 178; 179; 216;
234; 247; 253; 274
Pellerey (Sdb); 11; 59; 81; 82;
87; 88; 89; 90; 91; 96; 98; 104;
276; 277
Peters (Edu); 91; 92; 93
Phenomenology; 144; 153; 200;
211-212; 268
Plascencia (Sdb); 134
Pollo (Edu); 50; 82; 100; 101;
102; 103; 104; 108; 109
Practitioner; 10; 48; 55; 111;
117; 122; 185; 188; 269
Prahalad (Org); 114; 121
Pree de (Org); 121
Prellezo (Sdb); 46; 48; 49; 51-
53; 59; 80-82; 87; 89; 90; 101;

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106; 108; 151; 159; 224; 228;
234; 241; 262
Preventive System; 31-33; 35;
37; 38; 39; 41; 46; 50; 64; 67;
76; 78; 134; 157; 159; 160;
168; 174-179; 181; 186; 216;
217; 236-238; 246; 253; 275
Proactivity; 150; 151; 195-196;
215; 216; 220-224; 246
Prototyping; 166; 171; 174;
202; 204-205; 257; 275
Providence; 146; 153-155; 165;
180; 224; 227; 233; 238; 240;
241
Quaglino (Org); 48; 228
Quality Management; 86; 92;
94; 113; 116; 119; 137; 141;
198; 255; 283
Rahner; 15; 25
Raths (Edu); 92; 93
Reactivity; 191-195; 214-215;
223-224; 235; 238-239; 282
Resource Management; 19; 25;
29; 40; 54; 67; 69; 74; 75; 90;
114; 121; 162; 165; 182; 184;
196; 206; 235; 237-240; 248;
252; 255; 267; 276; 278
Ricceri (Sdb); 14; 15; 17; 18;
19; 20; 22; 23; 28; 29; 30; 284
Risk Management; 116; 162;
236
Role Management; 43; 50; 67;
73; 92; 97; 108; 115; 120; 170;
174; 178-179; 181; 195; 205;
237-238; 252-253; 269; 274
Rosanna (Cons); 143
Rosch (Edu); 203; 204; 210;
211; 228
Sarti (Sdb); 81; 89
Scharmer (Org); 122; 171; 185-
187; 199-215; 217; 218; 220;
223; 226; 228; 231; 245; 263;
265; 266; 268; 269; 270-275;
278; 282
Schein (Org); 120; 140; 142;
185; 275
Schön (Org); 123; 193; 211
Schwab (Edu); 97-98
Scilligo (Sdb); 50; 241
Senge (Org); 11; 44; 86; 119;
120; 122; 140; 167; 186-193;
198-200; 205-215; 217; 218;
220; 223; 224; 226; 231; 233;
235; 239; 241; 243; 245; 250;
251; 255; 263; 265; 270-272;
274; 276-278; 280; 282
Servant Leadership; 120; 139-
141; 175; 192; 227
Shared Vision; 119; 140; 166;
172; 188-190; 245-246; 250;
252; 255; 256; 282
Situational Leadership; 111;
140
Spiritual Leadership; 11; 75;
122; 125; 136; 140; 165; 181;
184; 186; 188; 200; 207-208;
210; 221; 226; 228; 232; 240;
252; 263-266; 270-273; 281
Spirituality (Salesian); 59-60;
66-67; 77; 147-150; 164; 177-
178; 216; 221; 246-247; 254;
Stella (Sdb); 13; 146-180; 225;
240; 253; 254; 260
Stenhouse (Edu); 81; 82; 93-99;
109; 110; 188
Strategy in Project Manage-
ment; 37; 49; 51; 75; 114-116;
121; 145; 176; 177; 181; 194-

