dictionary-v3A5interactive


dictionary-v3A5interactive

1 Pages 1-10

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1.1 Page 1

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SALESIAN
ENCYCLOPAEDIC
DICTIONARY
With Extended List
of ‘False Friends’
3rd A5 cross-referenced and interactive edition
June 17, 2024

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This dictionary was first published by DB Media, Seoul, in 2019,
under the auspices of the East Asia-Oceania Region.
The dictionary was compiled over a long period of time covering
two Workshops held by translators from the East Asia-Oceania Salesian
region, one in 2014 the other in 2019.
This third, updated interactive edition by a member of the Australia-
Pacific Province, adds new information (e.g. the decision by Pope
Francis to admit women formally to the ministries of reader and
acolyte), new terms in recent use in Salesian discourse (e.g. docibilitas
[la], synodality), as well as terms of historical interest (e.g. bogianen
[pms], trattatello), plus minor corrections. Information on Salesian
Causes has been vastly expanded and updated to April 2022. Also
added are many new ‘false friends’.
Inevitably there will be terms missing that should be added, or
some errors that have crept in. Feel free to signal these by writing
to <roma83537@gmail.com>.
There is also a print-ready edition available, and a separate HTML
version with much additional material for translators.

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Table of Contents
Introduction (3rd edition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
abbandonato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
abito talare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
ABS Associazione Biblica Salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
abside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
accademia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
accoglienza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
accolitato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
accompagnamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
accompagnamento vocazionale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
ACG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
acquisti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ACS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ACSSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ad gentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ADMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
ad multos annos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
ad nutum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
adorazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
ADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
AEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
affidamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
afflictis lentae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
agiatezza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

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aggiornamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Albera Paolo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
allegria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
ambiente . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
ambito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
amici di don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
amicizia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Amicizie (Le) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
amministrazione dei beni temporali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
amore vittimale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
amorevolezza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
anagrafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
angeli custodi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
animatore, animazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
animatore spirituale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Annali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
annuario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
ANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
apostolato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
arancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
archivio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Arribat, Joseph Augustus (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
artigiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Artime, Ángel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
AS Asia Sud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
A.SS.CC./ASC1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
ASC2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
ascesi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
ascritto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
ASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
ASMOAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

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aspirantato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
assistente . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
assistente ecclesiastico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
assistenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
associati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
associazionismo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
ASTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
attuario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
auctoritas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
AUL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
AustraLasia / Bosco.link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Auxilium Christianorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Azione Cattolica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Baglieri, Nino (Servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
barrarotta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Bashir, Akash (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
basilica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
BCF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
BCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
beatificazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Beltrami, Andrea (Ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
benefattori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
beni immobili . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
beretta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Biblioteca degli scrittori latini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Biblioteca della gioventù salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
bimestrale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
birichino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
bogianen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

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Böhm, Antonietta (serva di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Bolla, Luigi (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
borgata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Bororo Simão (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
BOSCOM-India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Braga, Carlo (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
BS Bollettino Salesiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
buona notte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
buon cristiano... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Cafasso Giuseppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Cagliero Giovanni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Cagliero11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Cagliero Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Calasanz Marqués, José (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Calosso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
camerette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Canção Nova CN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
cancelliere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
canonizzazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
capitolo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
capitolo superiore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Caravario, Callisto (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
car ij mè fieuj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
carisma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
carità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
carità pastorale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
carta della missione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
carta di comunione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
carta d’identità carismatica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
casa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

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casa annessa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
casa di beneficenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Casa Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Casa Generalizia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Casa Madre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Casa Pinardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Cascina (Biglione) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
casetta (i Becchi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
catechismo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
CdA consiglio d’amministrazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
CDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
celebret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Cenno istorico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Cenni Storici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
centri vocazionali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Centro Catechistico Salesiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
centro di animazione di tempo libero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
centro di formazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Centro di Studi Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
centro di studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
centro giovanile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
CEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Ceria, Eugenio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
ceti popolari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Chávez Villanueva Pascual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Chieri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
chierico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
cholera asiaticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Cimatti, Vincenzo (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
CIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
CGS Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

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Cinque lustri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
circoscrizione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
CISI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
civiltà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
clima di famiglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
CMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
CNOS-FAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
coadiutore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
cocca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Cognata, Giuseppe (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
collaboratore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
collegio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
colloquio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Comini, Elia (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Comollo, Luigi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
compagnia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
compagno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
comune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
comunicazione sociale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
comunità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
comunità proposta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
comunità virtuale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
confederazione mondiale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
conferenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Conferenza di San Vincenzo de Paoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
conferenza ispettoriale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Conferenze di San Francesco di Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
confratello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Confronto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
congregati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
congregazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

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consacrazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
consigli evangelici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
consigliere scolastico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
consigliere generale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
consiglio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
consiglio della casa/comunità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
consiglio della CEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
consiglio dell’Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
consulta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
contemplazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
convento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Convertini, Francesco (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
convitto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
cooperatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
coordinatore generale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
cortile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
cor unum et anima una . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
costituzioni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Crespi Croci, Carlo (venerabile) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Cristologia salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
criterio oratoriano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Criteri e norme di discernimento vocazionale salesiana . . 161
cronaca della casa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
cronachette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Crònichetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
cronistoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
CSJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
CSMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
CSSMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
culto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
curatorium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

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Czartoryski, Augustus (Beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
da Costa, Alexandrina Maria (beata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
da mihi animas cetera tolle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
DBCS Don Bosco Center of Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
DBI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
DBN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
DBST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
DBVG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
DB WAVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio (Venerabile) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
de Chopitea, Dorotea (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
decretum laudis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
decuria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
delegazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
deliberazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Della Torre, Carlo (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Desramaut, Francis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
destinatario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
devozione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Diaconus (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
DIAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
dicastero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
digitalità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
dimissione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
direttore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
direttorio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Direzione Generale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
diritto proprio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
di Sales, Francesco (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
DISC the Disciples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

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disciplina religiosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
dispensazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
docibilitas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
docile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
don . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Don Bosco (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Don Bosco: History and Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Don Bosco Mondo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
dottrina spirituale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
DQM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
dottore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
ECG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
economia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
economo, economato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
ecosistema comunicativo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
editore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
educatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
educazione alla fede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
educazione del cuore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
educomunicazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Elementi Giuridici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Elenco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Episcopus (E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
epistolario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
équipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
erezione canonica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
esclaustrazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
esercizi spirituali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
esercizio della buona morte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
estasi dell’azione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

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Eurobosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Europa Centro-Nord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
exallievi (di Don Bosco) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Exequatur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
EX.FMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
famigli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
famiglia apostolica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
famiglia carismatica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
famiglia salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
FCMN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Fernández Artime, Ángel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Ferrando, Stefano (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Figli di Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
FIN Filippine Nord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
fioretti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
FIS Filippine Sud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
FLASH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
FMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Fondazione Don Bosco nel Mondo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
fondo di solidarietà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
fondo Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
formatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
formazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
formazione permanente . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
formazione professionale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
FSDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

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G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
gaku- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Galli, Silvio (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Garelli, Bartolomeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Generala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
GIA Giappone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Gianduia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
giardino di ricreazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
ginnasio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Giordani, Attilio (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
giorno della comunità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
giovani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
GMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
globalizzazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
grazia dell'unità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Grita, Vera (serva di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Guanella, Luigi (Santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Harambee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
HDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
HH.SS.CC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Hlond, Augustus (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
HR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
i Becchi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
identità carismatica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
IJA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
imborghesimento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Immacolata Concezione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
INA Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

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incaricato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
inculturazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
integrale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
interculturalità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
internato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
io per voi studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
ispettore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
ispettoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
ISS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
istituto (religioso) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
itinerario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
IUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
JTM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Kęsy, Franciszek (beato), 4 c. martiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Komorek, Rudolf (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Kowalski, Józef (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
laico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Laicus (L) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
lavoro e temperanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
lectio divina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
lectio magistralis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
lettera mortuaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
lettere dimissorie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
lettorato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Letture Cattoliche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
libellus supplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

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logo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria (serva di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Lunkenbein, Rudolph (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
luoghi salesiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Madonna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
maestro dei novizi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Majcen, Andrej (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Mamma Margherita (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
mandamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Manga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Marchese, Rosetta (serva di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Marengo, Oreste (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Markiewicz, Bronisław (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
martirio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Marvelli, Alberto (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Mazzarello, Maria Domenica (santa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
meditazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
memoria salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Memorie Biografiche MB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Memorie dal 1841 al 1884-5-6... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Memorie dell’Oratorio MO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
mensa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Meozzi, Laura (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
MGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
minervale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
missio inter gentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
missione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
missioni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
mistagogia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
mistica salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

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mondanità spirituale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
monsignore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Morano, Maddalena (beata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Movimento Salesiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
MP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
MSMHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Murialdo, Leonardo (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Museo Casa Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
MYM Myanmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Namuncurá, Ceferino (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
NANUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
necrologio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
notaio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
notiziario (ispettoriale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Novitius (n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
noviziato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
nucleo animatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
nulla osta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
nuova evangelizzazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Olivares, Luigi (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
ONG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
ONLUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
opzione Valdocco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
oratorio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
orazione mentale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
organico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Orione, Luigi (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

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Ortiz Arrieta, Ottavio (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Palomino Yenes, Eusebia (beata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
pareggiamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
parolina all’orecchio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
parvum calendarium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
passeggiate autunnali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
pastorale giovanile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
paternità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
patrimonio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Patronage Saint-Pierre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
PDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
pedagogia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
PEPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
pericolante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
personal media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
PGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Pia (Società) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
piccolo clero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Pio IX (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
POI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
positio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
postnoviziato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Postulatore Generale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
potestas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
povero e abbandonato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
povertà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
pratica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
prenoviziato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Presbyter (P) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
presenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

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primo annuncio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
procura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Procuratore Generale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
professio fidei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
progetto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
progetto personale (di vita) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
programmazione di animazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
programmazione generale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
promessa di carità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
promozione umana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
protagonismo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
protocollo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
protomartire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
PVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Quadrio, Giuseppe (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Quadro di riferimento... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
quarto settore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
quinquennio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
radicalità evangelica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
ragione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
regione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
regionale (consigliere) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
regolamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
regolatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
religione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
rendiconto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
repertorio domestico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

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responsabile (maggiore) (centrale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Rettor Maggiore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
rettorato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Ricaldone, Pietro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Ricceri, Luigi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Rinaldi, Filippo (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
risignificazione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
ritiratezza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
ritiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Romero Meneses, Maria (beata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
RSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Rua, Michele (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
ruota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Sacro Cuore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Saiz Aparicio, Enrique (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
SAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
sala della comunità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Salem Chelhot, Mathilde (serva di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Salesian Missions Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Salesian Theological Institute Ratisbonne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
salesian.online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
salesianità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Salesiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
salesiano esterno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Salesiani di Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
SALVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Sandor Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Sándor, István (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Santissimo (il) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
santità salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

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santo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Savio, Domenico (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Scholasticus (S) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
scientifico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
scrutinium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
SDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
SDB Salesiani di Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
SDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
secolarità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
secolarismo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
secolarizzione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
sede centrale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Sede apostolica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
segretario (ispettoriale)(generale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
selvaggi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
sensus ecclesiae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
sequela Christi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
sermon de charité . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
servo di Dio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
settore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
settore d’animazione pastorale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
sigla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
significatività . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
SIHM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
silsila (Arabic: ة‎ ) سلسل. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
sinodalità . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
sistema preventivo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
SMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
SMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
società d’allegria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
società di mutuo soccorso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

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21
Società Salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
sogni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
solidarietà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
SOSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
spedizione missionaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
spirito di famiglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
spirito salesiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
spiritualità giovanile salesiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
SQM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Srugi, Sim‘ān (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
SSCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
stemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
strenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Stuchlý Ignacy (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
studentato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
studia di farti amare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Świerc, Jan (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
SYA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
teatrino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
territorio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
testamentino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
THA Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
tirocinio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
titoli di appartenenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
TLS Timor-Leste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
TR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
transunto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
trattatello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Troncatti, Maria (beata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
TVET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

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22
U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
uffici tecnici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Ufficio anagrafico e statistico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
umanesimo salesiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
UPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
urna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
vademecum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Valdocco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Valsé Pantellini, Teresa (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Vandor, Jószef (ven) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Variara, Luigi (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
VDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Vecchi, Juan Edmundo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Vendrame, Constantino (servo di Dio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
venerabile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Versiglia, Luigi (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
VET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
VIA Don Bosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
vicario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Vicuña, Laura (beata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
VIE Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
VIDES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Viganò, Egidio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
VIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
visita (ispettoriale) (straordinaria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
visita d’insieme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
visitatoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
vita comune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
vita consacrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
volontariato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

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23
VSDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
wantok (system) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Zatti, Artemide (santo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
zelo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
Zeman, Titus (beato) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
Ziggiotti, Renato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
False Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

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Abbreviations
abbrev.
adj.
adjp.
advp.
[ar]
C.
[de]
[es]
[fr]
[ja]
[ko]
[la]
n.
np.
pl.
[pms]
prepp.
[pt]
R.
[sw]
[tpi]
v.
vp.
abbreviation
adjective
adjectival phrase
adverbial phrase
Arabic
Constitution(s)
German
Spanish
French
Japanese
Korean
Latin
noun
noun phrase
plural
Piedmontese
prepositional phrase
Portuguese
Regulation(s)
kiSwahili
Tok Pisin
verb
verb phrase

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25
Introduction (3rd edition)
The Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary, with an appendix of the very
many ‘false friends’ that exist between Italian and English, is a
comprehensive effort to compile a list of terms in current (and
sometimes historical) use in Salesian discourse in English. This third
2022 edition updates some information, includes new entries and
an expanded list of ‘false friends’.
Many (perhaps 99%) of these terms have originated in Italian,
some in the Piedmontese dialect, the vernacular of the founding
Father and most of his first followers. But as Don Bosco’s charism
became established outside of Italy, it was inevitable that new terms
would arise with their origins in other languages.
This dictionary, which has developed over many years of careful
lexical observation and annotation, is chiefly interested in meanings
and usage relating to Salesian discourse in English, and includes
terms that have entered that discourse from English and, indeed,
other languages.
The dictionary (it is far more than a glossary, hence the
description ‘encyclopaedic’) contains a great deal of information.
Not only are some terms complicated, containing several meanings,
but due to their consistent use in Salesian discourse they may have
developed an etymology of their own and require some explanation.
The compilation of terms has borne in mind both the translator and
the seeker of knowledge regarding the Salesian charism of St John
Bosco. Its use, then, is intended both as a formation tool and an
aid for translators. The extensive list of ‘false friends’ will be of
particular help to translators, even the best of whom can easily fall
into any number of traps of this kind.

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26
One Salesian region in particular, the East Asia-Oceania region,
has brought translators from the Salesian Family together on two
occasions so far (2014 in K’Long, Vietnam, and 2019 in Anisakan,
Myanmar). These workshops, as they have been called, have insisted
on the value of producing glossaries in the various word pairs that
translators in the region are working with. And since English is the
‘lingua franca’ of the region, it was seen to be an essential first step
to produce what would effectively be at least a bilingual glossary in
the Italian-English language pair, but one not ultimately restricted
to that pair should some terms originating from other languages in
the region also need to be included.
While this dictionary has resulted mainly from the needs of one
Salesian region, it would clearly be at least a part response to the
needs of other regions where English is the ‘lingua franca’, and it
may well be that a future edition expands to include terms from
other languages that have become part of Salesian discourse in those
regions: this current dictionary includes several examples of the
kind: gaku- (Japanese), harambee (kiSwahili), silsilha, ة‎ سلسل(Arabic),
wontok (Tok Pisin). There will be many other such examples, though
not included here.
All entries contain a headword in bold type, followed by one or
more glosses (meanings) in brackets. If the term is neither Italian
nor English in origin, a brief language reference is offered in square
brackets, using the ISO two-letter or three-letter language codes,
e.g. [ar] (Arabic), [de] German, [es] Spanish, [fr] (French), [ja]
(Japanese), [la] (Latin), [pms] (Piedmontese), [pt] Portuguese,
[sw] kiSwahili, [tpi] (Tok Pisin). Where there is more than one word
or phrase given as meanings, the first of them is the primary sense
of the term in normal Salesian discourse, followed by synonyms
that may be appropriate in context. A simple indication of part of
speech then follows in italics. If the headword consists of more than

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abbandonato
27
abbandonato
one word, the part of speech may be either a ‘phrase’ (np., vp.,
etc.) or an ‘idiom’ or set phrase. All information regarding the term,
including usage, follows the ‘round bullet’. In some instances the
entry concludes with a ‘right arrow’ indicating a cross-reference.
At the top of each dictionary page, like in every dictionary, the first
and last headword to appear on that page are listed in the running
head.
See the following example:
abbandonato
adj. 1. abandoned, 2. neglected, 3. in a state of dire poverty with
nobody to look after (them). • Note the term ‘poor and abandoned’
which Don Bosco used but which was also frequently in use to
describe the situation of young people who might also be socially
and religiously deprived. This group was Don Bosco’s definitive
vocational option. → “povero e abbandonato”

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→ “Table of Contents”

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1a età
29
1a età
1-9
1a età
np. 1. youth, 2. first age. • The age between adolescence and
maturity and by extension all of the human being’s first age (as
opposed to old age).
Different cultures distinguish age groupings in different ways.
One would be unlikely to find, in English, terms like first age,
second age etc. as recorded here. In fact there are probably only
three general groupings in English: young, middle-aged, elderly,
and the boundaries are rather flexible for these. Among the young
category, English might distinguish infants, children, adolescents
young adults. → “giovani”
Having said that, there is, in the UK, the University of the Third
Age, so at least that term is recognised as ‘older people no longer in
full time work’.
Usage: Expect to find, at least in Italian, 2a età (the 30-59
age group) and 3a età (see earlier in this comment. It would be
capitalised in English as Third Age), and perhaps even 4a età (75
and over).
→ “Table of Contents”

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abbandonato
30
abside
A
abbandonato
adj. 1. abandoned, 2. neglected, 3. in a state of dire poverty with
nobody to look after them. • Note the term ‘poor and abandoned’
which Don Bosco used but which was also frequently in use to
describe the situation of young people who might also be socially
and religiously deprived. This group was Don Bosco’s definitive
vocational option. → “povero e abbandonato”
abito talare
np. 1. cassock, 2. clerical dress, 3. habit. • [talare, adj. from
tallone=heel] as a symbol of the priestly state. → “beretta”
ABS Associazione Biblica Salesiana
abbrev., np. Salesian Biblical Association. • The Salesian Biblical
Association (ABS) is a permanent body for the promotion, liaison
and coordination of scholars of biblical sciences and activities of the
Salesian Congregation of St John Bosco for the benefit of its members
and at the service of the Salesian Family in particular. → “famiglia
salesiana” “Società Salesiana”
abside
n. 1. sanctuary, 2. apse. • Typical element in Roman architecture in
the cella (where the divinity was located) of a temple or basilica...
to draw attention to what it contains, hence the liturgical value of
the apse in a Christian church. Architecture: a vaulted semi- circular
or polygonal recess in a building, especially at the end of the choir
of a church.
→ “Table of Contents”

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accademia
31
accolitato
accademia
n. 1. academy, 2. religious entertainment program. • A semi-religious
or cultural program often performed on the vigil of a major feast
day. The term could even be noted as archaic because it is hardly
understood in this special sense in English outside of Salesian or
religious circles, and even there, perhaps only in initial formation
communities.
However, in Vietnam Province, for example, there is still
reference to a congressino, a term that has come down from the early
missionaries, describing a small cultural event which might well be
very similar to an ‘academy’ as described above, though an academy
is probably a bigger program. A Vietnamese Salesian has described
the congressino as "a small cultural program usually done in the
Novitiate".
accoglienza
n. 1. acceptance, 2. welcome, 3. hospitality, 4. reception. • While
‘hospitality’ certainly sums up distinctly Salesian (including St
Francis de Sales) characteristics, it is also true that in English the
term sometimes has a more material sense to it along the lines of the
Italian logistica, the arrangements we make to take people in. We
also find this sense in Italian, of course, in such terms as centro di
accoglienza (homeless shelter), politiche di accoglienza (immigration
policies).
accolitato
n. Ministry of acolyte. • In the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the fourth
and highest of the minor orders; after the 1972 reform, it is one of
the ministries common to the whole Church (along with Reader or
Lector), and can be conferred in a special ceremony, including on
lay people. On 10 January 2021, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic
Letter titled Spiritus Domini, which modified the Code of Canon
→ “Table of Contents”

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accompagnamento
32
accompagnamento vocazionale
Law to allow women, as well as men, to be installed in the ministry
of acolyte and lector, or reader, at Mass.
Note that the term nearly always appears in close association
with lettorato, ‘ministry of Reader’ or Lector. The one who takes on
this ministry is called an accolito or ‘Acolyte’.
The sense in which the term is used in Salesian discourse
is almost always that of the instituted acolyte normally, but not
essentially, in preparation for priesthood. → “lettorato”
accompagnamento
n. 1. accompaniment, 2. to move with, 3. to be with, 4. to be on first
name terms with, 5. to be trusted by, 6. companionship, 7. guidance.
• An act of support by a person for another individual or for a
group; to follow up someone, go with someone as a companion.
Note also that accompagnamento vocazionale in Italian (see below)
might be rendered as ‘vocational guidance’ in English. The extended
list of synonyms already suggests that it might be better to avoid
the term ‘accompaniment’ where it could cause confusion, but
within recent times, ‘spiritual accompaniment’ has begun to replace
‘spiritual direction’ in Salesian formation terminology in terms of
both personal (e.g. in the friendly talk with the rector) and group
(e.g. community ) accompaniment. We might also find reference to
‘pastoral accompaniment’.
accompagnamento vocazionale
np. Vocational guidance. • In 2009, an adjustment was made to the
existing Salesian Ratio (for the prenovitiate section in particular) in
the light of new attention being given to vocational accompaniment and
the aspirantate, and spiritual accompaniment. It becomes even more
important in the efforts being made for a revised Ratio. → “ratio”
“aspirantato”
→ “Table of Contents”

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ACG
33
ad gentes
ACG
abbrev. ACG Atti del Consiglio Generale. AGC Acts of the General
Council. • The official organ for the promulgation of directives
of the Rector Major and his Council. Their publication is the
responsibility of the Secretary General. → “segretario (ispettoriale)(general
acquisti
n. Purchases. • Accounting terminology.
ACS
abbrev. ACS Atti del Capitolo Superiore. ASC Acts of the Superior
Chapter. • The term is out of use, as they are now known as the Acts
of the General Council AGC (or ACG Atti del Consiglio Generale).
ACSSA
abbrev. Associazione Cultori della Storia Salesiana 1. Salesian History
Association. 2. Association for enthusiasts of Salesian History. • Set
up by decree of the Rector Major on 9 October 1996. → “ISS”
ad gentes
[la] adjp. ad gentes. • ‘Ad Gentes’ is the Second Vatican Council’s
Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church. Passed by the
bishops assembled by a vote of 2,394 to 5, it was promulgated by
Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965. The title means ‘to the nations’
in Latin, and is from the first line of the decree, as is customary with
Roman Catholic documents.
One difficulty with taking ‘ad gentes’ out of its original linguistic
context, to develop it into an over-arching missionary approach, is
that it can be interpreted ethnocentrically. It is ‘missionary activity
proper’, in the view of Redemptoris Missio, and is directed to peoples
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ADMA
34
ADMA
among whom the Church has not been firmly established and whose
cultures have not yet been influenced by the Gospel, people who are
found in certain geographical areas, for the most part. → “missio
inter gentes”
ADMA
abbrev. Associazione di Maria Ausiliatrice 1. Mary Help of Christians
Association, 2. Clients of Mary Help of Christians (out of use),
3. Devotees of Mary Help of Christians (out of use).• A Public
Association of the Faithful. Don Bosco founded the group ‘to foster
veneration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary Help
of Christians’. Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians
(hence the ’D’ in ADMA), is now out of use in favour of the simple
Association of Mary Help of Christians, or Mary Help of Christians
Association.
The Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, wrote a ‘Letter
on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the
Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA) – 18 April 1869’,
and in it he traced the history of the term (as well as the reality) of
this association. With regard to ‘devotee’, he points out that ‘This
little word, antiquated and somewhat out of fashion nowadays, is
the key to entering into the burning heart of the relationship that
links Don Bosco with the Help of Christians.’
Don Bosco himself traced out the origins of the group in a leaflet
entitled ‘Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians
canonically erected in the Church dedicated to Her in Turin with
historical information about this title by the priest John Bosco.’ He
attributed the origin of the Association to ‘repeated requests’ coming
‘from all parts and from people of all ages and every condition’
during and after the construction and the consecration of the church.
He referred to the associates as ‘those united in the same spirit
of prayer and piety paying homage to the great Mother of the
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ad multos annos
35
adorazione
Saviour invoked with the beautiful title of the Help of Christians.’
→ “famiglia salesiana” “Auxilium Christianorum”
ad multos annos
[la] advp., idiom. ad multos annos. Remains untranslated though its
meaning is ‘may you have many more years’. • A refrain with a
semi-liturgical significance. The more complete phrase is ad multos
annos vivat and it is usually sung as an even more complete verse:
ad multos annos vivat, plurimosque annos vivat, vivat, vivat, vivat. In
fact, its origin is Christian and goes back to a time when the newly
consecrated bishop sang this three times to his consecrator; or in the
case of an abbot at his investiture, once only. Common enough in
Salesian usage at some convivial celebration of confreres.
ad nutum
[la] advp., idiom. ad nutum. Remains untranslated.• Used of an
ecclesiastical office whose bearer may be removed from by his
or her appointer at will, without need for further explanation.
Literally meaning ‘at the will of’ for the time that the Superior
remains in office, or until he changes his mind. → “segretario
(ispettoriale)(generale)”
adorazione
n. 1. adoration, 2. worship. • Act expressing homage paid to a
divinity or person thought to be divine. In the Catholic religion,
an act expressing homage to God. Desramaut includes the term
amongst his 100 key words of Salesian spirituality. Salesians begin
their understanding of the term from Francis de Sales who sees
adoration as a daily thing, in any circumstance.
Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament is very much part of
Salesian tradition. → “Santissimo (il)”
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ADS
36
AEO
ADS
[es] abbrev. Asociación Damas Salesianas 1. [Association of] Salesian
Women. 2. DAMAS. 3. ADS. • An association of Catholic lay women
founded in 1948 in Caracas, Venezuela. A Private Association of the
Faithful in ecclesiastical terms. Often referred to by the shorter title
(capitalised) DAMAS, not an acronym but a shortened version. Has
official membership of the Salesian Family. The Salesian assistant
to the DAMAS is called the ‘Spiritual Director’. → “famiglia
salesiana”
AEO
abbrev. AEO Asia Est-Oceania, EAO East Asia-Oceania. • A current
Salesian Region. Essentially, the region is the old Australia-Asia
region minus South Asia, but in 2008 at GC26, Myanmar (MYM)
was added in from the South Asia Region. Current member
circumscriptions of the region are: AUL (Australia Province,
includes the Pacific Delegation), CIN (Province, including Taiwan),
FIN (Province), FIS (Province, includes the Pakistan Delegation),
GIA (Province), KOR (Province), MYM (Vice-Province), INA
(Vice-Province), PGS (Vice-Province), THA (Province, includes
the Cambodia Delegation), TLS (Vice-Province), VIE (Province,
includes the Mongolia and North Vietnam Delegations).
It is important to note that while this region frequently makes
use of an initialism (EAO), this is not an official abbreviation, for
in fact none of the Salesian regions have an official abbreviation,
and perhaps only the East Asia-Oceania makes frequent reference
to itself this way. Provinces, on the other hand, do have official
abbreviations (either acronym or initialism, as seen above).
→ “sigla” “AS Asia Sud”
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affidamento
37
aggiornamento
affidamento
n. Entrustment. • Distinguish from ‘consecration’, especially, for
example, when speaking of the prayer of entrustment to Mary Help
of Christians. → “consacrazione”
afflictis lentae
[la] vp. afflictus lentae. The complete phrase is afflictis lentae celeres
gaudentibus horae Time passes slowly for those who are sad and fast
for those who are cheerful. • John Bosco saw this inscription on the
sundial at the seminary in Chieri when he first entered there, and
determined to make his time pass quickly! (The sundial in question
is no longer on the wall of the courtyard, though a second one is
still visible on the adjacent wall). → “Chieri”
Linguistic note: Sundials have always been famous for their Latin
inscriptions. Here are a few more:
A SOLIS ORTU USQUE AD OCCASUM (from the rising of the sun
to its setting).
AETAS CITO PEDE PRAETERIT (Life goes by at a swift pace [Lit.:
with swift foot].
BREVIS AETAS, VITA FUGAX (Time is short, life is fleeting).
CARPE DIEM, HORA ADEST VESPERTINA (Harvest the present
moment, evening is almost here).
agiatezza
n. 1. comfort, 2. ease, 3. life of ease, 4. well-being. • Social and
financial circumstances corresponding to well-being. Can have a
pejorative sense in a religious context. → “imborghesimento”
aggiornamento
n. 1. updating, 2. renewal, 3. modernisation. • The word was coined
(for ecclesial usage) on 27 June 1949, during the preparatory session
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Albera Paolo
38
Albera Paolo
of the International Congress of States of Perfection celebrated in
Rome in December 1950. It was taken up by John XXIII and the
Council, which spoke of ‘renewal’.
Previously, renewal was understood rather as a return to the
primitive form. Instead, the Council projected forward, as Pope
Francis is projecting out today.
While it can be and often is translated (‘updating’ in English),
it is often found in its original Italian form ‘aggiornamento’, and
appears in this latter form in many contemporary dictionaries in
various languages.
Albera Paolo
proper name. Fr Paul Albera. • The second successor of Don Bosco,
a fact predicted by the Saint of Valdocco himself. Elected Rector
Major at the death of Fr Michael Rua (1910), he dedicated himself
particularly to the spiritual formation of the members of the Salesian
Society, spelling out directives for interior life. This care was also
mirrored in the social field in his wish that educational work be
pursued beyond the schools and colleges by more stringent and
consequent bonds. He brought together Congresses of Past Pupils
and Cooperators with precise aims: to forge fraternal bonds which
would add to the fruits of the education received and would facilitate
mutual assistance; to diffuse the Christian spirit throughout family,
society and especially among young people; to promote and put in
place, eventually, private and public initiatives aimed at supporting
the many works of assistance, religious and social outlook that
have come into existence in the name of Don Bosco. He carried this
through most effectively amidst the difficulties of the first World
War when it was necessary to organise huge works of charity and
assistance in different nations at war. → “Rettor Maggiore”
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allegria
39
ambiente
allegria
n. 1. cheerfulness, 2. happiness. • A lively, happy state of mind
understood as a Christian virtue. Part of the trio allegria, studio-lavoro,
pietà (cheerfulness, work-study, piety) frequently employed by Don
Bosco with the sense of being a virtue, hence his including it in
recommendations to Dominic Savio who asked what he had to do
to become a saint. Don Bosco would also often remind a youngster
to sta allegro, be happy. → “spiritualità giovanile salesiana”
ambiente
n. 1. setting, 2. neighbourhood, 3. environment, 4. circle, 5. climate,
6. atmosphere. • We are likely to find the Italian term ambiente,
which we can often though not always translate with ‘setting’, a
term in frequent use in Salesian discourse today. It will often be
in combination with an adjective such as popolare, in which case
the phrase might be rendered as ‘ordinary folk’, or ‘ordinary poor
people’, or ‘working class’ according to circumstance, another way
of saying ceti popolari, which we find in the Italian version of the
Constitutions. But it is worth noting the huge change that took place
in the SDB renewed Constitutions (1984).
While previously the term ambiente (setting or environment, but
this time the English text translates it as ‘neighbourhood’) wasn’t
found anywhere, the new text repeats it often, with a variety of
glosses in English:
C. 41: We give practical expression to the redeeming love of
Christ by organising activities and works of an educational and
pastoral nature designed to meet the needs of the neighbourhood
and of the Church.
C. 57: The Salesian community is... open to the cultural milieu in
which it carries out its apostolic work.
C. 77: every community is sensitive to the conditions of its
neighbourhood.
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ambito
40
amici di don Bosco
R. 11: The Oratory... should be organised as a service to the
neighbourhood.
R. 14: A Salesian school... services to meet local needs.
R. 17: The aspirantate... keeps itself open to the neighbourhood.
R. 60: Our works should be open and available for the needs of
the neighbourhood...
R. 89: The house of the novitiate should be in contact with social
and apostolic realities of the neighbourhood.
→ “ceti popolari” “settore d’animazione pastorale” False
Friends “A”
ambito
n. 1. sector, 2. area, 3. dimension. • This term is used by the Salesian
Sisters in a particular way, to indicate what the SDBs call a settore or
sector. The Sisters refer to these areas of the Salesian mission as an
ambito, e.g. Youth Ministry, Social Communication, etc. → “settore”
amici di don Bosco
np. 1. Friends of Don Bosco literally, or more broadly, Salesian
sympathisers. • An unofficial group to cover people who sympathise
with and act closely according to Salesian principles and usually in
collaboration with Salesians, but who are not members of an official
Salesian Family group. The term is quite useful in non-Christian
contexts, though not only in these.
It is arguable, at least in English, if the term is to be capitalised
or not as ‘Friends of Don Bosco’. Doing so implies a degree of
membership that does not, in fact, exist (at least not yet). That said,
the Past Pupils of Don Bosco have begun to include reference to
‘friends of Don Bosco’ in their official communiques, which suggests
that this entity is beginning to find a place in the Salesian Family.
→ “Movimento Salesiano” “exallievi (di Don Bosco)”
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5.1 Page 41

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amicizia
41
amministrazione... beni temporali
amicizia
n. Friendship. • Keen, mutual affection between two or more
people. The term is one of the 100 words of Salesian spirituality
selected by Desramaut. Salesian understanding of friendship is
normally quite positive, drawing from Francis de Sales but also
Don Bosco’s friendship experiences (e.g. Jonah, his Jewish friend,
Comollo, in Memoirs of the Oratory). Don Bosco was not afraid to
speak of friendship between Salesians and their pupils. It is also
true to say that there was a long period of negative associations of
friendship (in terms of ‘particular friendships’) in Salesian tradition
from Fr Rua until Fr Viganò, when once again the term receives a
positive approach. → “Comollo, Luigi” “Desramaut, Francis”
Amicizie (Le)
n. Friendly Societies. • Secret societies generally dedicated to the
defence of the Catholic faith and the institutional Church, at first
chiefly through the spreading of good books. Founded by Jesuits, at
least two groups, the Amicizia cattolica and the Amicizia sacerdotale,
were less secret in Don Bosco’s time. The pastoral and doctrinal
concerns of the latter group were to be found expressed through
the activities of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary
in their work of renewal of moral theology in Piedmont and the
founding of the Pastoral Institute in Turin, hence Don Bosco’s good
understanding of their interests. → “convitto”
amministrazione dei beni temporali
np. Administration of temporal goods. • A term which deals with
the structural aspect within Salesian communities, cf. C. 108
and the corresponding Regulations. The Salesian Society has the
ability to acquire, possess, administer and alienate temporal
goods (Congregation, province, house level). Temporal goods are
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amore vittimale
42
amore vittimale
regarded as means through which to achieve the apostolic aims of
the Congregation. → “povertà” “economia”
amore vittimale
np. 1. oblational love, 2. self-oblation, 3. sacrificial love. • Perhaps a
description is more to the point here than a precise definition (What
follows comes from AGC 308, Fr Viganò):
We are all deeply impressed - one could almost say disconcerted - when
we see that our Salesian way of being holy can take on a very special
style that is certainly exceptional but still genuinely Salesian: I refer to Fr
Andrew Beltrami's distinctive way of holiness through suffering; gravely
ill, he asked the Lord that he should "not recover, not die, but live to
suffer". Despite our wonderment, it is a fact that such a way of sanctity
has flourished in one of the groups of the Salesian Family: in Colombia Fr
Luigi Variara imbued the Institute of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts
with this special characteristic - their distinctive ethos is permeated with the
spirit of oblation and suffering. Immersed in the flurry of our apostolate,
taking work for granted, accustomed to fatigue, we could very easily forget
the great values of suffering. But when we come to think of it, Don Bosco's
Salesian spirit with its ‘da mihi animas’ leads on logically to the mystery
of suffering - even to martyrdom itself. Don Bosco tells us, "We must all
carry the cross as Jesus did; and our cross is the suffering and distress that
we meet with in our daily lives." "Whoever will not accept affliction with
Jesus Christ on earth will not rejoice with him in heaven."
It is clear from the lengthy citation above that Jesus' own gift
of self is the core element in this aspect of the charism: Jesus lived
his divine sonship to the full, open to the will of his Father and in
total obedience. He translated his apostolic zeal into an absolute
self-oblation and therefore what really matters is our self-oblation
in the achievement of God's plans.
In addition to the two holy Salesians (and several Groups in the
Salesian Family who have made oblation a distinctive feature of the
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amorevolezza
43
anagrafe
Salesian charism in their regard), we could mention Fr Quadrio,
Venerable Simon Srugi, the Salesian Protomartyrs and, it goes
without saying, Don Bosco himself.
Linguistic note: Some care has to be taken in translating ‘vittimale’
into English, as words like ‘victim’, ‘victimhood’ can be easily
misinterpreted. → “Beltrami, Andrea (Ven)” “Variara, Luigi
(beato)” “Quadrio, Giuseppe (ven)” “Srugi, Sim‘ān (ven)”
“protomartire” “Don Bosco (santo)”
amorevolezza
n. 1. loving-kindness, 2. loving concern, 3. affection, 4. kindness, 5.
patience. • Being loving: love of parents for children; affectionately
benevolent, an affectionate act, demonstration of affection, benevolence.
In the Italian lexicon familiar to Don Bosco, the term amorevolezza
was not identified so much with ‘love’ or the theological virtue of
charity, but rather with a range of little relational virtues, attitudes
or behaviours shown by gestures, help, gifts, availability. It is the
kind of affection shown by a parent or by husband and wife. It is this
common-garden sense of the term that Don Bosco employed, but
then added an understanding that moved towards a more deeply
Christian understanding of the term.
Usage: In English it could be written as loving kindness,
loving-kindness, or even as a single word: lovingkindness. There
tends to be a progression over time for two words used as a kind of
compound. They start off as two words, then a hyphen is introduced,
and finally they become a single word. In a strictly Salesian context
we might write ‘lovingkindess’, but in a more general context,
probably ‘loving-kindness’. → “ragione” “religione”
anagrafe
n. Register (perhaps a database today). • Registration of population
in a municipality. More specifically in the Salesian case, a Census
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angeli custodi
44
animatore, animazione
Register from 1847–69 which recorded the names of boarders
accepted at Valdocco each year.
Note that there was an older list called the repertorio domestico
or house list, a rough handwritten list of names from 1847–53.
→ “repertorio domestico”
angeli custodi
np. Guardian angels. • That every individual soul has a guardian
angel has never been defined by the Church, and is, consequently,
not an article of faith; but it is the "mind of the Church", as St. Jerome
expressed it: "how great the dignity of the soul, since each one has
from his birth an angel commissioned to guard it." (Comm. in Matt.,
xviii, lib. II).
Why include angels here? Desramaut asks this in selecting the
term for his 100 words of Salesian spirituality. He finds that Don
Bosco from early days of his ministry invoked and used the Church’s
under- standing of the Guardian Angels. Devotion to the Guardian
Angels was the title of one of his very first written works. Rua and
Albera continued mention of the devotion. Then silence, for the
most part. Desramaut hopes for a ‘return of the angels’ in Catholic
spirituality. → “Desramaut, Francis”
animatore, animazione
n. 1. leader, 2. Someone who gives life, impetus, movement to
something, 3. animator. • In Salesian usage, ‘animation’ is a
characteristic style of leadership. Codified in Salesian texts since
Vatican II, animation is a quality, a service, a style, something
which is a capacity of individual Salesians (capacità dell’animazione),
of leadership, something to be exercised in the community, e.g.
the animazione della comunità (animation of the community), or
the animazione del CEP (animation of the Educative and Pastoral
Community). We speak of something also more structured as in
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animatore spirituale
45
ANS
the servizio di animazione (service of animation) or even organismi
di animazione (animation structures, animation bodies such as
commissions). → “CEP”
animatore spirituale
np. Spiritual animator. • The term is used of the priest who is
responsible for an ADMA group (MHC Association).
Usage: It would normally be capitalised in English. → “ADMA”
Annali
n., pl. Annals. • Historical narration of political or otherwise
important events, arranged by years. Salesians immediately think
of the full title Gli Annali della Società Salesiana. These ‘Annals of the
Salesian Society’ are a set of 4 hefty volumes with a total of 2887
pages. → “Ceria, Eugenio”
annuario
n. 1. yearbook, 2. directory, 3. annual. • A regular publication usually
yearly but not always, with news, statistics. The yearly general listing
of Salesians and Houses in the Congregation.
In fact, annuari existed in the Salesian Society from 1870, and
contained an elenco generale. At some stage this became simply
the Elenco. It was known as this until 2002, then subsequently as
Annuario.
Usage: Despite the official change to Annuario, many Salesians
still commonly refer to the Elenco. → “Elenco”
ANS
abbrev. Agenzia iNfo Salesiana 1. Salesian News Agency, 2. Salesian
Information Agency. • ANS produces Salesian information to feed
Salesian media and disseminates its products among media in the
service of the Salesian mission. The acronym ANS now stands for
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apostolato
46
arancel
Agenzia iNfo Salesiana (Salesian Information Agency) – it comes from
the earlier Agenzia Notizie Salesiane but was retained for sake of
continuity with a slightly altered reference.
In English, however, we still tend to speak of the Salesian News
Agency, since ‘Information Agency’ is not common parlance in
English. It is an unusual phenomenon that an acronym retains its
initials but the meaning changes, yet, as noted above, this is precisely
what has happened with ANS. It has also been the case with IUS.
→ “comunicazione sociale” “IUS”
apostolato
n. Apostolate. • The work of someone who dedicates themselves
to spreading religious truths, moral, social, political teachings.
According to Catholic Church teaching, every baptised member has
apostolate as a duty.
At one point the term appeared to be a likely gloss for pastorale as
in pastorale giovanile glossed as ‘Youth Apostolate’, but they are not
the same. Hence ‘Youth Pastoral Ministry’ came into being at one
stage (now the preferred term is simply Youth Ministry) as a gloss
for the specific nature of Salesian ministry for the young. ‘Apostolate’
has a wider meaning, since ‘apostolic’ means to work for the growth
of the Church. We also speak of our impegno apostolico (apostolic
commitment), something which arises from and is inspired by
pastoral charity.
Desramaut includes ‘apostolate’ among his 100 key words of
Salesian spirituality, but devotes most of his discussion to its
newer significance in terms of new evangelisation. → “pastorale
giovanile” “Desramaut, Francis” “nuova evangelizzazione”
arancel
[es] n. 1. arancel system, 2. stole fees. • ‘Arancel’ is a Spanish word
for the rate of taxes, fees, or tariffs to be paid, like a system or court
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archivio
47
archivio
costs or customs fees. The term does not appear in Canon Law or
the Catechism, or in any major magisterial document of the Holy
See. In some Spanish-speaking countries, then, the ‘arancel system’
in the Church refers to an outdated practice of paying priests or
other ministers for specific sacraments or services, in place of the
minister receiving a stipend or salary from the diocese. Sometimes
this is known as the practice of ‘stole fees’ – and is dangerously close
to simony, and often is, in fact, exactly that. It is also prejudicial
against the poor, who might not be able to afford something which
is supposed to be free. For this reason, the practice is non-existent
in many parts of the Church and being phased out where it still can
be found, like parts of the Philippines.
This term is found only in the Philippines when it is in reference
to tithing or donations for ecclesiastical services.
archivio
n. Archives. • A set of documents produced, received or otherwise
acquired by a body, institution, household, individual for practical
self-documentation purposes.
Archives are of charismatic importance to the Salesian Society,
encouraged by Don Bosco himself. Fr Viganò said: “It is an
ancient Salesian tradition to take particular care in preserving the
documentary patrimony of the Congregation... All the archives, first
and foremost those of the provinces and of the individual houses,
have their own importance and should be carefully preserved and
expanded according to the norms of archival science and the most
modern techniques....” (AGC 314 pp. 48-49).
What is said by universal law for Ecclesiastical Archives also
applies to our Archives: both at the level of the whole Society
("Salesian Central Archives"), at the level of the province (Provincial
Archives) and at the level of the individual houses (Local Archives).
→ “segretario (ispettoriale)(generale)”
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Arribat, Joseph
48
Arribat, Joseph
Linguistic note: Note in particular that the word is singular in
Italian (a collective noun) whereas it is plural in English when in
reference to ‘archives’ in general (though it could refer to a single
item such as a catalogue).
Arribat, Joseph Augustus (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Joseph August Arribat. • Salesian Priest.
Declared Venerable: 8 July 2014.
Joseph August Arribat was born in Trédou (France), a small
town in the diocese of Rodez, on 17 December 1879. His family,
which had seven children of whom Augustus was the second, lived
off their work in the fields. Already as a boy he was envious of
the cheerfulness of the priests whose Masses he served. Therefore
he decided to enter the seminary. As the family was unable to
support the expenses, he was accepted into the Salesian house in
Marseilles where he was able, at 18 years of age, to complete his
middle schooling. Already heading towards Salesian life, he was
sent as a “late vocation” to Toulon to continue his studies. Due to
the political situation at the beginning of the century he began his
Salesian life in Italy with a group of French aspirants, and it was
at Avigliana, near Turin, that he received his clerical clothing from
the hands of Blessed Michael Rua, Don Bosco's first successor, on
20 October 1903. After his novitiate he continued his formation at
Ivrea.
Back in France, he began his active Salesian life in semi-clandestine
fashion, first in Marseilles, then in the agricultural school/orphanage
at La Navarre, in Toulon diocese, where he made his perpetual
profession in September 1907. During his work as an assistant he
also studied philosophy and theology. He was ordained priest in
Marseilles by Bishop Fabre in 1912. Shortly afterwards the First
World War broke out and Fr Arribat was called to arms as a
stretcher-bearer. His heroic conduct earned him the Croix de guerre.
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Arribat, Joseph
49
Arribat, Joseph
When the conflict was over, Fr Arribat continued his busy work at
La Navarre as teacher, catechist and confessor of the young students
and also in the parish of Sauvebonne. In 1926 he was sent to the
technical school in Nice where he remained until 1931. That year he
returned to La Navarre which had also become the novitiate, as the
rector.
At the same time he was also in charge of the parish of Saint
Isidore in the Sauvebonne valley. He showed himself to be a good
father to all his children. Because of his availability for cleaning
jobs, the novices called him “the knight of the broom”. He was
able to watch over those who were sick for the entire night. Some
miraculous cures were also attributed to him, where he was known
as the “saint of the Valle”. At the end of his three year appointment
he was sent for a year as the “temporary” rector in Morges, in
the Vaud canton in Switzerland. In 1935 the superiors sent him
to the new Salesian house in Millau, in his diocese of origin, first
as catechist then as the rector. Unfortunately the outbreak of war
interrupted the flourishing of activities. In 1940 he took in groups
of refugees from the north of France and from Belgium doing so
generously and with dedication. He gave up his own room and bed
to confreres passing through, without them realising it, and spent
the night in an armchair or in the chapel.
The years spent in Villemur, a town near Toulon, from 1941
to 1947, were probably the years most replete with danger and
grace. At the height of the war he succeeded in founding a school
and developing it. SS soldiers took over the school where he was
hiding some Jewish boys. His fortitude and skill avoided major
catastrophes. He would be awarded the “Just among nations” medal
in memoriam, for his selfless courage. Not far from the Salesian house
he often met militant communist Spanish workers: but his kindly
approach and regular greeting, initially not returned, meant that
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Arribat, Joseph
50
Arribat, Joseph
eventually he made friends of them. One day he had to be called
upon to restore peace and calm in a camp for political refugees.
In 1947, at 68 years of age, Fr Arribat was sent, once more as the
rector, to Thonon in the Annecy diocese, the land of St Francis de
Sales. The work gained much prominence and many young people
flocked to the Salesians. Worried about tensions with the diocesan
clergy, Fr Arribat sought to maintain peace and understanding. He
could often be seen at prayer in the Foyer chapel: many of the graces
received were attributed to his intercession.
In all the roles of responsibility he held, Fr Arribat showed
himself to be the exemplary Salesian dedicated exclusively to his
mission as an educator. He was always present among the boys,
in the courtyard as well as in the chapel, in catechism class as well
as in the infirmary; he went from dining hall to dormitory, from
confessional to the garden, attentive to everything and everyone.
His life seemed to be the embodiment of the Gospel where it says:
“I did not come to be served but to serve.” He never refused any
kind of work, and sought the most humble services for himself. He
had extraordinary respect for and a delicate way of dealing with
every individual especially the little ones and the poor. He watched
over the house and was thought of as its “lightning conductor”, as
if he were a new St Joseph, whose name he bore. With his smiling,
open face, this son of Don Bosco did not alienate anyone. While his
lean constitution and asceticism reminded one of the saintly Curé
of Ars, his gentleness and smile were worthy of St Francis de Sales.
“He was the most spontaneous person in the world”, people said
of him. He had a very special way of greeting people, full of respect
and warmth and this is why he enjoyed general affection and esteem
wherever he went.
Having returned to La Navarre in 1953, Father Arribat spent his
final years of life in service and acceptance. He suffered a lot due
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artigiani
51
Artime, Ángel
to his health but never complained. He was a much appreciated
confessor for the novices, young people, the diocesan clergy and
so many people around there. His ‘Franciscan’ liking for nature
and animals, especially doves, led to many episodes, making him
an ‘ecologist’ before the term was coined. He liven in La Navarre
until his death, which took place on 19 March 1963, the feast of
St Joseph. He was 83 years old. His mortal remains lie at rest at
La Navarre, his field of work for thirty-four years. → “venerabile”
“santità salesiana”
artigiani
n., pl. 1. working boys, 2. artisans, 3. apprentices. • An artigiano is
someone who carries out an activity (including of an artistic nature)
for production (or restoration) of goods through manual work, or
in a workshop.
Now fallen out of general use to indicate either a young worker
or lowly craftsman or, in the plural, young people in welfare
institutions who were set on the road to craft-type activities. It is in
this latter sense that the artigiani of Don Bosco are to be understood.
He was also closely associated with the Collegio degli Artigianelli
(Home for Young Apprentices), a work promoted by Fr Cocchi
who formed a society of priests and ‘young laymen’ to work for the
education of ‘so many youngsters, mostly orphaned and abandoned,
that roam the city... and to start them on a profession or trade.’ This
was the Charitable Society [to care] for Orphaned and Abandoned
Young People. It was established on 11 March 1850. → “oratorio”
Artime, Ángel
→ “Fernández Artime, Ángel”
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AS Asia Sud
52
ASC
AS Asia Sud
abbrev. SA South Asia. • Current Salesian Region consisting of the
Indian Subcontinent (not including Pakistan) with Sri Lanka, also
with some presences in Gulf countries (Kuwait).
It is important to note that while this region sometimes makes
use of an initialism (AS or SA), this is not an official abbreviation,
for in fact none of the Salesian regions have an official abbreviation,
and perhaps only the East Asia-Oceania makes frequent reference
to itself this way. → “AEO”
A.SS.CC./ASC1
abbrev. Associazione Salesiani Cooperatori. 1. Salesian Cooperators
Association, 2. Association of Salesian Cooperators. • Association
founded directly by Don Bosco to help him in ‘the work of the
oratories’, whose members may be lay or clerical, but who do not
take any vow by virtue of their membership. The current official term
for the Salesian Cooperators Association in Italian is Associazione
Salesiani Cooperatori, though it bore the title Associazione Cooperatori
Salesiani for most of its existence.
At one time the word pia (pious) was prepended, believing
this was Don Bosco’s term – it was, but only to distinguish it from
certain Masonic sects and usually only viva voce. In fact, Don Bosco
initially adopted the term Associazione salesiana, hoping to include
its members as external members of his fledgling Society.
Linguistic note: When an abbreviation is of a plural entity, Italian
doubles the letters to indicate its plural nature, hence AA.SS.CC.
→ “Pia (Società)” “cooperatore”
ASC2
abbrev. Salesian Central Archives or Central Salesian Archives. Note
the need to disambiguate this acronym from ASC Associazione
Salesiani Cooperatori. • The Elementi Giuridici provide a number of
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ascesi
53
ascesi
articles describing the importance of conserving the heritage of the
Congregation by way of archives, at local (House) or Province level
or Central World level. At the level of central administration there
are the Salesian Central Archives. This follows the requirements of
Canon Law. Official archives are the subject of various regulations
and it is recommended that the Congregation and the Provinces
have their own regulations as to the who, when, how of the archives.
→ “ISS” “Elementi Giuridici” “archivio”
ascesi
n. 1. asceticism, 2. self-discipline. • Interior action aimed at acquiring
perfection and ascending to God through self-denial, constant practice
of virtue, prayer (especially as mental prayer or meditation).
The English gloss has an unfamiliar ring about it – part of the
problem of contemporary spirituality, undoubtedly! One problem
of the English words ‘ascetic’, ‘asceticism’, is that they conjure up
images of Mahatma Gandhi or the like (or certain holy pictures of
Don Rua?)
It would be worth reading what Desramaut has to say about
this term in Salesian and Christian spirituality – it is among his 100
important terms. Asceticism implies a degree of spiritual combat. In
Salesian terms, we find it expressed through the reverse side of the
picture in Don Bosco’s Dream of the Ten Diamonds, as explained
later particularly by Fr Rinaldi (ASC 55 1930) and Fr Viganò (ASC
300 1981). “Desramaut, Francis”
Usage: A frequent problem in linguistic terms is the occasional
habit of translating the Italian to produce ‘ascesis’, the Greek term.
This is quite unfamiliar in English! Therefore, ‘asceticism’ is the
preferred gloss. → “dottrina spirituale”
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ascritto
54
ASMOAF
ascritto
n. 1. enrolled member 2. novice. • Accepted as a member of an
association, or part of a group. Don Bosco’s first descriptions of the
Salesian Society did not envisage a traditional novitiate, so he did
not speak of novizi but rather of ascritti. → “Don Bosco (santo)”
ASF
abbrev. ASF Apostole della Sacra Famiglia, Apostles of the Holy Family.
• From their website: ‘We, the Apostles of the Holy Family, therefore
describe ourselves as people called by God to practise the evangelical
counsels and to work within his Church, with the total consecration
of our being, to foster the integrity and holiness of the family
through family ministry and the education of the young.’ Member
group of the Salesian Family.
Founded in 1889 in Messina by Cardinal Guarino (1827–1897),
Archbishop of Messina and subsequently Cardinal. He wanted the
group to support his particular pastoral commitment to protecting
the sacred nature of the family. He called the group after the family
of Nazareth, the model image of perfection for every Christian
family, and placed families under the protection of the Holy Family.
→ “famiglia salesiana”
ASMOAF
abbrev. Australian Salesian Missions Overseas Aid Fund. • ASMOAF
has as its mission support for the vocational teaching of underprivileged
young people in developing countries, in order that they find
employment and become self-sufficient, contributing members of
their nation. The Australian Salesian Missions Office has been part of
the Provincial Economer’s domain since the 1960s. It was granted tax
deductible status for donations for the relief of poverty in developing
countries in 1986. The Australian Salesian Mission Overseas Aid
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aspirantato
55
assistente ecclesiastico
Fund (ASMOAF) was set up as a Trust in 2000. → “Salesian
Missions Australia”
aspirantato
n. 1. aspirantate, 2. juniorate. • In a joint document released in
2011 by the Councillor for Formation and the Councillor for Youth
Ministry (on the experience of the aspirantate), the term ‘aspirant’
has now a preferred target group, viz. young men interested
in Salesian consecrated life who have already completed some
post-secondary studies. This does not rule out other candidates but
is rather a statement of preference.
The term does not appear in the Constitutions (but in the
Regulations instead). Don Bosco in his own time made reference
to ‘Apostolic Schools’ (Meeting of Superior Chapter, 5 June 1884),
a model which he had heard of in France and which was a kind of
junior seminary to prepare very young candidates for novitiate or
seminary entrance. → “formazione” “comunità proposta”
Usage: The term should not be confused with ‘seminarian’.
A seminarian could be an aspirant, but not all aspirants are
seminarians. The term aspirantate will normally be understood
in religious circles (meaning Religious Congregations) but is rare
outside that. It is obviously a derivation from ‘aspirant’.
assistente
n. Assistant. • This term has a very specific meaning in Salesian
usage. For example, a confrere may be assigned to a house as ‘teacher
and assistant’, though it is understood that every Salesian is an
‘assistant’, i.e. actively present among the young. → “assistenza”
assistente ecclesiastico
np. Ecclesiastical assistant. • A canonical term for the Salesian priest
who is officially responsible for the VDB or the CDB. → “CDB”
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assistenza
56
assistenza
“VDB”. However, there are similar ecclesiastical assistants for some
other lay consecrated groups, though often with different names,
e.g. for the Damas Salesianas, the assistant is called a Spiritual
Director, while he is called an Spiritual Animator for ADMA.
→ “ADS” “ADMA”
Usage: The term is more likely to be capitalised in English.
assistenza
n. Assistance. • A style of presence to young people which meets all
their real needs; a form of total human development. Total charitable
activity on behalf of young people. Codified in Salesian terminology
since Don Bosco. Key element of presence as part of Preventive
System of Don Bosco. The term is really the forerunner of ‘preventive
system’, a term Don Bosco did not use as such before 1877, when he
needed to give a theoretical basis to his activity. So its true content
is extensive in the light of that.
‘Assistance’, from the Latin ad-sistere, implies ‘being there for’
physically, therefore a presence, but not any kind of presence. It
is an active presence, part of the Salesian style also known as
‘animation’. The classic expression of Don Bosco ‘Here in your midst
I feel completely at home’ expresses well the concept of Salesian
presence-assistance.
Usage: It might also be known as presence-assistance. From
the concept of assistance we have the Italian assistente and English
‘assistant’ (see above). ‘Assistance’ and therefore ‘assistant’ have
a very specific Salesian meaning as described above, so are not
to be confused with the more common meaning of ‘assistance‘ or
‘assistant‘. → “sistema preventivo” “assistente”
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associati
57
attuario
associati
n., pl. Associates.• A term used by Don Bosco as a first reference to
what finally became cooperatori, Cooperators. Associati is to be seen
in conjunction with congregati (SDBs). → “congregati”
associazionismo
n. Group-mindedness. • The phenomenon whereby individuals
gather in groups or associations and, by extension, the set of active
associations in a particular field. A difficult and abstract idea for
translation into English! Meeting in groups is the basic idea. In
Salesian usage, it refers to a typical aspect of Don Bosco’s Preventive
system, encouraging young people to join groups which promote
their own activity and leadership (protagonismo), as represented
historically by the sodalities, bands, sports etc. → “compagnia”
“protagonismo”
Linguistic note: Many Italian -ismo abstract nouns need to
have slightly different translations in English. In the case of
associazionismo, it would be best to avoid ‘associationism‘, which
has a more philosophical usage, and instead describe it in terms of
organisations, depending on context. The Italian term refers to any
ensemble of social groups.
ASTRA
abbrev. ASTRA. • An acronym for Assemblea Straordinaria, or
extraordinary assembly, e.g., of the Sacred Heart community in
Rome (Sacro Cuore). → “Sacro Cuore”.
attuario
n. 1. notary, 2. actuary, 3. registrar, 4. clerk • The Italian term
attuario was originally in reference to an officer in the Roman
Imperial army who looked after provisions etc. In English, an
‘actuary’ is a statistician who computes risks, rates, etc. especially
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auctoritas
58
AustraLasia / Bosco.link
for insurance purposes, according to probabilities derived from
population statistics, etc.). But neither of these are what an actuary
does in a Salesian context. He is closer to the now obsolete meaning
of a registrar or clerk. It is probably better to use the gloss ‘notary’
in English, which is more easily understood and is also a role of the
Provincial Secretary. → “notaio”
auctoritas
[la] n. auctoritas. 1. authoritativeness, 2. reputation, 3. status. • It is
important to note that auctoritas does not mean ‘authority’ per se. It
refers more to the level of prestige one has (and that is recognised);
the ability to make people do what you want just by being who you
are. It was an important element in Roman political life long before
being adopted by the Church. → “potestas”
AUL
abbrev. AUL The Australia-Pacific Province. • A Salesian Province
in the EAO Region. While the official initialism used is AUL,
it designates the Australian Province and the Pacific Delegation
(Salesian Delegations do not have a separate set of initials).
→ “AEO” “regione”
AustraLasia / Bosco.link
n. AustraLasia. • E-newsletter founded in response to the need
to link Salesian provinces in the then Asia-Australia (now the
East Asia-Oceania) region in November 1997. austraLasia has
developed into a substantial digital/online service under the
umbrella of a website known as Bosco News Service bosco.link
https://www.bosco.link/. → “AEO” “comunicazione sociale”
Usage: The term requires a capital ‘L’ in the middle: it could be
understood as austra (Link) asia. Hence it is a portmanteau term,
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Auxilium Christianorum
59
Auxilium Christianorum
a single morpheme resulting from the combination of two or more
morphemes.
Auxilium Christianorum
[la] np. 1. Help of Christians (literally), 2. Our Lady Help of
Christians, 3. Mary Help of Christians. • The Latin is often glossed
as Ausiliatrice or Maria SS. Ausiliatrice in Don Bosco’s Italian.
Don Bosco’s personal devotion to Mary transcended all titles,
both the traditional historical titles and titles tied to local popular
shrines. It was solidly founded on the Church’s traditional
Mariology (Mother of God, of Christ, Theotokos) and on traditional
popular devotion as simply ‘Our Lady’ (the Madonna). His
devotion to Mary under particular titles, including Immaculate
Conception and Help of Christians, appears as an aspect of his
perception of Mary’s basic presence in the Church.
However, his devotion to and use of the term ‘Help of Christians‘
came later – after 1860. Neither in his History of the Church (1st ed.
1845) nor in his History of Italy (1st ed. 1866) is there any mention
of the Help of Christians. The inscription on the frieze inside the
great church he saw in his dream in 1844 read “Hic domus mea,
inde gloria me”, not “Auxilium Christianorum”.
Nor is the title in the early editions of The Companion of Youth (1st
ed. 1847). It would seem that it was the apparition and miraculous
events of Spoleto 1862 that precipitated his interest and use of the
term. Archbishop Arnaldi of Spoleto officially bestowed the title
Auxilium Christianorum on the apparition. Don Bosco’s narration
of his dream of the Two Columns (May 30 1862) seems clearly
connected with the event, since one of the columns bears the
inscription “Help of Christians”. This, along with Spoleto, was tied
to political, revolutionary and anticlerical events in Italy. In 1868
Don Bosco indicated that there was ‘a very special reason why the
Church in recent times wished to invoke Mary as Help of Christians.’
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Azione Cattolica
60
Azione Cattolica
Usage: Given the specific reference to ‘Christians’, and given also
the familiar reference to the briefer Ausiliatrice in other European
languages, many Salesians in countries where Christianity is in
a minority, or where there might be other particular difficulties,
refer to ‘Mary our Help’ or something similar. The English ‘Help
of Christians’ does not translate the Italian Ausiliatrice but the Latin
form – or would it be better to say that the Italian Ausiliatrice does
not translate the Latin Auxilium Christianorum? → “Madonna”
Azione Cattolica
np. Catholic Action. • Catholic laity organisation for special and
direct collaboration with the apostolate of the Church’s hierarchy.
It has precedents in various Catholic associations that arose in the
19th century in various countries. The movement was strengthened
at the international congress at Malines (1863) then consolidated
under Leo XIII and his successors, especially Pius XI (Encyclical Ubi
arcano Dei, 1922). Now extended throughout the world, though more
centralised in Latin nations and decentralised in English-speaking
countries.
The term comes into existence well after Don Bosco but as E.
Ceria notes, what else were the Cooperators if not ‘lay people,
canonically associated (with the Salesians) to spread, and keep
alive, dependent on ecclesiastical authority, Christian life in family
and society?’ The beatification of Albert Marvelli by John Paul II in
August 2004 adds the Past Pupil to this notion. The beatifications on
that day were all of members of Catholic Action from 1924 onwards.
→ “cooperatore” “exallievi (di Don Bosco)” “Marvelli, Alberto
(beato)”
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Baglieri, Nino
61
Baglieri, Nino
B
Baglieri, Nino (Servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Nino Baglieri. • Member of the
Volunteers With Don Bosco (CDB). The diocesan Inquiry was
opened on 3 March 2002.
Antonino Baglieri was born in Modica (Siracusa) on 1 May 1951.
After attending primary school and becoming a bricklayer, at sixteen
years of age on 6 May 1968 he fell from scaffolding from a height
of 17 metres. Rushed to hospital to emergency, Nino saw that he
was completely paralysed. Faced with this dramatic situation his
mother Giuseppina, a woman who was strong in faith, made herself
available to personally look after him for the rest of her life. Thus
began Nino's journey of suffering, as he went from one hospital to
another but without any improvement. Back in his native town in
1970, after the early days of visits from his friends, ten long years
of darkness began for Nino, without leaving the house, alone, in
desperation and suffering. Nino Baglieri was drowning in self-pity,
cursing his lot and not seeing any ray of light. Beside him his mother
prayed, just like St Augustine's mother prayed for the conversion of
her son.
On 24 March 1978, Good Friday, a group of people who were
part of the Renewal of the Spirit Movement prayed over him; Nino
felt himself transformed as he himself recounts: “It was Good Friday
1978; I will never be able to forget that date. It was four in the
afternoon; the priest came with a small group of people who began
to pray over me, laid hands on my head and called on the Holy
Spirit; it was at that precise moment when they were invoking the
Holy Spirit that I felt a great warmth invade my body, a tingling as
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Baglieri, Nino
62
Baglieri, Nino
if there was new strength coming into me and something old was
leaving me. At that instant I accepted the Cross, said my ‘yes’ to the
Lord, accepted Christ into my life and was reborn to new life. At
that moment I was looking for physical healing but instead the Lord
had worked something greater: healing of the spirit. I was reborn to
new life, a new man with a new heart; while still suffering my heart
was filled with a new joy, a joy I had never known.”
From that moment Nino began reading the Gospels and the
Bible: he rediscovered the wonders of faith. It was at that time, while
helping some of the neighbouring youngsters to do their homework
that he learned how to write with his mouth. And this is how he
spent his days: he wrote his memoirs, wrote letters to people of all
kinds all around the world, personalised little cards that he gave to
people who visited him. Thanks to a crossbar he was able to write
down telephone numbers and be in direct contact with other people
who were sick: his calm and convincing words comforted them. He
began a constant flow of relationships with people which not only
brought him out of his own isolation but left him to witness to the
Gospel of joy and hope with courage and without fear. In Loreto,
speaking to a large group of young people who were looking at him
with a degree of pity, he had the courage to tell them: “If any of you
are in mortal sin then you are in a worse state than I am!” From 6
May 1982 onwards Nino celebrated the anniversary of his Cross, and
the same year he became part of the Salesian Family as a Salesian
Cooperator. On 31 August 2004 he made his perpetual profession
among the Volunteers With Don Bosco (CDB). On 2 March 2007, at
8 a.m. and after a long period of suffering and trial, he gave up his
soul to God. After his death he was dressed in tracksuit and gym
shoes because, as he had said: “On my final trip to God I want to
run to meet him.”
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barrarotta
63
barrarotta
In this race to God, Nino involved so many people, people who
had got to know him personally and had listened to his words,
and had found hope and strength thanks to him. Nino's testimony
reminds us that the Church's renewal passes through the witness
offered by the life of believers. By their very existence in the world,
Christians are in fact called to let the word of truth that the Lord
Jesus left us shine out. Nino's message reminds us that the trials
of life, while allowing us to understand the mystery of the cross
and to participate in Christ's sufferings, are but a prelude to eternal
joy which faith leads us to. Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who had
the opportunity to meet and get to know Nino Baglieri, has said:
“When you met him you had the sensation that the Holy Spirit dwelt
within him ... He celebrated the anniversary of his call to the cross
like others celebrate the anniversary of their marriage or ordination
... Nino Baglieri became a tireless apostle, a magnet of goodness
which attracted so many young people to the love of God. Where
did he find his strength? In the Holy Eucharist! He has given us a
touching prayer in his diary, written with a pen in his mouth, which
goes like this: ‘Lord, in the Holy Eucharist let yourself be absorbed
in order to transform us into you, to be like you, to love and serve
like you. Transform my life, O Lord, change it in your way, so that I
too may be a host for my brothers and sisters, that I may give myself
to others with the same love as you give yourself to me, so that I too
may give myself to everyone.’” → “servo di Dio” “CDB”
barrarotta
n. Barrarotta or barra rotta.• A game played in Italy in Don Bosco’s
day and long thereafter in Salesian traditon. Similar to a game in
English called ‘releaso’ or even to ‘red rover’, inasmuch as two teams
face each other at some distance. Barrarotta needs a referee, because
someone has to determine who left their baseline first, since that
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barrarotta
64
barrarotta
person can always be ‘tigged’ and captured by anyone from the
other team who leaves after them.
OTHER GAMES IN DON BOSCO'S ERA
Since the playground and games in general are so important in
Don Bosco's approach, here is a list of the games often mentioned in
his literature or literature relating to his period. Some are no longer
commonly known or have been forgotten.
• bocce: from boccia, a ball made of wood, or synthetic material
(or even, in some places, metal) for a game of bowls: a popular
game that takes place in individual or team matches on a special
rectangular outdoor court; each of the players tries to get as close
as possible to the smaller ball (the snitch or boccino) which is
launched into position at the start.
• piastrelle: little wooden or metallic tiles thrown some distance
away in a game that is not all that different to bocce. individual
players, throwing their tiles (stone, and now more often rubber
or plastic), generally distinguished by colour from those of
others, try to bring them as close as possible to a smaller tile
thrown by the first player.
• altalena: Seesaw.
• stampelle: Stilts
• giostra: Popular game consisting of trying to hit a target by
running under it; some other types of competitions are also
called giostra.
• passo del gigante: a game played with a tall pole with a metal
ring at the top and from 4-6 iron chains hanging from it with
large rings on the bottom. The kids would put one leg on a ring
and make large jumps around the pole with it.
• bersaglio a pesce: darts.
• la corda: skipping rope but maybe also tug-o-war.
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Bashir, Akash
65
Bashir, Akash
• mocca: Piedmontese term for gioco dell'oca or 'goose game', an
ancient board game that takes place between several people with
two dice and a board where 63 to 90 numbered squares are
drawn in a spiral; the total of the two rolled dice indicates the
number of boxes a player covers each round; certain boxes (with
the picture of a goose) entail certain advantages, others mean
stop or go back; the player who gets to the final square wins.
• dama: draughts.
• scacchi: chess.
• tombola: bingo.
• mestieri: a miming game - guess the trade or occupation
someone is miming.
• mercato: we have no idea what this game consisted of. All trace
of it has been lost. → “cortile”
Bashir, Akash (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Akash Bashir. • Akash Bashir, a
Pakistani national, sacrificed himself on 15 March 2015 to prevent
a suicide bomber from causing a massacre at St John's Church in
Youhanabad, a Christian neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan. Akash
Bashir was 20 years old, had studied at Don Bosco Technical Institute
in Lahore, and had become a security volunteer.
On that tragic 15 March, like every Sunday, he was working his
shift. He was in charge, specifically, of overseeing security at the
entrance to St John's Church. While on duty, news came to him that
the Church of Christ, an Anglican church located 500 metres away,
had been attacked by terrorists. Akash was trying to secure the area
in front of St John's Church when he saw a man running towards the
building. This man, a terrorist, was intent on committing another
massacre. Akash stood in front of him, trying to block him. The
man threatened him, claiming to have a bomb with him, but Akash
was not intimidated. He embraced the terrorist to prevent him from
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basilica
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basilica
entering the church. The bomber blew himself up, resulting in the
death of Akash and two other people. With his sacrifice, Akash
saved the lives of over one hundred people.
“The history of the Church is strongly marked by so many
women and men who, with their faith, with their charity and
with their lives, have been like beacons that have illuminated and
continue to illuminate so many generations through time,” wrote the
Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, in 2019. For the Christians
of Youhanabad, for the Church of God that is in Pakistan and for the
entire Salesian Family, Akash, with his great faith, is exactly that: a
beacon, an example to follow. Many come to his tomb to pray and
ask for his intercession.
His courageous act still inspires Pakistani Catholics in their daily
walk and motivates them not to be discouraged in front of the many
challenges and persecutions they still have to face. The shining
example of Akash Bashir, a Salesian past pupil, continues to spread
throughout the world. He embodied the words of Jesus: “Greater
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”
(Jn 15:13). → “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”
basilica
n. Basilica. • In Roman times, a large rectangular building, typically
with an aisle on either side of its long nave, and often with an apse
at one or both ends; used as a meeting place and for the dispensing
of justice. Assigned by formal concession or immemorial custom
to certain more important churches in virtue of which they enjoy
privileges of an honorific character (not always clearly defined). There
are ‘Greater’ or ‘Lesser’ basilicas.
The best known basilica in the Salesian world – and the first
– was the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. Another
is ‘Sacro Cuore’ (Sacred Heart) in Rome. In recent years St John
Bosco’s at Cine Città and the Church of St John Bosco at Colle Don
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beatificazione
Bosco have been assigned the honour of being ‘minor basilicas’ (as
are the aforementioned basilicas). → “Sacro Cuore”
BCF
abbrev. BCF Don Bosco Charitable Foundation (Hong Kong and
Macau). → “CIN ”
BCS
abbrev. Biblioteca Centrale Salesiana, Salesian Central Library. • Formerly
located in the General House but now housed as part of the UPS
Library, it is identified with the preservation and making available
of books and publications regarding Salesianity to the Salesian and
non-Salesian world. → “Don Bosco (santo)”
beatificazione
n. Beatification. • The act by which the pope declares that a
Servant of God can be publicly venerated as Blessed. Also refers
to the religious ceremony at which this happens; it differs from
canonisation, of which it is a preliminary step; ‘process’, ‘cause of
beatification’: the procedure by which the ecclesiastical authority
evaluates the qualifications required to declare a deceased person as
Blessed (Italian beato).
Beatified members of the Salesian Family:
Albert Marvelli → “Marvelli, Alberto (beato)”
Alexandrina da Costa → “da Costa, Alexandrina Maria (beata)”
August Czartoryski → “Czartoryski, Augustus (Beato)”
Bronislaus Markiewicz → “Markiewicz, Bronisław (beato)”
Ceferino Namuncurá → “Namuncurá, Ceferino (beato)”
Enrico Saiz Aparicio, 62 c. martyrs → “Saiz Aparicio, Enrique
(beato)”
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Eusebia Palomino Yenes → “Palomino Yenes, Eusebia (beata)”
Francis Kęsy and 4 Companion martyrs → “Kęsy, Franciszek
(beato), 4 c. martiri”
Joseph Calasanz, 31 c. martyrs → “Calasanz Marqués, José
(beato)”
Joseph Kowalski → “Kowalski, Józef (beato)”
Laura Vicuña → “Vicuña, Laura (beata)”
Luigi Variara → “Variara, Luigi (beato)”
Maddalena Morano → “Morano, Maddalena (beata)”
Maria Romero Meneses → “Romero Meneses, Maria (beata)”
Maria Troncatti → “Troncatti, Maria (beata)”
Michael Rua → “Rua, Michele (beato)”
Phillip Rinaldi → “Rinaldi, Filippo (beato)”
Pius IX → “Pio IX (beato)”
Stephen Sándor → “Sándor, István (beato)”
Titus Zeman → “Zeman, Titus (beato)”
Usage: Generally, in English, the term (along with the person
who is beatified) is capitalised as ‘Cause of Beatification’, and
reference to the beatified individual is ‘Blessed’. → “servo di Dio”
Beltrami, Andrea (Ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Andrew Beltrami. • Salesian priest declared
Venerable 15 December 1966. Canonical recognition of mortal
reamins: 17 May 2022.
Andrew was born in Omegna (Novara) Lake d’Orta on 24 June
1870. During his teenage years, and a somewhat lively character,
Andrew was tempted in purity by the language of a bad companion
but through his use of the sacraments, together with a firm will,
he became a boy who was respected by everyone. At thirteen years
of age he entered the Salesian college at Lanzo as a boarder, where
he spent three years, and changed from the business courses he
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had begun in Omegna to a classics course that he completed with
excellent results. He soon revealed his outstanding determination.
Among the things he published is a valuable little booklet entitled:
The true will and power (1896).
The years he spent in the house at Lanzo were happy ones. “I
feel good at this college” he wrote to his mother. And it was at the
Salesian house that he found the proper response to some of his
deepest aspirations: a serious spiritual journey, strong sacramental
experience, and a family atmosphere to go with it. There were signs
of a genuine vocation. After a lengthy chat with Don Bosco he
decided on Salesian life. “The grace of a vocation,” he would write
later “was a very special grace for me ... The Lord had placed a firm
conviction in my heart, an intimate belief that the only proper way
forward for me was to become a Salesian.” He was the firstborn of
ten children. Despite his parents being deeply Christian, they found
it difficult to accept that their son would be a Salesian. But faith
prevailed in the end: going with him to the Salesians in Foglizzo, his
mother recommended him to the novice master: “Make a saint of
him.” “Become a saint” was also the resolution the boy wrote down
that day.
He began the novitiate in 1886 and received his religious clothing
at the hands of Don Bosco, who said of the young novice: “There
is only one Beltrami.” On 2 October 1887, again before Don Bosco,
he made his religious profession. “From this moment on I promise
you” he told his rector, Fr Giulio Barberis, “I will double my efforts
to become a saint. Nothing that please me, never; but everything
that pleases the Lord, always.” In the two years (1888-1889) he
spent at Valsalice, Turin, he finished the two normally three year
courses, ending up with the respective certificates as a private
student. This was the time that he also got to know the Polish prince,
today Blessed August Czartoryski, who had only recently joined the
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Congregation. The latter soon fell ill with tuberculosis and it was
Beltrami, who immediately got on well with him spiritually, who
acted as his guardian angel both in Valsalice and elsewhere where
they spent time together. A deep spiritual friendship developed
between the two of them and it also became mutual help. It is not
difficult to imagine the influence that August had on the younger
Andrew, strengthening his faith, teaching him to suffer out of love
and gradually instilling in him an oblative spirituality and one of
reparation that would then become Beltrami's main characteristic.
When Beltrami later fell ill with the same disease, among the
probably causes that could be listed was the time he had spent with
his sick friend.
He was sent to Foglizzo to be with the novices for his practical
training. His workload was exceptional: teaching Italian and Latin
to 80 clerics, studying theology, and at the same time enrolled in the
Arts and Philosophy Faculties at the University of Turin. But even
more exceptional was the spiritual work he did in his own regard.
Later, speaking of this period at his rector's invitation, he would
say: “Union with God was intense, deep; it reached a point where
I thought I would die ... The cold, ice, snow. twenty degrees below
zero, since it was a very cold winter, were not enough to quench my
inner ardour.” And it was on one of the coldest days in February
1891 that the first symptoms emerged of the illness that would lead
to his death: he was just 20 years old! He was given special care
and it seemed that he had improved. But it did not last long: the
illness made inexorable progress. He wrote to his mother: “My aunt
tells me: ‘Unfortunately I know about your state of health.’ That
‘unfortunately’ indicates misfortune. How wrong she is. I asked the
Lord for this illness. Well, let's say that I did not ask for illness but
to suffer and to suffer a lot. And God sent me this illness ... I do not
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want to recover. this is the madness of the Cross. In eternity we will
see who was right.”
His only fear was not having time to become a priest, so wisely
the superiors hastened his preparation while making novenas for
his recovery, and they sought the necessary dispensations so he
could be admitted to priestly ordination, which took place on 8
January 1893, before his 23rd birthday. He was ordained priest in
Don Bosco's rooms by Bishop John Cagliero, the first Salesian bishop
and cardinal.
Then came his Calvary: a Calvary five years in the making. It
was a five year period in which his holiness matured thanks to
the suffering he had accepted, loved and offered up. Thanks to his
tenacious willpower, on full display, with a vehement wish to be a
saint, he spent his life in pain and incessant work. “The mission that
God has entrusted to me is to suffer and to work,” he said. “Neither
to recover nor die but to suffer” was his motto. Most exact in his
observance of the Rule, he had a filial openness with his superiors
and a most ardent love for Don Bosco and the Congregation. His bed
became an altar and a pulpit on which to sacrifice himself together
with Jesus, and from which to teach how to love, how to offer oneself
and how to suffer. His bedroom became his whole world, from
which he wrote and in which he celebrated his bloody Mass: “I offer
myself as a victim with Him for the sanctification of priests, for the
people of the whole world” he said.
In the remaining years of his life after his ordination he wrote
some very valuable pamphlets on asceticism, but above all he
devoted himself to hagiography, writing various biographies of
saints, and several volumes of amusing and educational readings.
He also left other unpublished and unfinished works, including the
Italian translation of the first volumes of the critical edition of the
works of St Francis de Sales. Indeed, he had discovered a vocation
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as a writer and gladly indulged it. “Words come to me easily and
elegantly. I would be happy if I could traffic in this talent that God
has given me, to his glory and honour. Illnesses of the chest do
not disturb the mind; on the contrary, they seem to take strength
away from the body and add it to the spirit, which acquires greater
lucidity and penetration. At least if there is no fever, as in my case.”
The list of his writings is long: biographies, studies on asceticism,
historical works, narrative works...
His room overlooked the choir loft in the chapel and he was
able to see the Tabernacle. He spent long periods of silent adoration
before the Tabernacle. “I am convinced that suffering and praying
is more useful for me and the Congregation than working.” But
he was not lacking in work either. In fact, a glance at his daily
timetable while he was ill leaves one astonished. From 5 a.m. to 9
a.m. he prayed: he celebrated Mass at a little altar set up in his room;
Mass lasted two hours and during that time, for someone who was
coughing all the time, he was completely free of his cough; from
12.30 to 5 p.m. he was again at prayer; from 8 p.m. to midnight he
was again in prayer of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. At
other times he studied and wrote. He offered himself as a victim
of love for the conversion of sinners and for the consolation of the
suffering. Fr Beltrami fully grasped the sacrificial dimension of the
Salesian charism, as desired by the founder Don Bosco. Salesian
cleric Luigi Variara, then a philosophy student at Valsalice, was
deeply impressed by Fr Andrew, and was inspired by him to found
the future Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary: to live
the vocation of the victim with joy together with Jesus.
On 20 February 1897, the anniversary of the day he contracted
his illness, he wanted to go to celebrate Mass in the Basilica of Mary
Help of Christians. It was the last time he went out. From then on
he got progressively worse. On 29 December the situation rapidly
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benefattori
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beretta
deteriorated. During the night he got up. put on his cassock, then
lay down on the bed. That is how death came to him on the morning
of 30 December, with a number of confreres around him. He was
27 years of age. Three months earlier, at 24 years of age, Thérèse
Lisieux had died of the same disease.
Fr Beltrami presents the Salesian Family with the difficult
message of redemptive suffering, a suffering that can become
mysteriously joyful in proportion to the love with which it is
accepted. “Believe me,” he wrote one day to his Rector, Fr Scappini,
“amid this pain I am happy with a full and complete happiness, so
that I feel like smiling when they send me condolences and wishes
for a cure!” → “venerabile” “amore vittimale”
benefattori
n., pl. 1. benefactors, 2. donors. • Someone who does good for
others, a philanthropist. Almost a technical term for Don Bosco,
since he regarded his benefactors as working partners, not just
money-suppliers.
beni immobili
np. 1. real estate, 2. property, 3. buildings, 4. immovable goods. • The
purchase and sale of real estate by the Congregation requires very
specific authorisation (at least by the Provincial with his Council
and often by the Rector Major with his Council).
Linguistic note: Note the contrast between beni immobili and beni
mobili (moveable assets). Italian also has beni patrimoniali (fixed
assets) and beni culturali (cultural heritage). → “povertà”
beretta
n. Biretta. • Often known as ‘beretta da prete’ in Italian (perhaps to
distinguish it from the well-known brand of handgun?) A square
cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a
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bimestrale
tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Catholic clergy
and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. A four-peaked biretta is
worn as academic dress (but not liturgically) by those holding a
doctoral degree from a pontifical faculty or pontifical university or
faculty.
The origins of the biretta are uncertain. It is mentioned as early as
the tenth century. One possible origin is the academic cap of the high
Middle Ages, which was soft and square. This is also the ancestor
of the modern mortarboard used today in secular universities.
The biretta may be used by all ranks of the Latin Church clergy,
including cardinals and other bishops to priests, deacons, and even
seminarians. Colour is significant: black for ordinary clergy, purple
for bishops, red for cardinals. The Pope never wears a biretta.
A number of depictions of Don Bosco (including original
photos) show him wearing a biretta. He would most like have
received it at the time of his clerical investiture. → “abito talare”
Biblioteca degli scrittori latini
np. Library of Latin Authors (or Writers). • A collection of literature
published by Don Bosco in 1866.
Biblioteca della gioventù salesiana
np. Library of Italian Youth.• A collection of literature (for young
people) published by Don Bosco in 1869.
bimestrale
adjp. Bimonthly.• The problem is that bimonthly can mean once
every two months or twice a month! In the publishing industry,
however, it is generally accepted that if a magazine or journal is
bimonthly, it comes out every two months. This would be the case,
for example with the rivista bimestrale known as the Ricerche Storiche
Salesiane. → “RSS”
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Böhm, Antonietta
birichino
n., adj. 1. cheeky, lively youngster, 2. scamp, 3. rascal, 4. mischievous,
5. naughty. • Synonyms in Italian might be monello, discolo (closer to
impudence), or at least the term as used by Don Bosco may appear
in association with these.
blog
n., v. Blog. • Blog could be described as a blend (web + log) or as a
short form. The word can function as a n or a verb in English. From
the base word ‘blog’ we also derive blogger and blogging. A website
or part of a website usually maintained by an individual, often
with entries in reverse chronological order. It may be commentary
or personal reflection. Many members of the Salesian Family run
blogs. When a blog appears on an institutional site (as in, say,
www.sdb.org) there is a potential conflict between the seemingly
inherent personal nature of a blog and the institution it represents
by nature of its being part of that site. sdb.org usually requests that
a blog on its site involves more than one person with administrative
rights.
bogianen
[pms]n. bogianen, bogia nen. • A popular nickname for the
Piedmontese, ascribing to them a resolute character, one that will
not budge in the face of difficulties. It probably originates from the
actions of Savoyan soldiers during the battle of Assietta, a significant
episode of the War of Austrian Succession that took place on July
19, 1747. They did not give up in the face of overwhelming odds.
Böhm, Antonietta (serva di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Antonietta Böhm. • Daughter of
Mary Help of Christians. The supplex libellus was provided 12 May
2013.
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Böhm, Antonietta
Antonietta, the ninth of ten children, was born in Bottrop,
Westfalen (Germany) on 23 September 1907. Hers was a profoundly
Christian family where unity, respect, cheerfulness, a spirit of
sacrifice and pity for the dying reigned, and where enemy soldiers
at a time of war were made welcome. She was to learn suffering
very early in life: her father died in 1916 during the First World War
and her mother four years later.
Antonietta and her sister Elisabeth, who would also become
a Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, went to live with their
older brother in Essen. It was in that city that she got to know the
Salesian Sisters who had arrived their not long before for their first
foundation. The smiling faces and loving style of the Sisters attracted
her. She wanted to be like them. The Superior, Sister Alba De
Ambrosis, through a mysterious dialogue made of signs, questioned
Antonietta: “Do you want to follow Jesus? Do you want to help him
carry his cross?” A decisive and firm yes, like the tenacity of her
people, put an end to this brief, wordless but eloquent dialogue.
Antonietta began her postulancy in January 1926 in the house
of formation in Eschelbach with 24 other young girls, all of whom
remained faithful to their vocation. At the end of this period she
left her homeland and went to Nizza Monferrato for her novitiate.
She continued to deepen the spirituality of Don Bosco and Mother
Mazzarello; She lived with serenity and faced the consequences of
the war with a spirit of sacrifice. During this stage, she felt the call
to missionary life and presented her request to her superiors.
After her profession on 5 August 1928, Sister Antonietta spent
six years in Italy. She began the study of music in Turin; then she
was assistant to the university students in Pisa, taught music in
Novara then became a student once more in Turin. She spent two
years as assistant to the novices in Casanova, Turin. Day by day she
lived out her commitment to the Gospel and distinguished herself
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for her spirit of prayer, the delicate way she dealt with people, her
practicality and her hard word.
On the day of her perpetual profession, which she made in Turin
on 5 August 1934, she received some pleasing news: she had been
accepted as a missionary to Patagonia. With a group of 30 Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians she visited Pope Pius XI to receive his
blessing then left, filled with joy, for the land of Don Bosco's dreams
where she would spend thirty years.
Having arrived in Bahía Blanca (Argentina) on 24 September
1934, she dedicated herself first of all to teaching music to the girls
and the novices. In 1938 she was appointed superior: a service she
carried out with motherly kindness in General Roca, Junín de los
Andes, Viedma, Carmen de Patagones and Bahía Blanca. She had
the opportunity to live in places filled with the memory of Laura
Vicuña and was called to witness to her holiness in Viedma diocese.
In 1988 she would have the joy of taking part in the beatification
of this young girl at Colle Don Bosco. She was also in contact with
Salesian Brother Artemides Zatti (now Saint), during her service
as animator and nurse in the clinic in Bahía Blanca where she was
for two years. Sister Antonietta not only looked after the body but
listened, encouraged, proclaimed the Lord through her simple and
joyful way of life. The clinic became a point of reference for so many
people in need of help and medicines.
In 1959, after spending 25 fruitful years doing good in Patagonia,
she was appointed provincial in Rosario Santa Fe. She led the
province with simplicity and prudence, efficiency and kindness
and this way won the confidence of the Sisters. In 1965 she left her
beloved Argentina and went to Lima as provincial of the houses
that had been opened at the time in Peru and Bolivia. She needed to
follow Jesus wherever he wanted: on the heights of the mountains, in
the Selva (jungle) where her Sisters were working. Sister Antonietta
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experienced new adventures, tackled new dangers, grew in her
renewed trust in the Lord and experienced the clear protection of
Our Lady.
She received a new obedience in July 1969: to leave the Peruvian
province and go to Mexico. With intelligence filled with love and
the experience of the genuine spirit of the founders, she arrived in
the province Our Lady of Guadalupe which was going through a
moment of delicate transition due to the formation of two provinces.
Her first task was to cultivate calm and communion. She encouraged
the Sisters and guided them to radically live the following of Jesus
in fidelity to their charismatic identity. Her constant concern was
to accompany and strengthen vocations. Her task: maintain the
religious spirit among the Sisters and help it to grow. Her special
concern was for the elderly and sick sisters. She preferred the fields
of true evangelisation, the places of greatest poverty for the mission.
She favoured the inclusion of the Sisters in the overall pastoral
work at parish and diocesan level. She consolidated existing works
and opened new ones with far-sightedness. She forged fraternal
relationships with the Salesian confreres and increased union
with the Institute's centre. She maintained cordial and respectful
connections with civil authorities and the Church at all levels.
On 5 August 1978, the 50th anniversary of her consecration
to the Lord, she left the province in other hands and went to
Morelia to the Mother Ersilia Crugnola house as the vice-superior.
Her presence there was a gift radiating simplicity, cheerfulness,
kindness, consistent fidelity, a welcoming approach and great love for
Jesus and Mary.
She had received a statuette of Our Lady as a gift from Mother
Ersilia Crugnola in 1973 and had been asked by her to offer a
motherly blessing with it. Initially, Sister Antonietta was afraid
and did not want to accept, but when someone she blessed was
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completely cured, her fear disappeared. Mother Antonietta said:
“from the first blessing until now, Our Lady has been at work day
and night and the mission is spreading through post, fax, email
and arriving in various parts of Mexico and many other places
in the world.” By trusting in Mary's help and with her blessing,
extraordinary graces were recorded.
In 1979 she was transferred to the Mary Help of Christians
community in Coacalco. Her life of giving continued to grow, and
her message of kindness, seeing to the life of grace, her great love
and trust in Our Lady spread. She placed herself at the service
of whoever needed her experience as a nurse. She was a strong
woman, ready to listen and always trusting of God's help. She rose
early every morning to express her need for silent prayer and the
Eucharist. She played an active part in the life of the community,
enjoying the liturgical celebrations, showed interested in events of
both the Church and the Institute. She welcomed everyone into
her prayer and heart. She began a mission of charity to the poor
distributing foodstuffs and everything else they needed, without
ever forgetting to proclaim the gospel message. This mission still
continues today through the Sisters in that community.
As her strength declined with the passing of the years, Sister
Antonietta never lost her smile, nor her kindness and continued to
let God shine through. Several times she was on the verge of death
but overcame the crisis, immersed as she was in an atmosphere
of filial confidence in Our Lady. But gradually she had to leave
aside every activity and allow herself to be looked after. However,
she never lost the humorous touch and her open and warm smile,
and won the sympathy of everyone who approached her. Doctors,
nurses, the Sisters, people who stayed with her admired her serenity,
nourished by unceasing prayer and offering, full of abandonment
and peace. The last part of her journey was painful but it culminated
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in the Easter of Resurrection. She died on 27 April 2008 at the Mary
Help of Christians house in Coacalco (Mexico).
Those who knew her remember her as kindness personified,
serene and smiling. The beauty of grace shone through her face.
Many people keep a beautiful and grateful memory of her simple,
cordial, luminous presence. The most significant testament she left
behind is her life of welcoming kindness, generous and serene
availability, love for Jesus and trust in Mary Help of Christians.
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Bolla, Luigi (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Luís Bolla. • Salesian priest. Supplex
Libellus: 1 August 2019, Nihil Obstat: 16 December 2020.
Luís (Luigi) Bolla was born on 11 August 1932 in Schio, a small
city in the province of Vicenza (in the Veneto region in Italy's north).
Schio was known as the “Italian Manchester” for its flourishing
commerce and for processing wool similar to the way it was done in
the British city. Luís was born to Giuseppe Bolla and Anna Sartori
who had seven children: Olinto, Giovanni, Giorgio (Salesian), Luigi,
Amelia, Maria and Antonio. As a young man he was struck by the
the figure of Don Bosco whom he came to know of through the
Salesians who had come to Schio in 1901. “While at the oratory in
Schio between the 1940s and 50s” Fr Luís said, “I had a strong desire,
almost an inner force driving me, to be a missionary in the jungle
among our brethren who knew nothing of Jesus and the Gospel.”
He was 11 years old when one afternoon he visited the chapel at the
oratory and head a voice saying: “You too can be a priest, so why not
do so?” The following year, in the same circumstances and in the
same place, he heard the same voice: “You will be a missionary in
the jungle among the natives and will give them my Word. You will
travel a lot on foot.” Sister Giuseppina Bakhita, of Sudanese origin,
also had a great influence on his upbringing. He had known her
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Bolla, Luigi
personally. Sister Bakhita died in Schio on 8 February 1947. Everyone
remembered her with veneration as “our Mother Moretta”. She was
canonised on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
Fr Luís entered the Salesian novitiate at the house in Albarè di
Costermano (VR) on 15 August 1948. He made his first religious
profession on 16 August 1949. His philosophical formation was in
Nave (1949-1952). He did his practical training in Venice. His desire
was to be a missionary, and for this, “after the novitiate” Fr Luís
recounts “I began asking my superiors every year, and finally on the
fourth request they agreed. My superiors sent me to Latin America,
to Ecuador, to work with the Jibaros in the Vicariate of Mendez y
Gualaquiza. This was 1953”. Luís was 21 and his missionary dream
was beginning to become true.
He continued his teaching experience as a practical trainee
in Cuenca (1953-54) then in Bomboiza (1954-55). He made his
perpetual profession on 10 August 1955 in Cuenca. When he made
his request to be admitted to perpetual profession, the House
Council in Bomboiza made the following observations: “Excellent
religious spirit, obedient, pious, given to sacrifice. Has initiative
and much ability to study; knows music and hymns. Health is a bit
weak, and at times a bit scrupulous.” He began learning the Shuar
language in Bomboiza, a subgroup of the Jibaros. Some months
later he went to Bogotá to study theology. He was ordained priest
there on 28 October 1959. He returned to Macas in Ecuador (1960)
and from there went to Taish (a mission among the Shuar begun in
1958) to work with Fr Casiraghi and a Salesian brother. That was
when the Shuar gave Fr Luís the name YANKUAM (Evening Star).
For ten years (1960-1969) he worked with the indigenous families
spread very much across a huge area. Along with his mission of
bringing the Word of God, he succeeded in forming communities in
small villages and schools. During these years he visited the Achuar,
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Bolla, Luigi
another Jibara population. His visits lasted a fortnight or more at a
time when tribes were fighting.
Fr Luís remembers how during the early years he had to
overcome resistance from the natives. “Only the first time was I a bit
afraid: I had my first contact with the Achuar in Taish, with a man
who had killed a Shuar witchdoctor. I went to visit him accompanied
by three Shuar boys, and given that he was not home, we waited till
he came back. When he saw us he immediately picked up his rifle
and began the song of rejection that consists of repeating the same
word four times. He calmed down after twenty minutes and we
spent the night there. I was the only one who slept well that night
because the others were so afraid they couldn't sleep. I experienced
similar situations on other occasions. I would tackle them face to face
while they pronounced their war speeches. Those who were with me
hid and left me standing alone before the Achuar”, Fr Bolla recalls,
laughing. For all of 1970 he was in Rome to do some updating in
theology (Vatican II), especially missiology. In 1971 Fr Bolla received
permission to live with the Achuar and be their pastor, so he set
himself up in Wichim where he stayed for ten years, carrying out his
mission of evangelisation and assistance to the native communities.
In March 1984, with the permission of the Rector Major Fr
Egidio Viganò, and at the request of Bishop Miguel Irizar, bishop of
Yurimaguas, Fr Yankuam arrived at Kuyuntsa along the Manchari
River. From then on he would belong to the Saint Rose of Lima
Province. He worked alone for many years, until the Peruvian
Province took on the San Lorenzo Parish (February 2001) in
the Yurimanguas Vicariate. That was when the Salesian Amazon
Mission was established with its headquarters in San Lorenzo and
Kuyuntsa. The San Lorenzo parish at Datem, Maraňon (Loreto),
extended for more than 40 thousand square kilometres across an
enormous green region (selva) and waters that flowed into the
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Bolla, Luigi
Pastaza, Morona, and Maraňon Rivers. Writing to the provincial
at the time, he expressed his joy: “I am happy to have carried my
little grain of sand here so that my Salesian confreres can enter the
Peruvian Selva, and I thank the Lord and the Virgin Mary for this
….” (Letter of 28 June 2001). Fr Luís's area of work corresponded
in ecclesiastical terms to the Apostolic Vicariate of Yurimaguas. He
established his base in the communities in Kuyuntsa (1984-1995),
Sanchiik (1995-2006) then again in Kuyuntsa (2006-2012).
The Achuar in Peruvian territory gave him his second name,
Jintia (the way). From 1986 he was accompanied by a lay missionary
from Chocosica (Lima), Juan Juarez, or “Tsere”. From 2005, Fr
Diego Clavijo joined Fr Bolla in Sanchiik, receiving the task of
providing ministry to the Wampis along the upper Rio Morona, the
Quechua along the upper Pastaza and the Kandozi along the lower
Rio Huituyacu. In 2009 another Salesian missionary was added to
the group, Fr Nelson Vera, originally from Cajamarca (Peru), who
took up his pastoral ministry with the Quechua and the Kandozi.
Their missionary presence was carried out in a significant fashion.
Fr Bolla says: “On the Peruvian side there was no Christian tradition
among the Achuar and missionary work was very difficult because
the Peruvian zone is very extensive and isolated. One had to travel
huge distances from town to town, requiring some days of travel
that could only be done on foot or by canoe … it was a constant
challenge.”
Over these years he dedicated himself patiently to forming
leaders of the Word so that it would be they themselves who offered
evangelisation to their communities, but without any imposition.
“We impose nothing, they have to have the final word”, Fr Luís said.
Among the Christian communities in Achuar villages he promoted
the building of “umpak” chapels, the beautiful traditional house,
for celebrating the Word of the Lord, retelling the ancient myths
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connecting Christ with their animist religion. Fr Luís followed the
teachings of Vatican II, Paul VI's Evangelii Nuntiandi, and was very
happy to hear Pope John Paul's declaration in Canada (15/09/1984):
“Christ himself is Indian in the members of his body.” He was aware
that God speaks to them through Jesus through attitudes, rites,
songs, signs of religious faith, giving fulfilment and fullness to the
Achuar's deepest desires for life and salvation, freeing them from the
slavery of sin. One day, a young leader of the Word, still not baptised,
told Yankuam: “Apachi (Father), my sister has died. Once upon a
time we Achuar, once we found out the name of the witchdoctor
(wawekratin) who had caused the death of a relative from a shaman,
would then have killed him … I have found out the name but I have
forgiven him because I want to live according to the word of Jesus.
This has made me happy.”
Fr Luís came to a very deep knowledge of the Achuar culture
and language, their traditions and beliefs, their customs, their
view of the cosmos and their values. This culturally respectful
coexistence earned him the respect of the communities and allowed
him to witness their gradual transformation from a warlike and
vindictive people to a democratic people who dialogue, organise
themselves, take their own decisions and choose their own paths
in tune with their values and in the light of the Gospel. After a
year of patient sowing, Fr Luís not only saw that his indigenous
brothers and sisters were asking for the sacraments of Christian
initiation and marriage, but also for ministry. In the ministerial
field, catechists and formal ministers are committed to proclaiming
the Word to their communities three time a week. There are
chapels in Achuar territory with the Blessed Sacrament looked
after by Eucharistic ministers. At leaders' meetings, a process of
learning and reflection is taking place that helps them and their
communities to understand and deal with living deeply what they
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are celebrating, especially in the sacraments of the Eucharist and
Reconciliation. The organisational structure of leaders and formal
ministers could be called the "Achuar Seminary" (Utsuptuku Jintia):
the Etserin (ministers of the Word), the Ayurkartin (ministers of
the Eucharist), the Jiikratin (exorcists) and permanent deacons
(Imiakratin) encouraged by the missionaries, accompany, animate
and commit themselves to evangelising their communities. In
addition, there are other Achuar populations that are visited
pastorally twice a year by deacons, ministers of the Word and
ministers of the Eucharist.
Fr Bolla was responsible for a considerable literary output. He
collected all his observations, the traditions that native communities
passed on to him over the years and recorded them in books. He
translated the New Testament into Achuar for use in all the Achuar
Christian communities on both sides of the border. Always with due
ecclesiastical permission he composed rituals for the sacraments
and some other rites in harmony with Achuar culture, as well
as hymn books, catechisms and other liturgical books for use by
Christian leaders of the communities. He had also begun translating
the Old Testament. Those who knew Yankuam Jintia (the star
pointing out the way) remember him for his happy appearance,
open to encounter, a Salesian missionary who lived and worked
with the Achuar people for decades without ever losing his initial
enthusiasm. Luís Bolla did not limit his work to proclaiming the
Word of God but worked tenaciously to accompany the Achuar
people in their organisation, encouraged education and took upon
himself caring for this people's health and development. They
loved and appreciated him, calling him: “Yánkuam’ Jintia: Bright
star of the way”. Fr Bolla was writing until his last moment of
consciousness. His last texts, printed in his own handwriting, were
written during the Retreat he made in 2013 at the retreat house in
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borgata
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borgata
Chosica (Peru), when he suffered a sudden stroke in his room on 6
January. He never regained consciousness and died on 6 February
2013.
The Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, has said: “Fr
Bolla's spiritual and cultural legacy is extraordinary and the opening
of his Cause of Beatification allows us to preserve it, get to know it,
explore it, then pass it on to new generations and as a significant
response to the great challenges the Church and humanity in our
day have to face. Other than the general relevance of this Cause is
its relevance to the 2019 Special Synod of Bishops reflecting on the
Amazonian theme: new paths for the Church and for an integral
ecology. A Synod that interests the whole Church and that starts,
as did Fr Bolla, by listening to the indigenous peoples and all the
communities living in the Amazon.” Since May 2017 Fr Bolla's
mortal remains have been laid to rest among the Achuar Kuyuntsa
Indians. → “servo di Dio”
borgata
n. Hamlet. • A small area of habitation, perhaps a collection of just
a few homes or farms (usually stretching both sides of the road
or around a crossroads), connected to areas with an essentially
rural economic base, of which it is the heart. In some large cities
(Rome, Milan), a grouping of residential buildings in a suburban
location but without the close relationship of continuity, at least
originally, with the suburban districts of the city of which it is also
an administrative part.
The Becchi, where Don Bosco grew up, is an example of a borgata.
Somewhat larger is a borgo, such as we might call a suburb or
perhaps better, a district in English. In Don Bosco’s case, the nearby
Borgo Dora was an example, an industrial area with very poor,
overcrowded housing, next to Valdocco, Turin. → “mandamento”
“i Becchi”
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Bororo Simão
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Bororo Simão
Bororo Simão (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Simão [Simon] Bororo. • Layman.
Diocesan Inquiry opened 31 January 2018 and closed 31 January
2020.
Simão Bororo is associated with the death of Fr Rudolph
Lunkenbein.
Simão Bororo, a friend of Fr Lunkenbein's, was born in Meruri
on 27 October 1937 and was baptised on 7 November that same
year. He was a member of the group of Bororos who accompanied
missionaries Fr Pedro Sbardellotto and Salesian Brother Jorge Wörz
in the first missionary residence set up among the Xavantes, in the
mission at Santa Teresina in 1957-58. From 1962 to 1964 he helped
build the first brick homes for Bororo families in Meruri, becoming
an expert bricklayer who dedicated the rest of his life to this trade.
He was mortally wounded in an attempt to protect Fr Lunkenbein's
life on 15 July 1976. Before dying he forgave his killers. Through
their sacrifice, Fr Rudolph Lunkenbein and Simão Bororo testified
to the fact that God is with us.
Fr Lunkenbein proclaimed a fraternal God, promoted justice
and sought life to the full for the Bororo, whose situation was
one of marginalisation, contempt, threatened by whoever want
to unscrupulously take over their land. He witnessed to how
the proclamation of the Gospel is shown through respect and by
promoting the culture, traditions, style and rhythm of life of the
native peoples, supporting the processes of their liberation. Fr
Lukenbein and Simão experienced a true encounter with Jesus
Christ, sealing a profound covenant in blood through the gift of
themselves: “a covenant of hearts and dreams in mission lands.”
15 July 1976. The storm that had been brewing for some time
broke at nine that morning when the fazendeiros (settlers) arrived in
Meruri. They did not immediately attack the mission. They stopped
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two surveyors four kilometres from the village and disarmed the
four natives who were with them and threatened them with their
own weapons, then made them get into the car as prisoners and left
once more. They reached some settler homes where they stopped
for food and to drink some cachaça and rum. They then headed
directly to the mission, ready to create trouble. There was an ancient
struggle for land going on. Two organisations linked to the Ministry
for the Interior, FUNAI and INCRA, looked after the interests of the
indigenous people and settlers respectively; but they encountered
any number of difficulties in carrying out their task. Hundreds
of small landowners displaced by the large holdings run by rich
farmers had taken over territories belonging to the natives and had
settled there, sometimes in situations of extreme poverty. This was
the case at Meruri. The presence of surveyors from FUNAI who had
come to divide up these lands had suddenly rekindled the furore.
When the fazendeiros arrived (around 62 all up, armed with pistols
and knives) they wanted to vent their anger, but all they found was
a small missionary, Fr Ochoa. They began beating him, shouting
that all the missionaries were thieves who wanted the native lands
for themselves. The Bororo warriors had left a week earlier to hunt
for arara (the large rainbow parrot) and pecari (a kind of wild boar).
The little missionary had been pushed around and insulted and
did not know how to protect himself, when Fr Rudolph arrived. He
was flushed with fatigue but smiling. His hands were greasy from
having to repair the jeep once again.
The invaders were men known to the village. Chief Eugenio,
who had finished breakfast and was approaching, immediately
recognised Joao, Preto, and many others. João and Fr Rudolph were
talking about land and measurements, and the missionary was
trying to explain. “It's not like that” he said. “These measurements
are official things, ordered by FUNAI ...” The settlers, on the other
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hand, felt cheated. So Fr Rudolph suggested drawing up a list of
all those who wanted to protest: he himself would collect their
protests then forward it to FUNAI, the government organisation
that protected the natives. So they went into the management office
and the missionary sat down. On a large sheet of paper he wrote
down the names one after the other, 42 of them. That sheet of paper
remained on the table: the handwriting was obviously nervous.
Father Lunkenbein had no idea that he was writing for the last time,
and that he was writing down the names of his killers.
Everything seemed to be agreed. The cacique (Village leader),
the nine natives, the surveyors, the fazendeiros went back outside
and Fr Rudolph shook the hands of each of them. The surveyors
unloaded their equipment from a vehicle to recover it. They also
pulled out the weapons that had been taken from the Bororo. Seeing
this strange operation, Fr Lunkenbein expressed his amazement and
disapproval. This turned out to be fatal. João Mineiro immediately
struck him with his hand. The natives ran to his side. Joào pulled
a Beretta from his pocket. He was taking aim when Gabriel, one of
the Bororo, grabbed his wrist. At that same moment Preto pulled
out his pistol and fired at the missionary. From the verandah, Sister
Rita saw Fr Rudolph grab his chest, then saw his tall, sturdy figure
stagger. Preto fired another four shots at the missionary who fell to
the ground. Simão, who had tried to protect the missionary was hit
as well. The young Indian's mother, Tereza, ran to her son to help
him, and received a bullet in the chest. Finally the assailants fled,
jumping into their vehicle. Sister Rita ran to where Fr Rudolph was
lying in blood. He was alive but at the end. She was able to offer him
just one word of comfort: “Padre diretor, vai para a casa do Pai” (Father
Rector, you are returning to the Father's House). The missionary
managed a smile, then his heart stopped. The sacrifice had been
made. Fr Rudolph's Mass was over.
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BOSCOM-India
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On 18 July following, Bishop Casaldáliga wrote in the book of
condolences in Meruri: “15 July is an historic date in the history
of the new missionary Church. Rudolph and Simão are another
two martyrs, broken in love according to Christ's words: the Indian
gave his life for the missionary. The missionary gave his life for the
Indian. For all of us, Indians and missionaries, this blood in Meruri
is a commitment and a hope. The Indian will have his land! The
Indian will be free! The Church will be indigenous!” A prophetic
summary of a story of love and the cross, of sweat and blood, of
faith and courage.
“Meruri Rodolfo! Meruri Simão! Meruri, martírio, missão!” This line
is in in a poem by Bishop Casaldáliga: a missionary son of Don
Bosco and an indigenous beneficiary of his mission together on the
road to the altars. The poem continues like this: “In the Mass and
in the dance, in blood and on the ground, these weave the covenant
between Rudolph and Simão! Meruri in life, Meruri in death, and
love is stronger, and the mission is complete.” Rudolph and Simão's
example of faith and love for the Kingdom of God is truly a sign
and a call to the renewal of missionary zeal. Fr Lunkenbein and
Simão are part of that extensive band of Catholic missionaries and
natives killed while they accompanied, evangelised and struggled
alongside the Indians for their rights. The struggle to protect the land
of the peoples who live there and their immense natural, cultural
and spiritual wealth has been and still is fertilised by the blood of
the martyrs. → “Lunkenbein, Rudolph (servo di Dio)” “servo di
Dio”
BOSCOM-India
abbrev. BOSCOM-India. • Interprovincial Social Communication
Commission of India's Salesian Provinces.
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Braga, Carlo
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Braga, Carlo
Braga, Carlo (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Charles Braga. • Salesian priest.
Diocesan Inquiry opened: 30 January 2014.
Fr Charles (Carlo) Braga was born on 23 May 1889. He spent
his childhood and early teenage years in Tirano, a small town in
the Valtellina region of Lombardy. The second born of a second
marriage (his older brother, also called Carlo, died as a baby), he
lost both his parents while still a child. His father, Domenico Braga,
emigrated to Argentina when he was just two years old and never
returned. His mother, Maddalena Mazza, died after a long illness
when little Charles was just six years old. His childhood was as
bitter and dramatic as that of John Bosco's.
At the time of all these problems Charles found two providential
substitutes in Tirano, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
who followed him up from his infant school days and through
his primary schooling. And it was there that he met someone he
would later describe as his “second mother”: Sister Giuditta Torelli.
Then came the Salesians of Don Bosco who accepted him into
the San Rocco college in Sondrio. This first experience of Salesian
“loving-kindness” was fundamental for Charles at a particularly
difficult time for a lad who had been so tried by life. In fact, during
his time with the Salesians in Sondrio, Providence offered him the
extraordinary opportunity of meeting St John Bosco's successor,
Blessed Michael Rua, who opened up the way for the boy who
would one day be given the opportunity to become a Salesian. It
fell to him, a pupil who stood out for his piety and innocence of life,
to be chosen as the young secretary of the Rector Major while he
was visiting the house. At the end of this unforgettable experience,
Fr Rua told him: “We will always be friends” (27 June 1904). What
better expression of “loving-kindness” could young Charles have
wanted from Don Bosco's successor?
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Thus began his journey as part of the Salesian Family. In August
1904 he was sent to the novitiate belonging to the Central Province
(Foglizzo). He always considered this to be providential because
it allowed him to come into direct contact with the origins of the
Salesian charism in Valdocco, Turin. Nevertheless young Charles
was not immediately admitted to his first religious profession but
was sent for a second novitiate in Valsalice, where he was allowed
to continue his studies. He finally made his first profession (30 July
1906), then had his first experience as a Salesian (1908-1911) in
Trino Vercellese during which he made his perpetual profession
(1909) and attended university (1911). While studying theology
(1911-1914) he was also engaged with the St Aloysius Oratory
(1912) where the superior of the community was the Venerable
Vincent Cimatti. He was ordained priest on 11 April 1914, although
after some delay.
Almost a year after his ordination (May 1915) Fr Charles was
enlisted in the Italian army where he experienced the rigours of war;
he would remain in the army until April 1919. He met a number
of Salesians during the war, amongst whom Captain Fr Renato
Ziggiotti who would become the fifth successor of Don Bosco. It
was at this particular moment that he first thought of becoming a
missionary. Struck down by serious illness he decided that if Mary
Help of Christians were to obtain a cure for him he would go to the
missions.
He arrived in Turin in November 1918 at the invitation to be
part of a second missionary expedition to China, taking the place
of a confrere whose mother had denied him permission and who
had subsequently died in the war. He received the missionary cross
(April 1919) from the Rector Major, Fr Paul Albera, at Valdocco
together with eight other Salesians, all former soldiers like him;
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then, after a further delay he left Italy on 23 August. He arrived in
China on 29 September 1919.
Fr Braga spent the early period of his missionary life beside
the bishop and first Salesian martyr, St Aloysius Versiglia. From
1919-1924 he was the superior of the St Joseph's orphanage at Ho
Sai; from 1925 to 1929 he was the rector of Don Bosco College in
Shiu Chow. He was appointed provincial in 1930 when the superior
of the mission, Fr Ignazio Canazei, was made bishop of Shiu Chow,
replacing the now deceased Bishop Aloysius Versiglia.
For twenty-two years (1930-1952), Fr Braga led the “Chinese
Salesians” through a difficult period. On 25 February 1930 he was in
Turin as delegate for the General Chapter when the news arrived of
the martyrdom of Bishop Versiglia and Fr Caravario and the solemn
commemoration that was held in the Basilica of Mary Help of
Christians was entrusted to him. As a missionary in China he found
himself right in the middle of the civil war between Communists and
Republicans (1927-1937). He was forced to watch the destruction
of so many works that had been laboriously established by the
Salesians, and the ruination of the country during the Sino-Japanese
conflict (1937-1945).
Despite the difficulties he faced in carrying out his mandate in
the northern region of China, in 1941 he opened five new houses.
A period of relative calm followed (1945-1949), but in reality it
was the prelude to the confiscation of all Salesian works on the
Mainland by the Communist government and the imprisonment
of Chinese Salesians and any confreres who did not succeed in
finding refuge in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Over all these
years Fr Braga had the responsibility of doing whatever he could to
maintain the Salesian presence in China, containing the destruction,
and the dispersion of confreres resulting from the Chinese crisis to
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the extent that he could; many Salesians were arrested and interned
in concentration camps.
Fr Braga was given a break from 1952 to 1953, after his lengthy
mandate as the superior in China, and was then sent to the
Philippines as the rector of the Salesian technical school in Victorias
(Negros Occidental), founded two years earlier. He considered that
year to be “a year of martyrdom” both for the difficulty of the
language which he did not speak, and for the new situation he had
to tackle. We need to recall that it was just when Fr Braga was the
provincial of China that the agreements were made for the Salesians
to go to the Philippines, to Ossorios in Victorias, at the invitation of
the military chaplain Fr James Wilson in Tarlac (United States).
In 1955 he was appointed delegate of the provincial in China,
upon whom the Salesians in the Philippines depended. Three years
later (1958) he was appointed visitor of the Philippines when it was
separated from the China province. In 1963 Fr Braga was relieved of
the office of superior that he had held for almost thirty-three years
(1930-1963) and was assigned as confessor and spiritual director of
the Salesians and aspirants to Salesian life. The Philippines appeared
to Fr Braga as a country with few vocations and strong interest in
economic progress. Hence he considered an increase in vocations
and the building of technical schools to be a sign of success.
A few years before his death there were already twenty-eight
Filipino Salesians between confreres and newly professed, and some
sixty-six aspirants at the college in Pampanga.
During the sixty-five years of his religious profession as a
Salesian and fifty-seven years as a priest, Fr Braga had been rector
for fourteen years, provincial for twenty-three years and visitor for
five. He died in the early morning of 3 January 1971 at Don Bosco
college in San Fernando, Pampanga. → “servo di Dio” “CIN ”
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BS Bollettino Salesiano
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buon cristiano...
BS Bollettino Salesiano
abbrev., np. SB Salesian Bulletin. • Magazine founded in 1877 by Don
Bosco as a means of informing his benefactors and Cooperators of
Salesian work and maintaining them in the Salesian spirit.
The magazine continues today, usually under the same title but
occasionally under a different one, such as Don Bosco Today (UK),
Don Bosco Ajourd’hui (France), in more than 60 languages. → “Don
Bosco (santo)”
buona notte
np. Goodnight (or good night. • A few words said towards evening,
arising from a tradition begun by Don Bosco’s mother at the Oratory
and continued by Don Bosco. May also be spelt as two words: good
night.
Usage: Depending on circumstances, and it is certainly the case
in the East Asia-Oceania region, the Goodnight (sometimes also
referred to as the Goodnight talk), can become a Good morning or
Good afternoon talk. → “Don Bosco (santo)”
buon cristiano...
np. Good Christian... • The entire phrase is (in Italian) buon cristiano
e onesto cittadino, normally translated as ‘good Christian and upright
citizen’, although Don Bosco used several versions of this along the
lines of ‘civilisation and religion’, ‘civilisation and evangelisation’,
‘fostering the good of humanity and religion’.
A shorthand phrase used by Don Bosco to represent his
educational manifesto, traditional in flavour but ever open to new
interpretation (Cf. P. Braido, Prevenire, non reprimere, p. 231). Don
Bosco had almost certainly heard variants of this phrase from
prominent religious educators before him (e.g. Lodovico Pavoni
1784–1849) who founded the Congregation of the Sons of Mary
Immaculate in Brescia some years before him.
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buon cristiano...
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buon cristiano...
Don Bosco had a broad set of intentions in mind when he used
this phrase. Effectively, he meant everything that young people need
in order to live their human and Christian life to the full: clothing,
food, somewhere to live, work, study, free time; joy, friendship; active
faith, God’s grace, following a path to holiness; involvement, energy,
being part of society and Church. → “civiltà”
Usage: The Italian term onesto, while of course also meaning
‘honest’, has a broader sense of being an upright person, and this is
closer to Don Bosco’s intent when he speaks of the onesto cittadino.
We often see the phrase translated as ‘...honest citizen’ but this is a
restrictive interpretation.
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Cafasso
97
Cagliero
C
Cafasso Giuseppe
proper name. Joseph Cafasso. • Member of the Turinese clergy, first
encountered by young John Bosco when the former was a 1st year
student of theology at the seminary. Don Bosco tells us that it was
from Cafasso that he first learned of the importance of the liturgy
as the priestly theatre and recreation. When Don Bosco enrolled at
the Convitto Ecclesiastico, Cafasso was a professor of theology there.
By 1846 he was the Rector. Don Bosco says of Cafasso that his secret
was his tranquility, always smiling, always courteous, always kind.
Cafasso was one of the important sources of the Salesian style and
the Preventive System. → “Cenno istorico”
Linguistic note: Interesting to note that Don Bosco occasionally
spelt the name as Caffasso.
Cagliero Giovanni
proper name. John Cagliero. • As a boy, a member of the first group to
be invited to form the Salesian Society at the Oratory. On 26 January
1854, Cagliero, Rua, Rochetti, Artiglia, together with Don Bosco,
gathered in his room at his request and the proposal was made to
exercise practical charity towards their neighbour. This event was
also the first when the name ‘Salesian’ was applied. He became
the first Salesian bishop while Don Bosco was still alive. Later, he
became cardinal. He led the first missionary expedition. There is
the famous photo of Don Bosco handing him the Constitutions on
the occasion of the departure to Argentina in 1875. → “Salesiano”
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Cagliero11
98
Calasanz Marqués, José
Cagliero11
proper name. Cagliero11. • (Note that the 11 is connected to
the name). A newsletter (e-newsletter) whose first edition was
published on 11 January 2009, during the 150th anniversary of the
beginning of the Salesian Congregation (see previous entry). Its
aim is ‘to reach every Salesian community in the world to remind
ourselves at least once a month to pray for our missionaries ad gentes.
Cagliero Project
proper name. Cagliero Project. • A project providing long term
meaningful volunteer placements working with disadvantaged young
people in a Salesian setting. The Cagliero Project gives young
Australians an opportunity to devote six to twelve months in
volunteer service to youth overseas and in Australia. → “volontariato”
Calasanz Marqués, José (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) José Calasanz and 31 companion martyrs.
• Spanish Martyrs. Priests, Brothers, Clerics, Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians, Layman. Decree of Martyrdom: 20 December 1999.
Beatified: 11 March 2001. Liturgical celebration: 22 September. Of
this group 16 were priests, 7 brothers, 6 clerics, 2 Daughters of
Mary Help of Christians, 1 lay collaborator. And as for the year of
their death: 30 were killed in 1936, 2 in 1938. There are two groups:
Valencia and Barcelona.
Valencia
José Calasanz Marqués, priest
Antonio Maria Martín Hernández, priest
Recaredo de los Ríos Fabregat, priest
Julián Rodríguez Sánchez, priest
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Calasanz Marqués, José
99
José Giménez López, priest
Agustín García Calvo, brother
Juan Martorell Soria, priest
Jaume Buch Canal, brother
Pedro Mesonero Rodríguez, cleric
José Otín Aquilué, priest
Alvaro Sanjuán Canet, priest
Jaime Ortiz Alzueta, brother
Javier Bordas Piferrer, cleric
Félix Vivet Trabal, cleric
Miquel Domingo Cendra, cleric
José Caselles Moncho, priest
José Castell Camps, priest
Josep Bonet Nadal, priest
Jaume Bonet Nadal, priest
Alexandre Planas Saurí, lay collaborator
Elíseo García García, brother
Juli Junyer Padern, priest
María Carmen Moreno Benítez FMA
María Amparo Carbonell Muñoz FMA
Barcelona
Francisco Bandrés Sánchez, priest
Sergio Cid Pazo, priest
Josep Batalla Parramon, priest
Josep Rabasa Bentanachs, brother
Gil Rodicio Rodicio, brother
Ángel Ramos Velázquez, brother
Felipe Hernández Martínez, cleric
Zacarías Abadía Buesa, cleric
Calasanz Marqués, José
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Calasanz Marqués, José
100
Calasanz Marqués, José
Civil war broke out in Spain on 17 July 1936 (1936-1939) between
Fascist nationalists and Communist republicans. From the very first
days of the war there was real religious persecution of the Church:
churches were burned down, monasteries and convents attacked,
bodies and relics were desecrated, public religious ceremonies
banned. Thousands of bishops, priests, religious and lay people
died for their faith.
In 1964, after consulting the Spanish episcopate, Pope Paul VI
decided to suspend the beatification processes for all the martyrs
during the Spanish civil war, essentially to avoid them being
exploited politically. Pope John Paul II instead, considering that
the time was ripe, decided in 1983 that the processes begun in the
dioceses be brought to conclusion quickly. For the celebration of
the Jubilee Year 2000, John Paul II requested that a list of Christian
martyrs in the 20th century be prepared. Spain too collaborated
with this redrawing of the lists that the different dioceses handed
over for the ecumenical celebration that took place at the Colosseum
in March 2000. By that stage Monsignor Vicente Cárcel Ortí, a priest
and reputed historian, had begun to talk of a figure exceeding
10,000 Spanish martyrs killed in that period. The data was divided
as follows: twelve bishops, one apostolic administrator, around
seven thousand priests, men and women religious and some three
thousand lay people, most of whom belonged to Catholic Action.
Executions were carried out in cities and villages far from the war
front, often without trial or with kangaroo courts.
As part of this huge tragedy that devastated the nation and the
Spanish Church, was the small but painful tragedy of Don Bosco's
sons and daughters. 95 members of the Salesian Family have been
recognised as martyrs and have been beatified in a Nation and
Church of martyrs. → “martirio” “santità salesiana”
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Calosso
101
Canção Nova
Calosso
proper name. Giovanni Melchiorre Calosso.• The young John Bosco’s
priest-friend whom he loved more than a father, by his own
estimation. Fr Calosso set him on his way as a young student,
but also in terms of spiritual direction. The death of Calosso and
subsequent events were also decisive in Bosco’s spiritual journey.
→ “Don Bosco (santo)”
camerette
n., pl. Don Bosco’s rooms. • Reference to the rooms built by Don
Bosco and where he lived at the time at the Oratory. These days
converted to a museum in memory of Don Bosco. → “Museo Casa
Don Bosco”
Canção Nova CN
[pt] proper name. Canção Nova Community. • A Private International
Association of the Faithful in canonical terms and member of the
Salesian Family, Canção Nova has as its main objective ‘to evangelise
through media’: TV, Radio, Internet and audiovisual products, book
publication and sales, CDs, videos amongst others.
In 1977, during a meeting with young people, Fr Jonas Abib SDB
made an appeal to those present: ‘Who would like to give a year
of their lives to God?’ Surprisingly, many said yes. On 2 February
1978, 12 young people began to live in community, in Lorena (SP,
Brazil). The Canção Nova Community came from this.
It has full time and part time membership, the latter being part
of their normal family, professional and social life but lived with
missionary intent. The group was accepted into the Salesian Family
in 2009. → “famiglia salesiana”
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cancelliere
102
capitolo CG, CI...
cancelliere
n. 1. registrar or possibly, notary, 2. chancellor (Italian title
for various state roles), 3. Chancellor (university, Germany...).
• Originally the person responsible for the gates controlling entry
to the court, then became a title for clerks, officials, dignitaries. If
we were to always translate this term as ‘chancellor’ in English it
could lead people to believe it is a far more important term than it
is! Hence the choice of ‘registrar’ or ‘notary’, which is closer to the
original meaning expressed in the definition above. There are times.
however, when context will indicate ‘Chancellor’ as the correct
choice. Not to be capitalised, unless it is in reference to the Rector
Major as Grand Chancellor of the UPS. → “attuario” “notaio”
canonizzazione
n. Canonisation (or canonization US spelling). • Declaration by the
Pope that a deceased person is raised to the full honours of the altar,
i.e., a saint after previously having been beatified. Two miracles
credited to the beatus (feminine: beata) are usually required before
canonisation to attest the heroic virtue of the saint. Beatification
allows veneration of the blessed, canonisation requires it. The
canonisation is celebrated at St Peter's (usually) and is usually
followed by a solemn triduum in another church in the city or
elsewhere within a limited time.
Linguistic note: Etym. Latin canonizare, to canonise; from canon,
catalogue of saints.) → “santo”, especially for a list of Salesian
Saints.
capitolo
n. 1. chapter (group), 2. chapter (book). • We are mainly interested,
here, in ‘chapter’ as a group. In a Salesian context there is a ‘Capitolo
Generale’ (CG) or General Chapter (GC), a ‘Capitolo Ispettoriale’
(CI) or Provincial Chapter (PC), and there used be a ‘capitolo
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capitolo superiore
103
capitolo superiore
della casa’ or house chapter, a term now out of use and replaced
with Community Council or just House Council more commonly.
→ “consiglio della casa/comunità”
Can. 631 §1: In an institute the general chapter has supreme
authority in accordance with the constitutions. It is to be composed
in such a way that it represents the whole institute and becomes a
true sign of its unity in charity. Its principal functions are to protect
the patrimony of the institute mentioned in Can. 578 and to foster
appropriate renewal in accord with that patrimony. It also elects the
supreme Moderator, deals with matters of greater importance, and
issues norms which all are bound to obey.
C. 146 The general chapter is the principal sign of the
Congregation’s unity in diversity...
C. 147 The general chapter has supreme authority over the
Society and exercises it in accordance with the law...
C. 170. The provincial chapter is the fraternal gathering in
which the local communities strengthen their sense of belonging to
the provincial community... It is also the representative assembly
of all the confreres and local communities. It deliberates about
matters which regard the province, with the exception of whatever
is entrusted by the Constitutions and Regulations to other organs of
government. Often capitalised as General Chapter GC or Provincial
Chapter PC.
Linguistic note: Although the English translation of the Constitu-
tions uses these terms often in lower case, it would be normal to
refer to the General Chapter and Provincial Chapter in upper case.
capitolo superiore
np. Superior Chapter. • The name given to the group of councillors
who, under Don Bosco, made up the central government of the
Society. In 1966 the group was enlarged and its name changed
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Caravario, Callisto (santo)
104
Caravario, Callisto (santo)
to Superior Council. Finally, in 1984, the central government was
reorganised and the name was changed to General Council.
The term is now out of use and replaced by Consiglio Generale
(CG) or General Council (GC). “consiglio”
Caravario, Callisto (santo)
proper name. (St) Callistus Caravario. • Salesian priest and martyr.
Beatified: 15 May 1983. Canonised: 1 October 2000. Liturgical
Celebration: 25 February.
Callistus Caravario: a shining light from the dawn to sunset of
his life, completely dedicated to the ideal of a holy priesthood and
crowned by martyrdom at the age of twenty-six years and nine
months.
Callistus Caravario was born at Cuorgné in Canavese on 8 June
1903 to a working class family who moved to Turin when Callistus
was just five years old. From a tender age Callistus was attracted to
the ideal of the priesthood, and this grew in the Salesian setting in
Turin: the St Joseph’s Oratory, then primary school as a boarder at
Saint John the Evangelist’s and secondary schooling at the Oratory
in Valdocco.
On 19 September 1919 he took his religious vows in Don Bosco’s
Congregation. He then completed Classics at the Valsalice High
School in Turin where he also looked after the founder’s burial plot
(1919-23). In 1922 he met Bishop Versiglia, who was passing through
Turin, and told him: “I will follow you to China.” And indeed in
October 1924, at 21 years of age, cleric Caravario left as a missionary
for China.
He was in Shanghai for three years (1924-27) and for two years
in Timor (1927-29) as an assistant and catechist for orphaned and
abandoned boys there. Meanwhile he was studying theology. Over
the four years of his theological studies (1925-29) the ideal of the
priesthood filled his whole being.
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Caravario, Callisto (santo)
105
Caravario, Callisto (santo)
The 82 letters he wrote to his mother over this time are
overflowing with this yearning: to be a priest, a holy priest and to
lead souls to God; we can see his love of God in these letters, his
readiness to do anything for God, including the supreme sacrifice
of his life: “By now your Callistus is no longer yours. He must be
completely the Lord’s, completely dedicated to his service! ... Will
my priesthood be short or long? I do not know, but what is important
is that I do it well and that when I present myself to the Lord I can
say that with his help I have made use of the graces he has given
me.”
During his time in Timor, to the thirst he had for holiness he
added the ardent desire to sacrifice his life for the salvation of souls.
He had a presentiment of his coming martyrdom. He would present
himself to the Lord as a priest of just eight months, a year later.
On 18 May 1929, Callistus was ordained a priest at Shiu-Chow
(Canton) by Bishop Luigi Versiglia. He was immediately sent to
the mission station at Lin-Chow, where he gained the admiration
of his Salesian confreres and the Christian faithful for his priestly
virtues and apostolic zeal. After seven months of missionary work
at Lin-Chow (July 1929 – January 1930), Fr Caravario went up to
Shiu-Chow, in the centre of the Vicariate, to accompany Bishop
Versiglia who needed to make a pastoral visit to Lin-Chow.
Bishop Luigi Versiglia and Fr Callistus Caravario left on 24
February by train along with two pupils from Don Bosco College
who were returning home for the holidays, their two sisters and a
catechist. The socio-political situation was turbulent due to guerilla
attacks in the territory in China’s south: the bishop had waited
some time for better times to make a pastoral visit to Catholics at
Lin-Chow, but then went because “if we wait for things to be safe
we will never go... No no, woe betide if fear gets the upper hand!
Let things be as God wants!” On the 25th they were one their way
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Caravario, Callisto (santo)
106
Caravario, Callisto (santo)
by boat along the Pak-kong river. Then a brief stopover at Ling Kong
How. By midday they were once again on the river, heading for Li
Thau Tzeui.
They were praying the Angelus when suddenly there was wild
shouting from the riverbank. A dozen or so men, aiming their rifles,
indicated that the boat was to pull ashore. The boatsman was forced
to obey. “Whose protection are you travelling under?” the men
asked; the boatsman answered: “Nobody’s, since this is never asked
of the missionaries.” Two men jumped aboard, and under the roof
of a shelter they discovered the three women whom they wanted to
carry away, but Bishop Luigi and Fr Callistus formed a barrier and
protected them. The criminals, shouting, beat them with rifle butts,
and they collapsed on the ground. The bishop still had the strength
to encourage Maria Thong: “Increase your faith”, while Fr Callistus
was whispering: “Jesus ... Mary!”
The missionaries were bound then dragged into a thicket. One
of the bandits said: “We need to destroy the Catholic Church”.
Bishop Luigi and Fr Callistus understood that the hour had come
for witnessing to their faith in Christ. They were calm. They began
praying in a loud voice, on their knees, their eyes raised to heaven.
Five rifle shots interrupted their ecstatic praise. The women, in
tears, had to follow their aggressors, while the men were forced to
leave without looking back.
The martyrs’ remains were collected and buried at Shiu-Chow,
then disinterred and thrown away. In 1976 Pope Paul VI declared
Bishop Versiglia and Fr Caravario to be martyrs; on 15 May 1983
John Paul II beatified them, and on 1 October 2000 proclaimed them
saints along with another 120 Chinese martyrs. → “protomartire”
“Versiglia, Luigi (santo)”
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car ij mè fieuj
107
carisma
car ij mè fieuj
[pms] np., salutation. My dear children. • A Piedmontese phrase
regularly used by Don Bosco to address either his boys or his
Salesians. Also the title of a very useful book by Natale Cerrato:
CAR IJ MÈ FIEUJ miei cari figlioli Il Dialetto Piemontese nella Vita
e negli Scritti di Don Bosco. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “bogianen”
“Gianduia”
carisma
n. 1. charism 2. spirit of the founder. • In religious language, grace in
general as a gift bestowed by God; in Christian theological language,
sanctifying grace given to all believers through baptism, or a gift
granted a person for the benefit of the community, and hence an
attitude of service of others. In this case there is a distinction between
natural and supernatural gifts.
While the term goes back to St Paul (cf. 1 Corinthians), one can
search in vain for it in Salesian literature until 1977, when Fr Viganò
became Rector Major, hence we could also indicate this term as a
neologism in Salesian discourse. It came into its own as a result
of the Second Vatican Council and in particular the subsequent
documentation on consecrated life and the ‘founding charism’ or
‘charism of the founder’, though Vatican II itself spoke rather of the
‘spirit of the founder’, other terms like ‘charism of the founder’ coming
later. At this point it became much clearer that as consecrated life is
not part of the Church’s very constitution but a result of gifts of the
Holy Spirit, there is a distinction between the ‘ecclesial structure’
and the ‘charismatic structure’. Consecrated life, religious life belong
to the latter. This is an important distinction in the Church’s life
today.
Usage: When we speak of the carisma salesiano or Salesian
charism, context will decide whether we are speaking about the
charism of St Francis de Sales or of Don Bosco, but it is always a
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carità
108
carta della missione
charism that can be lived out by all members of the Salesian Family
(be that of St Francis de Sales or Don Bosco). → “sensus ecclesiae”
“vita consacrata”
carità
np. Charity. • The love that unites human beings to God and
among themselves, in the Christian understanding of the term.
For Catholics, charity is one of the three theological virtues, and
according to St Paul, the greatest of them. Desramaut includes the
term among his 100 key words of Salesian spirituality. From the very
beginning, from the famous ‘promise of charity’, Don Bosco spoke
of the exercise of charity toward one’s neighbour as the purpose of
his emerging Society.
Mention should be made here of a very specific use of the word
‘charity ’ by Don Bosco, which we now know as the promise of charity.
→ “promessa di carità” “Desramaut, Francis”
carità pastorale
np. Pastoral charity. • An apostolic impetus that makes us seek
souls and serve God alone. (C. 10 SDB Constitutions). Salesian
Constitution 10 goes on to describe pastoral charity as ‘characterised
by that youthful dynamism which was revealed so strongly in our
Founder and at the beginnings of our Society.’
The Charter of Salesian Identity indicates that pastoral charity,
which finds its source and model in the Good Shepherd, was a
constant inspiration for Don Bosco in his work as an educator and
evangeliser, guiding his life, prayer and missionary impulse. (Charter
of Identity, 24 May 2011). → “carta d’identità carismatica”
carta della missione
np. Carta della Missione della Famiglia Salesiana. Salesian Mission
Statement. • Inspirational document produced in 2000 for the entire
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carta di comunione
109
carta di comunione
Salesian Family. From the presentation of the document on 25
November 2000: it offers ‘the orientation and sensitivity of the
Groups of the Salesian Family in terms of apostolic mission.’ It
calls for a commitment from each of the Family Groups that is
characterised as a Salesian commitment.
Usage: One sometimes hears reference to ‘card’, as in ‘Mission
card’ or ‘Identity card’, which in the latter case is a separate
document. Certainly the first makes little sense in English; the
second does make sense (people hold identity cards after all) but
the nature of the document is more a ‘charter’ than it is a mere legal
document. The Italian carta covers a range of possible meanings:
card, documents, charter, certificate. → False Friends “C”
That said, it is also true that there has been some confusion in
translation of carta over the years, and we are now saddled with
terms that might leave one unsure just which ‘charter’ is being
referred to. In the case of the Year 2000 document, it is called the
‘Salesian Mission Statement’. Cf. the following two entries. → “carta
d’identità carismatica” “carta di comunione”
carta di comunione
np. Carta di comunione nella Famiglia Salesiana 1. Common Identity
Card, 2. Salesian Identity Card, 3. Charter of Communion. • On
31 January 1995, the then Rector Major, Fr Egidio Viganò, gave the
Salesian Family the ‘Common Identity Card’ (Carta di Comunione in
its original Italian title), and some years later, his successor, Fr Juan
Edmundo Vecchi, gave the Family the ‘Common Mission Statement’.
These two documents helped the various groups to deepen their
common spirituality and apostolate. The ‘Common Identity Card’
should not be confused with the ‘Charter of Charismatic Identity
of the Salesian Family’ annced at the concluding session of the 28th
Salesian Family Spirituality Days (January 2012).’
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carta d’identità carismatica
110
carta d’identità carismatica
The Common Identity Card (See previous entry for comment
on use of ‘card’) is a contribution of reflection on the Salesian
spirit, presenting ‘the fundamental elements which build up unity
in Don Bosco’s spirit’. The Salesian Family is a vast movement
comprising congregations, institutes and associations, both religious
and lay, that have grown out of the heart and pastoral experience
of Don Bosco’s charism. Besides the first groups founded by Don
Bosco himself, others have emerged over time which are seen to
share a common mission with them: namely, the evangelisation
and education of young people, especially the most needy. → see
entries above and below.
carta d’identità carismatica
np. The full Italian title is Carta di Identità Carismatica della Famiglia
Salesiana di Don Bosco or Charter of Charismatic Identity of the
Salesian Family. • What is described in this Charter, which includes
and integrates the two previous ones, is the charismatic identity
of the Salesian Family, that is, everything that refers to the
mission, spirit, relationships, formation, methods of education and
evangelisation. Certainly also the history of the charism, considered
in its origins and in its development, is part of identity; in fact,
an identity without memory, having no roots, is without a future.
For this reason, the Charter gathers the experience of the different
Groups of the Family, summarising the identity of the Salesian
charism that is the heritage of all. The Charter of Charismatic
Identity of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco is dated 31 January
2012. → see entries above and below.
Usage: See ‘carta della missione’ above for comment on
terminology used in these various charters. And → False Friends
“C”
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casa
111
casa annessa
casa
n. House. • Can. 608: A religious community is to live in a lawfully
constituted house, under the authority of a Superior designated
according to the norms of law. Understood in canonical terms as a
public non-collegial juridical person. Each house is to have at least
an oratory, in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, so that
it may truly be the centre of the community. Can. 609 §1: A house
of a religious institute is established, with the prior written consent
of the diocesan Bishop, by the authority competent according to the
constitutions.
Usage: The Italian word, but perhaps the English word as well,
has broader meaning also of ‘home’. It is worthwhile recalling
this factor (the ‘family’ feel of casa), since there is a tendency
today to speak more often of our opere, ‘works’. An authoritative
commentator on Don Bosco’s times, especially on life at the Oratory,
A. Caviglia, points out that Don Bosco’s Oratory had to be a home,
i.e. a family, not just a collegio or boarding establishment or school.
Note the expression casa che accoglie..., ‘a home that welcomed’, in