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195; 198; 200; 217; 233; 235-
237; 241-243; 252; 257; 272;
274
Synergy in Planning; 67; 156;
160-161; 167; 170-171; 175;
180-182; 184; 196-197; 212;
216-217; 219; 242; 252-258;
260; 276-278
Stages of Project Management;
24; 39-42; 74-76; 173-174;
202-205; 258-265; 266-278
Systemic Theory; 41; 42; 59;
99; 103; 118; 119; 140; 141;
161; 184; 186; 187-192; 195;
205; 207; 213; 215; 224; 225;
239; 241; 268; 276-278
Taba (Edu); 87; 89; 110
Tacconi (Sdb); 142; 143; 265
Talent Development; 198-199;
238; 255
Taylor (Org); 83-84; 98; 192
Technical Planning; 10; 42; 43;
47-48; 50; 77; 78; 89; 96-97;
104; 106; 108-109; 142; 274;
276; 278
Theory U; 122; 171; 185; 186;
199-205; 208; 210; 211-213;
228; 265; 268- 271; 275; 278
Tonelli (Sdb); 24; 32; 47; 50;
55; 56-59; 82; 100; 104-105;
108- 109
Transactional Change; 119;
123; 222; 229-230; 241
Transformational Change; 11;
119-120; 123; 140; 145; 160;
164; 178; 184-185; 187; 200;
202; 206-207; 217; 218; 229-
230; 238; 243; 258-259; 263-
265; 267; 272
293
Trenti (Sdb); 37
Trust Leadership; 172; 175-
176; 181-182; 195-196; 198;
210; 216-217; 245; 247-248;
257; 268-271; 282
Trustworthiness; 195-196; 217-
219; 256
Tyler (Edu); 81-89; 97; 110
Ubiquitous Strategy; 70; 198;
208; 217; 257
Vallabaraj (Sdb); 11; 68; 217;
230; 263; 269; 276; 277
Values in Management; 40; 50;
83-86; 90; 92; 121; 136-138;
195; 218-220; 223; 237; 240;
252; 256-257; 268; 277
Value or Character Education;
50; 59; 89; 106-107; 163; 218-
220; 246
Vatican II; 9; 13; 14; 17; 20-28;
57; 58; 79; 80; 96; 124; 126-
128; 131; 135; 183; 220; 239;
279
Vecchi (Sdb); 13; 21; 27; 29;
30; 33; 35; 36-46; 48-60; 71;
79; 80; 81; 82; 87; 89; 90; 94;
96; 101; 106; 108; 110; 185;
188; 223; 224; 234; 241; 258;
284
Viganò (Sdb); 7; 18; 20; 27; 28;
30-35; 37; 38; 53; 56; 57; 60;
134; 135; 185; 216; 217; 246;
284
Virtuous Leadership; 10; 40;
135; 177; 183; 188; 209; 217-
258; 265; 268; 272; 275-277;
279; 283
Vocation; 32; 39; 43; 45; 47; 49;
55; 66-67; 75; 128; 129; 135;

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150; 152-156; 160; 180-182;
185; 199-207; 210-212; 215;
216; 226- 228; 232; 237; 238;
249; 250; 255; 260-263; 270-
276; 281; 282
Weinschenk (Sdb); 176
Wenger (Org); 120
Wirth (Sdb); 22; 23; 31
Witzel (Org); 48; 111; 113; 207
Zigarmi (Org); 111
Ziggiotti (Sdb); 14; 19; 284

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List of Schemes
Scheme A: Tonelli’s and Pellerey’s Project Methodology.................105
Scheme B: Leadership and Management Binomials ..........................123
Scheme C: Evolution of the “Don Bosco in the Oratory” Criterion...133
Scheme D: Senge’s Levels of Analysis and Action ...........................192
Scheme E: Covey’s Continuum of Growth ........................................196
Scheme F: Scharmer’s Transformational Process ..............................202
Scheme G: Overcoming of the MBO ................................................. 206
Scheme H: Integral Leadership Anthropology ...................................207
Scheme I: Levels of the “Wholeness Mindset” ..................................209
Scheme J: Deeper Reflective Learning...............................................214
Scheme K: Virtues of a Salesian Leader-Manager.............................219
Scheme L: SWOT Matrix...................................................................225
Scheme M: Transformational and Transactional Change ..................230
Scheme N: Important and Urgent Activities Matrix...........................236
Scheme O: Cooperative and Competitive Mentality ..........................242
Scheme P: Ladder of Inference .......................................................... 244
Scheme Q: Supportive Systems and Processes ..................................248
Scheme R: Types of Dialogue ............................................................249
Scheme S: Mentality, Leadership and Management Virtues..............254
Scheme T: Don Bosco’s Project Methodology ..................................262
Scheme U: Integral Planning Stages ..................................................264
Scheme V: Planning Stages and Operational Virtues.........................265
Scheme W: Results – Process – Identity Attention ............................271
Scheme X: Application of the SEPP Integral Methodology ..............280

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Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................9
1. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY ....13
1.1 The Pastoral Echoes of Vatican II in the 19th General Chapter (1965)
14
1.1.1 General Chapter Methodology............................................................................................14
1.1.2 Implications for the Youth Ministry......................................................................................16
1.1.3 Execution of Pastoral Conclusions and Recommendations ...............................................18
1.2 The Post-Vatican II and the Special General Chapter (1966-72)
21
1.2.1 The Crisis and the Special General Chapter Preparations.................................................22
1.2.2 Special General Chapter ....................................................................................................25
1.2.3 Application of the SGC guidelines ...................................................................................... 27
1.3 Educative and Pastoral Project Logic of Viganò and Vecchi (1978-90)
30
1.3.1 SEPP as the Actualization of the Preventive System.........................................................31
1.3.2 Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project as an Operational Tool ......................................33
1.3.3 SEPP in the Youth Ministry Department Handouts (1978-80)............................................36
1.4 Collaboration between the Youth Ministry Department and the UPS (1980-88) 45
1.4.1 Seminar on “Planning Education Today with Don Bosco”..................................................46
1.4.2 Publication of “Modular Elements of the Salesian Educational Project”.............................48
1.4.3 Conference on “Educative and Pastoral Practice and the Sciences of Education”............51
1.4.4 Evaluation of the SEPP implementation in the ‘80s ...........................................................53
1.5 Consolidation of the SEPP (1990-2002)
56
1.5.1 GC23 and the Programmes of Education to the Faith........................................................57
1.5.2 Revision of the Provincial SEPPs in the early ‘90s.............................................................60
1.5.3 Synthesis of the First Two Editions of the “Frame of Reference” (1998, 2000) .................65
1.5.4 “Planning Mentality” that Implies an Unsustainable Number of Projects (2002) ................70
1.6 New Youth Ministry Challenges and Perspectives (2002-2014)
71
1.6.1 “Planning Mentality” as a Broader Holistic Concept ...........................................................72
1.6.2 Cereda and Domènech’s Method of Discernment..............................................................74
1.6.3 Changed Perspectives in the Third Edition of the “Frame of Reference”...........................76