C. 40.
The various ‘Lives’ (of young people) that Don Bosco wrote also
stress this family atmosphere. It is essential to the Preventive System.
(A. Caviglia, La vita di Besucco francesco... pp 157–58. → “comunità”
casa annessa
np. 1. House attached (to the Oratory), 2. the annex, 3. home
attached to the oratory. • The home or hostel or shelter and
boarding house (established in 1847 and attached to the Oratory).
Don Bosco’s preferred name for this boarding house was Casa
annessa all’Oratorio di SFdS, House Attached to the Oratory’. In 1847,
Don Bosco began a work of rehabilitation of youngsters deprived of
a place to live, by taking up some more space in the Pinardi House.
It began simply as a place from where they could attend school or
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casa di beneficenza
112
Casa Generalizia
go to work in the city. It gradually became a boarding school and
was the beginnings of the convitto-collegio experience. → “oratorio”
“Valdocco”
casa di beneficenza
np. House of charity. • An example is the Regia Opera di Mendicità
Istruita or the Royal Work for the Education of the Poor, which gave
basic education (mainly to girls) in Turin in the 1850s.
The term was in use in Don Bosco’s time, and he often made
appeals to existing charitable institutions, be they religious or
secular, for financial assistance. But it became crucial in 1879 when
Don Bosco was fighting a Leftist Government in order to keep his
secondary classes (ginnasio) open at the Oratory. The Government
looked upon his school as a ginnasio privato or private secondary
school (with strict regulations regarding teacher certification etc.),
whereas Don Bosco wanted to argue it was either a ginnasio privato
gestito da una casa di beneficenza (private secondary school run by
a house of charity) or a scuola paterna (or istituto paterno) or home
school. This would have meant spending less money on teacher
qualification. He even presented a petition to the King, Le scuole di
beneficenza dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales davanti al Consiglio di
Stato. Oratory classes were closed because of his non-compliance and
were not re-opened until he complied with the request for teachers
who were properly accredited. Don Bosco lost this battle! → “Don
Bosco (santo)” “ginnasio”
Casa Don Bosco
For this → “Museo Casa Don Bosco”
Casa Generalizia
np. 1. General House, 2. Generalate. • House belonging to the Father
(Mother) General of a religious order. To be distinguished from
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Casa Madre
113
Cascina (Biglione)
Direzione Generale, though this latter is housed in the Casa Generalizia,
‘Sacro Cuore’, Rome. → “Casa Madre” “Direzione Generale”
Usage: Note that in English the term covers the whole
establishment. In Italian there is a clearer distinction between the
direzione generale and the casa generalizia which tends to be the
community as such, including members who do not work in the
Direzione Generale.
Casa Madre
np. Mother house. • Refers to Valdocco, Turin, whereas occasionally
these days the Casa Generalizia (Rome) is referred to as the Casa del
Padre, or the ’Father’s house’, though this latter term is now more
likely to be restricted to being a synonym of Heaven. News of a
deceased confrere is often described as him going alla Casa del Padre.
→ “Casa Generalizia”
Casa Pinardi
np., proper name. The Pinardi House. • Refers to the beginnings of
the Oratory and the famous snatch of conversation recorded by
Don Bosco between himself and Pancrazio Soave offering a place
for a laboratorio instead of an oratorio (recorded in the Memoirs of
the Oratory). It was really a tettoia or a shed or lean-to hanging off
the back of a building, and eventually Don Bosco bought the entire
building. None of the actual Pinardi Shed remains, but its location is
designated more or less by the Pinardi chapel at Valdocco. → “Don
Bosco (santo)” “memoria salesiana” “Valdocco”
Cascina (Biglione)
np. (Biglione) farmstead. • The term cascina refers to a sizeable
farmhouse and to the farmlands connected with it. (Source: Lenti,
Don Bosco History and Spirit Vol 1 p. 34). The cascina was a
social-agricultural unit usually of moderate size (say, 20 acres), with
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casetta (i Becchi)
114
catechismo
one central building that originally housed an extended family. The
man who ran the farm and lived with his family in a section of
the farmhouse was called a massaro (sharecropper). In the case
of the Biglione cascina at The Becchi, the owners lived in Turin
and employed a tenant farmer who lived at the cascina. The tenant
farmer was termed a mezzadro or ’half sharecropper’, since according
to unwritten Piedmontese law, he worked for half the produce.
Francis Bosco was this person at the Cascina Biglione. → “Don Bosco
(santo)” “casetta (i Becchi)” “Don Bosco: History and Spirit”
casetta (i Becchi)
np. (The Becchi) cottage or small house. • The place where Don
Bosco grew up (his home) at The Becchi is referred to in Italian
as the Casetta. Now turned into a museum. It was not where he
was born – almost certainly that was in the Biglione farmstead.
But the Casetta was a small building nearby that his father bought
and refurbished for his family. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “Cascina
(Biglione)” “i Becchi”
Usage: In some English-speaking countries we cannot use the
term ‘little house’ (which has the connotation of ‘outhouse’) or
‘cottage’ with less savoury meanings.
catechismo
n. 1. catechism lesson, 2. catechism, 3. catechetics. • (1) ‘... this
Congregation was just a catechism class‘ (Don Bosco, Cenno Istorico).
Here the term embraces the activities, content of Don Bosco’s
particular way of instructing young people to be ‘good Christians
and upright citizens’. (2) Summary of religious doctrine often in the
form of question and answer. (3) Don Bosco’s very first description
of his congregation was of a group of people who gave catechetical
instruction or that had that as its prior aim. → “sistema preventivo”
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CdA
115
CDB
CdA consiglio d’amministrazione
abbrev., np. 1. board of directors, 2. administrative council. • This
term has only entered the Salesian lexicon in very recent times,
and has been borrowed from the Italian business world of the
SRL (the Company Limited in English). In the business context
the board is appointed by the shareholders and is responsible for
the management of the company and represents the company in
relations with third parties (customers, suppliers, etc.). The board
makes decisions on matters that are not expressly reserved for the
shareholders’ meeting by law or the company’s bylaws.
This same definition may be broadly applied to many Salesian
entities these days that are incorporated or otherwise regarded by
society as a business-type enterprise. Very often Mission Offices
responsible for collection of and distribution of funds come under
this category before the State in which they are located. → “PDO”
CDB
abbrev. Volontari Con Don Bosco CDB. Volunteers With Don Bosco
CDB. • The CDB are consecrated lay Salesians. They recognise the
Rector Major, successor to Don Bosco, as the centre of unity. The
group, which has official membership of the Salesian Family, has a
Moderator General (Responsabile Centrale in Italian) with a Council,
and a (Salesian) Ecclesiastical Assistant appointed by the Rector
Major. The first group came into existence in 1987 in Venezuela,
but there were another three groups in 1991 in Malta, Paraguay
and Sicily. They were brought together by Fr Viganò in 1993 at the
General House, and for this reason they regard that community as
their ‘Mother House’. The group is seeking recognition as a Secular
Institute. They claim that they draw their charismatic inspiration
from Don Bosco’s original idea of the ‘extern Salesian’. → “VDB”
“responsabile (maggiore) (centrale)”
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celebret
116
Cenni Storici
celebret
[la] v. celebret, literally: let him celebrate (mass). • A document
from the Bishop or Religious Superior allowing a priest to celebrate
Mass.
Cenno istorico
np. 1. Historical Outline, 2. Historical Sketch. • Presented in Rome
1874, its full title was Cenno istorico sulla Congregazione di S. Francesco
di Sales e relativi schiarimenti (Historical Note on the Congregation of
St. Francis de Sales and certain clarifications). Don Bosco describes
the beginnings of the Oratory as developing from the fact that
he took over Father Cafasso's catechetical instruction in the room
(chapel) adjoining the sacristy of the Church of St Francis. The
beginning was with two young adults (in this document, by contrast
with the Garelli version in his Memoirs) towards the end of 1841. At
the same time he was concentrating on young adults who had been
released from prison. → “Cenni Storici” below.
Cenni Storici
np. 1. Historical outlines, 2. Historical sketches. • Document(s) of an
official nature written by Don Bosco, bearing the date 1862, wherein
he describes the beginnings of the Oratory and the kind of young
people who first drew his attention and his commitment. Don Bosco
wrote several cenni storici as preambles to major documents, e.g. to
the articles of the Constitutions, to applications for both diocesan
and pontifical approval of the Congregation. In the 1862 version,
Don Bosco describes the beginnings of the Oratory as a response
to the situation of young people on the streets, in factories, and in
prison – all at risk for want of religious instruction.
Note the need to distinguish from Cenno istorico.
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centri vocazionali
117
centro di formazione
centri vocazionali
np. Vocation centres. • Depending on context this term may refer to
a centre for religious or priestly discernment or for a more general
discernment for young people as to their life direction.
Usage: In English, care must be taken in context to avoid
this referring to ‘job preparation’ or ‘vocational training’, a
common understanding of ‘vocational’ in general parlance. In
Italian, this will be more likely to be referenced as centro di
formazione professionale, in which case we are talking about
“VET”. → “accompagnamento vocazionale”
Centro Catechistico Salesiano
np. Salesian Catechetical Centre. • Founded in 1939 by the then
Rector Major, Fr Peter Ricaldone. → “Ricaldone, Pietro”
centro di animazione di tempo libero
Leisure centre. np. • Not necessarily the same entity as a youth
centre, however. → “oratorio”
centro di formazione
np. Education centre. • Usage: For translators, the Italian term may
be a ‘false friend’. Rarely if ever does it refer to a place for initial
or ongoing Salesian religious formation (these are called Study
Centres). Instead, the term refers more to what we in English would
call ‘education’. However, the term may often be applied to a centre
of Salesian formation (or Christian formation) for lay people. One
might normally expect Centro di formazione to be followed by the
adjective professionale, or in other words a vocational studies/training
centre.
Italian is much more likely to speak of formazione where English
might use ‘education’, but the terms formazione and educazione are
often interchangeable in Italian. → “formazione” False Friends “E”
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Centro di Studi Don Bosco
118
centro giovanile
Centro di Studi Don Bosco
proper name. Don Bosco Study Centre. • Founded at the UPS in 1973
as part of the post-conciliar development of a scientific historical
study of the Salesian charism. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “UPS”
centro di studio
np. Study centre. • There is a diversity of structures in the
Congregation for Post-novitiate and Theology studies. There is
the Salesian centre, either combined with a formation community
(the “studentate”) or functioning independently, and there is
the non-Salesian centre or the centre for which Salesians share
responsibility with others. Many Salesian centres are open to
students who do not belong to the Congregation.
Among the various Salesian study centres, pride of place goes
to the Salesian Pontifical University for the special mission it carries
out at the service of the Church and the Congregation by preparing
qualified personnel. → “studentato”
centro giovanile
np. Youth centre. • GC21 nos. 121ff.: An environment for older
youth (giovani as distinct from ragazzi), is attentive to their needs,
is based very much on group relationships, personal contacts and
commitment. It often has a variety of activities like sports, cultural
activities.
Usage: Be aware that there is actually a distinction in theory
between Oratory and Youth Centre (cf. R. 11, 12) but it rarely
applies in practice. There is also, according to GC21, a third term,
the combination of Oratory-Youth Centre. This is an environment
open to all ages and appropriately managed for each age group.
GC21 nos. 121 ff. offer descriptions and definitions of both entities.
→ “oratorio”
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CEP
119
CEP
CEP
abbrev. Comunità educativa e pastorale CEP or comunità educativo-pastorale
educative and pastoral community EPC. • cf. C. 47; GC24, nos.
149–179: the Salesian way of animating, showing leadership in every
educational circumstance intended to realise Don Bosco’s mission. It
is not a new structure added to other kinds of management and
involvement in works or pastoral sectors, nor is it just organisational
management or a technique for getting people involved. It is a
set of individuals (young people and adults, parents and teachers
or educators, religious and lay, representatives from other church
and civic institutions and can also include representatives of other
religions, men and women of good will) all working together to
educate and evangelise young people, especially the poorest of
them, in Don Bosco’s style. This set of individuals is one of concentric
circles, depending on the degree of shared responsibility individuals
have for the mission.
Linguistic note: We see two versions of the Italian above, one
where the ‘educativa’ follows the rules of Italian syntax (feminine
form) and another, ‘educativo-pastorale’ where the tendency is
to follow a morphological rule whereby ‘o’ becomes a linking
vowel (following a neo-Latin pattern). The question of compound
adjectives in Italian is a vexed linguistic issue, and because
of that we should not draw any conclusions about one form
having a different meaning to the other. Instead, in English, there
seems little sense in adopting an Italian compound adjectival
form that is far less common in English (hence ‘pastoral and
educative community’ rather than ‘educative-pastoral community’.
→ “nucleo animatore”
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Ceria, Eugenio
120
Chieri
Ceria, Eugenio
proper name. Eugene Ceria. • An early biographer of St John Bosco.
→ “Memorie Biografiche MB” (early volumes) and the “Annali”
for which he was responsible.
ceti popolari
np. 1. working classes, 2. ordinary people, 3. poor people in general.
• Category of citizens characterised by a particular social and civil
condition. ‘Poor people in general’ is the translation used in C. 29,
but this needs to be understood in the context of talking about
‘young people who are poor’. Certainly, ‘working class(es) would
be the more common gloss to be found in Italian documents today
(e.g. European Parliament). Don Bosco used other terms like basso
popolo or lower class, where there was no difficulty in understanding
which level of society he intended. → “ambiente”
Chávez Villanueva Pascual
proper name. Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva. • Fr Pascual Chávez
Villanueva was elected Rector Major by the 25th General Chapter,
3 April 2002; he was the ninth successor of Don Bosco and the
first non-Italian of non-Italian parentage to lead the Congregation
(Fr Vecchi was Argentinian but of Italian parentage). → “Rettor
Maggiore”
Chieri
proper name. Chieri A town and comune in the Metropolitan City
of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about 11 kilometres (7 miles)
southeast of Turin, 15 km (9 mi) by rail and 13 km (8 mi) by
road. • It would seem impossible to talk about Salesian beginnings
without drawing attention to Chieri. In the young John Bosco's life,
Chieri and the nearly ten years spent there, was the place and time
dedicated to his secondary schooling, and it was while he was in
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chierico
121
cholera asiaticus
Chieri that he made some of his major life choices, such as attending
the seminary.
So many features of Don Bosco's later life were formed at Chieri.
We only need to think of: dreams (a second `vocational' dream),
the Society for a Good Time (ministry among young people), Luigi
Comollo, Jonah, learning various trades, intense reading of Latin
and Italian classics, self-defence, Fr Borel...
Nor should we overlook the importance of Chieri after Don
Bosco's time, including the birth of Blessed Madeleine Morano
→ “Don Bosco (santo)” “società d’allegria” “Comollo, Luigi”
“Morano, Maddalena (beata)” “luoghi salesiani”
chierico
n. Cleric. • 1. In the Church’s language, a person with responsibility
for spiritually guiding the faithful (as opposed to a lay person) 2. In
common usage, a young man on the way to the priesthood, having
donned the cassock or clerical habit. In Salesian circles the term
‘cleric’ has generally referred to the second definition rather than
the strict canonical sense. Don Bosco’s ‘clerics’ (who were called so
even before they became officially clerics in canon law) were often
no more than 16 years of age. Even today, Salesians refer to ‘clerics’
meaning young men in stages of formation leading to priesthood
(but they may not be ‘clerics’ in the strict canonical sense, at least
not yet). → “formazione”
Usage: Note the abstract noun ‘clericalism’, which has negative
connotations.
cholera asiaticus
np. [la]cholera asiaticus, cholera (Asian strain). • An acute infectious
disease caused by the vibrio bacterium. Carriers are crucial to the
spread of the disease – individuals who are healthy or who have
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Cimatti, Vincenzo
122
Cimatti, Vincenzo
recovered but carry the bacterium in their intestines. Human faeces
carry the bacteria.
The cholera pandemic that struck Turin in the 1850’s, summer
1854 to be precise, striking the Borgo Dora in a particularly bad
way, was the cholera asiaticus. 1,438 of the 2,533 infected died. The
parish in which the Oratory was located lost 53% of its people.
→ “Conferenza di San Vincenzo de Paoli”
Like the earlier pandemics, cholera spread from the Ganges
delta of India (hence the ’asiaticus’). It had high fatalities among
populations in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. In 1854,
which was considered the worst year, 23,000 people died in Great
Britain. Of course, these days we are very much aware of pandemics,
especially other ones supposedly of the ‘asiaticus’ variety!
Cimatti, Vincenzo (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Vincent Cimatti.• Salesian priest, missionary,
declared Venerable 21 December 1991.
Vincent Cimatti was a true romagnolo from Faenza and came
from a family of saints: of the three children who survived, he
is Venerable; his sister, Sister Maria Raffaella of the Congregation
of the Hospitaller Sisters of Mercy was beatified on 12 May 1996;
Luigi, Salesian brother and missionary in Latin America, died with
a reputation for holiness.
Vincent was born in Faenza on 15 July 1879 to Giacomo Cimatti
and Rosa Pasi, parents who were reasonably well-off financially. He
lost his father when he was just three years old. That was the year
that his mother lifted him up in her arms and pointed to Don Bosco
who was at the parish church in Faenza: “Vincenzino, look, look at
Don Bosco!” Vincent Cimatti kept the memory of this providential
encounter alive for the rest of his life.
His great dream was always to go to the missions. This “grace”
was one he insistently asked of the Rector Major, Fr Philip Rinaldi,
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CIN
123
CIN
today Blessed: “Find me a place in the poorest, most difficult, most
abandoned mission. I don't feel right when things are comfortable.”
It was finally granted him when he was 46 years old. He was sent as
the leader of the expedition to Japan with 5 priests and 3 brothers
to found the Salesian mission and work there and worked there
for 40 years. He won the hearts of the Japanese with his finesse,
his artistic talent (he directed musical concerts with outstanding
success) but even more because of his kindliness. He reached out
to the poorest people, children, the elderly, the sick. He opened
orphanages, oratories, technical schools. He set up a publishing
house in Tokyo. As versatile as he was, he left many writings on
agriculture, pedagogy, lives of saints. 6,138 of his letters have been
preserved. He was an extraordinarily productive musician: some
2,000 concerts held in Japan, Manchuria, North and South Korea
and around 950 musical compositions including 18 Sung Masses,
the first full-blown opera in Japanese – “Hosokawa Grazia” (in three
acts) – and 48 operettas.
He opened the first Salesian house in Miyazaki and was its first
rector. Three years later he would become the superior of the new
vice-province. In 1935, when the Miyazaki-Oita mission was erected
as an Apostolic Prefecture, he was appointed Prefect Apostolic with
the title of Monsignor.
Finally, when he was 83 years old, he was left completely free of
all roles of responsibility. He died as a patriarch on 6 October 1965.
“I would like to die here so I can become part of Japanese soil.” His
body, re-exhumed in 1977 and found perfectly intact, now lies at
rest in the crypt in Chofu. → “santità salesiana” “GIA Giappone
”
CIN
abbrev. CIN China Province. • A Salesian Province in the EAO
Region.
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CGS Cinecircoli Giovanili Sociocultural1i 24CGS Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali
Based in Hong Kong. Includes Salesian presences in Taiwan.
Several other bodies set up within the Province are as follows:
• DBsays (Don Bosco South Asian Youth Services, Hong Kong)
• DBYN (Don Bosco Youth Network, Macau)
• BCF (Hong Kong Don Bosco Charitable Foundation)
• BCF (Macau Don Bosco Charitable Foundation)
• Don Bosco International Youth Care Office (Hong Kong)
• Hong Kong Central Secretariat of Salesian Schools
• Hong Kong Salesian Board of Education
China Province has been responsible for a flourishing of
Salesian missionary activity and Provinces – The Philippines,
Thailand, Vietnam all developed initially from China. → “BCF”
“protomartire” “Braga, Carlo (servo di Dio)” “Majcen, Andrej
(servo di Dio)”
CGS Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali
abbrev., np. Sociocultural Youth Film Clubs. • The cultural proposal
developed by the Sociocultural Youth Film Clubs is linked in
organisational terms to the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project
(SEPP) from which it draws its inspiration, content and essential
features.
The CGS is one of the nine non-profit cultural associations
recognised nationally by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage
and Tourism.
This Salesian tradition linked to the performing arts dates back
to Don Bosco himself and his concern for teatrino, for which he
wrote a set of regulations. The Film Club movement is but a modern
expression of this tradition.
CGS was founded formally in 1967 at a time when film was
looked upon with a degree of suspicion in Catholic circles generally,
but not for the Salesians who saw it as a resource to be exploited for
education and evangelisation.
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Cinque lustri
125
circoscrizione
The Salesian connection of the CGS is institutionally ensured by
CNOS (see separate entry for CNOS-FAP) and the CIOFS (Centro
Italiano Opere Femminili Salesiane) which is under the auspices of
the FMA. → “CNOS-FAP”, “teatrino”, “PEPS”
Cinque lustri
proper name. Don Bosco’s Early Apostolate. • Clearly, the title Don
Bosco’s Early Apostolate is not a translation of cinque lustri (a lustro is a
5-year period, so 5 x 5 = 25 years). Cinque Lustri di storia dell’Oratorio
salesiano fondato dal sacerdote D. Giovanni Bosco was written by Fr
Giovanni Bonetti and first translated into English under the title
Don Bosco’s Early Apostolate in 1908. It was then republished for the
canonisation as St John Bosco’s Early Apostolate. It has long been out
of print. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “cronachette”
circoscrizione
n. Circumscription. • ‘Normally the circumscriptions of our Society
are provinces and vice-provinces, As regards other eventual juridical
circumscriptions, their internal structure and representation at the
General Chapter will be defined in the decree of erection, in line
with Salesian spirit and tradition’ (SDB Constitutions C. 156).
The broader term found in general ecclesiastical usage is
‘ecclesiastical circumscription’, but while in frequent use (e.g. in
the Annuario Pontificio or in important communications such as
Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to Chinese Catholics) it is so broad
an understanding of limitation that it begs for clearer definition.
Ecclesiastical circumscriptions may be territorial or they may be
personal. They may be more theological than structural in intent
– as for example the definition of a Diocese as portio populi Dei,
implying a community of people, a Bishop, a presbyterate, but not
territory, at least not essentially.
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CISI
126
civiltà
Circumscriptions can be structural and juridical, or the term
might even be used in a broad sense of a communal ecclesiastical
grouping. The Salesian C. 156 quoted above indicates the possible
creation of circumscriptions other than provinces or vice-provinces.
These are called a ‘special circumscription’ in English, (circoscrizione
a statuto speciale in Italian) and each is determined by the decree
which sets it in place. → “ispettoria” “visitatoria”
CISI
abbrev. Conferenza delle Ispettorie Salesiane di Italia CISI, Conference
of Italian Salesian Provinces.→ “conferenza ispettoriale”
civiltà
np. 1. civilisation, 2. development, 3. advancement, 4. culture, 5.
progress • The particular form in which the material, social and
spiritual life of a people manifests itself (or possibly more than one
people strictly related to one another) – be it for the entire extent
of its life or for a particular period of its historical evolution. In the
more common and traditional use of the term, it is often a synonym
of ‘progress’, by contrast with barbarism, pointing to a degree of
perfection in social order, institutions. → “buon cristiano...”
Linguistic note: The Italian term civiltà, especially as used by Don
Bosco (we find it as early as 1848 in his Il cristiano guidato), is not
easily rendered in English, other than by a now archaic sense of
‘civility’. Today, ‘civility’ is more an individual trait, something akin
to urbanity, but the meaning in which we find it still, in Italian, has a
more collective, social aspect, ‘civilisation’ then, but even that does
not quite do the term justice.
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clima di famiglia
127
coadiutore
clima di famiglia
np. 1. family atmosphere 2. family spirit. • A Constitutional term (C.
47), synonymous with ‘family spirit’ and descriptive of the educative
community. → “spirito di famiglia”
CMB
abbrev. Comunità della Missione di Don Bosco CMB, Community of
the Mission of Don Bosco. • A Private Association of the Faithful
as understood in Canon Law, which gained membership of the
Salesian Family in 2010. They describe themselves as a new form of
Salesian community made up of lay people: young adults, adults
and families who seek to live according to the inspirations of
the Gospel, following a Rule of Life. The group has its general
headquarters in Bologna at the Salesian Parish of the Sacred Heart. It
came into existence in 1988 in formal terms (though founded in 1982
in the Diocese of Bologna by a group of lay people following the
intuitions of the Holy Spirit) and was juridically set up in 1994. The
group is part of the Salesian Youth Movement in Italy, Madagascar,
Burundi, Argentina. Its three key features are unity, charity towards
the young and the poor, and living simply in a Salesian family style.
→ “famiglia salesiana”
CNOS-FAP
np. Centro Nazionale Opere Salesiane CNOS, National Centre for
Salesian Works. • A Salesian entity with legal status in Italy. The
FAP refers to Formazione e Aggiornamento Professionale or professional
training and updating. → “formazione professionale”
coadiutore
n. 1. brother, 2. coadjutor, 3. lay Salesian. • The definitive
Regulations printed in 1877 make a clear distinction between a
‘coadjutor’ who might have been simply a domestic, and the Salesian
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cocca
128
Cognata, Giuseppe
coadjutor brother. The term ‘coadjutor’ is found for the first time
in the register of the names of the pupils at Valdocco in December
1854, where it appears next to the name of the 30-year-old Alessio
Peano, but apparently implies nothing of a religious nature. It was
a delicate touch on the part of Don Bosco in respect of those whom
others used call simply ‘servants’. For Don Bosco, this person was
something more, a collaborator. There were coadjutors with vows
and those who were simply paid workers, as time went on. It was
only in 1883 that GC3 reserved the term officially for lay Salesians.
Usage: ‘coadjutor’ is one of several variants in use in English
today. Many English-speaking provinces prefer just ‘brother’; ‘lay
brother’ less so. And yet another variant is ‘coadjutor brother ’. The
question of terminology in this regard was raised at the 3rd General
Chapter (1883). The term’s origins are the Latin Fratres coadiutores,
an ecclesiastical term from earlier times (glossed as Lay Brother in
English). It fails to pick up Don Bosco’s clever concept of the true
Salesian expressed by the lay dimension. The term ‘Lay Salesian’
(Italian salesiano-laico) has gained some currency in recent times
and seems more adequate. → “laico”
cocca
n. Gang. • The term used around the 1850s, 60s to describe the gangs
in Turin and particularly around the Valdocco neighbourhood.
Hence the Cocca Gambero (Crab Gang), Cocca Moschino (the
Moschino district was one of the most unruly). → “Valdocco”
Cognata, Giuseppe (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Joseph Cognata. • Salesian Bishop.
Salesian Bishop. Diocesan Inquiry opened 12 December 2020.
Joseph Cognata was born in Agrigento on 14 October 1885 to
Vitale Cognata and Rosa Montana, and demonstrated a wealth of
gifts and talents from his childhood days: noble sentiments, a sharp
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Cognata, Giuseppe
129
Cognata, Giuseppe
mind, strong and decisive will, diffusive goodness. These abilities
were admirably enhanced by a wise Christian upbringing received
largely from his mother, a pious and intelligent, strong, gentle and
dynamic woman. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in
the city: his grandfather was a senator of the Kingdom and his father
a lawyer, unfortunately involved in Freemasonry: a thorn in the
very sensitive heart of his son Peppino who offered his life for this,
eventually obtaining his repentance at the end of his years. When
Peppino Cognata entered the Salesian St Basil's college in Randazzo
(Catania) at the age of twelve, Don Bosco's first work in Sicily, his
heart was ready to accept the call to the religious and apostolic life
among the Salesians; his vocation was strongly opposed by his father
and grandfather, and it saw trials and long and painful struggles,
but was crowned by joyful success.
Cleric Joseph Cognata made his perpetual profession on 5 May
1908 at San Gregory's in Catania, before the then Rector Major
Fr Michael Rua, today Blessed, and in the following year he was
ordained priest on 29 August 1909 in Acireale. He had already
done brilliantly and gained degrees in Arts and Philosophy, going
amongst the youngsters not only as a teacher and assistant but also
as a priest filled with zeal, a faithful disciple of St Francis de Sales and
an authentic son of Don Bosco. The “charity of Christ” spread from
his great and good heart to the youthful world in Sicily and Bronte,
in Veneto and in Este in the Marches, at Macerata. His teaching was
fruitful and clear: he had classical texts printed with appropriate
notes; but above all he formed his young people to piety. He had the
gift and art of friendship and it won him sympathy and agreement.
The First World War saw Fr Cognata as a soldier in Palermo,
Trapani, Paua. It was in Trapani, dressed as a soldier, that he put
down the roots of the Salesian work he was called to run years
later, when the war was over. From almost nothing he was able to
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Cognata, Giuseppe
130
Cognata, Giuseppe
build a church dedicated to the Help of Christians; he was zealously
committed to the school and oratory. He was the rector of a number
of works but even more so a director of souls. From Trapani he was
called on to run the college in Randazzo (Catania), then another
one in Gualdo Tadino in Umbria and finally was the rector of Sacred
Heart in Rome.
Such a light could not remain hidden. At the consistory held on
16 March 1933, Pius XI appointed Fr Joseph Cognata as the bishop of
Bova, an especially poor diocese in Calabria that was disadvantaged
at every level, human, civil, cultural, religious and spiritual: it was a
true “mission” on Italian territory. There were lots of small centres
sprinkled throughout the mountains, without roads, water, bread,
schools, priests. His episcopal ordination took place on 23 April
in the Sacred Heart Basilica in Rome and the ordaining bishop
was Salesian Cardinal August Hlond, metropolitan archbishop
of Gniezno and Poznań , today Venerable. Co-consecrators were
the Salesian bishop of Sutri and Nepi, Luigi Maria Olivares, also
Venerable, and the titular bishop of Farsalo and auxiliary in Palermo,
Romolo Genuardi.
Along steep paths and mule tracks, Bishop Cognata – who
had chosen the Pauline expression “Caritas Christi urget nos” as his
episcopal motto – wanted, in perfect missionary style, to visit and
comfort not only all the villages of the diocese, but also the groups of
poor families scattered here and there throughout the most remote
and inaccessible places. He was committed humanly and socially,
but above all he worked on the spiritual level with courage, ardent
charity and with trust in the unfailing help of Providence. A man
of faith and prayer, open to the breath of God's Spirit, he gave
life to a pious society of generous young people willing to work
with courage and joy in the smallest, most remote and abandoned
centres. Thus the Congregation of the Salesian Oblates of the Sacred
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Cognata, Giuseppe
131
Cognata, Giuseppe
Heart was born on 8 December 1933. The new Institute, inspired
by Providence in the Salesian spirit with a specifically pastoral and
missionary purpose in aid of the local Church, grew and developed
over a few years with a rich flourishing of vocations, spreading not
only through the two dioceses of Bova and Reggio, but also in other
areas of Calabria, Sicily and Lazio.
In April 1939, Bishop Cognata was the victim of an unscrupulous
plot aimed at covering up the responsibilities of a high exponent
of the ruling regime, Baron Alberto Fassini, a wealthy industrialist
and generous “benefactor” who was also in close contact with top
Roman curial circles. All this was in reaction to closing the mission
of the Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart in Casal Bruciato (Rome),
ending up with the expulsion of three Sisters from the congregation,
which Bishop Cognata had been forced to issue because of the
serious disturbances that had unfortunately emerged. Summoned
by investigators of the Holy Office in the days immediately following
the lodging of the complaints, Bishop Cognata was subjected to a
summary and already determined preliminary investigation which
lasted three long months (during which he remained practically
“kidnapped” in Rome) followed the following autumn by his
committal to trial and, subsequently, a conviction issued on 20
December 1939. Sentence was read out on 5 January 1940, when he
was summoned for that purpose, i.e. without ever having seen his
judges, who could have been given the chance to hear him out and
“examine” him had such an opportunity been arranged.
Stripped of his episcopal dignity, all his functions suspended,
Bishop Cognata returned to the Salesians as a simple religious and
was “confined” in faraway Trent, then later transferred to Rovereto
and then Castello di Godego in Treviso province. He lived alone
and in silence there for many years, painfully accepting what he
had been unjustly submitted to, in profound humiliation where his
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Cognata, Giuseppe
132
Cognata, Giuseppe
dignity was concerned, and his honour at stake because of serious
accusations. He remained there even after August 1943, after the
retraction of the repentant former Sisters, something that could have
induced him to come out of silence because of the repeated letters
of gratitude the two repentant Sisters wrote after he generously
forgave them.
The cross and hope, the certainty of resurrection and life. Bishop
Joseph Cognata was restored to the episcopate at Easter 1962 by
Pope John XXIII. At the wish of Pope Paul VI he took part in the
second, third and fourth sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
On 6 August 1963 he was appointed titular bishop of Farsalo. On
29 January 1972 he had the joy of seeing his Institute recognised by
the Decretum Laudis from the Holy See. He died on 22 July 1972 in
Pellaro (Reggio Calabria), the initial headquarters of the Salesian
Oblates' missionary activities. His remains lie at rest in the General
House of the Oblate Sisters in Tivoli.
The fact remains that after his death, reports of his constant
reputation for holiness and signs attributed to his intercession
induced the Salesian superiors and the Salesian Oblates to initiate
the request for authorisation to introduce his Cause of Beatification.
For decades this initiative did not succeed in overcoming difficulties
arising from the “still ongoing” sentence of condemnation.
Following the petition presented by a group of Catholic Jurists
in 2016, which aimed at formally reviewing the process and, in
any case, making a formal pronouncement regarding the full and
formal rehabilitation of Bishop Cognata, in 2020 Pope Francis “after
careful and thoughtful consideration, gave his august consent to
the requests of religious and lay people who sought the opening of
the Cause of Beatification of His Lordship Bishop Joseph Cognata,
S.D.B., Bishop of Bova.” With this consensus, the original status
of the law that had been altered by the occurrence of serious
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collaboratore
133
collaboratore
circumstances was restored, a law that had effectively been altered
by an unjust sentence, the result of bad faith and deception. A toxic
process that had been affecting the spiritual health of the Church
for over 80 years was brought to an end.
In the light of the mercy and mystery of the Heart of Christ,
Bishop Cognata is an outstanding witness to the power of
forgiveness and reconciliation. He demonstrated a great heart and
generosity in forgiveness. He was not afraid to forgive those who
accused him, slandered him and condemned him. While climbing
his own mount Calvary he looked at Christ crucified, source of
forgiveness for everyone. He had been courageous in forgiving
and consoling. “Rejoice and be glad” (Mt 5:12), Jesus tells those
who are persecuted or humiliated for his cause. Bishop Cognata
wrote in a Memoir in 1949: “I do not cease to thank the Lord for
granting an inner peace, something more extensive or profound
than I have ever tasted, and for the tranquillity of a life free from
special responsibilities, leaving me to attend properly to my spiritual
needs and to the great business of my eternal salvation. And how
many consolations the merciful Lord has bestowed on me during
these years of salutary penance! Misericordias Domini in aeternum
cantabo! [I will sing the mercies of the Lord in eternity. Ps 88:2].”
→ “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana” “SOSC” “decretum laudis”
collaboratore
n. 1. co-worker, 2. collaborator, 3. colleague, 4. contributor, 5. lay
mission partner... • Someone who works together with others to
produce something, bring about, in development, carrying out an
activity. → “titoli di appartenenza”
Usage: Note that ‘collaborator’ still carries negative connotations
in some parts of the English-speaking world. It is helpful to look
at the forums in Wordreference.com, to realise that collaboratore
is almost never glossed as ‘collaborator’ in English. ‘Lay mission
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collegio
134
colloquio
partner’ (LMP), is in common use among Salesians in the
Philippines and its use is growing elsewhere in the English-speaking
Salesian world. → False Friends “C”
collegio
n. 1. boarding school, 2. college. • The term collegio in Italian
usage was increasingly applied to educational institutions, including
secondary institutions, characterised by pupils and often teachers,
too, living under the same roof. This type of college developed
during the Counter-Reformation through the work of various
Religious Orders and of a specific nature: educating children of
the poorer classes, or forming the leadership class, clerics, etc. Don
Bosco’s use of collegio was typical of this. ‘The Annex’ or ‘House
Attached’ to the Oratory was effectively the beginnings of the collegio
for Don Bosco. → “casa annessa”
Usage: Be aware that in the US, ‘college’ would be an inaccurate
rendition, applying as it does only to a post-secondary institution.
Linguistic note: collegio gives rise to collegializzazione in Italian,
or the process whereby Don Bosco’s schools outside Valdocco did
their best to copy the Valdocco experience of students and teachers
living under the one roof.
colloquio
n. Friendly talk. • In the strictly Salesian sense the colloquio is
the friendly (and regular) personal chat between the Rector of
the community and his members. What Salesians once called the
rendiconto. Some still use this latter term, including its English gloss,
‘manifestation’. → “rendiconto” “direttore”
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Comini, Elia (servo di Dio)
135
Comini, Elia (servo di Dio)
Comini, Elia (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Elias Comini. • Salesian Priest.
Diocesan Inquiry opened 3 Dec- ember 1995, closed 25 November
2001, Positio handed over: 7 May 2009.
Elias Comini was born in Calvenzano, Vergato (Bologna) on
7 May 1910. His parents Claudio Comini, carpenter, and Emma
Limoni, seamstress, prepared him for life and educated him in
the faith. He was baptised at Calvenzano and made his First
Communion and was confirmed at Salvaro di Grizzana. Already
from a young age he had shown much interest in the catechism,
church ceremonies, and loved singing with his friends in serene and
cheerful friendship. The archpriest at Salvaro, Monsignor Fidenzio
Mellini, had attended the oratory at Valdocco while serving as a
young soldier and had known Don Bosco who had prophesied that
he would become a priest. Monsignor Mellini had great esteem for
Elias due to his faith, kindness and outstanding intellectual abilities.
He urged him to become a son of Don Bosco.
With this in mind he directed him to the Salesian junior seminary
in Finale Emilia (Modena) where Elias attended middle and senior
secondary school. In 1925 he entered the Salesian novitiate in Castel
De’ Britti (Bologna) and made his religious profession there on 3
October 1926. From 1926-1928, as a cleric and student of philosophy,
he was at the Salesian High School at Valsalice (Turin), where Don
Bosco's tomb was at the time. It was there that Elias began his intense
spiritual journey, testimony to which is a diary that he kept until
his tragic death. These pages reveal a much more profound interior
life than might have been discernible from outside. On the vigil
of his renewal of vows he wrote: “I am more happy than ever on
this day, on the eve of the holocaust that I hope will be pleasing
to You. Receive me as an expiatory victim, even though I do not
deserve it. If you believe me, give me some reward: forgive me
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Comini, Elia (servo di Dio)
136
Comini, Elia (servo di Dio)
the sins of my past life; help me to become a saint.” He did his
practical training as assistant and teacher at Finale Emilia, Sondrio
and Chiari. He then gained an Arts degree at the State University
of Milan. On 16 March 1935 he was ordained priest in Brescia. He
wrote: “I asked Jesus: death rather than fail in my priestly vocation;
and heroic love for souls.” From 1936 to 1941 he taught literature at
the San Bernardino aspirantate in Chiari (Brescia) giving excellent
proof of his teaching ability and the attention he gave to the young
men. From 1941-1944 religious obedience transferred him to the
Salesian institute in Treviglio (Bergamo). He embodied Don Bosco's
pastoral charity in a particular way as well as the features of Salesian
loving-kindness, which he passed on to the youngsters through his
friendly character, kindness and with a smile.
The customary gentleness of his demeanour and heroic
dedication to the priestly ministry shone through during the short
annual summer stays with his mother, who was left alone in Salvaro,
and in his adopted parish where the Lord would later ask Fr Elias
for the total gift of his life. Some time earlier he had written in
his diary: “I always have the thought that I have to die. Who
knows! Let's just be the faithful servant ever ready for the call to
give an account of our management.” This was the period from
June-September 1944 the dreadful time around the Monte Salvaro
and Monte Sole area when direct confrontation between German
and Allied troops had brought the population to the brink of total
destruction. Up until halfway through September 1944, Fr Elias had
been helping the elderly parish priest: teaching catechism, leading
retreats, celebrating, preaching, encouraging, playing music, singing
and getting others to sing to calm down a situation that was getting
worse. Then together with an extra assistant who had arrived, a
Dehonian priest, Fr Martin Capelli, Fr Elias constantly went out
bringing aid, consoling, administering the sacraments, burying the
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Comollo, Luigi
137
Comollo, Luigi
dead. In some cases he even managed to save people by bringing
them to the presbytery.
The triduum of passion for Frs Elias Comini and Martin Capelli
began on Friday 29 September. News arrived at the Salvaro parish,
full of clandestine refugees, that following a gun battle with
partisans, the terrible SS had taken 69 individuals, among whom
were some who were dying and in need of comfort. Fr Elias
celebrated his final Mass very early that morning; he then ran to
help the wounded, find those who had been killed and others who
had been arrested.
The two priests were themselves arrested at Creda di Salvaro;
used “as pack horses”, they were forced to carry munitions and
in the evening were locked in the stables at Pioppe di Salvaro. On
Saturday 30 September, Frs Elias and Martin used up all their energy
comforting the many men who had been locked away with them.
The Prefect Commissioner, Emilio Veggetti (who did not know Fr
Martin, but knew Fr Elias very well) managed to obtain freedom
for Fr Elias but he replied heroically: “It is all or none!” The two
priests continued to pray and console. In the evening they heard
one another's confession. The following day, at dusk, the machine
gun inexorably wiped out the 46 victims of what would pass into
history as the “Massacre of Pioppe di Salvaro”. His body, along
with the others who had been killed, was thrown in the River Reno.
→ “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”
Comollo, Luigi
proper name. Louis Comollo. • John Bosco’s best friend as a boy,
whom he met in the 5th year of high school (Retorica, Ginnasiale
1833–4). The first biography from Don Bosco’s pen is the life of
Comollo, whose burial site has been discovered under the sanctuary
in the Church in Chieri next to what was the seminary there (now
a government school). → “Chieri”
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compagnia
138
compagno
compagnia
n. Sodality. • A traditional religious association, especially in a
parish. Was Don Bosco influenced by the Compagnia di Gesù (Society
of Jesus or Jesuits) in his use of this term? The term ‘company’
reflects the post-Tridentine nomenclature of religious associations.
English favours such terms as ‘association’, ‘society’ and ‘sodality’
to express this, and possibly ‘sodality’ was the most common in
English-speaking Salesian circles to express the groups encouraged
by Don Bosco at his Oratory.
The youth associations sponsored by Don Bosco fall into two
main periods, each with its specific context. The earlier associations
were created for the boys’ oratory, in response to the needs of the
oratory population. The later associations were created for the Home
Attached to the Oratory → “casa annessa”, with special (but not
exclusive) reference to the student community and in response
to its spiritual and educational needs. They include the following
sodalities or associations: St Aloysius Sodality, the Immaculate
Conception Sodality, the Blessed Sacrament Sodality, the St Joseph’s
Sodality, the Mutual Aid Society, the Altar Boys Society. There was
also the ‘Adjunct’ Conference of St Vincent de Paul. → “Conferenza
di San Vincenzo de Paoli” “compagnia” “piccolo clero”
compagno
n. 1. friend, 2. companion. • Those who find they are together with
others in particular circumstances, or for a long time in their life, or
carrying out the same activity. → “accompagnamento”
Usage: While it is nearly always possible to translate compagno
with ‘companion’, the sense of the term in English can often be
simply ‘friend’ or ‘schoolmate’.
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comune
139
comunicazione sociale
comune
n. 1. municipality, 2. district, 3. city, 4. town. • In the Italian legal
system the Comune or Municipality is the basic territorial and
representative body. → “mandamento”
comunicazione sociale
np. Social communication. • Inter Mirifica, Vatican II, introductory
paragraph: ‘Among the wonderful technological discoveries which men
of talent, especially in the present era, have made with God’s help, the
Church welcomes and promotes with special interest those which have a
most direct relation to men’s minds and which have uncovered new avenues
of communicating most readily news, views and teachings of every sort.
The most important of these inventions are those media which, such as
the press, movies, radio, television and the like, can, of their very nature,
reach and influence, not only individuals, but the very masses and the
whole of human society, and thus can rightly be called the media of social
communication.’
A sector which constitutes one of the apostolic priorities of the
Salesian mission (cf. C. 43). For Salesians, then, it goes back to the
charismatic beginnings of the Congregation, Don Bosco’s work of
the oratories, which extended to activities such as the spreading of
good literature, theatre, academies, music... and publishing. At one
point he said ‘Our publications tend to form an ordered system,
broadly encompassing all classes forming human society’ (In his
Circular on spreading good literature).
Usage: The Church, since Vatican II, has regularly employed the
term ‘Social Communication’ (mostly in its capitalised form) where
many others would say just ‘communication(s)’, but given the more
profound content in the Church’s understanding of the term, we do
well to stay with it in a number of situations. Social Communication
as a term also helps cover much of what is intended by an even less
familiar term (in English at least), ‘educommunication’.
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comunità
140
comunità
Often we find the phrase ‘the means of Social Communication’
(including in many Church documents). There seems less need to
stay with this term – ‘means’ is probably a calque, a translation
of mezzi. A better expression is ‘Social Communication(s) media’.
→ “SSCS” “settore”
comunità
n. Community. • Community is notoriously difficult to define, as
it can be any grouping of human beings in real time and space
or virtually, but we clearly make reference here to the charismatic
context of Salesian life and action.
A unified body of individuals as in: (a) the Salesian community
broadly speaking = the Salesian Society (b) the Salesian community
as a local grouping = the religious community (c) a group linked
by common policy as in the educative and pastoral community =
EPC with Salesian religious community as the animating nucleus.
In the broadest sense of (a) above, C. 2 indicates that "We, the
Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), form a community of the baptised".
By C. 3 it is describing fraternal community as one of the
inseparable elements of our consecration.
And then comes an entire section entitled "Sent to the young in
communities following Christ". At this point 'community' becomes a
structure that allows us to do or make real communion for mission,
and to do it in a way that is part of a whole.
The link that unites communion with mission is charism.
Salesian community, then, is the practical result of this dynamic
communion and mission in the light of Don Bosco's charism.
Given the growth of Don Bosco's charism (and its many
vicissitudes as he tried to develop the notion of a community for
mission which tried to incorporate a vast movement of peoples,
internally, externally committed) we find there are many kinds of
Salesian community in a broad sense: religious communities of
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comunità proposta
141
comunità virtuale
consecrated men, women, laity, other communities of lay people
(e.g. the Community of the Mission of Don Bosco), communities
even of religious and lay persons. And because of these diverse
kinds of communities with diverse levels of relationship between
them we speak of the Salesian Family on the one hand, but also of
local, provincial and world level community on the other. → “vita
comune”
comunità proposta
np. Live-in community experience.• The term does not have a
precise English equivalent, though the closest may be that it is a
live-in community experience. It is one form of the aspirantate.
Usage: If used in English it appears in italics. → “aspirantato”
comunità virtuale
np. Virtual community. • Social aggregations that emerge from
the Internet when enough people carry on public discussions long
enough and with sufficient human feeling to form webs of personal
relationships in cyberspace. A possible inventor of this term and one
of its first proponents was Howard Rheingold, who created one of
the first major Internet communities, called ‘The Well’ In his book,
The Virtual Community (1993).
Rheingold defines virtual communities as social aggregations
that emerge from the Internet when enough people carry on public
discussions long enough and with sufficient human feeling to form
webs of personal relationships in cyberspace. → “digitalità”
Linguistic note: ‘virtual community’ is what is known as a blend,
a new word whose meanings combine the original meanings of its
component words, virtual + community.
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confederazione mondiale
142 Conferenza di San Vincenzo de Paoli
confederazione mondiale
np. Confederazione Mondiale Exallievi/e di Don Bosco, World Confederation
of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco.
Usage: The exallievi/e refers to the fact that many Salesian schools
or other institutions have female as well as male past pupils. But
the FMA also have a separate organisation. • → “exallievi (di Don
Bosco)” “EX.FMA”
conferenza
n. conference. Treccani: Discorso o lettura tenuti in pubblico su
argomenti letterarî, scientifici, artistici e sim., la cui data è generalmente
resa nota in anticipo. (A talk or lecture given in public on some
literary, scientific topic or similar, where the date of is usually known
in advance)• The meaning given by Treccani is rarely found in
English, where ‘conference’ is more likely to refer to the group of
people gathered for a series of talks rather than the talk itself. The
term is an archaic one in the Salesian context (though might still
be used in some formation communities around the world). So, for
example, we do not find it in the Constitutions and Regulations, but
it appears in Don Bosco's letter 'To the Salesian confreres' which is
an appendix to the C&R: “let there be made as well a half-hour’s
meditation, or conference be given in the evening, and this should
deal with one of the four last things. ” “Conferenze di San Francesco
di Sales”
Conferenza di San Vincenzo de Paoli
np. (Adjunct) Conference of St Vincent de Paul. • The Conferences
of St Vincent de Paul were founded in Paris in 1833 by Antoine
Frédéric Ozanam and seven companions, and were first established
in Turin on 13 May 1850, with Count Carlo Cays of Gilette and
Caselette (later a Salesian and a priest) as director. In the summer of
1854 the cholera epidemic reached its high point in Turin, and was
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conferenza ispettoriale
143 Conferenze di San Francesco di Sales
particularly devastating in the Borgo Dora district. On this occasion
volunteers from the St Aloysius Sodality and a group of boarders
from the House Attached (John Cagliero among them!) joined
forces with the local Conference of St Vincent de Paul in caring for
the victims of the epidemic. It was a magnificent demonstration
of Christian charity and a revelation of what young people could
accomplish.(Lenti, Don Bosco: History and Spirit Vol 3). In 1857, the
‘Adjunct’ Conference of St Vincent de Paul absorbed the Mutual
Benefit Society, as it also later incorporated within its structure
the Conference of St Francis de Sales that had been started in
1854. It should be noted that Don Bosco wanted the Conferences
of St Vincent de Paul established in all his oratories (where they
absorbed or united forces with local charitable action groups). The
official Organisation of the Conferences supported Don Bosco’s
work generously everywhere. → “compagnia”
conferenza ispettoriale
np. Provincial conference. • A group of provinces (term adopted
first at the 19th GC). → “regione”
Conferenze di San Francesco di Sales
np. Conferences of St Francis de Sales. • The term ‘conference’ in
the present context (in accordance with Italian usage) is taken to
mean an address by a speaker to an assembled group of people,
usually followed by a discussion. The plural ‘conferences’ in this
connection implies that several such addresses were given, over
one or more successive days. The annual Conferences of St Francis
de Sales were held on or around the feast of St Francis de Sales
(January 29 in those days). Should the feast be shifted to the next
Sunday or to some other day, the Conferences would be scheduled
accordingly. Occasionally, the Conferences were delayed, even for
months, to allow Don Bosco to be present. (Lenti, Don Bosco: History
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confratello
144
congregazione
and Spirit Vol 7). → “Valdocco” “Memorie dal 1841 al 1884-5-6...”
“Don Bosco: History and Spirit” “”
confratello
np. Confrere. • A member of a confraternity. Also used by religious.
→ “comunità” “vita comune”
Linguistic note: The English term ‘confrere’ (plural ‘confreres’)
has been Anglicised from the French, without accents, and is used in
connection with brothers in religious life. The female gender works
easily enough in Italian (consorelle) but not so easily in English,
where a circumlocution (or just ‘sisters’) is preferred.
Confronto
n. 1. Youth gathering (in a Salesian context, capitalised as Confronto),
2. debate or discussion, 4. comparison. • In Italian sports language
a confronto is a competition, but figuratively it applies to an open and
balanced discussion on key ideas. We find both those meanings in
Salesian usage. The context might suggest ‘competition’ or ‘contest’,
but if it is a gathering for discussion and debate, then simply calling
it a ‘youth gathering’ may be sufficient. → “Harambee”
congregati
n. Associates. • Don Bosco indicated that the congregati included:
workers, cooperators, collaborators, benefactors. It is obvious that
this term had very extensive boundaries for Don Bosco, going
beyond the consecrated Religious in his houses. It is now only of
historical interest. → “associati”
congregazione
np. Congregation. • Was historically a term in broad use (people
who congregated, usually for prayer) but now refers mainly to
Institutes of Consecrated Life (Congregation with a capital C),
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consacrazione
145
consacrazione
religious with simple vows (as distinct from Orders with solemn
vows). The term also has a different reference historically. For
Don Bosco, his ‘congregation’’, at least in the 1850’s, was the first
suggested meaning, i.e. an association of Christians united with
him for the good of the youth of the Oratory. It is also interesting to
note that the term ‘congregation’ in the Restoration schools could
mean a gathering of students on Sunday and Holy Days for religious
activities. Don Bosco makes references to such ‘congregations’ in
the Memoirs of the Oratory when talking about his own schooling
in Chieri. Don Bosco began to refer to his congregation initially as
a ‘kind of congregation’ and was unsure what to call its members.
He used various terms: allies, associates, benefactors, promoters,
cooperators, and these were not gender-exclusive terms, a reality
that would give him some difficulty in dealing with Rome.
The ‘Congregation of St Francis de Sales’ pre-dates the ‘Salesian
Society’, which dates its formal existence to the evening of 18
December 1859. The former might be traced back as far as 1841
in general terms but received ecclesiastical approval by a Decree
(Archbishop Fransoni) of 1852. It was a mixed group, a congregation
of cooperators. We can say, then, that the ‘Congregation of St Francis
de Sales’ becomes divided into two families in 1859: one bound
by vows and living in community (The Salesian Society) and the
other, still known as the Union or Congregation of St Francis de
Sales, Promoters or Cooperators) as an external group. → “Società
Salesiana”
consacrazione
np. Consecration. • 1. The act of dedicating something to the divine
(church, chapel), 2. God’s initiative, through the ministry of the
Church, in dedicating someone to His service. In its broadest and
almost non-religious sense, ‘consecration’ means that something is
destined for a certain use. In its religious understanding, it used
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consigli evangelici
146
consigli evangelici
usually be seen as a human act – so Fr Rua, for example, established
the ‘consecration’ of the Society to the Sacred Heart at the beginning
of the 20th century.
Salesians for many years referred to the ‘act of consecration to
Mary Help of Christians’, which had its origins in the final year
of the First World War when the then Rector Major, Fr Albera,
consecrated Don Bosco’s Work to Mary Help of Christians on the
50th anniversary of the opening of the Church (now Basilica) of
Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco, Turin. In 1980 the wording of
this prayer, recited daily after meditation around the Salesian world,
was changed to ‘we entrust ourselves completely to you’ instead of
‘we consecrate... ’ This reflects a change particularly after Vatican II,
which recognises that it is God who consecrates. → “affidamento”
“mistica salesiana”
consigli evangelici
np. 1. evangelical counsels, 2. vows• All Christians are invited
to practice the 'Evangelical Counsels' of poverty, chastity and
obedience. Religious or lay individuals who make a public statement
of wanting to live the Salesian way of life – make promises or vows
to follow these evangelical counsels.
The evangelical counsels are closely linked to the way of life of
religious communities, because although people have been living
the evangelical counsels since the time of Jesus it was not until the
development of monastic and mendicant communities that these
virtues were professed publicly with the swearing of a vow or
promise. Vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are now taken
in some form by all formal congregations and orders of religious
in the Roman Catholic Church, and the counsels are regarded as
the foundation of their conduct and way of life. → “consacrazione”
“vita consacrata”
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consigliere scolastico
147
consigliere generale
consigliere scolastico
np. Prefect of Studies (until 1965), but there was also, until about
the same date a Consigliere scolastico e professionale at the level of the
General Council, known in English as the General Councillor for
Schools and Technical Schools, though it has to be said that it was
usually translated literally as Scholastic and Professional Councillor.
Both terms today are deprecated and only of historical interest.
consigliere generale
np. General Councillor. • A member of the group which cooperates
with the Rector Major in the animation and government of the
Congregation (C. 130). Obviously, a General Councillor belongs
to the General Council which comprises (in addition to the Rector
Major):
The Vicar of the Rector Major,
Sector Councillors: the Councillor for Formation, the Councillor
for Youth Ministry, the Councillor for Social Communication, the
Councillor for the Missions,
Regional Councillors for: Africa-Madagascar, Central & North
Europe, Mediterranean, South Asia, East Asia-Oceania, Interamerica,
America South Cone.
Secretary General, though he is not normally referred to as a
general councillor.
Not strictly members of the General Council but working directly
with it are:
Procurator General
Postulator General.
→ “regione” “Procuratore Generale” “Postulatore Generale”
“settore”
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consiglio
148
consiglio della casa/comunità
consiglio
n. Council.• Expect this term to appear in Salesian literature
and parlance in at least the following phrases: consiglio generale,
consiglio superiore or superior council (now out of use), consiglio
ispettoriale provincial council, consiglio della casa/della comunità locale
house/community/local council, consiglio dell’opera council of the
work, consiglio mondiale world council – Cooperators. → “consiglio
della casa/comunità”
consiglio della casa/comunità
np. 1. house council, 2. community council, 3. local council.• Prior
to General Chapter 19, this body was called a house chapter. GC19
altered the term to house council. By GC21, a synonym, council of
the community, existed side-by-side with house council: sometimes
the document used one, sometimes the other.
‘In every local community there shall be a council composed
of confreres in perpetual vows and no longer in initial formation,
in number proportional to the number of confreres and to the
requirements of their activities.‘ C. 178.
There appears to be no formal indication regarding this usage.
By the time the renewed Constitutions were formally in place
after GC22, the official term became local council, but in ordinary
conversation, house council has continued until this day, even
occasionally creeping into English translations of more recent
documents (e.g. AGC 389). We occasionally also find community
council rather than council of the community (GC24 no. 123).
One could surmise that the persistence of ‘house council’ is to
distinguish the term from other kinds of local council (Salesian
Family, Cooperators, EPC). ‘House’ makes it immediately clear that
it would refer to the Salesian community. → “casa”
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consiglio della CEP
149
consulta
consiglio della CEP
np. 1. Council of the EPC, 2. EPC Council. • cf. GC24, nos.
160–161; 171–172: the body which animates and coordinates the
implementation of the Educative and Pastoral Plan or Project. Its
function is to foster coordination and shared responsibility amongst
everybody concerned, as a service of unity for pastoral planning
within a Salesian work or the EPCs of the various sectors of more
complex works.
If there is only one EPC then there will be a single EPC Council
which is also then the Council of the Work. If there are as many
EPCs as there are sectors then each has its own council, and there
will then be a Council of the Work made up of representatives of
EPC Councils. → “CEP” “PEPS”
consiglio dell’Opera
Council of the work. np. • This brings together the religious
community (or at least its governing representatives: rector and
local council) and the individuals principally sharing responsibility
for sectors of activity.
Animated by the same charism and being part of the same
mission they take charge of ensuring that the gift and service
of the Salesian charism in all its significance is offered in a
particular neighbourhood or area. They jointly share the various
responsibilities that arise from managing all the sectors of a work,
and they meet not only to organise, decide, and govern but also to
be formed and create opportunities for reflection. → see above.
consulta
n. 1. advisory council, 2. advisory board, 3. consultative body. • A
meeting of a number of people for consultation regarding decisions
to be taken. In the Salesian context, the advisory council is an
administrative group which helps a sector or its department to
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contemplazione
150
convento
evaluate, research, study, offer guidelines and materials for regular
updating. It does not have all the legal ramifications of the Consigilio
d’amministrazione described above.
Linguistic note: The English translation of the Constitutions
(1984) refers to a ‘consultant board’ to translate consulta, but this
seems a little odd and possibly determined by wanting to stay close
to the actual Italian term. That has led to some mistranslations in
the past. → “curatorium”
contemplazione
n. Contemplation. • Profound concentration of the mind in
meditation on divine or spiritual things. In Catholic theology, the
lifting up of the mind above any ordinary way of knowing to a
simple and affective knowledge of God. The term appears among
Desramaut’s 100 words of Salesian spirituality. It can be found in the
language of both Francis de Sales and Don Bosco. There is today a
renewed understanding of Salesian life as that of the ‘contemplative
in action’. → “orazione mentale” “meditazione”
convento
n. Convent. • House where male, female religious belonging to the
mendicant orders live. At times the term is used synonymously with
‘monastery’ which more appropriately indicates a community of
monks or nuns. → “casa”
Usage: In the Philippines, Japan and elsewhere in Asia, Middle
East it is often used in reference to male religious communities
(possibly because Franciscan male communities are regularly
referred to as convents, hence ‘The Conventuals’). In India, a convent
school is any English medium school offering elementary education.
This would not be the case, for instance, in Australia where a convent
school would normally be run by religious women or under the
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Convertini, Francesco
151
Convertini, Francesco
auspices (since now there are so few of this category) of a women’s
religious community.
Convertini, Francesco (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Francis Convertini. • Salesian Priest. Declared
Venerable: 20 January 2017.
Francis was born in the Marinelli district near Cisternino
(Brindisi) on 29 August 1898. He lost his father when he was just
three months old and his mother when he was eleven. He was
entrusted to a couple, Vito and Anna Petruzzi, as a shepherd boy
and they treated him like their own son.
At 18 he did military service. On the Isonzo Front he experienced
the tragic rout of Caporetto and then the experience of the Truppe
Altipiani, where on 23 December 1917 he was taken prisoner and
interned in a concentration camp at the Masuri Lakes (Poland).
When the war ended he was all skin and bones and contracted
meningitis. He was not far from death. In 1920, fully recovered, he
enlisted with the Guardia di Finanza. He was in Trieste, Pola and
finally Turin. Here he had the decisive encounter of his life. He got
to know the Salesians and in particular the great biographer of Don
Bosco, Fr Angelo Amadei, who became his confessor. The young
man fell in love with Don Bosco – who had also lost his father and
become a shepherd boy – and decided to become a Salesian, indeed
a Salesian missionary.
He was sent to the Cardinal Cagliero Institute in Ivrea which
had a good number of missionary aspirants. There the young
Convertini saw the best of himself emerge: simplicity, sincerity,
readiness to make any sacrifice, constancy. The only great difficulty
was schooling. and it would continue to be so despite heroic effort.
In 1927 he was among the missionaries destined for India and
received his missionary cross from Blessed Philip Rinaldi, Don
Bosco's third successor. In Calcutta the group was picked up by the
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Convertini, Francesco
152
Convertini, Francesco
great Salesian bishop, Bishop Louis Mathias, and taken to Shillong.
Here he did his novitiate and philosophical studies. In this early
phase of missionary life, the young Convertini also came to know
another figure of the Salesian who, like Fr Amadei before, was
decisive for him: Fr Constantine Vendrame, also a Servant of God.
He was the best formation textbook for the young missionary.
Together they covered many kilometres visiting villages and going
into homes to recount the life of Jesus to young and old.
With a bit of a push he finished his theological studies and was
ordained priest on 29 June 1935. He was asked to leave Assam
and go to Bengal, the huge Salesian province that extended from
the Himalayas to the Ganges, from the Brahmaputra to Tibet, and
because of its hot and humid climate, known as the “grave of the
Europeans”. The diocese, which was very poor, had six million
inhabitants between Muslims and Hindus. Only one in a thousand
were Catholic. It was a very difficult field, open to the most sublime
heroism of self-denial and sacrifice. Fr Convertini gave himself
totally to his people. He was the assistant parish priest at Bhoborpara
until 1939, at Ranabondo until 1942 and Krishnagar until he died.
He never learned the language perfectly, yet he was able to enter
into complete harmony with the people who all felt that he was
their great friend. As his provincial wrote: “No one in Krishnagar
had as many friends as he did, as many spiritual children among
the ignorant and the wise, the poor and the rich. He did not give
great sermons or talks because he was not able to, but he spoke
on a one to one basis and went in among all the families.” He was
the only one to have access where no other foreigner could enter.
He was constantly on the move from village to village. His means
of transport were his bicycle and a horse. But he preferred to put
a backpack on his back and go on foot because that way he could
meet so many people and speak to them about Christ.
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convitto
153
convitto
Fr Convertini's life was filled with heroic expressions of charity,
penance and his attraction as a man of God who brought “the water
of Jesus that saves”. He did thousands of baptisms. He stripped
himself of everything to give to the poor: even his own clothes,
shoes, bed, food. he always slept on the ground. He fasted at length.
He was poor to a fault. There is an abundance of supernatural gifts
also enriched by sufficiently documented supernatural gifts, which
earned him a reputation for holiness even during his lifetime. He
belonged to everyone without distinction of religion, caste or social
status. He was loved by all. This was seen at his death when a crowd
of Christians, Muslims and Hindus flocked to the cathedral. He died
on 11 February 1975. His last words were: "My Mother, I have never
displeased you in life. Now help me!”
Without doubt, Fr Francis Convertini was a model of Salesian
missionary life, an example of true inculturation, a master of the
interior life and exceptional self-denial as a pastor. → “venerabile”
“santità salesiana”
convitto
n. 1. boarding school (more generally), 2. Pastoral Institute (in the
case of the Convitto ecclesiastico of Don Bosco fame. • The term was
common in the 19th Century to indicate boarding or residential
schools. Don Bosco often uses ospizio, also a boarding institution
but generally for the underprivileged. The convitto developed into
a convitto-collegio or boarding school, for Don Bosco, within a very
few years. The Convitto Ecclesiastico was where the newly ordained
Don Bosco spent time learning the practical side of his priesthood
under the guidance of Fr Cafasso. We would normally call it the
‘Pastoral Institute’ in English, but often, among Salesians, it is left
as a capitalised ‘Convitto’. → “collegio” “casa annessa”
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cooperatore
154
cortile
cooperatore
n. Cooperatore Salesiano, Salesiano Cooperatore, Salesian Cooperator.• Member
of the association founded directly by Don Bosco, to help him in
‘the work of the oratories’, whose members may be lay or clerical,
but who do not take any vow by virtue of their membership.
Usage: The term in English is ‘Salesian Cooperators’ or just
‘Cooperators’. While the change from Cooperatore Salesiano to
Salesiano Cooperatore in Italian appears not to be significant for
English, it is more evidently so for Italian, where Salesiano is
understood in this phrase to be a n rather than an adjective.
Cooperatore then becomes the qualifier. But a similar linguistically
consistent argument could follow for English: by rights the term
should now be ‘Cooperator-Salesian’ (the hyphen marks the issue
a little more, suggesting that ‘Salesian’ is in fact being qualified by
‘Cooperator’ (as it is now in Italian). The perception is not this,
of course, so in a sense the ‘problem’ has now been transferred to
English! → “A.SS.CC./ASC1”
coordinatore generale
np. Coordinator General.• The term is applied to the world leader
of the Salesian Cooperators and in this form as as ‘General
Coordinator’, to several other leaders of lay member groups of the
Salesian Family (Witnesses to the Resurrection TR, based in Italy,
The Disciples, based in India). → see above for “cooperatore”
cortile
n. 1. courtyard, 2. playground. • As it functioned at the Oratory:
one of Don Bosco’s original creations, an area (probably surrounded
by buildings and connected to them large enough to allow a
great number of young people to take part in games. Don Bosco
occasionally used the term ‘recreation park’ (giardino di ricreazione)
but only for pragmatic reasons to help outsiders understand. The
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cor unum et anima una
155
costituzioni
typical playground those days was small, too small for Don Bosco’s
purposes. His concept of recreation made the playground what it
was: active, choice, presence of the educators through assistance.
→ “giardino di ricreazione”
cor unum et anima una
[la] np. cor unum et anima una, Of one heart and mind. • We find
the phrase first of all in Don Bosco’s introduction to the Life of St
Dominic Savio. We then find it again in the Letter from Rome where he
is addressing the problems of the Oratory spirit. Again it appears
in his Spiritual Testament as a description of the way members of a
community should be in unity with their rector. Yet again in Don
Bosco’s letter ai soci salesiani on the approval of the Constitutions and
which became the introduction to the Constitutions at the time. It
was repeated by General Chapters, especially from GC20 onwards.
No surprise then to find the same phrase in the renewed Salesian
Constitutions. → “spirito salesiano”
costituzioni
n., pl. Constitutions. • Can. 587 §1. To protect more faithfully the
vocation and identity of each institute, the fundamental code or
constitutions of the institute are to contain, in addition to those
elements which are to be preserved in accordance with can. 578,
basic norms about the governance of the institute, the discipline of
the members, the admission and formation of members, and the
proper object of their sacred bonds. The term came into use from
the 13th Century. Prior to that it was simply called a ‘Rule’.
In the religious literature of the first centuries, the word “rule”
(regula) means a way of life according to a predetermined model:
the lifestyle of monks or of a master of the spiritual life, but above
all the life of Christ and his Apostles. Gradually, the “rule” took on
a more conventional meaning and applied to a whole set of texts,
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
both spiritual and organisational, designed to structure and sustain
the life of a community: the Rules of St Basil, of St Benedict, of St
Augustine.
In a more recent era (the 16th century), the clerics of the regular
life (Jesuits, Theatines) were approved – no longer in virtue of
a rule which enjoyed the prestige of the holiness of its author
and its many centuries of existence – but rather of a “rule of
life” (formula vitæ, forma vivendi), which was an expression of the
original inspiration and of the spiritual and pastoral experience of
a founding core group. Soon, however, these founders moved on
to the writing of “constitutions” (constitutiones) which developed
their charism and its living out in a more systematic and complete
way. Then, alongside the constitutions there appeared “rules”
(regulæ) which explained those basic texts and adapted them to
concrete circumstances. That is how, from the 17th century on, the
new congregations with simple vows, (Lazarists, Passionists, and
later the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and later still the Salesians
of Don Bosco) produced “Constitutions and Rules” which were
subsequently approved by the Holy See. In the Salesian case,
‘Regulations’ (Regolamenti, in Italian), was the term used instead of
‘Rules‘. → “decretum laudis”
Crespi Croci, Carlo (venerabile)
proper name. (Venerable) Charles Crespi Croci. • Salesian Priest.
Diocesan Inquiry opened 24 March 2006, closed 7 December 2007.
Declared Venerable 23 March 2023.
Carlo was born in Legnano (Milan) on 29 May 1891 to Daniele
Crespi and Luisa Croci. He was the third of thirteen children. Like
the young John Bosco he was endowed with many gifts by the
Lord from the time he was a small boy: intelligence, generosity and
willingness. After attending a local school, when he was twelve
he met the Salesians at St Ambrose's college in Milan where he
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
completed his middle school- ing. “When I was studying at the
college,” he recalled “the Blessed Virgin showed me a revealing
dream: I saw myself dressed as a priest with a long beard in an old
pulpit preaching in front of many people. But the pulpit did not
seem to be in a church. It was in a hut ...”
In 1903 Carlo went to Valsalice in Turin to do his matriculation
studies and felt that he was called to Salesian life. He made his
novitiate at Foglizzo. On 8 September 1907 he made his first religious
profession and his perpetual profession followed in 1910. He began
studying philosophy and theology at Valsalice; at the same time
he was teaching natural sciences, mathematics and music. He
was ordained priest in 1917. When at the University of Padua he
discovered a then unknown micro-organism, arousing the interests
of scientists. He received his doctorate in natural sciences in 1921
followed by a diploma in music.
In 1923, pursuing the way mapped out for him by the Blessed
Virgin, Carlo left for the missions in Ecuador. He disembarked
in Guayaquil then headed for Quito; immediately afterwards he
went to Cuenca where he remained for the rest of his life. There he
began his enormous work for the poor: he had electricity (light)
installed at Macas, opened an agricultural school at Yanuncay,
getting machinery and specialised personnel to come from Italy.
This way he succeeded in opening many other workshops, setting
up the first school of arts and trades, later recognised as the Salesian
Polytechnic University. At Yanuncay he provided lodgings for the
novices and in 1940 also opened the Faculty of Education, becoming
its first rector. He also set up the Cornelio Merchán primary school
for very poor children. He opened a college of Oriental Studies
for providing the necessary formation for Salesians destined to
work in Ecuador's eastern regions. He founded the Carlo Crespi
museum, filled with scientific exhibits and recognised outside the
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
Americas. Father Crespi seemed to appear everywhere: he was a
man who never rested! During the day he was running and financing
his works and at night he continued with work that had been left
incomplete. Day and night, people without resources flocked to him
in endless queues: he would put his hand into the large pockets
of his cassock and money would magically appear. Generations of
people have followed over time, benefiting from the generous and
tender heart of this priest who sowed the seeds of schools, sports
grounds, refectories for poor children.
He spread devotion to Mary Help of Christians with all his
strength, spending some of his time in the shrine by that same
name. His confessional, especially in the latter years of his life, was
crowded, and people began to spontaneously call him “Saint Carlo
Crespi”. He was always among the poor: on Sunday afternoons
he taught catechism to street children, giving them their daily
bread in addition to entertainment, He organised dressmaking
workshops for the poor girls of the city. He received many honours
among which: the Gold Medal of Merit from the President of the
Ecuadorian Republic; Honorary Canon of the Cathedral in Cuenca;
the Gold Medal of Educational Merit from the Minister of education;
a Commendation from the Italian Republic; a citation stating that he
was “The most famous inhabitant of Cuenca in the 20th Century”; a
post mortem Honoris Causa doctorate from the Salesian Polytechnic
University.
Underlying his immense work and manifold activities was the
will to imitate Christ in his preferential love for the poor, in the
way he approached the little ones, in his concern for sinners,
forgetfulness of self and with great humility, reflected in the
simplicity of his gestures.
As the years passed, his scientific and academic interests waned
and what became more predominant was his dedication to poor
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
and abandoned youngsters. His humility could be seen from the
worn out clothes he wore, the broken shoes and his frugal meals,
his modest bedroom with only a wooden bed. The very many
recognitions he received for his work in scientific. artistic and
cultural fields were all for the benefit of the poor: “Your Excellency,”
he replied when given the title of Honorary Canon, “Father Crespi is
not looking for medals but bread, rice, sugar for his poor children.”
He was a man of high culture in the scientific field but also in history
and archaeology, and in cultural fields such as music, and as a
pianist. He distinguished himself as a confessor by his simple style,
but one full of humanity, goodness and tenderness: the true face
of God's merciful love. He even heard confessions for 16 hours at a
stretch without eating anything. He left as a testament that he loved
Mary Help of Christians and poor children very much.
Carlo Crespi Croci is remembered for his daily and continuous
movements between the confessional and the altar, between the
sanctuary and the school, with a child's smile on his lips, his lively
eyes dancing merrily, the fingers of his right hand fingering an old
rosary. A life of praise to God and loving surrender to his neighbour,
a contemplative in action, a monk of God in the midst of a sinful
people. At the age of ninety he was a man with a child's heart; a
man of typically evangelical contrasts: he revealed Providence in his
smallness, Wisdom in his naivety, Goodness in his firmness, Mercy
in his ability to create a wonderful world of values from nothing.
He was able to convert his talents and abilities as a professional
musician brought up in the European classical tradition, into the
simplicity and culture of the native peoples. He then went from
being attuned to the deeply sentimental music of the people and
the motifs dear to simple people, to listening for hours on end to
their miseries, life's disagreements, the discordant notes of sin and
habitual passion. He swapped his music for the confessional, his
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Crespi Croci, Carlo
musical scales for the range of human miseries. Another conversion
deserves to be remembered too: from the youthful vocation and
the first period of his missionary life dedicated, in obedience to the
directives of his superiors, to studies and research in the scientific
field, to a passion of service and dedication to the needy.
He loved the people of Cuenca and was loved by them, venerated
as a saint: he loved the people who were important for their culture,
the children for their innocence and goodness, the poor for being
friends of Christ. He organised a festive oratory for the children,
a school for the older ones with around 1,500 pupils. He founded
a theatre and a museum that was prestigious for its cultural and
scientific value. The city of Cuenca and Father Crespi became
synonymous over time: he came to this Ecuadorian city on 24 April
1923 and remained there until his death: some 60 years! The “miracle
of Father Crespi” is the result of his boundless trust in Providence,
even at an hour of trial: like in 1962 when flames quickly devoured
the great institute he had built through so many sacrifices. He
arrived at the end of his long and laborious life loved and venerated
like a biblical patriarch. Many believed he was of aristocratic origins,
the son of a Count, but with a look of faith and holy shrewdness he
would say: “We are all children of God. This is the best title!”
He remained with the children till the end of his life, privileging
the work and spirit of the Salesian oratory which he considered to
be Don Bosco's smartest, most beautiful work, the one that gave
the most satisfaction: the oratory alive with its games, biblical
films, comics, adventures, formation through catechism classes, and
remembered and loved for its joyful, fraternal celebrations. And
Father Crespi in the midst of his youngsters with his legendary
little bell to give orders, shouting but always with a fatherly and
understanding look. The city of Cuenca where he died on 30 April
1982, venerates him and admires him as a relic of holiness and
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Cristologia salesiana
161
cronachette
wisdom. For the people of this city in Ecuador he was guide, father,
adviser, confessor and illustrious son. → “venerabile” “santità
salesiana”
Cristologia salesiana
np. Salesian Christology.• A term first coined by Fr Pascual Chávez.
→ “Chávez Villanueva Pascual”
criterio oratoriano
np. Oratory criterion. • Fundamental criterion (or criteria in plural)
drawn from the Oratory experience and codified in C. 40. From this
we also get cuore oratoriano or oratorian heart, a part of common
Salesian parlance since Fr Viganò or more correctly since GC21 (but
still Fr Vigano speaking). → “oratorio” “Valdocco”
Criteri e norme di discernimento vocazionale salesiana
proper name. Criteria and norms for Salesian vocational discernment.
• A complement to the normative text, 'Formation of the Salesians
of Don Bosco. Principles and Norms (2000).' → “formazione”
cronaca della casa
np. House chronicle. • In the Biographical Memoirs we find a
conference by Don Bosco to Rectors on 2nd Feb 1876, where he
recommends the keeping of a chronicle in each House. A chronicle
is a record produced at or near the time of the event. Not to be
confused with ‘memoir’, a record produced by an eyewitness at
times long after the event. → “Crònichetta”
cronachette
n. Chronicles. • Initially there had indeed been sporadic recording
activity by some Salesians, such as Seminarians Giovanni Bonetti
and Domenico Ruffino, who almost immediately upon joining Don
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cronachette
162
cronachette
Bosco undertook to record some of master' s words and deeds,
especially if they had a semblance of the "extraordinary."
Not long thereafter, aware of the importance of the initiative, a
whole group of Don Bosco's disciples, probably at Father Michael
Rua's suggestion, formed a standing "Committee" whose task would
be to record and hand down what they heard and saw of Don Bosco.
During the first period of recording activity (1861–1864), of the
fourteen Committee members only Ruffino and Bonetti produced
sustained chronicles which have come down to us.
It appears that the Committee was for all practical purposes
defunct when Father Giovanni Battista Lemoyne (who had joined
in 1864 and succeeded Ruffino as director at Lanzo on the latter's
death in 1865) urged Father Rua to take some action. Father Rua
himself chronicled events of the years 1867-1869; but it seems that
no action was taken until 1875. We owe it to Frs Giulio Barberis and
Gioachino Berto that extensive records of Don Bosco's words and
deeds for this period have come down to us. Barberis's chronicle
was known ans the Crònichetta or little chronicle. → “Crònichetta”
Although Barberis, Berto, Bonetti, and others continued to record
events and words of Don Bosco, systematic recording activity
suffered a lull in the early 1880s. It experienced a vigorous
resurgence with the appointment of Father Giovanni Battista
Lemoyne and of Seminarian Carlo Maria Viglietti as general
secretary of the Society and as personal secretary (valet) to
Don Bosco, respectively. Continuously at Don Bosco's side, taken
together (and not without the contribution of other Salesians), they
left us a sustained account of Don Bosco's activities during his last
years (1884-1888).
(Notes taken from Lenti's Saint with a Human Face: Don Bosco in
Father Giulio Barberis' Original Chronicle).
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Crònichetta
163
Crònichetta
Usage: The term is both general and particular, in other words
it covers a range of eyewitness accounts of Don Bosco's life and
activity, e.g. the Ricordi di gabinetto, a small diary-cum-notebook from
1846, used in part by Lemoyne during his seminary days, and used
again for diary jottings nearly forty years later! It is a small-format
notebook of 402 pages. As he often accompanied Don Bosco on slow
walks around the Oratory grounds, Lemoyne committed to memory
and later jotted down in his notebook the rambling recollections
of the saint. These original notes record, among other things,
Don Bosco' s final encounter with the dog Grigio at Bordighera
in 1883(!), details of his troubles with Archbishop Gastaldi, his
sleeping schedule during his active years, the direction he wished to
impart to the Salesian Cooperators, etc. data nowhere else attested.
The term also refers to specific items, e.g. Barberis' Crònichetta
(Note the difference in spelling, however – crònichetta with an 'i').
See below, and → “fondo Don Bosco”
Crònichetta
n., proper name Little chronicle. • When we speak of ‘chronicles’
in the present context we are referring to contemporary written
reports authored by Salesians close to Don Bosco who witnessed
what he said or did. This initiative was no haphazard effort by
some individual; on the contrary, it originated out of a common
consciousness and concern. Don Bosco: History and Spirit (Vol 1).
The hand-written ‘Little Chronicle’ Crònichetta, is Barberis’ most
important record. It is a collection of reports dated from May 10,
1875, to June 7, 1879. With the exception of a few inserted items (in
other hands,) it is wholly in Barberis’ own hand. It is, however, as he
himself states and as is generally evident from the text, a good copy
produced from original notes (not extant,) surely aided by memory
and perhaps also by other people’s reports. → “cronachette”
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cronistoria
164
CSJ
cronistoria
n. 1. Chronicles of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians, 2. chronicle, 3. historical narrative. • The history and
spirit of the Salesian Sisters as recorded in the earliest historical
documents, 1828–1888. The term is more often left untranslated as
Cronistoria. → “cronachette”
CSJ
abbrev. Caritas Sisters of Jesus. • ‘Our Congregation was founded
through the work of evangelising the Salesian missionaries that
arrived in Japan in 1936 and it was born in Miyazaki in 1937 as a
female religious institute, to which the name [Caritas] was given
by Antonio Cavoli, which means [God’s free love that is offered
without boundaries]. In the name of the Congregation, they have
echoed the Rector Major’s farewell speech (then Fr Rinaldi) to the
missionaries sent to Japan, where despite social civilisation being
at a high level, knowledge of Caritas as taught by Jesus Christ was
missing. [Caritas as a unique means to instil ourselves in the souls
of these people].’
The sisters, in 15 nations, strive to spread [Caritas], the merciful
love of God. Following this international expansion, in 1998 the
Congregation was recognised as a Pontifical Institute, in 2008 the
Generalate was transferred to Rome, and in 2009 the name was
changed from [Caritas Sisters of Miyazaki] to [Caritas Sisters of
Jesus] which better expresses the charism.
It may well be asked why we leave 'caritas' in its Latin form and
not translate it as 'charity', e.g. the Sisters of Charity of Jesus. In Fr
Cavoli 's Memoirs (Fr Antony Cavoli founded the Congregation),
he says, “The reason why I did not translate the word ‘Caritas’ was
because in Japan, a non-Christian country, there is no word in the
language that renders it exactly.“ → “famiglia salesiana”
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CSMA
165
CSSMA
CSMA
abbrev. Congregation of St Michael the Archangel, Michaelites
• Religious Congregation of Pontifical Right founded by Blessed
Bronislaus Markiewicz in Poland in 1921; member group of the
Salesian Family. The spirituality of this religious family is summed
up in two sentences: One who is like God! – Work and Temperance.
The first motto points to God as the only meaning in life. The
second expresses the charism and style of life of the Michaelites.
The Religious Congregation of St Michael the Archangel realises
its calling through temperance, understood as freedom from any
interior or exterior conditioning. Another element that characterises
the Michaelites’ activity is work: spiritual, intellectual, manual. The
Michaelites show a predilection for pastoral work for the young
and for children, be it in parishes or in works for the orphaned
and abandoned. As well as parishes, the Michaelites exercise their
charism in popular missions, retreats, publishing activities, looking
after priestly and religious vocations, running a number of Shrines.
→ “famiglia salesiana” “lavoro e temperanza”
CSSMA
abbrev. Congregation of the Sisters of St Michael the Archangel,
Michaelites (Zgromadzenie Sióstr św. Michała Archanioła) • A
religious institute in which the sisters combine the attitude of
contemplative praise of God with active apostolic love carried out
in educational, catechetical, charitable and social work, in parish
pastoral work and missions.
Founders: Blessed Bronislaus Markiewicz and Servant of God
Mother Anna Kaworek. → “famiglia salesiana” “Markiewicz,
Bronisław (beato)”
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culto
166
Czartoryski, Augustus
culto
n. (Depending on context, and when used as a noun): cult,
worship, even religion. • The term (as a noun) becomes particularly
important in the context of the Causes of Saints. For example, in the
Vatican Instruction Sanctorum Mater, we find the following:
Art. 117 - §1. In accordance with the dispositions of Pope Urban
VIII, it is prohibited for a Servant of God to be an object of public
ecclesiastical cult without the previous authorization of the Holy
See.
At the closing of the Inquiry process for a Servant of God, there
needs to be a “Declaration on the Absence of Cult”, that is, the
declaration which attests to the fact that the Decrees of Urban VIII
have been observed.
Usage: 'Cult' also has negative connotations, hence the Alert! tag
above. When we use it in Salesian discourse, we are almost always
using it in its ecclesial sense as described above. → “servo di Dio”
curatorium
[la] n. Curatorium. A governing board elected or appointed to direct
the policies of an educational institution. • In Salesian usage the
curatori (board of curators) are provincials from provinces which
share responsibility for a studentate (e.g. of theology). The purpose
is to define rights and duties of provinces, the role of the local
provincial and the areas and forms of collaboration. → “DBCS Don
Bosco Center of Studies”
Czartoryski, Augustus (Beato)
proper name. Blessed August Czartoryski. • Declared Venerable: 1
December 1978. Beatified: 25 April 2004. Liturgical Celebration: 2
August.
August Czartoryski was born in Paris on 2 August 1858, in exile.
Thirty years earlier his noble lineage, very much bound up with the
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Czartoryski, Augustus
167
Czartoryski, Augustus
history and dynastic concerns of Poland, had migrated to France.
From there, and more precisely from Lambert Palace on the banks of
the Seine, they were extensively active among Polish nationals and
diplomatic circles in Europe in an effort to restore their homeland's
unity which had been torn apart by the three great Powers since
1795. Prince Adam Czartoryski, a political being and a warrior, had
handed over the reins of the family, as well as the patriotic activity,
to Prince Ladislaus, who had married Princess Maria Amparo,
daughter of Spanish Queen Maria Cristina and Duke Rianzarez.
Ladislaus and Maria were August’s parents. As the eldest son of the
family, he was seen as the reference point for all those who dreamed
of Poland's rebirth after the third dismemberment. But God's plans
were different.
When he was six years old his mother died of tuberculosis: she
would pass this disease on to her son. When the first symptoms
showed up, a long and forced pilgrimage in search of health began
for August, but he would never regain it: Italy, Switzerland, Egypt,
Spain were the main ‘stopover’ points in these wanderings. Yet
health was not the main aim of his search: In his youthful soul there
was another, much more precious quest, the search for a vocation.
It did not take him long to understand that he was not made for life
in the royal court. Writing to his father when he was twenty, and
alluding to the worldly festivities he was forced to be involved with,
he said among other things: “I confess that I am tired of all this.
They are useless amusements that distress me. I find it annoying to
be obliged to make acquaintances at so many banquets.”
Joseph Kalinowski, his tutor, had a powerful influence on the
young prince. He had had the experience of ten years of forced
labour in Siberia, would become a discalced Carmelite and would
be canonised by John Paul II in 1991. He was Czartoryski's tutor for
only three years (1874–1877), but he left his mark. He got him to
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Czartoryski, Augustus
168
Czartoryski, Augustus
understand that the personalities he should look to to guide him
in his vocational search were especially St Aloysius Gonzaga and
his compatriot St Stanislaus Kostka. He was enthusiastic about the
latter's motto: Ad maiora natus sum. “The Life of St Aloysius by Fr
Cepari that I had sent to me from Italy,” Kalinowski later wrote,
”had a decided effect on August’s spiritual progress and opened up
the way to an easier union with God.”
The decisive event was when he met Don Bosco. August was
25 years old when he got to know him for the first time. This
happened in Paris at Lambert Palace, where the founder of the
Salesians celebrated Mass in the family oratory. The servers at the
altar were Prince Ladislaus and August. “I have wanted to make
your acquaintance for a long time!” Don Bosco told August. from
that day on, August saw the holy educator as the father of his
soul and arbiter of his future. Don Bosco had become the point of
reference for the young man's vocational discernment. Just the same,
Don Bosco was always cautious about accepting the prince into the
Congregation. It was the Pope, Leo XIII, who personally resolved
all doubts. Having discovered what August’s wish was, the Pope
concluded: “Tell Don Bosco that it is the Pope's wish that you be
received among the Salesians.” “Well then, my dear friend,” Don
Bosco immediately replied “I accept you. From now on you are part
of our Society and I want you to belong to it until death.”
At the end of June 1887, after renouncing everything in favour
of his brothers, young August was sent to San Benigno Canavese for
a brief period of aspirantate before beginning his novitiate the same
year under the guidance of novice master Fr Giulio Barberis. August
had so many habits that had to be changed: timetable, food, common
life ... He also had to fight against attempts by the family who were
not resigned to his choice. His father came to visit him and tried to
dissuade him. But August would not let himself be won over by that.
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Czartoryski, Augustus
169
Czartoryski, Augustus
On 24 November 1887 he was clothed as a religious by Don Bosco
in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. “Courage, my prince,”
the saint whispered in his ear. “Today we have won a magnificent
victory. But I can also tell you with great joy that the day will come
when you will be a priest and by God's will you will do much good
for your homeland.” Don Bosco died two months later, and Prince
Czartoryski, kneeling at his tomb at Valsalice, would profess his
vows and become a Salesian.
At that time, Fr Andrew Beltrami was completing his studies
at Valsalice in view of the same goal, and he struck up a deep
friendship with August: they studied foreign languages together
and helped one another to climb to the heights of sanctity. When
August’s illness worsened, the superiors asked Andrew to spend
time with him and help him. They spent the summer holidays
together in the Salesian institutes at Lanzo, Penango in Asti, Alassio
... August was a guardian angel for Andrew, a teacher and heroic
example of holiness. Andrew Beltrami, today Venerable, would say
of him: “I looked after a saint.”
His illness was such that August was sent to the Ligurian coast
and here he did his theological studies. The course of the illness
made the family's attempts more insistent, and they also resorted
to pressure from the doctors. To Cardinal Parocchi, who was asked
to use his influence to snatch him away from Salesian life, he wrote:
“In complete freedom I wanted to take my vows, and I did so with
great joy in my heart. From that day on, living in the Congregation,
I have enjoyed great peace of mind, and I thank the Lord for having
made the Salesian Society known to me and for having called me to
live in it.”
Prepared by suffering, he was ordained priest on 2 April 1892 at
San Remo by Bishop Tommaso Reggio, the bishop of Ventimiglia.
Prince Ladislaus and Aunt Isa were not part of the ordination. Fr
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Czartoryski, Augustus
170
Czartoryski, Augustus
August’s priestly life lasted barely a year, spent in Alassio in a room
that looked over the courtyard where the boys were. He died at
Alassio on the evening of Saturday 8 April 1893, during the Easter
Octave, seated on the same chair that had already been used for Don
Bosco. “What a beautiful Easter!” he had said on Monday to the
confrere who was helping him, without imagining that he would be
celebrating the last day of the octave in Paradise. He was thirty-five
years old and had been a Salesian for five years. On the holy card
for his First Mass he had written: “For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere. Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise” (Psalm 84). His body was taken to Poland
and buried in the crypt in the parish church at Sieniawa, beside the
family tombs. It was where August had made his First Communion.
Later his remains were moved to the Salesian church in Przemyśl,
where they still lie today.
August Czartoryski, the young prince, had developed an
effective way to discern the divine plan in his regard. He placed
before God in prayer all the questions and concerns he had, and then
in a spirit of obedience he followed the advice of his spiritual guides.
Thus he came to an understanding of his vocation to undertake a
life of poverty to serve the little ones. This same approach allowed
him, during his life, to fulfil the choices he had made, so that today
it can be said that he carried out the plans of Divine Providence
heroically. → “beatificazione”
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da Costa, Alexandrina Maria
171
da Costa, Alexandrina Maria
D
da Costa, Alexandrina Maria (beata)
proper name. (Blessed) Alexandrina Maria da Costa. • Lay woman.
Declared Venerable: 21 December 1995. Beatified: 25 April 2004.
Liturgical Celebration: 13 October. • Alexandrina was born in
Balasar, in the province of Oporto and archdiocese of Braga
(Portugal), on 30 March 1904 and was baptised on 2 April that year,
Holy Saturday. She was brought up in the faith by her mother, along
with her sister Deolinda. Alexandrina remained in the family until
she turned seven and was then sent to Póvoa do Varzim to board
with the family of a carpenter so she could attend the primary school
that Balasar lacked. There she made her First Communion in 1911
and the following year received the sacrament of Confirmation from
the bishop of Oporto.
Eighteen months later she returned to Balasar and went to live
with her mother and sister in the “Calvario” area where she would
remain until her death. She began to work in the fields, given her
strong constitution: she kept ahead of the men and earned as much
as they did. She was a lively young girl: endowed with a happy and
communicative temperament, she was much loved by her friends.
When twelve years of age she fell sick: a serious infection, perhaps
a form of intestinal fever brought on by typhoid, and it brought her
to the brink of death. She overcame this immediate danger, but this
episode would affect her physique forever.
She was fourteen when a decisive event occurred in her life.
It was Holy Saturday 1918. That day she, her sister Deolinda and
another girl, an apprentice, were busy about their work sewing,
when they saw three men trying to get into their room. They
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da Costa, Alexandrina Maria
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da Costa, Alexandrina Maria
succeeded despite the doors being locked. Alexandrina, to save her
purity now under threat, did not hesitate to throw herself out the
window which was four metres above ground. The consequences
were terrible, even though not immediate. In fact the various visits
to doctors that she subsequently had to make diagnosed with ever
greater clarity that the situation was irreversible. Until she turned
nineteen she was still able to drag herself to church, all shrivelled
up, where she would gladly spend time much to the amazement of
the people. Then the paralysis progressed even more, and the pain
was terrible, she lost all mobility and became completely paralysed.
It was 14 April 1925 when Alexandrina took to her bed and never
rose from it for the remaining thirty years of her life.
She wanted to recover, promising that if she was cured, she would
become a missionary. But once she understood that suffering was
her vocation she promptly embraced it. She used say: “Our Lady
gave me an even greater grace. First resignation, then complete
conformity to God's will, and finally the desire to suffer.” The first of
the mystical phenomena go back to this period, when Alexandrina
began a life of great union with Jesus in the Tabernacles with Mary
Most Holy. One day when she was alone, this thought suddenly
came to her: “Jesus, you are a prisoner in the Tabernacle and I too
am in my bed through your will. Let us do this together.” From then
on her first mission began: to be like a Tabernacle lamp. She spent
her nights on mental pilgrimage from Tabernacle to Tabernacle. At
every Mass she offered herself to the Eternal Father as a victim for
sinners, together with Jesus and according to his intentions.
From 1934, at the invitation of Jesuit Father Mariano Pinho, who
was her spiritual director until 1941, Alexandrina wrote down what
Jesus told her from time to time.
In 1936, at Jesus' command, she asked the Holy Father through
Father Pinho, to consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of
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da Costa, Alexandrina Maria
173
da Costa, Alexandrina Maria
Mary. She renewed this petition often until 1941 when the Holy See
questioned the archbishop of Braga three times about Alexandrina.
Her love for suffering grew ever more in her as her vocation
as a victim gradually became clearer to her. She made a vow to
always do what was the most perfect thing to do. From Friday 3
October 1938 to 24 March 1942, or 182 times, she experienced the
sufferings of the Passion every Friday. Overcoming her habitual state
of paralysis Alexandrina got out of bed and with movements and
gestures accompanied by anguishing pain, she followed the different
stages of the Way of the Cross for three and a half hours. “Love,
suffer, make reparation” was the programme the Lord pointed out
to her.
On 31 October 1942 Pius XII consecrated the world to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary through a message transmitted at Fatima
in Portuguese. He renewed it in Rome in St Peter's Basilica on 8
December the same year. From 27 March 1942 onwards, Alexandrina
ceased taking nourishment, living only from the Eucharist. In 1943
her absolute fast and anuresis were strictly controlled for forty days
and nights by worthy doctors at the Foce del Douro hospital in
Oporto.
In 1944 her new spiritual director, Salesian Father Umberto Maria
Pasquale, encouraged Alexandrina to continue to dictate her diary,
given the spiritual heights she had reached; she did this in a spirit of
obedience until her death. Also during 1944 Alexandrina enrolled
in the Salesian Cooperators. She wanted to place her Cooperator
certificate “in a place where she could always have it in sight” so
she could cooperate through her pain and with her prayers in the
salvation of souls, especially of the young. She prayed and suffered
for the sanctification of Cooperators throughout the world.
Despite her suffering she continued to show interest in acting on
behalf of the poor, the spiritual good of the parishioners and many
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da mihi animas...
174
da mihi animas...
other people who sought her out. She promoted triduums, the forty
hour devotion, and Lenten practices in her parish. Especially in the
last years of her life, many people sought her out, coming from far
away, attracted by her reputation for holiness; many attributed their
conversion to her advice.
In 1950 Alexandrina celebrated her 25th year of immobility. On 7
January 1955 Jesus told her that this would be the year of her death.
On 12 October she wanted to receive the Anointing of the sick. On
13 October, the anniversary of the Our Lady's last apparition at
Fatima, she was heard to exclaim: “I am happy because I am going
to Heaven.” She died at 7.30 p.m. In the afternoon of 15 October
flower beds in Oporto were empty of white roses – they had all been
sold. A floral tribute to Alexandrina who had been the white rose
of Jesus.
In 1978 her remains were moved from the cemetery in Balasar
to the parish church and her body lies there today in a side chapel.
We can read the words she wanted on her tomb: “Sinners, if my
body's ashes can be useful for your salvation, come near, walk
over them, and trample on them till they disappear. But never sin
again; no longer offend our Jesus!” This is the summary of her life
spent exclusively for the salvation of souls. → “santità salesiana”
“beatificazione”
da mihi animas cetera tolle
[la] vp. da mihi animas cetera tolle. Give me souls, take away the rest.
• Often left in its Latin form, this is the motto adopted by Don
Bosco from the time he began the work of the Oratories (his own
claim), though it did not become an official motto until the debate,
late in his life, over the wording to include in the Congregation’s
Coat of Arms, where he insisted on this motto as one which had
characterised his work from the beginning.
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DBCS
175
DBCS
His claim, in his Life of Dominic Savio, that it was frequently to be
heard on the lips of St Francis of Sales has little evidence behind it. In
all of the published writings of Saint Francis of Sales we do not find
it once. Instead, Francis de Sales’ close friend, the Bishop of Belley
(Jean-Pierre Camus), in his Spirit of St Francis de Sales, a book that no
doubt Don Bosco had read as a seminarian at Chieri, quotes Francis
as having said this in response to a question whether he would want
to be the Prince Bishop of Geneva, given that circumstances did not
allow him to take possession of that See. He answered along the
lines that all he wanted was the souls of the people, not the rest that
went with such an Office.
The phrase itself is a direct quote from Genesis 14:21 (the king of
Sodom’s response to Abram). Usage: Sometimes cetera is spelt with
another variant: coetera or even caetera. There is an argument that
cetera is the more original spelling, the other being a corrupted form.
Very often the full term is shortened to Da mihi animas. → “stemma”
“mistica salesiana”
DBCS Don Bosco Center of Studies
abbrev., np. 1. DBCS Don Bosco Center of Studies, 2. Seminaryo ng
Don Bosco. • The Don Bosco Center of Studies was established
in 1972 as a residence for Salesian candidates to the priesthood
who were studying theology at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of
the Pontifical University of Sto. Tomas, Manila. Their website
description now reads: “We are a Salesian Institution and a
theological-pastoral community forming priests, religious and laity
to be youth ministers and educators in the faith in response to the
challenge of New Evangelization.” → “curatorium” “DBST”
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DBI
176
DBN
DBI
abbrev. Don Bosco International. • Don Bosco International (DBI)
is a platform created to facilitate a meaningful dialogue between the
Salesians of Don Bosco and the European institutions and NGOs.
DBI represents the Salesian Congregation in different international
organisations and institutions as a:
* meaningful presence in EU institutions and EU platforms;
* communication channel between Don Bosco projects and policies
dealing with education, culture and youth that are promoted by the
EU institutions;
* platform that promotes and mentors initiatives and projects
planned by local Don Bosco projects in cooperation with various
international institutions;
* coordinator of shared projects and initiatives already existing
in several fields of Salesian presences.
Usage: The term is sourced from English and not translated into
other languages. → “ONG”
DBN
abbrev. Don Bosco Network.• Don Bosco Network (DBN) is a
worldwide federation of Salesian development NGOs founded in
2010 whose vision, mission and actions are based on the values and
principles expressed by the Salesian tradition of solidarity with the
poor.
The Federation, whose headquarters are in Rome, began
networking between 6 NGOs as founding members (more have been
added since): VIS (Italy), Dmos-Comide (Belgium), Jugend Dritte
Welt (Germany), Jovenes y Desarrollo (Spain), Salesian Missions
(USA), Noi per Loro (Italy). Its strategic and operational fields are:
* policy building and general coordination of the activities of
associated members;
* lobbying/advocacy;
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DBST
177
DB WAVE
* training and education;
* communication.
Usage: The term is sourced from English and not translated into
other languages. → “ONG”
DBST
abbrev. Don Bosco School of Theology, Seminaryo ng Don Bosco.
• ‘We are a Salesian Institution and a theological-pastoral community
forming priests, religious and laity to be youth ministers and
educators in the faith in response to the challenge of New
Evangelisation.’
The Don Bosco School of Theology at Parañaque, Manila, was
established in 1972 (as the Don Bosco Center of Studies) as a
residence for Salesian candidates to the priesthood who were
studying theology at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the Pontifical
University of Sto. Tomas, Manila. It was renamed in 2019 as the DBST
or Don Bosco School of Theology. → “DBCS Don Bosco Center of
Studies”
DBVG
abbrev. Don Bosco Overseas Youth Volunteer Group. • This volunteer
group was founded in 1991 in Japan by the late Bishop Francis
Mizobe, SDB (at that time, he was the Provincial) and the youth
who wanted to do some good for others. One feature of the DBVG is
that its members, most of them not baptised, carry out a volunteer
experience in a Christian and Salesian context, an evangelising
experience which allows them to come into contact with Jesus and
his teachings. → “volontariato”
DB WAVE
abbrev. DB WAVE or Don Bosco Web for a more Accessible and inclusive
VET in Europe. The DB WAVE project was conceived in 2018 by a
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de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
178
de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
group of 8 partners from the Don Bosco VET network in Europe.
Indeed, since 2010, Don Bosco T-VET (Technical – Vocational
Education and Training) providers in Europe have been meeting
on a yearly basis, in contact-making seminars as a way of basic
peer learning and comparison. Partnership building process for
DB WAVE was agreed on the occasion of one of such meetings in
November 2018 in Grasse (France).
DB WAVE is a project co-planned by “Federazione CNOS-FAP”
(Italy), together with “Don Bosco International” (Belgium, EU
liaison office of the Salesians of Don Bosco) and 6 Salesian national
VET networks/Provinces (“SMX Province” and “Tech Don Bosco”
in Spain, “AMDB” in France, the German Province of the Salesians
of Don Bosco, “DBOC” for the Dutch-speaking Don Bosco VET
centres of Belgium and “SZiF” for Hungary.)
Note that it may also be written as one word: DBWAVE.
→ “VET” “TVET”
de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio (Venerabile)
proper name. (Venerable) Anthony de Almeida Lustosa. • Salesian
Bishop. Diocesan Inquiry opened 14 August 1994, closed 14 August
2014. He was declared Venerable on 22 June 2023. • Born on 11
February 1886, the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady at
Lourdes, to a middle class peasant family in São João del Rei (Minas
Gerais – Brazil), Anthony seemed marked by this circumstance that
predisposed him to a filial devotion to Our lady and nourished a
poetic vein in him until the twilight of his life, making him known
as the “Virgin's poet”.
When he was sixteen he entered the Salesian college at Cachoeira
do Campo as a boarder and at nineteen went to Lorena as a novice
where he was assistant to his fellow novices. He was ordained
priest in 1912 and almost immediately, little more than 26 years of
age, became the novice master. In 1916 the novitiate was moved
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de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
179
de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
to Lavrinhas. There, Fr Anthony was the rector and teacher of
philosophy and theology as well as novice master. He had not yet
turned 30. His passion for literary studies, philosophy and theology,
along with a keen sense of observation gave him a rare ability of
assimilation that he would then translate into a variety of pastoral
and apostolic forms.
In 1924 he was appointed bishop of Uberaba, the diocese of the
so-called “Mining triangle”. He wanted to be consecrated on 11
February 1925 as a reminder of the presence of Our Lady in his
life. When he entered the diocese he was welcomed by a population
that were celebrating twofold: at the arrival of their new Pastor after
two years of without a bishop, and for a soaking rain after eights
months of drought. He found the minor seminary empty and just
one deacon in the major seminary. The following year he had thirty
or so seminarians finishing their secondary studies. He dedicated
himself totally to his pastoral ministry, visiting all parishes and all
the inhabited centres around the diocese which was very extensive
in those days. It meant long and very uncomfortable journeys.
In 1928, not even three years later, he was transferred to Corumbá
in the Mato Grosso, a larger See and with even greater difficulties
for evangelisation. Three years later he was appointed archbishop
of Belém do Pará, a huge diocese in the north. He remained there
for ten years, making every effort with his usual generosity, now
enriched by the long experience that made his pastoral activity even
more telling. The Apostolic Nuncio, Aloisi Masella, described him
as one of the most eminent figures in the Brazilian episcopate for
his holiness and pastoral dedication.
In 1941 he was transferred to the important See of Fortaleza,
capital of Ceará State. Here he arrived at the height of his maturity
and pastoral experience and gave the best of himself. After twenty
two years there he left the most significant impression of his
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de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
180
de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
apostolic zeal and holiness. If it were possible to measure such zeal
statistically, a list of the works and foundations he created would
be sufficient: the Curé of Ars pre-seminary; the Cardinal Frings
Institute; St Joseph's Hospital; the Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima; the
radio station called the Assunçấo Cearense; the Casa do Menino
Jesus; various popular schools; clinics; worker groups, etc. One of his
special merits was his constant concern for preparing and forming a
Catholic laity that was aware and responsible. He followed them up
gently but firmly even at times of opposition and misunderstanding.
One expression of his important spiritual and pastoral activity was
the foundation of the “Giuseppine” Congregation found in various
Brazilian States today. Bishop Lustosa was also a prolific writer on a
variety of subjects: theology, philosophy, spirituality, hagiography,
literature, geology, botany. He was also very gifted in the artistic
field: the windows in the cathedral at Fortaleza are his.
In 1963, after 38 years of episcopal activity he asked and obtained
permission to be freed of this pastoral ministry. He chose the
Salesian house in Carpina, where he spent the final eleven years
of his life. He was always busy: he wrote biographies; prepared
articles, translated from Italian, French and Spanish; he published
meditations. Death came to him on the vigil of the feast of the
Assumption on 14 August 1974. His body now lies at rest in the
Cathedral at Fortaleza.
Bishop Lustosa was a great ascetic and also appeared this
way outwardly, “like the fuselage of an aircraft”, as his physical
appearance was described.
He was endowed with an adamantine will that belied the fire that
burned within him. He lived poorly: “I have nothing”, he wrote
in his will. He was a humble man of prayer, dedicated to penance.
He knew how to approach everyone, especially the most needy.
→ “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
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de Chopitea, Dorotea
181
de Chopitea, Dorotea
de Chopitea, Dorotea (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Dorothy Chopitea. Lay woman, mother.
Declared Venerable 9 June 1983. • Dorotea de Chopitea was born
in Santiago, Chile, on 5 June 1816. Her parents, Don Pedro Nolasco
Chopitea and Isabella Villota, originally came from Spain and were
financially well off. Dorothy was one of the last of 18 children. Three
years later, just after Chile had gained independence from Spain,
Don Pedro Nolasco Chopitea brought the family back to Barcelona.
Dorotea was energetic, lively, enterprising, but even more so had
a heart of gold. When she was 13 years old she chose Fr Pietro Nardò
as her confessor and spiritual director. He would guide her for some
50 years, educating her gently but forcefully to “detach her heart
from wealth”. For her entire life Dorotea would consider the family's
wealth to be not a source of amusement and over-indulgence but as
a huge resource that God had given her to do good for the poor. Fr
Pietro Nardò often got Dorotea to read the Gospel parable of Dives
and Lazarus. She was brought up well. With Fr Pietro's guidance,
at 16 she married an excellent young man, Giuseppe Maria Serra, a
businessman and banker. They were happily and faithfully married
for 50 years, at the end of which Giuseppe would say: “Our love grew
daily.” They had six children: Dolores, Anna Maria, Isabella, Maria
Luisa, Carmen e Gesuina. All would become excellent Catholics and
exemplary mothers. That would be no surprise given the religious
atmosphere of the family to the point where it could have been
considered to be a “religious community”.
Donna Dorotea was a woman of great faith, keen devotion, and
penance. Her main concern was to truly live for God. She nurtured
her devotion: daily Mass, Communion, Rosary. She made an annual
retreat. During one of them she made the following resolutions: “I
will not neglect meditation and spiritual reading except for serious
reasons ... I will do twenty acts of mortification each day, and will
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de Chopitea, Dorotea
182
de Chopitea, Dorotea
wear a hair shirt for two hours in the morning.” Her greatest virtue
was charity. “God's almoner”, she sacrificed any wealth she came
by like no other in Barcelona at the time. Love for the poor was
first on her scale of values: “The poor will be my first thought.” She
accompanied her husband on his journeys, was received by Leo XIII
who showed her great deference. Some thirty or more foundations
came from her and her husband's generosity: infant schools, other
schools, hospitals, workshops ... Fr Philip Rinaldi – Don Bosco's
third successor and today Blessed – who knew her in person said:
“I saw with my own eyes the number of times she helped children,
widows, the elderly, the unemployed, the sick ... I heard many times
that the Servant of God performed the most humble services for the
sick. For example, there was talk of children who had been struck
on the head in a revolting way, and whom she secretly cleaned and
nursed. In this she had her husband's full trust and cooperation.
But when he died, she was able to devote herself full-time to her
favourite mission.
It was during this time that her connection with the Salesians
and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians came about and grew.
She was a woman still full of energy, all of it to be spent for the poor.
She wrote to Don Bosco on 20 September 1882 asking him to found a
college on the outskirts of Barcelona: “I would like to found a work
for young workers and orphans in Barcelona's suburbs.” The college
would open at Sarriá and become the mother house of the Salesians
in Spain.
Two years later she founded a work of the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians. In 1886, after pressing invitations, Don Bosco
came to Spain and was looked after by her. He could see what this
great benefactress had achieved. After Don Bosco's death came Saint
Dorothy's college. Six thousand pesetas were still needed to buy
the house: this was precisely the amount she had put aside for her
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de Chopitea, Dorotea
183
de Chopitea, Dorotea
retirement but she generously donated it saying: “God is asking me
to be truly poor: I will be.” She was running a charity collection on
Good Friday 1891 when she contracted pneumonia and it resulted
in her death seven days later. Fr Rinaldi came to her and remained at
her bedside for a long time. He wrote: “In the few days she had left,
she gave no thought to her illness but to the poor and to her soul. She
wanted to say something special to each of her daughters and they
all blessed her in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
like an ancient patriarch. While we were surrounding her sickbed
to recommend her to the Lord, all of a sudden she opened her eyes.
Her confessor gave her the crucifix to kiss. We knelt down. Donna
Dorotea recollected herself, closed her eyes and gently expired.”
This was 3 April 1891. In 1928 her body was moved to the Shrine of
Mary Help of Christians in Sarriá. Her remains were profaned and
lost during the revolution in 1936. Some were recovered and buried
once more in the shrine.
Dorotea de Chopitea was the first Salesian Cooperator to reach
the honours of the altar, a wife and mother of six children. Though
the time she belonged to the Salesian family was relatively brief,
she was nevertheless one of the few people to whom Don Bosco
gave the title “mamma”. Fr Michael Rua, Don Bosco's first successor
and today Blessed, when he told her about Don Bosco's death,
wrote: “He always showed great esteem and grateful affection for
our mother in Barcelona, as he used to call you: mother of the
Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.” She was
truly a mother to everyone: ever ready to intervene where ever
there was need for help. A list has been made up of some thirty-one
foundations who owed their existence to her generosity. Someone
calculated that the funds she made available amounted to around
twenty million pesetas. “That is more than the annual budget of
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decretum laudis
184
decuria
some States”, Fr Pinol, her biographer, wrote. → “venerabile”
“santità salesiana”
decretum laudis
[la] np. Decretum laudis. Decree of commendation. • When a
Congregation has grown in importance and when its spiritual
and apostolic maturity is observed, it can be formally approved
by the Pope with the decretum laudis, which transforms it into a
congregation of pontifical right, subject to immediate and exclusive
authority of the Holy See (Drawn broadly from the Dizionario degli
istituti di perfezione [Dictionary of the Institutes of Perfection], vol.
III, (Milan: San Paolo Edizioni [St Paul Editions], 1977).
It is interesting to note that Don Bosco was seeking approval for
the Society of St Francis de Sales precisely at a time when the Church
was revising its approach. This, along with certain difficulties Don
Bosco was facing in his personal relationships with his Archbishop
(Gastaldi) in the last part of the process particularly, meant it was
1874 before he finally gained the last needed approval, the decretum
laudis. In 1863, the Holy See decided to reform the processes of
approval for new Congregations by introducing what it called the
Methodus, which foresaw first a decree of commendation, a form
of encouragement to continue with the process, then a decree of
approval for the institute, followed finally by the decree of approval
of the constitutions. → “congregazione”
decuria
[la] n. Decuria. Group of ten.• In ancient Rome, each of the 10
subdivisions of the military contingent known as the curia was made
up of 10 soldiers. Historically, decuria does not appear in the infantry
orders but in those of the cavalry. It is of interest to us because it
was a system in use in schools when he was attending them as a
student.
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delegazione
185
delegazione
From the Jesuit Ratio studiorum we know that a class (which
might have 50–70 students) had just one teacher, so the Ratio
indicated subdivisions in the classroom (decurie) and a hierarchical
set of relationships based on ancient Roman tradition. We find the
term referred to by Don Bosco when he describes his own schooling.
But he later used the same term for his various lay associations (e.g.
for spreading good books, disseminating the Catholic Readings,
running his lotteries), including derivative terms, e.g. decurione or
‘decurion’.
In the scholastic instance, every month the teacher would
establish the decurie, that is, he would divide the pupils into
groups (decurie) according to merit: there were the primi eximi, the
outstanding group, then the mediocri and finally the inacallidi.
Every decuria was led by a decurione, that is, the best pupil in
each group, the one who had received the highest points compared
to his classmates in that group. Every decuria occupied places in
the classroom closer or further away from the teacher, according to
merit, and the worthiest pupils also sat on a higher seat than the
others and wore a medal on their chest (as a principe or censore or
console or decurione). They also wore these medals outside school
hours. Then, each month there was the lavoro dei posti, an especially
demanding assignment (perhaps a translation from Latin to Italian
or the other way around) which was scored according to the number
of errors. The results determined which decuria the pupil went into
for the coming month and where he sat.
delegazione
n. Delegation. • C. 156: It belongs to the Rector Major with
the consent of his council, and after adequate consultation with
the confreres concerned, to divide the Society into juridical
circumscriptions, erect new ones, combine those already constituted,
define them in a different way or suppress them...
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deliberazione
186
deliberazione
There is also C. 159 with explicit mention of delegations, but it is
C. 156 that is currently used as the basis for establishing a delegation.
This may change at a future General Chapter, since as things stand,
C. 156 is too broad and C. 159 too narrow as a proper basis for this
phenomenon.
The term is especially important for the EAO Region, since it
currently has a substantial number of delegations: AUL-Pacific,
FIS-Pakistan, THA-Cambodia, VIE-Mongolia, VIE-Vietnam North.
Usage: Normally spelt with a capital D in English, and likewise
for the Delegate. → “visitatoria” “ispettoria” “circoscrizione”
deliberazione
n. 1. deliberation, 2. official decision, 3. determination. • These days
it is clear enough that we distinguish deliberations of a Chapter from
working guidelines. It was not always so. In the early Chapters of
the Congregation, e.g. Chapters I and II, the number of deliberations
were as many as 300-400. The 9th GC had the task of making some
sense of and putting some order into this tendency, separating
general deliberations which gave completeness to the Constitutions
from those of a generally exhortative and optional kind.
This Chapter, then, made a distinction between 'organic' and
'preceptive' deliberations. The term 'organic' was never fully
clarified, but could be said to be synonymous with constitutional
in this instance. 'Preceptive' deliberations were still important
but regarded as disciplinary, coming into force by virtue of their
acceptance by the Rector Major (in contrast to the former group
which required the approval of the Holy See). The distinction could
be seen as the difference between Constitutions and Regulations.
→ “capitolo”
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Della Torre, Carlo
187
Della Torre, Carlo
Della Torre, Carlo (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Charles Della Torre. • Salesian Priest.
Diocesan Inquiry opened 12 June 2012.
Charles (Carlo) Della Torre was born on 9 July 1900 in Cernusco
sul Naviglio in the province of Milan to Antonio Della Torre and
Filomena Magni. He was the fourth of seven children. In 1917,
during the First world War, young Carlo was called to arms as a
Lieutenant in the Arditi (the ‘Daring ones’: Italian army special
forces at the time) on the Albanian front. On his return home his
father died and he became the one in charge of the family, dedicating
himself to working in the fields and looking after his younger
siblings, as well as teaching catechism in the parish. At 23 years of
age, thanks to his confessor who gave him a copy of the Salesian
Bulletin to encourage his Salesian and priestly missionary vocation,
he entered the Cardinal Cagliero Salesian institute in Ivrea, where
he managed to complete his secondary schooling in just three years.
In 1926 he said goodbye to his family forever and left for China. Fr
Charles, a missionary for some 56 years, would never return home.
The superiors later sent him to the new Salesian mission in
Thailand, where he made his first profession on 8 December 1927
in Bang Nok Khuek, the mother house of the Salesian mission
in Thailand. Providence saw that he was the one responsible for
the personnel of the house, including their spiritual direction. In
contact with young girls and the female domestics he said: “I have
been inspired by Our Lady to bring them together and found
a Congregation of local Sisters whose task will be to serve and
maintain churches, parish schools, the kitchen and wardrobes of the
colleges as well as taking on the teaching of catechism to children
and preparing them to receive the sacraments.”
He was ordained priest on 26 January 1936 and sent to Tha
Muang, where he would remain for 12 years, first as assistant parish
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Della Torre, Carlo
188
Della Torre, Carlo
priest then as parish priest. They were difficult years spent in poverty
and amidst persecutions due to the Indochinese war. After the
Second World War, Fr Della Torre, together with the superiors,
took the painful decision to leave the Salesian Congregation so he
could dedicate himself fully to his developing work, and he was
incardinated into the Bangkok diocese. These were truly difficult
years for him and his Sisters: they were in a desperate situation
without a penny, with nowhere to live and no work. They earned
their bread by mending and sewing clothes which were then sold
for a pittance. With the bishop's permission, Fr Della Torre sent
the first Rule to Rome for approval of his Sisters as an Institute
of Consecrated Women. In 1955, after many difficulties, the first
seven Sisters made their profession in the new Women's Institute
of Diocesan Right:“The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary
Immaculate, who are currently in two separate groups, the Institute
of the Daughters of the Queenship of Mary, and the Congregation of
the Sisters of the Queenship of Mary. After twenty years of intense
work and sparing no effort, feeling that his strength was failing, he
asked and gained permission to rejoin the Salesian Congregation
where he professed perpetual vows on 9 December 1981. He died
in Bangkok on 4 April 1982.
The most characteristic spiritual features of this true son of Don
Bosco were first of all his humility, especially during the most critical
and difficult times in his life, when he showed himself to be always
respectful and submissive. His detachment from earthly things,
money, comfort, and his poor and austere lifestyle were proverbial.
Together with poverty he loved work, and was always ready to carry
out any task: preach, teach catechism, lay bricks, or be the carpenter
or mechanic. In order to nourish his spiritual daughters he translated
some of the Books of the Old Testament into Thai, wrote a Life
of Jesus in 9 volumes and disseminated many other religious and
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Desramaut, Francis
189
devozione
spiritual works. The most outstanding feature of his life was, without
doubt, his filial devotion to Our Lady, expressed through a great
sense of confidence and abandonment to Her and through saying
and promoting the Rosary. → “servo di Dio” “DQM” “SQM”
“santità salesiana”
Desramaut, Francis
proper name. Fr Francis Desramaut (1922–2014). • Fr Francis
Desramaut is included as an entry in this dictionary since frequent
reference is made to his ‘100 Words of Salesian Spirituality’.
Fr Francis Desramaut, of the Salesian province of France, died
on 1 September 2014. He was one of the three giants of Salesian
historical research from the 1950s to the 1990s. Fr Pietro Stella died in
2007, and Fr Pietro Braido also died in 2014. In 2000, Fr Desramaut’s
large volume Les cent mots-clefs de la spiritualité salésienne (The 100
Words of Salesian Spirituality) appeared, a very useful synthesis
for those interested in the themes of Salesian spirituality, and for
preachers.
destinatario
n. 1. beneficiary. 2. the one[s] to whom we are sent, 3. addressee,
4. charges. • In general terms, the person to whom something is
addressed. Depending on context, more often than not ‘the ones to
whom we are sent’ (destinatari) will suffice, or ‘our charges’.
devozione
n. Devotion. • ‘Devotion’ is distinguished from ‘devotions’ as
‘prayer’ is from ‘prayers’. Note its history in Salesian (St F de S)
terms – a favoured term of St Francis de Sales with particular
meaning, probably closer to what today we would call ‘apostolic
charity’. In the longer Christian tradition the term has a rich and also
complicated story. There have been long periods when it has meant
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Diaconus (D)
190
dicastero
mainly ‘devotions’ in the plural, and almost a substitute for ‘true
religion’. But devotions were also reincorporated or re-upholstered
by Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi as legitimate popular spirituality.
→ “carità pastorale”
Diaconus (D)
[la] n., abbrev. Diaconus. Deacon. • Term found in the year book and
necrology. → “annuario” “necrologio”
DIAM
np., abbrev. PDMA Provincial Delegate for Mission(ary) Animation.
• “The PDMA is the 'missionary sentinel' of each Province. He
promotes the missionary culture in the Province as well as the
commitment to the mission ad gentes, for first proclamation and for
new evangelization” (Manual of the PDMA).
The Delegate may be a layperson, male or female, who shares
the spirit and mission of Don Bosco.
There may also be a RDMA (in Italian DRAM), or in other words
a Regional Delegate for Mission Animation → “missioni”
dicastero
n. Department. • An organisational arrangement under a sector.
We do not use the Vatican-English term ‘dicastery’, in Salesian
discourse.
There is an important distinction to be made between between a
‘department’ (dicastero), and a ‘sector’ (settore), the latter being the
superordinate concept. Other matters below a department might
be called ‘areas’. By way of example, the Social Communications
sector has a department which looks after a number of areas. The
tendency these days is for a preference to refer to the Sector, which
then has it department: Youth Ministry, Formation, Missions, Social
Communication Sectors, each with a department. The Economy
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digitalità
191
direttore
and Salesian Family do not strictly have a ‘department’ structure.
→ “ambito” “settore”
digitalità
n. 1. being digital, 2. digitalisation, 3. digitisation, 4. digitalism .
• ‘Digital’ is an ubiquitous adjective in the 21st century that may
qualify many different things (world, age, technology etc.) and
is therefore difficult to define. It may be better to think in terms
of ‘being digital’ or ‘digitality’, as the condition of experiencing
the digital world, age, technology etc. Digitality (also known as
digitalism) is used to indicate the circumstance of living in a digital
culture, derived from Nicholas Negroponte's book Being Digital,
analogous to modernity and postmodernity.
Linguistic note: There is a difference between digitality and
digitisation. If we consider the publishing industry, for example.
digitisation means basically re-purposing available content in print
for a digital platform (e.g. an e-reader). But in the context of
digitality, the content itself is born digital, and this is a different
mindset altogether.
dimissione
n. Dismissal. • Dismissal is the process by which a member is
separated from the Congregation either by force of law or by a
decree of the Superior General. According to canon law there are
three cases of dismissal: 1. dismissal ‘ipso facto’ (‘automatically’)
(can. 694); 2. obligatory dismissal (can. 695); 3. dismissal on the
judgement of the Superior (can. 696).
direttore
n. 1. rector, 2. director. • The superior of a local community. He
must be a priest, perpetually professed for at least five years, and is
appointed by the provincial with the consent of his council and the
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direttorio
192
direttorio
approval of the Rector Major. He is first in order of responsibility
for the religious life of the community, its apostolic activities and
the administration of its goods. (C. 176, 177, SDB Constitutions).
GC21 clarified the role and figure of the Salesian Rector, recalling
the insistence of GC19 that ‘the rector constitutes without shadow
of doubt the centre of unity and of initiative of all Salesian work
whatever its type or composition.’ It noted the complexity of a role
involving religious and spiritual life, apostolic and pastoral work,
educational and cultural dimensions, economic and organisational
aspects.
Thus GC21 laid down a number of clear criteria: the ecclesial and
pastoral nature of the Salesian community; the kind of community
spirit explicitly willed by Don Bosco (who called himself the ‘first
rector’); Salesian tradition which has as the guide of the community
one with priestly ordination and pastoral experience. These criteria
enabled GC21 to establish the following priorities: he preserves
unity and is custodian of Salesian identity; he is the pastoral guide
of the Salesian mission; he directs the work of education and human
development that results from the community’s mission; he bears
principal responsibility for the overall operation of the work.
These criteria and priorities eventually led to the formulation of
the renewed Constitutions regarding the Rector, and the drawing
up of a Rector’s Manual, renewed as of 2019. → “comunità”
Usage: rector (en-gb), director (en-us). May often be capitalised
as Rector, Director.
direttorio
n. Directory. • The term has a juridical meaning for religious
communities – General Directory: contains norms valid for the
entire Congregation; directory on specific topics (e.g. the Formation
Directory, otherwise known as the Ratio institutionis et studiorum
– FSDB). There is also a directory at province level, known as
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Direzione Generale
a Provincial Directory cf. C. 171): a prescriptive text which the
Provincial Chapter draws up and revises. The principal scope of
the directory and its detailed set of norms is to promote and
guarantee the charism and Salesianity of each work in the provincial
community.
Usage: In the case of a province list of personnel and houses,
some provinces also call this a directory (it might be better termed
a year book in that case). → “ratio”
Direzione Generale
np. Direzione Generale Opere Don Bosco 1. Salesian General Administration,
2. Salesian Headquarters. • Also known as the Sede Centrale.
Fundamentally made up of personnel from the Sacred Heart
Community of the Generalate, whose specific function is to assist,
in various forms of service, the Rector Major with his council in
their mission of unity and animation of the Congregation and the
Salesian Family. The General Administration consists of at least the
following services:
Rector Major and his Vicar, with two secretaries;
Salesian Family administration: World Delegate (Cooperators),
Confederal Delegate (Past Pupils), Central Assistant (VDB, CDB),
ADMA Spiritual Guide and coordinator;
Sectors with their various departments;
Economer General’s Office
involving: secretary, admin office, patrimonial office, Gerini
Foundation, Don Bosco in the World Foundation, Post Office;
Secretary General’s Office
involving: Records office, Juridical office, Archives, Translation;
Regions: a secretary for each;
Historical Institute involving: Director, secretary and one or more
members;
Administration and Maintenance: Bursar and general services;
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diritto proprio
194
DISC The Disciples
SDB Publishers (Editrice SDB);
Central Library;
Documentation;
Official Spokesperson;
Press Office.
→ “Sacro Cuore”
diritto proprio
np. Proper law of the Society. • Based on the Church’s universal
law, it is made up of the following: the Constitutions, the General
Regulations, the Deliberations of General Chapters, the General
Directories (which includes the Ratio, the Provincial Directories and
other Provincial Chapter deliberations). → “capitolo” “Elementi
Giuridici”
di Sales, Francesco (santo)
proper name. (Saint) Francis de Sales. • Born 21 August 1567 in the
de Sales castle at Thoren, Savoy. Died 28 December 1622. The term
‘Salesian’ is initially a reference to this Saint and his spirituality.
Which is why we use the expression ‘Salesian of Don Bosco’ to note
the distinction. There is also a ‘Salesian Family’, then, quite apart
from that pertaining to Don Bosco.
Linguistic note: The term is originally French (François de Sales).
Italian has italianised the entire name. English does not alter the
orthography for the surname, but anglicises the Christian name.
→ “Salesiano” “santo” “salesianità” “santità salesiana”
DISC the Disciples
abbrev., proper name. DISC The Disciples. • Association for men
and women of diocesan right waiting to be approved as a secular
institute of pontifical right. In January 2009, the Rector Major and
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disciplina religiosa
195
disciplina religiosa
his Council recognised the association as a member of the Salesian
Family.
The institute consists of two principal branches (men and
women) having their own separate juridical structure. The institute
has a President, who is elected by the General Assembly. He is
assisted by his Council formed up of the General Coordinator
and the respective General Councils of each of the branches. Like
other secular institutes, they make the profession of the evangelical
councils. The sisters are sent two by two mostly to the villages
for their apostolate. They teach catechism, help in the parishes,
run balwadis, etc. The brothers are sent to work mainly in the
institutions. They are also working in many of the bishops’ houses.
They follow a simple life style based on the Gospel values and are
ready to do any work given to them especially in the remote areas.
→ “famiglia salesiana”.
disciplina religiosa
np. Religious discipline. • Religious discipline means basically a
fidelity and consistency in our journey of discipleship as consecrated
Salesians. It is a term that needs to be tied to the word disciple. Our
sense of religious discipline is to be disciples of the Lord and of Don
Bosco.
One of Desramaut’s 100 words of Salesian spirituality.
→ “Desramaut, Francis”
However we also find the term in adjectival form as a single
word (disciplinari, disciplinary) employed in a strictly canonical
sense as, for example, when a Major Superior may dispense from
single disciplinary articles of the Constitutions. Here, disciplinary
means a norm or rule that does not touch on the essential nature of
the Salesian Identity as outlined in the Constitutions. → “identità
carismatica”
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196
docibilitas
dispensazione
n. Dispensation. • The term is applied in Canon Law and in the
Proper Law of the Society in a variety of instances. In effect a
dispensation is a formal release from certain obligations that can
only be granted by the appropriate authority (Rector Major, Holy
See, depending on circumstances. There can be dispensation from
temporary profession or from perpetual profession in the case of a
vowed religious; dispensation from the diaconate or from celibacy
for deacon or priest (requires an indult from the Apostolic See and
results in cessation of all the obligations deriving from ecclesiastical
celibacy, from the duties of the diaconate and from religious vows
in the case of a religious).
docibilitas
[la] n. Docibilitas. Willingness to be taught. • The word docibilitas has
no single word equivalent in English. Talking about the culture of
ongoing formation requires a change in mindset. It involves moving
from an approach of updates (aggiornamento) through sessions,
retreats or activities of that kind, to a daily reading of experiences
and, by extension, understanding that this renewed vision cannot
be limited to activities proposed by a permanent formation team, no
matter how competent they may be. In both cases, the risk is great
to remain mired in concepts and content that are not integrated, to
not delve more deeply into personal and community growth.
This change of mindset or mentality in the individual creates a
permanent inner willingness, an openness, to allow oneself to be
taught. This is docibilitas. This docibilitas can sometimes be confused
with docility (docilitas). While docility appears as acquiescence to
the will of another, docibilitas is in fact letting oneself be freely
affected by both life and other people. It also points to the Son
receiving Himself from the Father and offering His life as a gift
to others. Thus, docibilitas leads the individual to focus more on
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197
don
conforming his or her life to the sentiments of Christ Jesus (Phil
2:5) rather than complying with external acts. This inner attitude
predisposes the individual to revisit his or her life while discovering
within in it all of the formation resources that daily life reveals.
→ “docile” following.
docile
adj. 1. well-behaved, 2. obedient. • The more common meaning is
someone who bends easily to the will of the one guiding him or her.
While the word can mean ‘docile’ be aware that this may be a ‘false
friend’ in context. Its normal translation would be along the lines of
‘obedient’’. Cf. also False Friends “D”
don
honorific. Father (Fr). • An honorific placed before the name or
surname of a member of the secular clergy. Don Bosco preferred
‘don’ as a personal reference (sac. or sacerdote is what he used in
correspondence to sign off). The choice of don over padre is linked
to the distinction in Italy between diocesan clergy who use don, and
religious priests who use padre. Italian often writes the term in lower
case e.g. don Bosco. It can also be capitalised, e.g. Don Bosco.
Usage: Bosco, Rua, Albera, Rinaldi and Ricaldone were always
referred to as Don (or don) in English texts, without use of first name.
From the time of Ziggiotti onwards, reference in English was often
to Fr (or Don) Renato Ziggiotti, Fr (or Don) Luigi Ricceri etc. Today
the preference is to anglicise the reference, so, Fr Ángel Fernández
Artime. But it is also true that earlier Salesian history (and up to
the 1930s or thereabouts, perhaps even later), a Salesian candidate
for the priesthood, e.g. in practical training, would be referred to as
‘don’.
British spelling rules indicate that Fr does not take a full stop
after it. US spelling always includes a period (Fr.).
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Don Bosco (santo)
Don Bosco (santo)
proper name. Don Bosco, St John Bosco. • Born 16 August 1815,
Castelnuovo d’Asti (now Castelnuovo Don Bosco), Italy. Ordained,
5 June 1841, Turin. Died 31 January 1888, Turin. Beatified: 2 June
1929. Canonised 1st April 1934. Liturgical Celebration: 31 January
31 January.
John Bosco was born of Francis’ second marriage, with Margaret
Occhiena (“Mamma Margherita (ven)”). It was 16 August 1815
and he was baptised on the following day as John Melchior. His
father was an employee of the Bigliones (“Cascina (Biglione)”) and
lived in one of their farm houses at the Becchi (“i Becchi”) in the
district of Murialdo, a hamlet of Castelnuovo d’Asti. Struck down
by pneumonia on 11 May 1817, Francis Bosco left his three sons in
the care of his wife Margaret: Anthony, born 1808 of his first wife,
Margaret Cagliero, Joseph, born 1813, and John.
This small family, having moved into a rustic shack re-adapted
for habitation, spent some difficult years at a time of general
disadvantage for the peasant community. John, who had been
raised by his mother’s deep human and Christian intuitiveness, was
equipped by Providence with gifts that made him a generous and
diligent friend to his peers from a very early age. → “i Becchi”
“casetta (i Becchi)”
Nevertheless, given the straitened family circumstances and
tension with his step-brother because of his inclination to study, John
was sent to work as a farmhand at the Moglia farm from February
1828 until November 1829. When he returned to the family, thanks
to the support of the elderly chaplain Fr John Calosso (“Calosso”)
he was able to pursue his primary schooling at Castelnuovo and his
secondary years at the Royal College in “Chieri”.
From his childhood, John felt he had received a special calling
and that he had been helped, almost guided by hand by the Lord
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Don Bosco (santo)
and the motherly intervention of the Virgin Mary, to carry out
a mission of his own. In a prophetic dream when he was nine
years old they had pointed out his field of work and the mission
he was to fulfil. Thus his boyhood years were in anticipation of
an extraordinary vocation as educator and pastor. As an apostle
amongst his school friends he founded the “Society for a Good
Time” (“società d’allegria”) during his school years in Chieri. Ever
since he was a small boy he had felt the call to conform himself as
perfectly as possible to the model of Christ the Good Shepherd and
this identification would mature over the course of his entire life,
gradually embodying the priestly ministry in his very own way: as
a sign of the Good Shepherd for the young and children of ordinary
folk.
As a twenty-year-old he made a decisive choice in 1835 to enter
the diocesan seminary at Chieri. His seminary years were spiritually
demanding for him if for no other reason than that the disciplinary
regime and rigoristic moral theology courses contrasted with a
temperament given to more expansive freedom and a creative
practical approach. At this seminary, John Bosco assimilated the
values which the austere rules and formation tradition offered the
young clerics: intense study, a spirit of sincere piety, recollectedness
“ritiratezza”, obedience, inner and outward discipline. But he
was able to count on the knowledge and awareness of Fr Joseph
Cafasso (“Cafasso Giuseppe”), also a native of Castelnuovo and
a collaborator of Dr (Fr) Luigi Guala in Turin at the Convitto
(“convitto”) or Pastoral Institute of St Francis of Assisi, aimed at
improving the young cleric in pastoral practice. Until his own life
ended, Cafasso was a teacher of moral theology and pastoral practice
for Don Bosco, as well as confessor, spiritual director, adviser.
Ordained priest in Turin by Archbishop Luigi Fransoni in June,
1841, Don Bosco spent that summer and autumn between the Becchi
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Don Bosco (santo)
and Castelnuovo helping the parish priest. In November his choice
was to return to Turin to the Pastoral Institute, to complete the three
years of theoretical and practical training. From there he received
a theoretical, practical and pastoral qualification and strengthened
his inner life. Some of the salient features of this priestly spirituality
offered by Fr Cafasso were: the central place of service of the
Divine, animated by a deep love for the Lord, the desire to be
shaped by the Divine will, total availability for prompt, precise and
polite service, a spirit of prayer, kindness and charity, poverty, and
detachment, mortification, humility and intense work. There was
also complete self-giving in the pastoral care of neighbour, tireless
zeal in welcoming, approaching, seeking out, leading, exhorting,
instructing, encouraging individuals of every age and category,
especially the lowly, the little ones, the poor and sinners. There
was leaning towards the mission, endless dedication to preaching,
catechesis, the sacrament of penance; tender devotion to Mary, and
a sense of belonging to the Church and devotion to the Pope and
Pastors of the Church. As well as moral formation, the young priest
dedicated himself to the catechetical instruction of children and
accompanied Fr Cafasso in the spiritual assistance he gave to young
men locked up in the city’s prisons. → “zelo” “sensus ecclesiae”
Don Bosco as a young priest was also more and more involved in
the profound and complex changes of a political, social and cultural
nature that would mark his entire life: revolutionary movements,
war and the exodus of the rural population to the cities were all
factors impacting on the conditions of life of the people especially
if they were people from the poorer stratum of society. Packed into
the outskirts of the cities, the poor in general and young people
in particular were subjected to exploitation or became victims of
unemployment. They were inadequately followed up in human,
moral, religious terms and in preparation for work. Often they were
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totally neglected. Sensitive to every change, the young people were
often insecure and lost. In the face of these masses without roots,
traditional education was at a loss. Philanthropists, educators, clergy
of every kind were struggling to meet the new needs. → “povero e
abbandonato”
In October 1844 Don Bosco gained employment as chaplain first
at a work known as The Refuge, and then at the “Little Hospital
of St Philomena”, both women’s institutions founded by Julia
Colbert, the Marchioness Barolo. Both places were in the northeast
of the city, not far from the Little House of Divine Providence
founded by Canon Joseph Cottolengo and close to Porta Palazzo, the
huge city market. In his new residence Don Bosco welcomed boys
who had grown fond of him at the Pastoral Institute: apprentices,
roustabouts, students and boys flowing in increasing numbers from
the countryside. Thanks to his own personal abilities, he engaged
with them, becoming directly involved in their amusements and
getting them to take part in opportunities for religious instruction
and worship. He called these gatherings at The Refuge “Catechism”,
and once it became a stable thing he called it “The Oratory of St
Francis de Sales”. → “Valdocco” “catechismo”
Equipped with a fine intuition into reality and a connoisseur of
Church History, Don Bosco drew upon situations and experiences
of other apostles, especially St Philip Neri and St Charles Borromeo,
who gave him the formula for the “oratory”. This tern was especially
dear to him: the oratory characterised all of his work and he would
shape it according to his own original perspective, adapted to the
setting, to his boys and their needs. → “oratorio”
He chose St Francis de Sales as the principal patron and model for
those who helped him. This was the saint of multifaceted zeal and
a very human kindness which showed up especially in the way he
treated people so gently. The oratory was ‘on the road’ between 1845
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and 1846, though gravitating around the immediate area between
the fields in Valdocco, then down near the Dora, and Porta Palazzo
where it was easier to keep in touch with the boys. Don Bosco settled
finally in Valdocco in the spring of 1846 first of all in a handful of
rooms and a shed adapted as a chapel, rented in a building on the
extreme outskirts (the Pinardi house); then the entire building and
adjacent grounds were purchased later. In those years it certainly
highlighted the relevance of the motto taken from St Francis de
Sales, “da mihi animas cetera tolle” (which he translated as “O
Lord, give me souls and take away the rest”). He considered it so
important and significant that he had it copied onto a poster that
he kept hung up in his room until the end of his life. → “di Sales,
Francesco (santo)”]
The Valdocco oratory drew its inspiration from the Guardian
Angel oratory, opened in 1840 by Fr Cocchi at the edge of the suburb
of Vanchiglia. Given the favourable acceptance won by the first two
oratories, a third named after St Aloysius was opened in 1847 in the
Porta Nuova district. The work of the oratories which began in 1841
with a “simple catechism class” gradually expanded to respond
to pressing circumstances and demands: a hospice to take in boys
completely left to their own devices, and a workshop and classrooms
for arts and trades to teach them a trade and render them capable of
earning an honest living; recreational and other approaches proper
to the time (theatre, band, choir, autumn walks) to encourage the
boys’ healthy growth. “catechismo” “passeggiate autunnali”
There was a period of crisis for the oratories in 1848; Fr.
Cocchi leaned towards sharing the patriotic enthusiasm of the boys
while Don Bosco continued to be more cautious and closer to the
opposition which Archbishop Fransoni adopted as his position.
Things picked up around 1850, thanks to the tenacity of clergy and
lay people who worked alongside Don Bosco (amongst whom Fr
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J.B. Borel and cousins Robert and Leonard Murialdo). Through
Fransoni’s initiative, though he was still in exile in Lyons, Don Bosco
was appointed “head spiritual director” in 1852 of the three boys’
oratories in Valdocco, Porta, Nuova and Vanchiglia respectively.
Given the increasing number of boys attending the oratories and
with popular help and official support from the city authorities
it became possible to replace the chapel ‘shed in Valdocco’ with
a large Church named after St Francis de Sales (1851-52) and
then Don Bosco set about buying new land and building a
“house attached to the oratory” to house and educate both young
students and apprentices in some of the more promising trades
like tailoring (1853), bookbinding (1854), carpentry (1856) printing
(1861) metalwork (1862). → “Murialdo, Leonardo (santo)” “Casa
Pinardi”
Following the cholera outbreak in 1854, the youthful population
accommodated in the house and classrooms at Valdocco rapidly
passed the hundred mark, reaching more than eight hundred
in 1868. It was in that year through Don Bosco’s initiative and
efforts that a large Church dedicated to Mary Help of Christians
(“Auxilium Christianorum”) was consecrated on the land at the
Valdocco Oratory. It was for the use of the boys and the spiritual
needs of the surrounding area. In 1869 in defence of, and to foster
the faith of Catholics, he set up the Association of Devotees of Mary
Help of Christians. All of these achievements allowed Don Bosco to
launch a variety of appeals with a view to mobilising consensus and
financial support. From 1853 he organised charity lotteries, bringing
in enough funds to extend and improve the oratory buildings (all
three oratories) and to accept young trade students and students for
secondary classes gratis or nearly so. In appeals addressed to the
population at large, he declared that he wanted to form “upright
citizens and good Christians”. When he turned to political and
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local administration authorities he asked for support and aid aimed
at preventing youth delinquency, taking boys off the streets who
would otherwise end up in prison and forming citizens who would
be useful to society. Then there were phrases that came together
in his best known work on pedagogy: The Preventive System in the
Education of the Young (Turin 1877). The felicitous line: “It is enough
that you are young for me to love you very much” is the Saint’s own
formulation and prior to that his fundamental educative choice: “I
promised God that my last breath would be spent for my poor boys.”
And, in truth he carried out impressive activity for them in words,
writings, institutions, journeys, meetings with civil and religious
authorities. He especially showed consideration for them as people
so that through his fatherly love his young people might grasp
the sign of a much higher Love. → “cholera asiaticus” “sistema
preventivo”
Don Bosco also began to stand out for publishing a number of
books aimed at the boys and republished on multiple occasions:
Church History For Use in Schools(1847), The Companion of Youth
(1847), The Metric Decimal System Made Simple (1849). In March
1853, with the support of Bishop L. Moreno of Ivrea, he began
publication of the Catholic Readings a collection of pocket-sized
periodicals averaging around a hundred pages, filled with articles
written in a style easily accessible for the limited literacy of the world
of the farmers and craftsmen. Don Bosco used the Catholic Readings
to publish the majority of his apologetic, catechetical, devotional and
hagiographical writings, aimed thereby at a positive presentation
of the Catholic Church, the Papacy and the work of the oratories.
→ “Letture Cattoliche”
The Casati Law (1859), which left school organisation to
local councils, offered Don Bosco the opportunity of widening
his field of initiative. After experimenting with diocesan junior
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seminaries under his management and responsibility (Giaveno in
Turin Archdiocese in 1859, and Mirabello Monferrato in Casale
Diocese in 1863 relocated to Borgo San Martino in 1870), he pushed
ahead more decisively in the area of public schools offering to
manage municipal boarding schools. These were, in turn, in Lanzo
Torinese (1864), Cherasco (1869), Alassio 91870), Varese (1871),
Vallecrosia (1875), all normally flanked by oratories. Oratories were
also added to institutions legally recognised as charitable hospices
or private schools (Sampierdarena in Genoa etc.) → “ginnasio”
Don Bosco, then, was not a priest who allowed himself to be
paralysed by the unstable and changeable circumstances he was
living through. It was precisely in such situations and circumstances
that he was a priest who knew how to be the Lord’s minister, a
son of the Church, an apostle of Christ in proclaiming the Gospel,
welcoming the poor, and especially through his predilection for
the young. One can emphasise his zeal, enterprise, inspiring search
for solutions, but one should never separate these more glamorous
qualities of Don Bosco the a human being from his inner depth,
sustained by a vigorous and rigorous asceticism, a deep sense
of faith and his constant dedication to the Church’s ministry.
This harmony between his human qualities and the mysterious
resources of faith and grace was a feature of his priesthood, making
it fruitful and resplendent. This symbolic relationship between
actions and contemplation appeared to be a logical consequence of
his priestly ministry. There was no room for troublesome double
standards in his life but only for obeying the Spirit and being
touched by the urgent demands of charity and being constantly
nourished and bolstered by the strength that came from prayer
and the Eucharist. He was indefatigable and yet he experienced the
mysterious absorption of his entire being as something that was for
the good of the Church and the young.
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When, by order of Archbishop Fransoni, the metropolitan
seminary was closed in 1848, Don Bosco provided accommodation
for diocesan clerics though they still attended lectures in the city,
provided by their professors from the seminary. It was natural
then for boys at the Oratory who wished to take up a career in the
Church to be added to these clerics. While Don Bosco was still alive
some 2,500 priests for dioceses in Piedmont and Liguria came from
Valdocco and his other colleges.
Don Bosco’s example and encouragement urged many bishops
to overcome delays due to financial difficulties and open or
reorganise minor seminaries. A number of seminary rectors
learned from him how to use suitable pedagogical and spiritual
approaches for forming young priests, such as loving-kindness and
fatherly presence which arouse confidence, frequent confession
and communion, Eucharistic and Marian piety and devotion.
Remarkable for those times, but later imitated by many others was
the specific care he took of adult vocations by setting up appropriate
seminaries and classes. These circumstances continued beyond
1860 and so allowed Don Bosco to have more stable personnel and
people more in keeping with his own educational approaches for
the oratories and schools.
This led to a plan to substitute the Society or Congregation of
the Oratories (as it was known) made up largely of clergy and
lay people with good will together with a group recruited from
amongst his own clerics and lay helpers. This was at a time of the
political debate that led to the suppression of religious orders and
other clerical bodies in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Following the
advice of Urban Rattazzi, Don Bosco gave thought to an association
of individuals who, without renouncing their civil rights, would
espouse ends such as the common good, but more concretely the
education of the young who were poor and abandoned. However
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Don Bosco gave cohesion to these common purposes within the
group by adding religious bonds. The formula he drew up for his
Salesians was: “Citizens in the eyes of the State, Religious in the
eyes of the Church.” When he went to Rome between February
and April 1858 he was welcomed sympathetically by those who
knew him as the editor of the Catholic Readings and the director of
flourishing youth oratories and also as having a reputation as a holy
priest and miracle worker. He was able to obtain a number of papal
audiences and felt completely at ease with Pius IX who received
him warmly and encouraged him in all his projects. → “Società
Salesiana” “Salesiano”
On 18 December 1859 he officially began the Society of St Francis
de Sales with another eighteen of his boys. In 1864 he obtained the
Decretum Laudis (Decree of Praise) from Rome for the Pious Society
of St Francis De Sales along with the commencement of procedures
for the corresponding examination of the definitive papal approval
of the Salesian society. In 1874 came the approval of the Regulae
seu constitutiones (Rule or Constitutions). → “decretum laudis”
“costituzioni”
Following the same criteria and in the very same spirit Don
Bosco also sought to find a solution to the difficulties faced by young
girls. The Lord raised up a co-founder with him: Mary Domenica
Mazzarello, today a saint, helped by a group of young women
in the Mornese parish in Alexandria who had already dedicated
themselves to the Christian formation of girls. On 5 August 1872
he founded the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians with Mary
Mazzarello and her companions. → “Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
(santa)”
In the years that followed, with the support of many and varied
public and private bodies, he was able to open oratories, colleges,
hospices, and agricultural schools outside Italy in various parts
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Don Bosco (santo)
of Europe: Nice (1875), La Navarre (1878), Marseilles (1878),
Saint-Cyr (1880), and Paris (1884) in France; Utrera (1880) and
Barcelona (Sarriá, 1884) in Spain; Battersea (1887) in England; Liège
(1887) in Belgium.
Meanwhile, over these years there were growing misunderstandings
and squabbles with the archbishop and his curia in Turin, especially
regarding the kind of formation being offered in Don Bosco’s works:
he was for all purposes developing a model of the religious and the
priest which ran counter to what bishops everywhere and even
the Holy See itself were proposing, a model more open and one
intent on overcoming a certain divide between clergy and people.
This divergence became conflict when Bishop Lorenzo Gastaldi
succeeded Archbishop Riccardi di Netro (who died in 1870) as
Archbishop in 1871. Gastaldi had been Don Bosco’s admirer,
collaborator and benefactor in the past. But he was now operating
under the assumption that the Salesian Society was a diocesan
institution and therefore fully under his authority as archbishop.
He thus intervened strongly both with Don Bosco and the Holy See,
so that decisions which he favoured would be taken. This dispute
became more bitter when five pamphlets were published in Turin
in 1878-79 which severely criticised the archbishop's running of the
diocese and his treatment of Don Bosco. Gastaldi complained to the
Holy See, indicating that the inspiration for these pamphlets came
from the less than obedient founder of the Salesians. At Leo XIII's
request, Don Bosco had to submit to an act of apology to make peace
(16 June 1882) but the icy relationship remained between the two
and affected the attitude for some time of both diocesan clergy and
the Salesians. Gastaldi died on 25 March 1883 and was succeeded
as archbishop by Gaetano Alimonda. Just one year later Don Bosco
obtained a decree extending to the Salesians the same privileges
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Don Bosco (santo)
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Don Bosco (santo)
granted by the Holy See to the Redemptorists, including therefore
exemption from episcopal jurisdiction (28 June 1884).
Don Bosco embodied exemplary love for the Church and the
Pope, holding them as ideals providing direction for his life. It
was not an era when love for the Church was fashionable – on the
contrary. But he loved the Church, made it public that he loved her,
defended her, served, made her his life's ideal and the flag beneath
which he worked. This was not only love for the universal Church
and the Pope, but his local Church always and even in the most
difficult moments when understanding was not an easy attitude.
He did not stand back, did not take refuge in the Church's universal
nature and ending up feeling estranged from the Church into which
he was born and had grown up in and that had opened up vistas of
charitable activity for him.→ “Pio IX (beato)”
With the passing of the years, Don Bosco was careful to nurture
any support he could solicit from the Monarchy and the liberal
State; among the prizes regularly listed for the lotteries there
were regularly ones offered by one or other member of the royal
household. When the seat of government shifted to Florence, he
continued to pass on requests for support from ministerial funds
on behalf of his various works for poor youth. In 1866-67 the Prime
Minister, Giovanni Lanza, an authoritative right-winger, also had
recourse to him in the difficult discussions between the Holy See
and the Government on the appointment of bishops to vacant
Sees. In 1870-71 Lanza again involved him in the question of the
Exequator which the government was demanding, following the
Law of Guarantees, in order to authorise the bishops appointed
by the Pope to take up possession of their sees. Don Bosco seized
these occasions to emphasis the dual role he took on for himself
– his sincere fidelity to the Pope and the State. He was right in
amongst political controversies but as the priest that he was. Social
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Don Bosco (santo)
210
Don Bosco (santo)
issues affected him but he talked to them as a priest. Situations to do
with the Church – not without their own difficulties, contradictions
and problems – always found him to be the priest dedicated to the
Gospel, the Church's mission, with love and respect for the Pope.
He was such a practical priest with such an impact in the history
of his people, but he remained essentially a priest of Jesus Christ,
shedding light on difficult times for the Church and especially for
the clergy. → “Exequatur”
As time passed, this energetic love became more universal
and led him to accept the call to distant nations, ultimately
missions overseas for an evangelisation that was never separate
from a genuine work of human development. He was able to send
Salesians and Salesian Sisters to various Latin American countries
following the wave of European emigration and in response to
the social and political demand for education: to Buenos Aires
(1875), San Nicolas de los Aroyos (1876), Carmen de Patagones and
Viedma (1879), and Santa Cruz (1885), in Argentina: Montevideo
(1876) in Uruguay: Niterói (1883) and Sao Paolo (1884) in Brazil;
Quito in Ecuador: Conception and Punta Arenas (1887) in Chile,
the Malvinas/Falklands Islands (1887). The feats of some of the
pioneer missionaries among the natives in Patagonia and Tierra del
Fuego, which had epic reverberations in Europe, led to increased
enthusiasm, mobilising missionary vocations within the Salesian
youth world. These were stimulated above all by Don Bosco's
confidential retelling of his prophetic dreams about the Salesians
going to all five continents. → “missioni”
Sensitive to the overall reorganisation of social forces going on
in Catholic Italy, Don Bosco founded the Salesian Cooperators in
1876 whose inspiring principles was Vis unita fortior, or “combined
strengths are stronger.” The result was a broader involvement of
public opinion and levels of society. The Cooperator network was
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Don Bosco (santo)
211
Don Bosco (santo)
nurtured via well-chosen conferences and through the launching of
the monthly Salesian Bulletin in 1877. This Bulletin, given gratis to
Cooperators or anybody else, helped to extend sympathetic interest
and also in procuring funds for the enterprises Don Bosco was
promoting. → “BS Bollettino Salesiano” “cooperatore”
Despite his advanced age and poor health, in the final years of
his life Don Bosco did not cease travelling to support his initiatives.
In 1883 he was welcomed by crowds of admirers in Paris. The same
year he went to Fröhsdorf (Austria); in 1884 and 1885 to Marseilles;
in 1886 to Barcelona; in May 1887 to Rome for the last time. He died
at the Valdocco Oratory in Turin on 31 January 1888 and the head
of government, Francis Crispi, authorised his funeral at the Salesian
boarding school outside Turin at Valsalice.
The secret of “so great a spirit of initiative was the result of
a profound interior disposition. His stature as a Saint gives him
a unique place among the great Founders of religious Institutes
in the Church. He is outstanding from many points of view: he
initiated a true school of a new and attractive apostolic spirituality;
he promoted a special devotion to Mary, Help of Christians and
Mother of the Church; he displayed a loyal and courageous ecclesial
sense manifested in the delicate mediation work he carried out
between Church and State at a time when the relations between
the two were difficult; as an apostle he was both realistic and
practical, always open to the implications of new discoveries; he
was a zealous organiser of foreign missions with truly Catholic
sensitivity; he was an eminent example of a preferential love for the
young, and especially for the most needy among them, for the good
of the Church and society; he was the exponent of an efficacious
and attractive pedagogical method which he has left as a precious
legacy to be safeguarded and developed… he knew how to propose
holiness as the practical objective of his pedagogy. An interchange
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Don Bosco: History and Spirit
212
Don Bosco: History and Spirit
between ‘education’ and ‘holiness’ is indeed the characteristic aspect
of his personality: he was a ‘holy educator,’ he drew his inspiration
from a ‘holy model’ – Francis de Sales, he was the disciple of a
‘holy spiritual director’ – Joseph Cafasso, and he was able to form
from among his boys a ‘holy pupil’ – Dominic Savio “(John Paul II,
Iuvenum Patris, no. 5). → “Auxilium Christianorum”
All this was finally characterised in Don Bosco by his giving of
himself unreservedly to his priestly ministry, by the preferential
attention he paid to young people and ordinary folk, by his loving,
captivating, kindly way of dealing with people and by his ability to
discern the signs of the times and intuit the needs of the moment
and future developments. He had a profound interior life combined
with courage, optimism, and the ability to count on and involve
so many others in his educative and pastoral work. This priest St
John Bosco was left bereft of a father as an infant. The Lord left an
admirable mother to remain at his side for many years, Mamma
Margaret, today Venerable. The Lord also granted him an endless
intuition of graces as to the presence of Our Lady in the life of the
Church. The basilica which the saint wanted dedicated to Mary our
Help stands not only as testimony to a devotion as great as his heart
transfigured by love, but stands to remind us that every Christian
journey is assisted by this Mother, urged on by her presence and
transformed by her motherly kindness. → “Mamma Margherita
(ven)” “basilica”
Don Bosco: History and Spirit
proper name. Don Bosco: History and Spirit. • Title of a significant
historical research by Arthur J. Lenti from SUO, the Western US
Salesian Province. It is often referred to in this dictionary and is the
source of several of its definitions. As Lenti himself describes it:
‘The chapters that make up this series of volumes are a survey
of the life and times of St John Bosco, framed and punctuated by
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Don Bosco Mondo
213
dottrina spirituale
the events that brought both the Western Church and the Western
World into modern times.
‘I call this survey, “Don Bosco, History and Spirit”– “History,”
because Don Bosco’s life and work were played out in the context of
the fateful events that created a new religious and political world,
and thereby also shaped his thinking and action; “Spirit,” because
through discernment, interpretation and acceptance he discovered
the meaning of this new world and courageously responded to its
challenges: his vocation.’
Don Bosco Mondo
proper name. DBM (Jugend. Hilfe. Weltweit). • A German-based
non-profit organisation (NPO) committed to supporting disadvantaged
youth worldwide. As their advocate, the NPO mobilises personnel,
spiritual and financial resources, and it also aims at spreading
and increasing the enthusiasm for their joint efforts. Don Bosco
Mondo sees school education and vocational training as the key
to empowering young people to live independent lives free from
poverty. In close partnership with the Salesians of Don Bosco and
the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, assistance is provided to more
than 15 million children and adolescents.
Be careful not to confuse this entity with the Fondazione Don
Bosco nel Mondo → “Fondazione Don Bosco nel Mondo”
dottrina spirituale
np. Spiritual doctrine. • An expression used in the years following
Don Bosco's canonisation to systematically describe what we term
“spirituality” (cf. P. SCOTTI, La dottrina spirituale di Don Bosco,
Torino, Società Editrice Internazionale 1939).
“Which of his writings best portray Saint John Bosco as a teacher
of inner life and give us, if not all of his “spiritual doctrine", at least
the most characteristic features of his spirituality, that fertile flow of
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dottrina spirituale
214
dottrina spirituale
good fruits we think of as a “school of holiness valid for every state
of life”?
The question is pertinent since not only did Don Bosco, like
St Alphonsus, not leave behind pages revealing the intimacy of his
being; he also did not consider bringing together a systematic picture
of a spirituality, as we would call it today, or an ascetica, as he would
have called it in his era: a harmonious set of spiritual reflections.
Certainly he gave us splendid testimonies, few and modest as they
were, of the spiritual life of others. He saw them in action and was
himself a concomitant factor for them: Louis Comollo, Dominic
Savio, Michael Magone, Francis Besucco.
Though in narrative form and written to edify, these documents
do highlight inner experiences and essential features of Christian
spirituality as proposed for young people ...
It seems evident that Don Bosco is not a spiritual ‘author’ like
Teresa of Avila or Francis de Sales: he is a pastor, guide, one who
formed young lives and was concerned with saving, instructing,
involving and guiding them towards Christian practice and a
virtuous life. We can also identify his preferred spiritual writers,
the books he drew from, the spirituality trends he was nurtured
by. Just the same, beyond the actual contents and substance of
his teachings, beyond the exhortations and religious frames of
reference, we can clearly perceive an idea running through all these
writings, which is Don Bosco's specific spiritual sensitivity, his very
personal view of things, his quite peculiar spirit. This unmistakable
voice confers a specific and unique feature on his magisterium or
teaching authority; it makes him a true ‘master’ of spiritual life
as one who formed saints and began a spiritual tradition, a true
school of holiness for the young, for lay people actively involved in
the Salesian mission, for consecrated persons radically commuted
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DQM
215
dottore
along with him to the sequela Christi.” (Aldo Giraudo, Teachings on
Spiritual Life: an anthology).
Usage: The term “spiritual doctrine” would not normally be used
today to describe Don Bosco's approach to spirituality. → “ascesi”
“spiritualità giovanile salesiana”
DQM
abbrev. The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary. • A Secular
Institute of Diocesan Right. Recognised as members of the Salesian
Family on 12 July 1996.
Founded by Fr Carlo Della Torre sdb in Thailand in 1954, the
Institute was admitted into the Salesian Family on 12 July 1996.
The Institute of Daughters of the Queenship of Mary is a secular
institute of diocesan right founded in the spirit of the Apostolic
Constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia of Pope Pius XII, issued on 2
February 1947. It was canonically approved by the Archbishop of
Bangkok on 3 December 1954.
The Institute has a special relationship with the Salesian
congregation, both through its founder and through the spirit
handed down to its members. → “famiglia salesiana” “Della Torre,
Carlo (servo di Dio)”
dottore
n., honorific. Doctor. • A dottore (also medico) is a doctor of medicine.
But we may meet it in a range of contexts in Italian. There is a
wide difference between the use of dottore in Italian and ‘Doctor’ in
English. In English, an (academic) Doctor is one who has attained
a Ph.D as well as a doctor of medicine. In Italian, anyone who has
earned a laurea (college degree) is a dottore/dottoressa. Heads of
office departments may be called dottore.
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dottore
216
dottore
It is also a mark of respect in common parlance for addressing
individuals who may not be doctors, neither medically nor
academically speaking.
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ECG
217
economo, economato
E
ECG
abbrev. EAO Coordinators Group. • The ECG, which came into
existence as a result of the 2015 study of the EAO Region by the
General Council, helps coordinate the work of the main Salesian
Sectors in the region. It first met on 24 August 2016 in Manila. The
group meets with the EAO Regional Councillor and draws up job
descriptions, guidelines and protocol for the annual meetings of
each sector, considers the EAO calendar of events, and also looks to
strengthening communication in the region through effective use
of existing media (e.g. austraLasia and BoscoLink. → “AEO”
economia
n. 1. economy, 2. finance, 3. financial administration. • One of the
sectors of Salesian activity represented by a General Councillor.
→ “settore”
economo, economato
n. 1. economer, 2. bursar, 3. administrator, 4. treasurer. • The person
whose task it is to administer the material goods of the community
in dependence on the Rector. ‘Economer’ is a loan term in English,
borrowed directly from Italian. The term ‘economer’ is found in very
few English dictionaries (it will not be found in Oxford, Macquarie,
Merriam-Webster... and is effectively a calque. The Economer's office
is known in Italian as the economato
Usage: Salesian Provinces where English is spoken as a first
language tend not to use the term (except for ‘Economer General’
and ‘Provincial Economer’ which are too ingrained now to alter)
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ecosistema comunicativo
218
ecosistema comunicativo
and instead, terms like ‘bursar’ or ‘administrator’ or ‘treasurer’ are
employed, according to local custom. Many other provinces where
English is one of the principal languages, remain with ‘economer’
even at local level.
Linguistic note: The base morpheme ‘econ’ is recognisable, but
a translator somewhere along the way has mis-selected the suffix,
possibly thinking of a calque (translation of a loan term) on the
Italian economo (A calque is a direct translation of a loan term). The
Italian term goes back to the origins of the Congregation, however.
While the term will always be understood within the confines of
Salesian discourse, it may not be so easily understood beyond it.
→ False Friends “E”
ecosistema comunicativo
np. 1. communications ecosystem, 2. Salesian Social Communication
System (SSCS). • The gamut of involvement and personal attitudes
of those who agree to create an environment which is a real
community of sharing ideals, values, relationships at the level of
daily living in a community and a neighbourhood. (From a footnote
in the original edition of SSCS).
No 2.1 of the SSCS (Salesian Social Communication System)
says, of communication, that ‘Today, however, we can use a more
effective metaphor: we can speak of an “ecosystem”. The quality
of communication in a determined context is guaranteed by a
plurality of interacting factors. It follows that everyone, and also
every organism, communicates in a truly effective way if there
is consistency between the intentional message and the messages
actually sent via what is done and what in fact is.’
Usage: The term ‘communications ecosystem’ (or ‘communicative
ecosystem’ in some instances), is not just a Salesian one. Communicative
ecology (cf. Wikipedia) is a conceptual model used in the field
of media and communications research, to analyse and represent
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editore
219
educatore
the relationships between social interactions, discourse, and
communication media and technology of individuals, collectives
and networks in physical and digital environments.
There is also Marshall McLuhan’s 1962 research on ‘media
ecology’. → “SSCS”
editore
n. Publisher. • The one who sees to the printing, publishing of
works by other people (books, music, magazines, etc.) Beware of
the ‘false friend’. Editore is not an editor but a publisher. Editoria
is the publishing industry, while editrice is the publishing house.
→ “SSCS”
Usage: Note that Editrice SDB is more a name than a reality, in the
sense that material published under the auspices of the Secretary
General are usually ascribed to the Editrice SDB (Salesian Publishing
House) even though this is not a physical reality. → False Friends
“E”
educatore
n. 1. educator, 2. teacher, 3. pedagogue. • Someone who educates,
especially the young, a guide, instructor, teacher, pedagogue, tutor.
When we find the term ‘educator’ in Salesian discourse, and we
find it often, we need to bear in mind that the concept in Italian
(from which language most of the references have derived) is wider
than in English. Whereas in English the concept has a + specialist
feature (hence teacher, administrator of a school, someone who has
studied the theory, etc.) in Italian, an educatore could be a parent,
parish priest or other non-specialist in the field of education as such.
A Salesian is an educator (and pastor) by dint of profession, not
because of some particular study of the field, though in almost every
instance this latter would eventually apply.
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educazione alla fede
220
educazione alla fede
Linguistic notes: There are a number of associated terms in
Salesian discourse which are traps for the unwary, since they tend
to be somewhat special usages. The normal adjectival form in
English is ‘educational’, whereas Salesian discourse may often have
‘educative’, as in ‘educative and pastoral community’.
It might also be worth noting here that, especially for derivatives,
the Italian concept of education is broader than in English. Italian
synonymous terms are istruzione and formazione. Hence we have
‘education to love’ (The term finds its basis in the Salesian
Constitutions on chastity where the vow renders the person ‘capable
of educating them to love and to purity’, but the precise term comes
from GC23. 192); ‘education to faith’, a term which was given its
particular contemporary force by GC23. And finally, a defining
feature of ‘belonging’ as a Past Pupil of Don Bosco is because of the
‘education received’. Here again, the idea derives from the wider
concept in Italian – which means that someone who has attended
an oratory has equal standing with someone who went to a Salesian
school in this regard. → “formazione” → False Friends “E”
educazione alla fede
np. 1.education to the faith, 2. evangelisation, 3. journey of faith.
• The Salesian process of education to the faith was outlined
in GC23: it achieves in practice a synthesis between education
and evangelisation which is a feature of the Salesian education
system; it presents a dynamic interrelationship between four
elements/dimensions of the process - human maturity, encounter
with Jesus Christ, belonging to the Church, commitment for the
Kingdom.
Salesian education to faith traces its roots to Don Bosco's mother,
Mamma Margaret. "She had the rare ability to make of all life's
happenings a starting point for catechesis. She held that hers was
the primary responsibility for teaching the faith to her children, and
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educazione del cuore
221
educomunicazione
was able to put across to them strong but simple values in the school
of the family. The primary things she patiently passed on to them in
their years of growth were her own sterling faith, the sense of an ever
present God of love, and a tender devotion to Mary" (Fr Chávez,
in his commentary on the 2006 Strenna). → “Mamma Margherita
(ven)”
educazione del cuore
np. Education of the heart. • "The term heart refers to the centre of
personal identity, deep convictions, motivations, moral action and
therefore relational qualities" (Salesian Pedagogy After Don Bosco,
Michal Vojtáš).
The first successor of Don Bosco (Fr Rua) uses the term very
frequently in the vocabulary of the circulars and in the Bollettino
Salesiano . The “heart” appears more than eight hundred times,
surpassing other religious and educational terms such as God, Jesus,
Mary, Help of Christians, oratory, missions, etc.
Connected with this is devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so
dear to Fr Rua, presented in the emblematic letter of November 21,
1900, in which he recommends the consecration of all students and
Cooperators to the Sacred Heart. → “Rua, Michele (beato)”
educomunicazione
n. Educommunication. • The complex of policies and activities
inherent in the planning, putting into practice and evaluation
of processes and products aimed at creating and strengthening
communications ecosystems in educational settings, be they face to
face or virtual. A term popularised by Ismar Soares (Brazil) and in
wider use in Latin American nations, and in some parts of Europe
(France and Belgium particularly).
In English it is akin to though not the same as ‘media education’
understood in the wider sense of that latter term as interested in
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Elementi Giuridici
222
epistolario
much more than just the question of media literacy. The term has
now found its place in Salesian discourse in two ways: in the Salesian
Social Communication System, though more by description of its
contents than by actual use of the term, and in the constant use of the
term by the Salesian Sisters. They have strongly promoted the use
of this term and the application of its content. → “comunicazione
sociale”
Usage: There is strong resistance to the use of this term in English
generally, not only amongst English-speaking Salesians but also
amongst educators. The preferred terms are either ‘media education’
understood in its widest sense, or ‘communication education’.
Elementi Giuridici
proper name. Juridical Elements, also known as ‘The Red Book’. • The
full title is: Elementi Giuridici e Prassi Administrativa nel Governo
dell’Ispettoria, or ‘Juridical Elements and Administrative Praxis in
Governing the Province’. Handbook on juridical matters – also
published in an English version. → “Ufficio anagrafico e statistico”
“pratica”
Elenco
n. 1. year book, 2. list. • → “annuario”.
Episcopus (E)
[la] n., abbrev. Episcopus. Bishop. • This Latin term with its
abbreviation ‘E’ is found in the Year Book and Necrology listing all
members of the Salesian Society who have been nominated bishop.
→ “necrologio” “annuario”
epistolario
n. Collection of letters. • A collection of letters written by or received
by an individual, especially an outstanding individual. Reference
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équipe
223
esercizi spirituali
to the Epistolario (in fact several volumes of such, with critical
commentary) is often a reference to the collection of Don Bosco’s
letters. → “Don Bosco (santo)”
équipe
[fr] n. 1. team, 2. committee. • A French term but also a loan term
in Italian, an équipe is a collection of people who collaborate in the
same sector of activity.
Usage: Could occasionally be glossed as ‘committee’. The plural
is équipes even in Italian, since it is a borrowed term. It is best
translated as ‘team’ or similar in English.
erezione canonica
np. Canonical erection.• A juridical act by which a Salesian
presence is recognised as a domus religiosa or religious house.
We distinguish between a simple opening and canonical erection.
Once a house/community is canonically erected, it then becomes a
legitimate juridical person under the authority of a superior. Can.
608. → “casa”
esclaustrazione
n. Exclaustration. • In Canon Law, the faculty granted by the Holy
See or the Ordinary of a place for a member of a religious institute of
pontifical or diocesan right to live temporarily outside the cloister,
putting aside the religious habit but still bound to observance of the
vows and duties of state. It is a form of absence from the community
granted by the Superior General or Apostolic See.
esercizi spirituali
np. 1. retreat, 2. spiritual exercises.• An ascetical practice consisting
in temporary withdrawal from ordinary occupations in order to
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esercizio della buona morte
224
Eurobosco
dedicate oneself to prayer and meditation, in particular the method
outlined by St Ignatius Loyola in his Ejercicios espirituales (1854).
While the term is sometimes glossed as ‘spiritual retreat’ the
more normal term is simply ‘retreat’. Context makes it clear that
it is a spiritual exercise. The term ‘Spiritual Exercises’ is normally
restricted to a retreat that follows the Ignatian method. → “ritiro”
→ “E”
esercizio della buona morte
np. 1. exercise for a happy death, 2. monthly recollection. • A
spiritual practice that Don Bosco adapted from spiritual and ascetic
practice of the time, essentially a monthly examination of conscience
followed by confession and communion. The current practice of a
monthly recollection has replaced the former practice – and the
term.
Usage: Might occasionally be found in its Latin form Bona Mors
→ “ritiro”
estasi dell’azione
np. Ecstasy of action. • Going out of oneself towards the other.
Originally a term from St Francis de Sales. The term was taken
up again by Fr. Viganò in AGC 332 and 338. He suggests it is the
interior side of the da mihi animas. Action sanctified by prayer. It is the
Salesian interpretation which leads to art. 12 of the Constitutions:
‘contemplative in action’. → “da mihi animas cetera tolle”
Eurobosco
proper name. Eurobosco. • Congress of Salesian Past Pupils from
Europe. → “Confronto”
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Europa Centro-Nord
225
exallievi
Europa Centro-Nord
np. Central & North Europe. • A Salesian Region created by GC28,
containing the following circumscriptions: → “regione”
• AUS-Austria,
• BEN-Belgium North,
• CEP-Czech Republic,
• CRO-Croatia,
• FRB-France-Belgium, South,
• GBR-Great Britain,
• GER-Germany,
• IRL-Ireland,
• MLT-Malta,
• PLE-Poland Warsaw,
• PLN-Poland Pila,
• PLO-Poland Wroclaw,
• PLS-Poland Krakow,
• SLK-Slovakia,
• SLO-Slovenia,
• UKR-Ukraine,
• UNG-Hungary.
exallievi (di Don Bosco)
n., pl. 1. Past Pupils (of Don Bosco), 2. Salesian Past Pupils, 3. Old
Scholars, 4. Bosconians, 5. alumni. • Originally, boys who frequented
the Oratory at Valdocco in Don Bosco’s time, hence ‘Past Pupils
of Don Bosco’ is the complete term, still today. The first local Past
Pupils Association was formed in Turin in 1870 for the purpose of
organising a yearly feast day in honour of Don Bosco.
After Don Bosco’s death, the group continued to do the same
in honour of Fr Michael Rua, keeping the same date of June 24. For
many years this was the only Past Pupils Association in existence.
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exallievi
226
exallievi
The date 24 June was in fact a mistaken date, Don Bosco’s boys
at the time thinking he was named ‘John’ after John the Baptist.
In 1896, a second Past Pupils Association was formed at Parma
(Emilia). Between 1896 and 1908 many similar associations came
into existence in places where the Salesian were active.
Although not federated, all these groups were inspired by the
idea of keeping alive the principles of their Salesian education and
working as active Christians in their various walks of life. In 1908,
the idea of forming a world federation was launched, to unite all
Past Pupils Associations which had sprung up in Europe and the
Americas. In 1909, statutes of federation were drafted and circulated
and some 100 local associations formed the World Federation of
Salesian Past Pupils.
In recent years, the Past Pupils of Don Bosco have begun to
mention the ‘friends of Don Bosco’ in their official communiques,
which suggests that this latter group is finding a firmer place in the
Salesian Movement, though there has been no formal indication of
how precisely they understand this relationship.
Usage: While they always remain officially Past Pupils of Don
Bosco, the terms used locally, as indicated in the synonyms above,
vary. With regard to the term ‘alumni’, the colloquial term ‘alums’
can be heard in the US. In Britain, Australia and places where British
English reigns, ‘past pupil’ (often capitalised) is more common.
The Philippines uses ‘alumnus’, but one also hears ‘Bosconian’ in
reference to past pupils. Antigos Alumnos (TLS), Old Boys (CIN),
Salesians (KOR) are terms used in the respective Provinces of
Timor Leste, China, Korea. There are also Exallieve delle Figlie di
Maria Ausiliatrice or Past Pupils of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians.
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Exequatur
227
EX.FMA
There is also an occasional use of ‘ex-db’ (or ‘ex-DB’) in
parts of EAO (Japan, for example). → “famiglia salesiana”,
“confederazione mondiale” “exallievi (di Don Bosco)”
Exequatur
[la] n. Exequatur (no English equivalent). An authoritative
recognition or authentication, as of a document or a right; an
official warrant or permission. It becomes important in a Salesian
context for its historical reference: Don Bosco’s involvement in
negotiations between the Holy See and the Italian Government for
the appointment of bishops. Don Bosco’s efforts as a “negotiator”
were chiefly concerned with filling vacant diocesan sees, the bishops
of which had either been expelled or imprisoned, or had died. The
appointment of bishops, therefore, was an important objective of this
activity. At a later period the principal purpose of such mediation
was to obtain the so-called Exequatur after a bishop’s appointment.
This was a state-issued permit that enabled bishops to enter their
sees and obtain possession of assets and revenues, held by the
government but now needed to run the diocese – the so-called
“temporalities.” → “Don Bosco (santo)”
EX.FMA
abbrev. FMA Past Pupils Association. In Italian: Associazione Ex-allieve
e Ex-allievi delle Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice. Usage: The abbreviated
form (EX.FMA) tends not to be used in English. → “famiglia
salesiana”
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famigli
228
famiglia apostolica
F
famigli
n. pl. 1. domestics, 2. retainers, 3. servants. • Many Salesian houses
used have lay people (men only) who lived in and performed
various services. In an earlier instance, they would have been
coadiutori coadjutors, but once Don Bosco began to develop his
concept of the Salesian layman, he had to be very careful to
distinguish them from mere workers, domestics. Over time, these
became known as famigli, from the Italian masculine word famiglio
(not to be confused with famiglia, family). → “coadiutore”
The term is ancient, and possibly one not familiar (excuse the
pun!) even to many Italians today. The Italian Wikipedia even has an
article on it, describing its feudal origins (from the Latin famulus or a
person adopted into a family). But if we are to regard the Wikipedia
article as any kind of guide, then we also need to be aware of other
uses of the term ‘famiglio’, perhaps closer to the also ancient English
word ‘familiar’ (n.), a term for minor devils!
That aside, it is possible to find references to ‘famigli’ in
mediaeval monasteries, in the more positive sense of men who had
been adopted into the religious family but who did not take religious
vows.
famiglia apostolica
np. Apostolic family. • Apostolic (in general): the ardent desire to
reproduce the apostolic ideal in which ‘the company of those who
believed was of one heart and one soul... had everything in common,
[and] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
to the breaking of the bread and the prayers’ (Acts 4:35; 2:42).
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famiglia carismatica
229
famiglia salesiana
The Salesian Family is an apostolic Family. The Groups which
make it up are all responsible subjects of the common mission,
although to different degrees and in different ways. Don Bosco
founded the Society of St Francis de Sales and the Institute of the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and set them up as Religious
Congregations, by this stage not contemplative but ‘apostolic’. He
also founded the Association of Salesian Cooperators as part of the
apostolic family.
According to the intentions of their Founders, Don Bosco’s
spiritual sons and daughters, all the other Religious Congregations
which belong to the Salesian Family today have a clear apostolic
orientation and are part of those Religious Institutes known as
‘apostolic’ institutes. In virtue of each ones particular vocation,
individuals belonging to the distinct Groups are ‘sent’, thus called
to carry out the common mission according to the role they are
entrusted with, and their own abilities and possibilities.
With regard to canonical norms, the Salesians, the Salesian
Sisters and the other Religious Institutes take up the apostolic
mandate from the ecclesiastical authority and carry it out in the
context of the provincial or local communities which are the primary
subject of the mission. → “famiglia carismatica” further on.
famiglia carismatica
np. Charismatic family. • A gift of the Spirit to the Church in view
of a mission (Charter of Identity Art 5.). Its deepest and truest roots
are found in the Mystery of the Trinity, meaning in the infinite love
uniting Father, Son and Spirit, source, model and goal for every
human family. → “carta d’identità carismatica”
famiglia salesiana
np. 1. Salesian Family, 2. apostolic family of Don Bosco, 3. spiritual
and apostolic family of Don Bosco. • Don Bosco inspired the start
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FCMN
F2e3rn0ández Artime, Ángel Fernández Artime
of a vast movement of persons who in different ways work for the
salvation of the young. He himself founded not only the Society of
St Francis de Sales but also the Institute of the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians and the Association of Salesian Cooperators.
These live in communion with each other, share the same spirit and,
with specifically distinct vocations, continue the mission he began.
Together with these groups and with others born later we make
up the Salesian Family. (C. 5). → “carta della missione” “carta di
comunione” “carta d’identità carismatica”
The Carta d'identità carismatica in particular makes it clear that
the term ‘family’ as referred to in ‘Salesian Family’ describes
the links that connect the various Groups, even though with
different intensity. It is not simple affinity, or generic sympathy
but an institutional expression of inward, charismatic and spiritual
communion. It can be described in terms of different levels.
Usage: Normally, in English, the term is capitalised as Salesian
Family.
FCMN
[es] abbrev. Fraternidad contemplativa Maria de Nazaret, The Contemplative
Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth. • Public Association of the Faithful.
Founder: Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno SDB (1934–), Archbishop
of Montevideo (1994). Founded: 31 May 1983. Membership of the
Salesian Family, 18 July 2016. → “famiglia salesiana”
Fernández Artime, Ángel
proper name. Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major, 10th
Successor of Don Bosco. • Ángel Fernández Artime was born 21
August 1960 in Luanco-Gozon, Asturias, Spain; he made his first
profession on 3 September, 1978, the perpetual vows on 17 June
1984, in Santiago de Compostela, and was ordained a priest on 4
July 1987, in León.
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Ferrando, Stefano
231
Ferrando, Stefano
A native of the Province of Leon, he earned a degree in Pastoral
Theology and a Licentiate in Philosophy and Pedagogy.
He was a Provincial Delegate for Youth Ministry, Director of
the School of Ourense, a member of the Provincial Council and the
Provincial Vicar, and from 2000-2006, he was the Provincial Superior.
After being part of the Preparatory committee which prepared
the 26th General Chapter in 2009, he was appointed the Provincial
Superior of South Argentina, based in Buenos Aires. In this capacity
he also got to know and work personally with the then Archbishop
of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, today Pope Francis.
On 23 December 2013, he was appointed Superior of the new
Province of Mediterranean Spain, dedicated to Mary Help of
Christians. But before he could take on this new role, on 25 March
2014 he was elected by the 27th General Chapter as the new Rector
Major of the Salesian Congregation and the 10th Successor of Don
Bosco. → “Rettor Maggiore”
Ferrando, Stefano (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Stephen Ferrando. • Salesian Bishop. Declared
Venerable: 3 March 2016.
Born in Rossiglione in the province of Genoa on 28 September
1895 to Agostino Ferrando and Giuseppina Salvi, Stephen Ferrando
began attending Salesians schools as a young boy, first in Fossano
and then in Turin. Because he had come into contact with Salesians
from the first generation he breathed in the atmosphere of the
origins, one of great humanity and kindness. Attracted by Don
Bosco's life he asked to become Salesian, and on 16 September 1912
he made his religious profession at Foglizzo Canavese (Turin). As
a young religious he was a teacher in the Salesian house at Borgo
San Martino (Alessandria). He received a letter from the General
Administration of the Works of Don Bosco while he was there, and
in an attached questionnaire it asked him to indicate what kind of
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Ferrando, Stefano
232
Ferrando, Stefano
apostolate he wanted to dedicate himself to once he became a priest.
Ferrando replied: “Missionary!”
During the First World War he did military service in Health,
earning the Silver Medal for Valour. For him the war was a general
test for future missionary fronts: strength of character, singular
determination to pursue initiatives he had begun, combined with a
good temperament distinguished him in what he did. On 18 March
1923, having completed his theological studies, he was ordained
priest in Borgo San Martino. He asked to leave for the missions and
was sent to the Indian region of Assam on the border with Tibet,
China and Burma. On 2 December 1923 he left from Venice with
another nine companions to be a missionary in India. For ten years
he was the novice master and rector of the studentate of philosophy
and theology. As a worthy son of Don Bosco, in order to learn
the language he went into the villages spread throughout the hill
country with his young Salesians where he organised educational
and pastoral activities.
Fr Stephen Ferrando was a front-line missionary who experienced
the era of the Church's and the Congregation's foundation in
that vast region. During this time he also had to replace the
Prefect Apostolic, Bishop Mathias. Even when carrying out these
responsibilities he remained the missionary deep down and never
lost an opportunity to visit the villages and preach the Gospel. from
the outset, missions were the privileged expression of the Salesian
charism among the young. Starting with the education of the young
then ending up with evangelising the local people: this, one could
say, was the specific missionary strategy adopted by the Salesians
in all their missions. First of all it needs to be emphasised that
from the beginning the missionaries were an international group
coming from different countries, thus presenting the situation of the
universal Church. Also helpful was the fact that these missionaries
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Ferrando, Stefano
233
Ferrando, Stefano
kept in contact with their countries of origin to find the financial
and psychological support so necessary for the rapid development
of the mission. Wherever a Salesian mission work was opened one
saw transformation, growth, progress throughout the surrounding
area.
To his surprise, in 1934 Pius XI appointed him bishop of the
diocese of Krishnagar. On 10 November that year he received
episcopal ordination in Shillong. His motto was “Apostle of Christ”.
Just a year later he was back in Shillong as the bishop there, where
he remained for 34 years. He worked zealously in the huge diocese
that then took up the entire region of north-east India. When he took
possession of the new diocese he kissed the ground and entrusted
his future to the Crucified Jesus. He asked his priests to go out to the
villages and proclaim the Gospel. He himself was constantly on the
move. As an apostle of Christ he visited mission areas and villages
on foot. He used to tell his priests: “You can't go around in vehicles
to convert souls; to approach the people and resolve their problems
you have to go on foot.” Following the example of the Apostle to
the Gentiles he was everything to everyone, learning languages,
customs and traditions so he could understand the ethos of these
people and preach Christ to them more effectively. His apostolate
was characterised by the Salesian style: joy, simplicity and direct
contact with the people. He approached the youngsters, the poor
and the needy; he went out to meet everyone with loving-kindness.
His humility, simplicity, love for the poor encouraged many to
convert and ask for baptism. He rebuilt the large cathedral and
mission complex. He spread devotion to Mary Help of Christians
and to Don Bosco. He wanted the Indians to be the first evangelisers
of their own land.
During the Second World War foreign missionaries were interned
in camps and the work of evangelisation began to slow down: while
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Figli di Maria
234
Figli di Maria
he was thinking about how to involve women as evangelisers in
the villagers, he saw a group of former pupils of the Daughters of
Mary Help of Christians in Guwahati who were helping the people
in general and looking after wounded soldiers. They wanted to
become religious Sisters and dedicate their lives to works of charity.
Beginning with a group of Indian catechists to whom he taught
the love of Jesus, love for Mary Help of Christians and Don Bosco,
the missions and poor people, he founded the Congregation of the
Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians.
On 26 June 1968, after having taken part in the work of the Second
Vatican Council, he resigned from his diocese. He had found 4,000
Catholics in Assam: when he left there were 500,000. In 1972 he
returned to Assam to consecrate the finally completed cathedral
in Shillong. Back in Italy the elderly missionary bishop retired to
the Salesian house at Quarto (Genoa). In 1970 he wrote: “They
often ask me here in Italy: ‘How come you left Assam after 47 years
of missionary life?’ I reply: because the day I had been dreaming
of for 47 years had arrived, the day when the Church in India
could do things by itself!” He died on 20 June 1978. Nine years
later the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians wanted
their founder's mortal remains to be back there with them. Bishop
Ferrando's casket was laid to rest in the chapel at the convent of St
Margaret in Shillong, in the land that had become his second home.
→ “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
Figli di Maria
np. Sons of Mary. • The reference is to late vocations and the Opera
dei Figli di Maria or ‘Sons of Mary Program’. More accurately, the
Sons of Mary (young men between 16–30) were the fruits of the
Opera di Maria Ausiliatrice or Work of Mary Help of Christians,
presented to Pius IX in 1874 along with the proposal for the Salesian
Cooperators. Both projects were approved in May 1876 by the Pope.
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FIN Filippine Nord
235
FMA
Hence the ‘Sons of Mary’ were the fruit of the group’s effort to
recruit and educate priestly vocations.
FIN Filippine Nord
abbrev., np. FIN Philippines North Province. • A Salesian Province in
the EAO Region. Based in Manila. Formerly included the Papua New
Guinea-Solomon Islands Delegation, now a Vice-province (PGS).
→ “regione” “AEO”
fioretti
n. pl. 1. good actions, 2. small acts of sacrifice, 3. little stories.
• The term has a range of meanings in Salesian use – probably
today, the last of the three meanings, ‘little stories’, is the most
common. Fioretti salesiani are the kinds of little examples, brief
personal edifying stories, mostly, that visiting Superiors like to tell
the community.
FIS Filippine Sud
abbrev., np. FIS Philippines South Province. • A Salesian Province
in the EAO Region. Based in Cebu. Currently includes Pakistan as a
missionary outreach Delegation. → “regione” “AEO”
FLASH
proper name, loan term. FLASH. in Italian. • A technical Salesian term
for the annual written collection of statistics sent from the provinces
to the General Administration. Linguistic note: Not an abbreviation
or acronym. → “Ufficio anagrafico e statistico”
FMA
abbrev. Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians FMA. • ‘Through a gift of the Holy Spirit and the direct
intervention of Mary, Saint John Bosco founded our institute as
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FMA
236
FMA
a response of salvation to the profound hopes of young girls. He
endowed it with a spiritual heritage that had its inspiration from
the charity of Christ the Good Shepherd, and imparted to it a strong
missionary impulse.’ (FMA Constitutions art. 1).
This religious family has its origins in the heart and mind of
St John Bosco and in the creative fidelity of St Mary Domenica
Mazzarello. Don Bosco chose the name ‘Daughters of Mary Help
of Christians’ because he wanted a living monument of gratitude to
his Madonna.
At the persistent request of many people in Turin and as a result
of his own perceptions, Don Bosco resolved to take steps in setting
up an institute that would reach out to many poor and abandoned
girls. He was inspired to do so from his many contacts with female
institutes, his deep Marian devotion, the encouragement received
from Pope Pius IX and the many inspirations he had in this regard,
through ‘dreams’ and significant happenings.
It so happened that in the township of Mornese, situated in
the hills of Monferrato, a young woman by the name of Mary
Domenica Mazzarello was accompanying a group of young women
who along with her were dedicated to helping young girls learn
a trade, and while doing so these girls were also guided in their
faith development. There were two significant signs conveying the
same message: that an educative environment similar to the one for
boys at Valdocco, Turin, should be set up for children and young
girls. Mary Domenica Mazzarello was a co-foundress who gave
life and form to this newly founded institute. On 5 August 1872,
the first group of young women, following the example of Mary,
in declaring their ‘Yes’ to God’s call, committed themselves to be
‘helpers’ of young people.
Usage: In many if not most English-speaking countries where
they are present, the Sisters refer to themselves as ‘Salesian Sisters’
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Fondazione Don Bosco nel Mondo 237
fondo di solidarietà
rather than by the longer title of ‘Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians’. In German-speaking countries they are more often
referred to as ‘Don Bosco Sisters’.
Linguistic note: ‘Daughters of Mary Help of Christians’ is a shorter
form. The complete reference is ‘Institute of the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians’.
The Institute of Mary Help of Christians ‘is a living part of the
Salesian Family which throughout history relives in different ways
the spirit and mission of Don Bosco thus expressing its perennial
adaptability. The Rector Major of the Society of St Francis of Sales
– as successor of Don Bosco – is its animator and centre of unity.’
(FMA C. 3).
Reference is made to ‘Institute’ rather than ‘Congregation’,
when speaking of the organisational entity. → “famiglia salesiana”
“Mazzarello, Maria Domenica (santa)” “Böhm, Antonietta (serva
di Dio)” “Marchese, Rosetta (serva di Dio)” “Meozzi, Laura
(ven)” “Morano, Maddalena (beata)”“Palomino Yenes, Eusebia
(beata)” “Romero Meneses, Maria (beata)” “Troncatti, Maria
(beata)” “Valsé Pantellini, Teresa (ven)” “Vicuña, Laura (beata)”
Fondazione Don Bosco nel Mondo
proper name. Don Bosco in the World Foundation. • A body
belonging to the Salesian Congregation whose purpose is the
promotion, support and development of Salesian Missions and work
around the world. The group is based at Salesian Headquarters in
Rome. → “Direzione Generale”
fondo di solidarietà
np. Fondo di solidarietà del Rettor Maggiore. Rector Major’s Solidarity
Fund. • Monies usually sent to The Centre by the provinces and
disbursed according to need, directly by the Rector Major (though
after hearing from the province where the request comes from).
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fondo Don Bosco
238
formatore
In practical Salesian language we find the term solidarity used in
reference to aid, mostly of the financial kind, or as represented by
NGO, Mission Office activity, or as a ‘fund’ (e.g. the Rector Major’s
Solidarity Fund). Perhaps we need to be careful not to overly restrict
the term’s application in this sense. It is, by now an established
principle of Catholic social teaching (Solicitudo Rei Socialis no. 40). In
fact, we find in the Salesian Charter of identity a helpful description
of Salesian solidarity which is much broader than that of financial
aid:
1. Education, which is the highest form of solidarity, conceived of
and realised according to criteria which Salesian assistance suggests.
2. Civil, social and mission voluntary service, much widespread
amongst young people today.
3. Social and political involvement.
→ “solidarietà”
fondo Don Bosco
np. fondo Don Bosco • In a library, groups or sets of books or
documents collected on a particular topic. A division of the Central
Archives referring to material on/by Don Bosco. → “ASC2”
Linguistic note: usually lower case fondo rather then upper case
Fondo, to distinguish from a financial resource or Fund, as in the
case, for example of the Fondo Missioni, an official channel via the
General Administration for distributing mission funds.
formatore
n. Formator. • In the context of the faith and consecrated life
a formator is a designated person formed to be responsible in
accompanying young people who are aspiring to respond to their
unique calls from God to accomplish a task. The term ‘formator’
(coming directly from Latin) does have other meanings in other
contexts, e.g. in semiotics, a symbol that indicates a relationship
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formazione
239
formazione
between designators. Or in French, a ‘formateur’ is a politician who
is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after
either a general election or the collapse of a previous government.
But the term, while possibly not clearly understood by the
broader population, is now completely acceptable in the context in
which Salesians and the Church in general, use it.
Not so clear, on the other hand, is the term to be used for
the one who is being formed by a formator (or formators):
neither ‘formee’ nor ‘formand’ have gained much traction, and the
tendency is to speak of a ‘candidate‘ (before religious profession)
or ‘person/member in formation’ or similar after first profession.
→ “formazione”
formazione
n. 1. formation, 2. education. • The act of forming. The process of
forming. The manner in which something is formed. Considered
in its essence and in theological terms, it is the spiritual extent the
human being can reach by perfecting his or her God-given gifts, and
by developing the spiritual heritage, both past and present in which
he/she finds himself.
Each of the definitions listed here becomes important for
understanding Salesian formation, since it is active (involving
agents), a process, a method and clearly has a theological principle
involved.
That said, and because it is such a broad topic, it may best be
understood by looking at the several particular aspects under which
it is treated (initial formation, ongoing formation, personal life plan)
amongst others). If we consider formation from an institutional and
ecclesial perspective, we need to include the widest sense of integral
formation of the human being (human promotion, education to
the faith), then catechism, education more broadly speaking, the
catechumenate, for those beginning a life of faith in the Catholic
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formazione
240
formazione
Church, the formation of committed lay people for ministries open
to them to exercise.
Then there is the question of formation for religious and
Apostolic Life, or for Societies of Apostolic Life, Religious formation
in general, formation of candidates for diaconate and priesthood...
Salesian formation takes its starting points from both the
individual human being involved, and the project which is the
Salesian mission as passed on to us by Don Bosco. Seen this way,
Salesian formation continues the work of the founder, and his
spiritual fatherhood, fosters fidelity to the unity of the charism
and commitment to its further development, and places the gifts
of nature and grace in a balanced perspective. Don Bosco is the
model (SDB Constitution 97 makes it clear that Don Bosco is a ‘sure
guide’) but we also remind ourselves (C. 96) that Jesus too ‘called
his Apostles individually to be with him’).
The chief agent of formation is always the individual being
formed, and his life experience which he learns from. The method
of formation is living and working for the common mission. A
valid plan of life is essential for all this to happen. ‘To form’
someone (seeing formation from the point of view of the helping
agent) means to accompany that person until he reaches his full
development, putting him in active relationship with the mission
which he, along with every other Salesian, is entrusted with. This
perspective responds to the question ‘formed for what?’
Usage: Italian is much more likely to speak of formazione
where English might use ‘education’, but the terms formazione
and educazione are interchangeable in Italian, and refer especially
to the gaining of attitudes and understanding. In the context
of religious life we would speak of ‘formation’. E.g. initial and
ongoing formation. In the context of schooling – ‘education’ (e.g.
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formazione permanente
241
formazione permanente
as in Formazione professionale, formazione dei giovani). → “educatore”
→ “False Friends”→ “formazione permanente” “F”
formazione permanente
np. 1. ongoing formation, 2. lifelong formation, 3. continuing
formation. • “Ongoing formation is a continuation of the formation
received” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 71, though it continues by saying “in
the seminary”, therefore a reference to priestly formation). But it
can obviously be extended to all religious formation.
The Lord “calls us too to live out in the Church our founder’s
project as apostles of the young. We respond to this call by
committing ourselves to an adequate and ongoing formation for
which the Lord daily gives us his grace.” (C 96)
“In the context of a society characterized by pluralism and rapid
changes, the evolving nature of each individual and the quality and
fruitfulness of our apostolic religious life call for a continuation of
our formation after the initial phases” (C. 118).
The Italian permanente can have a variety of translations, and
‘lifelong’ is one of these, depending on context. ‘lifelong’ has been
a particular choice of Fr Ivo Coelho as General Councillor for
Formation, though not his only one – at times he also uses ‘ongoing’.
His argument is that C. 98 makes it clear that the formation
experience is lifelong: “The Salesian commits himself to a formation
process that will last all his life”. We can understand this also from
C 96: “... the Lord daily gives us his grace”.
There is no question that ‘lifelong formation’ could be used in
almost every situation where we find ‘ongoing formation’. But it
is also true that ‘ongoing formation’ effectively has two meanings:
the ‘narrower’ sense of a period of time following initial formation,
and its more substantial and broader sense of formation (including
initial formation) as a dimension of consecrated life until we die.
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formazione professionale
242
FSDB
Or to put it another way, we can use ‘ongoing’ in an adjectival
sense, e.g. ‘Ongoing formation follows on from initial formation’ or
as a predicate, e.g. ‘Formation of its very nature is ongoing’ and we
are in formation for our entire lifetime!
The renewed (2024) Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis et Studiorum
indicates that lifelong formation is the ‘mother-idea’, the organising
principle of the Ratio. → “formazione”
formazione professionale
np. Vocational/technical education. • It may not always refer to
‘occupational’ training or education – could be straight ‘technical.’
formazione, formazione professionale are technical terms in Italian
education and educational legislation. → “TVET” “VET” → False
Friends “P”
FSDB
→ “ratio”
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gaku-
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Galli, Silvio
G
gaku-
affix. [ja] 1. study, 2. learning, 3. science. • This term is essential for
understanding the various terms used for our educational works
in Japan. The romanised form and the Chinese ideograph are used
here as part of the explanation. If we add -en (or -in), meaning
essentially a garden or pretty place, but then a building, we get
gakuin or school, hence Salesio gakuin, Salesian school. kyu-gaku is
together-learn, or co-education. shugaku would be primary school
(school for small ones). kutugaku is Senior High, a three year
course. senmon gaku (from senmon, special) is a Vocational College.
daigaku (dai, big) is university and dai-gakuin a postgraduate course.
→ “Manga ”
Galli, Silvio (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Silvio Galli. • Salesian Priest. The
Diocesan Inquiry opened 11 October 2020 and closed on 12 June
2022.
The Beatitudes are like pearls in a necklace that shine with
unique light in each of our lives according to how we are configured
to the radiant face of the Lord Jesus our only Master. The words that
were spoken by Jesus on the mount become joyful, blessed words
in the lives of the saints. In this light, Fr Silvio's life shines as the
work of the Spirit, brought about through his encounter with and
his following of the Lord Jesus, and in his testimony of full and
filial trust in the Father of every gift. Fr Silvio was a prophet who
embodied the spirituality of mercy in his life and the choice of the
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Galli, Silvio
least of the least – those marginalised by society – and opened his
heart full of compassion to all the spiritual poverty of our time.
Fr Silvio Galli was born on 10 September 1927 in Palazzolo
Milanese (Milan) to Giuseppe Galli and Carcano Luigia, and was
the first of eight children. He was baptised on 12 September 1927,
and confirmed on 3 October 1938 by Blessed Cardinal Alfredo
Ildefonso Schuster. Having done very well in primary school he
went on to attend secondary classes at the St Ambrose's Salesian
Institute in Milan. After his novitiate in Montodine (Cremona),
he made his first profession as a Salesian on 11 September 1943
and his perpetual profession in 1949. Following his philosophical
studies in Nave (Brescia), and practical training in Varese then
theology, he was ordained priest on 1 July 1953. During his practical
training in Varese he developed a profound spiritual friendship
with Domenichino Zamberletti, a young lad who then died with a
reputation for holiness. Sent to the house in Bologna, he then gained
an Arts Degree, and from 1959 until the end of his life he was in
San Bernardino di Chiari (Brescia), initially teaching the aspirants
to Salesian life, then with the passing of the years more involved in
generous service of the poor, migrants, prisoners, the hungry and
homeless, people on drugs, alcoholics, people with mental illnesses
and all the many forms of material, spiritual and moral poverty.
At the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the difficult 1970s
marked by huge social, political, cultural and ecclesial change, Fr
Silvio – following the inspirations that came to him from on high and
attentive the the actual circumstances of people – began turning his
attention, time and his whole life to people with all kinds of needs
and in all kinds of poverty. The queue of people increased daily,
and knowledge of this place where help could be found spread
like wildfire. People seeking a listening ear and help from Fr Galli
increased in numbers. The poor came not only from Chiari and
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Galli, Silvio
nearby towns but from across Brescia. News spread from person to
person that there was a place of new hospitality for the poor to be
found in San Bernardino. It was not just about bread, but about a
listening ear, understanding and help to return to a sense of human
dignity: loved instead of being marginalised.
Offering welcome is one way of discovering the mysterious ways
of the heart. “Our Lady sends the poor to us”, Fr Silvio told his
first co-workers and volunteers, so being welcoming means being
attentive and caring. Everyone was a brother or sister for him, sent by
Mary. His time was for everyone and each individually. Sometimes
Fr Silvio went out to people; when there were many of them, instead
each would wait their turn out side the studio, a small office that
in time became “Bethany”, a place that welcomed and consoled
and gave back hope to people, a house of prayer and mercy. Not
everyone was open to dialogue; it takes time and patience to break
down the walls of mistrust.
In welcoming so many people he practised the ministry of
listening, consolation, reconciliation, even exorcism. As time went
on, there were increasing numbers of people coming from all over
Italy and joining the queue for a chat – even just a few minutes –
with Fr Silvio and to receive his blessing. When interviewed about
this Fr Silvio admitted: “I am just a poor priest. All I have is the
priestly garb I wear. It amazes me too that all these people afflicted
by problems, at times unsolvable ones, turn to me. I give my blessing
including to their families, then send them away with the belief that
if they pray and do so with faith, their problems will find resolution
… Only with prayer, that most powerful weapon, with faith in Our
Lady and her Son Jesus can these problems be sometimes resolved.”
When receiving people he could no longer think of his own needs:
it was an uninterrupted array of people who he received for hours,
without getting up or drinking a drop of water, even during the
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Galli, Silvio
hottest periods; a continuous procession of suffering humanity who
came to the source of living and thirst-quenching water.
He animated and looked after the formation of Salesian
Cooperators, members of ADMA, past pupils and the many
volunteers who helped with his charitable work. With the help
of generous volunteers and benefactors he founded the Auxilium
reception centre. Through his own life and words he taught how to
discover and serve Christ in the poor, witnessing to the charity of the
Good Shepherd. Always available in the ancient fifteenth-century of
San Bernardino, to the end he was besieged by suffering humanity
in search of comfort, advice and prayer: to everyone, without truce,
and in every moment of his life he offered the right words, assurance
of prayer, the blessing of Mary Help of Christians, the consolation
of the Holy Spirit.
He proclaimed the Good News not only in words but above
all through a life transfigured by God's presence: “Just being in
his presence was like being before an incarnation of the Gospel.
A beneficial and healthy power emanated from him; His face was
transformed and illuminated when he exercised his ministry and
administered the sacraments, especially when he celebrated Holy
Mass, which most often lasted two hours, and the faithful never tired
of listening to his homilies. So many flocked from all sides because,
as someone who had the grace of taking part in his celebrations
said, they breathed the air of Paradise.” Fr Galli was a genuine
sower of peace and San Bernardino was a place of peace and
spirituality when one breathed a heavenly air and the Mass Fr Galli
celebrated was real heavenly joy. Time no longer existed when he
celebrated Mass. Whoever did the readings had to pause whenever
he indicated, because the Word had to be explained, savoured, lived!
His blessings were bearers of peace and inner calm especially for
the most desperate cases, situations that seemed to have no way out.
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Galli, Silvio
He impressed because of his peace, and many had the feeling that
they were a man who was fully a man of God and consumed by a
life spent for others, dedicated to prayer and listening to everyone,
sick and healthy but ever desperate, lost. In every situation Fr Silvio
brought a peace that reconciled families, relationships between
husband and wife that had been marked by distance and lack of
communication. He brought peace that cured sometimes deeply
wounded affections. Fr Silvio was the sign of the Church as Mother
who, in the name of Jesus and the help of Mary, healed, freed, and
filled people with life and peace.
His earthly life came to an end on 12 June 2012, surrounded
by the widespread reputation for holiness and signs that only
increased among people of every level of society over the years: they
recognised in him the man of God, the genuine devotee of Mary
Help of Christians, a true son of Don Bosco, thus confirming his
promise: “As soon as I get to heaven I will send a basket full of graces
to everyone who knew me.” Fr Silvio was a true example of love
and fraternal charity. His was a holiness made up of small things.
the little daily matters, doing little things of every day with great
love. True charity is patient and knows how to adapt itself to the
many needs and limitations of each individual.
The bishop of Brescia, Bishop Pierantonio Tremolada, has said:
“Fr Silvio is a model of priestly holiness and of an authentic
consecrated life at a time marked by scandals, those who have left
us, worldliness, a true mystic of the Spirit anchored to the pillars of
the Eucharist and Mary Help of Christians; an example of the priest
‘going forth’, with the smell of the sheep, someone who stands out:
While there is no doubt that he went out to look for the lost, to visit
the sick, to comfort prisoners, etc., he was above all a priest to whom
people flocked: he did not need to go out because it was others who
came looking for him; a prophet of the sacredness of life, of every
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Garelli, Bartolomeo
248
GIA Giappone
life, especially the weakest, defenceless, the wounded, humiliated,
exploited, marginalised, discarded; a witness and embodiment of a
living spiritual fatherhood with the pastoral and apostolic charity
of a son of St John Bosco.” → “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”
Garelli, Bartolomeo
proper name. Garelli, Bartholomew. • A Salesian traditional story
not recounted before the writing of the Memoirs of the Oratory in the
mid 1870’s but first recounted in Bonetti’s serialised version in the
Salesian Bulletin 1879. The story lends belief to the symbolic date of
December 8th for the beginning of Don Bosco’s work. In the original
draft for MO Don Bosco had begun to write an ‘N’, not a ‘G’ for the
surname. Did this mean Nome, or was it another surname? For the
purposes of the story it doesn’t matter. → “Cenno istorico” “Don
Bosco (santo)” “Memorie dell’Oratorio MO”
Generala
proper name. The Generala. • A ‘modern’ correction facility for
juveniles built in 1845 as part of King Charles Albert’s reforms. It
was located some 10 miles south west of Turin, on the road to the
little town of Stupinigi.
Loitering, vagrancy and begging accounted for over 50% of the
cases referred to the Generala. It could be said that in the 1840’s
Turin was a city of ‘poor and abandoned’ rather than criminal
juveniles. → “Don Bosco (santo)”
GIA Giappone
abbrev., proper name. GIA Japan Province. • Salesian Province in the
EAO Region. Based in Tokyo. The Province of St Francis Xavier.
Fr Cimatti was the founder of the Salesian presence in Japan,
arriving in 1926 with 8 Salesians and going to Miyazaki. In 1927 he
was officially put in charge of three churches: Miyazaki, Oita, and
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Gianduia
249
giardino di ricreazione
Nakatsu. and in 1937 became the Prefect Apostolic of the District,
as Monsignor Cimatti.
In 1937, together with Fr Cavoli, the Caritas Sisters of Miyazaki
(now known as the Caritas Sisters of Jesus, or the Sisters of Charity
of Jesus) were founded. → “Cimatti, Vincenzo (ven)” “AEO”
“regione”
Gianduia
n. Gianduia or Gianduja. • Gianduia (Gioan dia doja, or Giovanni del
boccale), a kind of Punch-and-Judy show made famous by puppeteer
G.B. Sales, who created it by transforming the ancient "Giron" or
"Gerolamo" marionette. Asti is the true homeland of Gianduia.
The Gianduia became a feature of the Autumn walks, when the
boys would put on a performance for the local villages they visited
or stayed at. For Don Bosco the concept was also very close to what
he called teatrino. → “passeggiate autunnali”
giardino di ricreazione
np. Recreation park. • Don Bosco employed this term occasionally
for public authorities when describing the playground at the
Oratory. It was a term in current use for playgrounds at the
time but represented a different concept – a small space usually,
where youngsters stood around in small groups playing relatively
non-physical games under a teacher’s supervision.
Don Bosco’s idea of the playground was very active, where boys
could choose their own games, and where the teacher was expected
to take part actively, without failing in his/her supervisory role. Don
Bosco himself would appear at most recreations – he did so until
the 1860s. → “cortile”
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ginnasio
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Giordani, Attilio
ginnasio
n. Secondary school. • In today’s Italian school system, a course
of higher education, consisting of a two-year course (fourth and
fifth ‘gymnasium’), which can be accessed after obtaining a middle
school certificate, and at the end of which one begins upper
secondary; until 1940 there were two courses in secondary school,
one lower, of three years, corresponding to the subsequent middle
school, and a higher one, remaining in the current system, in which
the study of Greek is undertaken. But the sense in which it appears
in texts relating to Don Bosco’s time or the ‘pre-1940 period’ referred
to above, namely, the five year course of secondary studies called
ginnasio in the Casati Reform of 1859. → “Don Bosco (santo)”
→ False Friends “G”
Giordani, Attilio (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Attilio Giordani. • Layman. Salesian Cooperator.
Declared Venerable: 9 October 2013.
Attilio Giordani was born in Milan on 3 February 1913 and died
in Campo Grande (Brazil) on 18 December 1972. As an exemplary
husband and father, oratory leader and catechist, missionary and
evangeliser, Attilio Giordani is a very relevant figure of the Salesian
Cooperator today.
When he was nine years old he began attending the Salesian St
Augustine's Oratory in Milan. There, a young man for other young
people, he was constantly engaged in joyful leadership of groups: for
decades he was a diligent catechist and clever, simple, calm Salesian
animator. He knew and used all the typical educational approaches
of the Preventive System for his youngsters: care of the liturgy,
formation, presence and games in the courtyard, appreciation
of leisure time, theatre; he organised outings with the oratory
youngsters, composed songs, skits, invented charity raffles, parish
treasure hunts and Olympiads for the kids, without ever overlooking
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Giordani, Attilio
what lies at the centre of Christian joy: love of God and neighbour.
He showed he had the art of the educator, putting proclamation of
the Gospel and his service as catechist at the heart of his educational
mission, which he lived out creatively and credibly. A special merit
of Attilio Giordani's was to have embodied simply and convincingly
the very specific kind of evangelisation Don Bosco had wanted – he
evangelised by educating.
He was an outstanding and charming actor: very natural and
always fresh. He had a power, something like a secret, a grace, that
was other than just the actor. What was attractive was the something
beautiful within. Being with youngsters was Don Bosco's vocation
and that of every Salesian. Don Bosco called this “assistance”.
Attilio's way of being with youngsters was as charming as his way
of acting. He was not afraid of the kids, was natural with them. He
knew how to listen to them, pay attention to what they were saying
and always had some lively witty little comment tailored to each.
And how much preparation there was for everything before going
into their midst: songs, rounds, verses, war cries. Always happy and
an optimist, even when pulling someone's leg he was kind and hurt
no one. He would generally speak in the Milanese dialect. It was a
treat to see Attilio among the kids: that's how Don Bosco must have
been! He would keep an eye on the group but also on the individual.
He was attentive to what was really going on, followed the boys'
instincts, bolstering this with his own inventiveness. If the kids were
playing up instead of learning their catechism then he would make
a lot of noise, maybe do a somersault, let off a bit of steam, then
take back the reins and there would be silence. His real ability was
adapting to situations. Attilio Giordani was the model of how to
practise the Preventive System in the oratory context.
Attilio's military service began in his 21st year, on 23 July 1934
and ended on 8 September 1943. It took him from Milan to the
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Giordani, Attilio