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2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS OF SALESIAN LEADERSHIP AND
PROJECT MANAGEMENT.....................................................................79
2.1 Curriculum Design Influences from Bobbitt through Tyler to Stenhouse
82
2.1.1 Product Model.....................................................................................................................84
2.1.2 Process Model .................................................................................................................... 91
2.1.3 Research Model..................................................................................................................93
2.1.4 Critical Evaluation of the Models of Curriculum Design......................................................96
2.2 Animation as a Theoretical Leadership Model
100
2.2.1 Cultural Animation ............................................................................................................101
2.2.2 Social Animation ...............................................................................................................105
2.2.3 Animation Theories Critical Evaluation.............................................................................108
2.3 Management by Objectives and Beyond
110
2.3.1 Management by Objectives ..............................................................................................110
2.3.2 Critics of Management by Objectives ...............................................................................112
2.3.3 Change of Organizational Paradigm.................................................................................117
3. DON BOSCO IN THE ORATORY: PERMANENT RENEWAL
CRITERION ...........................................................................................126
3.1 Criterion for Vatican II Renewal Needed and Found
127
3.1.1 SGC’s Description of “Don Bosco in the Oratory” ............................................................129
3.1.2 Criterion’s Application Contextualized ..............................................................................131
3.1.3 Further Applications of the Criterion Needed ...................................................................134
3.2 Consecrated Life and Organizational Research
136
3.2.1 Consecrated Leadership as a Universal Model................................................................136
3.2.2 Comparative Studies between Consecrated and Secular Settings ..................................138
3.2.3 Leadership Theories Applied to Consecrated Life............................................................140
3.2.4 Other Organizational Studies Written by SDBs or FMAs .................................................142
3.3 Don Bosco’s Leadership and Management
144
3.3.1 The Various “Worlds” in the Life of Don Bosco ................................................................145
3.3.2 Don Bosco’s Childhood and Formation (1815-1841) .......................................................150
3.3.3 Encounter with the Reality of the Young in Turin (1841-1846).........................................156
3.3.4 Development of the Oratory and the Adjoined House (1846-1863) .................................161

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3.3.5 Collegialization, Foundations and Missions (1863-1888).................................................166
3.3.6 The Preventive System, Leadership and Management....................................................174
3.4 Conclusion: Leadership – Management Synergy in Don Bosco
180
4. INNOVATION OF SALESIAN LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT
MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................... 183
4.1 Dialogue with Organizational Theories
183
4.1.1 Criteria for the Selection of Organizational Models ..........................................................183
4.1.2 Peter M. Senge’s Organizational Learning.......................................................................187
4.1.3 Stephen R. Covey’s Principle-Centered Ethical Leadership ............................................193
4.1.4 Otto C. Scharmer’s “Vocational” Theory Linked to Second Senge and Covey ................199
4.1.5 Evaluation of Selected Models .........................................................................................205
4.2 Integral Methodological Framework
208
4.2.1 Knowing the Whole...........................................................................................................209
4.2.2 Enacting the Whole...........................................................................................................213
4.3 Virtues of Salesian Leader-Manager
218
4.3.1 Dynamic Fidelity................................................................................................................220
4.3.2 Call Discernment...............................................................................................................225
4.3.3 Operational Consistency...................................................................................................232
4.3.4 Abundance Mentality ........................................................................................................238
4.3.5 Generative Accompaniment .............................................................................................245
4.3.6 Synergic Integration..........................................................................................................252
4.4 Process of an Integral and Transformational Project Management
258
4.4.1 Don Bosco’s “Project Methodology” .................................................................................260
4.4.2 Integral SEPP Methodology..............................................................................................263
4.4.3 Stage 1: Described Situation ............................................................................................266
4.4.4 Stage 2: Communitarian Interpretation.............................................................................267
4.4.5 Stage 3: Embraced Vocation ............................................................................................270
4.4.6 Stage 4: Experimented Vision ..........................................................................................273
4.4.7 Stage 5: Operational Planning..........................................................................................275
4.4.8 Application of the SEPP Integral Methodology.................................................................278

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APPENDIX 1 – SDB GENERAL CHAPTERS (1958-2014)...........................284
APPENDIX 2 – THEORIES, THEIR EVOLUTION AND RELATIONS...........285
APPENDIX 3 – FEEDBACK FROM A PILOT PROJECT..............................286
INDEX ............................................................................................................288
LIST OF SCHEMES.......................................................................................295
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................296
CONTENTS....................................................................................................320