Greek-Albanian Front, and passive resistance in the mountains
around Lecce. Discipline in the military barracks of the time was
harsh, the timetable strict, and authority was not to be questioned.
Punishments were harsh, rations served up in mess tins, exercises
were exhausting, language was what you'd expect in barracks where
blasphemy came easily and it was not so easy to stand up for one's
Christian faith. In this environment, soldier “Giordatt” – as he liked
to call himself – spread calm, concord, peace. He organised convivial
moments together, composed songs and poems. The respect and
agreement he sought was to get people to accept Christian values
that he was not always able to pass on. “I came to the conclusion
that it was not words I should be fighting with but the example of
Christian life, and to win over, in my unworthiness and lack of ability,
through the charity of Christ” (11 April 1943). Attilio carefully kept
a War Diary. The pages were full of hope, realism, plans, the desire
to pass on to everyone the peace of his God. “When I invite my
fellow soldiers to pray, no one holds back. But, I insist with them:
‘Remember, lads that the Lord is always with us, including when
the danger has passed, including when we will be back home’” (31
January 1941).
The stages of his journey were the stages of that time: during
Fascism he sought freedom in the oratory, in Catholic Action;
during the war and after the war, when politics and political parties
evolved in an atmosphere of conflict and opposition, he invented
the Crusade of Kindness; during the years of protest, when young
people were taking over terrain that their elders had left empty of
ideals, he supported the Mato Grosso Operation that his children
had brought home. His way of being with young people displayed
the respect and constant concern he had for the soul of the young.
What Don Bosco used to ask of his Salesians was a task always well
done in Attilio's case. The message that Attilio passed on through
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Giordani, Attilio
his approach, which was always relevant, could be summed up in
the word “kindness”. And he shared all of this with Noemi, his
fiancee then his wife, who was caught up to the very end by the
overwhelming enthusiasm of her Attilio: “Dear Noe, may the Lord
help us to be good not just to the good, to live in the world without
being of the world, to go against the current.”
He was husband and father to his family, which was filled
with great faith and serenity, deliberately austere and practising
evangelical poverty on behalf of those most in need. Marriage with
Noemi in May 1944, was not just a “given” for Attilio but above all a
“sacrament” of Christ whose holiness and indissolubility he strove
to express through his daily life and the education of his children.
The family remained united because Attilio and Noemi supported
each other with prayer and by practising charity.
Attilio embodied Don Bosco! In his cheerfulness and in the way
he was with young people; also in his piety, a simple piety, one that
prays before eating: “Thank you Jesus for the bread you have given
us, Give bread to those without as well.” Attilio lived in union with
God, with Don Bosco. His day began by rising at 6; by 6:30 he was
in church for Mass and Communion. If the altar boy was missing he
was not ashamed to take on the task of serving Mass himself even
when he was 58/59 years old. Then meditation. Then at home, he
would listen to the radio for the latest news and head out to work.
Back home at midday. After dinner he would go to the Salesians at
St Ambrose's in Milan. Everyone knew him: from the Provincial to
the last blind Salesian who had come from Bethlehem. And if there
was someone who was suffering or a bit left out, he would be there.
He would greet all the Salesians then go and make a visit to the
Blessed Sacrament, every day.
His death helps us to understand his life. At 59 years of age,
Attilio Giordani, with wife Noemi, oldest son Pier and youngest
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giorno della comunità
254
giorno della comunità
daughter Paola, left for the Mato Grosso (Brazil). He told his
parents: “If we want to and need to share the vocation of our
children, understand our kids when they make some important
choices and offer important examples, then we have to be ready
to follow them to support them as they try it out, so we can make
informed judgements about what they are doing.” “In life it is not
so much a matter of saying what we should do. It is not so much
a matter of preaching; it is what we do that counts. We need to
demonstrate with our life what we believe in. It is not about sermons.
Our sermons are how we live.” His life was a race with young people.
And he reached the finishing line with a sprint, demonstrating what
the ongoing vocation of the Christian is all about: giving one's life!
This is what it means to be young till the final day. Attilio had
often said: “Death must find us alive.” And he was always alive in
ordinary things, in his cheerfulness, his piety, and then in his final
encounter with the Lord he was ready to continue being in the midst
of the youngsters in the Salesian garden in heaven. Death came to
him while he was speaking at a mission meeting in Campo Grande
(Brazil). Feeling faint, he rested his head on Fr Ugo De Censi's
shoulders and whispered to his son: “Pier Giorgio, you continue
on.”
He leaves as his testament the enthusiasm of a life given for
others: “Our faith must be life” and “The measure of our believing
is shown in our being”. Attilio Giordani was the clear embodiment
of Salesian spirituality as lived by the laity. This aspect has always
aroused particular admiration, especially in consecrated Salesians,
who felt the providential presence of such a model and did not fail to
seek his advice. → “venerabile” “santità salesiana” “cooperatore”
giorno della comunità
np. Community day. • Established as a regular weekly practice in
Salesian communities from GC23 onwards. → “comunità”
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giovani
255
giovani
giovani
n. pl. 1. young adults, 2. young people, 3. youngsters. • For Don
Bosco, the term had a male only reference. But depending on the
context it was a term that might have much more attached to it.
An example comes from the famous saying Ho promesso a Dio che
fin l’ultimo mio respiro sarebbe stato per i miei poveri giovani (I have
promised God that I will be for my poor boys until my last breath).
N. Cerrato (Vi Presento Don Bosco LDC 2005) points out that
Desramaut’s comment that the original formulation employed poveri
orfanelli rather than poveri giovani does not thus discredit the MB
version (Vol 18). Don Bosco, he says, was almost certainly speaking
Piedmontese where he would have used povri fieuj not the unusual
povri orfaneij. Povri fieuj translates as ragazzi or giovani in Italian
but carries the Piedmontese meaning of ‘poor and abandoned’and
probably orphaned.
Usage: Expect, especially in texts written by Don Bosco, to find
a range of terms such as giovanetto, and/or giovanotto. Indeed, a
range of terms that seem largely interchangeable: fanciullini, fanciulli,
giovani, giovanetti, giovinetti and even orfanelli, though this latter is
more precisely of the ‘poor and abandoned’ type. Opposed to these
would be giovani grandicelli which, in at least one text by Don Bosco, is
determined as being from 16-30 years of age. But today we often find
a distinction between ragazzi (youngsters in general) and giovani,
which refers to an older age group. → “povero e abbandonato”
Linguistic note: It is difficult to give precise age ranges for the
various Italian terms relating to youth. Many texts talk about
bambini, adoloscenti and giovani in the same sentence, suggesting there
are three distinct age ranges, whereas to say ‘children and youth’
in English sounds a bit forced: we would normally just talk about
‘young people’, ‘teenagers’ and ‘small children’ if we want to include
the under tens.
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GMS
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GMS
In today’s understanding in Italy, a bambino could be 2-10 years,
a ragazzo from, say, 11-19 years, while a giovane might be from 20-30
years! This means that the plural term giovani is far more extensive
than its English equivalent ‘young people’, which is why we tend
to use 'young adults' or similar.“1a età”
GMS
abbrev., np. Full title in Italian: GMS Giornata Missioni Salesiane,
or SMD Salesian Missions Day, in English. • An annual event
throughout the Congregation, based on a mission theme chosen for
each year. Since 1926 the Universal Church has celebrated World
Mission Sunday. In 1988, the centenary of Don Bosco’s death,
Salesian Missions Day (SMD) was launched, where a missionary
theme was proposed to the whole Salesian Congregation. All
Salesian communities have the opportunity to learn about a specific
mission reality. It is a powerful moment for mission animation in the
local or provincial Salesian communities, in the Educative-Pastoral
Communities (EPCs), in youth groups and in the Salesian Family.
It is an opportunity to involve SDB communities and EPC in the
dynamics of the universal Church, by strengthening a missionary
culture.
The preferred date is on or about 11 November (anniversary
of the first mission expedition in 1875), but provinces are free to
choose the most suitable date for their situation.
Each year a project is proposed for the entire Congregation. This
is an important part of SMD dynamics. The primary objective of
the SMD project is not just to raise money. Instead it seeks to be an
educative experience of concrete solidarity for young people. The
Province Delegate for Missionary Animation (PDMA) promotes
solidarity through various initiatives, in particular during the
intense liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent and during the month
of October, or as part of the SMD celebrations. The whole provincial
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globalizzazione
257
grazia dell'unità
community is equally invited to make a monetary contribution as an
expression of missionary solidarity. It is highly appropriate that at
the conclusion of the celebration of the SMD, whatever is collected
is offered during the Eucharistic celebration, that is, as an offering
to God, and for the Salesian missions.
Previously this was known as DOMISAL (Domenica delle Missioni
Salesiane), a term now deprecated. → “missioni” “DIAM”
globalizzazione
n. Globalisation. • In the language of economics, globalisation of
the markets, a phenomenon of unification of the markets on a
global level, permitted by the spread of technological innovations,
especially in the field of telematics which have pushed towards more
uniform and convergent consumption and production models; also,
the political and social consequences of this unification.
When both globalizzazione and mondializzazione appear in the
same text (e.g. ACG 387 p. 15) we have to assume they are synonyms
but distinguishable.
It is a relatively new term in Salesian usage – only since Fr
Vecchi. There are attempts to distinguish the two concepts such that
mondializzazione emphasises the existence of the nation-state and its
need to have arrangements with other nation-states. The existence
of the UNO then becomes an example of mondializzazione.
Globalizzazione appears to have a more negative feel about it
involving the worst aspects of economy, internet and communications,
language etc.
grazia dell'unità
np. 1. the grace of unity, 2. apostolic interiority, 3. the contemplative
dimension of life, 4. vital synthesis. • "A single movement of charity
to God and to his neighbour. This type of life is not something fixed
and prefabricated, but is a 'project' in permanent construction. Its
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unity is not static but is a unity in tension and in continual need
of balance, of revision, of conversion and adaptation." (Acts of the
Special general Chapter).
The term finds its basis in the Special General Chapter, and while
not used as such in the Constitutions, takes its notion from the
phrase in C. 21 "admiring in him [Don Bosco] a splendid blending
of grace and nature". Evangelise by educating and educate by
evangelising is another formula by now widespread in Salesian
discourse and which expresses the notion of in the inward unity
amongst members of the Salesian Family, since it deals not just with
education but with spirituality.
It was a constant leitmotif in the magisterium of Fr Viganò.
→ “Viganò, Egidio”
Passion for God and passion for ones neighbour is another
formula popularised by Fr Chávez, and it too, recalls the concept of
the grace of unity. → “Chávez Villanueva Pascual”
Linguistic note: The phrase often tends to be placed in inverted
commas, suggesting it is something of a neologism in Salesian
discourse.
Grita, Vera (serva di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Vera Grita. • Lay woman, Salesian
Cooperator. Supplex libellus: 22 December 2019. Diocesan Inquiry
opened 10 April 2022, closed 15 May 2022.
Vera Grita, the daughter of Amleto Grita and Maria Anna Zacco
from Pirrera, was the second of four sisters. Since she was a child
Vera had shown a good and meek character and that she would not
be influenced by the negative events that were her lot. When she
was eleven years old she had to leave the family and the affection
of her dear ones, along with her younger sister Liliana, to go to
Sicily and her paternal aunts who had made themselves available
to help Vera's parents who were in severe financial distress due to
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the economic crisis in 1929-1930. During this period Vera tenderly
looked after her little sister, cuddling her and staying with her in the
evenings when she cried because she was homesick for her mother.
Another sister would join them later. Vera was attracted by a large
picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which hung in the room where
she said her morning prayers and the Rosary each morning with
her aunts. She often stayed behind in silence before this picture and
often said that she really wanted to become a Sister. On the day of
her First Communion (24 May 1934) she did not want to take off
her special white dress because she feared she could not express
sufficiently to Jesus her joy at having him in her heart. She got good
results in school and mixed well with her classmates.
In 1940, when she was seventeen, she returned to the family. The
family had moved to Savona and the following year Vera gained
her teaching certificate. Vera was twenty when she had to face a
new and painful detachment due to the premature death of her
father Amleto (1943) and had to give up the possibility of doing
the university studies she aspired to, in order to help the family
financially.
But it would be the Second World War and the bombardment
of Savona in 1944 that would cause irreparable damage for Vera:
it would determine the rest of her life. Vera was crushed by the
crowd fleeing for safety in the tunnel that acted as a bomb shelter.
The medical profession called it the crush syndrome – the physical
consequences following bombardments, earthquakes, collapsed
buildings due to which a limb or the entire body is crushed. The
muscular damage caused has repercussions on the whole organism,
and damages the kidneys in particular. As a result of the crushing,
Vera suffered lumbar and back injuries that caused irreparable
damage to her health, with fever, headaches and pleurisy. This
dramatic event marked the beginning of Vera's 25-year Via Crucis,
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during which she alternated between work and long stays in
hospital. At the age of 32, she was diagnosed with Addison's disease
which consumed her and weakened her organism: Vera weighed
only 40 kilos.
Vera underwent a complete hysterectomy when she was
36 (1959) resulting in early menopause which exacerbated the
neurasthenia she was already suffering from as a result of Addison's
disease. Despite her precarious physical condition, Vera entered and
won a competition to become a primary school teacher. She devoted
herself to teaching during the last ten years of her life, working in
schools in the Ligurian hinterland that were difficult to reach, and
winning the esteem and affection of her colleagues, parents and
pupils. She alternated between school and hospital stays, without
medicine being able to put an end to her suffering, also because Vera
was intolerant of certain drugs. She went unnoticed in her short life,
teaching in the schools in the Ligurian hinterland, and continuing
to win the esteem and affection of everyone for her good and gentle
character.
She attended Mass in Savona in the Salesian parish of Mary
Help of Christians and regularly went to Confession there. Salesian
Fr Giovanni Boccho was her confessor from 1963. She became a
Salesian Cooperator in 1967, realising that her call was to give herself
totally to the Lord who gave himself to her too in an extraordinary
way, in the intimacy of her heart, through a “Voice”, a “Word”,
communicating to her the Work of the Living Tabernacles. She
submitted everything she wrote to her spiritual director, Salesian Fr
Gabriello Zucconi, and kept the secret of her call in the silence of
her heart, guided by her divine Master and the Virgin Mary who
accompanied her throughout her hidden life and her stripping of
self.
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Under the impulse of divine grace and accepting the mediation
of her spiritual guides, Vera Grita responded to God's gift by
testifying through her life marked by the hardships of her illness, to
her encounter with the Risen Lord, and by dedicating herself with
heroic generosity to the teaching and education of her pupils. She
saw to the needs of her family and witnessed to a life of evangelical
poverty. Focused, and fixed on God who loved and supported her,
she was able to bear the trials and sufferings of life with great inner
strength. On the basis of this inner soundness she testified to to a
Christian life made up of patience and persistence in doing good.
She died on 22 December 1969 in Pietra Ligure in the Santa
Corona hospital, in a small room where she had spent the last six
months of her life in a crescendo of suffering that she accepted
and experienced in union with the crucified Jesus. “Vera's soul”
wrote Fr Borra, a Salesian and her first biographer “through her
messages and letters, joins that band of charismatic souls who have
been called to enrich the Church with the flames of love for God
and the Eucharistic Jesus in order to spread the Kingdom.”
Vera Grita's life evolved over the short space of 46 years marked
by dramatic historical events such as the great financial crisis of
1929-1930 and the Second World War. Vera's earthly life, then, ended
on the cusp of another significant historical event: the protests
of 1968 that would have profound repercussions at every level:
cultural, social, political, religious and ecclesial, both in Italy and
internationally. Vera's life began, developed and ended amid these
historical events whose dramatic consequences were felt by her at
the level of her family, her affections and her body. At the same
time, her story shows how she tackled these negative events with
the strength of her faith in Jesus Christ, thus witnessing, in her short
and suffering life, to heroic fidelity to her love for the crucified and
risen Lord. It was a fidelity that, at the end of her earthly existence,
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the Lord would repay by giving her a new name: Vera of Jesus. “I
have given you my holy Name, and from now on I will call you and
you will be ‘Vera of Jesus’” (Message of 3 December 1968).
The chronic suffering Vera endured did not alter her good
character or her generosity in giving herself to others, especially
to those most in need be they in her family or at school. While
experiencing her very precarious physical situation, Vera did not
turn in on herself or renounce her desire to work.
Over so many years of suffering, her faith in and love for Jesus
and the Virgin Mary were her true comfort and support, the point
of spiritual strength that led her life to be one of understanding,
tenderness and charity for all, including those – like her mother –
who did not always manage to understand the radical nature of her
faith and love.
Tried by various illnesses which, over time, spelt out a situation
of generalised and irrecoverable physical wear and tear, Vera lived
in the world without being of the world, maintaining inner stability
and equilibrium due to her union with Jesus in the Eucharist
received daily, and to the awareness of his Eucharistic presence in
her soul. It was, therefore, the Holy Mass that was the centre of
Vera's daily and spiritual life, where, like a small “drop of water”
she mingled with the wine to be inseparably united to the infinite
Love that continually gave of himself, and who saves and sustains
the world.
A few months before she died, she wrote to her spiritual father,
Fr Gabriello Zucconi: “The illnesses that I have carried with me
for more than twenty years have degenerated, devoured by fever
and pain in all my bones, but I am alive in the Holy Mass.” And
again she wrote: “What remains is the flame of the Holy Mass, the
divine spark that animates me, gives me life, then there is work, the
youngsters, the family, the impossibility of finding a peaceful place
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there where I can isolate myself to pray, or the physical tiredness
after school.”
During her long years of suffering, aware of her fragility and
human limitations, Vera learned to entrust herself to God and
surrender herself totally to his will. She maintained this docility
when He communicated to her the Work of the Living Tabernacles
during the final 2 years and 4 months of her earthly life. Her love for
God's will led Vera to the total gift of herself: first through private
vows and the vow of being a “little victim” for priests (2 February
1965); then through the offering of her life (5 November 1968) for the
birth and development of the Work of the Living Tabernacles, always
in complete obedience to the one who was her spiritual director.
In the patience of her days, Vera Grita thus experienced her
growth in faith and holiness through arduous circumstances
(illness, therapy, hospital, the uncomfortable seats of her teaching,
etc.), with great fidelity to prayer and in obedience to the Church,
with patience, fortitude, humility and trust, and a great readiness to
do the good that she knew how to accomplish generously, without
burdening others with her limitations, always so delicately and with
a smile. Vera Grita was a humble laywoman, Salesian Cooperator in
whom we discover with joy a great mystic of the Eucharist, perhaps
one of the greatest, with a truly prophetic message for the Church
of today and tomorrow. → “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”
Guanella, Luigi (Santo)
proper name. (St) Louis Guanella. • Priest. Beatified: 25 October
1964. Canonised: 23 October 2011. Liturgical Celebration: 24
October.
The life of Fr Guanella, like that of Don Bosco, was depicted
in a dream he had when he was nine years old, the day of his
First Communion: a Lady (whom he described as Our Lady in his
account) let him see everything he would have to do on behalf of
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the poor. Since childhood his life was a long race to be wherever
there was a cry for help and aid to offer.
When he was twelve years old, Luigi won a free place at the
Gallio boarding school in Como and then continued his studies
at the diocesan seminaries (1854-1866). His cultural and spiritual
formation was the one common for seminarians in Lombardy and
Veneto, which for a long period was under Austrian control. His
theological course lacked in cultural content but was attentive to
pastoral and practical aspects: moral theology, rituals, preaching
as well as personal formation in piety, holiness and being faithful.
Christian and priestly life was nourished by the devotion common
among the Christian population. This meant that the young
seminarian was very close to the people and in touch with the life
they lived. When he returned home for the autumn holidays, he was
part of the poverty of the alpine valleys; he looked after the young,
elderly and sick in the town, attending to their needs. In spare time
he became interested in social matters, collected and studied herbal
medicines, and became enthusiastic about reading Church history.
While studying theology at the seminary he became good friends
with the bishop of Foggia, Bernardino Frascolla, who had been
imprisoned at Como and put under house arrest at the seminary
(1864-66). This made him aware of the hostility that dominated
relations between the now unified State and the Church. It was this
bishop who ordained Fr Guanella as a priest on 26 May 1866. On
that occasion Fr Guanella said: “I want to be a sword of fire in this
holy ministry.”
Wanting a more radical religious experience, in 1875 he went
to Don Bosco in Turin and made his temporary profession in the
Salesian Congregation. In his first two years as a Salesian he was
the director of the oratory of Saint Aloysius in Borgo San Salvario in
Turin, then in November 1876 was asked to open a new oratory at
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Trinità in Mondovì. In 1877 he was put in charge of adult vocations,
a work Don Bosco had called the The Work of the Sons of Mary. His
admiration for Don Bosco was also rooted in the fact that they had a
similar temperament: both enterprising, apostles of charity, decisive,
genuinely fatherly and with a great love for the Eucharist, Our Lady,
the Pope. Salesian spirituality and pedagogy were a basic element
in the formation and mission of the future founder. At Don Bosco's
school he learned a loving and firm approach to young people and
the educational desire to prevent rather than cure; and the desire to
save his brothers and sisters urged on by great apostolic charity.
The bishop of Como called him back to the diocese, and Fr
Guanella returned with the dream of founding an institution that
would take in needy young people. He opened a school that he later
had to close due to hostility from the civil authorities. “The hour
of mercy”, as Fr Guanella called the appropriate moment of divine
favour, came in November 1881 when he arrived at Pianello Lario as
parish priest, where he found a group of girls dedicated to helping
the needy. This group of young women would become the source of
a new congregation: the Daughters of Our Lady of Providence. Fr
Guanella also brought together a group of priests whom he called
the Servants of Charity.
Fr Guanella and Don Bosco, both priests and great friends, lived
at a time marked by profound transformation and social imbalance;
they worked as apostles of charity and spent their entire lives
working for the salvation of each and every person, building a better
society. The profound bond between the two and Fr Guanella’s
devotion to Don Bosco was made famous by a prayer Fr Guanella
wrote in the monthly magazine of his work, La Divina Provvidenza,
in August 1908: “May the grand soul of John Bosco who so protects
the Congregation of his sons, the Salesians, now so numerous they
can’t be counted, kindly turn its gaze on the institutes of Divine
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Providence. May he graciously extend his protection over those
who belong to these works and especially to his devoted admirer
and student. Fr Luigi Guanella.”
On the occasion of his canonisation, Pope Benedict XVI recalled
how “Thanks to the profound and continuing union with Christ,
in the contemplation of his love, Don Guanella, led by Divine
Providence, became a companion and teacher, comfort and support
to the poorest and weakest. The love of God aroused in him the
desire for the good of the people who were entrusted to him in
the routine of daily life ...He paid caring attention to each one and
respected the pace of their development. He cultivated the hope in
his heart that every human being, created in the image and likeness
of God, by tasting the joy of being loved by him — Father of all —
can receive and give to others the best of himself. Today, let us praise
and thank the Lord, who gave us a prophet and an apostle of love
in St Luigi Guanella ... We can summarise his whole human and
spiritual life in his last words on his death-bed: “in caritate Christi”.
It is Christ’s love that illumines the life of every person, revealing
through the gift of himself to others that nothing is lost but is fully
realised for our happiness.” → “santità salesiana”
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HDS
H
Harambee
proper name (verb in [sw]) Harambee. • Harambee is a Kenyan
tradition of community self-help events, eg. fundraising or
development activities. Harambee literally means ‘all pull together’
in kiSwahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on
its coat of arms. Harambee events may range from informal affairs
lasting a few hours, in which invitations are spread by word of
mouth, to formal, multi-day events advertised in newspapers.
These events have long been important in parts of East Africa,
as ways to build and maintain communities. Following Kenya’s
independence in 1963, the first Prime Minister, and later first
President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, adopted the term ‘harambee’
as a concept of pulling the country together to build a new nation.
He encouraged communities to work together to raise funds for
all sorts of local projects, pledging that the government would
provide their startup costs. Under this system, wealthy individuals
wishing to get into politics could donate large sums of money to
local harambee drives, thereby gaining legitimacy; however, such
practices were never institutionalised during Kenyatta’s presidency.
→ “Confronto”
Usage: Used by Salesians since 1993 to refer to a missionary
gathering, usually of young people, for mission animation.
Normally capitalised in English.
HDS
[es] abbrev. Hijas del Divin Salvador HDS, Daughters of the Divine
Saviour.• Female Religious Institute of Diocesan Right, founded by
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Salesian Bishop Pedro Arnoldo Aparicio (1980–1992), as catechists and
teachers they are at the service of poor children and youth whom
they aim to educate by the Preventive System. Don Bosco’s motto,
Da mihi animas cetera tolle (give me souls, take away the rest), has
become Oportet Illum regnare (it is necessary for Christ to reign!).
‘Through our educative and pastoral mission we contribute to
the mission of salvation at the service of the Particular Church and
parishes, dedicating ourselves especially to education of young girls
and young women. the Institute achieves these aims principally
through religious education and the apostolate of catechetics. Our
life and our evangelising and educational activity gives Mary a
special role. We entrust ourselves to Her as the ‘Help’ of children
and youth.
‘The HDS live an attitude of spiritual childhood made up of
simplicity and serene joy. Bethlehem indicates our spiritual road:
humility, poverty, not desiring great things, making ourselves
always available, open-ing our souls, our heart and our arms to
children and young people, in a Salesian style. A special devotion
to the Child Jesus helps the HDS to achieve this meekness and
humbleness of heart as taught by Jesus. The witness to poverty,
already in the original founding group and written into our purpose
of service of children and girls of ordinary people, especially the
needy, characterises our commitment and witness.
‘An interesting element of formation and apostolic activity is
the collaboration with the Salesians. In different countries we share
responsibility with the Salesians in educational and social works.‘
Date founded: San Vicente (El Salvador), Christmas 1956.
→ “famiglia salesiana”
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HH.SS.CC.
[es] abbrev. Hijas de las Sagrados Corazones de Jesús y de Maria
HH.SS.CC., Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. • A
female religious institute of Pontifical Right.
Founded by Fr Louis Variara at Agua de Dios 1904.
Members of the Salesian Family. → “famiglia salesiana”
“Variara, Luigi (beato)” “Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria (serva di
Dio)”
Hlond, Augustus (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) August Hlond. • Salesian Cardinal. Declared
Venerable: 19 May 2018.
August Hlond was born in Brzeczkowice, Poland, on 5 July 1881
to Jan Hlond, a railway employee, and Maria Imiela. He was the
second of eleven children, four of whom became Salesians. His
parents passed on a strong faith and childlike love of Our Lady.
When he was 12 years old, attracted by Don Bosco's reputation, he
followed his eldest brother Ignatius to Italy to consecrate himself to
the Lord in the Salesian Society. He was accepted into the college
at Lombriasco for his secondary studies. Admitted to the novitiate,
he received the cassock from Blessed Michael Rua (1896). After
his religious profession, the superiors sent him to Rome to the
Gregorian University for Philosophy in which he finally graduated.
From Rome he returned to Poland for his first test of Salesian
apostolate in the college at Oświęcim. His fidelity to Don Bosco's
system of education, his commitment to assistance and to school,
his dedication to the young and his kind way of dealing with
people gained him considerable ascendance. He also quickly made
a name for himself for his musical talent, which from the very first
compositions revealed similar genius and inspiration as his older
brothers had.
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After his theological studies, while attending the Arts Faculties
at the Universities of Krakow and Leopoli (1905), he was ordained
priest in Krakow by Bishop Nowak. In 1907 he was made the rector
of the new house at Przemyśl (1907–09), and from there went on to
be rector in Vienna (1909-19). There, his talent and personal skills
found ample field for employment given the particular difficulties
the house found itself in. Fr August Hlond, given his virtue and tact,
soon managed to resolve not only the financial situation, but also
gave rise to a flourishing of youth works that drew the admiration
of people at every level. His concern for the poor, for workers, for
the sons of ordinary folk won the affection of the lower classes. He
endeared himself to the bishops and Apostolic Nuncios and enjoyed
the esteem of authorities and even the Imperial family itself.
In 1919 the development of the Austro-Hungarian Province
advised some proportionate division of the number of houses
and the superiors appointed Fr Hlond as provincial, entrusting
him with the care of the German and Hungarian confreres, with
his headquarters in Vienna (1919-22). Over two years, the young
Provincial led the Province in founding ten new presences, forming
them in accordance with genuine Salesian spirit and giving rise to
many vocations.
He was at the height of his Salesian activity when, in 1922,
since the Holy See had to provide for the religious development of
Polish Silesia still bleeding from political and national strife, Pope
Pius XI entrusted him with a most delicate mission, appointing
him as Apostolic Administrator. Monsignor Hlond, through his
charity, rectitude and spirit of sacrifice, was able, in the space of
just three years, to settle matters to the satisfaction of the Poles and
the Germans so that in 1925 the Holy See was able to create the
new diocese of Katowice. Elected bishop, he was consecrated by
the Archbishop of Warsaw, Cardinal Kakowski, in the presence of
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ten bishops and the political, civil and military authorities. It was
a joy for the whole diocese because Monsignor Hlond, during his
three years of administration, had visited all the parishes, giving
Confirmation in towns where it had not been administered for
20-25 years, had opened the seminary and filled it with excellent
vocations, organised Catholic Action and had prepared everything
for the construction of the cathedral, the bishop's palace, a suitable
seminary, the curia and other necessary buildings.
On 24 June 1926, Pius XI promoted him to the archiepiscopal Sees
of Gniezno and Poznan and appointed him as Primate of Poland.
The following year, on 20 June, he made him cardinal, assigning him
the titular see of Santa Maria della Pace. In his 21 years as a cardinal,
other than the ordinary pastoral ministry in the two dioceses, as
Primate he was involved in the entire life of the heroic Polish nation
during a dramatically difficult period. A loyal patriot, sensitive to
all the sufferings he shared with his people, the Holy See also gave
him the care of Poles in the diaspora spread across the world. At
the invitation of Pope Pius XI, in order to provide them with the
spiritual help they needed, he founded a Congregation: the Society
of Christ the King for Polish migrants.
Unfortunately, the Second World War threw his pastoral activity
into disarray. Indeed, when Poland was invaded, the cardinal was
one of the first intended victims of Nazism since they found in him
an intrepid and authoritative defender of the rights of individuals,
his nation's and his Church's freedom. This was the beginning of
his Calvary that forced him into exile until the end of the war.
Persecuted step by step, he ended up following the Diplomatic
Corps and crossing borders. He first stopped in Rome, where he
was warmly welcomed by Pius XII, and began the courageous
defence of his homeland, which he intensified in France when
he went to Lourdes. There he strengthened the organisation of
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resistance and aid to refugees. The cardinal accepted hospitality in
the famous Abbey of Hautecombe. In silence and prayer he followed
the anguished events of the massacres in Europe, when one sad day
the Nazi police violated the sacred place and deported him to Paris
to force him to form a Polish government loyal to the Nazis. With all
the pride of his love of his country, the cardinal refused emphatically.
So the Nazis interned him, first in Lorraine then in Westphalia.
During his years of forced exile in France (1939-1944), Cardinal
Hlond repeatedly spoke out on behalf of the Jewish population in
Poland which was heavily tried by the Nazi occupation, especially
after the adoption of the “final solution to the Jewish problem” by
the authorities of the Third Reich.
Finally, the Allied troops succeeded in freeing him in a surprise
advance. He then went to Paris, Rome where he was welcomed in
celebration. After an audience with the Holy Father, he returned
to Poland where, keeping his primatial See of Gniezno, he was
also appointed archbishop of Warsaw. Unfortunately, in Poland
too the joy of liberation was soon tempered by extremist violence
and Soviet pressure that led to the breakdown of the Concordat.
However, strong in faith and proud of his patriotism, just as he had
defended the Polish people from the horrors of Nazism, the cardinal
continued to defend them from Bolshevik atheism with pastoral
vigour, doing his utmost to protect the oppressed, resolve social
questions, comfort and help the homeless and those without food.
The Holy See also entrusted him with the religious administration
of the German area ceded to Poland in compensation for territories
absorbed by Russia: a colossal task which he carried out with utmost
tact and promptness, setting up five large apostolic administrations
and appointing their respective administrators in the name of the
Holy See. Divine Providence saved him from more than one attack,
reserving for him the transit into eternity of the great patriarchs.
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He died in Warsaw on 22 October 1948 and his funeral was an
apotheosis.
Cardinal August Hlond has been one of the most outstanding
figures in the history of the Polish Church for his witness of religious
life, his greatness, the variety and originality of his pastoral ministry,
and for the suffering he tackled for the Kingdom of God through
his intrepid Christian soul, shining a very bright light on one of
the most heroic periods experienced by the Polish people. His life
was intimately intertwined, both in terms of the spiritual values
and the external events in which he was involved, with the life of
the people that the Church had entrusted to him and whom he
loved and served as a true pastor and father. As Cardinal Stefan
Wyszyńsky, Primate of Poland and successor to Cardinal Hlond,
said: “He was, without any doubt, a man of state! However, what
prevails in the life of Cardinal Hlond is his soul, religious to the very
depths, a soul as sincere as the people of Silesia, perhaps even as
hard as the coal, the fruit of that land, but burning in the simplicity
of his deep faith and his total dedication to God.” → “venerabile”
“santità salesiana”
HR
[es] abbrev. Congregación de Hermanas de la Resurrección, Congregation
of the Sisters of the Resurrection (Also, The Little Community.
• Religious Congregation of Diocesan Right founded in Guatemala
by Fr Joseph Puthenpura SDB on 15 September 1977 from a
small group of nine volunteers who wished to serve their ‘fellow
campesinos’. Date admitted to the SF: 16th July 2004 [Decree 31st
January 2006]. → “famiglia salesiana”
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i Becchi
274
identità carismatica
I
i Becchi
proper name. The Becchi. • A very small hamlet in Piedmont with a
population (other than the inhabitants of Colle Don Bosco) of about
a dozen people. It is part of the municipality of Castelnuovo Don
Bosco in the Province of Asti. It is regarded as a ward (district) or
Morialdo. Francis, the father of St John Bosco, went to live at the
Biglione farmstead in the Becchi hamlet (in Piedmont: ij Bèch) near
Morialdo, a hamlet of Castelnuovo.
A few months before his death in May 1817, he bought a small
house at the Becchi, where his widow Margaret Occhiena from
Capriglio and their children moved. The Becchi was also home to
the Cavallo and Graglia families, whose homes were built close to
the Bosco home.
Linguistic note: Sometimes in English the definite article is left
out, with just a reference to Becchi, but the more correct reference
retains the article.
Today the more common reference is simply to Colle Don
Bosco, which incorporates the Becchi and surrounding lands and
properties. → “casetta (i Becchi)” “Cascina (Biglione)” “Don
Bosco (santo)” “Mamma Margherita (ven)”
identità carismatica
np. 1. charismatic identity, 2. Salesian identity, 3. vocational identity.
• Synonymous with ‘Salesian identity’ or the indole propria or special
character of the Salesian. ‘Vocational Identity’ is an additional term
found frequently in our texts. In specific terms, the charismatic
identity of Salesian of Don Bosco is to make welcome and to share
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IJA
275
imborghesimento
the life of the young especially those who are poorest. It was a term
often employed by Fr Viganò. → “carta d’identità carismatica”
IJA
[pt] abbrev. Irmãs de Jesus Adolescente IJA Sisters of Jesus the
Adolescent. • Female religious Institute of Diocesan Right, founded
by Salesian Bishop Bishop Vicente Priante on 8th December
1938. The Congregation seeks to live out its mission by offering
an evangelising response to the concrete problems of Particular
Churches: through popular education, family ministry, social
activities, and special attention to children and the elderly.
The Congregation began under the name of ‘The Little Sisters of
Jesus the Adolescent’ which officially began on 8 December 1938. A
group of young girls, refused entry to other Congregations because
their parents were in irregular marriages, were ready to respond.
The first seven of the Sisters made their profession in 1939. They
worked at the seminary in Campo Grande and the hostel for the
elderly and abandoned. They ran two parish schools in Corumbá as
well as a hostel for the elderly and abandoned. Bishop Priante died
on 4 December 1944. The Sisters had lost their father just six years
after the foundation. His successor, Bishop Chaves, also a Salesian,
became their guide,and in 1952 entrusted them to Mother Josefina
FMA, who was the superior until 1967. A serious crisis followed
which reduced their numbers from 74 to 28, but with the General
Chapter in 1975 they reorganised themselves.
Date founded: Campo Grande, 8 December 1938.
Date admitted to the SF: 23 December 1988. → “famiglia
salesiana”
imborghesimento
n. 1. desire for comfort, 2. bourgeoisification, 3. middle-class attitude,
gentrification • The term occasionally appears in discussions of a
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Immacolata Concezione
276
INA Indonesia
less than ascetic tendency in modern religious life. Of the three
meanings suggested, the first picks up the real issue: a desire for
comfort and ease. The second is simply an attempt to come up
with an abstract n (that probably does not exist in any decent
dictionary!). The third should probably be avoided, since definitions
of ‘middle-class’ are usually not helpful. They vary so much from
culture to culture. → “agiatezza”
Immacolata Concezione
np. Immaculate Conception. • A dogma of the Church concerning
Mary’s singular grace in being conceived without sin proclaimed
on 8 December 1854.
Often, in Don Bosco’s and subsequent Salesian reference, the
term ‘Immaculate Conception’ is shortened to ‘The Immaculate’.
The dogma and the event of its proclamation are especially
significant in Salesian history. In the first 20 years of his life, before he
had settled on the term Help of Christians, his reference was always
to Mary Immaculate. 8 December, a good ten years and more before
the dogma was proclaimed, was the date he assigned to the start of
his work. → “Garelli, Bartolomeo”
The proclamation date was also the date Dominic Savio wrote
up his simple program of life under Don Bosco’s tutelage at the
Oratory. The Immaculate Conception Sodality of whichDominic
was a co-founder, became a school of preparation for boys who
eventually were the beginnings of the Salesian Society. At Mornese,
the Daughters of the Immaculate group of women were the basis
for what became the Salesian Sisters. → “compagnia”
INA Indonesia
abbrev., n. INA Indonesia Vice-Province. • A Salesian circumscription
(Vice-Province) in the EAO Region. Based in Jakarta.
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incaricato
277
inculturazione
Has been a Vice-Province since 2018. Originally it included
Timor-Leste, which has now become a separate Delegation. → “TLS
Timor-Leste” “regione” “AEO”
incaricato
n. 1. person in charge, 2. appointee. • The person, body or other
who been assigned to look after something.
Usage: From time to time one see this glossed as ‘incharge’ or
‘in-charge’. In fact this is a calque, a direct translation of the Italian
into a word that is unknown in English (i.e. it does not exist in any
dictionary). → False Friends “I”
inculturazione
n. Inculturation.• The integration of Christian faith in human
culture(s).
Note that this is distinct from ‘enculturation’ in English, but that
there are linguistic problems associated with the term in translation.
The term begins to appear in Church documents from about
1979 onwards, with a description from Pope John Paul II who saw
it, in a comment he made to the Pontifical Biblical Commission, as
a term which expressed very well one aspect of the great mystery
of the Incarnation.
Its appearance in Salesian vocabulary can be owed in a particular
way to representatives from Bangalore (India) at the Special General
Chapter (1971–72), which is interesting since it has been claimed
that the term really came into existence in 1973 from a Protestant
theologian teaching in New York!
The Jesuits took it up at their 32nd General Chapter (1975)
translating it as inculturatio (since Latin morphology does not
permit enculturatio). The term appears often in the Italian phrase
inculturazione del Vangelo (inculturation of the Gospel).
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integrale
278
integrale
Usage: While the n form works easily enough in English, there is
still some resistance to it as a verb.
Linguistic note: Italian only has the word inculturazione since,
like Latin, en- is not a prefix in that language. It may use the word
socializzazione to express what English means by ’enculturation’.
However, TRECCANI’s definition of inculturazione is: [der. di
cultura, col pref. in-, per traduz. dell’ingl. enculturation]. – In psicologia
sociale, assimilazione, da parte dell’individuo, della cultura del gruppo
sociale cui egli appartiene, durante il processo di socializzazione, che
implica adattamento e dialogo. [derives from culture with the prefix
in-, translating the English enculturation].In social psychology,
assimilation by the individual of the culture of the social group to
which that individual belongs, during the process of socialisation,
implying adaption and dialogue.
And therein lies the problem. → “missione” “missioni”
integrale
adj. 1. integral, 2. all-round, 3. comprehensive, 4. holistic, 5. overall...
• Not always an easy term to translate. Context matters each
time. Here are some possible translations in context (none of them
involving ‘integral’):
promozione integrale = all-round development
formazione integrale = a rounded or complete formation (but could
also be ’education’)
educazione integrale = comprehensive education
crescita integrale = holistic growth
crescita vera ed integrale = as above
progetto educativo integrale = an all-embracing educative project (or
educational plan or...)
sviluppo (umano) integrale = all-round or holistic development
maturazione (umana) integrale = growth to full maturity
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interculturalità
279
interculturalità
umanesimo integrale = wholesome humanism
visione antropologica integrale = an integrated anthropological
outlook
il loro bene integrale = for their complete good
liberazione integrale = overall liberation
pastorale integrale = comprehensive, total... ministry
(la pienezza di) ogni uomo e donna nella loro realtà integrale = ..... in
their total reality /taken as they are
(la sua) riflessione integrale (sull’uomo) = its full impact on the human
being
significato integrale = complete meaning
crescita unitaria, integrale = in his or her homogenous, (or unified,
or uniform...) and full development
interculturalità
n. Interculturality. • Refers to the existence and equitable interaction
of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared cultural
expressions through dialogue and mutual respect. Source: Article
4.8 of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the
Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
It should be noted that this concept not only refers to the relations
that develop between individuals belonging to different countries or
regions of the world, it also takes into account, individuals who are
within the same community but who have different characteristics
from an ethnic, social or other point of view.
Linguistic note: The prefix “inter” of the term “interculturality”
indicates the relationship and interactions between groups, individuals,
identities. Thus, this prefix, together with the word culture, refers
to a sense of reciprocity between cultures.
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internato
280
ispettore
internato
n. Boarding establishment. • The areas/rooms in a boarding
establishment where internal pupils usually live.
Could be a hostel, even a boarding school. Antonym to esternato.
→ “collegio”
io per voi studio
vp. For you I study. • In what is known as the Cronaca dell’Oratorio
(think of it as a diary of events) by Fr Domenico Ruffino, one of
the early Salesians, we find these words that Don Bosco told his
Salesians one day: Io per voi studio, per voi lavoro, per voi vivo, per voi
sono disposto anche adare la vita, (ASC 110, quaderno 5, p. 10).
This also became the topic of a letter of the Rector Major, Fr
Vecchi. → “Vecchi, Juan Edmundo”
Linguistic note: The verb that Don Bosco uses has a special
Piedmontese significance: studié = think seriously how to go about
something, look for ways to resolve a problem, get down to the
nitty-gritty of how to work through an issue. → “cronachette”
ispettore
n. Provincial. • C. 161 Each province is headed by a provincial.
In union with the Rector Major and with love and pastoral zeal
he carries out his service of building up a fraternal provincial
community.
C. 161 (cont): With the help of his council he animates the
religious life and apostolic action of the provincial community, cares
for the formation of the members, especially the novices and young
confreres, and directs and controls the administration of the goods
of the province and of each house.
Usage: Note that while it is common in ordinary parlance to
speak of the 'provincial' as the leader of a vice-province, it is not
technically correct. The latter is the superior of the vice-province, not
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ispettoria
281
ispettoria
the provincial, since he is subject to the provincial of the province
under which the vice-province operates.
ispettoria
n. Province. • C. 157: The province unites the different local
communities in one large community. It is canonically erected
when the necessary and sufficient conditions exist for promoting
in a specific juridical circumscription the life and mission of the
Congregation with the autonomy that belongs to it according to the
Constitutions.
Salesian English has chosen the more widely known term
‘province’ to designate what is known in a tradition stemming from
Don Bosco himself as ispettoria in Italian.
In his earliest Constitutions, Don Bosco made no specific
provision for establishing provinces as we understand them (i.e.
territorial divisions under a canonical major superior), but did
divide the Society as it was then into four ‘inspectorates’. Rome
called this an ‘uncommon practice’ and requested ‘provinces’ with due
ecclesiastical (Holy See no less!) permission. Don Bosco continued
to argue that Pope Pius IX had recommended the use of terms more
consistent with the spirit of the [secular] times: therefore, rather
than call our houses ‘monasteries’, he suggested the terms ‘house’,
‘school ’ (collegio), ‘hostel’ or ‘hospice’ (ospizio), or ‘orphanage’; likewise,
not ‘Father General’, but ‘Rector Major’, not ‘Prior’, or ‘Guardian’,
but ‘Director’, not ‘Provincial’ or ‘Province’, but some equivalent
term.
The idea won out, stuck and was reinforced by early General
Chapters.
Quite possibly for reasons of the same kind that were
used by Don Bosco for choosing ‘inspectorate’, Salesians in an
English-speaking context decided that this latter term would be
inappropriate for them and chose ‘province’ instead. It is worth
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ISS
282
istituto (religioso)
noting that in Spain there is a preference for provincia rather than
inspectoría, and that France prefers ‘province’ also. → “visitatoria”
“delegazione” “ispettore”
ISS
abbrev. Istituto Storico Salesiano Institute for Salesian History. • ISS
has been a department of the General Administration of the Works
of Don Bosco since 1981. It is a scientific service organised by the
Salesian Society for the purposes of study and research into the
wealth of spiritual and educational legacy left by Don Bosco, and
developed by those who have followed him.
As well as purposes defined in the Statutes, the ISS is called
upon to continue the half-yearly publication of the series ‘Ricerche
Storiche Salesiane’ and implement the decision of the 26th General
Chapter regarding Salesian sources, ‘Let the Rector Major and his
Council see to the publication and translation of a collection of the
principal Salesian sources.’ → “ACSSA”
istituto (religioso)
np. (Religious) institute.• In non-juridical ecclesiastical language,
a generic reference to religious congregations and societies without
vows whose members are lay people.
‘Institute’ is the more general term used in Canon Law applied
to groups formed around a particular charism. Synonymous terms
are ‘institutes of consecrated life’, ‘religious orders’, ‘religious
congregations’. → “congregazione”
An ‘Order’ is, technically, a group taking solemn vows. A
Congregation’s members take simple vows.
Usage: The Salesian Sisters (FMA) normally refer to themselves
as an Institute (→ “FMA”). SDB’s more often than not call
themselves a Society or a Congregation.
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istituto (religioso)
283
istituto (religioso)
Linguistic note: In addition to the term ‘religious institute’, expect
to find, in Salesian usage:
* istituto clericale or ‘clerical institute’, a term taken directly
from Canon Law. indicating that the service of government of the
community, in the Institute’s tradition, is entrusted at all levels to a
confrere who is a priest;
* istituto di diritto pontificio or ’institute of pontifical right’, which
gives the society an exemption, which is not to be seen in negative
terms as ‘not’ being responsible to the local ordinary, but in positive
terms as fostering the unity of the Congregation worldwide. It also
underlines our availability of service to the universal Church.
* istituto magistrale or ‘teachers college’.
* istituto Ratisbonne or ‘Ratisbonne Institute’, Salesian seminary
and study centre in Jerusa- lem which used to be located at Cremisan
near Bethlehem. Often we see ‘Salesian Monastery Ratisbonne’ in
the official title – this is to fulfil Israeli law regarding its financial
status.
* Istituto Salesiano per le Missioni or ‘Salesian Missions Institute’,
the juridical entity known as the Istituto Salesiano per le Missioni
(Salesian Missions Institute), located at Turin-Valdocco, Via Maria
Ausiliatrice no. 32, was the wish of Bl. Philip Rinaldi, 3rd Successor
of Don Bosco.
* Istituto Secolare or ‘Secular Institute’. Amongst the many
possible forms of Religious Life in the Church, the Secular Institute
is a contemporary form. Part of Consecrated Life, members of a
Secular Institute profess the evangelical counsels discretely, almost
in hidden fashion by contrast with the visible manner of Religious
profession.
Istituto Storico Salesiano ISS or ‘Salesian Historical Institute’.
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itinerario
284
itinerario
itinerario
n. 1. a set of actions to achieve a goal, 2. route or itinerary. • Even
a minimal corpus study shows us that this term is found in the
Memorie Biografiche, but almost without exception as a physical
or spatial reference to a journey. But do the same thing with a
contemporary Salesian corpus (a random 1,000 files from sdb.org
to test this) and the result is as follows:itinerario di vita or di
educazione alla fede,itinerario pedagogico, formativo, di formazione ai
giovani, di crescita, di discernimento, di santificazione, di evangelizzazione,
vocazionale, di preghiera, di liturgia, di vita sacramentale. The collocates
for percorso are very similar, as are those for cammino: il cammino
dei giovani oggi, spirituale e pastorale,di crescita e maturazione, di
santificazione, di ascesi, di fidanzamento. And in the random modern
corpus there were practically no uses of the terms in their literal
physical journey sense, though there is no reason why there should
not be; it would be perfectly legitimate.
This is not only a Salesian phenomenon, it is probably a religious
or even more specifiically a ‘Catholic’ one. A quick search of the web
will produce itinerari, percorsi and cammini to do with catechetics
and formation in particular.
Now, the translator knows that you cannot get away with a single
term in English for these: ‘journey’ can work in some instances, and
for certain domains. A ‘journey of faith’ is very acceptable in English,
but we soon run into problems with some of the ways itinerario is
used. Would it be a ‘curriculum’? Not really, because that is a broader
concept, wider in content. Since an itinerario is fundamentally a set of
actions to achieve a goal, we might discover that the Youth Ministry
Department, for example (in this case fictitious but it could easily
be true) istituisce un itinerario di base per l’educazione alla fede rivolto
agli insegnanti. To translate that as a religious education curriculum
for teachers (or for the use of religion teachers?) would not be quite
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IUS
285
IUS
correct. Maybe it is a basic outline, a set of strategies they can follow
for educating to the faith. → False Friends “I”
IUS
abbrev. (Originally) Istituzioni Universitarie Salesiane Salesian Institutes
for Higher Education. • The term stands for study centres such
as the colleges, or centres for higher studies that are guided
and administrated by the Salesian Congregation (the Salesians
of St John Bosco) around the world: 30 centres in 18 American,
Asian and European countries. IUS does not include all the other
university academic Salesian centres that are specifically meant for
the ecclesiastical formation (philosophy and theology) of members
of the Salesian Congregation.
Linguistic note: IUS was simply an acronym until 2001 when it was
the acronym for Istituzioni Universitarie Salesiane. The letters have
been retained, but the preferred expanded term no longer directly
relates to them acronymically, at least in English, and the term is
now officially stated in its English version rather than in Italian. This
phenomenon of retaining an initialism but changing the meaning
behind it can also be found in ANS → “ANS”
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JTM
286
JTM
J
JTM
[es] abbrev. Jóvenes del Tercer Mundo, Youth of the Third World.
• Jóvenes del Tercer Mundo is an NGO committed to the education
of youth in less developed countries through cooperation projects
influencing integral formation.
Officially recognised by the Interior Ministry since December
1988, the centenary of the death of Don Bosco. Today it has
numerous local centres, spread throughout the Salesian provinces
in Spain. The Headquarters is in Madrid. From there it organises
campaigns of support and fosters a Christian commitment in
a serious struggle against the causes of poverty and social
marginalisation in the world. JTM is recognised as one of the major
Mission Offices for the Salesian Society, working in collaboration
with the Centre in Rome. → “solidarietà”
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Kęsy, Franciszek, 4 c. martiri
287
Kęsy, Franciszek, 4 c. martiri
K
Kęsy, Franciszek (beato), 4 c. martiri
proper name. (Blessed) Franciszek Kęsy. • Decree of Martyrdom: 26
March 1999. Beatified: 13 June 1999. Liturgical Celebration: 12 June.
The oratories have always played a privileged role in Salesian
activities. In Poznań (Poland) too, in Wroniecka Street near the
Salesian House, St John Bosco’s typical style of education consisting
of fatherly concern and concrete love for the youngsters occupied
on exceptional place. These were the years of Nazi occupation. The
German army entered Poznań on 11 September 1939. every evening,
when they had some free time, as they used to do before the war,
the boys would gather in a meeting room at the Salesian oratory.
Among the older members of the group were five future martyrs.
Czesław Jóżwiak was born on 7 September 1919 in Łażyn, near
Bydgoszcz. His parents, Leon and Maria moved to Poznań and
were living near the centre. They had four children, two boys and
two girls. During the German occupation Czesław was working
as a painter and decorator, but during the 1938/39 school year he
attended secondary school.
Edward Każmierski was born on 1 October 1919 in Poznań. His
father Wincenty was a shoemaker, and his mother Władysława a
housewife. Edward had five sisters. When he finished his primary
schooling, his uncle suggested he work in a shop that belonged to a
Jew, Jakub Abramowicz. Edward worked as an assistant there for a
month then, thanks to help from a Salesian, Władysław Bartoń, he
was able to commence work in a mechanics shop. He also continued
there during the war.
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Kęsy, Franciszek, 4 c. martiri
288
Kęsy, Franciszek, 4 c. martiri
Franciszek Kęsy was born on 13 November 1920 in Wilmersdorf
in Berlin. His parents, Stanisław and Anna, came back to Poland
in 1921 and set themselves up in Poznań. They had five children.
The father was a carpenter and worked at the city’s electricity
plant. Franciszek had already expressed the intention of entering
the Salesian seminary at Ląd and was preparing for this as an
aspirant. During the German occupation he was working with
Czesław Jóżwiak as a clerk.
Edward Klinik was born on 21 July 1919 in Poznań. He was the
son of Wojciech and Anastazjia. His father was a mechanic. Edward
had an older sister, Maria, who would then become a Sister, and a
younger brother, Henryk. During the 1936/37 school year, Edward
finished his secondary schooling in the Salesian school at Oświęcim
and in the 1938/39 matriculated from the Berger High School in
Poznań. During the German occupation he was working with a
construction company.
Jarogniew Wojciechowski, the youngest of the five, was born
on 5 November 1922 in Poznań. His father Andrzej, who worked
at a pharmacy, was a drunkard and had abandoned the family. It
meant that Jarogniew had to leave secondary school. His only and
elder sister, Ludosława, had to help their mother Franciszka and her
brother. Jarogniew attended business school and also worked as a
clerk in a pharmacy.
These young men, be it after school or after work, spent their
free time at the Salesian oratory, where they took an active part
in all the different activities. The cultural life that unfolded there
was a lesson of life that formed character, developed sensitivity
and a good sense of humour. Fun and prayer were intertwined,
play mixed with reflection, and watching over them all from
heaven was St John Bosco. These young men's souls were also
formed by personal contact with God. They grew up in such an
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289
Kęsy, Franciszek, 4 c. martiri
atmosphere as this, forming their faith and their personalities.
Czesław Jóżwiakżwas president of the Immaculate Conception
Sodality. Edward Każmierski and Franciszek Kęsy followed one
another as presidents of the St John Bosco Sodality: these groups
were run in a Salesian style within the oratory.
All five were leaders at the oratory. They all played an active
part in theatrical events organised with much enterprise. Edward
Każmierski was especially passionate about theatre and music. He
has left us with five large exercise books as a diary he recorded of
his involvement and experiences from 1 February 1936 to 28 May
1939. At the end of each year he made a list of the parts he had
played in the oratory theatrical events. His second great passion
was music. He liked going to the Opera and had even written
some of his own musical pieces. In the view of his companions
he was a great musician, to the point where they had nicknamed
him ‘The Composer’. He was happy to be part of the choir with
Edward Każmierski and Edward Klinik. Franciszek Kęsy was a keen
sportsman.
During the war, the Salesian House on Wroniecka Street was
occupied by German soldiers who had turned the whole building
and the church into a military barracks. Nevertheless, the boys
continued to meet in the gardens outside the city. Thoughts of
joining the resistance movement and becoming part of one of the
many secret organisations growing up around Poznań also came
to their minds more and more frequently. We cannot know for
certain to what extent the five boys had been involved with these
movements, and what is only known is that in September 1940 they
were all arrested and accused of belonging to an illegal organisation.
Edward Klinik was arrested before the others on 21 September
1940. He was taken away directly from his workplace without being
able to tell anyone. He wrote to his mother in pencil, in his prison
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Kęsy, Franciszek, 4 c. martiri
diary: “You can rest easy in my regard because I am entering the
battle of life with a strong faith. I know that She to whose protection
I was entrusted, now that I have become her Knight, will watch over
me and will never abandon me.” After Edward’s arrest the others
were concerned; Czesław Jóżwiak's father advised them to leave the
city but the boys decided they did not want to leave their families.
They were all arrested on the night of 23 September.
Thus the four of them found themselves in the “Dom Żołnierza”
also known as the Poznań Gestapo for the cruelty of its interrogators.
24 hours after their interrogation they were transferred to Fort
VII. Edward Klinik was probably already there. Fort VII had an
even bleaker reputation than “Dom Żołnierza”. It had been built
in the 19th century as a defensive fortress for the city, with a moat
and thick walls, then it was turned into a prison. After suffering
hunger, torture and execution, thousands of Poles had lost their lives
there. The boys arrived there on 24 September. They were placed
under strict guard and deprived of all their personal belongings.
The guards found very little in the pockets of these four Salesian
pupils. But there was one thing that gave rise to mockery and anger
on the part of their jailers: rosary beads that the boys had never
been separated from. These ended up in the bin, but a moment of
distraction by the guards was enough for their owners to retrieve
them and put them back in their pockets. They remained there over
the long months of suffering in prison and would have lifted their
spirits at times they felt down.
Torture at Fort VII was normal, and the four boys were often
subjected to it. A gryps (hidden communication among prisoners)
to his family from Jarogniew Wojciechowski testifies to this. It was
smuggled out through the washing. On a piece of paper wrapped in
a bloodied handkerchief, Jarogniew wrote that they beat him until
he fell unconscious, and he asked for prayers. In Edward Klinik’s
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diary too we find an eloquent note: “Monday, one of the most terrible
days of my life, and one I may never forget.” God only knows what
suffering he had to put up with that day. But Czesław Jóżwiak played
a meritorious part in keeping the spirits of his oratory companions
buoyed. He patiently explained to them the meaning of their torture
in prison. “You have to understand”, he told them “that our suffering
is not in vain. It is not wasted. Some fight for Poland's freedom with
weapons in their hands while others suffer for it. Both are important.
But the most important thing is to be faithful to it!”
After a short time they were transferred to another prison in
Poznań where life was a bit calmer without the torture and the
constant fear, but unfortunately still without freedom. They worked
during the day and in the evenings, at rest time, one could hear
them saying the rosary and their Salesian prayers in their cell. Their
unfortunate fellow prisoners looked on them with admiration and
in disbelief, and even with envy: everything had been taken from
them yet they had such strength and faith, and so much inner joy.
At times they would say to them: “Are you not aware of what awaits
you?” “Only God knows this” they replied, “and we have trust in
him. Whatever happens it will always be his will.” There could only
be silence faced with a response like that.
In November 1940 they were transferred once more, this time to
Wronki and to solitary confinement in separate cells. This was an
even more painful suffering for these boys, so used to given each
other mutual support, but it was also a time of grace. Edward Klinik
wrote down his own “questions” to the Lord in his diary: “O Lord,
why have you punished me so severely? Have I really deserved this?
Why have you placed such a heavy cross on my shoulders?” Edward
was not content just to ask questions, though. He sought answers.
“Son, do not despair,” God replies “and do not look for consolation
from human beings, because those who look for such consolation
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separate themselves from me. My son, look at me, burdened with
a heavy cross out of love for you. I walked to Golgotha and not a
word of complaint left my lips, and you are already complaining?
Just give me back love for love.”
Edward Każmierski even spoke of this period as a time of retreat.
“It was there at Wronki that I came to understand myself. I got to
know myself better and recognised that I was still lacking something
to become a good son of Don Bosco, to please God, to be useful to
my neighbour and honour my family. Now I believe that when I
gain my freedom God will help me and I will be able to keep the
resolutions I have made.” Franciszek Kęsy wrote similar words: “At
Wronki, since I was alone in my prison cell, I had time to examine
myself at great depth ... and I promised to live differently, as Don
Bosco had recommended, to live so I please the Lord and his Mother,
Our Blessed Lady.”
Christmas came at Wronki and the boys attempted to sing
Christmas carols but were brutally prevented from doing so by
their guards. Easter was when they were transferred to a prison in
Germany, first in Berlin then in Zwickau. Another year of prison,
filled with hope but also faith. The rhythm of work was broken by
the rhythm of prayer that kept up their spirits. They were concerned
for their families as we can read in the famous gryps sent home in so
many ways. Like many boys they were full of plans. They imagined
a simple future working, at home in a small cottage with the family
they wanted to produce. “With Edward, we are dreaming of a small
cottage with a garden close by the city” we read in one of Franciszek
Kęsy's grpys, “but what plans do we have? Just give us our freedom
and then we will seriously roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
They asked God for good health and wrote that their lives were
now relatively peaceful, even to the extent that they were not even
worried about the much awaited date for their trial. “Our trial has
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to be coming up soon,” wrote Edward Każmierski in a gryps to his
sister ”but I don't fully believe this because they have been speaking
about it for nearly two years. As God wishes ... We don't think much
about this ... The end of the war is imminent.” Then in another gryps
to his parents he confirmed: “Perhaps it would be better if this trial
did not take place. Certainly God knows, and what he sends us will
be good! What happens happens in accordance with his will.”
Meanwhile the trial date was set before an extraordinary
Poznań-based court in the Zwickau branch: 1 August 1942 at 9:00
a.m. The boys informed their families of the date, asked for a special
prayer on that day, and waited. On 1 August they appeared for
sentencing in the court. Standing they listened to the allegation. Of
course, they already knew it off by heart: preparing for a coup d'etat
to ensure that one part of the German State would be excluded from
the Reich. The trial was short and discussion among the jury was
even shorter. The sentence came to the boys like a lightning bolt
from a clear blue sky: the death penalty for all five!
The young oratorians spent their final 24 days together in death
cell no. 3 at the Palace of Justice in Dresden. They did not spend
this time in desperation but prepared themselves for the hour of
their death with the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharistic
Communion. We can understand the greatness of their soul by
reading excerpts from the final letters they wrote to their families.
Simple words. filled with love, that become a veritable treatise of
their heroics.
“My beloved mother and dearest sisters” wrote Edward
Każmierski. “I received your farewell letter ... I am so pleased that
you are resigned to God's will ... Thank the Lord for his great mercy.
He has given me serenity. Resigned to his most holy will I will soon
be leaving this world ... Thank you, mother, for your blessing. This is
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what God wants. He is asking this sacrifice of you ... I ask forgiveness
with my whole heart ... I ask you to pray for me.”
“My beloved parents, brothers and sisters” Franciszek Kęsy's
letter begins. “The time has come for me to say goodbye to you. The
good God is taking me to himself. Do not deplore the fact that I am
leaving this world at such a young age. I am now in a state of grace
and I do not know if later I would have been faithful to my promises
... I am going to heaven, goodbye. There in heaven I will pray to God
... Pray for me sometimes ... Now I am going.”
“Beloved parents, mum, dad, Maria, Henryk” is how Edward
Klinik addressed his family. “God's decrees are mysterious, but we
must be resigned to them because everything happens for the good
of our souls ... Right up until the final moment Mary has been my
mother. So when you have me no longer mother, take Jesus ... My
dear family, do not despair about me and do not cry because I will
already be with Jesus and Mary.”
“My dearest parents, Giovanna, my brothers,” wrote Czesław
Jóżwiak “today, the day dedicated to Mary Help of Christians ... is
the day I am leaving this world ... I just ask you not to cry, not to
despair, not let your hearts be afflicted. It was what God wants ...
Pray to the Lord for the peace of my soul. I will pray to God for you
that he may bless you and that one day we will see each other in
heaven. I send a kiss to each of you.”
“Beloved and dearest Ludosława” were the words Jarogniew
Wojciechowski calmed his sister with (his mother had died during
his second year in prison). “Be certain that you are not alone on this
earth. Mother and I will always be near you. I ask just one thing
of you: entrust the sentiments of every moment of your life only
to Jesus and Mary because you will find peace with them ... Think
what happiness: I am leaving this world united with Jesus in Holy
Communion. In this last Communion of mine I will be thinking of
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you and offering it for your intentions and mine, in the hope that
all of our family without exception will be very happy up there ...
Now I am going and I await you there in heaven with our beloved
mother.”
The sentences were carried out on 24 August 1942; news of it
was posted the following day on the walls of Poznań. Condemned
without a proper trial, without the possibility of defence, and even
then for reasons that did not justify the death penalty, they gave
an heroic example of faith and Christian life. They had assimilated
this at the Salesian oratory in Poznań. They drew their strength
from their ability to calmly accept “God's will” to the point of
forgiving their murderers in the genuine spirit of the Gospel.
→ “beatificazione” “martirio” “santità salesiana”
Komorek, Rudolf (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Rudolph Komorek. • Salesian priest. Declared
Venerable: 6 April 1995.
Rudolph Komorek was born in Bielsko in 1890, in Polish Silesia
(Austrian at the time), the third of seven children of Jan Komorek
and Agnieszka Goch, a truly Christian couple. His father was
a blacksmith and worked hard to keep the family. His mother
Agnieszka was the obstetrician of the town but also worked as a
seamstress.
His day always began with Mass. When he was 19 years old,
while his brother was training to be an engineer, his sister Wanda
a teacher and John a musician, Rudolph entered the diocesan
seminary in Weidenau. Throughout his life Rudolph would never
have a moment of uncertainty or confusion about his calling.
Everyone recognised this: “It seemed he was born to be a priest.”
His sister Wanda wrote “At home, he was the one to make peace
among us when we quarrelled, like in any family.’ His school results
were excellent. everyone at the seminary liked him because of his
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kindness. They loved him and from that time he was known as
another St Aloysius.”
Rudolph Komorek was ordained priest on 22 July 1913 by
Cardinal Kopp; he was 23 years old, but at that time the world was
about to witness the tragic First World War. There were some small
urban centres around Bielsko: Strumien, Zagrzeb ... And for twelve
years Fr Rudolph was a priest among these gentle farming folk. But
on 28 July 1914 Austrian troops invaded Serbia and four days later
Germany was at war with Russia and France. Fr Rudolph saw young
farming lads leaving dressed as soldiers and he asked if he could
follow them as a priest.
He was chaplain in the military hospitals in Krakow and Borgo.
There he saw the tide of wounded from the battles of Tannenberg,
the Masuri lakes, Leopoli, and the victims of grenades in the
Austrian fortress at Przemyśl. His brother Robert wrote: “I saw him
once in the hospital in Krakow during one of my leave periods from
the Front. The wounded loved him. He was always among them
trying to alleviate their suffering.” But he felt that he was shirking
while at the hospital and asked to be sent to the Front as a chaplain.
He reached the troops from the Tyrol and was given the Red Cross
medal for bravery. The citation said: “Rare example of the priest
ideally suited to the demands of his vocation.”
While watching many young men around him die he felt a
growing need to consecrate himself to the Lord and his neighbour
even more completely. He would go to the missions where so many
Poles who had survived the war would emigrate to find a life less
stunted and less fraught with physical and spiritual dangers.
At the end of 1919 Fr Rudolph was appointed parish priest
of Fryšták. From there he wrote to Cardinal Bertram, asking
permission to join the Salesians. The reply was: “With a heavy heart,
the cardinal gives you permission. He is asking you nevertheless
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to remain in the diocese in view of the great lack of priests.” He
remained there until 1922, working and doing penance for his
parishioners. “He slept on a hard bench with just a simple blanket
over him. One day, when bringing the Eucharist to a sick person, he
noted that he was so poor that he had nothing to cover himself with.
He went back home, picked up his only blanket, and brought it to
the sick man. He then used an overcoat as a blanket for himself. He
was also very humble when walking along the street. Passers-by,
Catholic or otherwise, Jews as well greeted him, saying that he was
a holy man. His confessional was always crowded. He was friendly
with people and loved the little children. His door was always open
and anything he had was there to be given to others. Every time a
poor person knocked on the his door Fr Rudolph would give them
what they needed” (testimony of Antonio Twardizk, one of the
parish co-workers).
18 January 1922 was a very painful day for Fr Rudolph: his dear
mother Agnieszka died. Now there was nothing holding him back.
In October, when he was 32 years old and 9 years a priest, he began
his Salesian novitiate and presented his request to go to the missions.
On one of his first days there, his novice master heard him ask for
permission to sleep on the floor: “I have done this for six years and
am used to it.” Meanwhile the request for more priests came from
Brazil, to look after Polish migrants, so Fr Rudolph's request was
granted. He went to Turin where he received the Crucifix from the
hands of Blessed Philip Rinaldi, the third successor of Don Bosco.
Fr Rudolph arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 27 November 1924 and
was sent to work at the schools and chapel belonging to the Polish
community at San Feliciano, a settlement on the Rio Grande do Sul.
“He was a consoling angel for the settlers. He prepared children
from a dozen schools for First Communion, schools we had opened
in various places in the settlement. On various occasions a week he
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went on horseback to be with the sick in various centres, bringing
them Viaticum. He found many people gathered in the homes where
the sick lived and used this opportunity to speak to them about
Jesus. He brought the people to the church in the afternoon for a
sermon and the Rosary. He did much penance. At times, going from
centre to centre, he had no food. On one occasion a girl at one of
the schools made him a very poor breakfast: some potatoes. She
left the peels on top of her school bag. Then by chance she saw Fr
Rudolph pick up the peels and eat them” (testimony of Constantino
Zajkowski, a parishioner).
In January 1929 he was sent to Niteroi, the Salesian house near
Rio de Janeiro, to prepare himself for perpetual vows. In the early
months of 1934 he was able to go back to his dear Polish, Italian and
German migrants in Luis Alves, in Santa Catarina State. Over these
years the Catholics he worked among with complete dedication
called him “O padre santo” (The holy father). When simple people
called him that he became quite serious and replied: “I am Father
Rudolph, a great sinner.” In June 1936 Fr Rudolph was 46 years of
age and given the considerable stresses and strains of his 23 years
as a priest, his health began to fail. The confessor for the young
Salesians and students at the studentate in Lavrinhas had died. The
provincial thought about sending Fr Rudolph there: no one better
than him could educate these young Salesians to a life of sacrifice
and holiness. Father Rudolph said goodbye to his dear migrants and
without a word of complaint accepted his obedience. The provincial
wrote to the rector, Fr Ladislaus Paz: “I believe I am sending you
a saint.” Fr Ladislaus soon noticed that this was no exaggeration.
He wrote: “He prayed at length before and after confessions. His
confessional was always surrounded by many people who wanted
to receive absolution from him and the appropriate advice he gave:
brief, to the point, and practical. I went to confession to him every
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week. During the night, as the rector, I had to make my rounds of
the house. I often saw a light on in the chapel. When I went there I
saw Fr Rudolph stretched out on the floor with his arms open like
a cross. He was praying.” Fr Pinto Ferreira said: “He was sought
after for confession both by the Salesian confreres and clergy from
outside. When he heard the confessions of the priests one noted
his timidity and humility. When confession was finished he would
surprise the priestly penitent by kissing his hands. It happened to me
on occasions when I finished my confession that he would hand me
his stole and then he would kneel down and make his confession.”
He was not only the confessor. They gave him 28 hours of teaching
per week! When someone came looking for a priest to be with a sick
person he was the first to offer himself. He would run to the sacristy
and take the Blessed Sacrament in a pyx, grab the horse by the reins
and set off. While going there he would say the Rosary. At time he
had to go out to faraway huts on high hills without roads. But he
went rain or shine, fingering his black rosary beads as he went. They
were already well used and worn but he never wanted to exchange
them for another set.
By January 1941, Fr Rudolph's health was seriously compromised.
An insistent cough wore him out day and night. He was set to the
Salesian residence at San José dos Campos, a rest home. a detailed
examination by the specialist there removed any doubt: tuberculosis.
He could no longer go back to Lavrinhas. He had to remain at
San José because only a radical cure could prolong his life. The
Santa Casa (the retirement home) where he was chaplain and the
Vicentina Aranha sanatorium became his field of apostolate. How
many tuberculosis sufferers he attended! Some who had previously
been indifferent to their faith ended up receiving the sacraments
from the “holy Father”. His poverty made an impression. He slept
on three wooden tables with a very old blanket and some worn-out
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coats to cover himself with. His humility was immense: always the
least of all. The nine years he spent at San José were a constant, serene
journey towards his heavenly goal. Father Rudolph considered his
own illness to be a blessing from God and accepted his suffering
from God's hands with gratitude. Sister Maria Faleiros, who was
with him in his final hours testified: “He wanted the by now useless
medicines he had to be given to the poor who were unable to procure
them for themselves. He never showed any impatience. He told
me in his final moments, concerned: ‘Sister, it is hard to die. I did
not think it would be like that.” He died on 11 December 1949.
→ “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
Kowalski, Józef (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Joseph Kowalski. • Salesian priest, martyr.
Decree of Martyrdom: 26 March 1999. Beatified: 13 June 1999.
Liturgical Celebration: 29 May.
Joseph Kowalski was born in Siedliska (Poland), a small farming
village near Rzeszów, on 13 March 1911, the son of Wojciech
Kowalski and Sofia Borowiec, a deeply believing and practising
couple. He was baptised on 19 March, the feast of St Joseph, in the
parish church at Lubenia, some four kilometres away, since at that
time his own village did not have a church. When he had finished
his primary schooling, at 11 years of age and in accordance with
his parents wishes, he went to the St John Bosco College (boarding
school) in Oświęcim where he remained for five years. Over this
time he stood out for his uncommon piety, diligence, cheerfulness
and spirit of service; he was loved by all and counted among the best
of the boys there. He joined the Immaculate Conception Sodality,
became president of the mission group and led various religious
and cultural activities among his peers. It was no surprise then that
he felt a desire to follow in the footsteps of his educators and that
they in turn would see these signs of a true vocation as a grace.
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The educational climate and the proposals of a Christian
upbringing during his teenage years had all the characteristics
of the preventive system: a youthful setting, relationship of trust
with his educators, group involvement, responsibility for the more
mature ones, devotion to Mary Help of Christians, reception of the
sacraments. Some of the pages of his “Private notebooks” reveal
among other things how, in this setting, Joseph pursued his personal
journey of holiness, “copying Dominic Savio”: “I would rather die
than offend you through any small sin”; “O my good Jesus, give
me a persevering, steady, strong will so that I can persevere with
my holy resolutions and achieve my high ideal: the holiness I have
decided on. I can and must be a saint.”
These notebooks document how personal was his adherence to
Jesus Christ, and this matured over the years, especially after his
religious profession: “Jesus, I want to be truly faithful and to serve
you faithfully ... I dedicate myself totally to you ... Let me never
separate myself from you and be faithful to you until to death. May
I always keep my oath: ‘To die rather than offend you through the
smallest sin’ ... I must be a holy Salesian just as my father Don Bosco
was holy.” As a young student of philosophy in 1930 he had written
in blood on a page of his diary after drawing a small cross: “Suffer
and be despised for you Lord ... With complete awareness, decisive
will and ready to accept all the consequences, I embrace the sweet
cross of Christ's call and would like to carry it till the end, up until
death.” He asked to be a Salesian and in 1927 entered the novitiate at
Czerwinsk. Then came his final high school studies and philosophy
at Krakow (1928-1931), and his practical training which finished
with his final profession (1934) and theology, with his ordination
as a priest in 1938.
He was immediately called by the provincial, Fr Adam Ciéslar,
to be his secretary and remained in that role for the next three years.
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He was described as a confrere who stood out for his surprising
self-control and the exceptional respect he showed to each of his
confreres: obliging, kind, always calm and especially hard working.
To the extent that his responsibilities allowed him, he dedicated
himself to the study of languages (Italian, French, German); he read
the life of the founder with interest, and scrupulously prepared
his homilies. His tasks as provincial secretary did not prevent him
from exercising his pastoral ministry. He was always available for
preaching and conferences, especially where youth were concerned
and to help out with confessions. Endowed with a fine musical ear
and having a good voice, he looked after the youth choir in the
parish to provide solemnity to the liturgical celebrations.
It was precisely this zealous priestly activity among the young
that brought him to the attention of the Nazis and motivated
his arrest on 23 May 1941, along with another eleven Salesians.
Temporarily imprisoned in Krakow in the Montelupich prison,
a month later he was transferred along with others to the
concentration camp at Oświęcim. Here he saw four of his confreres
killed. Among these was his rector, Fr Joseph Świerc and his
confessor, Fr Ignatius Dobiasz. He became No. 17350, and spent
a year of hard labour and mistreatment in the so-called “severe
punishment group” where few managed to survive. It was decided
to transfer him to Dachau, but at the last moment this changed,
in circumstances very well described by witnesses who made
depositions during the beatification process and that are also
recorded in the beatification process for Fr Maximilian Kolbe. He
remained part of the severe punishment group at Oświęcim.
The prison camp became a field of pastoral activity for him.
He joined suffering with diligent attention to his fellow prisoners,
especially to comfort them with hope and sustain their faith. We
can report some of the facts recorded by some witnesses: “The
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guards from the SK [Strafkompanie – Discipline Group], knowing
that Kowalski was a priest, tormented him every step of the way,
would beat him on many an occasion, and sent him to do the
hardest work.” Yet he never ceased offering his fellow prisoners
all the priestly services he could: “Despite the strict prohibition,
he absolved the dying of their sins, comforted those who were
discouraged, spiritually uplifted the poor men awaiting a death
sentence, secretly brought them Communion; he even succeeded in
organising Mass in the barracks, led prayers and helped the needy.”
“In a death camp like that where, according to its leaders, God did
not exist, he succeeded in bringing God to his fellow prisoners.” His
inner and outward stance during this entire Calvary can be seen in
a letter to his parents: “Do not worry about me, I am in God's hands
... I want to assure you that I feel his help at every step. Despite the
current situation I am happy and totally at peace; I am convinced
that wherever I am and whatever happens to me, it all comes from
God's fatherly providence, who in some very just way directs the
fate of all nations and all peoples.”
Two facts speak eloquently of his heroic pastoral zeal. The first is
his organisation of daily prayer in the camp: “In the morning as soon
as we came out of isolation we gathered together, still when it was
dark (at 4:30 a.m.), forming a small group of 5-8 people near one
of the blocks in one of the less visible spots (discovery of a group
like this could have costs us our lives), to say our prayers that we
repeated after him. The little group gradually grew despite the fact
that it was very risky.”
The second happened on 2 June 1942. An order came from the
concentration camps’ high command: sixty priests had to leave
Oświęcim and go to Dachau. This was another extermination camp
where three thousand priests had been brought together. Fr Joseph
Kowalski was among those selected for the journey. The sixty
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priests were all herded together into a bathroom to be disinfected
before departure. The scene that unfolded was told under oath
by Fr Corrado Szweda: “We were all together in the bathroom,
awaiting our turn for disinfection. Palitsch entered. He was the most
ruthless of all the butchers of Oświęcim. He saw that Fr Kowalski
had something in his hand: ‘What have you got there?’, he asked
brusquely. and without waiting for an answer he struck his hand
with his whip and a Rosary fell out. ‘Stamp on it!’, he shouted. Fr
Joseph stood still. He was immediately separated from the group
and transferred to the disciplinary group.”
Much more tragic were the events that took place on the final
day of his life, 3 July 1942. Every gesture and word of those last
24 hours take on a particularly important significance. “Having
finished work,” one of the witnesses says “friends brought Father
Kowalski to the block. He had been mistreated by the guards. After
his return I spent the last moments together with him. We were
aware that after the murder of other members of our bunk section
(three of the five had already been killed) now it was our turn. In
that situation Fr Kowalski was recollected in prayer. At a certain
moment he turned to me saying: ‘Kneel down and pray with me
for these people who are killing us.’ We both prayed at the end of
roll call, late in the evening on our bunks. Shortly afterwards Mitas
came to us and called Fr Kowalski who got up from his bunk calmly
since he was prepared for the call and for the death he knew would
follow. He gave me his ration of bread he had received for supper
saying: ‘You eat it; I will no longer have need of it.’ Following these
words he went knowingly to his death.”
Before the epilogue, which was to take place in the early morning
of 4 July, a sacred action was staged on 3 July, revealing the heroic
dignity of a true witness to the faith. The guards had reached a
veritable frenzy in their thirst for killing. They made their cruelty
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Kowalski, Józef
look like fun. That day they did not even take a break during lunch
time, continuing their sadistic amusement from the morning. At
one moment they were drowning someone in the nearby excrement
pit, at another they were throwing others off a high embankment
into a huge drain they were excavating, full of muddy clay. The
ones who were not yet dead were thrown into a large container
used to keep the dogs in. It had no floor. They forced them to bark
like dogs then, pouring their soup onto the ground, they forced
them to lick it up. One of the guards screamed in a raucous voice:
“where is the Catholic priest? Let him give them his blessing for
the trip to eternity.” Meanwhile, some of the ‘butchers’ were tossing
Fr Kowalski into the muddy ditch from the embankment to amuse
themselves. They led him, barely resembling a human being, to the
container. Pulled out of the muddy drain, stripped naked with just
the remnants of his pants clinging to him, covered from head to foot
with mud and excrement, and being beaten as he went, he came
to the container where the others were lying, some dying, some
already dead. The butchers were hitting Fr Kowalski, mocking him
as a priest, and ordered him to climb up on the container to impart
‘the last blessing to the dying according to the Catholic Rite, for
their journey to paradise’”.
“Fr Kowalski knelt down on the container, and making the sign
of the cross, in a loud, almost inspired voice, he slowly began saying
the Our Father, Hail Mary, Sub tuum praesidium and the Hail
Holy Queen. These words of eternal truth in the prayers impressed
the other prisoners who daily, even from hour to hour stood in
expectation of a death as fearful as they were now seeing – men
in a kennel, so disfigured they had lost any resemblance of human
beings, departing this vale of tears.
“Crouching down in the grass not daring to lift our heads lest we
be seen by these murderers, we drank in Fr Kowalski’s penetrating
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Kowalski, Józef
words as food for the peace we all longed for. The ground soaked
with the prisoners’ blood was now bathed in the tears we shed while
we witnessed the sublime mystery being celebrated by Fr Kowalski
with that macabre scene as its background. Hidden beside me in
the grass was a young student from Jasto (Thaddeus Kokoz) who
whispered in my ear: ‘The world has never heard a prayer like that,
perhaps not even in the catacombs.’”
From careful reconstruction it seems that he was killed on
the night of 3 July 1942. He was drowned in the camp sewer.
Fellow prisoner Stephen Boratynski said under oath that he saw
his filthy body abandoned in front of the punishment group block.
→ “beatificazione” “martirio” “santità salesiana”
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laico
307
laico
L
laico
n. Lay (person). • (1) In contrast to ecclesial or religious (as in ‘lay
power’ contrasted with ‘religious power’). (2) The identity of the
Christian without any further additions. That which pertains to the
Christian people.
In the 19th century and for a good part of the 20th, throughout the
Western world, the concept of ‘lay’ had a strong accusatory character
in reference to Church and religious symbols. This ‘lay’ tendency
was especially marked in France and is still very much present in
the French legal system and culture.
Within the ecclesiastical context, ‘lay’ includes women and men
religious who are not priests (not part of the hierarchical structure,
therefore). In this case it is a positive concept, and enables us to
speak of lay consecrated, the layperson who has marked him or
herself in relation to God by a public or ritual act (consecration).
It is worthy of note that this term was used by Don Bosco himself,
e.g. in the first constitutional text 1858 on the scope of the society.
It predates the term coadjutor and in fact in that text is more a
reference to what Don Bosco called his salesiani esterni (lay people
living in the world with his spirit) than it is to coadjutors.
Within the ecclesiastical context, ‘lay’ includes women and men
religious who are not priests (not part of the hierarchical structure,
therefore). In this case it is a positive concept, and enables us to
speak of lay consecrated, the layperson who has marked him or
herself in relation to God by a public or ritual act (consecration, but
→ “consacrazione” for a correct understanding of this term).
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Laicus (L)
308
lavoro e temperanza
Usage: There is also a concept of laïcité (French), laicità (Italian),
occasionally rendered in English as ‘laicity’. This English term is not
a happy one! Secularism would be more appropriate in English. Fr
Viganò offers three levels of meaning to the term – the most general
being that of the universal condition of creation, a second level being
that of the Church’s mission, and the third as a lay form of religious
life, the Salesian Brother.
The problem here is that the concept (as understood from French
society in particular) is more understood in terms of separation
of Church and State, so its application in the ecclesiastical (and
Salesian) context is a very restricted one and would not be well
understood even by many Salesians. In this context the word
‘secular’ may be better understood. → “coadiutore” “salesiano
esterno”
Laicus (L)
[la] n., abbrev. 1. Brother, 2. Coadjutor. • Term used in the Year Book.
→ “necrologio” “annuario”
lavoro e temperanza
np. Work and temperance. • Motto of the Salesian Society, originally
expressed in Latin as labor et temperantia.
Don Bosco called it la parola d’ordine e il distintivo del salesiano (MB
XII, 466) i.e. the term which is most distinctive of the Salesian, his
badge, if you like.
In contemporary Salesian discourse it belongs to the wider
notion of asceticism and the exercise of apostolic charity, which
requires detachment, sacrifice, renunciation. An entire Constitution
(C. 18 of the SDB Constitutions) is devoted to the concept, in
which it speaks of ‘tireless work’ and the ‘strength to control his
heart, to master himself and remain even-tempered’. The Charter of
Identity (→ “carta d’identità carismatica”) speaks of an asceticism
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lectio divina
309
lettera mortuaria
of humility, of mortification, of courage and patience, and even
of complete abandonment to God. → “CSMA” “Markiewicz,
Bronisław (beato)”
lectio divina
[la] np. Lectio divina. • The term is not usually translated. It literally
means ‘divine reading’. It has a long pedigree in the Church’s
experience.
The term refers in particular to a way of reading the Word of God
(hence the ‘divina’) directly or via commentaries. Lectio divina has
more recently been encouraged in Salesian spirituality, especially
by Fr Chávez. → “meditazione”
lectio magistralis
[la] np. 1. lectio magistralis, 2. keynote lecture. • The Latin saying
lectio magistralis (composition of lectio which means "reading,
lesson" with magistralis which means "of the master", therefore
"reading or lesson of the master" is used in university, cultural or
religious contexts to indicate a reading, conference or lesson given
by a personality whose authoritativeness or proven scientific ability
gives particular importance to the event.
lettera mortuaria
np. 1. mortuary letter, 2. obituary letter. • A letter written by the
Rector of a community upon the death of a confrere. This letter
is a gesture of friendship, fraternity and gratitude for the life of
the confrere. it was Don Bosco himself who began this practice.
→ “necrologio”
Usage: The English translation of the Regulations refers to
obituary letter, but common parlance seems to prefer mortuary
letter.
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lettere dimissorie
310
libellus supplex
lettere dimissorie
np. Dimissorial letters. • Letter from a Bishop or Major Superior
to the ordaining Bishop of candidate for ordination, giving the
go-ahead for the ordination. Once a candidate has been admitted
to Orders by the Provincial and his Council, in order to proceed
to ordination the Provincial will send the ordaining Bishop the
"dimissorial letters" prescribed by law (cf. can. 1021). In these
letters it must be explicitly stated that the ordinand is permanently
professed in the religious institute, that he is a subject of the Superior
who gives the letters, that the scrutiny has been carried out in
accordance with the norms of law and that he is aware of the
candidate's suitability.
lettorato
n. 1. ministry of Reader, 2. reader, 3. lector. • Note that English does
not attempt to call it ‘lectorate’. The one who takes on this ministry
is ‘Reader’. Along with the ministry of acolyte, this ministry too has
been opened up to women. → “accolitato”
Letture Cattoliche
proper name. Catholic Readings. • A periodical publication of small
books written for common people, of an apologetic nature, and
published by Don Bosco.
The Catholic Readings were really the initiative of Bishop Luigi
Moreno of Ivrea, but he saw Don Bosco as the man who could carry
the project forward, as was in fact the case. It began publication in
March 1853. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “BS Bollettino Salesiano”
libellus supplex
[la] np. Libellus supplex. • The Libellus is the written request with
which the Postulator, in the name of the petitioner, officially asks
the competent Bishop to initiate the cause on the virtues or the
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logo
311
Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria
martydrom of the Servant of God (Instruction Sanctorum Mater,
2007). Also called Supplex libellus. → “positio” “transunto”
logo
n. Logo. • Not to be confused with the stemma or Salesian coat of
arms. The logo is of the General Administration, even though it
has now been adopted far more widely as a general Salesian logo.
It is a combination of the German and Brazilian Salesian logos.
→ “stemma”
Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria (serva di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Anna Maria Lozano Díaz. • Daughter
of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Diocesan Inquiry opened 7
June 2011, closed 19 June 2014.
Born on 24 September 1883 in Oicatá, Boyacá (Colombia),
Anna Maria was baptised the following 27 November. Her parents,
Eduardo Lozano and Teresa Díaz, saw that their home was a
sanctuary of virtue. When the family moved to Tamara, Casanare
due to the leprosy which her father contracted, the day young Anna
Maria had so earnestly waited for finally arrived: the day of her
First Communion, which she received on 4 March 1894 from Bishop
Ezekiel Moreno, today a saint. The event left an indelible impression
on her soul.
Faced with the need for urgent specialist treatment, her father
Eduardo went to the leper colony at Agua de Dios, leaving his
wife and family in profound sorrow. The couple communicated
frequently: Teresa wrote: “Eduardo, you cannot prevent me from
joining you with my three children; your fate is my fate and that of
our three children.” On 4 May 1897 the family moved to Agua de
Dios where Anna Maria strongly felt God's call. Initially she wanted
to enter the the Congregation of the Sisters of the Presentation
but because of her beloved father's leprosy she saw her hopes
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312
Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria
disappearing. Nevertheless the good God had chosen her as the
corner stone of a blessed work, having proven her since she was
a child in the crucible of sorrow and suffering. In fact, in Agua de
Dios she met Fr Luigi Variara, burning with priestly zeal and who,
with his typical Salesian cheerfulness and kindness which he had
learned from Don Bosco himself, became the spiritual teacher who
guided the young woman in her search for God's will.
On 19 June 1903, together with her sister, a Carmelite, she made
her consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a victim of love and
reparation. On 7 May 1905, with the approval of the archbishop
of Bogotà, Archbishop Bernardo Herrera Restrepo, the Institute of
the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary came into
existence, making consecrated life possible for young sufferers of
leprosy or healthy daughters of lepers. The same day Anna Maria
began her postulancy. On 6 January 1906 she was vested with the
religious habit and began her novitiate in and atmosphere of intense
prayer and unlimited love for children who suffered leprosy in the
Michael Unia infant school. She sealed her covenant of love with
Jesus Christ on 19 March 1907.
On the death of the first Superior General, Mother Oliva Sánchez
Correa, the small community elected her as the Superior on 24 June
1907: she was 23 years old and just three months professed! Trusting
in the sanctifying activity of the Holy Spirit and the maternal help of
Mary Help of Christians, she accepted the role in a spirit of simplicity
and humility, counting on the support and guidance of the founder,
Blessed Luigi Variara, and the charity of her Sisters. She was always
a mother and adviser when exercising her authority, making the
teachings of the founder her own: “Remember that you are a mother
rather than a superior and try to be truly such with your daughters!”
Thus, she took on a spiritual motherhood which she practised in the
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313
Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria
Sisters' lives through a gradual spiritual maturing as she followed
Jesus Christ.
From then on she was the founder's closest disciple, his heir, but
also the one responsible for passing on the spirit of the Institute,
making it grow, updating it and at the same time keeping it faithful
to its roots. She was the Superior General for 55 years over a number
of occasions (1907-1919; 1922-1925; 1928-1968), and consolidated
the charism in Salesian spirituality. Blessed Luigi Variara's aim was
to form true victims: “I want Jesus to see that we have offered our
will as victims, not with words but with deeds.” In the light of this
teaching Anna Maria became ever more imbued with the spirit and
mission of the Institute, taking up the attitudes of Jesus the Good
Shepherd and knowing how to interpret events from the perspective
of the Gospel and in the light of the Salesian charism as victim. With
her apostolic zeal for both healthy children and those who suffered
from leprosy at Agua de Dios, she founded the works of Nazareth,
Saint Helen and Saint Anne for the poorest and most abandoned.
She later opened works in Colombia and Ecuador. In 1930 she gained
diocesan approval for the Institute from the Holy See. Following
this, and foreseeing its expansion she gained permission to accept
novices who were immune from the disease or born of healthy
parents. Recognising the holiness of their founder she sought and
obtained the Decree of the opening of his Cause of beatification
and canonisation. With spiritual joy she welcomed the pontifical
approval of the Institute with the “decretum laudis” on 12 June
1953 and the approval of the Constitutions and Regulations on 24
May 1964.
Following the dictates of Vatican Council II, in 1968 Anna
Maria Lozano convoked the 6th Special General Chapter. During
the Chapter she handed over the reins of government to the
new Superior, Mother Evangelina Hernández Garavito. When the
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Lunkenbein, Rudolph
314
Lunkenbein, Rudolph
Chapter ended she retired to the Nazareth community in Agua de
Dios, a silent and isolated place which allowed her to reach a higher
degree of contemplation and experience God as the absolute, the
one and only. She kept her lamp alight and went to meet the Lord on
5 March 1982 at 98 years of age, realising the founder's words: “May
the wedding begun on this earth obtain its golden seal in heaven.”
The life of Mother Lozano showed her dynamic and creative
fidelity to the gift of her vocation; the living presence of Jesus Christ
through exquisite charity; the embodiment of the Salesian charism
as victim; her interpretation of the signs of the times in order to
give a response to the needs of history and the Church. Action
and contemplation came together in her in the style of Don Bosco
and Blessed Luigi Variara, making her daily life and continuous
liturgy. God's presence in her saw the following cornerstones of
her sanctification: love for the Eucharist; devotion to Mary Help of
Christians, teacher and adviser; her absolute confidence in divine
Providence; a clear awareness of the spirit of the victim, lived in
acceptance and offering up of every daily experience, especially
suffering and hardship, while remaining always cheerful and full of
kindness for everyone. → “servo di Dio” “HH.SS.CC.” “Variara,
Luigi (beato)” “santità salesiana”
Lunkenbein, Rudolph (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Rudolph Lukenbein. • Salesian Priest.
Diocesan Inquiry opened 31 January 2018, closed 31 January 2020.
Rudolph Lunkenbein was born on 1 April 1939 in Döringstadt
in Germany. Since he was a teenager, reading Salesian publications
aroused the desire to be a missionary in him. He was sent to Brazil as
a missionary and did his practical training in the mission of Meruri
(Mato Grosso), where he remained until 1965. He was ordained
priest in Germany on 29 June 1969, choosing as his motto: “I came to
service and give life.” He then returned to Meruri, welcomed back
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luoghi salesiani
315
luoghi salesiani
by the Bororo natives with great affection. They gave him the name
Koge Ekureu (Golden fish). In 1972 he took part in the foundation of
the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) and fought in defence of
indigenous reserves. He was killed in the courtyard of the Salesian
mission on 15 July 1976. On his last visit to Germany in 1974, his
mother begged him to be careful because he had told her of the risks
he was running. He replied: “Mother, why worry? If they want to
cut off my finger I will offer them both hands. There is nothing more
beautiful than to die for God's cause. This would be my dream.”
→ “Bororo Simão (servo di Dio)” for the remainder of the story
of their murders. “servo di Dio”
luoghi salesiani
np. Salesian (holy) places. • A reference to the areas where Don
Bosco was born and grew up and ministered – Colle, Chieri, Turin
etc. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “Valdocco” “i Becchi”
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Madonna
316
Majcen, Andrej
M
Madonna
n. 1. Our Lady, 2. The Virgin Mary. • A favourite term of Don
Bosco’s, which continues to our own time, for Mary. → “Auxilium
Christianorum”
Linguistic note: Originally the term was used in Italian (before
Don Bosco’s time) to mean what today is Signora, or a polite
reference to a lady. Today it is always seen in reference to Mary.
It will often be simply ‘Our Lady’ in English, or it may remain
untranslated.
maestro dei novizi
np. 1. Director of novices, 2. Master of Novices, 3. Novice
Master. • Officially novice director or director of novices (may be
capitalised, does not need to be), but people still commonly refer to
the novice master. → “formazione”
Majcen, Andrej (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Andrew Majcen. • Salesian Priest.
Diocesan Inquiry Opened: 24 September 2010.
“I am grateful to God for having called me and for having given
me the courage to follow his call. The adventure of life, into which
God sends us, is very significant!” This sentence sums up a lengthy
story of days, adventures and of an original desire, and prophecy
of living for 95 years! This was something he achieved in a timely
manner on the very day of his birthday: 30 September 1999. Fr
Andrew Majcen's story is the story of a patriarch with various calls,
departures, resignation to God's will but above all the joy and grace
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317
Majcen, Andrej
of having so many spiritual offspring, the result of hardships and
apostolic trials. His was a constant exodus towards new promised
lands where God led him through admirable twists and turns which
humanly speaking were hard to understand but then turned out to
be the right path.
Andrew (Andrej) Majcen was born on 30 September 1904 in
Maribor (Slovenia), and received a fine Christian upbringing in
his family; his father Andrej was a practical man, always ready to
help people in difficulties. He instilled a rule in the boy's heart: “Be
good to everyone and you will never ever regret it!” His mother,
Marija Šlik, a very devout woman, had advised her son to consider
a vocation to the clergy, but the father's opinion was that he wanted
him to be a teacher since only this way could he help people. His
mother, who feared that he might go astray, advised him: “Do
not forget Mary Most Holy!” and offered him St Francis de Sales'
Introduction to the Devout Life for spiritual reading. Young Andrew
was fascinated by the life of Don Bosco and in 1924 he decided
to enter the Salesian novitiate. He experienced some humiliating
moments, moments of suspicion, outright slander, a prolonged
novitiate, yet he persevered, modelling his character on the spirit of
Don Bosco.
The ten years he spent in Rakovnik, Ljlubljana, were a time
of preparation for his missionary vocation. Because of his poor
knowledge of Latin they wanted to send him away, and as a result
of tiring work and an insufficient diet, his health was at serious risk.
The news of the martyrdom of Bishop Aloysius Versiglia and Fr
Callistus Caravario (China, 1930) reawakened in his heart the desire
for the missions. The meeting with missionary Fr Jožef Kerec (1932)
led to his decision to leave for China. In 1933 he was ordained priest
and on 15 August 1935, in the shrine of Mary Help of Christians at
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318
Majcen, Andrej
Rakovnik, as he received the missionary crucifix he made a lifelong
covenant with Mary Help of Christians.
He began this adventure by experiencing the fruitfulness of the
Preventive System in Kunming (China). His motto and programme
was: “I will proclaim the Gospel to the Chinese in Chinese, therefore
I will be Chinese with the Chinese.” He loved them as his brothers
and sisters and learned their language in a short time. He did
not allow himself to be influenced by the resentment of some
missionaries and nurtured a preferential love for poor young people
and poor people in general. They all found him to be a sincere
friend and concerned father. Even at that stage the word was “Be as
humble and good as Fr Majcen and even you can become a saint!”
Even authorities from Mao's communist regime saw in him a man
who was working for the good of the Chinese, and while other
missionaries were expelled or ended up suffering in prison, he spent
a year teaching Russian in the State middle school. It was after this
that he experienced his first expulsion and exile but did not consider
himself conquered by any means.
In Hanoi, Vietnam, he established an orphanage with just five
dollars in his pocket. These poor young orphans – 550 of them
– found a loving father in him. After the fall of North Vietnam
he moved all the orphans to the South, saving their lives. Then
came the golden era of his missionary life. Starting with nothing,
in the twenty years he spent in Vietnam he saw to the flourishing
of a huge Salesian ‘tree’ and with his magnanimous vision he
began then consolidating the Salesian presence there. He became
known as “the Don Bosco of Vietnam” for this. As rector, vice
provincial, the first novice master, but above all the one who
gave rise to and formed religious vocations, he was the man who
transplanted Don Bosco's charism in the Vietnamese soul, following
his principle: “Vietnamese with the Vietnamese, in the Vietnamese
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Majcen, Andrej
way.” With the help of collaborators he was the first to translate
the Salesian Constitutions into Vietnamese. He welcomed everyone
into Salesian houses, excluding nobody, and privileging those most
in need. All this aroused great sympathy and esteem for him.
When Communism came to power, Fr Majcen rejected an American
General's offer to take him and the Salesians abroad. He said: “The
Vietnamese have to stay with the Vietnamese and me with them!”
He then sent the confreres into the countryside in small groups,
thus saving them. Even here the new masters recognised his work
for the good of the people. Although he was a foreign citizen, he
had the right to vote in the Peoples Assembly. When he left they
said: “You have educated the Vietnamese Salesians well and they
will now continue your work ...” He was expelled once more, but
gently, and they gave him great recognition. Physically exhausted,
he returned home to Slovenia on doctor's orders to get his strength
back. It would be a departure without return.
Back home, since Yugoslavia was a Socialist State with links
to Vietnam, Fr Andrew became a unique point of reference and
link with the Salesian world in Vietnam. He established a wide
circle of friends around him in Ljubljana who collected materials
and financial aid for the missions. Many letters written to him
by Vietnamese Salesians remain from these twenty years, as well
as letters from other people in Vietnam, China, from superiors,
Cooperators ... Fr Majcen is called: “Moses”, “Dad”, “Father of light”
and similar in these letters, all titles that speak of the profound
admiration and great affection people had for this man of God.
After celebrations for his Golden Jubilee of ordination (1983), Fr
Majcen understood that he would never be able to return among
his own in Vietnam; so he put all his energies into his journey to
holiness.
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Mamma Margherita (ven)
320
Mamma Margherita (ven)
This daily tendency to holiness and spiritual commitment is
documented in his spiritual diaries, meditations and notes. There are
some 6,500 handwritten pages: every day he planned and precisely
directed his spiritual journey. The four anniversaries of his life were
deeply felt: the day of his baptism when he became a child of God;
the day of his religious profession when he became a Salesian; the
day of his priestly ordination when he became a priest of Christ;
the day he was given the missionary crucifix when he became a
messenger and apostle of Christ. Along with missionary animation,
he devoted a large part of his time to spiritual direction and the
ministry of reconciliation. He was a much sought-after spiritual
guide, including by priests and religious. He died at the age of 95,
on 30 September 1999, as he himself had asked the Lord. → “servo
di Dio” “santità salesiana” “VIE Vietnam”
Mamma Margherita (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Mamma Margaret Occhiena. • Declared
Venerable: 23 October 2006.
Mother of St John Bosco and regarded as the originator of the
Salesian family spirit, though it is important not to generalise the
term family spirit which each Congregation lays claim to, but to
retain the historical individuality of the Salesian family spirit as
experienced with Mamma Margaret at Valdocco, as it is one of the
fundamentals behind loving-kindness in the Preventive System.
On 1 April 1788, a year after the French Revolution broke
out, Margaret Occhiena was born on the smiling hills of the Alto
Astigiano, and more precisely in a small village called Capriglio
d’Asti. She was the sixth child that God, the lover of life, had given
Melchiorre Occhiena and Domenica Bossone. She was baptised the
same day and the name she was given, Margaret, means “precious
stone”. Margaret was born at a time when the young Napoleon
Bonaparte had invaded Piedmontese territory also bringing war
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Mamma Margherita (ven)
321
Mamma Margherita (ven)
and destruction to the province of Asti. In those years, Piedmont
“became the land of brigands” who committed atrocities and
burned down villages. Despite the sadness of the times, Margaret
had a happy childhood. She never went to school but the first
words she learned from her mother were the words of the Hail
Mary. Well-known biographer, G.B. Lemoyne, described Margaret's
personality in a few but carefully chosen and precise lines: “By
nature she had a resolute will, and assisted by exquisite common
sense and divine grace, this saw that she overcame all the spiritual
and material obstacles she encountered in her lifetime ... Upright in
conscience, in her affections and thinking, sure in her judgements
about people and things, quick in her manner, frank in her speech,
she did not know what it was to hesitate ... Poor as she was, she
knew how to see the face of God in the poor.”
By contrast with the many girls her age who were married or
preparing to do so, Margaret displayed some reluctance, thinking
she could live with her mother and father to help them in their old
age. Her father Melchiorre dissuaded her from this idea. A young
widower, Francis Bosco, 27 years of age and originally from the
“Becchi” hamlet, part of Morialdo, came to Margaret's father to ask
him for her hand in marriage. Margaret accepted: she was 24 years
old. The wedding took place on 6 June 1812 in the parish church at
Capriglio. She was welcomed as a blessing from God by her husband
Francis, her mother-in-law Margaret Zucca, who was paralysed, and
Anthony, Francis's son by his previous marriage. Like every young
couple, Margaret and Francis too had their plans and dreams to
realise, and so while life continued peacefully and happily between
work and prayer, on 8 April 1813 their first son Joseph was born.
Two years later on 16 August 1815, John came into the world.
1817 was a dreadful year for Mamma Margaret: her husband
Francis went down into the cold underground cellar after returning
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Mamma Margherita (ven)
bathed in sweat from the fields. The severe fever that resulted left
no doubts: pneumonia. The dying man's last words to his wife were
touching: “See what a great grace the Lord has given me: he is calling
me to himself on the same day and at the same time as he himself
died ... I recommend our children to you and especially little John.”
This was on Friday 11 May at 3 p.m. when Francis passed away at 33
years of age. Margaret, 29, was now a widow. A strong woman and
one of great faith, she rolled up her sleeves and went back to work,
bringing the sharecropping season to an end and saving the best
of the crops. With the help of her brother Michael she managed to
set up the shack her husband had bought, adapting it for habitation
(today's cottage of Don Bosco at the Becchi).
Shortly afterwards, it was suggested to Margaret that she take
a rest and find a guardian for the children who would take great
care of them. She replied decisively: “God gave me a husband and
God has taken him away; when he was dying he entrusted the
children to me ... all the gold in the world could never make me
abandon them.” Don Bosco would later write in his Memoirs: “Her
greatest care was given to instructing her sons in their religion,
making them value obedience and keeping them busy with tasks
suited to their age.” She was a very gentle mother but energetic and
strong: her children knew that when she said no she meant no! Days
passed in work and prayer. Illiterate though she was she taught her
children the catechism she had learned from her own mother, and
prepared them to receive the sacraments: Confession, Communion
and Confirmation.
1824 came along as a “prophetic” year. One morning, young
John told his mother, grandmother and brothers about a dream
that would remain impressed in his mind for the rest of his life.
After some discouraging comments from his grandmother and
brothers came an intuitive and wise one from his mother: “Who
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Mamma Margherita (ven)
knows, but you may become a priest.” Convinced that God was the
greatest educator of her children and that his voice pointed out the
best way forward, Margaret endured unbelievable hardships and
humiliations to allow her son to become a priest. On the evening of
30 October 1835, John was about to join the seminary, and Mamma
Margaret wasted no time in giving him her very valuable advice.
Six years later, precisely on 5 June 1841, Don Bosco was ordained
priest in Turin: the great sacrifices made by John and his mother
Margaret had born fruit.
Then came 1846 and a decisive turning point in Margaret's life. In
July, her son John spent some time back at the Becchi to convalesce
after being struck down by a serious illness and being miraculously
cured thanks to the insistent prayers of his mother and many poor
youngsters. At the end of this interval of time, and needing to return
to Turin, without hiding some hesitation, Don Bosco asked his
mother to come with him to the Oratory to be the “mother of those
poor boys”. Immediately understanding her son's needs, Margaret
showed no hesitation: “If you think such a move is God's will, I'm
ready to go right now!” And so it happened: on 3 November Mamma
Margaret, having prepared her “luggage”, left with her son John
for Turin. This is how Mamma Margaret's “second vocation” began
to take shape: being a mother for so many poor boys and making
them into a second family. And not just that: she also exercised
a spiritual motherhood for her son the priest, watching over him
and protecting his priesthood, bringing a feminine and motherly
tone to the origins of the oratory experience. During the years that
followed she saw arrive among the many boys names like Michael
Rua, Don Bosco's first successor, and John Cagliero, the first Salesian
missionary in Argentina then first Salesian bishop and cardinal; and
she had immediate insight into the holiness of young Dominic Savio
who arrived at the Oratory on 29 October 1854. One day she told
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mandamento
her son, Father John: “You have many good boys but none of them
outweighs the beauty of heart and soul of Dominic Savio.”
1856 came and during autumn, Mamma Margaret was feeling
tired. She almost never left the kitchen any more, a privileged place
where she worked and prayed uninterruptedly. Many of the boys
like being with her and listening to her stories or watching her work;
in this way they felt the warmth of a mother. That year she did not
go back to the Becchi for the traditional celebrations for Our Lady of
the Rosary: she was not feeling well and a persistent cough forced
her to take to her bed. She could no longer even use a needle and
thread. Don Bosco had the doctor visit her and the diagnosis was
pneumonia. It was heavy news for all who lived at Valdocco. By
now at the end of her life, and while the illness advanced, she was
still able to say these words to Don Bosco: “God knows how much I
have loved you. I hope I can love you even better in blessed eternity
... My conscience is at peace. I have done my duty in everything that
I could ... Look after your boys ... Many people seek what is good for
them rather than the glory of God... Many love poverty in others bu
not in themselves ...” Then after a lengthy pause: “Remember that
this life consists of suffering. Our true enjoyment will be in eternal
life ...” God came to take her to himself at 3 a.m. on 25 November
1856. Two hours later, Don Bosco went to the Consolata shrine to
celebrate Mass in the crypt and told Our Lady: “We are without a
mother. You be our mother.” → “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
“amorevolezza” “i Becchi”, “Valdocco”
Usage: We may find a spelling variant in English, where some
use ‘Mama’ instead of ‘Mamma’.
mandamento
n. District or administrative division. • The Sardo-Pied- montese
Kingdom at the time of Don Bosco was made up of Divisioni
(corresponding to the French Départments); every Divisione
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Manga
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Manga
was divided into a Provincia; every Provincia was divided into
Mandamenti, and every Mandamento was divided into Comuni. For
example: Piedmont was made up of 5 Divisioni (Turin, Novara,
Alessandria, Cuneo, Nizz Mare): The Divisione of Turin was made
up of 5 Provincie (Turin, Aosta, Biella, Ivrea, Pinerolo, Susa); the
Provincia of Turin was made up of 30 Mandamenti. Each Mandamento
had its own judge. → “comune”
Manga
[ja] n. 1. manga, 2. cartooning, 3. comics.• The Japanese form of
comic book, which has a wide variety of subject areas, catering
for both children and adults. In Japan, "manga" refers to all kinds
of cartooning, comics, and animation. Among English speakers,
"manga" has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics", in parallel
to the usage of anime (from French) in and outside Japan, referring
to animated versions.
Of particular interest to Salesian Regions because the Japanese
Province has prepared materials on topics of Salesian interest in
manga form and made them available to other Provinces, and not
only those within the EAO Region. Some Brazilian Provinces have
also taken it up and in 2015 a 200 page manga was produced by
Don Bosco Sha Publishers in Tokyo, and later translated into various
languages (Italian, Slovenian, Korean, English).
Linguistic note: Japanese, from man aimless, involuntary, whimsical,
impromptu + ga (earlier gwa) picture; originally Mangwa, the title
of a sketchbook drawn by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai,
1760–1849, in 1812.
The noun manga can be countable or uncountable. In more
general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will also be
manga. However, in more specific contexts, the plural form can also
be mangas e.g. in reference to various types of mangas or a collection
of mangas.
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Marchese, Rosetta
Marchese, Rosetta (serva di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Rosetta Marchese. • Daughter of Mary
Help of Christians. Supplex Libellus: 1 July 2019. Nihil Obstat: 16
December 2020.
Mother Rosetta was born in Aosta on 20 October 1922 to
Giovanni Marchese and Giovanna Stuardi. She was the first born
of three daughters: she, Anna and Maria Luisa. She was born in a
beautiful home on the outskirts: Villa Rean, on the hills leading to
the peaks of the high mountains in this splendid region. Her mother
was a simple and gentle woman. She worked in the textile industry
and learned her trade as a seamstress. Her father Giovanni was an
upright, decisive but kindly man. He worked on a farm in Cogne.
He was the first spiritual director for his daughters. Together in
the evenings they made their examination of conscience, and every
morning he went with them to Mass and followed them up step by
step in their upbringing and formation.
Rosetta attended kindergarten and the first three primary levels
at the school run by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
Due to lack of classrooms she finished her primary schooling at
the state school. From 1928 to 1938 (from when she was 6 until she
turned 16) she was a regular and active member of the oratory.
The Salesian setting was lively, serene and it was there that her
vocation began. She was followed up by Fr Alfonso Comod, an
outstanding priest from the clergy of the Val D'aosta. But when it
came to her making a decision about her vocation her family sent her
to her cousin Fr Giacomo Vacca, former secretary of Blessed Philip
Rinaldi, so he could have a word with her. After a long discussion
with Rosellina he told her parents: “Let her go, the fruit is ripe.” Her
friends remembered her as a good and respectful girl who had sway
over her friends. She was always ready to help and collaborate.
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Marchese, Rosetta
Rosetta was just turning 16 when she entered the Mother
Mazzarello House in Turin as an aspirant on 15 October 1938. She
received her Postulant's Medal on 31 January 1939. She was a simple,
happy young girl, pious and ready to make sacrifices. She looked
after a group of aspirants. On 6 August she began her novitiate.
She helped a group of novices with Latin. On her desk in the study
you could read: “Those who spare themselves do not love, they love
themselves.” She made her first profession on 5 August 1941. This
was the centenary year of Salesian work (Don Bosco's meeting with
Bartholomew Garelli in 1841). She sent her request for the missions
to the superiors, but since it was during the War she could not leave.
Immediately after her profession Sister Rosetta was sent to Turin
and Vercelli to prepared herself for matriculation and teachers
college and to assist the boarders. At 21 years of age she became
a student at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan,
then at Castel Fogliano, from 1943 to 1947. From 1945 to 1947 she
was appointed head of the group of FMA university students (she
was affectionately known as CiGi [Capo-Gruppo]). Her compelling
spirituality made her a leader. She brought Salesianity to this
environment, transforming the university walls into a Salesian
house breathing the family spirit, simplicity and cheerfulness. In
fact, the FMA were given a room all to themselves which they called
the Basilica and Sister Rosetta led them all, reading out the Mother
General's circular letters and providing cheerful recreation. She
gained her Arts Degree in 1947. She stood out for her piety and
cheerfulness, her fervour and mortification.
From 1947 (the year of her perpetual profession) until 1957 she
was at the Mother Mazarello Missionary House in Turin as teacher,
assistant to the boarders, the one in charge of the oratory and the
past pupils. From 1952 she was also the vice-superior and in charge
of the formation of the newly professed and new missionaries. She
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Marchese, Rosetta
was the soul of so many initiatives that had their roots in her silent
and sacrificial offering.
In 1957 (at 37 years of age) she left Turin to go to Caltagirone
in Sicily as the superior, until 1961. Her personality and her
apostolic activity had an influence on the community and the local
population. She was a wise counsellor for them all, someone who
understood the needs of the Sisters, the girls and the lay people;
she was a caring mother, full of kindness and her union with God
shone through. She gently pressed the sisters in the community to
be desirous of holiness.
In 1960 she went to Milan. She had a big problem: the optic nerve
in her right eye was seriously affected by a form of rheumatism, and
to avoid the left eye being similarly damaged, the right eye had to be
removed. On this occasion she asked the Lord for an exchange: she
would give her eye if she could have an inner eyesight that could
see deep into the needs and requirements of people. She led the
community in its contribution to catechetics with a strong renewal
of approach. She worked closely with the Salesian rector, Fr Fallica
Nino, for the birth of the Don Bosco Volunteers.
Fundamental was her encounter with Bishop Francesco Fasola,
today a Servant of God. He brought out her latent intuitions and
graces. On the very day he took possession of the Caltagirone
diocese (22 January 1961) Sister Rosetta understood his holiness and
the bishop admired the way the young superior lived her Salesian
and ecclesial mission. This relationship with Bishop Fasola threw
further light on the mystery of the priesthood, so much so that
on 2 August 1961, Sr Rosetta offered herself as a victim on behalf
of priests. But another fundamental element was her friendship
with Ave Gaglio, a woman of intense evangelical life and also a
spiritual daughter of Bishop Fasola, She opened her to an even
deeper understanding of the Eucharistic and priestly mystery.
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Marchese, Rosetta
From 1961 to 1965 Sister Rosetta was the superior of the Jesus
the Nazarene Institute in via Dalmazia in Rome. Her service of
leadership coincided with the Second Vatican Council being held in
Rome. She experienced and saw that others experienced this great
ecclesial event with a particular sensitivity to the Church of silence.
She brought an air of spirituality and renewal to the school and the
community. On 15 May 1963, to give increase to love of the Pope and
the Church, she brought 2000 girls from the FMA Houses around
Rome to an audience with Pope John XXIII. She was remembered
for her strong spirituality and great humanity. Her mission was to
inflame the hearts of her brides with the love of Jesus and to bring
young souls to him.
From 1965 until 1971, Mother Angela Vespa, the FMA Superior
General, entrusted Sr Rosetta with the large Roman St Cecilia
Province. During this period she was particularly involved in the
development of the catechetical apostolate, focusing on formation
(theology, Salesianity, human sciences) and the preparation of the
Sisters. She was also entrusted with the care of the student Sisters
attending the universities in Rome, whom she took care of with the
greatest commitment, given the ongoing time of protest. In 1969 she
took part in the 15th General Chapter, the Special Chapter of the
renewed constitutions according to the Council. She is remembered
from this period as a woman of the Holy Spirit with marked gifts
of motherhood and governance.
From 1971 to 1973 Mother Ersilia Canta sent her as the superior
to Lecco-Olate. Other than its educational works, the house was a
house of formation. Sr Rosetta opened it up to accepting ecclesial
activities and movements. She spent the centenary of the Institute in
this house, then she was entrusted with the governance of another
large Province, the Lombard Province of Mary Immaculate.
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Marchese, Rosetta
During the 16th General Chapter Sr Rosetta was president of
the 10th commission on the theme of formation. After Mother Canta's
re-election and the election of the resident Councillors, five other
Visitors were elected, among whom Mother Rosetta. She began her
new mission on 17 October 1975. From 1975 to 1981 she visited
Belgium, Sicily, Zaire, France, Germany and Piedmont. All felt the
efficacy of her presence, her ability to tackle difficult situations and
her inner strength. They all highlighted her gift of governance, of
listening and of discernment. Interiority and zeal for the souls of
the young became marvellously harmonised in her. She showed great
affinity with Mother Mazzarello in her union with God, her Marian
devotion and in her keen sense of Church.
In 1981, during the centenary of the death of Mother Mazzarello
who had offered her life for the Institute, Mother Rosetta
experienced a mystical experience with Main (Mary Mazzarello's
nickname) from 7–10 October. Sister Maria Ester Posada, the only
witness to the event, tells us about it. Mother Rosetta was suffering
at Mornese. She sought to be alone, wanting to be alone with Jesus.
A voice in her room told her: “Accept, accept!” A month later she
was elected Mother General and confided in Sister Ester: “I wanted
to be with Jesus alone so that a birth could take place in me: it was
the moment when the Institute was born in me.”
She was elected Mother General on 24 October 1981, after just
one round of voting. Her first words after he election summed up
her approach: “I ask Our Lady to say her Fiat and her Magnificat
for me because the Institute has given me everything but now it
gives me all of itself.” She wrote in her first circular: “I come to you
fully aware of my poverty, my limitations, but with the desire to be,
like Mother Mazzarello, only and always the vicar of Our Lady.”
Her style of leadership was charity lived in the family spirit that
arouses confidence and a sense of belonging. Her aims: to pass on
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Marengo, Oreste
the 17th General Chapter, deepen understanding of the spiritual
legacy of the founders through the spirituality of the Preventive
System, formation of superiors and inner growth in holiness. From
1981 to 1984 she wrote just 17 circular letters aimed at the renewal of
the Institute thanks to the Constitutions, for a new springtime filled
with the fruits of holiness. Her topics were those of spirituality: the
Holy Spirit, the central place of Jesus Christ, Our Lady, the family
spirit, the call to holiness, apostolic fruitfulness, the inner discipline
of silence.
A high fever in Turin on 24 May 1982 revealed an underlying
illness: serious leukaemia. We read in her notebooks that Mother
Rosetta offered up her illness and her life for the sanctification of
the Institute. Everyone was mobilised with unceasing prayer and
also the willingness to give blood for transfusions. Sister Ancilla
Modesto recounts that the Sisters in Portugal asked Sister Lucia of
Fatima if she could implore healing from Our Lady. Sister Lucia of
Fatima had a Salesian nephew, Father Valihno, who on 14 January
1983 went to visit Mother Rosetta at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome
with the statue of Fatima and a message from Sister Lucia: “The
offering has been pleasing to God.” In fact, on the 50th anniversary
of Don Bosco's canonisation and the centenary of the Institute's first
General Chapter, Mother Rosetta was born into Heaven on 8 March
1984. → “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”.
Marengo, Oreste (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Orestes Marengo. • Salesian Bishop.
Diocesan Inquiry opened 12 April 2007, closed 16 February 2013.
Orestes Marengo was born on 29 August 1906 in Diano d’Alba
(Cuneo), and did his primary schooling with the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians. As a pupil at the Salesian mother house in Turin
during his secondary schooling from 1919 to 1923, he had the joy
of getting to know the great Salesians of the first generation: Fr
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Marengo, Oreste
Albera, Fr Rinaldi, Fr Ricaldone, Fr Francesia, who left an indelible
impression on the young aspirant's soul. He asked if he could leave
for the missions, but was not accepted because he was too young. In
1923 he began his novitiate year at Foglizzo; following the death of
a cleric destined for the missions in India, he obtained permission
to replace him. “This was my life's greatest desire. I had asked to
become a Salesian on condition that I could consecrate my life to
the apostolate in a mission land. It wasn't important what part of
the world they sent me to.” He took part in the great missionary
expedition in 1923. He was the youngest: just 17!
He spent the years of formation in Shillong, in the North-East
of India, the heart of the Salesian mission, under the guidance of
Bishop Louis Mathias. He finished his novitiate under the guidance
of the novice master, Servant of God Fr Stephen Ferrando. After
his philosophy course he then did his practical training at Don
Bosco in Guwahati, the capital of Assam and the centre of the
missionary spread. In 1929 he was again back in Shillong for
theology, alternating the hours of study with teaching at the Saint
Anthony's secondary school and as assistant to the parish priest,
Servant of God Fr Constantine Vendrame, “a marvellous figure
of the missionary, tireless worker, concerned only with following
the Salesian motto: saving souls at any cost and whatever the
price”. Ordained priest on 3 April 1932, he was immediately sent
as an itinerant missionary into the Brahamaputra valley, helping Fr
Vincenzo Scuderi.
Thus began his life as “Christ's marathon runner”. This led him
to cover thousands of kilometres on foot along impassible trails
covered with undergrowth and sharp grasses beneath an implacable
sun reaching 45 degrees in the shade. Then during the wet season
these marches, which would last 10–20 days, became even more
exhaust-ing. As the rivers and streams overflowed the plain turned
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Marengo, Oreste
into an immense marsh of yellowish, slimy water, in which you
sank to your knees. This is the time when leeches stick invisibly
and dysentery, cholera and malaria are always on the prowl. Worn
down through exhaustion and malaria, in order to remove him from
his “suicidal zeal” and force him to rest, his superiors called a halt,
appointing him first as novice master in Bandel, then rector of the
studentate in Sonada.
However, in 1936 he was once again able to pick up his itinerant
missionary activity. He tackled dangers and difficulties of every
kind, ever smiling, ever enthusiastic and ever ready to expand the
Church's frontiers. More than a hundred different tribes lived in
this region, each with its own language, customs and traditions.
In order to be accepted he inserted himself fully into their way
of life, adopting their customs: he slept on the ground like they
did, shared their food such as monkey, snake, dog, silkworm and
other worms. He improvised as doctor and nurse, from time to
time distributing medicines of every kind to people struck down
by illness and disasters. As he would say: “Only this way can they
understand that we truly love them. Christ came to redeem all
human beings. Before making Christians of them we are always
concerned with forming them as people, reclaiming their dignity
and rights.” In every village he visited he saw that next to the hut
that was a chapel came a school, and he took upon himself the task
of forming catechists and teachers. To fit into the various cultures,
Fr Marengo studies the local languages, since he had the gift of
languages like no one else did; eventually he would perfectly speak
no fewer than 15 languages of the various tribes he came into contact
with.
He was returning from a long turn of apostolic activity in July
1951 when he received news that he neither expected nor wanted:
his appointment as bishop of the about to be erected diocese of
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Marengo, Oreste
Dibrugarh. His protests and pleas were in vain; he gave in only
when the Rector Major, Fr Peter Ricaldone, wrote to him “that
it was his wish that he accept the burden in the certainty that
the Help of Christians and Don Bosco would help him to carry
it out.” He was consecrated bishop in the Basilica of Mary Help
of Christians in Turin on 27 December 1951. The diocese he was
entrusted with was in the north of Assam and covered 130,000 km2,
with a population of 3,365,000 of whom only 40,000 were Catholics.
When he took possession there were only 5 mission centres with
200 small communities spread across the immense territory. He was
tireless in his work to increase the number of residential centres,
forming catechists, building schools, chapels, clinics; he approached
new tribes, opened aspirantates to recruit indigenous vocations for
the seminary and the religious congregations he had called to work
in his diocese. Conversions multiplied like a new Pentecost. He
administered thousands of baptisms, confirmations, weddings. He
climbed impassable trails to visit all the communities; he serenely
faced up to the hostilities of nature, of separated brethren, of tribes
in revolt, winning everyone over with his unalterable goodness and
generous charity.
When the diocese was in full development and was beginning
to enjoy the fruits of all these efforts, a new obedience arrived: the
Holy See invited him in 1964 to move to Tezpur to open a new
diocese there involving part of Assam, the entire state of Bhutan and
the hill country in the north-east of the Brahamaputra: a territory
of some 130,000 km2 with 1,500,000 inhabitants of whom only
48,000 were Catholics. He threw himself into this new field of work
with his usual enthusiasm, assisted by valiant confreres, to extend
the peaceful frontiers of the Church, overcoming obstacles and
difficulties of every kind that had grown with the increasing hostility
against foreigners in this area. Given this, the Holy See, after eight
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Marengo, Oreste
years of his intensive work, decided to entrust this diocese to an
Indian bishop.
In 1972 Bishop Marengo was invited to begin his third diocese
in Tura, a vast territory mainly inhabited by the Garo tribe, many
of whom were refugees from East Pakistan. There were only 36,000
Catholics with 14 missionaries who worked in the main centres. He
built the bishop's house, the cathedral, new residences, increasing
the number of charitable works for the many poor people, lepers and
refugees. In the space of a few years this diocese too saw unexpected
development to the point where, in 1978 he was able to entrust it to
a bishop from the local clergy, given the attitude of the government.
Bishop Marengo, despite the insistence of the new bishop that he
stay with him in Tura, preferred to retire to Mendal in order to leave
him full freedom of action. Mendal was 63 km from the capital and
there he could help the man in charge of the area following up a
good 20 communities, “spread across a vast territory in the Garo
mountains among the pagans who were hardest to surrender to the
penetration of the Christian message.” So this man, at 76 years of
age, 58 of which were spent in the missions, continued his apostolic
work in the service of humanity as a simple itinerant missionary.
He continued to make himself available in the various missions
until his death in Tura on 30 July 1998. Until the end of his long
life, Bishop Marengo was a heroic missionary, a living icon of the
Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Obedience to
his superiors, concern for the salvation of souls and typical Salesian
optimism were the most evident and beloved characteristics of this
Salesian missionary bishop in North-East India. → “servo di Dio”
“santità salesiana”
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Markiewicz, Bronisław
Markiewicz, Bronisław (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Bronisław Markiewicz. • Priest. Declared
Venerable: 2 June 1994. Beatified: 19 June 2005. Liturgical Celebration:
30 January.
Bronisław Markiewicz was born on 13 July 1842 in Pruchnik,
Poland, in what is today the Latin Rite archdiocese of Przemyśl. He
was the sixth of eleven children of Jan Markiewicz, burgomaster
(chief magistrate) of the city, and Marianna Gryziecka. He received
a solid religious upbringing in the family. Nevertheless, later during
his secondary schooling in Przemyśl, he went through a period of
doubt and wavering where his faith was concerned, due largely
to the very anti-religious climate in the school. He did manage to
overcome this fairly quickly and regained inner peace and serenity.
After matriculating, young Bronisław entered the Major Seminary
in Przemyśl in 1863 when he felt that God was calling him to the
priesthood. After the usual years of studies were completed, he was
ordained priest on 15 September 1867. Following six years of pastoral
work as assistant parish priest in the Harta parish and then in the
cathedral parish at Przemyśl, and wanting to do further preparation
so he could work with young people, he did two years of pedagogy,
philosophy and history at the University of Leopoli and Krakow. In
1875 he was appointed parish priest of Gać, and in 1877 of Blażowa.
In 1882 he was given the task of teaching Pastoral Theology at the
Major Seminary in Przemyśl.
Feeling called to religious life, in November 1885 he left for
Italy and entered the Salesians. He had the joy of meeting St John
Bosco and it was before him on 25 March 1887 that he professed
his vows. As a Salesian he carried out many duties the superiors
had given him and he sought to fulfil them with dedication and
zeal. Given the austere lifestyle and difference in climate, in 1889
Bronisław fell seriously ill with tuberculosis, and was at death’s
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Markiewicz, Bronisław
door. But he recovered and spent some time convalescing, still in
Italy until the superiors gave him permission to go back to Poland
on 23 March 1892. There he became parish priest at Miejsce Piastowe
in his diocese of origin, Przemyśl.
Other than the usual parish activities, Bronisław Markiewicz
dedicated himself in the spirit of Don Bosco to the education of
poor and orphaned youth. He opened an institute for this purpose
in Miejsce Piastowe where he offered those who were boarding
there all the spiritual and material support they needed, preparing
them for life also with job training in classrooms he opened at
the institute. In 1897, with this in mind, he founded two new
religious Congregations who drew their inspiration from Don
Bosco, adapting their rules to the specific nature of his own charism.
Accepted once more among the clergy of the Przemyśl diocese,
Father Markiewicz continued his activities as parish priest and
director of the institute to which he gave the motto Work and
Temperance as their programme (1898). He sought approval for
it as a religious Congregation under the protection of St Michael
the Archangel, with male and female branches. Approval came a
year after his death: in 1921 for the Congregation of St Michael
the Archangel and in 1928 for the Congregation of the Sisters of St
Michael the Archangel (both known as Michaelites).
Father Bronisław continued his activities as formator of young
people, orphaned and abandoned youngsters, always with the
approval and blessing of his bishop, St Joseph Sebastian Pelczar.
He benefited from the help of co-workers, contributing to their
preparation and formation himself. He had already offered a home
and education at Miejsce Piastowe to hundreds of youngsters, giving
entirely of himself for them. Wanting to do even more on their
behalf, in August 1903 Father Markiewicz opened a new house in
Pawlikowice, near Krakow, where more than 400 orphaned children
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martirio
338
martirio
found a home and possibilities for spiritual formation and job
preparation.
His total dedication to the young, his heroic self-denial and his
huge workload soon left Father Markiewicz exhausted, threatening
his already delicate health given the events in Italy. All this meant
the somewhat rapid approach of the end his earthly pilgrimage,
which happened on 29 January 1912.
Blessed Bronisław Markiewicz stood out for his great love for
the Lord and his neighbour, especially if they were poor, ignored,
abandoned and orphaned. He gave of himself completely for them.
He had a deep desire to welcome more and more children and
to offer them the human warmth that they so lacked. This deep
desire is expressed in his words: “I would like to collect millions
of abandoned children, from all peoples, feed them free of charge
and clothe their bodies and spirit.” He remained faithful to death
to this imperative, combined with his courageous choice for the
poor, and heroically accepted all the consequences that flowed from
the choices he made. → “CSMA” “CSSMA” “santità salesiana”
“lavoro e temperanza”
martirio
n. Martyrdom. • (1) General: the state of one who endures suffering
and death on behalf of belief, principle, a cause. (2) ‘Martyrdom is
not something that takes place on the spur of the moment’ (Pius
XII, AAS 32 1950, p. 958). ‘It is not brought about by the executioner
but is a grace worked by the Spirit. Martyrdom is a vocation and is
prepared for in mysterious fashion by the whole of life.’ (Fr Vecchi,
AGC 368). → “protomartire”
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Marvelli, Alberto
339
Marvelli, Alberto
Marvelli, Alberto (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Albert Marvelli.• Layman. Declared Venerable:
22 March 1986. Beatified: 5 September 2004. Liturgical Celebration:
5 October.
Born in Ferrara on 21 March 1918, the second of six children,
Albert grew up in a truly Christian family in which a life of piety
was combined with charitable, catechetical and social activity.
The family moved to Rimini in 1930, so he attended the Salesian
oratory there and was involved in Catholic Action. Following
Dominic Savio's example, his faith matured when he made a clear
decision: “My programme can be summed up in one word: saint.”
He was recollected in prayer, taught catechism with conviction
and showed zeal, charity and calm. He was a steady, determined,
strong-willed and generous character with a strong sense of justice
and was very influential among those he mixed with. He was an
energetic sporting type and loved all sports: tennis, volleyball,
athletics, football, swimming, and mountain climbing. But his
greatest passion would be his bicycle including as a means for
carrying out his apostolate and charitable activity.
He developed his cultural formation at University and his
spiritual formation in the Italian Catholic University Federation
(FUCI). He chose Piergiorgio Frassati as his model. Gaining his
degree in Mechanical Engineering on 30 June 1941, on 7 July he
had to leave for his military service. Italy was at war, a war that
Albert clearly condemned: “May peace and justice soon come for all
peoples and war disappear forever from the world.” Since he had
three brothers already at the front he was excused from service and
worked for brief period with FIAT in Turin.
After the tragic events of 25 July 1943, the fall of fascism on
8 September 1943, the proclamation of the armistice with the
Allies and the subsequent German occupation of Italian soil, Albert
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Marvelli, Alberto
returned home to Rimini. He knew what his job was: to become
a charity worker. After each bombardment he was the first to
rush to the assistance of the wounded, encourage survivors, stay
with the dying, and help pull out those who had been buried
alive in the ruins. It wasn't just the ruins but also the hunger.
Albert distributed whatever he could collect to the poor: mattresses,
blankets, pots and pans. He went to farmers and businesses, buying
all kinds of essential foodstuffs. Then on his bicycle, loaded up with
bags, he went wherever he knew there was hunger and illness. A
times he returned home without shoes or without his bicycle: he
had given them away to someone with greater need. During the
German occupation he saved many young people from deportation,
succeeding courageously and heroically in opening wagons already
full and ready to depart from the station at Santarcangelo, freeing
men and women destined for concentration camps.
After the city was liberated on 23 September 1945, the first
executive of the Liberation Committee was set up. The councillors
included Albert Marvelli: he had not subscribed to any party, was
not partisan in any way, but everyone recognised and appreciated
the enormous work he had achieved on behalf of the displaced
persons. He was young, just 27 years of age, but he was practical
and competent in tackling problems, courageous in the most difficult
situations, and his availability knew no limits. They entrusted the
most difficult task of all to him: the housing commission, which
had to regulate the allocation of housing in the city, settle disputes
and requisition flats, not without inevitable resentment. Then they
entrusted him with the task of reconstruction, as a collaborator of
the detached section of the Civil Engineers.
Albert had written in a small notebook: “To serve is better than
being served. Jesus serves.” As a lay Christian who had grown up
in the Salesian oratory at Rimini, he expressed his Christian faith
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Marvelli, Alberto
especially through his social and political commitment understood
as serving the common good: “With the Lord's help I want to and
resolve to always be of example to my companions and to defend my
faith on every occasions with human respect but with my mind ever
turned to the great glory of God.” It was with this spirit of service
that Albert tackled his civic involvement. When political parties
resumed in Rimini he joined the Christian Democrats. He felt and
lived his political involvement as a service to the organised collective:
political activity could be and had to be the highest expression of a
lived faith.
During that time the bishop called on him to lead Catholic
graduates. His involvement could be summed up in two words:
culture and charity. “We need to bring culture not only to the
intellectuals but to the whole people.” This way he gave birth to the
popular university. He opened a canteen for the poor, invited them
to come to Mass, prayed with them; then at the canteen he ladled out
soup and helped them with their needs. His activity on everyone's
behalf was tireless: he was among the founders of ACLI, set up a
cooperative for construction workers, the first “white” cooperative
in “red” Romagna.
His intimacy with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament never became
self-focused, or alienation from his duties and from history. On the
contrary, when he noticed that the world around him lay under the
mark of injustice and sin, the Eucharist became for him the strength
to tackle the task of redemption and liberation that could humanise
the face of the earth.
On the evening of 5 October 1946 he was heading out on his
bicycle to attend an electoral committee meeting; he was himself a
candidate for elections for the first district administration. He was hit
by a military truck at 8:30 p.m. He would die just a few hours later at
28 years of age without regaining consciousness. His mother Maria,
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Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
342
Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
strong despite her pain, was by his side. There was widespread grief
throughout Italy at his death. In the history of the lay apostolate the
figure of Albert Marvelli is one of the genuine precursor to Vatican
Council II for his lay involvement in providing Christian leadership
in society. He was, as Don Bosco wanted, a good Christian and an
upright citizen, involved in the Church and society with a Salesian
heart. → “beatificazione” “Azione Cattolica” “santità salesiana”
Mazzarello, Maria Domenica (santa)
proper name. (St) Mary Domenica Mazzarello. • 1837-1854. Co-
foundress of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians with Don
Bosco. Beatified: 20 November 1938. Canonised 24th June 1951.
Liturgical celebration: 13 May.
The life story of Mary Domenica Mazzarello is relatively brief
(44 years) and can be spelt out in four stages marked by particular
growth in her Christian and consecrated life.
The first stage covers thirteen years from her birth at Mornese
in the Alto Monferrato on 9 May 1837 until her First Communion
(1850). Daughter of Giuseppe Mazzarello and Maddalena Calcagno,
Mary was the firstborn of ten children. This family circle so rich in
interpersonal relationships, very connected to the land, diverse in
age, occupation and responsibility and very much part of the lives
of others who lived in the Mazzarelli hamlet, had a very positive
impact on Mary’s personality, developing an attitude of dialogue
and communication in her.
These early years were spent in a family setting marked by a
solid Christian life and tireless work on the land. In the family
context she learned a profound sense of God, tireless hard work
and an outstanding practicality and depth of judgement that she
would demonstrate later as superior. Intelligent, strong-willed
and endowed with great affection, Mary Domenica was open to
faith accompanied by her parents and a wise spiritual director, Fr
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343
Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
Domenico Pestarino. She was a simple peasant lass, but she was
able to discover the secret of the Creator in the beauty of nature. She
was able to overcome the fatigue of daily life in the fields, singing
joyfully to the God who made fruitful the seed sown in the furrows,
and ripened the swollen clusters on the vine to cheer the human
heart. She was a physically robust young woman, but even stronger
in the spirit. She lived her youth to the full and was able to give it as
a constant and serene gift to everyone: the family, the local setting,
her friends, young mothers who turned to her for advice and an
opinion.
In 1849, the family moved to a hillside near Mornese known
as Valponasca. It was an isolated property with expansive
opportunities. Giuseppe Mazzarello, Mary’s father, rented the house
with its surrounding land and, once more, life for the family began
there. The house was big, able to accommodate a growing family
that needed more room. It is there at Valponasca that we find a
significant place: the window in Mary Domenica’s room, silent
witness to so many encounters, to long hours of prayer. Every
evening Mary would invite the family to pray the Rosary there from
where it was possible to contemplate the parish church and village
in the distance. Mary was a girl like so many others: full of energy,
lively, intelligent. She walked the paths through the vineyards to go
to Mornese for catechism and to join the early Mass at the parish
church. Mary Domenica felt a strong attraction to Jesus present in
the Eucharist and did not count the sacrifices involved to meet him
there. Christ was the source and end of her existence. By day she
worked beside her father in the vineyard with unrivalled energy, her
repeated and patient activity filled with all the love she was capable
of. The vineyard demanded careful, continuous care, an exercise
that formed her personality day after day.
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344
Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
During the second stage (1850-1860) we note a particular
internalisation of her faith from the time following her First
Communion, a time that led her to give her youth to the Lord
through a vow of virginity and to intense involvement in parish life,
especially through the Union of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate,
which carried out an apostolate for the girls of the village. When
she was 23 years old the Typhus Epidemic caused havoc among the
people. Fr Pestarino, her spiritual director, told her: “Go and help
your sick relatives.” There was the risk of contracting the disease,
but generosity drove her to volunteer to do good.
The disease affected her violently and seriously; it left her devoid
of strength, almost without the will to live! All her dreams for the
future seemed to have vanished. But her strong faith was open to
the voice of God and she welcomed this with intelligent insight,
discovering a new way to do good. The experience of illness and
physical frailty that had led her to death’s door, found deep spiritual
resonance in her and deepened her abandonment to God. She began
educating the girls of the village by setting up a sewing workshop,
a festive (weekend) oratory and a family home for girls without a
family, so she could teach the girls work, prayer and love for God.
From the plough to the needle! She became a seamstress to help
girls learn a trade and this way get close to them and help them
become good Christians.
One day something strange happened. She was walking along
the pathway on the Borgo Alto when she “saw a large building
in front of her that had the outward appearance of a college with
lots of girls. She stooped to look, filled with amazement and said to
herself: how can I possibly be seeing this? There was never a building
here. What is going on? And she heard a voice saying to her: I am
entrusting this to you”. It only lasted a moment. Everything then
disappeared. Thanks to her intense participation in the sacraments
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Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
and under the wise and enlightened guidance of Fr Domenico
Pestarino, she made great progress in her spiritual life.
During the third stage (1860-1872) we see her ever more open
to God’s plan for her. In her meeting with Saint John Bosco (1864)
this found its fullest response to her apostolic intentions. When Don
Bosco came to Mornese (8 October 1864) she had said: “Don Bosco
is a Saint and I feel it.” Together, on 5 August 1872 they began a new
religious family in the Church for the benefit of young girls. Don
Bosco was the Founder and Mary Domenica the Co-founder of the
Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. That day, in
the old chapel of the boarding establishment, Mary Domenica and
the first 11 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians made their first
profession in the presence of the Bishop of Acqui, Bishop Sciandra,
and Don Bosco. Four young women began their novitiate. Like Don
Bosco, Sister Mary Mazzarello found in Mary Help of Christians
the Teacher and the Mother for being the sign of God’s love among
the young. And even today still there are reminders of those early
times: the well in the courtyard, sign of the spirit of the origins
where poverty was lived with a smile, hard work was made up of
shared responsibility and relationships were simple and open; the
room that Mary Domenica Mazzarello used for seven years from
1872 al 1879.
During the fourth stage, the final stage of her life (1872-1881),
Sister Mary Domenica Mazzarello demonstrated her spiritual
motherhood through the formation of the Sisters, the many journeys
she undertook to visit the new foundations, the growth and
missionary expansion of the Institute, her written words and daily
gift of her life,consumed by the practice of “patient, benign charity”.
As superior she showed herself to be an able formator and teacher
of the spiritual life; she had the charism of reassuring and serene
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Mazzarello, Maria Domenica
cheerfulness, radiating joy and involving other young women in the
task of dedicating themselves to the education of women and girls.
The Institute began developing rapidly. On 4 February 1879
Mother Mazzarello moved to Nizza Monferrato. It was heartbreaking
to have to leave Mornese, but it was for the good of the Institute since,
given the speed of its expansion, there was a need for greater ease of
communication and contacts. Mary Domenica Mazzarello spent the
last two years of her life in this house, marked by tireless activity:
letters, journeys, meetings, preparing Sisters for the missions, new
foundations; they were all things that gave her no truce. Mary
Mazzarello died at Nizza Monferrato on 14 May 1881, leaving her
daughters a solid educative tradition imbued with Gospel values:
seeking God who is known through enlightened catechesis and
ardent love, responsibility in work, openness and humility, austerity
of life and joyful self-giving. God gave her the gift of discernment
and made her a simple and wise woman.
The testimony of Mary Mazzarello is a reminder that holiness
is possible, it is something daily that we can experience and make
resplendent around us as we walk in the furrows of faith. We are
not born saints, but we become such by responding to God’s grace,
by listening to those who places in our path and by speaking to
God in prayer. She was a woman of great faith who knew how to
recognise the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and in the faces
of the poor, of her young students, of her sisters, urging them to
love everybody not only with words, but with their example and
deeds. In the community that Sister Mary Domenica led, the climate
of welcome and the frank humanity of relationships was in tune
with a simple and profound faith in the presence of God, and all
this gave an unmistakable tone to the environment. Don Bosco, in a
letter he wrote from Mornese, alluded to this spiritual atmosphere
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meditazione
347
memoria salesiana
in clear terms: “Here we enjoy the cool and freshness, despite the
great warmth of God’s love.”
In 1981 on the centenary of St Mary Mazzarello, Fr Vigano wrote
a special letter called ‘Rediscovering the Spirit of Mornese’.
Usage: We usually anglicise the first name only, Mary. The term
often appears in its Italian form entirely, and Maria Domenica is
the form with which most people refer to her when using Christian
name only.
The term ‘Mother’ is applied usually to her and to other superiors
(provincials and those at world administration level). Today many
women religious prefer not to use the term ‘Mother’, but it is
still used for the Superior General of the Salesian Sisters at least.
→ “FMA”
meditazione
n. 1. meditation, 2. mental prayer. • The use of the term is common
to many spiritual and religious traditions of various origins. What
is common to these different perspectives is the search for a time
or particular technique that focuses the individual’s energies on
their interior life. Meditation is in the first instance silent prayer, a
personal and intimate dialogue with God.
We need to distinguish between meditation as a practice of piety
such as we find in the Salesian Regulations: “Every day the members
will spend in common at least half an hour for meditation and some
time in spiritual reading”, and an activity reserved for the reflective
aspect more than for the prayerful aspect of religious practice, as
might happen in one of the steps for lectio divina. → “orazione
mentale” “contemplazione”
memoria salesiana
np. 1. Salesian memory, 2. The Valdocco Option (Pope Francis).
• Fr Vecchi defined memory (in the sense of Salesian memory) as
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Memorie Biografiche MB
348
Memorie Biografiche MB
“l’esperienza felice, di un popolo o di una congregazione, che si tramanda”
[The happy experience of a people or a congregation that is handed
down]. Cf. “Le principali difficoltà emerse dal dibattito sulla relazione di
don G.E. Vecchi”, in ILE, Convegno sul Sistema Preventivo.
So, a term dear to Fr Vecchi, especially in reference to the
elements that become the frame of reference for the Salesian
Educative and Pastoral Project.
But Pope Francis also made very clear reference to this term
when he wrote a letter to the GC28 members (unable to make a
planned visit to the Chapter due to the Covid-19 pandemic: “It
is significant that, after a few decades, Providence has led you to
celebrate your General Chapter at Valdocco, the place of memory
where the founding dream came true and took its first steps.”
→ “Valdocco” “opzione Valdocco”
Memorie Biografiche MB
proper name. Biographical Memoirs BM. • An expanded biographical
narrative concerning Don Bosco, written in a fairly chronological
order and amply documented. (Cf. Lenti, Don Bosco History and
Spirit Vol 1, p. 89). → “Don Bosco: History and Spirit”
One of Don Bosco’s biographers, Fr Lemoyne, had begun
creating a reservoir of documentation (known as the Documenti).
He then shifted, probably with the encouragement of Fr Rua,
to a further compilation, ordered as a continuous narrative, offering
a coherent interpretation of Don Bosco’s life, work and spirit as
Founder.
The first 8 volumes (there are 19) appeared between 1898 and
1912. Fr Lemoyne’s ninth volume was published posthumously in
1917. The tenth volume was entrusted to Fr Angelo Amadei. Fr
Eugene Ceria completed volumes 11-19 in 1939.
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Memorie dal 1841 al 1884-5-6...
349
Memorie dell’Oratorio MO
In Lenti’s words, Lemoyne and his successors ‘have produced
an edifying and faithful story for the Salesian Family.’ But it is not
a critical biography.
Fully translated into English but only in print edition. There are
some online scanned versions available here and there, but they are
generally faulty and not to be trusted. → “Memorie dell’Oratorio
MO”
Memorie dal 1841 al 1884-5-6...
np., proper name. Don Bosco's Spiritual Testament. Full title is Memorie
dal 1841 al 1884-5-6 del sac. Gio. Bosco a' suoi figliuoli Salesiani, part
of which are contained as an appendix in the Constitutions and
Regulations. • Not to be confused with the Memoirs of the Oratory,
but certainly connected with them.
Don Bosco had expressed a definite concern for "historical
record" at the General Conferences of St. Francis de Sales of 1876
and at the General Chapter of 1877, out of a conviction that his
own life and that of the Congregation had been under supernatural
guidance, and that the memory of the life and work of early Salesians
should not be lost. It seems that Don Bosco wished to pursue
this very idea when he began writing what we call his Spiritual
Testament in English. → “Don Bosco (santo)” “cronachette”
“Conferenze di San Francesco di Sales”
Memorie dell’Oratorio MO
proper name. Memoirs of the Oratory MO. • Full title: Memoirs of the
Oratory of St Francis de Sales.
‘Therefore I am now putting into writing those confidential
details that may somehow serve as a light or be of use to the work
which Divine Providence has entrusted to the Society of St Francis
de Sales... Now what purpose can this chronicle serve? It will be
a record to help people overcome problems that may come in the
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mensa
350
mensa
future by learning from the past. It will serve to make known how
God himself has always been our guide. It will give my sons some
entertainment to be able to read about their father’s adventures... ’
(Don Bosco, in his preface to the MO).
Internal evidence suggests they were written between 1873 and
1875, the rest later but by 1877. Don Bosco forbade publication of the
work and wrote that it was exclusively for members of the Salesian
Society, but he must have realised it would need to be published – at
least for them, and gave permission anyway for Fr Giovanni Bonetti
to make use of parts of it for his serialised ‘History of the Oratory’
in the Salesian Bulletin from January 1879 onwards.
Is it an autobiography? Not formally. Don Bosco knew that the
story of the Oratory could not be told without his own story. Hence
he begins from his own childhood. As Fr Lenti describes it, the MO
‘are to be understood as the product of a Founder’s concerns in a
period of consolidation of, and reflection on, his work.’ (Don Bosco:
History and Spirit Vol 1 . 132).
The MO spans three periods, three decades. Despite the third
decade concluding in 1855, MO in fact ends with 1854 when,
according to Don Bosco’s own words, a new story began which, if
written down, might have been entitled, ‘Memoirs of the Society of
St Francis de Sales’. There is other evidence that Don Bosco actually
saw 1854 as a dividing point in the saga of the founding.
The MO are historical but at the same time not! They might be
regarded more in terms of parable and metahistory. The work of
Fr Aldo Giraudo in this understanding of the MO is a significant
contribution. → “Cenno istorico”
mensa
n. Annual stipend. • Annual stipend that the State paid to the
bishop of a diocese.
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Meozzi, Laura
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Meozzi, Laura
The mensa funding came from large vacant ecclesiastical bene-
fices (lands of ancient abbeys that had been suppressed and were
administered by the Economato ecclesiastico, a body dependent on
the Ministero dei culti, di grazia e di giustizia.
We find reference to this mensa in Don Bosco’s involvement in
the question of the exequatur, that is, the government approval for
appointment of a bishop, that gave the appointee access to the
temporalità (glossed as ‘temporalities’ in English), or in other words
allowed him to legally enter into possession of his episcopal see and
gain the mensa or stipend.
Meozzi, Laura (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Laura Meozzi. Daughter of Mary Help of
Christians. Declared Venerable: 27 June 2011.
“Crucifying both soul and body with Jesus in continuous
consummation. Going up, climbing ever higher along a street of
crosses, without stopping and with a smile on my lips ... Being
transformed into Jesus through love and through pain.” This was
the thought on which all of Sister Laura Meozzi's life was based:
through it she revealed the constant yearning of her heart and the
intimate relationship of deep faith that likened her to her heavenly
Spouse.
Born in Florence on 5 January 1873 to a well-to-do family,
Laura was brought to the baptismal font three days later. She had
barely completed her childhood years in the city of her birth when
the family had to move to Rome in 1877 due to administrative
difficulties. There Laura attended school at the college run by the
Sisters of St Dorothy and received a serious formation of character.
Young Laura rekindled in herself her love for Jesus especially
through Eucharistic Communion and a yearly retreat and grew in
her desire for an ever more complete union with him, including
dedicating herself to works of mercy. When her spiritual director, a
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Salesian, told her that God was calling her to join Don Bosco's Sisters,
she spent whole nights in prayer. Over those years the Lord's call to
consecrated life became clearer to her and once she had overcome
some family opposition, in 1896 young Laura began her journey
of formation with the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians.
After professing her vows as a religious, Sr Laura spent an
intense period of activity as a teacher, and was much appreciated
especially for her outstanding motherliness as she worked among
pupils in the colleges and girls from the ranks of ordinary folk who
flocked to the oratories, workshops and various other groups that
she was concerned about organising. She reserved the real treasures
of her innate sense of tact as formator, and her teaching experience
for the Sisters, those who were teachers and those who were not; she
would often advise them: “Be mothers first of all, then teachers.”
She worked in Genoa, Alì Marina, Catania and Nunziata.
At the General Chapter of the Institute in 1922 the decision was
made for a new missionary expansion. Sr Laura, on the brink of
her fiftieth birthday, was sent together with two Italian Sisters and
three Polish ones to found the first community on Polish territory: at
Różanystok in the far north-east of the country; they found lodgings
in a poor wooden hut. As soon as she had refurbished the existing
cottages of a disused military hospital, she built the first boarding
school for the children that the First World War had so severely
tried. She thus became the pioneer of the presence of the Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians in Poland. Despite extreme poverty she
opened houses for every need: she began by housing orphaned
and abandoned children; then came the girls, schools, workshops,
postulants, novices, Sisters; then refugees, the persecuted, the sick
... Mother Laura managed to provide comfort for everyone. At the
invitation of the bishop of Wilno in 1924, the religious community
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Meozzi, Laura
also began looking after girls who had particular social and character
problems. Then over the years came a boarding college for students,
various schools, dressmaking courses for teenage girls, a large
oratory for collaboration with parish activities, and the first novitiate
at Różanystok.
Unfailing confidence in Providence sustained Sr Laura's intense
hard work. She nurtured fervent devotion to the Merciful Heart
of Jesus and she drew light and strength for her daily life from
her frequent participation at the Eucharist. “Loving and seeking
Jesus alone; living and working only for him” was her spiritual
programme. Her communion with the Lord this way meant that
she lived by constant practice of virtue and the evangelical counsels.
She led the Sisters prudently and justly; she tackled obstacles
energetically but meekly; she served others with a sincere and
constant spirit of charity characterised by purity and gentleness.
All the communities established in Poland were erected into
a Vice-Province in 1931. But then came the Second World War
which, among other things, brought German occupation then the
Soviets to the houses in the central south. Some of the Sisters sought
refuge with families, others at some of the Salesian works, while still
others fell victim to bombardments or were deported to Germany or
Siberia. Sr Laura, who renounced the opportunity to return to Italy,
decided to stay alongside the Polish Sisters and share their risks and
suffering. She experienced the Russian and German occupation with
these Sisters, and the closure of houses she had opened with great
sacrifice. What was fertilised in pain and courageous love would
later lead to a great flourishing of educational works for the benefit
of many Polish children and girls. Sr Laura had the special gift of
strong and gentle motherhood. She knew how to accompany with
wisdom and gradualness, because she had the gift of discerning
spirits, listening and of consoling.
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MGS
354
MGS
At the end of the conflict Sr Laura began the work of
re-establishing various communities with makeshift accommodation,
recovering what remained of houses she had once established
and giving new impulse to the work of the material and moral
reconstruction of the population. They had to abandon territories
that were now part of the Soviet Republics and start all over
again. Sr Laura began all over again: she opened some 12 houses.
The novitiate was reborn in Pogrzebień , in an old castle used
by the Germans for wiping out women and children; energy, joy
and a smile returned everywhere. Her body, however, tried by
cancer aggravated by discomfort and fatigue, began to show rapidly
increasing signs of weakness and exhaustion, causing her serious
suffering. In a final act of trustful abandonment she consummated
her offering to the Lord, into whose merciful hands she consigned
her spirit on the night of 30 August 1951. → “venerabile” “santità
salesiana”.
MGS
abbrev. Movimento Giovanile Salesiano MGS, Salesian Youth Movement
SYM. • Made up of groups and associations who recognise
themselves in and are raised in Don Bosco’s and Mother Mazzarello’s
Salesian spirituality and pedagogy.
While maintaining their individual organisational structure in
practice, together they ensure an educational presence of quality,
especially in new areas where young people socialise. The SYM is a
movement of ‘youth for youth’, defined by reference to a common
spirituality and communication between groups which ensures that
messages and values are shared. It brings together young people
who can be very different from one another in spiritual terms – from
those for whom spirituality is a seed yet to sprout to those who
consciously and explicitly accept the invitation to Salesian apostolic
involvement. → “pastorale giovanile” “associazionismo”
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minervale
355
missio inter gentes
minervale
n. Minerval. • The fee or levy that every pupil had to pay at the
beginning of the school year. While long gone in Italy, the Minerval
is still paid in France and Belgium at university or private schools.
missio inter gentes
[la] np. Mission among the people (though generally left in its
Latin form). • “Missio inter gentes” is a neologism, therefore it is
important to correctly understand the term because it has profound
consequences in our missionary activities today.
After Vatican II, unease grew in Asia – a land of ancient religions,
rich cultures and myriads of poor people – about “missio ad
gentes”. It was perceived as an insensitive monologue that created
a relationship of teacher-pupil, foreign missionary-local people. In
fact, St. John Paul II had lamented that Christianity is still considered
“foreign” in Asia, even though Jesus was born in this continent!
(Ecclesia in Asia no. 2).
Unlike foreign missionaries, a growing number of missionaries
from Asia and Africa now working in their own continents, have
breathed multiculturalism and interculturalism from birth. They
have direct personal experience of the poorest contexts since
childhood. They see their missionary activity, less as a direct
proclamation of the Gospel and more as the incarnation of the
teachings and person of Jesus through the witness of love and
service.
“Missio inter gentes” is not in opposition but complementary
to “missio ad gentes”. What distinguishes “missio ad gentes” from
“missio inter gentes” are their two preceding prepositions which
specify the attitude towards the “gentes”. The preposition “ad”
indicates an attitude which sees the other as the goal, the point of
arrival, the receiver. While “inter” indicates being in the midst of
people establishing a relational connectedness with them.
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missione
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missione
“Missio inter gentes” is a way of proclaiming Christ by living the
evangelical values. It advocates that missionaries serve people with
respect, and humbly share their lives without any trace of arrogance
or superiority, just as Jesus did. The charitable activities of individual
Christians and the entire ecclesial community reincarnate the face of
Christ. It is this lived experience of Christianity, through the action
of the Holy Spirit, that could stir up the desire to know the person
of Jesus.
“Missio inter gentes” is a missionary approach, applicable in
every context, that sees the “gentes” not as targets of our efforts
to convert, but as “guests” to whom we can offer hospitality, and
“hosts” who can, in turn, welcome us and offer us friendship. This
is not a silent, wordless witness. The Gospel is shared by narrating
one’s own experience of faith among (inter) friends of other cultures
and religions and by whispering the Gospel at opportune and
unexpected moments.
The heart of “missio inter gentes” is initial proclamation. Thus,
its primary concern is to foster initial proclamation and not to teach
Christological doctrines or to convert. Conversion is God’s internal
call and the person’s free decision, not our work! By living our life
in permanent state of mission, we shall not be timid when the Holy
Spirit opens the door for us to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Saviour!
→ “ad gentes” “missioni”
missione
n. Mission. • In 1971, the Special General Chapter explained the
new use of the term: “Why ‘mission’ rather than ‘purpose’? The
Church adopts the term when speaking of its mystery... to speak of
the ‘mission of the Salesians’ means highlighting from the beginning
the sense of their vocation and presence in the Church. God calls
and sends them for a specific service in the Church” (Acts of the
SGC no. 23).
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missione
357
missione
The fundamental meaning of ‘mission’ comes from its Latin
root, missio, or ‘sending’, and even while this would have been
appreciated by Don Bosco in his time, the only way he would have
understood the term would have been in the sense we so often find
him referring to it – foreign missions, activity to convert benighted
savages, such was the theological understanding of the day.
Until 1972 the Salesian Constitutions spoke only of ‘foreign
missions’. By the time the renewed Constitutions were published in
1984, we learn that ‘the mission sets the tenor of our whole life’ (C.
3). After the Second Vatican Council the Church came to appreciate
mission and missions as something to be seen within the mystery
of the Church.
Mission today is now further specified by speaking of ad gentes
(to the people (the old foreign missions) or inter gentes (the idea of
inculturation of faith in another culture).
Linguistic note: Note that the term can be used adjectivally, as in
‘mission territory’.
The Salesian mission can be specified more directly by speaking
of ‘the mission to the young’ (missione giovanile) or‘our educational
mission’ (missione educativa). Those who work with us, including laity,
are referred to as corresponsabili nella missione, those who share our
mission, as ‘mission partners’, ‘lay mission partners’. We also speak
of the ‘common mission’ (missione comune). The expression is found
frequently in the Salesian Constitutions (e.g. C. 44) where it refers
to that which calls on our complementary and shared activity in
achieving a common purpose. The common mission is the basis of
pastoral planning in Christian life, either at the level of diocese or
parish or in the case of a particular group with a particular shared
mission (e.g. Salesian Family, the Salesian educative community...
A further issue to note is that the concept is often expressed as
pastorale (in Italian), hence pastorale giovanile (youth ministry) for
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missioni
358
mistagogia
example. → “pastorale giovanile” In some Salesian documents,
even in English we find this term appearing as a calque, that is
simply brought into English as if it were a noun. ‘Pastoral’ can be
a noun in English but only with a very different meaning: a poem,
play, or the like, dealing with the life of shepherds, or simple rural
life. Trying to force a restricted religious meaning onto that is not the
best way to go. → “missioni” “ad gentes” “missio inter gentes”
“carta della missione” → False Friends “P”
missioni
n. pl. Missions. • Missions are those ‘particular undertakings by
which the heralds of the Gospel, sent out by the Church and going
forth into the whole world, carry out the task of preaching the
Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do
not yet believe in Christ... The proper purpose of this missionary
activity is evangelization’ (Ad Gentes, no. 6). → “ad gentes” → False
Friends “M”
mistagogia
n. Mystagogy. • The final period of Christian initiation is called
"Mystagogy" (from Greek, meaning "interpretation of mystery"). It
continues through the Easter season, up until Pentecost. During this
period, the new Catholics, or "neophytes," are "deepening their
grasp of the paschal mystery and . . .Making it part of their lives
through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the Eucharist and
doing the works of charity" (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults,
no. 244).
While the term properly belongs to the Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults, we find it being employed also in reference to initial
formation. In this context, it means the process by which those in
formation are introduced to the various aspects of the consecrated
life. “missione”
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mistica salesiana
359
mistica salesiana
mistica salesiana
np. 1. Salesian mysticism, 2. mystics in the Spirit. • Inner experience,
attested to in all forms of civilisation and above all in the
various historical religions (Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism,
Christianity, Islam), described as the capacity that some individuals
have to grasp an object or a being, a mysterious reality other
than themselves, beyond the usual forms of empirical or rational
knowledge.
Salesian mysticism: “The Salesian mission is not to be identified
with our works or activities; rather it is the expression of our zeal
for the salvation of the young, arising from the passion of ‘da mihi
animas cetera tolle’ it is nourished by a mysticism the source of
which is ‘in the very heart of Christ, the apostle of the Father’
(C. 11).” [Fr Pascual Chávez, Convocation of GC27 AGC 413].
Elsewhere in the same document he puts it simply as “full of passion
for God and man”.
While it was GC27 that gave prominence to what the Rector
Major termed ‘Salesian mysticism’, Don Bosco had been described
from early times as a ‘mystic’: “mystical and grandiose architect (Du
Böys 1883); “Don Bosco is a mystic” (Ceria, 1934).
In the prevenient love of God lie the deepest roots of the
Preventive System. GC27 reminds us, therefore, that we are mystics
in the Spirit. “In a world which is feeling ever more clearly
the challenge of secularism, we need ‘to find a response in the
acknowledgement of God’s absolute primacy,’ through the ‘total
gift of self ’ and in ‘permanent conversion in a life offered up in true
spiritual worship.’”
The expression “mystics in the Spirit” adopted by GC27 is a way
of expressing the second thematic area indicated in the Opening
Address of the Rector Major, with its stress on the consecrated life:
“Having a strong spiritual experience, taking on the way of being
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mondanità spirituale
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mondanità spirituale
and acting of the obedient, poor and chaste Jesus and becoming
seekers of God.” (GC27 p. 89).
In GC27, the concept of mysticism was not there alone. This
Chapter spoke of mystics in the Spirit, prophets of fraternity, and
servants of the young. → “da mihi animas cetera tolle” “lavoro e
temperanza”
mondanità spirituale
np. 1. spiritual worldliness, 2. self-referential, 3. narcissistic, 4. self-
secularisation (Pope Benedict's term). • At the conclave which
elected him Pope, the then Cardinal Bergoglio advised that the
next pope needed to overcome a tendency within the Church
to be self-referential or narcissistic. The Church, he said, needed
to “come out of herself”, moving not just to the geographical
but to the “existential” peripheries (the troubled material, moral
and spiritual edges on which people live their lives), in order to
evangelise effectively. When she fails to do this, the Church becomes
self-referential, which is a kind of sickness. This leads her into a very
serious spiritual evil, which the great theologian Cardinal Henri
de Lubac called the worst evil that can befall the Church, namely
“spiritual worldliness”.
It was Father Henry De Lubac who popularised this term in
his Meditations on the Church (1953), but it was, as De Lubac
himself tells us, the Benedictine Dom Ascar Vonier who, in his
fundamental work "The Spirit and the Bride" (1935) denounced
spiritual worldliness.
Reference is made to the term when talking about the Salesian
priest and Rector, in Animating and governing the community: The
ministry of the Salesian Rector, 28
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Morano, Maddalena
monsignore
honorific. 1. Bishop (or archbishop), 2. Monsignor (in context). • A
title given to the popes, kings and emperors, and in France, to heirs
to the throne and certain princes. From the 14th century until 1630,
Cardinals had this title and now it is given to patriarchs, bishops,
mitred abbots, and all prelates of the papal family.
Usage: In English ecclesiastical terminology a monsignor is not a
bishop but a domestic prelate. It is better, therefore, not to confuse
the terms and to refer to a bishop as a bishop not as a monsignor.
In Italian, all bishops and archbishops (and presumably domestic
prelates too) are called monsignori. There is no need to transfer this
nomenclature to English. The abbreviation in English can be Mgr
or Msgr but not Mons. → False Friends “M”
Morano, Maddalena (beata)
proper name. (Blessed) Madeleine Morano. • Daughter of Mary
Help of Christians. Declared Venerable: 1 September 1988. Beatified:
5 November 1994. Liturgical Celebration: 15 November.
The life of Blessed Madeleine Morano can be divided into two
thirty-year periods: the first spent as a lay woman and the second
as a religious. She was born in Chieri (Turin) on 15 November 1847
to a poor family that could have been a wealthy one had her father,
who was well-off, not been disinherited because he had married
a simple housewife from Chieri, Caterina Pangella. Of the eight
children who would be born to them, three of whom died very early
in the piece, Madeleine was the sixth. Her father died in 1855, worn
out through life as a soldier. The following month Francesca, her
older sister, died. A year later it was Giuseppe's turn: three coffins
in three years! It is easy to imagine the pain and extreme poverty of
the mother left with three children.
Caterina was forced to get her to interrupt her schooling and
start work: a small loom next to her mother's to weave bits and
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Morano, Maddalena
pieces from morning to evening. It was a cousin on the mother's
side, Fr Francesco Pangella, who got Madeleine back to school by
paying her tuition himself and providing some modest support
for the family. What a blessed initiative! It meant setting her back
on the path that was most suited to her. “I was able to become a
teacher!” She was just 15 years old when this dream came true.
The parish priest of Buttigliera, who had opened an infant school,
entrusted this able and intelligent teenager with the responsibility.
She completed her teacher's certificate in 1864, and was immediately
employed as a primary school teacher at Montaldo Torinese. Here
she immediately won the hearts of the girls and respect from the
whole district, “more than even the parish priest and the mayor
had”. She showed exceptional gifts as a teacher. It was said of her
that she was a born teacher: able to manage discipline, clear and
forthright in explaining things, generous in her dedication. She
immediately put her pedagogical skill to the service of catechism in
the parish. Catechism! This would be her dominant passion for the
rest of her life up until a few days before she died!
A particularly significant episode goes back to her time at
Montaldo. A poor beggar clad in dirty rags fell sick. No one had
the courage to enter his hovel. Madeleine, coming to know about it,
had no doubts. Despite her repugnance and the risk of ill comment
from the people, she went there, looked after him and prepared
him to die well. This was no sporadic gesture. For years she had
nurtured the idea of consecrating herself full time to the Lord and
her neighbour. But holding her back at the time was the family's
financial situation. Now, however, with her monthly stipend, she
had been able to ensure a home and small plot for her mother, and
revealed her true vocation. Her mother, who had finally begun to
dream of a more tranquil time in life, wept when she heard the news.
The parish priest exclaimed: “Oh, poor me ... It would have been less
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Morano, Maddalena
damaging for the parish and town if they had taken my assistant
away!”
The first thirty years of her life were coming to a close and
her age now posed a problem for entering a Congregation. Where
should she go? To a cloister? Passing through Turin one day she
sought to speak with Don Bosco who sent her to Fr Cagliero, and
Fr Cagliero said: “A Sister in the cloister? Oh no!" he told her, "The
Office book would fall out of your hands because you can't keep
still.” She became a Daughter of Mary Help of Christians. She went
to Mornese in August 1878. Mother Mazzarello received her there.
She was immediately asked to teach. In 1880 she consecrated herself
to God with perpetual vows, and asked the Lord for the grace “to
remain alive until she had reached a degree of holiness.” It was
precisely that year when Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, from
whom she had received her first obedience, died (1881): superior
at Trecastagni (Catania). From Piedmont to Sicily! She had to do
everything: superior, formator, catechist, nurse, cook ... For four
years she directed, taught, washed, cooked, and was catechist, but
more so a witness, so much so that girls began knocking at the
door: “We want to be like her!” After a year in Turin where she was
superior of the house at Valdocco, she was sent back to Sicily as
Visitor, superior and novice mistress. She had responsibility for the
entire island.
Requests poured in from bishops. She responded generously,
forever opening new houses. The house at Alì Marina (Messina)
goes back to 1890: it became a resplendent beacon for the new
province. Mother Morano was very much respected by the Servant
of God Cardinal Guarino, by Blessed Cardinal Dusmet and his
successor Cardinal Francica Nava, who entrusted her with the entire
“Work of the Catechisms” in the diocese of Catania. Very devoted
to St Joseph and to Mary Help of Christians, who guided her in the
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Movimento Salesiano
new foundations, she succeeded in faithfully nurturing Don Bosco's
charism and the preventive system. She was a woman of action,
of government, motherly yet firm at the same time. The provincial
of the time, Fr Giuseppe Monateri, said: “I had the impression of
seeing Saint Teresa of Avila in her, forever shining with God's love
but always on the move.” She was supported in her manifold activity
by her profound interior life. She was extremely humble: “If the
Lord had not wanted me to be a religious, maybe I'd be in jail by
now.” She drew her strength and effectiveness from prayer and her
constant union with God: “Let us take one look at the earth and ten
at heaven.” She always began her day with the Way of the Cross.
She had the charism of a founder, opening 19 houses, 12
oratories, 6 schools, 5 kindergartens, 11 workshops, 4 hostels,
3 Sunday schools (religion classes), drawing the admiration of
everyone, civil authorities and the hierarchy alike. It was said of
her: “She is a great woman, an extraordinary woman.” She was an
exceptional formator: at her death there were 142 Sisters, 20 novices,
9 postulants.
Suffering from cancer, Mother Morano died on 26 March 1908
at Catania. When she died, the Superior General, Mother Caterina
Daghero, said: “With the death of Mother Morano, we have lost
a mould." In the same city where she had died, St John Paul II
proclaimed her Blessed on 5 November 1994. Her body is venerated
at Alì Terme (Messina). → “beatificazione” “santità salesiana”
“Chieri”
Movimento Salesiano
np. Salesian Movement. Don Bosco “inspired the start of a vast
movement of persons who in different ways work for the salvation
of the young.” (C. 5). The Charter of the Salesian Family speaks
of different levels of belonging to the Family, the third level being
constituted by particular titles to membership, or “the circle of
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MP
365
MP
people who form part of the vast Salesian Movement and find
in the Salesian Family their animating nucleus. This is formed
by the Friends of Don Bosco, by the Salesian Youth Movement
and more in general, by Salesian voluntary social service and by
an extensive category of men and women educators, catechists,
adult professionals, sympathetic politicians, co-workers, even those
belonging to different religions and cultures, who are working in
the five continents.” → “carta d’identità carismatica”
MP
[pt] abbrev. MP Instituto Religioso das Irmàs Medianeiras da Paz or in
English, Religious Institute of the Sisters Mediators of Peace. • A
Religious Institute of Diocesan Right. The institute was founded in
1968 by Archbishop Antonio Campelo, Salesian and Archbishop of
Petrolina (State of Pernambuco, Brazil); on his death, in 1984, the
‘Mediatrix Sisters of Peace’, religious belonging to the Institutes of
Consecrated Life of Diocesan Right, formally asked to become part
of the Salesian Family.
In 1986 Fr Egidio Viganó, then Rector Major, replied to a letter
from the same Sisters, and wrote: ‘I rejoice in your presence in the
Church and I congratulate you on the progress you have made (in
the meantime) that this experience phase end with the best results.’
As is clearly written in the Salesian Constitutions: ‘From Don
Bosco derives a vast movement of people who, in different ways,
work for the salvation of the young.’ And this institute ‘shares the
mission of Don Bosco to work for the poor, the abandoned, the
people in danger and in areas where poverty is extreme,’ said Fr
Joan Lluis Playá, who had visited some of the social works that the
‘Messengers of Peace’ were developing in Brazil.
Fr Eusebio Muñoz, Delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian
Family at the time, expressed his great joy in knowing that ‘the
Salesian Family continues to grow, not only numerically, but above
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Murialdo, Leonardo
all at the charismatic level, because where there is a member who
works as Don Bosco, these work for the salvation of the poorest
young people.’
Seventy religious are currently part of the institute, assisted by
about 300 collaborators who share with the sisters the pastoral and
socio-educational mission. ‘They were born with the concern to
reach the most remote places in the Church, where poverty is really
extreme,’ added Fr Playá. ‘I have visited, under the direction of
the Rector Major, the places where they carry out their apostolate
and they are evidently “Salesians”, being missionaries among
disadvantaged young people.’ → “famiglia salesiana”
MSMHC
abbrev. Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians.• Religious
Congregation of Pontifical Right, founded by Bishop Stephen
Ferrando SDB in North East India in 1942. ‘The Congregation
devotes itself firstly and especially to the missionary apostolate,
therefore evangelisation and religious education, especially of
women and children from the villages will always be a priority
amongst the apostolic and charitable tasks of the Missionary Sisters.’
The Congregation became a Pontifical Institute on 21 March
1977. It was officially recognised as belonging to the Salesian Family
on 8 July 1986. → “famiglia salesiana”
Murialdo, Leonardo (santo)
proper name. (St) Leonard Murialdo. • Priest. Beatified 3 November
1963. Canonised 3 May 1970. Liturgical celebration: 18 May.
Leonard Murialdo is one of the figures of outstanding holiness
that characterised the Piedmontese Church in the 19th century, like
the strong personalities of Cottolengo, Cafasso, Lanteri, Allamano,
Don Bosco and Don Orione with their perceptive insights, genuine
love for the poor and boundless trust in Providence. Through their
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Murialdo, Leonardo
activity the Church’s charity was effectively able to promote the
spiritual and material emancipation of the children of ordinary folk
who were often victims of grave injustice and left on the margins
of the tumultuous process of modernisation of Italy and the rest of
Europe.
The spiritual experience of this Turin saint, a friend and
collaborator of Don Bosco’s, had its roots in a serious crisis of his
youth, a difficult and painful period of alienation from God at 14
years of age that Leonard was never able to forget and that would
mark his life and mission, stamping his educative and pastoral
activity with gentleness, understanding and patience. His “return
to the light” came with the grace of a general confession in which
he rediscovered God’s immense mercy. At 17 years of age he came
to the decision to become a priest, a response to the love of the God
who had taken hold of him in his love. Having returned to God
after his youthful abandonment, Murialdo had a strong and vital
experience of the Father’s merciful and welcoming love, and this
became the soul of his apostolic and social activity especially for the
young and for workers.
Leonard (Leonardo) Murialdo was born in Turin on 26 October
1828. His father, a wealthy stockbroker, died in 1833. His mother, a
very religious woman, sent her small child to “Nadino” a boarding
school in Savona run by the Scolopian Fathers (also known as the
Piarists). He was there from 1836 to 1843. Back in Turin he attended
theology courses as the University and in 1851 became a priest. His
spirituality, based on the word of God and the solid doctrine of
secure men like Saint Alphonsus and Saint Francis de Sales, was
enlivened by the certainty of God’s merciful love Fulfilment of God’s
will in daily life, an intense prayer life, a spirit of mortification
and an ardent love for the Eucharist characterised his journey of
faith. In collaboration with Don Bosco he immediately chose to get
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Murialdo, Leonardo
368
Murialdo, Leonardo
involved in the first oratories in Turin among needy boys and those
left to their own devices on the peripheries: first at the Guardian
Angel oratory until 1857, then at the Saint Aloysius oratory as the
director from 1857 to 1865. He spent a year updating in Paris until
Providence called him in 1866 to look after even poorer and more
abandoned youngsters: those who were at the Artigianelli school in
Turin. From then on his whole life was dedicated to taking in this
boys and educating them as Christians and giving them a trade, at a
time marked by strong social differences brought about by nascent
industrialisation and the hardships endured by the poorer social
classes. Amid serious financial problems, this would be his principal
activity until the end.
In 1873 he founded the Congregation of St Joseph for them
(the Giuseppini of Murialdo or we might call them the Josephites
in English), in order to guarantee continuity for his social and
charitable activity. The aim of the Congregation was the education
of youth, especially if poor and abandoned. He collaborated in many
initiatives in the social field in defence of the young, of workers and
the poor. In the years to follow he set new initiatives in motion:
a family home (the first in Italy), an agricultural school, other
oratories along with a range of other works. The work in Murialdo
was a significant presence in the Piedmontese Catholic Movement.
He worked for the Catholic Press, was active in the Work of the
Congresses, and was one of the leaders in the Catholic Workers
Union.
Gentle in his approach, as his biographers note, he was always
modest and his face was softened by a smile that invited confidence.
He was calm and friendly even when he had to chide, so much so
that his young artisans, when they became adults, described him
as “an affectionate father, a true father, a loving father”. He was
convinced that “without faith we do not please God, and without
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Museo Casa Don Bosco
369
MYM Myanmar
kindness we do not please our neighbour”. It was the experience
of our heavenly Father’s merciful love that drove him to look after
youth. He made this his choice in life, allowing himself to be guided
by a solicitous and enterprising love that transformed his life and
made him socially aware and patient towards his fellows. He kept
his gaze on the heavenly Father who awaits his children, respects
their freedom and is ready to embrace them tenderly at a time of
forgiveness. His earthly life ended on 30 March 1900. → “santo”
“santità salesiana”
Museo Casa Don Bosco
np. Museo Casa Don Bosco. Generally remains untranslated, though
it might be called the Casa Don Bosco Museum. • The Casa Don
Bosco Museum is located within the Valdocco complex, Mother
House of the Salesians and birthplace of the work of Saint John
Bosco. It comprises two sets of exhibits that form a single museum
itinerary. The visit begins at the lead museum, the Museo Casa Don
Bosco, and ends with the small Missioni Don Bosco Ethnographic
Museum. Both museums are located in the same courtyard and
together they develop the multiple aspects of the Salesian charism
through culture, art, history.
This new museum replaces the simpler museum once just known
as the Camerette. It was opened in 2021. → “camerette” “Valdocco”
MYM Myanmar
abbrev., proper name. MYM Myanmar Vice-province. • A Salesian
circumscription (Vice-Province) in the EAO Region. Based in
Anisakan. Known as the Vice-Province of Mary Help of Christians.
Became a Vice-Province in 2004.
The Salesian missionaries arrived in what was then called Burma
in 1939. They gradually established their mission. They lost their
schools in a period of nationalsation when the government took
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MYM Myanmar
370
MYM Myanmar
control of all Christian-run schools in 1965. All foreign missionaries
serving in the country were asked to leave the country.
On 1st February 2021, the military of Myanmar staged a coup,
arresting the President, the State Councillor and many other
members of the government and civilians. It was the end of 5 years
of an experiment in democracy in the country under the leadership
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar has been under military
dictatorship since 1962 with different names of the government.
Only in 2015 was a democratically elected government installed.
→ “AEO” “regione”
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Namuncurá, Ceferino
371
Namuncurá, Ceferino
N
Namuncurá, Ceferino (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Ceferino [Zephyrinus] Namuncurá. • Declared
Venerable 22 June 1972; beatified on 11 November 2007 during
the pontificate of Benedict XVI. • Ceferino Namuncurá was born
on 26 August 1886 in Chimpay, on the banks of the Rio Negro.
His father Manuel, the last great cacique (leader) of the Indigenous
Araucan tribes, had surrendered three years earlier to the troops
of the Argentine Republic. After eleven years of life in the open
countryside, Manuel Namuncurá sent Ceferino to study in Buenos
Aires, so that tomorrow he could defend his race. The family
atmosphere in the Salesian college made him fall in love with Don
Bosco and want to become a Salesian priest.
Bishop Cagliero accepted him among the group of aspirants in
Viedma, capital of the Apostolic Vicariate, to begin the study of
Latin.
Because of his poor health, the Salesian bishop decided to take
Ceferino to Italy so he could continue his studies in a more serious
way and in a climate that seemed more suitable. But an illness
undiagnosed at the time, perhaps because he never complained,
undid him: tuberculosis. On 28 March 1905 he was taken to the
Fatebenefratelli hospital on the Tiber Island in Rome. Too late. He
died peacefully on 11 May. Since 1924 his mortal remains have been
in his homeland, at Fortín Mercedes, where crowds of pilgrims come
to venerate him.
Usage: In the US the tendency is to Anglicise names but in any
number of instances, saints ‘from the South’ with Spanish names
remain that way (e.g. Juan Diego), hence ‘Ceferino’. Some think
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NANUM
372
necrologio
otherwise and argue that since the Beatified’s feast falls on 26 August
and Pope St Zephyrinus (also Zeffirin), after whom he was named,
has a memorial on that day (though not in the Universal Calendar),
then we should adopt ‘Zephyrinus’. → “santità salesiana” “Vicuña,
Laura (beata)” “Savio, Domenico (santo)”
NANUM
[ko] proper name. ‘sharing’. • Aside from mission project fundraising,
‘NANUM’ (in Korean ’Sharing’) Seoul Mission Office is involved in
missionary animation, works closely with the Provincial Delegate
for Mission Animation, and promotes knowledge of the missions
on social media. → “DIAM”
The Mission Office is working closely with the ‘Fr John Lee
Memorial Foundation’ that was begun after the death of Fr John Lee,
Salesian missionary to South Sudan, on 10 January 2010, to help the
South Sudan mission. NANUM, which began with a simple focus
on SDB missionaries, is now also open to Salesian Mission assistance
beyond this ‘original destination’: Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and
Zambia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam,
Peru and East Timor. → “PDO” “solidarietà”
necrologio
n. Necrology in Salesian parlance, though obituary notices would
be preferable. • A list of persons who have died within a certain
period of time, in the case of the Salesians, from 1859 onwards.
The list is read out (traditionally it was daily) or otherwise
provided for each community (very often in digital form these
days and made available for perusal by the community). → “lettera
mortuaria”
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notaio
373
noviziato
notaio
n. Notary. • Someone who takes notes during an address, in private
and public administration (also functions as secretary). The legal
recognition of the role means that documents such as contracts that
he draws up have an official status. One of the roles of the provincial
secretary. → “attuario” “cancelliere”
notiziario (ispettoriale)
n. (Provincial) newsletter. • First formally encouraged after the
Special General Chapter, the province (or provincial) newsletter is
now more than encouraged: it is virtually obligated as one amongst
many elements of the Salesian Social Communication System. The
expectation is that it becomes a planned item within the province’s
overall plan. The Provincial Newsletter is primarily intended
to enable an exchange of news within the province. Note the
distinction between the Provincial’s (news)letter (analogous to the
RM’s Letter) and the Province Newsletter. The former is normally
addressed to the confreres while the latter provides information
about the communities and their activities (usually provided by
local correspondents and possibly co-ordinated centrally) and other
news from the Province for more general consumption. → “SSCS”
Usage: It was once a paper item but in many if not most instances
now is digital.
Novitius (n)
[la] n., abbrev. Novitius, Novice n. • Term found in the Year Book.
Usage: Note that novice receives a lower case 'n' where all other
abbreviations in this set (E, P, D, L, S) are upper case. → “annuario”
noviziato
n. Novitiate. • The purpose of the novitiate, by which life in an
institute begins, is to give the novices a greater understanding of
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nucleo animatore
374
nucleo animatore
their divine vocation, and of their vocation to that institute. During
the novitiate the novices are to experience the manner of life of the
institute and form their minds and hearts in its spirit. At the same
time their resolution and suitability are to be tested (Canon 646).
Initially, Don Bosco resisted calls to establish the classic novitiate,
referring instead to his ascrittti. → “prenoviziato” “postnoviziato”
“tirocinio”
Usage: Noviciate is an alternative spelling.
nucleo animatore
np. 1. life-giving core, 2. animating core.• A group of individuals
who identify with the Salesian mission, educational system and
spirituality and jointly take on the task of calling together,
motivating, involving everyone concerned with a work, making up
the educative community together with them and carrying out a
project of evangelisation and education of the young.
Although the current Reg, 5 speaks of the Salesian community
as the animating nucleus of the educative pastoral community, the
religious community, as the point of charismatic reference (cf. GC25,
nos. 78-81) is not the complete animating core in itself but one of
its integral parts; indeed it needs to be capable of an expanding
dynamic which finds various ways and means of involving everyone
who wishes to contribute to the Salesian work. There is only one
animating core for the entire work, since it is not a ‘governing
structure’ in itself. It can coincide with the Council of the Work
and/or the EPC Council, depending on the complexity of the work
and the various sectors. And, indeed, there will be works run by
Salesian lay people alone (though under the watchful eye of the
Province) who will be the life-giving core of that work.
The term came into existence at the Special General Chapter in
1972. Given that it has been around for at least 50 years and has now
been seized upon as a way of presenting the relationships that exist
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nucleo animatore
375
nucleo animatore
in the educative and pastoral community (EPC), we can rightly call
this term a conceptual metaphor as understood in the Cognitive
Linguistics field. In other words, a metaphor that is not just a literary
flourish, but one that is embodied in human experience and helps
understand and structure our way of being and acting in the Salesian
world.
The SGC reference showed all the signs of an emerging metaphor
that had not quite established its true reference... at times it appeared
to be a metaphor for authority (the Rector Major as the //nucleo
animatore// and the Congregation as the //nucleo animatore//
also, within the Salesian Family). But over time it developed into
what we understand it to be today, as succinctly explained by Fr
Vecchi in AGC 363:
This is already a familiar expression in our vocabulary. It
represents a benchmark in our current way of understanding
pastoral activity, intimately connected with others no less
important, such as the participation of lay people in the
mission, the development of the educative community, the
formulation of the project, the sharing in pedagogical style, and
the communication of salesian spirituality.
With these it becomes a “system”, which would not be possible
for them alone without the action of the animating nucleus.
Similarly, it is not possible to understand the purpose and the
practical meaning of the expression itself in separation from
the whole “system”. Article 5 of the General Regulations puts it
well, when it inserts it among the guidelines for our pedagogical
and pastoral practice. “The application of the plan requires that
in all our works and settings we establish the educative and
pastoral community, whose animating nucleus is the salesian
community”
But the difficulty in English is that ‘animating nucleus’ is not a
familiar concept. The two terms involved (animation and nucleus)
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nulla osta
376
nuova evangelizzazione
are much more familiar in Italian usage than they are in English.
Hence the preference above for glossing it as ‘life-giving core’.
→ “CEP”
nulla osta
[la] vp. Nihil obstat. • The nulla osta is an Italian legal term, whereas
nihil obstat (nothing impedes) is an ecclesial term used especially in
the Causes of Saints. Art. 45 §1. Although Art. 40 §1 of the present
Instruction maintains its full force, the diocesan or eparchial Bishop,
before accepting the written request of the postulator to initiate the
cause, would be well advised to ask the Congregation for the Causes
of Saints whether there is, on the part of the Holy See, any obstacle
to the cause (65).
§2. The Bishop is to send to the Congregation his request for the
"nihil obstat" together with a short report in which he illustrates the
biographical data of the Servant of God (date, place and diocese of
birth and of death, activity in the Church, etc.) and the importance
of the cause for the Church. (Sanctorum Mater) → “servo di Dio”
Linguistic note: Strangely, one often finds nulla osta in Salesian
texts, including when translated from Italian, possibly in the
mistaken belief that the phrase is a Latin one! Nulla osta is found
in many Italian legal texts, so is a normal translation of nihil obstat,
however, English does not translate the latter term, normally.
nuova evangelizzazione
np. New evangelisation. • Redemptoris Missio no. 33: ‘... where entire
groups of the baptised have lost a living sense of the faith, or even
no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a
life far removed from Christ and his Gospel. In this case what is
needed is a “new evangelisation” or a “re-evangelisation.”’
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nuova evangelizzazione
377
nuova evangelizzazione
Often attributed to Pope John Paul II as one of the characteristic
terms of his pontificate, that Pope actually attributes the term to
Pope Paul VI in his Encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi.
It became a significant ecclesial movement through the 80’s
and 90’s and was taken up by Salesian General Chapters. John
Paul II first used the phrase himself on March 9 1983 in a
speech in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He said the 500th anniversary
of Christopher Columbus required not a re-evangelisation but a
new evangelisation. He clarified the term in his 1990 encyclical
Redemptoris Missio, saying it referred to groups who had lost a sense
of the living faith. In a letter of Pope John Paul II to the Salesians,
he adapts the phrase to refer to Mary Help of Christians as the ’Star
of New Evangelisation’. → “missione”
Usage: Alternative spelling (US): new evangelization.
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Olivares, Luigi
378
Olivares, Luigi
O
Olivares, Luigi (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Luigi Olivares. • Salesian Bishop. Declared
Venerable: 26 December 2004.
Born in Corbetta (Milan) on 18 October 1873, and the fifth
of fifteen children, Luigi Olivares was baptised the following
day in the provostal church of San Vittore. He owed a fine and
aristocratic religious and civil education that distinguished him in
the apostolate, to his family, especially his mother. Confirmed in
1881, he entered the pre-seminary at Seveso then Monza for his
final years of secondary schooling and Philosophy. He attended
theology at the major seminary in Milan, under the leadership of
Fr Pasquale Morganti, future bishop of Bobbio and Ravenna, who
had been a pupil at the Oratory in Valdocco. It was there that cleric
Olivares learned about and came to know and love Don Bosco the
great educator of the young. It was during this stay in Milan that
Luigi Olivares got to know and approach the Salesians who would
eventually be the path his vocation took him down. Ordained priest
at 22 years of age on 4 April 1896 by Cardinal Andrea Ferrari, he
was sent as the vice-rector of the Archdiocesan college at Saronno.
He spent eight years there and showed himself to be a zealous and
exemplary priest, a tireless worker. His exceptional activity was
accompanied by a fatherliness that was typical of Don Bosco. He
was known as “the presence of God” for his attentive and vigilant
care.
He was finally able to join the Salesian Congregation in 1904.
“I feel called by the Lord's goodness to this” he humbly confessed
“after serious reflection, and guided by the advice of the one who
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Olivares, Luigi
379
Olivares, Luigi
directs my conscience.” After completing his novitiate at Foglizzo
Canavese and after just six years as a Salesian, he was sent as
parish priest to Santa Maria Liberatrice in Testaccio, Rome. It was
Cardinal Ferrari who had put forward his name, when Pope St
Pius X asked which Salesian he knew seemed best suited for such
a pastorally difficult place. The new parish priest would give of
his very best at Testaccio, winning over his flock with kindness
and transforming such a tumultuous and anticlerical district into a
fervent and dynamic parish in just a few years. Very much sought
after as a spiritual director, his confessional was “besieged from
morning till evening”. His love for everyone, even the enemies of
good and the Church, was heroically sublimated through sacrifice:
it was well-known that he had been insulted and struck in the face
by someone in the street, and Fr Luigi responded in gospel fashion
by offering the other cheek.
On 15 July 1916 Benedict XV promoted this zealous Salesian
parish priest to the episcopal sees of Sutri and Nepi. Among his
resolutions the new bishop wrote: “I want the hallmark of my
episcopal life to be sincere, patient, charitable, spiritual charity,
willing to make any sacrifice.” And this was how it was in reality:
the five pastoral visits to the two diocese and the lengthy regency
of Cività Castellana, Orte and Gallese; the continuous missions to
the people and retreats to the youth, and First Communicants; the
frequent pontifical celebrations in the two sees and, one could say, in
all the parishes of the diocese; triduums, novenas, pilgrimages and
feasts that he promoted; frequent and sought-out pastoral services
beyond the diocese, where he was respected for his words advice
and especially for the shining example of his virtues; everyone spoke
of the spirit of work that animated his tireless life as a worker for the
gospel. His greatest concerns were for the people, who he reminded
of their Christian duties; for the poor to whom he showed generosity
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Olivares, Luigi
380
Olivares, Luigi
and largess beyond measure; for the children and teenagers who he
often visited in the schools, parish groups or on the street. He had a
very special interest in Catholic Action which he recommended to
parish clergy, including as an act of obedience to papal directives.
When he visited parishes, early in the morning as soon as the church
was opened he was always in the confessional and stayed there
for long hours without tiring, listening to everyone with patient
kindness and offering them all his reassuring and enlightening
words. His zeal in dispensing the Word of God was unbelievable. He
was easy to listen to and clear, simple, thoughts well put together.
He spoke in kindly and loving ways that etched the truth on the
minds of his listeners, and encouraged them in particular to do
good. When he touched on his preferred topics – the Eucharist, Our
Lady, Heaven – his warm and convincing voice had echoes of heaven
about it.
The characteristic feature of Bishop Olivares was his kind way
of dealing with people, the warmth of his appearance, his delicacy
of soul. He was able to testify to the demanding pair of words he
had chosen as his episcopal motto, “Suaviter et fortiter”, an echo
of the “loving-kindness” so much inculcated by Don Bosco. He
had an extraordinary love for his priests, always showing them
understanding, and coming to their defence. “I never heard him
speak ill of anyone ... An elderly priest said that you could pull out
all of Bishop Olivares' teeth, but you would never hear him utter
a critical word about a priest. In fact his heart was impervious to
any rancour or aversion or resentment.” He loved poor people and
was loved in return. “He received everyone at his home at any hour,
often saying that the bishop's house was everyone's house and he
said he was available to everyone.” He received and listened to every
individual, then accompanied them to the door with his berretta
in his hands. When he went to Rome he always took papers and
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Olivares, Luigi
381
Olivares, Luigi
tasks with him that the poor people had asked of him. He came
back loaded with parcels, documents, home provisions.
Inwardly detached from any comfort, he would often repeat Don
Bosco's words: “Money is a good servant but a poor master.” His
secretary testified: “Out of love for poverty he was not concerned
about embellishing or changing anything in his buildings, at his
villa. He did not even change the mattresses he had slept on for
some years. He was happy and content with them. Family members
asked him to change them but he replied, smiling: ‘Things are okay
as they are!’ One fine day they changed his mattress and gave him
a metal bedstead. He complained, regretted it but then, despite it
all, adapted himself and kept quiet.”
He was a deeply humble man: “Whoever he was with, it seemed
he always took the last place.” He was a man of deep piety. One
of the parish clergy who spent a long time living with him wrote:
“He loved prayer in an extraordinary way; seeing him pray was
something you never forgot. I don't think I ever saw him seated in
church but always on his knees with his face between his hands
or fixed on the tabernacle as if his eyes were seeing something
supernatural. In hours free of ministry or receiving people he was
almost never in his room and if someone was looking for the bishop
they would certainly find him in the church. To say that he prayed
constantly is to say too little. It was the way he prayed and the
commitment he put into prayer that was so astonishing.”
He died on 19 May 1943 at Pordenone where he had gone to
preach a retreat to the senior students at the Salesian college. Bishop
Luigi Olivares was in charge of the dioceses of Sutri and Nepi from
1916 to 1943 and was Apostolic Administrator of the adjoining
dioceses of Cività Castellana, Orte and Gallese from 1928 to 1931.
His reputation for holiness following his death was immediate and
widespread. One of the doctors who had looked after him at the
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ONG
382
ONG
hospital in Pordenone confessed: “While the Catholic Church has
examples like this it is destined for ever new and greater triumphs.
Men like this can preach the Gospel and claim to be heard even by
unbelievers.” → “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
ONG
abbrev. Organizzazione Non Governativa. NGO Non Government
Organisation. • Though it has no internationally recognised legal
definition, an NGO generally refers to an organisation that operates
independently from any government as a charity. Non-profit
associations recognised by civil society, which promote social
justice, fairness, the development and safeguarding of human rights,
without formal links to governments and their policies; they operate
in a professional manner in their own fields, and through suitable
projects try to respond to the urgent needs of society swiftly and
effectively.
There are many Salesian NGOs by the above definition. Some
are voluntary service NGOs.
They are not the same as a PDO but the two entities are closely
linked.
A seminar in 2010 developed a number of principles for Salesian
NGOs:
• They move within the framework of the Salesian Mission
(Constitution 6, SDB) and hence are at the service of the Salesian
mission
• They develop their Salesian identity through formation
• There needs to be ‘ownership’ of the NGO by the Provincial
community or Provincial conference, clear position and relationship
within the Salesian Mission (Youth Ministry, Missionary
Animation, Economy.)
• It is desirable that there be networking among Salesian NGOs.
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ONLUS
383
opera
Don Bosco Network (DBN) is a worldwide federation of Salesian
development NGOs founded in 2010 whose vision, mission and
actions are based on the values and principles expressed by
the Salesian tradition of solidarity with the poor. → “ONLUS”
“solidarietà” “missioni” “DBI”
ONLUS
abbrev. ONLUS. • An acronym in Italian for a not-for-profit
organisation, a Charity organisation. One might see NPO occasionally,
but this is problematic, since NPO (nil per os= not by mouth) is a
common and important medical acronym.
opera
n. 1. work, 2. presence, 3. community, 4. setting. 5. house. • Would
not always be glossed as ‘work’. After all at the heart of it must be
a ‘community’. Occasionally glossed as ‘setting’. We often find it
glossed as ‘presence’.
Then there are the several Opere (Upper case O) or ‘Works’ that
are part of the founding story of the Congregation, including the
very ‘Work of the Oratory’ itself, and the ‘Work of Mary Help of
Christians’ or the ‘Sons of Mary’. There is also the Opere edite or
published works of Don Bosco, but here the term refers to literature.
Linguistic note: opera is a good example of the situation where the
semantic range of the Italian term is somewhat wider than for ‘work’
in English. Of course, ‘work’ can be applied to an ‘apostolic work’
in the sense of a particular mission of a community, but perhaps the
preference would be to call it either ‘apostolic work’ or specify it by
some other term. → “consiglio dell’Opera”
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opzione Valdocco
384
oratorio
opzione Valdocco
np. (The) Valdocco option. • Pope Francis coined the term when
addressing GC28 (not in person since Covid-19 prevented that). It
has the following features:
The gift of the young
The charism of presence
As expressed through many languages
The ability to dream
The Valdocco option is a call to return to the origins of the
Salesian Congregation, to a renewed fidelity to the source in order
to respond to the ever new and changing horizon of today. It does
not just look back, but also forward. → “Valdocco”
oratorio
n. 1. oratory, 2. festive oratory, 3. youth centre, 4. oratory-youth
centre. • As defined in classic Salesian terms: ‘a home, a school a
church and a playground.’
Don Bosco had before him earlier experiences and patterns in
oratory work (Milan, Rome, even Turin – Fr Cocchi’s Guardian
Angels Oratory). But his differed in important respects:
Valdocco was far from a church, so his oratory was not
parish-based.
– Most oratories were ‘festive’, i.e. Sundays and holy days, and
then only for a short period; he gathered the youngsters all day, then
extended the action to day and evening classes during the week.
– Traditional oratories were defined from attendance at church
and in parish facilities; instead the boys who came to his oratory
came ‘to spend the day with Don Bosco’, wherever that may happen
to be.
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orazione mentale
385
orazione mentale
– Traditional oratories had selective membership; he would
have preference for the truly poor and abandoned, and sometimes
difficult.
– Traditional oratories gave little time to play and recreation. For
Don Bosco, his oratory was a ‘recreation park’.
‘Festive oratory’ needs additional comment: The term implies
non-working days, weekends, long weekends and the like. In fact,
Don Bosco took up a term already in existence – the oratory and the
festive oratory already existed, so what was the distinctive notion
that Don Bosco added? It was the fact that in an Italian parish
context, the festive oratory was mainly for prayer, and mainly just
for an hour or two in the morning or afternoon. Don Bosco made it
play and prayer, and open from early morning to late evening! His
oratory, then, became truly festive as well as being on Sundays and
feast days, the real meaning of festivo in Italian. The daily oratory
was actually a slightly later ‘invention’.
Usage: Would most usually be capitalised in reference to
Valdocco.
The best description we have of the term is to be found in
GC21 nos 121ff. The discussion notes that ‘oratory’ and ‘youth
centre’ indicate different realities in different areas, but both coming
from the same pedagogical intuition and spirit. It notes that the
two terms are somewhat imprecise even in normative texts. GC21
however, offered its definitions: oratory is aimed at younger children
(ragazzi), is for the most part open to the masses with aims and
methods that are appropriate to this. By contrast the youth centre
is open to older youth. But even this would not be true in every
circumstance. → “Cenni Storici” “Valdocco”
orazione mentale
np. 1. mental prayer, 2. meditation. • In its more common and
general understanding, the adjective mental, when used to describe
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organico
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organico
the term ‘prayer’, is the opposite to the adjective vocal; so it is not
used in reference to prayer that involves logical reasoning, but prayer
that involves the affections, the human being’s inner self, prayer that
doesn’t need words to express itself. Carmelite Fr Albino of the Child
Jesus writes in his Compendium of Spiritual Theology: “Prayer is called
mental when it takes place in the powers of the soul without any
external manifestation. Every act of faith, hope and charity, every
thought and spiritual affection is mental prayer, that is, an encounter
with God”.(Compendio di Teologia Spirituale, Turin 1966, 336)
We can distinguish between “diffused mental prayer” or “any
pious thought that might have God or things that relate to God
as its object” (G. Lercaro, Metodi di orazione mentale, Milan 1969,
3) and “formal mental prayer”, the practice of piety that our
Regulations refer to. “The prayer that the Constitutions prescribe
for us as nourishment of the spirit” (Fr Albera). → “meditazione”
“contemplazione”
organico
adj. 1. systematic, 2. whole, 3. overall, 4. planned, 5. integral, 6.
structured. • One among several definitions for organico in Italian,
implying that something comprises distinct but corresponding parts
harmoniously arranged in view of the purpose to which they are
coordinated.
Usage: In many instances this adjective may not need to be
translated and certainly would be best glossed with a term other
than ‘organic’. Possible other terms are ‘structured’, ‘planned’,
‘integral’, ‘overall’. In the context of the POI or Progetto Organico
Ispettoriale, avoid ‘organic’ and either gloss simply as ‘Province
Project’ or ‘Plan’, or ‘Overall Province Plan’. → “POI”
Linguistic note: ‘organic’ sounds rather too botanical in English!
So, pastorale organico, if it were translated as ‘organic ministry’ might
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Orione, Luigi
look as if it were an agricultural venture! Instead, it is a holistic,
structured, integral ministry. → False Friends “O”
Orione, Luigi (santo)
proper name. (St) Aloysius Orione. • Priest. Beatified: 26 October 1980.
Beatified: 26 October 1980. Liturgical celebration: 16 May.
Luigi Orione (named after St Aloysius Gonzaga but commonly
known as Luigi) was born in Pontecurone (Province of Alessandria
and diocese of Tortona) on 23 June 1872. His father was a road
digger; his mother was a woman of deep faith and well-educated.
Even though he felt a calling to the priesthood, for three years
(1882-1885) helped his father as a digger’s roustabout. On 14
September 1885, just 13 years old, he was taken in at the Franciscan
house at Voghera (Pavia), but contracted pneumonia there, and with
his life at risk he had to return home in June 1886. From October
1886 to August 1889 he was a pupil at the Oratory at Valdocco in
Turin. St John Bosco saw his qualities and had him on his list of
special ones, assuring him: “We shall always be friends.” In Turin
he also came to know the charitable works of St Joseph Benedict
Cottolengo, close to the Salesian oratory.
On 16 October 1889 he began his philosophy at the seminary
in Tortona. While still a young cleric he was sensitive to the the
problems both society and church were beset with at the time.
He dedicated himself to solidarity with his neighbour through
the San Marziano Mutual Aid Society and the St Vincent de Paul
Conference. At twenty years of age he wrote: “There is a supreme
need and a supreme remedy for healing the wounds of this poor
country that is so beautiful but so unfortunate! Take hold of the
hearts and affections of the people and enlighten the youth: pour
into everyone the great idea of Catholic redemption with and for the
Pope. Souls! Souls!” Moved by this apostolic vision, on 3 July 1892
he opened the first oratory to look after the Christian upbringing of
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Orione, Luigi
young people. The following year, on 15 October 1893, Luigi Orione,
a twenty-one-year-old cleric, opened a boarding school in the San
Bernardino district for poor boys. On 13 April 1895 he was ordained
a priest and at the same ceremony the bishop gave the clerical
habit to six students from the college. He continued to develop his
apostolate among the young by opening new houses in Mornico
Losana (Pavia), Noto in Sicily, San Remo, and Rome.
Clerics and priests grew around the young founder and became
the first nucleus of the Little Work of Divine Providence. In 1899
he began the branch known as the Hermits of Divine Providence
who took their inspiration from the benedictine motto “ora et
labora”, especially in agricultural schools that at the time responded
to the need to uplift social and Christian society in the rural
areas. The bishop of Tortona, Bishop Igino Bandi, by decree on
21 March 1903 gave canonical recognition to the male religious
congregation of the Little work of Divine Providence, the Sons of
Divine Providence (priests, brothers and hermits), and recognised
the charism expressed in apostolic terms as “collaborating to bring
the little ones, the poor and the people to the Church and the Pope
through works of charity.” They took a fourth vow of “fidelity to
the Pope”. Comforted by the personal advice of Leo XIII, Fr Orione
included among the aims of the new Congregation, in the first
Constitutions in 1904, the aim of working to “bring about unity
among separated Churches”. Driven by a great love for the Church
and its Pastors and passion for winning over souls, the Congregation
was actively involved in the emerging problems of the time such as
the Church’s freedom and unity, the Roman question, modernism,
socialism, the de-christianisation of the working masses.
Twenty years after founding the Sons of Divine Providence,
as a “single tree with many branches”, on 29 June 1915 he
started the Congregation of the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity,
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Orione, Luigi
inspired by the same charism and vowed to seeing that those
most in need would experience God’s Providence and the Church’s
motherliness through love for the poor and the sick and services of
all kinds in educational institutes, kindergartens and various kinds
of pastoral work. In 1927 he also began a contemplative branch,
the Blind Sacramentine Adoration Sisters, then also adding the
Contemplatives of the Crucified Jesus. He also urged lay people
to adopt charitable approaches and civil involvement by starting
associations such as the Women of Divine Providence, the Past
Pupils and Friends. Later, with intuitive foresight, within the Little
Work of Divine Providence, he would also set up the Orionian
Secular Institute and the Orionian Lay Movement.
In the winter of 1940, already suffering from angina pectoris
and after two heart attacks made worse by respiratory problems,
Fr Orione was convinced by his confreres and doctors to spend
some time in the house of the Little Work at Sanremo even though,
as he said, “it is not among the palms that I want to live and die,
but among the poor who are Jesus Christ”. Just three days later,
surrounded by the affection and care of his confreres, Fr Orione
died on 12 March 1940, whispering: “Jesus! Jesus! I am going.” His
body, surrounded by so many of his devotees, was given solemn
honour in Sanremo, Genoa, Milan, finishing its journey in Tortona,
where he was buried in the crypt at the shrine of the Madonna della
Guardia. When it was re-exhumed in 1965 his body was found still
intact, and was given a place of honour in the shrine.
He embodied the charism of love for the poor, seeing the face of
Jesus in them and serving them in holy joy. Forever on the move, he
led a penitent and very poor life. He was convinced that the greatest
good was to live in the presence of God and to believe in his Divine
Providence. This was Fr Orione’s refrain: “More faith, more faith,
brothers, we need more faith!... Our Faith, made powerful against
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Ortiz Arrieta, Ottavio
every battle, has become the greatest and most divine comfort of
human life, it is the highest inspiration of every value, of every holy
heroism, of every beautiful art that does not die, of every true moral,
religious and civil greatness.” → “santo” “santità salesiana”
Ortiz Arrieta, Ottavio (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Octavius Ortiz Arrieta.• Salesian Bishop.
Declared Venerable: 27 February 2017.
Bishop Ottavio Ortiz Arrieta Coya was born in Lima on 19
April 1878. When the first Salesians came to Peru in December
1891, among the young people who flocked there was Ottavio who
found in one of them, Fr Carlo Pane, the friend that Providence
had prepared for him. When technical classes were opened he
was immediately accepted and prepared for a trade as a carpenter.
He became a model of piety. He made Dominic Savio's motto his
own – “Death but not sin” – to the point where his nickname was
“pecadito” because he was always alerting either himself or his
friends to what could be sinful. From carpentry to other studies
he stood out for his intelligence and iron will. He had an artistic
temperament and loved music so much that he reached a good level
of competence in it. He became a Salesian and professed perpetual
vows on 24 May 1902. He was ordained priest on 27 January 1907,
becoming the first Peruvian Salesian priest!
The diocese of Chachapoyas became vacant in 1918. The right
of patronage granted the President of the Republic of Peru by Pope
Pius IX made the appointment more difficult at the time since
the Parliament had to choose the candidate. At the proposal of
the Apostolic Nuncio, Bishop Lorenzo Lauri, Ortiz Arrieta was
consecrated bishop on 11 June 1922. The Chachapoyas diocese –
the ancient diocese of Quijos y Maynas – then covered a territory
of 95,200 km2 and a population of 250,000 souls. After a journey of
one month he reached his episcopal headquarters and was received
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Ortiz Arrieta, Ottavio
as an angel sent from heaven after 5 years without a bishop. He was
a model bishop and a martyr to duty. He always sought to visit his
flock. His life was a continuous journey: long days on horseback,
on foot, across the Cordigliera, in the forests, along the rivers. He
would climb icy peaks then go down into the torrid valleys. When
he arrived at a place he would gather the people in the church and
begin catechesis. He would then hear confessions often until late
into the night. There was no lack of serious events. With admirable
patience, he underwent a difficult operation in which the bones
of his elbow and collarbone were removed to correct deformities
caused by an unsuccessful operation, and then the same operation
was repeated after three months. But he said he was happy to suffer
for his sheep.
He never took real holidays: whenever he was away his mind
would go back to where he had “so many souls looking for
their pastor”. He always maintained the Salesian approach: warm,
welcoming, habitually cheerful, close to the people. Young people
filled the rooms of his old episcopal palace. He organised a band and
in all simplicity he would take the place of one of instrumentalists
if they were missing for a performance. With the passion for the
catechism in his heart he would teach it whenever time allowed. He
was a born organiser: he held three diocesan Synods and organised
a very successful Eucharistic Congress; he reorganised parish
archives, set up associations and confraternities and published a
newspaper.
He had a special love for his priests. He lived at the seminary and
once a month would become a seminarian himself, sharing their life
fully. He rejected honours: when offered the primatial See of Lima
he insisted on remaining in his humble Chachapoyas.
He was a man with a great interior life always united to God
whom he saw in every event. When he preached people noted his
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Ortiz Arrieta, Ottavio
priestly holiness and the flame of God's love that burned in his heart.
His appearance was calm whether there were moments of joy or of
trial, since he had developed the art of hiding his sorrows behind
a constant smile. He had a simple heart: whether it was the daily
Mass or a Pontificial he was celebrating, both were done devoutly
and dealt with seminarians, peasants and children, cut or nailed
wood, reminiscent of his old skills as a carpenter, or attended to
difficult business, all with the same naturalness
He was also generous with his enemies. Some even entered
his bedroom to kill him, and when they could not find him they
ransacked the place and set it on fire. He immediately had words
of forgiveness for them. He died at 80 years of age on 1 March 1958
in Chachapoyas where his body now lies, venerated by the faithful.
→ “venerabile” “santità salesiana”.
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Palomino Yenes, Eusebia
393
Palomino Yenes, Eusebia
P
Palomino Yenes, Eusebia (beata)
proper name. (Blessed) Eusebia Palomino. • Daughter of Mary Help
of Christians. Declared Venerable: 17 December 1996. Beatified: 25
April 2004. Liturgical Celebration: 9 February.
Eusebia Palomino Yenes was born just as the sun was setting
on the 19th century, on 15 December 1899, in Cantalpino, a small
town in the province of Salamanca (Spain), to a family that was as
rich in faith as it was poor financially. Her father Agustín, a good
and kindly man, worked as a seasonal farmhand for landowners in
the district, while her mother Juana Yenes looked after the home
and the four children. The countryside was quiet in winter, with
little work and bread was hard to find. Her father was then forced
to ask for charity from other poor families in the villages around.
Sometimes little Eusebia would go with him. She was just seven
and unaware of the sacrifices that were being made: she enjoyed
the walks along the country lanes and happily skipped beside her
father her pointed out the beauty of creation to her. He was able
to enchant her with catechesis that he drew from the brightness
of the Castilian landscape. Then when they reached a farmhouse,
she would smile at the good people who welcomed her and ask for
“some bread for the love of God.”
Her first encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist at the age of eight
gave her a surprising perception of the meaning of belonging to and
offering oneself as a total gift to the Lord. Very soon she had to leave
school to help the family, and after proving her early maturity in
looking after children of local families – she was just a child herself
still – while her parents were at work, at twelve years of age she
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went to Salamanca with her older sister and worked as a domestic
with some families as child minder and Jill of all trades. On Sunday
afternoons she attended the festive oratory run by the Daughters of
Mary Help of Christians and got to know the Sisters who decided
to ask her to help in the community. Eusebia accepted more than
willingly and immediately began work: she helped in the kitchen,
brought in the wood, looked after the cleaning of the house, hung
out the washing in the large courtyard, accompanied some of the
girls who were attending the state school and carried out other tasks
in town.
Eusebia's secret desire to consecrate herself completely to the
Lord grew and became more and more the substance of her prayer
and everything she did. She said: “If I carry out all my duties
diligently I will please the Virgin Mary and will one day succeed in
being a Daughter of the Institute.” She did not dare ask for this due to
her poverty and lack of education; she did not think she was worthy
of such a grace, she thought, since it was such a great Congregation.
The Sister who was the Visitor, and to whom she confided her wish,
welcomed her with motherly kindness and reassured her: “Do not
worry about anything.” And in the name of the Mother General she
gladly decided to admit her.
On 5 August 1922 she began her novitiate in preparation for
her profession. Hours of study and prayer alternated with hours
of work filled Eusebia's days, and she was very happy. Two years
later, in 1924 she professed the religious vows that bound her to
the love of her Lord. She was assigned to the house in Valverde del
Camino, a town with 9,000 inhabitants at the time in the extreme
south-west of Spain in the mining area of Andalusia near the border
with Portugal. The girls at the school and the oratory, when they
first met her, could not hide their disappointment: the new arrival
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seemed a rather insignificant person, small and pale, not pretty,
with huge hands, and to top it all off she had an ugly name.
The following morning the little Sister was at her workplace:
many tasks including the kitchen, reception, the wardrobe, looking
after the small garden and assisting the children at the festive
oratory. She enjoyed “being in the house of the Lord every day of her
life.” This was the “royal” situation in which her spirit felt honoured,
where she felt she was living in the highest realms of love. The little
ones were soon won over by her tales about the missions, or the lives
of the saints, or episodes of Marian devotion, or anecdotes about
Don Bosco, all of which she remembered thanks to a good memory.
She was able to make them attractive and telling through the power
of her own conviction and simple faith.
Everything about Sr Eusebia reflected God's love and her strong
desire to see that he was loved: this shone through her hardworking
days and confirmed the topics she preferred to talk about in her
conversations: first of all Jesus' love for all humankind saved through
his Passion. The Five Holy Wounds was what Sr Eusebia read every
day. She drew points for teaching from this devotion, using a simple
set of rosary beads, which she advised for everyone with frequent
hints. In her letters she became an apostle of devotion to the Merciful
love according to the revelations of Jesus to a Polish Sister, today
known as Saint Faustina Kowalska. This devotion was spreading
through Spain at the time through Dominican Father Juan Arintero.
The other “pole” of Sr Eusebia's piety and catechesis was the
“True devotion to Mary” taught by French Saint Louis M. Grignion
de Montfort. This was to be the soul and weapon of Sister Eusebia's
apostolate throughout her short life. She targeted girls, young
people, mothers of families, seminarians and priests. “Perhaps
there was no parish priest in all of Spain,” it was said during
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the beatification process “who did not receive a letter from Sister
Eusebia about being Mary's slave.”
When Spain entered the turbulent period of revolution at the
beginning of the 1930s due to the rage of godless people who wanted
to see the destruction of all religion, Sr Eusebia did not hesitate to
take her principle of “availability” to the extreme, literally prepared
to strip herself of everything. She offered herself to the Lord as a
victim for the salvation of Spain, for freedom of religion. The victim
was accepted by God. In August 1932 came the early signs and a
sudden illness. Then asthma which she had earlier suffered from at
different times began to affect her to the point of being intolerable,
aggravated by various other insidious illnesses.
During this time, visions of blood saddened Sr Eusebia even
more than her inexplicable physical ills. On 4 October 1934, while
some of the Sisters were praying with her in the room where she
was consuming her sacrifice, she interrupted them and paled: “Pray
very much for Catalonia.” It was the initial moment, the workers
uprising in Asturia and the Catalonian one in Barcelona (4-15
October 1934) that would be called the “revolutionary uprising.”
She had other visions of blood for her dear superior, Sister Carmen
Moreno Benítez, who would be shot along with another Sister on
6 September 1936: in 2001, after recognition of her martyrdom. she
was declared Blessed.
Meanwhile Sr Eusebia's ills grew worse: the doctor attending her
admitted that he did not know how to describe the illness, added to
her asthma, that made her limbs crumple like a ball of wool. Those
who visited her felt her moral strength and the light of holiness that
shone from those suffering limbs, but that left her mind absolutely
clear along with her delicacy and kindness in dealing with people.
She promised the Sisters who stayed with her: “I'll be back on my
rounds.”
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pareggiamento
397
parvum calendarium
In the middle of the night of 9 February 1935, Sr Eusebia just
went, appearing to be sleeping peacefully. For all of the following
day her fragile remains, adorned with so many flowers, were visited
by the whole population of Valverde. The same expression was
heard many times over: “A saint has died.” → “beatificazione”
“santità salesiana”
pareggiamento
n. Equivalent recognition. • Equivalent recognition of non-state
schools which ensures that their results are considered to be valid.
The term is usually found in Salesian texts in reference to
the scholastic context, meaning equal recognition (e.g. of results)
between State and Catholic schools.
parolina all’orecchio
np. Word in the ear.• A simple ploy of Don Bosco’s to pass on a
word of comment, encouragement or even reproof in the midst of
a game or other activity. Now part of tried and proven Salesian
tradition. → “buona notte”
parvum calendarium
[la] np. Parvum Calendarium. Full title is Parvum calendarium ad usum
SDB. • A liturgical calendar printed as a small leaflet for Salesian
SDB use based on the Roman calendar. It could be called the Proper
Salesian Calendar.
The Parvum Calendarium, printed and distributed annually
(starting from 1 January, rather than from the beginning of Advent)
to Salesian communities, is always in Latin, and accompanied by a
second leaflet (also in Latin) called Addenda et Varianda in Officio et
Missa.
The Parvum Calendaraium lists Solemnities, Feasts, Sundays,
Liturgical memorials and ‘Feria‘ (ordinary days without some
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passeggiate autunnali
398
pastorale giovanile
specific celebration) for the Church's year, highlighting specifically
Salesian celebrations.
The Addendum is addressed not only to Salesians but also to the
FMA, and lists only details that pertain to the Mass and the Liturgy
of the Hours relevant to both the SDB Congregation and the FMA
Institute.
Usage: The Parvum Calendarium concept is not specific to
Salesians. Other Congregations have their own version.
passeggiate autunnali
n. 1. autumn walks, 2. autumn outings. • Excursions organised by
Don Bosco from Valdocco to his birthplace and surrounds, that took
place around the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (first Sunday of
October).
In 1848 Don Bosco began taking a group of boys to his birthplace
at the Becchi for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated in the
chapel that he had set up in his brother Joseph’s house with external
access. These yearly outings (which included excursions into the
countryside around the Becchi), continued with ever-expanding
itineraries, including to Nizza Monferrato, until 1864. → “i Becchi”
“Gianduia”
pastorale giovanile
np. 1. youth ministry, 2. youth apostolate, 3. youth pastoral ministry.
• One of the key sectors of the Salesian mission, under the direction
of a General Councillor.
Salesian youth ministry, as central as it is, obviously covers very
many areas. These include at least the following:
1. The Oratory and Youth Centre: An environment of broad
acceptance, open to a wide range of young people, above all those
most alienated. This is achieved through a diversity of educational
and evangelising activities characterised by their focus on the young
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pastorale giovanile
and strong personal relationships between educator and youngster,
capable of becoming a missionary presence in the world of the
young and of civil society.
2. The school and Professional formation Centres for formal
education, inspired by Gospel values according to the spirit
and pedagogical style of the Salesians, in order to promote
popular education attentive to the most needy, to their professional
formation and to accompanying their gradual insertion into the
world of work.
3. Boarding and hostel arrangements: A service for accepting
young people without family or who are temporarily estranged
from family. Here they find personal relationships, opportunity
for commitment and responsibility for young people in daily life,
and the life of the group with its various formative educative and
Christian opportunities.
4. A presence to the Tertiary sector through institutes of higher
education inspired by Christian values and with a Catholic and
Salesian style; hostels and university residences, other services of
pastoral animation at this level.
5. The parish: Characterised by a special attention to young
people, above all to the poorest of them, the popular environment
where it is to be found, by the presence of a Salesian religious
community at its animating heart, and by activity of evangelisation
and education to faith strictly integrated with the human development
of the person and the group.
6. Social services and works for youth-at-risk: A family atmosphere
of acceptance and education, animated by a community with
‘preventive’ criteria according to the educative style of Don Bosco.
This is inspired by the Gospel and has the aim to evangelise, open
to the transformation of realities which are socially exclusive and
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to the building of a culture of solidarity, in collaboration with other
social institutions.
7. Social communication: Through education to an understanding
and proper use and utilisation of the media, the development of the
communicative potential of persons through the new languages of
music, theatre, art etc. Formation to a critical, aesthetic and moral
sense, promotion of information and editorial centres in press, radio,
television, internet etc. Finally, the service of the Salesian educational
and pastoral project.
8. Other new forms of Salesian presence to the young
- The Salesian Youth Movement: communion and connection
between all youth groups and associations which acknowledge
Salesian spirituality and pedagogy, and which take up an educative
and evangelising task and commit themselves to share and
coordinate amongst themselves.
- The Salesian Voluntariate: a voluntary activity committed to
the human and Salesian development of the young, above all the
poorest of them, and active amongst the common folk, according
to the style of Don Bosco’s Preventive System and the values
of Salesian Youth Spirituality. They carry out their activity in
view of the transformation of society and the removal of causes
of injustice, and they favour a community experience and the
vocational development of the volunteer.
- Services for vocational guidance: meetings and centres for
vocational guidance, communities where this can occur, etc.
- Specialised services for Christian formation: special education
centres, houses of retreat and spirituality, centres for pastoral and
catechetical formation etc.
Usage: The form ‘youth pastoral’ is to be avoided, since it
is a calque (translated literally from Italian) and would not be
recognised easily outside Salesian circles. English regards ‘pastoral’
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paternità
401
patrimonio
as an adjective in most instances, and where it is a noun it
refers to things other than ministry. → “apostolato” “Quadro di
riferimento...” → False Friends “P”
paternità
n. Fatherliness.• This term is a ‘false friend’ inasmuch as it should
not normally (unless context were to suggest otherwise) be glossed
as ‘paternity’. In Salesian discourse it pretty much always refers
to the attitude of fatherliness which is part of the Salesian spirit
inherited from Don Bosco.
It was a favourite term of Fr. Rinaldi’s, who had been a Superior
for something like 48 years, so naturally enough saw Don Bosco’s
qualities through that prism. The saying goes: Don Rua – la Regola,
Don Albera – la Pietà, Don Rinaldi – la Paternità. Don Ricaldone
– il Lavoro i.e. Don Rua – the Rule, Don Albera – Piety, Don
Rinaldi – Fatherliness. Don Ricaldone – Work. → “Rinaldi, Filippo
(beato)” “Rua, Michele (beato)” “Albera Paolo” “Ricaldone,
Pietro” → False Friends “P”
patrimonio
n. 1. heritage, 2. legacy, 3. patrimony. • In English, the term
‘patrimony’ is more often applied in a canonical sense to material
goods (including land, buildings) of an Institute or House.
When we meet the term in Salesian literature in Italian, however,
it almost always means ‘heritage’ in the broad sense of values,
charism... Hence we find: spiritual heritage, heritage of values,
of Saleisan holiness, precious Salesian inheritance (or heritage),
cultural heritage etc. patrimonio-patrimony, then is a ‘false friend’ to
be wary of in translation.
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Patronage Saint-Pierre
402
Patronage Saint-Pierre
Patronage Saint-Pierre
[fr] np. St Peter's Oratory (or left in the original French). • In France,
it was an oratory in which, in addition to prayer, catechesis and
games, there was a personalised attention to the individual young
person not only in the oratory, but also in the family and in the
workplace, thanks to the work of lay people who collaborated in
educational activities. In Turin, especially in the work undertaken by
St Leonard Murialdo when he became the Rector of the Artigianelli,
the patronato activities were carried out mainly at the St. Martin’s
Oratory and partly also at the St. Aloysius Oratory, although these
two institutions continued to be called an “oratory”.
While a general French term used by Salesians for ‘oratory’
(in general language it might be glossed as ‘youth club’), the
specific Salesian reference of historical importance is the Patronage
Saint-Pierre in Nice, at whose opening Don Bosco explained what he
meant by an oratory, and also produced the first written explanation
of the Preventive System.
In the final decade of his life (1877-1887) Don Bosco was on
a tireless search for financial assistance for his works in Italy and
abroad. There are at least a hundred appeals, spoken and written
that are testimony to this, made to benefactors, Cooperators, past
pupils, civil and religious authorities. We find them in conferences,
talks, circulars, begging requests, and regular items like the Salesian
Bulletin which he began in 1877 and which became a more effective
and better ’spokesperson’ for him. The greater number of these,
especially public conferences along the lines of his sermon de charité
[in Nice], follow similar lines to the first address, his exposé of
which we have the complete text drafted, corrected and published
by Don Bosco personally. It can be read in the 1877 Inaugurazione
del patronato di S. Pietro a Nizza a Mare (or in its French translation if
you prefer) along with a news account of the event and the pages
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PDO
403
PDO
on the preventive system, all included in the same booklet. His
’preventive’ theme comes back again, seen in its twin perspective
of the educational and the social: the dramatic situation (and one
that he dramatised) of ’poor and abandoned’ youth; the institutions
that took care of them such as the oratory, the patronage, the home
or hospice; the urgent need for funds to build and support things,
by seeking alms; the guarantee of abundant heavenly recompense,
both temporal and eternal as well as the prayerful and affectionate
recognition from those who benefited from the help received;
the certainly of good personal, professional and social results.
→ “sistema preventivo” “trattatello”
PDO
abbrev. Planning and Development Office. • The PDO (Planning and
Development Office) is an entity, juridical or otherwise, instituted
by the Salesian Provincial Community, fully at the service of the
Salesian charism in the province.
The PDO participates in the restructuring, re-shaping and
re-dimensioning of the Salesian works. It serves as a link, a bridge,
between the consecrated Salesians and civil society in the work of
promoting youth development and empowerment, justice, and holistic
human development. It is recognised in the province’s Directory
with due approval of the Provincial Chapter.
Not every province has a PDO, and the PDO is not the same
as a Mission Office (sometimes, though inaccurately in linguistic
terms, called a ‘Procure’). The PDO assists in the process of the
drafting, elaborating, implementing and evaluating of the Overall
Provincial Plan (OPP) and the Salesian Educative Pastoral Plan
(SEPP) ensuring its sustainability. It undertakes research in the
field of children and youth to continuously make relevant the plans
and programs of the province.
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pedagogia
404
pericolante
pedagogia
→ False Friends “P”
PEPS
abbrev. Progetto educativo-pastorale salesiano SEPP Salesian Educative
and Pastoral Plan. Sometimes known as EPP, without the ’Salesian’.
• A basis for planning and evaluating works chosen in line with
the Congregation’s basic options: oratories, youth centres, schools,
centres for young workers, parishes, missions, which involves
objectives, methods, features with due regard to geographical and
cultural differences (Cf. GC21 no. 105).
There is also the PEPS ispettoriale or Provincial level EPP
(or SEPP). It defines procedures in the Province and indicates
objectives, strategies and common educative and pastoral action
guidelines which align the pastoral activity of all works, sectors and
pastoral animation settings. It serves as a point of reference for their
planning and as an educative and pastoral evaluation tool over this
period.
Since its inception in 1978, the EPP (or Salesian Educative and
Pastoral Plan/Project SEPP, another variant) has played a vital part
in the Congregation’s planning mentality. The EPP was codified in
the Regulations in 1984 (R. 4).
Linguistic note: Be it the SEPP, the OPP, the PDO (and any
range of acronyms, usually with ‘P’ in them, they are tied into the
concept expressed in Italian as progettualità or ’planning mentality’
in English. This planning mentality is ‘A progressive process
towards concrete and verifiable objectives, with clear options
regarding priorities and orders of sequence’ (Chávez, AGC 407).
→ “progetto”
pericolante
adj. At risk. • Someone (or something) at risk, about to fall.
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personal media
405
personal media
When Don Bosco first used the term to describe a certain group of
young people there was a decidedly negative reaction. But he means
those who are at risk of becoming anti-social because neglected.
He occasionally extended the reference to pericolanti e pericolosi,
meaning not only at risk but of risk to others. → “giovani” “Don
Bosco (santo)”
personal media
np. Personal media.• An emerging digital communications media,
incorporating interactivity in its design, and allowing users not
only to consume media products, but also to create them, (Shiregu
Miyagawa, professor of linguistics and communication at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology). We could probably say
today that it has fully emerged!
The term was introduced into Salesian discourse by GC26. In fact
it came from the floor during a discussion on social communication,
and was offered by a German Chapter representative. The term
then found its way into the Chapter documents in a somewhat
negative comment: La cultura della personal media può compromettere la
maturazione della capacità di relazione. The culture of personal media
can compromise the development of an ability to relate.
In the light of the definition offered above however, the
discussion of personal media as a formation theme should not be
limited to its negative effects, but might objectively consider several
other factors: creativity, and the fact that human beings with access
to personal digital devices are now creators. And perhaps the most
significant issue here is to ask what personal media are in function
of. They are in function of social media. The term, as employed
at GC26, was occasionally extended by reference to ‘personal and
convergent media’. → “comunicazione sociale” “digitalità”
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PGS
406
Pia (Società)
PGS
abbrev. PGS Papua-New Guinea & Solomon Islands Vice-Province.
• A Salesian circumscription (Vice-Province) in the EAO Region.
Based in Port Moresby (East Boroko). The Vice-Province of
Blessed Philip Rinaldi. PGS became a Vice-Province in 2016. Formerly
it was a Delegation of the Philippines North Province (FIN).
The first Superior of the Vice-Province, Fr Peter Baquero, was
appointed Bishop of Kerema Diocese in 2017. His successor as
Superior, Fr Alfred Maravilla, was elected as the General Councillor
for the Missions in 2020.
The first Salesians came to Papua New Guinea in June 1980, from
the Philippines.
In 1995, Archbishop Adrian Smith sm, Archbishop of Honiara,
welcomed the presence of the Salesians to the Solomon Islands
and assigned them the parish of Christ the King, Tetere. Fr.
Pedro Balcazar, (Mexican), Br Tanaka Yukihiro (Japanese) and
Fr Nichizawa Pedro Manabu (Bolivian) were the first ones in the
Solomon Islands. Fr Ambrose Pereira (Indian) arrived on the 2nd
April 1999 and Fr Luciano Capelli (Italian, now Bishop of Gizo)
arrived several months later.
Three Salesians who have worked in PGS have become bishops:
Archbishop (emeritus) of Rabaul, Archbishop Francesco Panfilo,
Bishop Luciano Capelli of Gizo, and Bishop Peter Baquero of
Kerema. → “AEO” “regione”
Pia (Società)
adjp. Pious (Society). • The term collocates most typically with
Società as in Pia Società or the full term La Pia Società Salesiana. It
was dropped from any official reference to the Salesian Society from
1926 onwards, given that by this time ‘society’ was not considered
to give any cause for wrong interpretation. Don Bosco used to add
it in to make it clear that his ‘society’ was not one of political or
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piccolo clero
407
Pio IX
even of secret leanings, but a society interested only in good. The
Superior Chapter in 1925 decided that Pia would be attached only
to the Pia Unione dei Cooperatori Salesiani. → “Società Salesiana”
piccolo clero
np. Altar Boys Society. • Akin to the Blessed Sacrament Sodality
and almost a section of it, the Altar Boys Society was founded on 2
February 1858, among students, by Seminarian Joseph Bongiovanni.
Its purpose was to ensure that religious services were properly
performed and to foster vocations to the priesthood among the
better students. ‘It was dedicated to the service of the altar on the
feast of the Purification of Mary.’ → “compagnia”
Linguistic note: The Italian term for ‘altar boy’ is chierichetto, but
as a group they may be referred to as the piccolo clero.
Pio IX (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti).
• Pope. Declared Venerable: 6 July 1985. Beatified: 3 September
2000. Liturgical Celebration: 7 February.
The Pope Don Bosco had to deal with for most of his life was
Pius IX, pontiff for a good 32 years from 1846 to 1878. Don Bosco had
many meetings with him: there were some twenty or so audiences
and hundreds of letters.
Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti (Pius IX) was the ninth child
of Count and Countess Girolamo Ferretti and Caterina Sollazzi.
He was born in Senigallia on 13 May 1792. From 1803 to 1808 he
was a pupil of the Scolopians at the Aristocrats College in Volterra.
Wanting to become a priest he was forced to interrupt his studies
due to sudden attacks of epilepsy. He obtained the grace of a cure in
1815 at Loreto. He resumed his theological studies and was ordained
priest in 1819. In 1823 he went to Chile for two years as a missionary.
At just 35 years of age he was appointed archbishop of Spoleto, then
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Pio IX
408
Pio IX
in 1832 of Imola. In 1840 he was made cardinal and on 16 June 1846,
in the fourth scrutiny with 36 out of 50 votes from the cardinals in the
conclave, he was elected Supreme Pontiff at just 54 years of age. He
immediately promoted a number of reforms within the Papal States
(press freedom, freedom for Jews, the beginnings of the railways,
and a Constitution), but in 1848 when he refused to support the war
against Austria, this was the beginning of the “persecution” against
him. On 8 December 1854 he defined the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception. In 1869 he called Vatican Council I. On 8 December
1870 he proclaimed Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.
He died on 7 February 1878.
Don Bosco's love for the Pope came from his deep faith
perspective. Typical was his insistence with the young: “Do not cry
out: ‘Long live Pius IX’ but rather ‘Long live the Pope!’” As a young
priest, back in 1848 Don Bosco had given concrete example of his
attachment to the Pope. Don Bosco had been a priest for seven years
and found out that Pius IX had had to flee Rome and go to Gaeta due
to the proclamation of the Roman Republic. He knew that the Pope
was in serious financial difficulties there. Don Bosco then organised
a collection among the boys at the Oratory and sent it to Gaeta: it
was a gift of 33 Lire! The Pope then asked Cardinal Antonelli, his
Secretary of State, to thank Don Bosco for this very practical gesture
of solidarity with the Successor of Peter.
It has been said that Pius IX was the founder of a number of
Congregations at the time. For the “Pious Society of Saint Francis
de Sales” he was more a loving and demanding “father” than
a “co-founder”. But in fact, the idea and initial realisation of a
“Congregation of the Oratories” came well before the first papal
audience (1858). Don Bosco's concern to reconcile “religious” and
“civil” life seemed to have already been dominant in the early
1850s, along with the solution, which seems to have come from
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Pio IX
409
Pio IX
conversations with the anticlerical Minister Rattazzi, which clarified
matters. We could possibly say much the same thing about other
important choices Don Bosco made that he tended to attribute to the
Pope by way of projection so he could get a better hearing from the
consultors and “judges” in the Roman Congregations. On the other
hand, there is no doubt about the Pope's fatherliness in regard to
the Salesian Society, so significant was the advice that Pius IX gave
Don Bosco, and the “protective” papal interventions on his behalf,
the many exceptions he granted to processes of the time and the
tradition of religious institutes during the lengthy negotiations that
led to the approval of the Salesian Constitutions.
St John Bosco had his first audience with Pius IX on 9 March 1858.
Both had the feeling they were meeting a saint. Pius IX supported
and guided Don Bosco in the founding of the Salesian Congregation.
He suggested he call it a “Society” to be up with the times; to
have vows but not solemn ones; he advised simple dress and solid
but not too complex practices of piety. As was customary, there
were two stages for arriving at approval of the Salesian Society
and its Constitutions and in both of them the involvement of the
Pope was decisive and resolved problems. The first ended with the
approval the Salesian Congregation in 1869, and the Pontiff told
Don Bosco, who was complaining about some of the restrictions
regarding the priestly ordination of Salesians: “Let's just take one
step at a time. When things are going well the Holy See usually
adds and never takes away.” And so it was. Five years later, in 1874,
the Pope added his final approval when one of the four cardinals
of the commission set up to judge matters only wanted temporary
approval due to the persistent opposition of some bishops and
the “weighty” observations of some of the papal consultants. Pius
IX also convinced Don Bosco to write his memoirs to be left as a
spiritual legacy for the Salesians.
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POI
410
POI
Also during his pontificate, in 1870 he erected the Archconfraternity
of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA); in 1871 he
approved the plan to found a female religious institute that would
become the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians,
and in 1876 he approved the Pious Union of Salesian Cooperators,
being their first enrolled member. Don Bosco loved Pius IX very much
and accepted all his advice, even when it cost him great sacrifice:
“I am ready for any effort” he used say “when it has to do with
the papacy and the Church.” The Pope too had great respect for
Don Bosco and on various occasions called him to Rome to ask for
his help in a range of very delicate matters. From the following
anecdote it becomes clear how Pius IX reciprocated the love that
Don Bosco and the Salesians had for him and for the Apostolic See,
and how exquisite was the Pope's kindness. In February 1869, when
Don Bosco went to see the Pope again, the latter welcomed him
with tears in his eyes and told him: “Dear Don Bosco, I am old; I
could die at any moment; if you have something to ask for your
Congregation, do so quickly.” With his habitual certainty and calm,
the saint, looking lovingly a the pontiff, replied prophetically: “Holy
Father, may the Lord continue to preserve you for great things and
to do great good for the Church.” “Ah!...” Pius IX added “it is just a
year and a half until I reach the time of St Peter's pontificate.” “Your
Holiness, you will go past that.” “How can you say that? It has never
happened.” “Well then, I am telling Your Holiness that not only will
you see the days and years of St Peter's pontificate, but more still.”
The prophecy came true. → “beatificazione”
POI
abbrev. Progetto Organico Ispettoriale OPP 1. Overall Provincial Plan, 2.
Provincial Plan, 3. Structural Plan, 4. Strategic Plan. • The strategic
plan for the animation and government of the province, which takes
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positio
411
postnoviziato
an overall view of its life and mission and presents the fundamental
choices that ought guide its organisation.
Usage: FIN (Philippines North Province) tends to use SPP
(Strategic Provincial Plan) rather than OPP. Other English-speaking
provinces may well also use other terms.
Linguistic note: The adjective ‘organic’ in English does not sit well
with the general English-speaking population. The term ‘Organic
Provincial Plan’ is a calque, an item taken directly from its source
language (it) and brought into English without much thought
to its meaning. ‘organic’ certainly conveys the idea of structure
and systematic arrangement. But it is more likely to evoke the
notion of biology and organic compounds or even compost heaps!
→ “progetto” “organico” False Friends “O”
positio
[la] n. 1. Dossier, 2. Docket. • A (Positio super Virtutibus) is a
document or collection of documents used in the process by which
a person is declared venerable, the second of the four steps on the
path to canonisation as a saint. It collects the evidence obtained
by a diocesan inquiry into a candidate’s heroic virtues in a form
suitable for presentation to the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints. Upon presentation, the positio is examined by a committee
of expert historians and theologians, and if they find the evidence
presented suitable, they may then make a recommendation to the
Pope that the candidate be declared Venerable.
Usage: In his Don Bosco History and Spirit series, Arthur Lenti
calls it a ‘docket’. → “libellus supplex” “transunto”
postnoviziato
n. Postnovitiate.• The first profession marks the beginning of a
period of consecrated life. In this period the confrere, with the
help of the community and of a spiritual guide, completes his
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Postulatore Generale
412
Postulatore Generale
maturing process with perpetual profession in view, and develops
the different aspects of his vocation as a lay Salesian or as a candidate
for the priesthood (C 113).
As the first stage of the period of temporary profession, the
post-novitiate is a period of religious maturing which continues the
formation experience of the novitiate; it helps the professed Salesian
to avoid a sudden change in his pattern of life and a slackening in
his pace of growth in his vocation. It also serves as a preparation for
the practical training phase.
The postnovitiate is a time in which the confrere concerns
himself in a practical way with integrating the elements of Salesian
consecrated life in his personality. He establishes the process of his
personal maturing in the daily flow of his life in community, where
he links together his sense of freedom and personal responsibility
with his sense of belonging to his community and its common
project. Therefore, he cultivates a serenity of spirit, is ready to
perform domestic chores, accepts everyone unconditionally, and
makes his contribution to the work of community animation.
→ “tirocinio” “formazione”
Linguistic note: As with the term prenovitiate, the hyphen is no
longer retained in the term postnovitiate.
Postulatore Generale
np. Postulator General. • In Canon Law, the ecclesiastical, and
the consistorial lawyer, who deals with a cause of beatification
and canonisation in the competent court, so called because he
‘postulates’, that is, asks for the proclamation of the candidate
as blessed or saint. In the Salesian case, the Postulator General is
nominated by the Rector Major. → “positio” “santità salesiana”
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potestas
413
povero e abbandonato
potestas
[la] n. Power.• potestas was the legal authority of a political office in
ancient Rome. The power or authority of the head of a family over
those legally subject to him; especially paternal authority (Oxford
dictionary). In the history of the Church, the Sacred Power or potestas
sacra of the clergy has been divided into two categories indicating
two separate origins of that one power: 1) Power of Order (potestas
ordinis) and 2) Power of Jurisdiction (potestas iurisdictionis, also
known as missio canonica, or potestas regiminis).
Authority understood as potestas: “It is worth noticing that Canon
Law defines every kind of authority in the Church as potestas. One who
receives authority receives it from the Church: only in the name
of the Church and according to its guidelines can such potestas be
exercised. The authority of Peter ultimately comes from Christ and
his Gospel. It is not something arbitrary; it is always linked to Him,
way, truth and life for all his disciples. This is equally true for all
authority-potestas present in the Salesian Constitutions, embodiment
of the project of life of the Salesians of Don Bosco, totally dependent
on the authority of the Church that “has acknowledged God’s
hand in this, especially by approving our Constitutions and by
proclaiming our Founder a saint.” (C 1) (From Animating and
governing the community: The ministry of the Salesian Rector, 41).
→ “auctoritas”
povero e abbandonato
np. Poor and abandoned. • An expression typical of Don Bosco
which refers to any kind of poverty: physical, economic, spiritual
cultural, at its broadest. They may be young people up to 25 years
of age, but mostly between 12-20. In fact, Don Bosco’s definitive
vocational option.
Linguistic note: Don Bosco History and Spirit Vol 4. In the chapter on
‘Purpose’, the term occurs in various grammatical forms: The Latin
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povertà
414
povertà
forms pauperes, pauperiores, pauperrimi (Italian poveri, più poveri, i più
poveri/poverssimi) constitute a system having a twofold semantic
value.
These forms may be used either in an ‘absolute’ fashion as
quantifiers, or in a ‘relative’ fashion as classifiers. As quantifiers they
express the quantity or intensity of a person’s poverty ‘absolutely’,
that is without comparison to the poverty of other persons. As
quantifiers the three forms express degrees of poverty by reference
to a social standard. As classifiers the three forms express degrees of
poverty in relation to a person or group. (where ‘poorer’ might mean
‘less well off’). ‘poor, poorer, poorest’ in the chapter on ‘Purpose’,
and indeed throughout the Constitutions, are used as quantifiers,
not as classifiers. It was not Don Bosco’s intention to classify young
people by the criterion of poverty and to choose the poorest of all
to the exclusion of others. → “abbandonato”
povertà
n. 1. poverty, 2. solidarity with the poor, 3. preferential choice for the
most needy, 4. responsible management of resources. • 1: the state
of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or
material possessions. 2: voluntary renunciation, as a member of a
religious order, of the right as an individual to own property, usually
expressed as a vow. 3: an evangelical counsel, thus ‘evangelical
poverty’.
All three meanings above are particularly relevant for Salesian
life, since Salesians more often than not and by preference, live
amongst the world’s poor. But it is the third meaning which comes
most to the fore in Salesian discourse today.
The problem begins when we have to explain what poor and
poverty mean – these are quite elastic terms in our languages today,
with implications not only economic and social but psychological,
cultural. From Don Bosco himself, we retain in the renewed
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pratica
415
prenoviziato
Constitutions the following reference: that we ‘follow the Saviour
who was born in poverty... ’, in other words, Don Bosco begins with
a reflection on evangelical poverty, and this is the term we use most
often today when speaking of the vow of poverty.
Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez SDB, famously commented
at Vatican II on evangelical poverty (the fruit of grace) and
socio-economic poverty (the fruit of sin).
The theme of evangelical poverty became central to the 26th
General Chapter, where it was closely linked to the cetera tolle of da
mihi animas cetera tolle: ‘The detachment from everything that makes
us insensitive to God and hinders the mission.’
There are any number of current terms which are effectively
synonymous with evangelical poverty and which we find in
contemporary Salesian literature: solidarity with the poor, preferential
choice for the most needy, responsible management of resources.
→ “da mihi animas cetera tolle”
pratica
n. 1. procedure (as in paperwork), 2. case, file (number).• The
term can have several meanings (including the more common one of
‘practice’ as in put into practice). It could also refer to a philosophical
doctrine. But the sense it which it is most used in a Salesian official
context is in reference to paperwork that needs to be prepared when
dealing with particular cases, or issues involving either civil bodies
or the Apostolic See. → “segretario (ispettoriale)(generale)”
prenoviziato
n. 1. prenovitiate, 2. postulancy (though not used in the SDB
context). • “A period of special preparation” designed to help
the aspiring Salesian “deepen his vocational choice and verify his
suitability for beginning the novitiate” (C 109).
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Presbyter (P)
416
primo annuncio
Pre-novitiate is stage in Salesian formation when a person,
having already begun discerning whether or not he is being called
to follow Jesus as a Salesian (Aspirant), decides to continue that
process by living in a Salesian community for an extended period
of time. So it is important to distinguish the aspirant from the
pre-novice.
Usage: Not to be confused with the aspirantate.
Linguistic note: Following the normal pattern for relatively new
terms, the prefix ‘pre’ used to be attached via a hyphen, resulting
in pre-novitiate. In the 2024 Ratio, the hyphen has disappeared,
resulting in a single word: prenovitiate. → “postnoviziato”
“noviziato” “tirocinio”
Presbyter (P)
[la] n., abbrev. Presbyter, Priest (P). • Term used in the Year Book
and the Necrology. → “annuario” “necrologio”
presenza
n. presence. • In 2002 GC25 used this term especially in the third
nucleus, where it speaks of “animating presence among young
people”; what is interesting is that this Chapter also describes its
meaning; we can say that GC25 formalized the terminology used
earlier by Fr Vecchi.
The Salesian presence is a dynamic reality, a network of
relationships, an ensemble of projects and processes, activated by
pastoral charity and carried out together with young people, the
laity and the Salesian Family. The subject of this presence, therefore,
is not exclusively the Salesian community (GC 25, 42). → “CEP”
primo annuncio
np. 1. first (or initial) proclamation, 2. first evangelisation, 3.
kerygma, 4. whispering the gospel. • The General Directory for
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procura
417
Procuratore Generale
Catechesis underlines the importance of initial proclamation, not
only in contexts where there is a need for a mission ad gentes, but also
within the Churches of ancient Christian tradition. It is important
to note, however, that the Directory describes it as “the explicit
proclamation of the Gospel” and considers it the third moment of
evangelisation, preceded by the witness of charity and Christian life
and followed by the sacraments and catechesis, from education to
faith and mission.
In multi-religious contexts such as Asia, initial proclamation
needs to follow a pedagogy which will lead people step by step,
through the use of myths, folklore and narrative methods close to
local cultural forms.
Don Bosco's “word in the ear“ was a way of whispering the
Gospel into the young man’s heart such that it would trigger in
him an interest in knowing Jesus and his Gospel. This is, indeed, a
method of realising initial proclamation provided that whoever uses
it is committed to being consistent with the message it proclaims.
→ “parolina all’orecchio” “nuova evangelizzazione”
procura
n. Mission office. → False Friends “P”
Procuratore Generale
np. Procurator General.• A religious who deals with the Roman
Curia on the affairs of the congregation or religious society to which
he belongs and which he represents before the Holy See.
C 145: “The task of dealing with the Apostolic See is ordinarily
entrusted to a procurator general who is appointed by the Rector
Major with the consent of his council and remains in office ad
nutum.”
Usage: Not be confused with the Postulatore Generale. → “Postulatore
Generale”
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professio fidei
418
progetto
professio fidei
[la] np. Profession of Faith. • The Professio fidei is a particular
formula established by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter “Ad
tuendam fidem” in accordance with the Code of Canon Law Can
833.8.
The profession of faith is to be made by superiors when they
take up their office (cf. C. 121) and by others who assume an office
in accordance with the law. It is also associated with the swearing
of an oath (it: giuramento) of fidelity. → “direttore” “ispettore”
progetto
n. 1. plan, 2. project. • (1) An idea, mostly accompanied by a study
relating to the possibilities of realising this idea in practice. (2) An
actual plan.
In Salesian discourse, especially in Italian, there is a wide
variety of ‘projects’, drawing substantially from the first definition
indicated above, i.e. the emphasis on an idea possibly accompanied
by plans for its realisation. But there are also much more concrete
plans. Certainly in English we need to determine which of the two
definitions we are really talking about, in context.
Within the Formation Sector alone we find the following
progetti/plans referenced:
Progetto regionale di formazione Regional formation plan Progetto ispettoriale di
Provincial formation plan
Piano ispettoriale di qualificazione Provincial Qualification Plan Progetto comun
Community plan
Progetto locale di formazione Local formation plan Progetto personale di vita
Personal plan of life
Usage: It has to be said that the English language prefers to
emphasise the second definition – the concrete plan, and in fact to
use the term ‘plan’ by preference.
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progetto personale (di vita)
419
progetto personale (di vita)
That said, we need to consider what is at stake in each use of
the term in context: the ‘Project of Life’ is a commentary on the
Constitutions, and here ‘project’ is the term that was used, so ‘Project
of Life’ exists in fact, and then by extension we speak often of a
‘personal project of life’, though we might just as easily speak of a
‘personal plan’.
The Italian POI or progetto organico ispettoriale seems better
rendered in English as OPP or ‘Overall Provincial Plan’, especially
as organico is not best rendered literally in English as ‘organic’, and
‘plan’ seems more appropriate in this context.
We have already had ‘Project Africa’ and it shall remain as
such. We have ‘Project Europe’ too. These two ‘projects’ would
seem to draw more from the first definition than the second. But
there are many more! EPP, ‘Educative and Pastoral Project’, or SEPP,
‘Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project’, the ‘Gospel project of life’,
the ‘Project of animation and government of the Rector Major and
his Council’. → “PEPS” “POI” “progetto personale (di vita)”
progetto personale (di vita)
np. Personal life plan or personal plan of life. • A way of bringing
together one’s desires, energies and values in a personal project of
life, in which one assumes responsibility for one’s growth and lives
to the full the deepest motivations of one’s vocation (FSDB 69).
A (written) plan where the individual depicts the kind of person
he wishes to be and the process for achieving this. This approach was
mandated by the Ratio and further emphasised by the 25th General
Chapter no. 16, but we already find it in the 1984 Constitutions and
Regulations, R. 99, though not clearly defined in this latter instance.
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programmazione di animazione
420
promozione umana
programmazione di animazione
np. The full term is normally programmazione di animazione
ispettoriale. Provincial animation plan. • The yearly application of
the Provincial SEPP drawn up each year by the Provincial Council,
with collaboration from the works. Serves as a provincial point of
reference for drawing up the annual general plan for the works.
→ “PEPS”
programmazione generale
np. Full title: programmazione generale dell’opera General plan of the
work. • Annual application of the SEPP of the work (or possibly
of individual SEPPs for the various sectors and settings of a work).
The Council of the Work draws this up with collaboration from the
EPC Councils of the various pastoral sectors. → “PEPS”
promessa di carità
np. Promise of charity. • A proving period, designated by Don
Bosco, during which selected individuals would engage in the
practical exercise of charity toward neighbour, which would then
be a promise but with the intention (on Don Bosco’s part) that it
would lead to a vow.
On 26 January 1854, according to a note by Don Rua, four young
men along with Don Bosco came together in Don Bosco’s room and
were invited to undertake a proving period in the practical exercise
of charity toward neighbour, which would then be a promise but
ultimately would be vowed. Instead of using the word ’novitiate’
which may have frightened them off, Don Bosco cleverly used
‘proving time’. → “carità”
promozione umana
np. 1. human development, 2. human advancement. • It has to be
said that all the evidence points to this term as largely restricted
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protagonismo
421
protomartire
to Church language. Translating it as 'human promotion' (in other
words a loan term) would be regarded as quaint in English, which
has adequate synonyms. In the translation of Benedict XVI's Caritas
in Veritate, the term is usually rendered by 'human advancement'.
protagonismo
n. 1. Seeking the limelight, 2. Playing a leading role, 3. Attention-seeking.
Given the three possibilities shown here, it must be clear that in
general, the Italian term has a negative connotation: showing off!
Seeking visibility. And Pope Francis has also used it in this sense as
a danger associated with clericalism.
But interestingly, we find the term being very often used in its
more positive sense in many Salesian texts, e.g. encouraging the
protagonismo of young people. In this case, it is best to avoid any
kind of literal translation. It is more along the lines of (2) above:
playing a leading role, or active involvement.
protocollo
See “Ufficio anagrafico e statistico” and → False Friends “P”.
protomartire
n. Protomartyr. • The first martyr in any cause, especially St Stephen,
the first Christian martyr.
The Salesian protomartyrs are Saints Aloysius (Louis) Versiglia
and Callistus Caravario.
On 25 February 1930, Salesians Bishop Louis Versiglia, vicar
apostolic of Shiu Chow, China, and Fr Callistus Caravario, pastor
of the Lin Chow mission, were murdered at Li-Thau-Tseul in the
district of Lin Chow by Communist pirates while journeying in
the company of several female catechists, whose human dignity
they defended successfully at the cost of their own lives. The
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PVA
422
PVA
Salesian Family observes their feast day every year on their ‘heavenly
birthday.’
On 1 October 2000, St John Paul II canonised 120 martyrs who
shed their blood for the Faith in China between 1648 and 1930. Of
these, 87 were Chinese and 33 were missionaries. Their collective
memorial day is 9 July.
Chronologically, the last two of these martyrs – the only
ones after the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 – were Bp. Versiglia and
Fr. Caravario. → “Caravario, Callisto (santo)” “Versiglia, Luigi
(santo)”
PVA
abbrev. Progetto di Vita Apostolica PAL Project of Apostolic Life.
• Official document of the Salesian Cooperators containing the
Statutes and Regulations.
Previously known as the Regolamento di Vita Apostolica RVA or
‘Regulations of Apostolic Life RAL’. → “cooperatore”.
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Quadrio, Giuseppe
423
Quadrio, Giuseppe
Q
Quadrio, Giuseppe (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Joseph Quadrio. • Salesian Priest. Declared
Venerable: 19 December 2009.
Fr Joseph Quadrio was born in Vervio, in the Valtellina (Sondrio)
on 28 November 1921, to a farming family rich in faith and human
qualities. His was therefore a childhood spent in a modest but
dignified family, rich in the values that mattered most: attending
the town's primary schools, playing games with his classmates and
growing in responsibility for the small agricultural and pastoral
tasks that could be assigned to a child. Already at the time Beppino –
as he was known familiarly – showed early maturing, an uncommon
ability to reflect on things, and the ability to spend time with his
inner Guest and enjoy the intimacy with Him which his mother had
wisely prepared him for. His First Communion was like a milestone
for him and would remain a point of reference for him for the rest of
his life. It was a this point that he developed a code of conduct that
had great similarities, almost as if they were of the same instinctive
nature, to St Dominic Savio's resolutions. From this already fervent
atmosphere came a resolve to consecrate himself entirely to the Lord
in virginity.
His vocation, one we could describe as innate, took on a more
concrete shape by reading a life of Don Bosco. The young shepherd
boy from Vervio, following in the footsteps of the one from the
Becchi, felt the growing strong desire to be a Salesian priest and
leave for the missions. On 28 September 1933 he entered the John
Cagliero Institute in Ivrea and began the various stages of formation.
He did brilliantly well in middle and senior school over three years
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Quadrio, Giuseppe
424
Quadrio, Giuseppe
with a view to preparing himself for the missions. At the end of
the novitiate he made his religious profession on 30 November
1937. Due to his outstanding intelligence, at the end of his high
school classics course at Foglizzo, the superiors sent him to teach the
clerics while sending him to attend the Faculty of Philosophy at the
Gregorian University in Rome (1939-1941). After a two year practical
training stint again with the clerics at Foglizzo as assistant and
philosophy teacher, he went back to Rome to study theology, again
at the Gregorian. It meant he almost immediately had to renounce
his dreams of the missions, replacing them with teaching in Italy.
In the future, when he had reached the peak of his preparation, he
would see that the Lord had called him to a new mission. His clear
intellectual superiority, recognised by teachers and companions,
never became reason for jealousy on anyone's part, given his ability
to conceal it with disarming simplicity and an attitude of meekness
and service, and his delicate sensitivity in dealing with others. He
would always place himself further back in the line.
These were the difficult war years, where concealed heroism
became daily practice for him. Part of his daily sacrifice was giving
away his bread to to anyone he felt was more in need of it, the
for him painful loss of time given to study in order to be with the
clerics and the street kids around Rome, his generous dedication to
his role as secretary to Fr Peter Tirone: an intuitive in the employ
of someone who was the meticulous discursive type! But they
were also years of spiritual fervour. Many pages of the Diary he
wrote over this period achieve a depth and intimacy with Divine
Persons, “his Three, his Family”, that is worthy of the great mystics.
This reached a culminating point on 28 May 1944, Pentecost, the
sixteenth anniversary of his First Communion and a new Baptism
of devouring fire in the furnace of grace. He took on a new and
secret name: Docibilis a Spiritu Sancto. He wrote: “My marriage to
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Quadrio, Giuseppe
425
Quadrio, Giuseppe
you, O my sweet Spirit, my Soul, my Instinct, my Yearning, my
Love ... You alone will be the sweetest yearning that will make
my heart beat.” When these intimate notes were published, the
already widespread belief regarding his holiness received the seal of
unsolicited authentication, highlighting how it was not just the merit
of a happy character but came from a tenacious and continuous
inner battle, sometimes soaked in blood.
It was during this period that the only event that could be
considered extraordinary in Fr Joseph's life took place. Because of
his exceptional clarity of intelligence and his diligent and passionate
preparation for his future ministry, on 12 December 1946 he was
chosen by the professors of the Gregorian University as a speaker
in a solemn discussion open to everyone on the definability of the
dogma of the Assumption. He was not yet a priest, not even a
deacon. He was only 25 years old. In Latin he had to defend the
Assumption of Mary in front of a large and qualified audience,
numerous cardinals and bishops. Among others there was Bishop
Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. Fr Quadrio always kept the
modesty he showed during this disputation, a habitual modesty he
never abandoned, even afterwards, when his confreres or students
referred to him as the glory of the whole Congregation.
Fr Joseph became a deacon on 2 February 1947 and was ordained
priest on 16 March the same year. Once again, on 7 December 1949,
in the same University and in the presence of eminent cardinals
and prelates including once more the future Paul VI, he had the
joy of defending his doctoral thesis on “Pseudo-Augustine's treatise
De Assumptione Beatae Mariae Virginis and its influence on Latin
Assumptionist theology”. It was just before the dogma was defined.
Pope Pius XII asked Fr Quadrio for the results of his research, asking
for a copy of the presentation and replies to objections presented
by speakers; Radio Vaticana, never known for indulging in mere
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Quadrio, Giuseppe
426
Quadrio, Giuseppe
curiosity, gave detailed news of it. The young professor became
famous internationally due to the number of priests who had come
to Rome from all around the world awaiting the definition. His was
an enlightening contribution to research prior to the solemn event of
the dogmatic definition in 1950. After such serious and scrupulous
theological preparation, crowned with top marks and a gold medal,
in 1949 Fr Joseph was sent to the Pontifical Salesian University at
the Crocetta in Turin as a teacher of dogmatic theology. From 1954
to 1959 he was also dean of the Faculty of Theology.
After his first steps in teaching, in which one can see some traces
of dependence on his own teachers, he set out decisively in new
directions that were clearly personalised by a deep spirituality that
grew in the daily grind of prayer and sacrifice. His contribution
to the theological courses immediately brought an atmosphere of
renewal and enthusiasm to students at the Crocetta International
Theological Institute. Ahead of his time and up-to-date with the
overview of studies, with loving wisdom he managed to anticipate
the future basic directives of the Second Vatican Council, even
before its announcement: He promoted the study of Scripture as the
foundation of all theology in its various ramifications; he brought
back the Trinitarian dimension and love for the Church, the 'Bride
of Blood' to its fervent origins; he intuited the profound relationship
between liturgy and catechesis; he promoted dialogue between
science and faith, deepening the theory of evolution to the point
where he became one of the most sought-after specialists in the
field (see the articles commissioned from him by the Ecclesiastical
Encyclopaedia); He studied Marx's Das Kapital in order to enter
into dialogue with the Communists, affirming that they were not
enemies to be fought but rather brothers to be loved. He strove
to make people appreciate the beauty of Christian marriage as a
projection of the universal church within the context of the domestic
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Quadrio, Giuseppe
427
Quadrio, Giuseppe
church, called to holiness. Above all, by teaching and example, he
sustained an unbroken coherence between science and wisdom of
life.
In 1960, what turned out to be a malignant lympho-granuloma
was discovered, which cut short his teaching career but opened up a
fruitful apostolate among ordinary folk involving example, sacrifice
and apostolic activity according to the circumstances and strength
he had. The illness lasted four long years, forcing him to spend many
months in hospital spread over various occasions. It was mainly
here that he discovered his mission of kindness, understanding,
example, sacrifice, and the apostolate of the pen through replies
filled with humanity and Christian wisdom, his imperturbable smile
and dedication, to readers of Meridiano 12. “The great miracle that
Fr Rua did for me from the beginning" he wrote a few months
before the end, “was undeserved, sweet peace that makes these
days of prolonged expectation the happiest and most beautiful ones
of my life!” Fully aware of his illness, he continued some teaching
and involvement in community life as far as he could. He died on
the evening of 23 October 1963, just 41 years of age. His holiness
can be summed up in his having made himself ‘the transparency
of Christ’ through his merciful goodness, meekness, acceptance,
tenderness and solidarity with humanity, but also his sacrificial
offering of self, a kind of martyrdom. As he taught others to do, he
realised the embodiment of 'Christus hodie' in himself. It can be said
that ‘the kindness and humanity of our Saviour’ became present
once again in him. He was truly, always and with everyone “the
professional of God's tenderness". Deeply rooted in the tradition of
the Church, he spent the years of delicate cultural transition that
prepared for the Second Vatican Council with an open mind and
prophetic insight. He felt the responsibility he had for the integral
formation of future Salesian priests and, even outside academic
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Quadro di riferimento
428
quinquennio
hours, regularly dedicated himself to this with simplicity, loving
intelligence, delicacy, continuous availability and a marked aptitude
for dialogue. → “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
Quadro di riferimento...
proper name. Quadro di riferimento per la pastorale giovanile salesiana,
Salesian Youth Ministry Frame of Reference. • A tool (set of basic
inspirations and action guidelines) offered by the Youth Ministry
Department to enlighten and guide the pastoral process for each
Provincial and local EPC. It guides the pastoral activity of each
Provincial and local Youth Ministry Delegate and their teams. And
it contributes to the formation of everyone – Salesians, educators
– who share responsibility for the Salesian mission. → “pastorale
giovanile”
quarto settore
np. Fourth sector. • The ‘fourth sector’ is an emerging sector of the
economy which consists of ‘for-benefit’ organisations that combine
market-based approaches of the private sector with the social and
environmental aims of public and non-profit sectors.
Over the past few decades, the boundaries between the public
(government), private (business), and social (not-for-profit and
non-governmental) sectors have been blurring, while a fourth sector
of organisations has been emerging.
quinquennio
n. 1. quinquennium, 2. five year period. • A period lasting five
years and typically applied to the period of five years following
priestly ordination, but could equally apply to Brothers after Final
Profession. Effectively, an extension of initial formation even though
that period is formally complete. → “formazione”
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radicalità evangelica
429
ragione
R
radicalità evangelica
np. The radical approach of the Gospel. • The term is by no means
a distinctly ‘Salesian’ one. Franciscans and many other groups of
consecrated life have used the term.
Linguistic note: When translators were faced with translating the
Italian phrase radicalità evangelica into English, they deliberately
avoided using the word ‘radicality’. While it appears in Merriam-
Webster and Oxford dictionaries, it was felt that especially due
to the entire phrase in which it appeared (Testimoni della radicalità
evangelica) made up entirely of nominalised forms without a verb,
that ‘radicality’ was simply too heavy – nominalisation (reinforced
by the -ità/ity ending) of the kind we find in an Italian enunciato
or theme statement can make it difficult to determine focus; there
is excessive lexical and semantic density involved and a certain
timelessness=vagueness. English theme statements tend to avoid
those features where possible. Translators felt that “the radical
approach of the Gospel” was really the only way to go. Even a
Vatican translation of the term had avoided radicality, speaking
instead of the Gospel's radical message. → “lavoro e temperanza”
ragione
n. Reason. • Part of the trinomial which forms the basis of the
Preventive System (reason, religion, loving-kindness), the term
refers to a sense of balance and measure in personal relationships.
→ “amorevolezza” “religione”
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ratio
430
regione
ratio
[la] n. Ratio. • Full term is Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis et
Studiorum which ‘sets out in an organic and instructive way the
complexus of principles and norms concerning formation which
are found in the Constitutions, General Regulations and other
documents of the Church and of the Congregation’(R. 87).
The Ratio has a long history! Introduced by the Jesuits in
1599 as a needed curricular guide for their rapidly expanding
network of schools, the Ratio Studiorum laid out the organisation
of Jesuit institutions to the smallest detail, while establishing a
uniform course of study over at least 13 years. Vatican Council II
mandated a Ratio for preparation of candidates to the priesthood,
and subsequently for the Permanent Diaconate. In the renewal of
consecrated life that flourished after the Council, all Congregations
developed a Ratio. The first Salesian Ratio was published in 1985
and revised in 2000, with some subsequent minor additions in
2016. GC28 asked that it be fully and thoroughly revised, and this
process comes to fulfilment in 2024. → “formazione” “formazione
permanente”
regione
n. Region. • A group of provinces assigned to a General Councillor
who is therefore known as a regional councillor. The constitution of
the groups of provinces is made by the General Chapter. (C. 154 of
the SDB Constitutions).
Current Salesian regions (2022) are:
Africa-Madagascar
America South Cone
East Asia-Oceania
South Asia
Central & North Europe
Interamerica
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regionale (consigliere)
431
regionale (consigliere)
Mediterranean
The regional structure, from the definition, is clearly very flexible
since there is no further determination of its structure, and no
specific criteria for its make up in either the Constitutions or the
Regulations. Indeed the precise term ‘region’ appears only once in
the Constitutions and Regulations, and then in the plural (C. 77).
Certain possible though not obligatory features, however, can be
inferred from the tasks of the Regional Councillor: interprovincial
structures, regional offices of documentation. Curiously this is not
the case for another structure known as the ‘provincial conference’,
which is given more precise description in the regulations.
regionale (consigliere)
np. Regional (councillor). • Member of the General Council whose
task it is to ‘promote a more direct liaison between the provinces and
the Rector Major and his council. (They) look after the interests of
the provinces assigned to them. (They) foster in the general council
a knowledge of the local situations in which our mission is carried
out.’
The Regional is a relatively new institution in the Congregation
and pertains more to the notion of animation or fraternal
communion than of government; the Regional, even though often
termed ‘regional superior’ in common parlance, is not a superior
per se, canonically speaking. He does function in this role by specific
appointment as a Visitor on behalf of the Rector Major, however.
Regionals (and therefore regions) were introduced by the 19th
General Chapter. Tasks of the Regional are:
(1) to promote a more direct link between provinces and RM
and council
(2) look after interests of provinces assigned to them
(3) ensure knowledge of local situations in council discussions
(C. 140).
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regolamento
432
religione
Usage: The term ‘regional’ (minus councillor) functions as both
a noun – the person (the Regional) and an adjective. Very often
capitalised as Regional (Councillor). Alternative spelling (US)
Councilor.
regolamento
→ False Friends “R”
regolatore
n. Moderator. • E.g. of General or Provincial Chapter. → “capitolo”
Linguistic note: Italian may also speak of a moderatore, but he is
likely to be one who controls a particular session under the general
direction of the regolatore. English is more likely to extend the phrase
to ‘moderator of a session’ or similar, e.g. ‘chairman’, while still
saying ‘moderator’ for the one who gives the Chapter its general
direction.
religione
n. Religion. • The second term in Don Bosco’s trinomial: Reason
Religion and Loving-kindness.
The term indicates that Don Bosco’s pedagogy is essentially
transcendent, in so far as the ultimate educational objective at which
it aims is the formation of the believer. For him the properly formed
and mature man was the citizen with faith, who places at the centre
of his life the ideal of the new man proclaimed by Jesus Christ and
who bears courageous witness to his own religious convictions.(JP
II (Iuvenum Patris 11).
It is evidently not a question of a speculative and abstract
religion, but of a living faith rooted in reality and stemming from
presence and communion, from an attitude of listening and from
docility to grace. As he liked to put it ‘the columns of an educational
edifice’, are the Eucharist, Penance, devotion to Our Lady, love for
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rendiconto
433 responsabile (maggiore) (centrale)
the Church and its pastors. His educational process was a pathway
of prayer, of liturgy, of sacramental life, of spiritual direction: for
some it was the response to the call to a special consecration (how
many Priests and Religious were formed in the Saint’s houses!);
for all it was a perspective and a path to holiness. Don Bosco
was a zealous priest who always referred back to its revealed
foundation everything that he received, lived and gave to others.
This aspect of religious transcendence, the cornerstone of Don
Bosco’s pedagogical method, is not only applicable to every culture
but can also be profitably adapted even to non-Christian religions.
→ “amorevolezza” “ragione”
rendiconto
n. 1. friendly talk, 2. manifestation.• ‘Faithful to Don Bosco’s
recommendation, each confrere meets frequently with his superior
for a friendly talk’ (C. 70).
Be careful to distinguish this use of the Italian term rendiconto
from its other meaning, namely, ‘financial report’.
Usage: rendiconto may still be used among English-speaking
Salesians, but its earlier gloss, ‘manifestation’ has largely died out.
→ “colloquio”
repertorio domestico
np. House list. • The ’Repertorio domestico’ tells us that people
other than young boarders stayed at Valdocco, e.g. two priests and
a seminarian who paid their way.→ “anagrafe”
responsabile (maggiore) (centrale)
np. (Central) Moderator (General). • The person in charge of the
VDB or CDB, or CMB.
Usage: The term would be impossible to gloss adequately in
English by retaining the responsabile in some transliterated English
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Rettor Maggiore
434
rettorato
form (e.g. Responsible). So the solution is to use the better
understood ’Moderator General’ (but in the case of the VDB they
prefer ’President General’) or, in the case where the Italian term is
Responsabile Centrale, Central Moderator.
Linguistic note: We have become accustomed to ‘Rector Major’, but
are definitely not accustomed to ‘Responsible Major’! The problem
is that while ‘Rector’ is at least a n in English, ‘responsible’ is an
adjective. → “VDB” “CDB”
Rettor Maggiore
np. 1. Rector Major, 2. Superior General. • Superior of the Salesian
Society, successor of Don Bosco, father and centre of unity of the
Salesian Family (C. 126). → “famiglia salesiana”
Usage: The choice of this term goes back to Don Bosco himself,
who wished to avoid terms like ’Father General’ or ’Superior
general’, since these smacked too much of religious organisation
that was unpopular in a rapidly secularising united Italy. Hence he
chose an unfamiliar term.
Linguistic note: The plural form is probably ‘Rectors Major’ but
by analogy with ‘sergeant major’ could also be ‘Rector Majors’.
However, since ‘Rector’ is the chief element in the term it most likely
receives the plural indicator.
rettorato
n. Term of office as Rector (Major). • The office of Rector (Major).
Should not be glossed as ‘rectorate’, but rather the longer phrase
suggested: term of office as Rector (Major). While it is most often
used of the Rector Major’s term of office, it could also apply to the
Rector of a community. → “direttore” “Rettor Maggiore” → False
Friends False Friends “R”
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Ricaldone, Pietro
435
Ricaldone, Pietro
Ricaldone, Pietro
proper name. Fr Peter Ricaldone. • Rector Major from 1932 to 1951.
Peter Ricaldone, the fourth successor of Don Bosco, governed
the Salesian Congregation for around twenty years. A man with
notable gifts of intellect and government, he gave considerable
impulse to the spiritual and professional formation of Salesians,
to the development of institutes of higher culture (witness the
Pontifical Salesian University – UPS), missionary expansion, to
catechetical and apologetic animation, to publishing and Mass
Media enterprises, and to many other sizeable initiatives.
Faithful to the spirit of Don Bosco, he was a man of exceptional
religious and organisational temperament. Twice he travelled the
world, bringing with that his depth of direction, capacity for
heartfelt understanding, and the gradual promotion of local people
as well as consideration for emigrants. He multiplied the numbers of
professional institutes, assuring them everywhere of the necessary
specialised technical personnel. His concern was for the whole
Congregation to the point where he saw professed numbers double
over a few short years, but always strictly faithful to its origins.
During the ’30’s at the time of the Spanish Revolution, he
animated and comforted, often in secret, with a heart and spirit that
took him beyond the divisions of that event. He was also the author
of well-received publications. His publishing and socially-minded
work in this respect shines out particularly in an Agricultural Library
(Biblioteca Agrariana Solariana) of 140 volumes in which, from the
time of his leadership in Spain, he had updated current concepts in
this arena. He wrote for workers and contractors. And throughout
his life he published other works, reinforcing the notion of Don
Bosco the Educator not just in theory but in practice.
In the difficulties of World War II (1939-1945) he established,
in 1941, that in every Salesian Province there might be a house for
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young orphaned or refugee children, and that at least some very
needy youngsters be received free of charge in each institution.
→ “Rettor Maggiore”
Ricceri, Luigi
personal name. Fr Luigi Ricceri. • Rector Major from 1965 to 1977,
Luigi Ricceri was a Sicilian. From the moment of his election
he clearly and succinctly declared what would become his basic
program of government: ‘Forward with Don Bosco alive today, in
order to respond to the needs of our time and the expectations of
the Church.’ He pursued this intention consistently through to the
end of his mandate, on the eve of which Fr Ricceri again reaffirmed:
‘The objects of our mission is the young, thrust by our era into a
position of central importance. They have become an explosive and
uncontainable force.’
His period as Rector Major, at a time of social and cultural
upheaval, was accompanied by and tested right from the start by
the strong youth reactions of the 60’s.
Besides the young themselves, these times also involved the
many institutions connected with them: schools and associations,
educators and legislators, state and ecclesial bodies. This ‘dynamic
fidelity’ to the spirit of the Founder is a recurring and emerging
theme in the Superior’s words and writings, but above all in the
concrete initiatives offered in his frequent and well-focused journeys
abroad, and in the meetings with those responsible for religious
and other sectors. Amongst other things, Fr Ricceri transferred the
General Administration of the Salesian Society to Rome – bringing
to fruition an idea already contemplated by earlier Rector Majors. In
doing so he split it off from the Mother House in Turin and inserted
it more decisively at the spiritual, geographic and organisational
heart of the Church. → “Rettor Maggiore”
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Rinaldi, Filippo
Rinaldi, Filippo (beato)
personal name. (Blessed) Philip Rinaldi. • 1856–1931. Followed Fr
Albera as Rector Major. We refer to Fr Rinaldi by his anglicised
Christian name. He was beatified in 1990.
Fr Philip Rinaldi’s witness of life was an embodiment of the
freedom he experienced in the gift of self, the unconditional trust
in the love of God the Father of which he was a tangible sign. The
human and spiritual events of his life were marked, ever since he was
a boy at the Salesian school at Mirabello, by the meeting with Don
Bosco. Don Bosco was a father who would accompany his vocational
journey and stamp the quite original style of his entire life. Fr Rinaldi
lived in the light of Don Bosco, interpreting the Salesian charism
through the category of fatherliness as an expression of authenticity
and vocational fruitfulness.
From his youth, he rejected every temptation to entrust himself
to occasional spiritual fathers. Even as a young priest he was given
responsibility, until in time he became the successor of Don Bosco
himself. And at all times he was on guard against this temptation,
confirming and consolidating the educative and pastoral experience
that had come from the young people’s Saint.
Indeed, intimately shaped by this charismatic experience of a
regenerating and liberating fatherliness, Fr Rinaldi immediately
became a point of reference for many individuals and institutions
to a point where he had extended the fatherly heritage he had
received from Don Bosco in a truly prodigious way. The fact that as
a young priest he had been given great responsibility, such as the
accompaniment and formation of adult vocations, is a sign of how
he lived and interpreted authority in spiritual terms at every stage
of his life, across such a range of duties and roles, from Rector to
Provincial, from Prefect General to Rector Major.
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We see a first side of this spiritual fatherliness in his intention
and determination to safeguard and preserve the core of the
Salesian charism as it emerged from the cradle of Valdocco and
was embodied in new and diverse contexts and settings. It was not
only a good to be preserved, but one that needed to flourish in
all its expressions, and he gave strength and vigour especially to
translating the charism into a lay setting, with special attention to
Past Pupils and Cooperators, as well as inaugurating a new form
of secular consecration with the planting of the seed which would
flourish as the Secular Institute of the Volunteers of Don Bosco.
→ “beatificazione” “Rettor Maggiore”
risignificazione
n., giving fresh significance to • The Italian term risignificazione is
somewhat rare, often associated with psychology (risignificazione
a posteriori), so we really need to turn to its use in a Salesian
context, specifically GC25 where it is translated as ’presence with
a fresh significance’. A Salesian presence is significant if it has an
identity that distinguishes it, a visibility that makes it identifiable,
a credibility that makes it effective. GC25 lists seven criteria in this
regard:
• the adequate number of confreres and the necessary qualities in
the Salesian community;
• the possibility of a fraternal religious life in Salesian style,
perceptible and significant for the young and for lay collaborators;
• work/presence among the young, especially the very poor and
those most in need, through an intense living of the preventive
system;
• the ability to provide responses of educative and evangelizing
quality to the challenges arising from the world of youth and
from the social context;
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• the ability to combine with other forces (laity, youngsters,
Salesian Family, other provinces and organizations), and give
rise to ecclesial vocations with particular attention to the Salesian
Family;
• the promotion of light and easily managed works that allow for
a dynamic adaptation to a change of circumstances;
• the ability to collaborate and have an effective and prophetic
impact on the evangelical transformation of the locality. (GC25
no. 84).
The term is not to be confused with ridimensionare, ridimensionato
which is reshaping but by downsizing. → “presenza”
ritiratezza
n. 1. detachment from the world, 2. climate of recollection, 3. flight
from the world, 4. withdrawal from the world.• Not a common
term today in Italian, but common enough In Don Bosco’s time.
It becomes a key interpretative concept for Don Bosco’s personal
spirituality.
ritiro
n. 1. recollection, 2. retreat. • In Salesian usage the ritiro would
normally apply to the monthly or quarterly recollection. → “esercizi
spirituali”
Romero Meneses, Maria (beata)
proper name. (Blessed) Maria Romero. • Daughter of Mary Help
of Christians. Declared Venerable: 18 December 2000. Beatified: 14
April 2002. Liturgical Celebration: 7 July.
Maria Romero was born on 13 January 1902 in Granada,
Nicaragua to Félix Romero Arana and Ana Meneses Blandón, both
of ancient Spanish ancestry. Her father ended up as a minister in the
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liberal government through a rapid career rise in administration.
Maria grew up happily with her other seven siblings in this middle
class family. They were the survivors of a family of thirteen children
who enjoyed their parents' tender affections, the stories and special
love of their maternal grandmother who was ill. Maria's early
education came from the seven maternal aunts in the private school
they ran. At the same time she began studying design and painting
and violin and piano with the excellent teachers who successfully
nurtured her remarkable musical tendencies.
After a three day preparatory retreat, she made her First
Communion at eight years of age, and when she was twelve she
enrolled in the school run by the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians who had been in Nicaragua for a year in a makeshift
place. But she experienced many absences due to rheumatic
fever, which kept her in bed and got seriously worse until her
life was endangered. She displayed the already mature will and
moral temperament of an adolescent who saw the pain she was
experiencing as “God's gifts”. A schoolmate who visited her often,
found her one day in a state of “inner enlightenment” and heard
her say: “I know that the Blessed Virgin will cure me.” And indeed
some days later she was able to get up and return to school despite
having been laid low for six months by her illness.
Wise administration saw the college rapidly develop, and Maria
followed regular lessons in music and foreign languages, as well
as receiving an overall formation based on Don Bosco's preventive
system that would have a lasting effect on her throughout her life.
The work of her confessor and spiritual director, Fr Emilio Bottari,
an enlightened Salesian missionary and firm guide for souls, was
of great significance in Maria's development.
On 8 December 1915, Maria enrolled in the Children of Mary
and had “one of those moments of joy that have no name” when she
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entrusted herself with complete confidence to the Mother of God.
Caught up intimately in God's love, shortly afterwards she decided
to give herself completely to the Lord, and her confessor received her
vow of chastity which she professed before the Blessed Sacrament.
He could say that a religious vocation, as he would later record,
“became ever more strongly rooted in her soul.” During that time,
Maria, still the teenager, had a singular “first mystical experience”
that she described to her older sister one day while giving her a hug:
“I have seen Our Lady but don't tell anyone.”
Finally, at eighteen years of age, she was able to achieve her
dream of entering the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help
of Christians. Her priest-director greeted Maria with a trenchant
recommendation: “Difficult times will come and it may happen that
you will feel like you are being chewed up; but always be faithful
and firm in your vocation.” These were words of gold that Maria
would often recall during the many “difficult moments” her life
would have.
With such a programme, lived in growing intimacy with Jesus
“her King” and Mary “her Queen", Maria Romero prepared herself
for religious consecration after two years of novitiate in Santa Tecla,
El Salvador: 6 May 1923. From that day on she would daily renew
her total gift of self to the Lord in words that concluded as follows:
“I renew my vows in your love, with your love and for your love.”
In 1929 Sister Maria professed her vows “in perpetuo”.
In 1931 she went to San José in Costa Rica, that would become
her second homeland. She worked alongside the Mistress of Novices
for two years, then took up teaching once more: music, design and
typing, that she alternated with catechism for the girls living on
the outskirts of the city. She wasn't so great at “keeping discipline”
understood as silence and irreproachable order (she was the first
to recognise this and joke about her limitations in this regard), but
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she was able to capture her audience when she spoke from the
abundance of her heart about Jesus' love, the value of religious
instruction, and the motherly help of Our Blessed Lady. “One felt
the action of the Holy Spirit in her presence,” some of her pupils
recalled. They had spontaneously bettered themselves and become
her helpers and co-workers. This is how the activities of the young
misioneritas began in 1934: students formed by her and won over to
the cause went out with great dedication into the urban peripheries
and the scattered villages. They visited and helped poor families,
announcing Christian truths to people who had been sidelined by
city life or who had been hardened by loneliness and subhuman
conditions.
Sister Maria's charity knew no bounds of space and time: and it
constantly expanded into new forms. After setting up the work of
the oratories in the suburbs (1945), from 1953 she began regularly
distributing food parcels to the poor each week, mobilising the
charity of well-to-do families whom she put in contact through the
school: first in the college itself then from 1959 in a small house built
not far away on an old coffee plantation. It was a case of avoiding the
many “difficulties from the surrounds” that needy people suffered
if they came into the college or school setting.
In order to educate and train the poor girls whom the selfishness
of adults had neglected or abandoned or exploited unscrupulously,
there was a need for proper settings in which to host them, offering
them courses of instruction and professional qualification. These
began in 1961 in the small house, soon enriched by a large chapel: it
was beautiful, large and immediately filled with various categories
of people attracted by her apostolic heart. For all of them, in 1965,
she began regular retreat sessions: first for those who had espoused
her cause on behalf of the needy and who collaborated freely in the
various activities; then for other people of every age and category,
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starting with the “ladies of help”, as Sr Maria called the mothers of
families and other women reached by her charity, from whom she
asked for a minimum of symbolic services of collaboration in the
activities of the house.
Then, to safeguard the health of many who lacked any medical
assistance or any other provision, Sr Maria planned nothing less than
a polyclinic with various specialist services: these things seemed
impossible, but Sr Maria “knew” that Our Lady would look after
everything. The initial realisation of this project can be located
around 1966-67 involving freely given collaboration by specialist
medical personnel and offers of the necessary equipment.
An important parenthesis in Sr Maria's life was her trip to Italy
from July to October 1969: “An unforgettable event”, she wrote,
that offered her a refined experience of Don Bosco's charism; and
then the “greatest joy” of a personal meeting with the Holy Father,
Pope Paul VI. She asked his blessing for the many desperate cases
she bore in her heart and for the many names she carried in her
hands in a long list. Among the Sisters she met in various houses
of the Institute where the Superior General invited her to recount
her experience, she left traces of an authentic missionary spirit, love
for the Church, “crazy love” for Our Lady whom she visited with
intimate emotion in the “Holy House” of Loreto.
When the clinic's activities were in full swing, Sr Maria turned
her thoughts to “curing” other kinds of youthful ills, accepting and
personally going out to look street girls for whom hunger was the
worst of counsellors. The “School of social guidance” began with
a miracle wrought by Mary Help of Christians, whom Sr Maria
invoked with filial confidence, on behalf of a little girl suffering from
acute leukaemia. The child was the daughter of a rich industrialist
and it was he who was the first to offer the machines and equipment
for the school in which, over a period of twenty years, thousands of
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girls would be saved, prepared and then employed in the factory.
Their presence would transform the factory environment, becoming
a school for other young workers.
Meanwhile, Sr Maria was deeply and constantly concerned at
visiting many, too many very poor families without a home and who
were in practice living under underpasses or in precarious hovels
on the edges of streets out in the peripheries: poor people whose
sense of dignity prevented them from asking for help. By now in
her early seventies, presenting her plan to her superior Sr Maria
said: “I would not want to die with an omission on my conscience. I
would regret it in those final moments.” On the other hand, she did
not want to undertake anything outside of obedience. This time it
was Don Bosco's feast day that opened the way to a solution to the
problem. A past pupil offered Sr Maria some land of her own on a
hillside just outside the city and, once she had the agreement of her
superior and the archbishop, work began. In 1973 it was possible
to open the first seven small homes for the homeless that make up
the Ciudadela de María Auxiliadora – no. 1, because others followed.
The residents agree to respecting a precise set of rules, a set of real
commandments for moral life and peaceful coexistence sustained by
daily prayer. A farm marketplace and hall-cum-theatre-cum chapel
would soon complement the Ciudadela.
Sr Maria did not stop there. She found valuable support from
volunteers who helped catechise patients at the clinic; then came
the idea of an Association that would be called ASAYNE (Asociación
Ayuda a Necesitados). The ASAYNE women guarantee and promote
among families and professionals the technically qualified and
secure collaboration needed for such an enterprise. They are sure
that ASAYNE, as Sr Maria foresaw it would be, will be able to reach
out to other places “throughout the Republic ... wherever there is
someone in need.”
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It is clear that Sr Maria was always very short of finances
regarding the demands of the projects she was constantly dreaming
up in her zeal. But in any difficulty she always turned to Our Lady
with great confidence. One day she turned to her in a kind of
daughterly protest: “Why your preference for Lourdes? Are we not
also your children and so far away that we cannot benefit from those
healing waters? Are not all the waters of the world, including from
this tap, just as healing? Please, cure the sick with this water too.”
Very soon she had her answer from Our Lady when she almost
obliged a sick catechist to drink a glass of water drawn from a tap in
the courtyard. The young person was suffering fever from a serious
attack of influenza and Sr Maria did not know how to replace him
the following day, which was going to be an extremely busy one:
“Drink it with faith; go back home and rest, and tomorrow you will
be able to go to the village to work in the oratory I have entrusted to
you.” The young man's fever disappeared without explanation and
he was able to go to the oratory. Later he would become a priest.
Sr Maria continued to draw and give that water away, always
using the same recipe: “Drink it with faith in small drops along
with a Hail Mary.” Miracles happened and the people rushed to get
hold of Our Lady's water. The superior was alarmed and advised
Sr Maria, “out of prudence”, to suspend her distribution. Sr Maria
obeyed; but the people in need came to draw water of their own
accord and news of graces received spread abroad, as well as the
‘recipe’; relieved, Sr Maria was able to return to her missionary
activities with fear of being accused of superstition or magic.
In the multifaceted apostolic profile of Sr Maria Romero,
beyond the various forms of practical apostolate there was another
expression of her missionary heart that was also of great relevance:
an activity that built not with stones and cement but with the gifts of
hope, fraternal comfort, understanding and generous motherliness:
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gifts of gospel love that Sr Maria dispensed with tireless dedication
to poor, disoriented, humiliated people looking for solutions to
indescribable problems in their family or in loneliness, in poverty
or sickness, in a life of vice or overwhelmed by the cruelty of others.
To console was Sr Maria's daily task. For hours and hours she
received, listened to, uplifted, advised, guided. More than many
words it was her heart that communicated. A heart that shone with
the Lord's kindness: she acted as interpreter and invited people to
have recourse to Our Blessed Lady: hearts were warmed and new
hope was born. These “audiences” (consultas), which eventually
meant that some order had to be established and a number issued,
sometimes went for a long time but Sr Maria never complained. She
thanked God and rejoiced when she saw peace and faith flourish
once more in a “lost” life. For her this was the most coveted reward.
Her life ended suddenly on 7 July 1977, when out of obedience
she decided to leave for some time of rest after a year of
ever-increasing labours. It was her departure for eternal repose to
contemplate the luminous face of her King and the kindly gaze of
her Queen. → “beatificazione” “santità salesiana”
RSS
abbrev. Ricerche Storiche Salesiane. • A journal that comes out every
two months (bimonthly) on religious and civil history, published
by the Istituto Storico Salesiano. → “ISS”
Rua, Michele (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Michael Rua. • 1837–1910, first successor of
St John Bosco. Beatified 1972.
Michael Rua was born in Turin on 9th June 1837, the last of nine
children. His father, who worked in a munitions factory, died when
he was only eight. Michael would have gone to work in the arms
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ruota
factory in Turin, but in 1852 he met with Don Bosco, who suggested
Michael join his school at the Oratory and he did.
Michael Rua joined the other first Salesians at seventeen, and,
inspired by Don Bosco’s example, he spent his days at the youth
club, morning and evening classes, supervising theatre or music
rehearsals, gymnastics, lively outdoor games, solitary study, along
with frequent reception of the sacraments.
Rua was Don Bosco’s closest collaborator in the development
of the new Salesian congregation over the next thirty-six years. He
made his first profession in 1855, was the first spiritual director
of the Society at the age of 22 years (1859), was ordained priest
in 1860. At 26 he became the rector of the college at Mirabello in
Emilia-Romagna, the first Salesian foundation outside Turin.
When Don Bosco died, Pope Leo XIII, honouring his request,
designated Michael as his successor. Nicknamed ‘The Living Rule’
because of his austere fidelity, Fr Michael Rua was also known for
his fatherliness and goodness. As the numbers of members and
communities increased, he sent Salesians all over the world, showing
special care for the missionary expeditions. When Michael Rua died
on 6th April 1910 at the age of 73, the Society had grown from 773 to
4000 Salesians, from 57 to 345 communities, from 6 to 34 Provinces
in 33 countries. → “beatificazione” “santità salesiana”
ruota
n. Turntable.• Two disks at the ends of an axle with the space
between them divided by radial panels. The definition only
describes the physical appearance. The ruota would have been
found in Salesian houses where the Sisters did the cooking and
other domestic services. It goes back to a canonical requirement
of separation, and the ruota ensured that items (food, clothing,
whatever) could be placed on one side, then swung around to be
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taken from the other side, without the persons involved seeing each
other.
There is a rather darker history to what was also known as the
ruota degli esposti, a ’baby hatch’ where a new mother would leave
an unwanted infant for the nuns to care for. The ruota can also be
found at the entrance to some convents of enclosed nuns for prayer
intentions to be left.
A Piedmontese term for the ruota that might be found in Salesian
historical texts is tarabacola.
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S
Sacro Cuore
proper name. Sacred Heart. • 1. A devotion. 2. A building.
In terms of the devotion, Don Bosco mentions the devotion to
the Sacred Heart in his Giovane Provveduto, but it is not a strongly
prominent element in his spirituality. Fr Rua, following the Church’s
leanings at the time (1900) issued an instruction on the devotion for
Salesians and consecrated the Congregation to the Sacred Heart.
In terms of a building, the church built by Don Bosco in Rome,
and now the location of the Rector Major and his Council and the
General Administration of the Salesians of Don Bosco. → “basilica”
Saiz Aparicio, Enrique (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Enrique Saiz Aparicio and 62 companion
martyrs (aka the Spanish martyrs).• Priests, Brothers, Aspirants,
Lay people. Decree of martyrdom: 26 June 2006. Beatified: 28
October 2007. Liturgical celebration: 22 September. This group
is made up of 22 priests, 18 brothers, 16 clerics, 3 aspirants, 3
cooperators and 1 lay collaborator. They are in two groups: Seville
and Madrid.
Madrid
Enrique Saiz Aparicio, priest
Félix González Tejedor, priest
Juan Codera Marqués, brother
Virgilio Edreira Mosquera, cleric
Pablo Garcia Sánchez, brother
Carmelo Juan Pérez Rodríguez, subdeacon
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Teódulo González Fernández, cleric
Tomás Gil de la Cal, aspirant
Federico Cobo Sanz, aspirant
Higinio de Mata Díez, aspirant
Justo Juanes Santos, cleric
Victoriano Fernández Reinoso, cleric
Emilio Arce Díez, brother
Ramón Eirín Mayo, brother
Mateo Garolera Masferrer, brother
Anastasio Garzón González, brother
Francisco José Martín López de Arroyave, brother
Juan de Mata Díez, lay co-worker
Pio Conde Conde, priest
Sabino Hernández Laso, priest
Salvador Fernández Pérez, priest
Nicolás de la Torre Merino, brother
Germán Martín Martín, priest
José Villanova Tormo, priest
Esteban Cobo Sanz, cleric
Francisco Edreira Mosquera, cleric
Manuel Martín Pérez, cleric
Valentín Gil Arribas, brother
Pedro Artolozaga Mellique, cleric
Manuel Borrajo Míguez, cleric
Dionisio Ullívarri Barajuán, brother
Miguel Lasaga Carazo, priest
Luís Martínez Alvarellos, cleric
Juan Larragueta Garay, cleric
Florencio Rodríguez Güemes, cleric
Pascual de Castro Herrera, cleric
Esteban Vázquez Alonso, brother
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Heliodoro Ramos García, brother
José Maria Celaya Badiola, brother
Andrés Jiménez Galera, priest
Andrés Gómez Sáez, priest
Antonio Cid Rodríguez, brother
Seville
Antonio Torrero Luque, priest
Antonio Enrique Canut Isús, priest
Miguel Molina de la Torre, priest
Pablo Caballero López, priest
Onorio Hernández Martín, cleric
Juan Luís Hernández Medina, cleric
Antonio Mohedano Larriva, priest
Antonio Fernández Camacho, priest
José Limón Limón, priest
José Blanco Salgado, brother
Francisco Míguez Fernández, priest
Manuel Fernández Ferro, priest
Félix Paco Escartín, priest
Tomás Alonso Sanjuán, brother
Manuel Gómez Contioso, priest
Antonio Pancorbo López, priest
Esteban García García, brother
Rafael Rodríguez Mesa, brother
Antonio Rodríguez Blanco, diocesan priest ASC
Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, layman ASC
Teresa Cejudo Redondo, laywoman ASC
Civil war broke out in Spain on 17 July 1936 (1936-1939) between
Fascist nationalists and Communist republicans. From the very first
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days of the war there was real religious persecution of the Church:
churches were burned down, monasteries and convents attacked,
bodies and relics were desecrated, public religious ceremonies
banned. Thousands of bishops, priests, religious and lay people
died for their faith.
In 1964, after consulting the Spanish episcopate, Pope Paul VI
decided to suspend the beatification processes for all the martyrs
during the Spanish civil war, essentially to avoid them being
exploited politically. Pope John Paul II instead, considering that
the time was ripe, decided in 1983 that the processes begun in the
dioceses be brought to conclusion quickly. For the celebration of
the Jubilee Year 2000, John Paul II requested that a list of Christian
martyrs in the 20th century be prepared. Spain too collaborated
with this redrawing of the lists that the different dioceses handed
over for the ecumenical celebration that took place at the Colosseum
in March 2000. By that stage Monsignor Vicente Cárcel Ortí, a priest
and reputed historian, had begun to talk of a figure exceeding
10,000 Spanish martyrs killed in that period. The data was divided
as follows: twelve bishops, one apostolic administrator, around
seven thousand priests, men and women religious and some three
thousand lay people, most of whom belonged to Catholic Action.
Executions were carried out in cities and villages far from the war
front, often without trial or with kangaroo courts.
As part of this huge tragedy that devastated the nation and the
Spanish Church, was the small but painful tragedy of Don Bosco's
sons and daughters. 95 members of the Salesian Family have been
recognised as martyrs and have been beatified in a Nation and
Church of martyrs. → “” “santità salesiana” “Calasanz Marqués,
José (beato)”
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SAL
453
Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
SAL
abbrev. Sisters Announcers of the Lord. • Religious Congregation
of Diocesan Right.
Founder: Bishop Ignazio Canazei inspired by Bishop Luigi
Versiglia. Foundation date: Shiu Chow (China), 30 May 1931.
Salesian Family membership: 28 July 2005 (decree 31 January 2006)
in AGC 393 (2006) 97. → “famiglia salesiana”
sala della comunità
np. Parish hall. • The concept of the parish hall (there could be
a better translation) as found in the Italian term here, does not
exist in English. It really means a place where many things could
happen ‘film, video, theatre, music, tied to the role of the parish as
a community of faith.’ Umberto Eco credits Don Bosco as having
founded, in the Oratory, a concept akin to what the sala della comunità
is intended to be.
Salem Chelhot, Mathilde (serva di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Mathilde Salem Chelhot. • Lay
woman. Diocesan Inquiry opened 13 November 1995.
Mathilde Chelhot was born in Aleppo on 15 November 1904.
The wealthy status of her family did not prevent her from having
a strong inner life. Her schooling was with the Armenian Sisters
of the Immaculate Conception, to whom she was always grateful
for the education she had received. On 15 August 1922 she married
Georges Elias Salem, an enterprising industrialist; they were a happy
couple, experiencing a sincere love and respect for one another. The
joy of this union however was soon clouded by the impossibility
of having children and her husband's fragile health. Mathilde was
able to bring comfort to him, staying by his side even when she
had to suffer his mood swings and the effort of professional life,
especially when his resourcefulness and commercial flair were not
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Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
454
Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
matched by an adequate physical condition. So Mathilde became
a successful manager, not just a self-made one but always at her
husband's side, becoming his adviser and the executor of his
projects, displaying technical rigour and a keen eye for the outcome
of risky or otherwise unclear commercial ventures. There was no
lack of trials that divided her from her beloved Chelhot family, but
resentment or rancour never prevailed. Mathilde's heart remained
free and suffering, attentive to the needs of her Salem relatives, her
grandchildren whom she supported and helped in their respective
choices, with affection and foresight.
She was widowed on 26 October 1944. It would have been
possible for her to start another life: her beauty, wealth, elegance,
elite friendships could have tempted her to do that. Instead she
discovered her true calling: to dedicate herself totally to her
neighbour with a more expansive love, making the poor youth
of her city her new family. In collaboration with the Catholic
Greek-rite archbishop of Aleppo, Archbishop Isidoro Fattal, she
began bringing her husband Georges' grand plan into reality, one
he had left her as his testimony, using the considerable capital he had
accumulated through his successful and profitable business activity.
Hers was a modern form of charity, not one of alms-giving but
something constructive, educative. She had noted the circumstances
of the Syrian population and had understood that the future of
its youth needed to marked by its professional competence: only
worthy and secure work would shape the future of her country
differently.
The “Georges Salem Foundation”, which she entrusted to the
sons of Don Bosco, called there in 1947, would become her home
and family from now on. She laid her husband's remains in the
church she had built and dedicated to St Matilda, and was also
eventually buried there. She was enriched by various spiritual
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Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
455
Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
experiences. The discovery of the Work of Infinite Love shaped
the inner desire that pervaded her life: the sanctification of priests
and consecrated individuals. Her spiritual growth was visible and
increasingly transparent, because Mathilde was not born a saint
but became one, even given a problematic daily life but one she
bore with a smile on her lips and an indestructible trust in God. A
Franciscan tertiary, she stripped herself of all her possessions, and
after having donated fabulous sums died in a house that was no
longer hers, free and detached from all earthly goods. The great
ancestry of the Syrian women of the first centuries of the Church's
life was what pulsed within her, women who were free and liberated
from all wealth in favour of the most needy.
While living an intense life of prayer, Mathilde was able
to combine the multifaceted aspects of her personality (wealthy
ownership, careful management, mother to the little orphans she
washed and combed, attentive traveller, elegant woman and very
pleasant and generous host). As for her charity, there was no
charitable institution that she did not support: catechetical societies,
St Vincent de Paul Conferences, summer camps for poor and
abandoned children, Vice-president of the Red Cross, Islamic
Charity, work on behalf of delinquent youngsters ...
On the Monday after Pentecost 1959 she discovered that she had
cancer. Her only reply to the medical diagnosis: “Thank you, my
God.” It was a 20 month Way of the Cross for her. The last part of her
life was a stripping away of everything, a total kenosis; she suffered
much from the cancer that was devouring her yet maintained a
serene attitude of surrender, a lucid gift for Christian unity and the
sanctification of priests. She wanted to be buried beside her beloved
husband, in the “Foundation” she had given all her energy to in
tireless service. As testament she distributed all her goods to various
works of charity as if to say: “I am dying in a house that no longer
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Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
456
Salem Chelhot, Mathilde
belongs to me.” She died in Aleppo with a reputation for holiness
on 27 February 1961 at 56 years of age, the same age as her beloved
Georges. When Mathilde died, Archbishop Fattal, her great friend,
bade her the ultimate farewell in just two words: “Saint Mathilde!”
Mathilde had the evangelical ability of “seeing with the heart”,
practising the humility of the little ones, working for Christian unity,
the sanctification of priests, the evangelical promotion of many
charitable works on behalf of those in need from any Christian
confession or any religious creed. She was a disciple of Christ
following the example of the women in the Gospel who followed
Christ by placing their possession at the service of the Kingdom
of God; a lay woman who lived in the spirit of the early Christian
communities that had spread around Syria in the first centuries,
placing all their possessions in common, selling what they possessed
and giving it to the poor.
She was a true woman of the Church: promoter of reconciliation
and peace in her family; working for communion between Catholics
and the many rites in Aleppo; a builder of unity between Catholics
and Orthodox. She was sensitive to the life and holiness of the
Church, fostering and materially and spiritually supporting priestly,
religious and missionary vocations, and offering her own life for the
sanctification of priests. Hers was a spirit of spiritual motherhood
and she was a spiritual victim. She was a woman of great apostolic
charity, open to all good works without distinguishing between rite,
confession or religion; a woman who located the fruitfulness of her
evangelical life in the mystery of the cross, the spirit of sacrifice, the
oblation of self both in her family and married life, in her acceptance
that she could not be a mother in the flesh, and in bearing the trials
and crosses that good works imply, and in the hour of her sickness
and death. Her life was accompanied by the gaze of Mary Most
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Salesian Missions Australia
457
Salesian Theological Institute
Holy whom she loved, venerated and made sure that she was in
turn loved and venerated. → “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”
Salesian Missions Australia
proper name. Salesian Missions Australia. • The Salesian Missions
Australia office supports the vocational teaching of underprivileged
young people in developing countries, in order that they find
employment and become self-sufficient members of their nation. The
Australian Salesian Missions Office was established in the 1960’s
to support a variety of Salesian education projects in developing
countries. → “ASMOAF” “solidarietà”
Salesian Theological Institute Ratisbonne
proper name. 1. Salesian Theological Institute Ratisbonne, 2. Salesian
Monastery, 3. Studium Theologicum Salesianum Sts Peter and Paul.
• Salesian Seminary and Study centre in Jerusalem which used to
be located at Cremisan near Bethlehem.
The building, 130 years old, is the property of the Holy See and
was administered initially by the Congregation founded by a Jewish
convert to Christianity (he converted in France), Fr Marie-Alphonse
Ratisbonne. The female branch of the Congregation is known as the
Sisters of Sion.
Often we see ‘Salesian Monastery’ in the official title in
documents intended for within Israel – this is to fulfil Israeli law
regarding its status. The Houses at Cremisan and at Beit Jamal are
also known as monasteries. The administration at Ratisbonne seems
to prefer the second designation: Studium Theologicum Salesianum
Sts Peter and Paul, at least as an official letterhead in Salesian circles.
→ “studentato”
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salesian.online
458
salesianità
salesian.online
proper name. Website• salesian.online (Salesian Online Resources)
is a project resulting from the collaboration of the Don Bosco
Study Centre (Pontifical Salesian University, Rome) and the Study
Centre of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Pontifical
Faculty of Educational Sciences “Auxilium”, Rome). The main
objective is to make available to everyone a vast selection of
original documents in a reliable and citable form: sources, studies,
research and digital resources on Salesian history, pedagogy
and spirituality. The full-text materials, which can be freely
downloaded, are organised by categories, themes, authors, entities,
educational structures, Salesian Family groups, and temporal and
geographical coordinates. See also → “SDL”. Another similar site
is www.sangiovannibosco.net
salesianità
n. 1. Salesianity, 2. Salesian spirit, 3. Salesian spirituality. • It is
interesting to note that other member groups of the broader Salesian
family (e.g. the Visitation Order, the Oblates of St Francis de Sales,
the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales...) do NOT use the term
‘Salesianity’ for the most part or ever, but instead refer to Salesian
spirituality. It would appear that only Don Bosco's Salesian family
consistently uses the term. It may indeed be more appropriate, at
least in some circumstances, to refer to the Salesianity of Don Bosco.
One might assume, given the renewed emphasis on St Francis
de Sales that is the result of celebrations for the 400th anniversary of
his death, that somewhere amid the Salesianity courses mentioned
above, the study of St Francis de Sales be included.
Usage: It is common to see the term Salesianity surrounded by
quote marks (double or single): “Salesianity”. Why would this be?
It may well be a subconscious acknowledgement that Salesianity
(minus the quote marks) is clearly a fundamental reference to St
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Salesiano
459
Salesiani di Don Bosco
Francis de Sales, while “Salesianity” is a reference to Don Bosco and
his charism. → “di Sales, Francesco (santo)”
Salesiano
n., adj. Salesian. • See Salesiani di Don Bosco, SDB, Società
salesiana below. But also note that the adjective ‘Salesian’ pertains
primarily to St Francis de Sales! → “di Sales, Francesco (santo)”
salesiano esterno
np. Extern Salesian. • ‘Any person, even one living in the world,
in one’s house, in the bosom of one’s family, can belong to this
society... He takes no vows, but shall try to practise those portions
of the present rule that are compatible with his age and condition.’
(from the appendix, later suppressed, in Don Bosco’s Constitutions
1860–73).
Don Bosco’s original thinking and indeed his original intention
was to have ‘extern Salesians’ who did not live in community, did
not take binding vows. Rome did not accept this idea as part of the
Constitutions. Fr Dominic Pestarino of Mornese is a clear example
of such a person. Eventually these became the Salesian Cooperators.
Usage: The use of the term ‘extern’ here is somewhat special. As
a n today it would refer to a professional placement (such as occurs
with doctors in training), so the Salesian use (although now only
of historical interest) is particular if considered as a n. Perhaps it is
best seen as an adjective, as in ‘external Salesian’.
Salesiani di Don Bosco
proper name. 1. Salesians of Don Bosco, 2. Society of St Francis de
Sales (complete official title), 3. Salesian Congregation, 4. Pious
Salesian Society (of historical value but out of use), 5. Pious Society
(also out of use), 6. Salesians of Don Bosco (the most common
title in ordinary use today), 7. Salesians (normally understood as
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Salesiani di Don Bosco
460
Salesiani di Don Bosco
SDBs, within the context of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco, but
when ’Salesian’ is understood as an adjective, it could apply more
generally to the inspiration of St Francis de Sales as expressed by
many religious and lay societies). • Cf. SDB Constitution 1:
‘With a feeling of humble gratitude we believe that the Society of
St Francis de Sales came into being not as a merely human venture
but by the initiative of God. Through the motherly intervention of
Mary, the Holy Spirit raised up St John Bosco to contribute to the
salvation of youth... to ensure the continuation of this mission, the
Spirit inspired him to initiate various apostolic projects, first among
them our Society.’
C. 2: ‘We, the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), form a community
of the baptised. Submissive to the bidding of the Spirit we are
resolved to carry out the Founder’s apostolic plan in a specific form
of religious life to be in the Church signs and bearers of the love of
God for young people, especially those who are poor.’
At Pope Pius IX’s suggestion, Don Bosco, who up until then
(1859), referred to the congregation of St Francis de Sales as
involving both ‘interns’ and ‘externs’, adopted the term ‘Pious
Society of St Francis de Sales’ to describe the ‘interns’. The Salesian
Society in that understanding came into being on December 9/18,
1859.
We know that Don Bosco’s original concept (in a Rule he had
sketched out and presented to Pius IX in March 1858), was for
a society or congregation which allowed its members to be ‘a
religious for the Church and a free citizen in civil society.’ Even
as late as 1880 he was still claiming that the Salesians were not a
religious congregation but a charitable religious organisation to
help abandoned young people and that the Latin word ‘vow’ might
be understood as ‘promise’ in Italian! (Cf. Lenti, Vol 3, Don Bosco
History and Spirit, p. 289). → “Don Bosco: History and Spirit”
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SALVO
461
Sandor Community
The founding document of the Salesian Society was drawn up
on 18 December 1859. It is interesting to note that its wording speaks
of ‘a society or congregation... ’
Whatever Don Bosco’s real intentions, thwarted in some ways by
his being gradually forced into the ecclesiastical structure, this new
‘society or congregation’, which we should really recognise as ‘The
Salesian Society’ was distinct from the ‘Congregation of St Francis
de Sales’. → “Salesiano” “congregazione”
SALVO
abbrev. (acronym). Salesian Lay Volunteers. • Lay volunteer movement
started by the FIS province in 2009 on the occasion of the 150th of
the Congregation, launched with the assistance of Br. Carlo Bacalla
(currently a missionary in Laos, THA).
SALVO relaunched in 2016 with a long-term plan of immersion
programs in FIS province, sending the volunteers to EAO region
provinces (so far Cambodia, Myanmar) and in the future also
aiming to spread to other parts of the Congregation. → “Cagliero
Project” “volontariato”
Sandor Community
proper name. Full title: Blessed Istvan Sandor Community. • The
Salesian Brothers’ Formation House – Blessed Istvan Sandor
Community in Parañaque, Philippines, was established in 2013 to
provide the Brothers of the East Asia-Oceania (EAO) region a venue
for their specific formation.
The EAO Salesian Brother Formation Community is the regional
formation center for Salesian Brothers in the East Asia and Oceania
Region. It is the only English-speaking centre for the formation
of Salesian Brothers. It is also open to Salesian Brothers coming
from the regions of Africa-Madagascar, South Asia and Europe and
to Salesian Brothers willing to undergo the experience in English.
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Sándor, István
462
Sándor, István
The community offers Salesian Brothers a two-year theological,
pastoral and Salesian formation in order to help them be educators
and evangelisers of the young in the spirit of St John Bosco.
→ “coadiutore”
Sándor, István (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Stephen Sandor. • Salesian Brother. Decree
of Martyrdom: 27 March 2013. Beatified: 19 October 2013. Liturgical
celebration: 8 June.
A large number of martyrs shed their blood for their faith during
the period of the totalitarian regime in Hungary, which was violently
established under the direction of the Communists immediately
after the Second World War. Among the group is Stephen Sándor,
who was also a victim of the Hungarian communist regime's severe
anti-religious repression which was particularly harsh and bloody
from 1946 to 1963.
Stephen was born in Szolnok, Hungary, on 26 October 1914, the
first of three children of István Sándor and Maria Fekete. His father
was a clerk with the State railways, and his mother a housewife. Both
passed on a deep sense of religion to their children. Stephen studied
in the city, gaining his diploma as a metallurgy technician. From
childhood he was much respected by his friends; he was cheerful,
generous and kind. He helped his younger siblings to study and
pray, first through his own example. He made his Confirmation
fervently and promised to imitate his patron Saint and St Peter. Every
day he served Mass at the parish church run by the Franciscans, and
received the Eucharist.
Stephen got to know about Don Bosco by reading the Salesian
Bulletin. He immediately felt attracted by the Salesian charism.
He spoke about this with his spiritual director, expressing the
wish to enter the Salesian Congregation. He also spoke about it to
his parents. Initially they did not give their consent, but Stephen
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Sándor, István
463
Sándor, István
succeeded in convincing them and in 1936 he was accepted at the
Clarisseum, the Salesian house in Budapest, where he remained as
an aspirant for two years. He attended a printer technician course
at the Don Bosco Printers. He then began his novitiate but had to
interrupt it to do military service.
In 1939 he was finally discharged, and after a year of novitiate
made his first profession on 8 September 1940 as a Salesian brother.
He was sent to the Clarisseum where he was actively involved in
teaching the boys in their professional courses. He was also assistant
at the oratory, something he did enthusiastically and competently.
He promoted the Young Catholic Workers and his group was
recognised as the best in the movement. Following Don Bosco's
example he showed himself to be a model educator. In 1942 he was
called to the Front along the River Don in Russia and earned the
Silver Medal for Bravery. For him the trenches were a festive oratory
that he led in Salesian terms, cheering up his fellow conscripts. At
the end of the Second World War he was involved in the material and
moral rebuilding of society, dedicating himself especially to poor
young people whom he brought together, teaching them a trade. On
24 July 1946 he made his perpetual profession as a Salesian brother
and in 1948 completed his training as a master printer. With these
studies behind him, his pupils were snapped up by the best printing
houses in the capital and the nation.
When Hungary, under Mátyás Rákosi, seized all Church assets
in 1949 and the persecution of religious houses and Catholic
schools began, religious suddenly found themselves without
anything: without a house, work, community. Many of them,
forced to be active in secret, adapted themselves to doing anything:
chimney sweeps, farmers, labourers, porters, servants ... The
anti-religious and especially anti-Catholic tendency of the regime
was immediately evident, and it began and decidedly pursued
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Sándor, István
464
Sándor, István
activity aimed at the complete submission of the Hungarian Catholic
Church to the State. The aim was its gradual but total demolition,
gradual removal and total destruction. It was not long before all
Church assets were confiscated, youth organisations dissolved,
Catholic schools nationalised, and finally the suppression, in 1950,
of almost all religious orders and congregations. Meanwhile while
a deadly persecution was carried out against all members of the
Church's hierarchy and Christian people who opposed the new
regime.
Stephen too had to “disappear”. Leaving his printing works,
but presented with the possibility of fleeing abroad, he decided
to stay at home to save Hungarian youth. Caught trying to save
printing machines, he had to flee quickly and remained in hiding for
several months. Following this, under another name he manged to
be taken on in a detergent factory in Budapest, but he fearlessly and
clandestinely continued his apostolate, knowing that it was a strictly
forbidden activity. He met regularly with former pupils and some of
their friends, dealing with their spiritual and educational problems.
They prepared to resist the regime's anticlerical propaganda and
helped others to remain firm in their faith. He was captured in July
1952 and was never seen again by his confreres.
According to the systems that had been tried and tested for some
time, he was subjected to inhuman interrogation, ferocious torture
and typical brainwashing until he fully identified with the absurd
and false charges brought against him which included: involvement
in plots against the democratic order, high treason, activities against
the state and other crimes; all of which carried the death penalty. An
official document certified the trial and the death sentence which
was carried out by hanging on 8 June 1953. Stephen remained
a witness for Christ to the last. He was often beaten. His fellow
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Santissimo (il)
465
santità salesiana
prisoners testified that even after the death sentence was announced
he radiated peace and helped others to keep the faith.
The reconstruction of Stephen Sándor's biographical profile
reveals a real and profound journey of faith which began in
childhood and continued in his youth, strengthened by his Salesian
religious profession and consolidated in his exemplary life as a
Salesian brother. In particular we notice a genuine vocation to
consecrated life animated, according to Don Bosco's spirit, by an
intense and fervent zeal for the salvation of souls, especially young
people. Even the most difficult periods, such as military service and
the experience of war, did not undermine the moral and religious
integrity of the young Salesian brother. It was on this basis that
Stephen Sándor suffered martyrdom, without second thoughts or
hesitation. → “beatificazione” “martirio” “” “santità salesiana”
Santissimo (il)
n. Blessed Sacrament. The complete term in Italian is il Santissimo
Sacramento, and refers to the consecrated host. • Linguistic note: Most
often met in abbreviated form as il Santissimo. In other instances,
when attached to other nouns (e.g. il santissimo Padre or Holy
Father) it is translated by holy, most holy, depending on context.
→ “adorazione”
santità salesiana
np. Salesian holiness. • (1) In the first instance, a reference to the
spirituality of St Francis de Sales. Francis was ahead of his time:
Vatican II spoke of the ‘universal call to holiness,’ emphasising that
becoming a saint was everybody’s business, not just the professional
job of priests and religious. But St Francis de Sales was preaching the
universal call to holiness (which is actually grounded in Leviticus
20:26 and Matthew 5:48) back in the Counter-Reformation of the
17th century.
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santo
466
santo
(2) in the second instance, a reference to Salesian spirituality as
expressed through the tradition of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Salesian holiness in terms of the second definition above stands
out through the very many figures of holiness officially recognised
by the Church in Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of
God. → “sensus ecclesiae” “venerabile” “santo” “beatificazione”
“servo di Dio”.
santo
n. Saint. • In official Church procedures there are three steps to
sainthood: a candidate becomes "Venerable," then "Blessed" and
then "Saint." Venerable is the title given to a deceased person
recognised formally by the pope as having lived a heroically
virtuous life or offered their life. To be beatified and recognised as a
Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession
is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of
life. Canonisation requires a second miracle after beatification. The
pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior
to a martyr's beatification, but one is required before canonisation.
Note that 'Servant of God' is not mentioned in the definition
above, because it is technically a stage prior to the official beginning
of the cause. The cause is still under investigation, prior to the
individual being declared Venerable.
SAINTS OF THE SALESIAN FAMILY:
Aloysius Versiglia “Versiglia, Luigi (santo)”
Callistus Caravario “Caravario, Callisto (santo)”
Dominic Savio “Savio, Domenico (santo)”
John Bosco “Don Bosco (santo)”
Joseph Cafasso “Cafasso Giuseppe”
Leonard Murialdo “Murialdo, Leonardo (santo)”
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Savio, Domenico
467
Savio, Domenico
Luigi Guanella “Guanella, Luigi (Santo)”
Luigi Orione “Orione, Luigi (santo)”
Mary D. Mazzarello “Mazzarello, Maria Domenica (santa)”
Artemides Zatti “Zatti, Artemide (santo)”
Usage: The use of the term "saint" depends on the context and
denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Oriental
Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in
Heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered worthy
of greater honour or emulation;[1] official ecclesiastical recognition,
and consequently a public cult of veneration, is conferred on some
saints through the process of canonisation in the Catholic Church or
glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church. → “santità salesiana”
“canonizzazione”
Savio, Domenico (santo)
proper name. (St) Dominic Savio. • Teenager. Beatified: 3 March
1950. Canonised: 12 June 1954. Liturgical celebration: 6 May.
Dominic Savio was born in the small village of San Giovanni,
a hamlet of Riva presso Chieri (Turin), on 2 April 1842. His father
was Carlo Savio and his mother was Brigida Gaiato. He was the
second of ten children. His father came from Ranello, a hamlet of
Castelnuovo d’Asti (today Castelnuovo Don Bosco) and he worked
as a blacksmith; his mother was originally from Cerreto d’Asti and
worked as a seamstress. Dominic was baptised on the day of his
birth, in the parish church at Riva presso Chieri, as we know from the
Baptismal records signed by the parish priest Fr Vincenzo Burzio.
In November 1843 the Savio family moved to Morialdo, a hamlet
of Castelnuovo d’Asti, about a kilometre from the Becchi where
Don Bosco’s home was. Dominic’s childhood there was serene,
full of affection and he was responsive to the religious teaching
he received from his deeply Christian parents. A basic stage along
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Savio, Domenico
468
Savio, Domenico
his extraordinary journey to holiness was his First Communion,
to which he was admitted, by way of exception, at 7 years of age.
His resolutions on that occasion are well known: “1. I will go
to confession often and will receive communion every time my
confessor allows me to. 2. I want to keep Sundays and holy days holy.
3. My friends will be Jesus and Mary. 4. Death but not sin.” These
resolutions that Dominic would renew each year of his life and that
would then mark the lives of so many other holy youngsters, already
express a considerable level of holiness, a work of Grace that Don
Bosco himself would recognise, value and lead to greater heights.
There were magnificent boys at the Oratory, but there were
also half-wits who behaved badly and there were boys who were
suffering, having problems with their studies, homesick. Everyone
tried individually to help them. So why couldn’t the boys who
wanted to come together, in a “secret society”, and become a
compact group of little apostles amongst the masses? Dominic, “led
by his usual busy charitableness chose some of his most trusted
friends, and invited them to come together to form a sodality called
the Immaculate Conception Sodality”. Don Bosco gave his consent:
they had a trial period and wrote a small Rule. “One of those who
was most effective in helping Dominic Savio with this foundation
and in drawing up the rule, was Joseph Bongiovanni”. From the
minutes of the Sodality kept in the Salesian Archives, we know that
those who made up the group, which met once a week, were around
ten in number: Michael Rua (who was elected president), Dominic
Savio, Joseph Bongiovanni (elected secretary), Celestine Durando,
John Bonetti, Angelo Savio, a cleric, Joseph Rocchietti, John Turchi,
Luigi Marcellino, Joseph Reano, Francis Vaschetti. Missing was
John Cagliero because he was convalescing after a serious illness
and was living at home with his mother. The final article in the
rule approved by everyone including Don Bosco, said: “A sincere,
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Savio, Domenico
469
Savio, Domenico
filial, unlimited trust in Mary, special tenderness in her regard,
and constant devotion will enable us to overcome every obstacle,
keep our resolutions, be strict with ourselves, loving towards our
neighbour, and precise in everything we do.”
The few months that Dominic would still spend at the Oratory
are a further confirmation of his decision to become a saint,
something he pursued especially after hearing a sermon from Don
Bosco on how easy it was to be a saint.
But Dominic only remained with Don Bosco until 1 March 1857
when he had to return to his family at Mondonio due to an illness
that suddenly took a serious turn. In just a few days, despite some
occasional signs of hope, things got worse and Dominic was near
death’s door. He died peacefully at Mondonio on 9 March 1857,
exclaiming: “Oh! What a beautiful thing I see...”. Mary’s presence
marked the lifetime of this young man as she who accompanied him
in realising the blessing of the Father and his mission. Despite his
youth, the Church recognised his holiness. Pope Pius XI described
him as “a small but giant of the spirit”. He had realised what was the
truth behind his name: Dominic, “of the Lord”; and Savio “wise”:
wise in matters of the Lord and distinguished by the exemplary
nature and holiness of his life.
Don Bosco educated his Salesians and young people to holiness
through their reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and
Eucharist. He thus formed a multitude of saints young and old,
and martyrs who were strong and courageous in defending their
faith. Among the precious results of this pedagogy of holiness are
fifteen-year-old Saint Dominic Savio Savio, thirteen-year-old Blessed
Laura Vicuña, and nineteen-year-old Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá.
→ “santo” “santità salesiana”
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Scholasticus (S)
470
scrutinium
Scholasticus (S)
[la] n., abbrev. Scholasticus, Seminarian. • This term is to be found
in the Year Book in reference to the Salesian student at a seminary
(philosophy, theology). → “necrologio” “annuario”.
scientifico
adj. Scientific (general). • By extension (of the basic meaning
pertaining to ‘science’, activities that apply the technical approaches
or various sciences or procedures based on scientific principles.
Usage: The English term ‘scientific’ is somewhat more restricted
in its application. As seen from the definition above, the Italian
scientifico may be applied to a general range of well-prepared items
or discussions, not only science or scientific in nature. Congressi
scientifici in the 19th century often dealt with politics rather than
strictly with science. Some care needed in translation of this term,
then, and in many instances it can be omitted.
scrutinium
[la] n. Scrutinium, Scrutiny. • (1) close examination of a voting
procedure (e.g. cf C. 153 and the reference to voting for a Rector
Major at the General Chapter)
(2) juridical requirement (Canon Law) for ordination, regarding
qualities required. Cf. Can. 1051
(3) a more general process of evaluation or assessment of a
candidate in initial formation
(4) a community process of examination and evaluation (as in
scrutinium paupertatis, scrutinium castitatis, scrutinium orationis).
While the sense of evaluation or assessment certainly exists, in
the case of 2nd, 3rd and 4th meanings indicated above, at least in
the case of initial formation it would be good not to lose sight of
the liturgical and formative sense of the RCIA scrutinium, which is
for the elect just prior to Baptism – in other words the individual
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SDB
471
SDB
is already chosen and accepted, and the focus is on Christ and
forgiveness of sin.
There is no specific mention of scrutinium castitatis, ‘scrutiny on
chastity’, in the C&R. It is mentioned in the index to the Rectors
Manual 1982 but not in the paragraph it refers to – at least not in the
precise words. In the planning outline of the RM and Council 2002–8
under the heading of ‘primacy of spiritual life’ there is reference
to each province establishing periodic scrutinies on each of the
evangelical counsels.
There is no specific mention of scrutinium orationis, ‘scrutiny
on prayer’, in the C&R. It is mentioned in GC21 however, which
required each community to make a periodical review of its prayer
life (GC21 60b).
With regard to the scrutinium povertatis, or ’scrutiny on poverty’,
the term finds mention in a circular letter by Fr Ricceri on poverty,
and was then followed up further by Fr Viganò. The concept, rather
than the precise term, is contained in R. 65. In recent times, the
planning project of the RM and Council 2002–8 specifically indicated
that the scrutinium paupertatis should be carried out annually.
→ “consigli evangelici”
SDB
abbrev. SDB. • Salesian of Don Bosco. Until 1947 the members of the
Salesian Society used SC in English-speaking countries (Salesiana
Congregatio, ’Salesian Congregation’) or SS in Italy and elsewhere
(Societas Salesiana). The 16th General Chapter made the change to
SDB with the following comment:
‘The initials most in use, S.S. (Societas Salesiana) are already in
use by another Congregation; the other, S.C. (Salesiana Congregatio)
seems neither clear nor well-accepted. We will adopt S.D.B.
(Salesiani Don Bosco), because this is the name we are universally
known by, and it recalls the Saint who gives us our name, the
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SDB Salesiani di Don Bosco
472
SDB Salesiani di Don Bosco
Founder and Father. This is also the title by which we are officially
recognised in the Annuario Pontificio.’ (ACS 143, Acts of the 16th
General Chapter, p. 68).
Linguistic note: Clearly the initials SS would have had other
problems as well! The initials SDB are usually used without full
stops (periods), and often, in keeping with changing customs where
lower case is preferred to upper case, we find them in lower case.
There is no hard and fast rule for this. → see the following.
SDB Salesiani di Don Bosco
abbrev., proper name. SDB Salesians of Don Bosco. • Society of St
Francis de Sales (complete official title), Salesian Congregation,
Pious Salesian Society (of historical value but deprecated as a
term), Pious Society (also deprecated), Salesians of Don Bosco
(the most common title in ordinary use today), Salesians (normally
understood as SDBs, within the context of the Salesian Family of
Don Bosco, but when 'Salesian' is understood as an adjective, it
could apply more generally to the inspiration of St Francis de Sales
as expressed by many religious and lay societies).
At Pope Pius IX's suggestion, Don Bosco, who up until then
(1859), referred to the congregation of St Francis de Sales as
involving both 'interns' and 'externs', adopted the term "Pious
Society of St Francis de Sales" to describe the 'interns'. The Salesian
Society in that understanding came into being on December 9/18,
1859.
We know that Don Bosco's original concept (in a Rule he had
sketched out and presented to Pius IX in March 1858), was for
a society or congregation which allowed its members to be "a
religious for the Church and a free citizen in civil society". Even
as late as 1880 he was still claiming that the Salesians were not a
religious congregation but a charitable religious organisation to
help abandoned young people and that the Latin word 'vow' might
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SDL
473
secolarità
be understood as 'promise' in Italian! (Cf Lenti, Vol 3, Don Bosco
History and Spirit, pg 289).
The founding document of the Salesian Society was drawn up on
December 18, 1859. It is interesting to note that its wording speaks
of "a society or congregation...".
Whatever Don Bosco's real intentions, thwarted in some ways by
his being gradually forced into the ecclesiastical structure, this new
'society or congregation', which we should really recognise as 'The
Salesian Society' was distinct from the 'Congregation of St Francis
de Sales'. → “sistema preventivo” “famiglia salesiana”
SDL
abbrev. Salesian Digital Library. • The Salesian Digital Library
was first launched in 2007, and is under the auspices of Salesian
Headquarters (originally at the Pisana, now at Sacro Cuore) as
a complementary site to the Congregation's own official website,
sdb.org. It uses an open source, free digital library software backed
by UNESCO, known as Greenstone, and the aim of SDL has been
to include Salesian material in digital form in any human language
in which it exists. Currently at least 30 languages are represented.
sdl.sdb.org See also → “salesian.online”
secolarità
n. Secularity. • The generally positive employment of this term in
Salesian literature is a phenomenon of Vatican II. Prior to that, the
term had the sense of fuga mundi, flight from the world, and was
generally a negative thing. Salesian secularity is a phenomenon
that we now see in groups such as the Volunteers of Don Bosco
VDB and the Volunteers With Don Bosco CDB. It does not stop
there – there are many other groups along these lines. As used
in Salesian texts from Fr Ziggiotti onwards. In Fr Ricceri’s period
of leadership the SGC took up consideration of the range of
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secolarismo
474
Sede apostolica
terms: ‘secularisation’, ‘secularity’, ‘secularism’. The first of these
is indicated as an historical process by which men and women take
up responsibility in the world. Note that ‘secularity’ most often
collocates with consecrated or consecration, in post-Vatican II texts,
therefore is seen as a positive dimension of human existence. Not
to be confused with secularisation (as now understood in negative
terms) or with secularism which, in both English or Italian are
perceived to be negative. → “CDB” “VDB”
secolarismo
n. 1. secularism, 2. secularisation. • These terms, as used in
Salesian texts, have a negative sense, the opposite to the primacy
of the religious dimension in our lives. Secularism is seen as a
radicalisation of secularisation, the elimination of the sacred from
things.
secolarizzione
n. Secularisation. • A term with specific meaning in Canon Law. The
form of an ‘Indult to leave the Institute’ through which the Salesian
priest or deacon passes to the secular clergy and is incardinated,
with or without a period of probation, in a Diocese.
It may be ad experimentum, for a period up to five years or it may
be pure et sempliciter (pure and simple), by which the Bishop states
that he is willing to incardinate the religious immediately without
waiting for any time of probation.
sede centrale
np. 1. headquarters, 2 central office. • A term frequently used to refer
to Salesian central headquarters in Rome. → “Direzione Generale”
Sede apostolica
np. 1. Apostolic See, 2. See of Peter. • In Canon Law, the terms
‘Apostolic See’ and ‘Holy See’ refer to the Roman Pontiff and the
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segretario (ispettoriale)(generale) 475 segretario (ispettoriale)(generale)
Roman Curia together as the form of Government of the Catholic
Church. A synonym, the ‘See of Peter’, is more personalised but the
reference is still administrative.
‘Apostolic See’ is theoretically more embracing in that it could
originally have applied to five Sees founded by the Apostles, Rome,
Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, Alexandria.
Certainly within Salesian documentation its main reference is
to the Roman See. While in practice, Vatican City and the Holy
See appear to be identical entities, they are not. Ambassadors are
accredited to the Holy See, not to Vatican City. The Holy See does
not dissolve on the death of the reigning Pope. → “Procuratore
Generale”
segretario (ispettoriale)(generale)
np. Provincial secretary, Secretary General. • Secretary General C.
144: The secretary general is at the service general of the Rector
Major and his Council in the role of a notary. He is present, without
the right to vote, at meetings of the Council, of which he draws up
the minutes.
He is responsible for the offices of the general secretariats and
for the central archives of the Society. He is appointed by the Rector
Major with the consent of his Council, and remains in office ad
nutum. (R 110).
Provincial secretary R. 159: The provincial and his council have
at their service a secretary who has the role of a notary. He is present
at the meetings of the council without the right to vote, unless he
is one of the councillors; he records the minutes. He is in charge of
the provincial archives and sees to the collecting and recording of
statistics. He is appointed by the provincial after hearing the opinion
of his council and remains ad nutum.
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selvaggi
476
selvaggi
From the above we note the various parts of the role: notary,
minutes taker, registrar (or the one responsible for maintaining all
kinds of ), and looking after the archives.
In practice, the tasks that our law assigns to the Secretary
General for the entire Congregation are transferred to the provincial
level. The secretary general is assisted by a juridical office.
→ “cancelliere” “ad nutum”
Linguistic note: They may be found capitalised: Secretary General,
Provincial Secretary
selvaggi
n. pl. 1. savages, 2. tribal peoples. • A definition from a dictionary
in Don Bosco’s own time (Dizionario di cognizioni utili, Torino 1864)
attempts to describe ‘savages’ as having broad shoulders, enormous
heads, black curly hair, short beard, expressionless face, and around
three metres tall!
People in a primitive and uncivilised state; wild and fierce; cruel
and hostile; brutal and barbarous. (Oxford Reference Dictionary
(1980).
Don Bosco retained the term in his reference to some of the native
populations he wished to evangelise, drawing his anthropological
and ethnographic data most likely from Romantic literature and
nineteenth-century encyclopedias.
Linguistic note: The question is how to translate this term today,
since ‘savages’ sounds too strong. The term did have an ambiguous
feel even for Don Bosco, since there was still the Romantic period
sense of the noble savage in the literature of the time, nor should
we forget that the concept first came to Don Bosco in the context of
a dream about peoples who could be saved, and that one of these
people, Ceferino Namuncurá, has already been beatified! Today we
might consider glossing the word as ‘tribal people’ or something
similar.
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sensus ecclesiae
477
sequela Christi
sensus ecclesiae
[la] np. Sensus ecclesiae. • Our awareness of being in, and of the
Church (from Message of members of 19th General Chapter to
confreres, 1965).
Though he may not have used the precise phrase, there is
every indication, as Pietro Stella points out in his Prevenire non
reprimere, that the ‘sensus ecclesiae’ and fidelity to the Pope were
an important aspect of Don Bosco’s work of initiating young people
into faith. Catechetics, apologetics, pedagogy all converge for Don
Bosco on the importance of young people understanding that
only in the Catholic Church will they find salvation, the means of
grace: revelation preserved in its fullness and integrity, sacraments
administered with the fullness of grace and validity. For Don Bosco
extra ecclesiam nulla salus was at the heart of his writing: the Storia
ecclesiastica, the Avvisi ai cattolici, the Cattolico istruito, his many
apologetic works. → “carisma” “Viganò, Egidio”
sequela Christi
[la] np. 1. discipleship, 2. following Christ, 3. walking in Christ’s
footsteps. • An ancient term in Christian spirituality, in reference
to either the apostolic following of Christ, or the imitatio christi in
general Christian life. Today the term is clearly recognised for its
use within the context of Consecrated Life. → “vita consacrata”
The Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata does not deal
separately with each of the evangelical counsels. It unites them in
the single grace of the sequela Christi, limiting itself here and there to
the particular significance, values or demands of each. In this way it
emphasises the character of a personal rapport with the Lord which
belongs to profession and the spiritual dimension of the vows. Each
counsel implies specific attitudes and commitments, but ultimately
includes the other two as well. It is difficult to think of a consistent
and luminous chastity detached from the poverty which consists
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sermon de charité
478
servo di Dio
in the total offering of one’s personal and material goods, or from
the obedience of heart which makes one available for the mission,
cost what it may. And vice versa. (Fr Vecchi in his letter on Chastity.
1999).
sermon de charité
[fr] np. Charity sermon. • A term used to describe sermons (in
France during the 19th century) aimed at inspiring the congregation
to donate to charitable works.
Don Bosco employed this approach to gain support for his youth
works in France in the late 1800s. His most famous sermon de charité
was at the Patronage opened in Nice. To its printed version he
attached his summary, for the first time, of the Preventive System.
Don Bosco gave the sermon de charité his own typical structure.
Usage: The term could be glossed as ’charity sermon’ but more
often than not it is retained in its original French. → “sistema
preventivo”.
servo di Dio
np. Servant of God. • The Catholic whose cause of beatification and
canonsation has been initiated. (Instruction Sanctorum Mater, 2007).
A cause can only be introduced if the person has gained fame
already for holiness (in general opinion), has practised Christian
virtues to an heroic degree and if there are no insuperable obstacles
to canonisation. Naturally all these have to be established and
eventually proven, hence the ‘process.’
SERVANTS OF GOD IN THE SALESIAN FAMILY:
Akash Bashir “Bashir, Akash (servo di Dio)”
Anna Maria Lozano Diaz “Lozano Díaz, Anna Maria (serva di
Dio)”
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settore
479
settore
Andrej Majcen “Majcen, Andrej (servo di Dio)”
Antonietta Böhm “Böhm, Antonietta (serva di Dio)”
Antonino Baglieri “Baglieri, Nino (Servo di Dio)”
Carlo Braga “Braga, Carlo (servo di Dio)”
Charles Della Torre “Della Torre, Carlo (servo di Dio)”
Constantine Vendrame “Vendrame, Constantino (servo di Dio)”
Elias Comini “Comini, Elia (servo di Dio)”
Jan Swierc and 8 companions “Świerc, Jan (servo di Dio)”
Joseph Cognata “Cognata, Giuseppe (servo di Dio)”
Luís (Luigi) Bolla “Bolla, Luigi (servo di Dio)”
Mathilde Salem Chelhot “Salem Chelhot, Mathilde (serva di Dio)”
Orestes Marengo “Marengo, Oreste (servo di Dio)”
Rodolfo Lunkenbein “Lunkenbein, Rudolph (servo di Dio)”
Simão Bororo “Bororo Simão (servo di Dio)”
Rosetta Marchese “Marchese, Rosetta (serva di Dio)”
Silvio Galli “Galli, Silvio (servo di Dio)”
Vera Grita “Grita, Vera (serva di Dio)”
Usage: The term is capitalised in English as ‘Servant of God’.
→ “beatificazione”
settore
n. Sector. • A key area of Salesian mission as defined formally by
the Salesian Constitutions (cf. Italian edition C. 133, 134).
The growth of the ‘sector’ concept in the Congregation is of
particular interest for a number of reasons. The concept is one that
has always been defined at the highest level of authority (General
Chapter) to begin with. Up until the 19th General Chapter a sector
tended to be determined by one or other work (schools, technical
schools, oratories, catechetics... ), or was even based in people (past
pupils, cooperators... ). From the 20th General Chapter onwards, an
even more essential factor predominated – aspects and dimensions
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settore
480
settore
of the life and mission of the Salesians which touch on the entire
Congregation.
Thus GC 20, 21, 22 defined effectively six sectors (Youth Ministry,
Formation, Social Communication, Missions, Economy, to which we
need to add the Salesian Family as a sixth), which are represented
by a member of the General Council. If we wanted to think in
terms of a seventh, we would group the Regional Councillors into a
‘sector’, since they respond to an overall concept touching the entire
Congregation which combines elements such as decentralisation
and unity, dialogue, shared responsibility, the inculturation of
the charism in a determined area. Be they ‘sector’ or ‘regional’
councillors, they play an equal part in the General Council.
The Salesian Sisters do not speak of ‘sector’ but of ambito or
‘sphere of activity, field’, but for practical purposes probably best
glossed as ‘sector’ in English.
Usage: Of particular note: the English translation of C. 133 is in
error. It refers to the councillors in charge of ‘special departments’,
thus introducing a terminological and indeed a conceptual
confusion (cf. the note below). The Italian original clearly and
deliberately speaks of settore at this point. The mistranslation of
the Constitutions then led to a continuation of this terminological
confusion in English: the GC25 documents speak of ‘Departmental
Councillors’ e.g. no. 108 and then no. 112 tries to address problem
areas that arise ‘between the various sectors’. Part of the problem is
the very lack of clarity in terminology!
[As background material: cf ‘The Project of Life... ’ pp 910-11].
Cf. also the letter of Fr Martin McPake introducing the English
Translation of the renewed Rule of Life. The original text was
approved by the Apostolic See on 25 November 1984; the translation
was approved by the Rector Major Fr Egidio Vigano on 8th
December 1984. A second edition incorporating several changes
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settore d’animazione pastorale
481
settore d’animazione pastorale
introduced by General Chapters(23,24,25) was presented by the
Rector Major Fr Pascual Chavez on 24 May 2003.]
It is important here to make a clear distinction between ‘sector’
and ‘department’. The ‘sector’ is tied directly to the charism (an
aspect, dimension of), while a ‘department’ is an administrative
necessity. One might expect far more flexibility with the notion
of department – indeed whether one or other department exists
or not) than with a ‘sector’. It might also be said that some care
needs to be taken to see that the subordinate concept of ‘department’
does not, in practice, pretend to be its ‘superordinate’, the ‘sector’.
→ “dicastero”
settore d’animazione pastorale
np. Pastoral animation setting. • Refers to the multiple activities
or educative and pastoral arrangements to be found across all our
works.
By way of summary we can indicate: animating vocation
ministry, especially for apostolic vocations; animating missionary
and various kinds of voluntary work; youth ministry recommendations
with regard to Social Communication. The Salesian mission is also
carried out through certain other significant settings like the Salesian
Youth Movement and various fields of specialised activity at local
or provincial level: services of Christian formation and spiritual
animation, or groups and leadership services in the leisure time
area.
Usage: The choice of the term ‘settore’ (as found in the QdR) is a
poor one. The appropriate term is setting or its equivalent in other
languages (e.g. ambiente in Italian). The argument behind the choice
of 'pastoral animation setting' is that settore refers to the educational
and pastoral structures in which the Salesian mission is carried
out. These structures are more or less a finite set, however, a settore
d’animazione pastorale refers to the multiple activities or educative
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sigla
482
SIHM
and pastoral arrangements to be found across all our works. This
is an open set, depending on cultural circumstances and needs.
→ “Quadro di riferimento...”
sigla
n. Abbreviation. • The Italian term sigla covers a broader semantic
range than just ‘abbreviations’ (it can be an acronym, initialism, but
also a leitmotif, theme, or signature in the sense of a personal touch
given to something).
However, its main use in Salesian discourse is the three-letter
abbreviations given to Provinces (AUL, AUS... VIE). Only Provinces
or Vice-provinces have such abbreviations. Neither Regions nor
Delegations are given any official sigla, though at times within
such circumscriptions, people do give them a commonly accepted
abbreviation.
significatività
n. 1. significance, 2. meaningfulness. • Mandated by GC23 as a
criterion for evaluating the value and impact of each Salesian work.
The word had appeared earlier during Team Visits.
Linguistic note: The Italian word, significatività, borrowed from
the world of statistics, refers to statistical significance, but Fr Vecchi
in his comment on the significatività della presenza salesiana, links it
to ‘signs’. The word and its use as a criterion gained currency in
Salesian usage in the six years preceding GC23. Viganò at one point
said that it sums up our global effort at renewal in the Congregation,
to become signs (of God’s love) again for young people.
SIHM
abbrev. SIHM Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
• Founded in Bangkok Thailand 1937 by Bishop Pasotti. Members
of the Salesian Family. → “famiglia salesiana”
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silsila
483
sinodalità
silsila (Arabic: ة‎ ) سلسل
n. [ar] silsila (Arabic: ة‎ سلسل). 1. chain. 2. connection. 3. link. 4.
spiritual genealogy. • Silsila or silsilah, means chain, link, connection
often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be
translated as ‘(religious) order’ or ‘spiritual genealogy’ where one
Sufi Master transfers his khilfat to his spiritual descendant. In Urdu,
Silsila means saga. (Wikipedia).
This term was applied by Fr Sebastiano D’Ambra PIME, the
founder of the Christian-Muslim dialogue movement (1984) to the
dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
The term perfectly fits the aim of the movement. The key word
is ‘DIALOGUE’. Creating a culture of dialogue is the only way to
connect people torn by conflict because of culture and religion.
Planting the culture of dialogue is the only path to peace. In the
mind of the founder, such ‘culture of dialogue’ leading to peace must
necessarily be a spirituality one should embrace. As spirituality it is
a life-in-dialogue with God, with self, with others, and with creation.
These four dimensions of dialogue reminded me of the disharmony
brought about by original sin [Gen 3:8-19], man’s disharmony with
self, with God, with neighbour, and with nature.
Usage: The term may be found in use in the southern Philippines,
in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogue, and in Pakistan, which
comes under the FIS Province.
sinodalità
n. Synodality – the ‘way’, ‘path’ ‘breath’, ‘condition’, ‘key’ for life
in faith – is the modus vivendi et operandi with which the Church
prepares all its members to share responsibility, develops their
charisms and ministries, intensifies their bonds of fraternal love.
• The term ‘synodality’ is missing from the documents of Vatican
II. Why is that? The word is a neologism, the fruit of subsequent
theological reflection. Yet it authentically translates and summarises
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sinodalità
484
sinodalità
the ecclesiology of communion expressed by the Council. In fact,
the Church of the first centuries ordinarily faced the critical issues
it had to deal with as a community by listening to the Spirit.
The renewed ecclesial awareness of the sacramentality of the
episcopate and of collegiality represents a fundamental theological
premise for an adequate theological interpretation of synodality.
Indeed, it makes it possible to see how the concept of synodality
is broader than that of collegiality: while synodality implies the
participation and involvement of the whole People of God in the life
and mission of the Church, collegiality refers to the specific form in
which it is defined through the exercise of the ministry of bishops
cum et sub Petro.
Paul VI introduced the synod to express the unity between
pope and bishops. The bishops who gathered with him would offer
support, advice and symbolise their unity and share in international
responsibility for the Church. Under his successors John Paul II and
Benedict XVI who were much preoccupied with unity of faith in the
face of dissent, the Pope and his administration tightly controlled
the agenda, process and the outcomes of the synod. While calling for
a vibrant church the two popes emphasised the distinctive dignity
and descending teaching authority of pope, bishops and priests.
Upon his election Pope Francis has set out to encourage freedom
and initiative among Catholics. In his own conduct he paid less
attention to issues of authority and doctrine than to outreach to
people at the margins of the church and beyond it. His gift for such
symbolic actions as mixing freely with people, holding off the cuff
press conferences, and visiting prisons and refugee camps, were as
important as his words. He has made synods a crowning symbol
of his vision. He has encouraged participants to speak their mind,
to differ on issues, to consult their people, and to see themselves as
shaping the understanding of faith. They model the proper shape
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sistema preventivo
485
sistema preventivo
of relationships within the church as a whole, which Pope Francis
has described as synodality.
sistema preventivo
np. Preventive system. • ‘An integration of beliefs, attitudes,
actions, interventions, means, methods and structures which have
progressively constituted a characteristic general way of being and
acting, both personal and in community, of Don Bosco, of individual
Salesians and of the Family.’ (Viganò AGC 290, p.10).
Little Treatise on the Preventive System (March-April 1877).
First published by Don Bosco as an appendix to the address
composed in 1875 on the occasion of the dedication of the Salesian
orphanage in Nice (France). It sets forth concepts and principles
that are fundamental in his educational praxis. In spite of the title
‘preventive’, which Don Bosco probably chose in order to situate
his method within a general educational category, this little work
embodies some (not all, by any means) of the insights gained over
many years of experience in education.
If asked to give a brief practical description of the task of the
educator, Don Bosco would have compared it to the task of good
Christian parents with respect to the education of their children.
For at the philosophical and consequent environmental levels,
Don Bosco based his educational method on such an affective
relationship between educator and pupil as may be found in a
good family. This succinctly describes Don Bosco’s way with young
people, no matter in what situation he found them. In effect, the
key ‘operative’ words of the method were familiarity, affection and
trust. → “amorevolezza” “trattatello”
Usage: Often capitalised as Preventive System.
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SMA
486
SMI
SMA
abbrev. Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix. • Congregation of Diocesan
Right founded by Fr M.C.Antony SDB on 13 May 1976, in Tamil
Nadu, to ‘look after poor and abandoned young girls.’ The group
gained membership of the Salesian Family in 2009 (decree 28 July
2009). → “famiglia salesiana”
SMI
abbrev. Sisters of Mary Immaculate. • Religious Congregation of
Diocesan right, founded by Bishop Louis La Ravoire Morrow 12,
December 1948 in Krishnagar, India. They were founded originally
under the name ‘Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate’ in 1922
then refounded as Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help
of Christians but more commonly known as Sisters of Mary
Immaculate.
‘Our Founder gave us the spirituality of St Teresa of the Infant
Jesus, the “little way” of spiritual childhood, and the spirit of
Don Bosco: initiative, practice of the preventive system, penance
expressed as “always upright and smiling.” Fr Egidio Viganò wrote:
“Learning through life and reflection about the encounter between
Don Bosco ‘the Salesian’ and St Teresa ‘the Carmelite’ can be a
common good for all of Don Bosco’s family… It points out that
it is possible and how it can be so for the Salesian charism to be
enriched when it draws values from the ‘little way’ and offers all
Groups in the Family further reason for giving thanks to God for
the inestimable gift that Don Bosco’s spiritual experience represents
for the Church.” What binds us to the Salesian Family most of all is
the person of Don Bosco and his educative system, his love for the
young, charity.’
Admitted to membership of the Salesian Family on 10 June, 1992.
→ “famiglia salesiana”
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società d’allegria
487
società di mutuo soccorso
società d’allegria
np. 1. Society for a Good Time, 2. Happy Times Association. • The
Society for a Good Time was a club of (mostly) teen-age lads. The
founding of this society is preferably to be dated in 1833. In his
Memoirs, however, Don Bosco dates it in 1832. But at this point his
dates are still one year off.
It is in the context of choosing friends, while in Chieri for his
secondary schooling, that the Association came into being. John was
helping companions with their homework, and he quickly found
himself surrounded by a group of youngsters who were attracted
to him, ‘as had been those of Morialdo and Castelnuovo.’ Out of
this group the Society is formed. Its two basic regulations specify
exemplary Christian moral conduct and exemplary performance
of scholastic and religious duties. There’s wholesome fun too, but
it isn’t just a ‘Society for a Good Time.’ John is acknowledged as
‘the leader of a small army,’ and his popularity is such that he is in
demand to provide entertainment and to tutor other students (for a
consideration).
Linguistic note: This term is a good example of how it is often
the case that one should not translate a title literally: ‘Society
of cheerfulness’ would sound corny in English. → “Don Bosco
(santo)” “Chieri”
società di mutuo soccorso
np. 1. mutual aid society, 2. mutual benefit association. • his society
was an association of working youngsters, established within the St
Aloysius Sodality, as insurance against temporary unemployment
or sickness.(Lenti, Don Bosco: History and Spirit, Vol 3.
Members paid an enrolment fee of 1.50 lire and a membership
fee of 5 soldi (1/4 lira) per week. These contributions were built
up as a fund out of which members received benefits in time of
sickness or unemployment. Don Bosco established this society to
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Società Salesiana
488
Società Salesiana
remove working youngsters from the moral and religious dangers
that youngsters encountered in mutual aid societies or workers’
unions in the city.
In 1857 the Mutual Aid Society joined the ‘Adjunct’ Conference
of St Vincent de Paul established at the Oratory). → “Conferenza
di San Vincenzo de Paoli”
Società Salesiana
np. 1. Salesian Society. • ‘Our Congregation is approved... We are
no longer private individuals but a Society, a visible body.’ (BM IX,
26).
A more formal description of an alternative term, ‘Salesians of
Don Bosco’ (rather than a definition, though it contains elements of
such) is found in Constitution 2 of the SDB Constitutions: ‘We, the
Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) form a community of the baptised.
Submissive to the bidding of the Spirit we are resolved to carry out
the Founder’s apostolic plan in a specific form of religious life to
be in the Church signs and bearers of the love of God for young
people, especially those who are poor.’
At Pope Pius IX’s suggestion, Don Bosco, who up until then
(1859), referred to the congregation of St Francis de Sales as
involving both ‘interns’ and ‘externs’, adopted the term ‘Pious
Society of St Francis de Sales’ to describe the ’interns’. The Salesian
Society in that understanding came into being on December 9/18,
1859. We know that Don Bosco’s original concept (in a Rule he
had sketched out and presented to Pius IX in March 1858), was
for a society or congregation which allowed its members to be ‘a
religious for the Church and a free citizen in civil society.’ Even
as late as 1880 he was still claiming that the Salesians were not a
religious congregation but a charitable religious organisation to
help abandoned young people and that the Latin word ‘vow’ might
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sogni
489
sogni
be understood as ‘promise’ in Italian! (Cf. Lenti, Vol 3, Don Bosco
History and Spirit, p. 289).
The founding document of the Salesian Society was drawn up
on December 18, 1859. It is interesting to note that its wording
speaks of ‘a society or congregation...’ Whatever Don Bosco’s real
intentions, thwarted in some ways by his being gradually forced into
the ecclesiastical structure, this new ‘society or congregation’, which
we should really recognise as ‘The Salesian Society’ was distinct
from the ‘Congregation of St Francis de Sales’. → “Pia (Società)”
Usage: There are several variations we can find in literature
referring to the Salesian Society, e.g. Salesian Society of Don Bosco,
Salesian Congregation of St John Bosco...
sogni
n. pl. Dreams. • Some 150 so-called dreams of Don Bosco have been
recorded, some in his own hand, many by those closest to him.
The best-known of Don Bosco's dreams, of course, is the dream
at nine years of age at The Becchi. 2024 saw the 200th anniversary of
this dream and it became the Strenna for that year: “The dream that
makes you dream: a heart that transforms “wolves” into “lambs”.
The following is taken from Fr Arthur Lenti's comments on the
missionary dreams:
Don Bosco's dream narratives may be classified ("typed") on the
basis of definite criteria. Thus, for instance, one may obtain such
a typology on the basis of content (moralistic dreams, predictive
dreams, etc.); on the basis of setting or images (dreams with
country, pastoral setting, urban setting, etc); on the basis of
textual tradition (dream narratives authenticated by Don Bosco,
produced by direct witnesses, etc.); on the basis of their origin or
inspiration, assuming that this could be ascertained (common
dreams, revelatory dreams); and the like. The "typing" criterion
suggested here for Don Bosco's dream narratives is that of their
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solidarietà
490
solidarietà
function-in-society. This criterion responds to two questions
jointly: Whom is the dream addressing? What is its aim?
The adoption of this criterion for classifying the narratives
may appear to question their nature as true dreams (for as
creations of the unconscious, of themselves dreams address
only the dreamer), or to preempt the question of a conscious
narrative interpretation having occurred. This "typing" criterion
merely recognizes the fact that Don Bosco's dream narratives,
as they have come down to us, appear to have been intended
for a certain function-in-society. If such a phenomenon raises
questions as to the true nature of the dream, then it would
have to be separately addressed. (Arthur J. Lenti, Don Bosco's
missionary dreams-images of a worldwide apostolate.) → “Don
Bosco: History and Spirit”
Some of Don Bosco's early dreams: the Dream of the Rose Bower
and the Dream of the Mountain (difficulties, defections, success 1847
and ca. 1862); the Dream of the Wheel of Fortune (five decades of
expansion ca. 1856); the Dream of the Machine and Transparent Wheel,
Part 3 (five decades of expansion 1861). → “memoria salesiana”
“Crònichetta” “cronachette”
Usage: The Italian reference to the “sogno dei nove anni” should
not be translated literally into English as “The dream of nine years”
or “The 9-year dream”, since either of those would indicate a very
long dream! Instead, it can be translated as “The dream at nine years
of age” or even something along the lines of “Don Bosco’s childhood
dream”.
solidarietà
n. Solidarity. • In the broader sense of the term:
(1) General: Community of interests, feelings purposes, or
fellowship that arises from such;
(2) a Christian virtue. It seeks to go beyond itself to total gratuity,
forgiveness, and reconciliation. It leads to a new vision of the unity
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SOSC
491
spedizione missionaria
of humankind, a reflection of God’s triune intimate life (Solicitudo
Rei Socialis no. 40).
Other than the definitions given above, often in practical Salesian
language we find the term used in reference to aid, mostly of the
financial kind, or as represented by NGO, Mission Office activity,
or as a ‘fund’ (e.g. the Rector Major’s Solidarity Fund).
In fact, we find in the ‘Charter of identity’ a helpful description
of Salesian solidarity which is much broader than that of financial
aid:
1. education, which is the highest form of solidarity, conceived of
and realised according to criteria which Salesian assistance suggests.
2. Civil, social and mission voluntary service, much widespread
amongst young people today...
3. Social and political involvement...
→ “fondo di solidarietà”
SOSC
abbrev. Salesian Oblates. Full name, Salesiane Oblate del Sacro Cuore,
or Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart. • Religious Congregation
of Pontifical Right founded by Salesian Bishop Joseph Cognata, the
Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart are a Congregation of active
life with a missionary purpose: ‘the coming of the kingdom of God
in the most needy places.’ They dedicate themselves particularly
to the education of children in pre-schools, and to formation of
youth, particularly in regard to catechetics and helping youth groups
together with the parish priests. “Cognata, Giuseppe (servo di
Dio)”
spedizione missionaria
Missionary expedition. np. • 11 November 1875 saw the small
Salesian Congregation launch itself, with the audacity that only Don
Bosco could give it, on the admirable missionary adventure that he
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spirito di famiglia
492
spirito di famiglia
himself called ‘the greatest undertaking of the Congregation’; on
that day the first group of Salesians left for America.
While many a Congregation has undoubtedly sent out missionary
expeditions in the past, Don Bosco made this an absolutely central
aspect of his charism, so the term ‘missionary expedition’ takes on
a special meaning:
• Salesian Brothers have been a significant feature: “There are
things the priests and clerics cannot do and you will do them”
(Don Bosco). Venerable Blessed Artemides Zatti was one of
them.
• Salesian Sisters, missionaries by nature and vocation, have
always been represented in these expeditions.
• The valuable support of the Salesian Cooperators has been
essential for support.
• In more recent times, involvement of lay people as volunteers.
• And all in the style and with the heart of Don Bosco.
With few exceptions (war time and global calamities), annual
missionary expeditions have been sent out now for more than 150
years. → “missioni” “famiglia salesiana”
spirito di famiglia
np. Family spirit. • The Salesian style of life which had its origins
firstly at The Becchi and then especially at Valdocco from the time
Don Bosco brought his mother there to be with him in his work for
poor children.
For Don Bosco family spirit was the result of familiarity,
family-style relationships and a home-like way of living and working
together. He would say that without familiarity there is no affection,
without affection there is no mutual trust and without mutual trust
there is no personal contact and therefore no education. → “clima
di famiglia”
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spirito salesiano
493
spiritualità giovanile salesiana
spirito salesiano
np. Salesian spirit. • In the letter to the Cooperators the Rector Major
wrote: ‘When the Regulations speak of “Salesian spirit” they are
describing the characteristic features of the Gospel experience tested
in the school of Don Bosco as an original style of life. a synthesis of
criteria of judgment and of methodology of action.’
It is not a conceptual analysis of relationships with God and
one’s neighbour. and neither is it the doctrinal presentation of the
spirituality of a state or ministry, but the description of the spiritual
features which identify the Salesian vocation. AGC 318. 1986, p. 28.
While the primary reference is to the foundational experience
and to the ‘spirit of Don Bosco’, it also includes this spirit as lived and
shared over time in his Family. In fact ‘Salesian spirit’ is a criterion
for membership of the Salesian Family (ASC 304, 1982, p. 61 ff.).
The Constitutions (especially Chapter 2) speak more of ‘Salesian
spirit’ than they do of ‘Salesian spirituality’, since this latter would
seem to deal more with the relationship between the Salesian and
God, while ‘Salesian spirit’ involves not just the Covenant with
God but apostolic consecration, activities of the mission, the life
of communion, practice of the evangelical counsels, formation,
animation, government.
spiritualità giovanile salesiana
np. Salesian Youth Spirituality. • GC23 produced a brief outline of
Salesian Youth Spirituality with its important dimensions of daily
life, encounter and friendship with Christ, gradual introduction to
the life of the Church and a life of service.
The term gained prominence through the work of the 23rd
General Chapter in 1990. It is a spirituality that is also applicable
to adults. Not mentioned explicitly in the GC23 outline, but of
foundational importance, it would seem, is the role played by
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SQM
494
SQM
mutual confidence between the young person and his or her
spiritual guide. → “pastorale giovanile”
Usage: May be capitalised as Salesian Youth Spirituality.
SQM
abbrev. SQM Sisters of the Queenship of Mary. • The Congregation
of the Sisters of the Queenship of Mary (SQM) is a diocesan religious
congregation under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Bangkok.
Founded by Fr Carlo Della Torre sdb in Thailand.
Since the SQM Congregation has had a special link with the
Salesians through the Founder and through the Salesian spirituality
inherited from him, it wishes to continue to receive the formation of
the Salesian priests in order to preserve the spirit of the Founder. The
Sisters were officially welcomed as a group of the Salesian Family
on January 24, 2012, after their separation from the Secular Institute
(DQM... Read on below).
In the year 2000, when the Church invited all Institutes to return
to their own origins, the DQM Institute also reflected on its historical
origin, drawing inspiration from the universal and local Church and
seeking to clarify the lifestyle of those who took their vows. Such a
reflection opened the way to the formation of two different religious
branches: one the Secular Institute called Daughters of the Royalty
of Mary (DQM), while the other is a Religious Institute called the
Congregation of the Sisters of the Queenship of Mary (SQM).
Thus, from 1 to 5 April 2008, a Special General Chapter was
convened to resolve the aforementioned division. The unanimous
decision was to allow each member to live according to his or
her own conscience the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the service of
the Church according to the charism of the Founder. The SDM
Congregation therefore requested official approval of its religious
status so that its early style of life in the form of a Secular
Institute could be officially approved for integration into both the
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Srugi, Simaan
495
Srugi, Simaan
Universal Church and the Local Church. After the correction of
the Constitutions and Regulations according to the directives of
the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, the Congregation also decided to change the name
- both in Thai and in English - from "Daughters of the Royalty of
Mary" (DQM) to "Sisters of the Queenship of Mary" (SQM), to
clarify the separation and to make the distinction clear
The institute has a special relationship with the Salesian
congregation, both through its founder and through the spirit
handed down to its members. The institute recognises the Rector
Major as successor of Don Bosco, as the father and leader of the
entire Salesian Family. → “DQM” “Della Torre, Carlo (servo di
Dio)” “famiglia salesiana”
Srugi, Sim‘ān (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Simon Srugi • The Venerable Simon Srugi, a
Palestianian Arab born, as was Jesus, in Nazareth, but who then
lived his entire Salesian life at Betgamal southwest of Jerusalem, is a
clear invitation to reawaken in the Church the precious vocation of
the consecrated lay person. At times today this is a misunderstood
vocation, one that could find its original evangelical perspective in
figures such as Simon Srugi. The gift of the lay vocation and the
gift of consecration come together in a unique movement of love for
God and neighbour, and all this in the simplicity and humility that
really does speak of the Gospel to today’s world.
Simon Srugi is a model for the Christians of the Middle East, the
“good Samaritan” of our times who teaches us that the presence
of Christ’s disciples will be significant only if based on deep faith,
if it grows through a serious commitment to communion and is
expressed in a simple but constant witness of practical charity. It
is significant to see how this saint speaks to us, today’s people: the
son of a family of refugees, of a persecuted people, the history of
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SSCS
496
SSCS
whose family is an intertwining of rites, poverty, orphans, people
who found themselves living amidst wars and guerilla skirmishes.
He speaks, through his life, to so many Christians who experience
similar situations: “I am one of you”.
Srugi’s fraternity extends beyond his community to embrace the
people, mostly Muslims, who flocked to him. This is a well known
fact, but its full significance must not escape us: in a land where there
is usually no love lost between Arab Christians and Muslim, here is
Srugi, an Arab Christian, who not only loves his Muslim neighbours
but is in turn loved and appreciated by them. Here is a Salesian who
knew how to make himself loved, and whose people knew he loved
them. In his own simple but unmistakable way, Simon Srugi lived
the universal fraternity that Pope Francis is pushing so hard. And
like his fellow citizen Jesus, he revealed the merciful face of the
Father to all, even to those unable to call God Father.
02.04.1993: with the decree on the heroic nature of his virtues,
approved by Pope John-Paul II, he was recognised as Venerable.
Two excellent studies on the life of Simon Srugi, and the
community at Betgamal, are available in the ‘Salesian Holiness’
section of SDL. sdl.sdb.org → “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
SSCS
abbrev. Sistema Salesiano di Comunicazione Sociale. SSCS Salesian Social
Communication System.• An integrated and unified communication
project. (Fr Martinelli to Salesian Bulletin editors, 1998).
The SSCS is also a book, first produced in 2005 by the Department
of Social Communication, Rome.
The term ‘system’ was used by Fr Vecchi (2000) to call attention
to the pervasive aspect of Social Communication throughout
Salesian presence: ‘Our communities, our works and activities, to
which we give rise like every institution, become part of a much
wider system of communication... ’ → “comunicazione sociale”
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stemma
497
stemma
stemma
n. Coat of arms. • The Salesian Coat of Arms (not to be confused
with the Logo), designed by Professor Boidi, appeared for the first
time in a circular letter of Don Bosco on 8 December 1885.
Up to the year 1884 the Salesian Congregation, unlike other
religious families, had no official coat of arms of its own. However a
seal was used on official documents and letters before Don Bosco’s
letter of 1885 mentioned above. This seal was a round die one-inch
and a quarter in diameter. The figure of St Francis of Sales (bust
in frontal view) appeared at the centre, framed round by two
laurel branches joined at the bottom. Above the figure, around the
rim, were the words, ‘Salesiana Societas.’ Beneath the figure, also
around the rim, a text read, ‘Discite a me quia mitis sum’ [Learn
of me, for I am meek” (Mt 11:29) – here applied to St Francis de
Sales]. In 1884 a proper coat of arms was devised. A preliminary
sketch was submitted to the Superior Chapter (General Council)
by Father Anthony Sala on September 12, 1884. Fr. Sala was the
Society’s financial administrator and was at the time supervising the
building of the church of the Sacred Heart and connected boarding
school in Rome. The move was prompted by a suggestion from
the ecclesiastical authorities there. It was thought appropriate and
important that the Salesian coat of arms should appear between
those of Pius IX and Leo XIII, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
The original sketch itself was the work of Professor Boidi. It
showed a shield on which the escutcheon or field was divided
vertically by a large anchor. At the anchor’s right (the viewer’s left)
stood the bust of St Francis of Sales, lit by rays from above, and at
its left stood a flaming heart. Below the anchor was a wood with
snow-capped mountains visible in the background. Two branches
of palm and laurel with stems entwined at the bottom framed the
oval shield. At the very bottom a waving streamer bore the legend,
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strenna
498
Stuchlý Ignacy
Sinite parvulos venire ad me (Allow little children to come to me [Mt
19:14; Mk 10:14; Lk 18:16]).
When the matter was taken up in the Superior Chapter the motto,
‘Let little children come to me’, was quickly set aside as already in
use by others. Father Giulio Barberis, Catechist General, suggested
that it be changed to ‘Temperance and Work’, Father Celestino
Durando, Prefect General of Studies, would have preferred Maria,
Auxilium Christianorum, ora pro nobis. Don Bosco ended the debate
by saying, ‘A motto was already adopted in the very early days
of my work while I was still attending the Convitto Ecclesiastico
(Pastoral Institute) and visiting the prisons – Da mihi animas, cetera
tolle.’ Everybody agreed and applauded, and the historic motto was
adopted. → “da mihi animas cetera tolle” “logo”
strenna
n. Strenna. • A gift given to relatives, friends, acquaintances, or a
firm’s gift to clients or employees for the New Year.
A Salesian tradition from Don Bosco himself whereby the Rector
Major offers a ‘gift’ by way of a word or two for the New Year. These
days it is usually an ecclesial comment in a sentence or two followed
up by a commentary traditionally given to the FMAs on New Year’s
Eve.
Usage: It should not be translated as a ‘motto’ or ‘slogan’, since
this misses the ‘New Year gift’ aspect of the original term. It is also
seen by the Rector Major as a proposed plan of action for the Salesian
Family during the coming year. → “Rettor Maggiore”
Stuchlý Ignacy (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Ignatius Stuchly. • Salesian Priest. Declared
Venerable: 22 December 2020.
Ignatius Stuchlý was born on 14 December 1869 in the village
of Bolesław in Upper Silesia. His parents, who lived on a farm, had
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Stuchlý Ignacy
499
Stuchlý Ignacy
unshakeable faith at a time when Catholics were exposed to harsh
reprisals. Young Ignatius drank in this atmosphere of courageous
faith. From his early primary school years he had heard his excellent
teacher, Jan Kolibaj, speaking about the priesthood and felt its first
fascination. The dream became reality at just 22 years of age when
he was directed to the Salesians. It was Fr Rua, Don Bosco's first
successor, who called him to Turin. On 25 August 1895 he began his
novitiate at Ivrea. His burning desire was to leave for the missions
and was studying for this, along with philosophy and agriculture,
but Fr Rua told him one day, enigmatically: “Your mission will be
in the North!”
Thus a series of different stages began for Ignatius reaching what
amounted to a forced march one could say. First of all he was sent
to Gorizia, a city which belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire
at the time. He taught the boarders at the secondary school there
while studying theology at the same time. Combined with his study
were a considerable number of other roles, including following up
the building works at the house. In 1901 he was ordained priest.
While maintaining his many tasks, people began speaking of
him as a spiritual director; he became a much sought-after confessor,
especially for pilgrims coming to Gorizia's Sacede Mount. In 1910
he was sent to Ljubljana (Slovenia). Here too he had to follow up
the building of the church of Mary Help of Christians that had
been interrupted due to financial problems. They were difficult
times: he had to provide food for many youngsters, support the
novitiate at Radna. As a good financial manager he succeeded with
all this, including the completion of the Shrine. And to provide his
youngsters with what they needed, he did not hesitate to beg.
He was already beginning to enjoy a life mainly spent among the
young when he was called to Turin for a new obedience. He was one
of the few original Czech confreres. The superiors intended to send
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Stuchlý Ignacy
500
Stuchlý Ignacy
him to Perosa Argentina to open a work on behalf of aspirants from
Bohemia and Moravia. He spent three years there in a circumstance
of considerable poverty, but he never seemed too concerned and was
in especially good humour when among the boys. It then became
necessary for these boys to be transferred back to their own country.
Again it was Fr Ignatius who was put in charge of this. Therefore he
left for Fryšták (in the Czech Republic) where a house belonging to
the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception had been made available
for this purpose. Fr Ignatius was the rector there for six years.
A good influx of vocations drove the superiors to make
Czechoslovakia a province in its own right. Fr Stuchlý became its
first Provincial. This was 1935. The fledgling province flourished in
just a few years: four years later there were around 400 confreres.
When the Czechoslovakian province spit into two (Slovakia and
Bohemia-Moravia) Fr Stuchlý continued to be responsible for the
latter.
After annexing Bohemia and Moravia to Nazi Germany and
making Slovakia a vassal state, Hitler ordered the invasion of
Poland on 1 September 1939, thus starting World War II. Dreadful
years followed: houses confiscated, Salesians sent to forced labour.
“Granddad” (as Fr Ignatius was known by now) was the safe point
of reference amid the general disarray, strengthening the confreres'
faith and hope and carrying out works of charity among the weak.
With the war over, seventy-year-old Fr Stuchlý asked that he be
replaced, but obedience once again entrusted him with the difficult
management of the post-war period. And it was a true rebirth: the
aspirantate, novitiate, and studentates of philosophy and theology
were opened.
He was almost eighty when they finally gave him a successor.
He was then able to retire to his beloved house at Fryšták where he
dedicated himself to the ministry of confessions. The storm began
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studentato
501
studia di farti amare
once more: for him and for society. In 1950 he had a stroke that put
him in need of constant assistance by the confreres. The same year
the new masters, the Soviets, made their presence felt, installing
government commissioners in every Salesian house. our patriarch
had reached the peak of his Calvary, daily watching everything he
had set up being destroyed: it was a destruction he had foretold
many years before. Many confreres were deported. He himself
ended up in a rest home for the elderly, first in Zlín then in Lukov.
Despite the storm, he remained calm. A second stroke, however,
claimed his life: this was on 17 January 1953. His body lies in Fryšták
where it is the goal of continuous visits from confreres and the
people. → “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
studentato
n. 1. studentate 2. house of studies. • A formation community
having its own study centre (Ratio 2000, 168). → “formazione”
“centro di studio”
studia di farti amare
vp. Strive to make yourself loved.• This evocative phrase was
written by Don Bosco in 1863 in a memorandum which he gave to
Fr Rua when sending him to be the first rector at Mirabello: “Since I
cannot always be at your side... I write as a loving father who opens
his heart to a most dear son” and he gave him various pieces of
advice, amongst which the phrase "strive to make yourself loved".
The new “Rite of Religious Profession” for our Society envisages
the bestowal of a special symbol of Salesian consecration. This comes
in the form of a medal which has an image of the Good Shepherd
carrying a sheep on his shoulders on one side, and the expression
"Studia di farti amare" on the other. → “amorevolezza”
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Świerc, Jan
502
Świerc, Jan
Świerc, Jan (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Jan Świerc and 8 companions,
martyrs. • Martyrs. Diocesan Inquiry opened 17 September 2003,
closed 24 May 2011.
The Servants of God Jan Świerc and 8 companions, priests
and members of the Salesian Congregation, are part of the second
group of Polish martyrs from the Second World War, victims of
Nazism. The group numbers 122 individuals in all, including priests,
religious and lay people. The head of the group is Servant of God
Fr Antoni Henryk Szuman.
Świerc
Jan Świerc was born in Królewska Huta (Upper Silesia) on 29
April 1877 to Mateusz Świerc and Franciszka Rother. News of Don
Bosco and his works had arrived in Upper Silesia some years before,
especially regarding the Salesian institute at Valsalice (Turin) that
also accepted young Poles who wanted to become priests. In 1894
he went to Valsalice where he did his secondary schooling. He
made his novitiate in Ivrea, and studied philosophy and theology in
Turin, while also fulfilling the role of secretary to the Rector Major
for Polish translation. He was ordained priest in Turin on 6 June
1903 by Cardinal Agostino Richelmy. After returning to Poland he
began his educational work, showing much care and diligence and
proving his excellent abilities and religious virtues. He became
the rector of various Salesian works: Oświęcim, Krakow at the
Lubomirski institute, Przemyśl, then again in Oświęcim, a second
time in Przemyśl, then Leopoli and finally at Dębniki in Krakow.
He was always a provincial councillor throughout that time. An
exemplary Salesian who loved the Congregation and Don Bosco,
he showed that he had the authentic Salesian spirit. endowed with
considerable ability he proved to be a man of great prudence who
was entrusted with many delicate and difficult matters.
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Świerc, Jan
503
Świerc, Jan
On 23 May 1941, while he was the rector and parish priest of the
house at Dębniki in Krakow, he was arrested with other confreres
by the Gestapo and taken to the prison in Krakow. He was then
moved from there at the end of June to the concentration camp in
Oświęcim. An eye witness said: “They were taken in chains from
the Montelupich prison in Krakow, in a truck carrying Jews, on
26 June 1941. There were 12 of them. Out on the parade ground
their chains were loosened, and after being beaten till they bled
they were sent together with the Jews to the so-called ‘punishment
camp’ in the ‘death block’ in the concentration camp in Oświęcim.
The block commander interrogated each of the new arrivals. The
first to be interrogated was Fr Świerc: ‘What is your trade?’ At the
reply: ‘Catholic priest’, snorting with anger he kicked him in the
stomach twice with his boots and whipped him in the face with
his whip until the blood ran. Meanwhile, enraged and cursing
he cried: ‘You priest, you thief! Scoundrel! You're a fraud!... You
will die like all the other pig dogs! The only hope for you is the
crematorium.’ The following day they were all at work, although
exhausted, famished, and almost choking from the nauseating smell
of the smoke from burning bodies coming from the crematorium
chimney. The ‘punishment group’ had to work in the gravel pit
behind the kitchen. Priests and Jews were separated and under
special vigilance by their sadistic superintendents or kapos as they
were called. Each was given a wheelbarrow, a shovel and pick-axe
... They had to split rocks with the pick-axe, load them onto the
wheelbarrow then wheel them to an eight metre deep pit. This had
to be done on the run. This was overseen by the kapos who had
strong sticks which they used without pity, and they vented their
spleen particularly on the priests whose hands after a while were
covered in blisters and wounds and whose legs could no longer hold
them up. A first stumble and Fr Świerc fell. ‘Ah! You don't want to
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Świerc, Jan
504
Świerc, Jan
work’ the kapo shouted. ‘I'll help you immediately.’ And he beat
him over the head and shoulders with his huge stick. Poor Fr Świerc
got up and with his remaining strength pushed the wheelbarrow
into the pit, collapsing with exhaustion. The kapo forced him to
get up by kicking him. This brutal game went on for about two
hours. The Servant of God could not take it any longer. Shaking,
he raised his eyes to heaven and exclaimed with every stroke of the
stick, ‘My Jesus! My Jesus!’ The kapo became enraged and shouted:
‘I'll show you Jesus. There is no God! He will not rescue you from
my claws!‘ And spewing obscenities, all of a sudden he hit him so
strongly in the face that one eye came out of its socket and his face
was bleeding. He broke his teeth with a second blow and split his
right cheek. It was truly pitiful to see poor Fr Świerc so horribly
butchered, dripping with blood. All you could hear were his weak
sobs: ‘My Jesus! My Jesus, mercy!’ One last time he raised his head
in our direction and towards his beloved college dominated by the
statue of the Holy Redeemer, which could be seen from the camp,
and gave it one final salute. Infuriated, the kapo decided to give the
final blow to his first priestly victim for the day: he lifted him up and
then with all his strength threw him against the wheelbarrow full of
huge rocks. The blow was so terrible that it broke Fr Jan's back and
his head swung from the wheelbarrow. To finish him off the guard
smashed his head with a huge stone. ‘What a master stroke’ echoed
from the shouts and laughter of the group of soldiers who couldn't
get enough of the macabre scene.” Fr Świerc was dead! His still
warm body was loaded onto a wheelbarrow and thrown into the
crematorium, while his soul flew to receive the palm of martyrdom.
It was 27 June 1941. Fr Świerc was 64 years of age, 42 of religious
profession and 38 of priesthood.
The remaining members of the group all died in similar
circumstances, after extreme torture.
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SYA
505
SYA
Ignacy Dobiasz
Franciszek Harazim
Kasimierz Wojciechowski
Ignacy Antonowicz
Ludwig Mroczek
Karol Golda
Vladimir Szembek
Franciszek Miśka
→ “martirio” “santità salesiana”
SYA
abbrev. Salesian Youth Assistants. • SYA Nature and Rationale
Document (2019): The SYA is a group of single young men and
women who have spent many years as members and leaders of the
Don Bosco Youth Center in the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady
of Lourdes. They may no longer hold positions of leadership in
their respective youth groups and in the Parish Youth Coordinating
Council (PYCC) but they are still willing to serve the young. They
are still influential contributors, especially in terms of giving advice,
peer-to-peer counseling, and general assistance to various youths,
whether a member of a youth group or not. They still serve the
young but in a more inclusive and mature way.
The group was formed in September 2018. The first few members
were only six but eventually three more were added. Soon the
members elected their officers. They were officially installed, and
consequently recognised as an official parish organisation, during
the 6:00 PM mass of 27 January 2019, a Sunday. The founding of
the group is not just to offer these former leaders an opportunity
to continue their service but also to introduce them to the Salesian
Family. By becoming members of the SYA they are included in the
Salesian Family as Past Pupils under Bro. Louie D. Domasian, SDB
insofar as they have been under the Salesian system of education
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SYA
506
SYA
in the youth center environment. This makes them truly Salesian
pupils under the Salesian way of education.
The group may also be considered a ‘bridge that connects Youth
Ministry to the Salesian Family.’ → “pastorale giovanile” “famiglia
salesiana”
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teatrino
507
testamentino
T
teatrino
np. Little theatre. • Little theatre, especially puppets... for children.
The term is both a common one in Italian (e.g. ‘puppet show’)
and a rather special one in Salesian history for the importance
Don Bosco gave it in his educational approach. He often referred
to and in fact encouraged teatrino in contrast to teatro, possibly
because he considered the large scale theatre as too worldly. This
would be consistent with his view (from first meeting Cafasso
as a young seminarian) that worldly shows are not for the priest
or religious person. His understanding of teatrino, however, was
also conditioned by necessity – especially during the time of the
wandering Oratory, or on the autumn walks.
Usage: Perhaps the term can remain untranslated, since ‘little
theatre’ does not really convey the intentions of Don Bosco, and
there is really no equivalent for it in English. ‘Puppet show’ is
not what he meant. ‘Small dramatic scenes’ would be closer to
his understanding. ‘Skits’ and the like, so typical of youngsters
efforts on stage... but then, we also need to think of the digital age
today and how this concept might be conveyed in video and similar.
→ “Gianduia” “CGS Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali”
territorio
→ False Friends “T”
testamentino
n. Short lecture on the New Testament. • In reference to a practice
begun by Don Bosco: “The work of spiritual formation of his young
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testamentino
508
testamentino
helpers, to be honest, had begun before the foundation of the Society,
right from when Don Bosco had set out to cultivate their clerical
vocation, both through direction of conscience and the weekly
conferences explaining the Gospel (the testamentino).” GIRAUDO
Aldo, Gli esercizi spirituali predicati da don Bosco a Trofarello nel 1869,
in RSS 23 (2013) 97-149.
It seems that this practice began in 1853 when Don Bosco
directed that the Oratory's philosophy and theology students should
memorize ten verses of the New Testament each week in Latin and
recite them at a meeting on Thursdays [a regular school holiday].
This practice later became known as Testamentino, meaning a short
lecture on the New Testament (BM Vol. VI, pp. 109ff.)
We have any number of historical references to this practice
(now no longer pursued, it would seem). For example, Bishop
Costamagna (who had been one of the young helpers referred
to by Giraudo, and had been formed by Don Bosco) stressed the
importance of this practice in the mission lands in South America.
He did so in one of a series of conferences to confreres: “Era voluntad
de D. Bosco que todos los jueves los acólitos dieran de memoria diez
versículos del Nuevo Testamento, comenzando por el Evangelio de S. Juan.
¿Cómo nos resignarérnos los Americanos á privar á nuestras casas de
este tesoro tan grande? ¡Director, mani á la obra! Imitémos á D. Bosco y
consolémos á nuestra querída madre la Congregación! It was Don Bosco's
wish that every Thursday the clerics [los acólitos] recite ten verses
of the New Testament by memory, beginning with the Gospel of
St John. How can we Americans resign ourselves to depriving our
houses of such a great treasure? Rectors, let's get to work! Let us
imitate Don Bosco and console our dear mother the Congregation!”
Costamagna, Conferencias para lo hijos de Don Bosco, Conference III
given at Santiago, 24 March 1897.
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THA Thailand
509
tirocinio
Fr Gianni Caputa, Salesian missionary in the Middle East and
author of ‘Simon Srugi in the History of Betgamāl’ (Jerusalem
2021, sdl.sdb.org) also points to this practice in the Venerable's
Salesian formation: “His interior life and his activity rested on a
solid theological foundation, according to the Catholic piety of the
time, which privileged the sacraments and devotions over the Word
of God, then approached mainly through the episodes of ‘bible
history,’ the Sunday sermons, the catechism and the weekly practice
of the so- called ‘testamentino' that is, the 10 verses that not only the
clerics but also the assistants memorised and recited to the Rector
who gave an explanation of them.” (cf. RUA, Lettere Circolari p. 115).
→ “tirocinio” “Srugi, Sim‘ān (ven)” “RSS”
THA Thailand
abbrev., proper name. THA Thailand Province. • A Salesian Province
in the EAO Region. The Province of St Paul, based in Bangkok.
The first Salesian missionary group arrived in August 1927. One
of the first group, Fr Gaetano Pasotti, was appointed Bishop of
Ratchaburi in 1929. Subsequently, the Salesians were given charge
of Surat Thani diocese which has had a Salesian bishop since 1969
(Bishop Peter Caretto was the first Salesian Bishop of Surat Thani).
→ “AEO” “regione”
tirocinio
n. Practical training. • Throughout the whole period of initial
formation, importance is given not only to study but also to the
pastoral activities of our mission. The practical training period
provides opportunity for a deeper living experience of Salesian
educative and pastoral action. During this time the young confrere
gets practice in the Preventive System, particularly in Salesian
assistance. With the support of the rector and the community he
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titoli di appartenenza
510
titoli di appartenenza
is able to integrate his activity and the fundamental values of his
vocation (C 115).
From the Salesian point of view, this is the most characteristic
phase of initial formation; the model to which it refers is the
experience that Don Bosco lived with the young people of the first
Oratory; it is a time of more intense learning from experience, and
this is the fundamental attitude on which ongoing formation is
based.
Practical training has two objectives:
• growth in the Salesian vocation: the confrere, exercising himself
in the spirit and mission of the Preventive System, develops his
aptitudes and his sense of responsibility (GC21 285) and seeks “to
integrate his activity and the fundamental values of his vocation” (C
115); the preventive system can be lived and applied to its full extent
as a spirituality and means of personal growth; as a style of relating
to other members of the Salesian community; as an educative and
pastoral approach; and above all as a specific way to live out the
mission to young people.
• verification of his vocational suitability through a personal and
community experience of the Salesian mission and in view of his
perpetual profession. → “formazione”.
titoli di appartenenza
np. Titoli di appartenenza alla famiglia salesiana or credentials for
belonging to the Salesian Family. • A first degree of belonging is
that of the Salesians, Salesian Sisters and Salesian Cooperators – the
first three groups founded by Don Bosco and which inherit his work
directly. These three are a reference point for all the other Groups
with regard to spirit, field of mission, apostolic and pedagogical
method and activity.
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TLS
511
TLS
A second degree of belonging involves the many Groups of
consecrated life be they religious or secular, and certain Catholic
Associations founded by Don Bosco’s ‘sons and daughters’.
A third degree of belonging applies to circles which are part of
the vast Salesian movement. They include Friends of Don Bosco, the
Salesian Youth Movement SYM, voluntary service groups which
take their inspiration from the Salesians/Don Bosco, then teachers,
catechists and a whole range of collaborators and co-workers.
The degree of juridical belonging is determined by an official
letter of recognition from the Rector Major in response to a specific
request. → “famiglia salesiana”
TLS Timor-Leste
abbrev., proper name. TLS Timor-Leste Vice-Province. • A Salesian
circumscription (Vice-Province) in the EAO Region. Based in
Comoro, Dili
The young and promising Vice-province of ITM (originally
Indonesia-Timor Leste, Patron St Callistus Caravario, but later
without Indonesia, which became a Vice-province in its own right)
was canonically established by Fr Juan E. Vecchi on June 29, 1998,
almost 60 years after arrival of the first Salesian missionaries in
Timor in 1927. In 1998, ITM no longer existed as a circumscription
but became TLS or the Vice-Province of Timor-Leste.
The Salesians have been in Timor-Leste since 1927 but the
presence was interrupted for about 10 years. In 1946 came the
second missionary expedition to the country, invited by Portuguese
government… to run a technical school in Dili. Then the other
communities were built such as Fuiloro (1946), Baucau (1962),
Fatumaca (1964). At the time, the Congregation in Timor was
dependent on Portugal and was therefore consider as a mission.
Once the Portuguese withdrew from Timor in 1975, the Salesians
become dependent on the Philippines province, which provided
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TR
512
TR
human resources and the opportunity for Salesians from Timor to
receive formation in that province. By 1998, the Salesians in Timor
became autonomous. → “AEO” “regione” “Caravario, Callisto
(santo)”
TR
abbrev. Testimoni del Risorto TR Witnesses to the Resurrection. • Lay
Spiritual Movement. On 8th December 1984 the Easter Project was
born: TR 2000 (Testes Resurrectionis – Acts 1:21) with its own charter.
Thus the TR Movement came about as a place where friends who
shared the same ideal and desire could meet: to experience more
closely in daily life and in the circumstances of each day, the good
news of the Resurrection, as a source of life and happiness.
As a movement it is open to everyone, without limits of age,
culture or origin; those who join have a particular experience of faith
and friendship, and make up a ‘family of families’, where together
they are formed in a culture of life in order to be more effective
wherever the Lord calls them. Fidelity to the Risen Christ, then,
is the basis of TR spirituality and the style of its membership as
expressed in an Easter joy nurtured in the heart, by optimism and
hope, in the service of Christ who is present in the poor. This interior
attitude is at work deep down and sustains people in their difficulties
of real life. Spirit and life of the movement.
The TR Movement (Witnesses to the Resurrection) comprises
local cenacles in various parts of Italy that carry out the inspirational
principles and aims of the movement. These local cenacles are
organised into three divisions: youth, adults, volunteers. The
adult division has within its ranks a group of consecrated lay
women. At national level each division is represented by a National
Coordinator, who refers to the Movement’s General Coordinator.
A notable group, in as far as it takes care of matters of particular
interest, is the youth division.
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transunto
513
Troncatti, Maria
Founder: Fr Sabino Palumbieri SDB. Date admitted to the SF: 25
March 1999. National recognition: by the Permanent Council of CEI
at its meeting on 22-25 September 2008. → “famiglia salesiana”
transunto
[la] n. Transunto, transumptum. Proceedings. • The original acts
(proceedings) of the Diocesan Inquiry into the cause of beatification
and canonisation.
A collection of papers, or a folder which has the seal of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints on it and which contains
the Acts of the Diocesan investigation into the heroic virtues of the
person in question.
Usage: The term is rather specialised and tends to be used more
often in its original form. → “positio” “libellus supplex”
trattatello
n. 1. essay. 2. treatise. • A word not in use in today’s Italian (it stands
for a little trattato) but found in Salesian historical reference to Don
Bosco’s trattatello (essay, small treatise) on the Preventive System.
→ “sistema preventivo”
Troncatti, Maria (beata)
proper name. (Blessed) Maria Troncatti. • Daughter of Mary Help
of Christians. Declared Venerable: 8 November 2008. Beatified: 24
November 2012. Liturgical Celebration: 25 August.
On 25 August 1969, in Sucúa (Ecuador), the small aircraft
that was carrying Sister Maria Troncatti to the city crashed a few
moments after takeoff at the edge of the jungle that had been her
“heartland” for almost half a century, place of her tireless giving of
self among the “Shuar”. Sr Maria had made her final takeoff: one
that would lead her to Paradise! She was 86 years of age thoroughly
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Troncatti, Maria
514
Troncatti, Maria
worn out through her gift of love. She used write: “I am happier
every day about my religious missionary vocation!”
She was born in Corteno Golgi (Brescia) on 16 February 1883.
It was a large family and she grew up happy and busy between
the fields and looking after her younger siblings in the climate
of warmth and affection created by her parents. She regularly
attended parish catechism and the sacraments, and the teenage
Maria matured with a deep Christian sense of things that was open
to a religious vocation. The Salesian Bulletin used come to Corteno
and Maria, with her good sense of Christian values, gave thought
to a religious vocation. Out of obedience to her father and the
parish priest, however, she waited until becoming an adult before
asking to be admitted to the Institute of the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians. She made her first profession in 1908 at Nizza
Monferrato. During the First World War (1915-1918) Sr Maria took
a number of health care courses at Varazze and worked as a nurse
with the Red Cross in the military hospital: an experience that would
prove invaluable during her long missionary work in the Amazon
region of Ecuador.
Following a violent storm, Maria promised Our Lady that if she
saved her life she would leave for the missions. Our Lady heard her
and Sr Maria asked the Mother General to go among the lepers. After
many years of waiting her request to be a missionary was accepted.
Mother General, Caterina Daghero, sent her to the missions in
Ecuador in 1922. She would never return home from there. She spent
three years at Chunchi.
Accompanied by Salesian missionary Bishop Comin and a small
expedition, Sr Maria and another two Sisters entered the Amazon
jungle. Their mission field was the territory belonging to the Shuar,
in the south-eastern part of Ecuador. As soon as they arrived in
Mendez Sr Maria won the respect of the tribe by operating with a
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Troncatti, Maria
515
Troncatti, Maria
pocket knife on the daughter of a chief who had been wounded by
a bullet. The Sisters finally set themselves up on a house on a hill in
Macas, a settler village surrounded by Shuar habitations.
She carried out a difficult work of evangelisation with the other
Sisters amid risks of every kind, including those coming from
animals in the jungle, and the dangerous whirlpools in the rivers
that had to be forded or crossed on fragile bridges of liana vines,
or on the back of the Shuar themselves. Macas, Sevilla Don Bosco,
Sucúa are some of the still flourishing “miracles” wrought by Sr
Maria Troncatti's activity: nurse, surgeon, orthopaedist, dentist and
anaesthetist, but above all catechist and evangeliser, a person with
marvellous resources of faith, patience and love for her brothers
and sisters. Gradually, and through hard work, Sr Maria Troncatti
went out to the huts to look after the sick; she spoke of Christ in
the local language. Her work for the advancement of Shuar women
flourished in hundreds of new Christian families, coming for the first
time from the free personal choice of the young married couples.
She was nicknamed the “Doctor of the Selva”, and fought for human
advancement, especially of the women. The women gradually began
learning to sew, make clothes, keep the house in order; the men
learned to cultivate the land. When the smallpox epidemic spread,
Sr Maria moved from place to place to fight against the disease, to
help and support. She proclaimed and testified to the Father's love
in the Ecuadorian jungle or Selva. She was the “madrecita”, ever
concerned with going out not only to the sick but to all who needed
help and hope. From a simple and poor dispensary she went on
to found a real hospital and trained the nurses herself. She was a
“doctor” for the body and the spirit: while she treated or distributed
medicines, she advised and evangelised. With motherly patience
she listened, fostered communion between the people and taught
forgiveness to both natives and settlers.
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TVET
516
TVET
“One look at the Crucifix gives me life and courage to work”: this
was the certainty of faith that sustained her life. In every activity,
sacrifice or danger she felt sustained by the motherly presence of
Mary Help of Christians. Sr Maria's generous missionary work was
expressed through her life given for the evangelisation and human
and social advancement of the Shuar people in the Amazon jungle
in Ecuador. All her work was marked by the demands of fidelity to
God's love. In his name, Sr Maria was transparent understanding
and mercy towards all those in need in body and spirit. Her
dedication also showed a strong love of fidelity to the Church,
which was also expressed in her concern for God's ministers: she
was always ready to help them in the difficulties of the mission.
Her body lies in Sucúa, in the Province of Morona (Ecuador).
One of the missionaries of that time, Fr Giovanni Vigna, left us
with this testimony regarding Sr Maria Troncatti: “She was the very
embodiment of simplicity and evangelical shrewdness. With what
exquisite motherliness does she win hearts! She finds a solution to
every problem which, in the light of the facts, always turns out to be
the best solution. She never forgets that she has to deal with weak
and sinful human beings. I have seen her treat human nature in
all its aspects, even the most miserable: she treats them with the
mastery and kindness that is spontaneous and natural to her. What
surprises me is that in everything and always she has remained
exquisitely the woman. I would say that the more virgin she is, the
more she is a mother.” → “beatificazione” “santità salesiana”
TVET
abbrev. TVET Technical Vocational Education and Training. • In
ASEAN countries there are 41 Don Bosco TVETs and 15 in other
EAO countries – 9 in the Pacific (Oceania), 2 in South Asia (Pakistan)
and 2 in East Asia.
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TVET
517
TVET
Don Bosco Tech ASEAN is the body that coordinates Salesian
Technical Vocational Education and Training Centres in Myanmar,
the Philippines, East Timor, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand
and Vietnam. There are other Don Bosco Tech groups in other
regions: since 2008 DB TECH INDIA, since 2014 DB TECH AFRICA.
The DB TECH ASEAN came into existence in 2019.
There is currently no formally structured DB Tech-Europe, but
it is in the advanced planning stages.
Note that the term may also be written as T-VET. → “formazione
professionale” “VET”, “”
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uffici tecnici
518
umanesimo salesiano
U
uffici tecnici
np. Technical offices. • ‘technical offices’ are referred to rather
than defined in the General Regulations (107): “The members
of the general council in charge of special departments can avail
themselves of the services of technical offices and consultant boards
in carrying out the duties confided to them”. For example, the
Secretary General belongs to and makes use of the ufficio giuridico
and the ufficio anagrafico e statistico. → see below.
Ufficio anagrafico e statistico
np. Registry and statistics office. • Does all the work of gathering
and preserving documentation regarding confreres, houses and
Provinces in the Congregation.
Usage: Note that there is also an ufficio protocollo or registry office
which links the ufficio anagrafico at the Salesian administrative centre
(Direzione Generale) to the Salesian Central Archives.
Additionally, there is an ufficio giuridico, or ‘juridical office’.
Linguistic note: Some care needs to be exercised in any translation
of the term protocollo in English. Normally it would not be
rendered by ‘protocol’. A protocollo can be a file which registers all
correspondence, for example, or it could be a file number or code
assigned to an item. It is also a term used in reference to a sheet of
foolscap. “protocollo” False Friends “P”
umanesimo salesiano
np. Salesian humanism. • The term is relatively recent in Salesian
SDB writing (though more common in reference to St Francis of
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UPS
519
UPS
Sales) from GC19 onwards after Vat. II and in GC23 (1990) especially
where it speaks of a new humanism. Salesians readily recognise the
Christian humanism of Francis de Sales and of Don Bosco with its
optimism, openness to the world, but its equally strong emphasis
on charity toward human beings. Salesian humanism is a term that
implies everything positive in the life of people, in things, in history.
For the Salesian Sisters it also means a special understanding of
the place of women in the world and in society and in the Salesian
mission.
“Salesian” humanism for Don Bosco meant giving due weight
to all that is positive in the life of individuals, in creation, and in the
events of history. This led him to accept the genuine values present
in the world, especially if pleasing to the young; to place himself in
the flow of culture and of human development in his own times,
encouraging the good and refusing to lament about the evil; wisely
seeking the cooperation of many people, convinced that each one
has gifts that need to be discovered, recognised and put to good
use; believing in the power of education, which provides support
for the young person’s development, and encouraging him or her
to become an upright citizen and a good Christian; and always and
everywhere entrusting himself to the providence of God, perceived
and loved as a Father. → “di Sales, Francesco (santo)”
UPS
abbrev. Università Pontifica Salesiana, Pontifical Salesian University.
• The Pontifical Salesian University has the Rector Major as its
Grand Chancellor.
By his motu proprio Magisterium vitae of 24 May 1973, Paul VI
elevated the Ateneo Salesiano to university status and granted it
the title ‘pontifical‘. Note that the term ‘pontifical’ comes before the
term ‘Salesian’ in English.
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urna
520
urna
urna
n. Casket. • The coffin or container for bodily remains intended for
display purposes.
In Salesian discourse, this term would immediately point to
the glass container, effectively a reliquary, containing the body
of a Salesian Saint such as John Bosco, Dominic Savio, Maria
Mazzarello... It is also a false friend in the sense that if it is
unthinkingly translated as ‘urn’, this is not at all in keeping with
the meaning of the English word ‘urn’ which is a kind of vase, a
receptacle which may hold the ashes of the dead (or of a certain
cricket match!), or liquids such as water or tea. → “Don Bosco
(santo)” → False Friends “U”
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vademecum
521
Valdocco
V
vademecum
[la] n. Handbook. • Name and title of a small-format, often
pocket-sized volume containing a handbook of ideas relating to a
particular subject, and most often to a technique or practical activity.
It may refer to an historical document, the Vademecum, written
for novices by Fr Barberis. This is accepted as part of the Salesian
Tradition. The General Council has its own vademecum or ready
reference describing its various functions for internal use only.
A small booklet containing general procedures, regulations of an
administrative nature.
Valdocco
proper name. 1. Valdocco, 2. The Oratory (St Francis de Sales)
• Valdocco (Valdòch in Piedmontese) is a historic district of the city
of Turin, part of the Aurora district.
It is bounded: to the north, by the Dora Riparia, to the south, by
Corso Regina Margherita (borders with the Quadrilatero Romano),
to the west, by Corso Principe Oddone (borders with San Donato),
to the east, by Via Francesco Cigna (borders with Borgo Dora).
Valdocco has become famous for being the place where St John
Bosco eventually established his Oratory, the mother house of the
Salesians. He initially had use of the Pinardi shed and, from here,
began his work with the boys of the neighbourhood. He later had
the imposing religious complex of the Sanctuary of Mary Help of
Christians built there.
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Valdocco
522
Valdocco
Of course, for Salesians it is much more than all of the above. It
is the heart of the Salesian charism, of Salesian memory, something
Pope Francis has terms the ‘Valdocco option’.
One important place in the Salesian complex at Valdocco, also
hinting at the origins of the word Valdocco itself is the chapel
dedicated to the Virgin, commonly called the “Chapel of the
Apparition” recalling a dream of Don Bosco's in 1845: “It seemed to
me that I was in a great plain of a vast number of young people. I saw
myself next to a Lady who told me: ‘In this place, where the glorious
martyrs of Turin, Avventor, Solutor and Octavius suffered their
martyrdom, on these clods that were bathed and sanctified by their
blood, I want God to be honoured in a very special way.' In saying
this, she put her foot forward to the place where the martyrdom
occurred, and she pointed it out to me.” That place is now indicated
on the floor by a golden metal cross.
Linguistic note: Tradition has it that the name derives from
the Latin vallis occisorum (valley of the slain) because capital
punishment was carried out in this area. Other, simpler hypotheses
would instead link the name to vallis occidentalis (west of Turin), or
occitanis, in reference to the nearby Occitan valleys.
In particular, it is not clear whether already at the time of the
colony of the ancient Romans, the western part of the castrum of
the Quadrilatero Romano beyond the walls of the so-called "Porta
Segusina" (near the current Piazza Savoia), was used for executions,
but it was certainly used as a necropolis. In more recent times, more
precisely from 1821 to 1835, the hangings of the condemned were
carried out in this area in the current small square of Via Carlo
Ignazio Giulio, while from 1835 to 1852 they were carried out at the
confluence of the current Corso Valdocco - Via Cigna - Corso Regina
Margherita, a small square that over the years became sadly famous
to the inhabitants of Turin with the dialectal nickname of Rondò
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Valsé Pantellini, Teresa
523
Valsé Pantellini, Teresa
'dla Forca. Those sentenced to death were often followed by a priest
from the Confraternity of Mercy before going to the gallows. In
memory of those events, on the roundabout square at the beginning
of Corso Valdocco, a statue, strongly desired by all prisoners in
Italy in 1961 and made by the sculptor Virgilio Audagna, depicts St
Joseph Cafasso, often nicknamed "the priest of the gallows", in the
act of comforting the condemned. → “Don Bosco (santo)”.
Valsé Pantellini, Teresa (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Teresa Valsé Pantellini. • Daughter of Mary
Help of Christians. Declared Venerable: 12 July 1982.
Teresa Valsé Pantellini was born in Milan on 10 October 1878
to a comfortable well-off family. Her father, Giuseppe Valsé, was
a good Christian and great worker, owner of a number of hotels
in Egypt. It was there that he had married Giuseppina Viglini, a
middle-class citizen of Italian origin. Teresa spent the first years of
her life in Egypt, brought up to love the poor and to always be ready
to help them. In 1882, seeing the signs of xenophobia emerging in the
region, Giuseppe moved the family to Italy for good, first to Milan,
then to Florence. In 1890, Giuseppe died in his own rest home called
the Villa Riposo dei Vescovi di Fiesole, leaving behind his wife and
three children: Italo, the first-born, Teresa and Giuseppina. Under
the kindly but demanding guidance of her mother, Teresa gained a
deeper spirit of prayer, received a careful upbringing in literature
and art, and cultivated her virtues as a human being. On the day of
her First Communion she felt she was called to the religious state
and offered herself to the Lord with deep joy. Her mother moved
the family to Rome to help Italo attend university. Teresa went to
the college run by the Sacre Coeur Sisters and became involved with
the St Vincent de Paul Conferences.
Teresa had long nurtured a deep spiritual life that offered her
a style of behaviour appropriate to her social position, but also
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Valsé Pantellini, Teresa
524
Valsé Pantellini, Teresa
decidedly based on gospel criteria: a preferential love for God
that led her to spend lengthy times in prayer; a strong sensitivity
for the poor whom she remained close to and helped generously;
an outstanding educational sensitivity. She was not lacking in
luxury, comforts and amusements, but secretly her approach was
one of cheerful mortification. Encouraged by her spiritual director,
Monsignor Radini Tedeschi, the future Bishop of Bergamo, Teresa
decided to knock on the door of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians in Rome. She entered the Institute, having to overcome
some severe obstacles including her mother's death: this was on 2
February 1901 and Teresa was 22 years old.
When she decided to become a religious, Teresa wrote to her
brother Italo: “My decision is irrevocable.” She maintained this
attitude forever as well as her choice to “pass unnoticed” which
marked her entire life. She made her religious profession in 1903,
after a valuable period of practical training among the girls at the
oratory in Trastevere. She spent a good part of her religious life in
Rome, at Trastevere, from her novitiate onwards. The Bosco Parrasio
and Via della Lungara houses had an oratory that looked after
the poorest girls of the suburb, young washerwomen who worked
in homes belonging to the wealthy. Sr Teresa was the one in the
community whom the girls loved most. They were charmed by
her smiling, gentle presence. Her health was poor when she began
working in this setting but she did not mind any sacrifice and was
in no way burdened by her past. The poverty was such in the Sisters'
house that they needed to ask for help and even beg for alms. Despite
her repugnance at this, Sr Teresa took up this task too, knocking
at the doors of the same wealthy people she had mixed with years
before. Teresa was a strong woman, completely dedicated to the
poor and ready to defend their rights, especially when some local
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Valsé Pantellini, Teresa
525
Valsé Pantellini, Teresa
inhabitants opposed the work or complained about the girls being
rough and uncouth, so they did not pay them their proper wages.
Following Don Bosco's example, she empathised in practical
terms with the difficult circumstances of the girls entrusted to her
and did everything possible to uplift them culturally and refine their
lifestyle. She gave music lessons, organised theatrical performances,
invented games that interested the girls who were already tired from
their day's heavy work. She was an attentive and discreet person
in community. Sisters who were with her at the time remembered
her as follows: “Sr Teresa took the girls from Tastevere in her stride:
she was able to keep discipline, overlooking their rough ways and
rudeness.” One of the girls spat in her face after she refused her
something. She put up with the gesture to the admiration and
edification of everyone present. Teresa was courteous and delicate
with everyone, always ready to do the humblest and most difficult
of tasks. She ran the laundry and the workshops for the poor girls
cheerfully and in a spirit of sacrifice. She was just as Don Bosco
wanted: extraordinary in ordinary things.
The symptoms of tuberculosis that were becoming ever more
insistent did not stop her progress on the journey to holiness. She
felt that the moment had come to embrace suffering – to love it,
not just accept it – as a gift that united her to the Crucified Lord:
“What you want, Jesus, is what I want too, and I want it as long as
you want it.” Joy and simplicity typical of Mornese, silent sacrifice,
her constant union with God and her filial love for Our Lady were
the strong points of her life project. In April 1907, Sr Teresa was
sent to Piedmont to get better. She had no illusions about this and
knew that her illness was unforgiving. With an incredible sense of
humour she said: “The Lord has helped me and now I am ready
for three things: to die, to remain ill for a long time, to get better.”
Then with a flash of a grin she added: “Well then, I will have got
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Vandor, Jószef
526
Vandor, Jószef
one of the three right, correct?” Her life ended on 3 September 1907
at the Mary Help of Christians house in Turin as she had predicted,
meeting with Jesus whom she had chosen irrevocably.
Teresa Valsé Pantellini: a young woman whose entire life was
one of practical daily availability total given to God and to others
in imitation of the poor and free woman who was the Virgin Mary.
→ “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
Vandor, Jószef (ven)
proper name. (Ven.) Joseph Vandor. • Salesian Priest. Declared
Venerable 20 January 2017.
Joseph Vandor, formerly Jószef Vech, was born in Dorog,
Hungary, on 29 October 1909 to Sebastian Vech and Maria Puchner:
during the years of the rise of Nazism he would change his surname
(of German origin) to “Vandor” (meaning pilgrim or wanderer) to
distance himself from the German context but also to give meaning
to his missionary activity which would take him to Cuba and
Santo Domingo. Since he was a child he had stood out for his
kindness and conciliatory character. His formation began with the
Franciscans from whom he learned a true love of poverty, one he
kept throughout his life. He then told his parish priest, Father Arturo
Pehatsek, of his desire to become a priest and missionary. The parish
priest presented him to the Salesian institute in Peliföldszentkereszt,
where Vandor got to know the Salesians and was struck by Don
Bosco's spirituality and pastoral charity; so much so that in 1927 he
began his novitiate at Szentkereszt, then professed his first vows in
1928 followed by perpetual vows on 13 August 1932. His theological
formation continued in Italy, in Turin, where he was ordained priest
on 5 July 1936 in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.
The same year he was sent as a missionary to Cuba, thus realising
a dream he had secretly nurtured in his heart since he was a small
child: that of proclaiming the Gospel in distant lands. Doing good
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Vandor, Jószef
527
Vandor, Jószef
and being busy saving souls would be his only concern in 40 years of
work in Cuba. He was sent to Guanabacoa, where he remained until
1940 as prefect of studies and in charge of spiritual animation. He
was much loved by the boys, especially the poorest ones to whom he
showed particular Salesian attention. At just 31 years of age he was
appointed rector of the agricultural school at Moca in the Dominican
Republic. For reasons independent of his own will, the school was
handed over to the Government, so he returned to Guanabacoa in
Cuba. He stood out for his wisdom and prudence and in 1943 was
appointed novice master at Matanzas. In 1946 Fr Vandor then went
as administrator to the college of Arts and Trades in Camagüey. In
1948 he became confessor of the community in Santiago de Cuba
and in 1951 confessor and chaplain at the novitiate of the Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians in Peñalver, Havana.
On 9 December 1954 he was at Santa Clara, in charge of the
church of Our Lady of Carmel and also responsible for building
the Rosa Pérez Velasco School of Arts and Trades. He demonstrated
his spirit of poverty and Salesian energy in this situation, thanks to
which, even without a stable place to stay, he was able to guide the
work of repairing the parish residence, the church, and building the
Salesian house. When the school was opened he was appointed as
the rector until 1961 when all schools in Cuba came under the direct
control of the Ministry of Education. He was first rector, then parish
priest of the Church of Our Lady of Carmel where he exercised his
pastoral ministry for twenty-five years, from 1954 until his death.
Thanks to his personality, spirituality and pastoral creativity, he
left a deep impression on the Santa Clara diocese. In particular, Fr
Vandor was a much sought-after spiritual director: his gentleness
and warmth opened the hearts of young and adult alike.
During that time Cuba was in the midst of a civil war. In a
society torn apart by hatred and violence, Father Vandor was a
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Variara, Luigi
528
Variara, Luigi
heroic witness to reconciliation and peace, going out of his way to
console the sick, the wounded and the poor and personally risking
his life to mediate a bloodless surrender. He offered himself as a
mediator for peace between the troops of Che Guevara and those
belonging to Colonel Cornelio Rojas in General Batista's army. The
spoke of him as being “one of the friendliest, most delicate and
noble hearts among the clergy in Villa Clara”. Fr Vandor could be
likened to St Francis de Sales for his patient kindness, his prudent
action, his enlightened wisdom in the spiritual direction of souls,
and to St John Bosco for his apostolic energy, his love for poor young
people, his spirit of faith, serene cheerfulness and cordial manners.
He died on 8 October 1979, following two years of intense suffering
which reduced him to almost complete immobility. Yet his sickbed
became an “altar” and a “confessional”. On the day of his death
many exclaimed: “A saint has died!” The diocesan bishop wrote:
“The Salesian Congregation has lost a son, the diocese an exemplary
priest and the faithful a beloved father.” The secret of his human
and spiritual charm was motivated by his kindness, gentleness,
friendliness. → “venerabile” “santità salesiana”
Variara, Luigi (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Luigi Variara. • Salesian Priest. Declared
Venerable: 2 April 1993. Beatified: 14 April 2002. Liturgical
Celebration: 15 January.
Luigi Variara was born on 15 January 1875 in Viarigi (Asti). Don
Bosco had come to the town in 1856 to preach a mission, and it was
to Don Bosco that Luigi’s father entrusted his son on 1 October 1887,
to take him Valdocco. Don Bosco would die four months later but
the acquaintance that Luigi had with him was enough to affect him
for the rest of his life. He recalled the event as follows: “It was winter
and one afternoon we were playing in the large courtyard at the
oratory when suddenly a cry rose up from all around: ‘Don Bosco,
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Variara, Luigi
529
Variara, Luigi
Don Bosco!’ Instinctively we ran to the point where our good Father
was as they were preparing to take him out for a while in a carriage.
We followed him until he had to get into the vehicle; immediately
we saw Don Bosco surrounded by his beloved crowd of children. I
was desperately trying to get a position where I could see him easily
since I really wanted to get to meet him. I got as close as I could and
just as they were helping him to get into the carriage he turned and
looked at me kindly and his eyes rested on me. I don't know what I
felt at that moment ... it was something I cannot express! That was
one of the happiest days for me; I was sure I had met a saint, and
that this saint had read something in my soul that only God and he
could know.”
He asked to become a Salesian: he entered the novitiate on 17
August 1891 and finished the novitiate year on 2 October 1892 with
perpetual vows that he professed before Don Bosco's first successor,
Blessed Michael Rua, who whispered in his ear: “Variara, non
variare!” (Variara, do not waver!). Luigi completed his Philosophy at
Valsalice where he got to know Venerable Andrew Beltrami. Michael
Unia passed through there in 1894, the famous missionary who had
begun working with lepers at Agua de Dios in Colombia shortly
before this. “How great was my astonishment and joy,” Fr Variara
says “when from among the 188 fellow students who had the same
aspiration, fixing his gaze on me he said, ‘This one is mine.’”
He arrived in Agua de Dios on 6 August 1894. The place had 2,000
inhabitants of whom 800 were lepers. He immersed himself totally
in his mission. Endowed with musical skills he organised a band
that created an atmosphere of festivity in the “City of sorrow”. He
transformed the sadness of the place through Salesian cheerfulness,
with music, theatre, sport and a lifestyle of the Salesian oratory.
He was ordained priest on 24 April 1898 and soon showed
himself to be an excellent spiritual director. Included among his
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530
Variara, Luigi
penitents were members of the Children of Mary association, a
group of some 200 girls many of whom were lepers. The young priest
discovered that a number of them would have wanted to consecrate
themselves to the Lord. This was considered an unrealistic dream
because no Congregation accepted a leper or even a daughter of
lepers. Faced with this fact, the first idea came to him of seeing
young women as consecrated religious, even if they were lepers.
The Congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and
Mary began on 7 May 1905. He was a ‘founder’ given that he was
‘founded’ on full submission to religious obedience and, in a unique
case in the history of the Church, he founded the first religious
community made up of people affected by leprosy or daughters of
leprosy sufferers.
He felt ever more enthusiastic about his mission. He wrote:
“I have never felt so happy being a Salesian as I have this year
and I bless the Lord for having sent me to this place where I have
learned not to allow heaven to be stolen from me.” Ten years had
passed since he arrived in Agua de Dios: a happy decade filled with
achievements. Among these the completion of the “Don Michele
Unia” infant school, that despite delays resulting from the “1000 day
War” was opened on 7 May 1905. However, a time of suffering and
misunderstanding began then for the generous missionary. It would
be a period that lasted for 18 years until his death. He was forced to
leave Agua de Dios. Mosquera, Contratación, Bogotá, Barranquilla
... were all the places he was assigned to by obedience.
In 1921 he was transferred to Táriba, a Venezuelan city on the
border with Colombia. When he arrived there his health began
to decline to a worrying extent. Because of the climate the doctor
advised he be taken to Cúcuta in Colombia. He went there but
his physical state rapidly declined. He died on 1 February 1923
at 48 years of age 24 of priesthood. He died after being subjected
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VDB
531
VDB
to a heavy exile that had prevented him from dedicating himself
fully to the sick and his Institute. But he was able to combine both
unlimited religious obedience and fidelity to the work that the
Lord was asking of him. He submitted to the orders his legitimate
superior had imposed on him and that seemed to lead him away
from God's desired paths. He was buried in Cúcuta. In 1932 his body
was brought to the chapel belonging to his Daughters at Agua de
Dios where it still lies. → “beatificazione” “HH.SS.CC.” “Lozano
Díaz, Anna Maria (serva di Dio)” “santità salesiana”
VDB
abbrev. Volontarie di Don Bosco (Women) Volunteers of Don Bosco.
• A Secular Institute of Pontifical Right. ‘The Don Bosco Volunteers,
in response to the Lord’s call, seek to integrate in their lives three
characteristic elements of their vocation: consecration, secularity,
Salesianity. Fr Viganò described them as “a novel incarnation of the
Salesian spirit of Don Bosco.”’ (from description in The Salesian
Family of Don Bosco 1999).
The institute recognises the Rector Major of the Salesians,
successor of Don Bosco, as the leader of the Salesian Family. The
institute is structured on three levels: central (General Council),
regional (Regional Council) and local (Local Council). The legal
headquarters are in Rome. Like most members of secular institutes,
the volunteers do not live in community, but live in communion
of life, united by a strong sense of belonging to the institute.
In particular, they find in the group to which they belong, the
best environment in which to put communion into practice. It is
supported financially by the contributions of the volunteers. Because
of its specifically secular nature, it does not have any works of its
own.
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532
Vecchi, Juan Edmundo
The Salesian ecclesiastical assistant offers his priestly ministry to
all levels of the institute, collaborating in the initial and permanent
formation of the volunteers.
The Holy Reserve:
A requirement of the mission of a consecrated secular is to
live unobtrusively. The volunteer does not disclose that she is
consecrated. This permits her to live an ordinary life like other
people. Professing and living the evangelical counsels, the volunteer
expresses her fundamental option for Christ while living in the
world, and with nothing to distinguish her from others. The Women
Volunteers of Don Bosco, responding to the call of the Lord, seek
to integrate in their lives the three characteristic elements of their
vocation: consecration, secularity, Salesian character. Blessed Philip
Rinaldi played a key role in their formation and development.
→ “CDB”
Vecchi, Juan Edmundo
proper name. Fr Juan Edmundo Vecchi. • Rector Major from
1996–2002. Juan Edmundo Vecchi Monti, was born at Viedma
(Argentina) on 23 June 1931, the youngest of seven children of a
family of Italian emigrants who between 1898 and 1906 moved from
Emilia Romagna to Argentina in a period in which many Italians
dreamed of escaping from the poverty of their own country by
finding work and tranquility in foreign parts.
His father, Albino Vecchi, came from Boretto (Reggio Emilia),
and his mother Maria Monti from Montescudo (Forlì). They
became acquainted in Argentina and were married there. Juan
was a nephew of the Blessed Artemide Zatti, a Salesian Brother.
Juan got to know the Salesians in Viedma and decided to follow
a salesian vocation. He made his first vows at Fortín Mercedes, 29
January 1947, and studied theology at Turin-Crocetta, where he was
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Vecchi, Juan Edmundo
ordained priest on 1 July 1958. In the same year at Turin he obtained
the licentiate in theology.
On his return to Argentina he was Rector at Viedma from ’65 to
’72. In the same year he began his long service - some 30 years - to the
Congregation as a member of the General Council. From ’72 to ’78
he was Regional Councillor for the Atlantic part of Latin America;
from ’78 to ’90 he was General Councillor for Youth Ministry; from
’90 al ’96 Vicar General; and finally from 20 March 1996 he was the
eighth successor of Don Bosco.
He will be remembered as an innovator in youth pastoral work,
but also for his outstanding gifts of government. He could listen and
give due weight to all suggestions and opinions, and to individual
needs. He had a strong sense of fatherliness and of fidelity to
the founder’s charism, and was moreover a competent leader and
animator of teamwork, sensitive and open to signs of the times.
As Rector Major from the time of the GC24, the Chapter on the
laity, Fr Vecchi always believed in them and kept up a trusting and
sharing relationship with the thousands of lay people who take part
in different ways in Don Bosco’s mission for the service of the young.
Noteworthy too was his post-conciliar sensitivity, in which
he followed his predecessor Fr Egidio Viganò in believing in a
’Church-communion’ and in a ’Church-mission’ for the service of
the poor, in a Congregation incarnate in all cultures and reaching
out to the poorest and most marginalised of every continent. But
as distinct from Fr Viganò, what stands out in Fr Vecchi is the
prominence of the anthropological and educative aspect over the
theological and spiritual, while the latter characteristic remains high
in his personality (cf. his many letters and publications on this
latter aspect). The eighth successor of Don Bosco was also a man of
communication, a pastoral sector in which he firmly believed and
to which he gave strong encouragement.
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Vendrame, Constantino
In the program of his six years as Rector Major, the communication
dimension entered every environment, and found concrete expression,
among other items, in the renewal and relaunching of the 52 editions
of the Salesian Bulletin. → “Rettor Maggiore”
Vendrame, Constantino (servo di Dio)
proper name. (Servant of God) Constantine Vendrame. • Salesian
Priest. Diocesan Inquiry opened 19 August 2006, closed 19 February
2011.
Constantine Vendrame was born on 27 August 1893 at San
Martino di Colle Umberto (Treviso) to Pietro Vendrame and Elena
Fiori, very devout and fervent parents whose example and life of
faith and Christian self-denial instilled a love of work and sacrifice
in the heart of their son. He completed all his secondary schooling
at the diocesan seminary in Ceneda where he was a model for his
fellow students in piety, discipline and his love for study. His love
for the missions led him to join the Salesians, making his novitiate
at the house in Ivrea in 1913. Four long years of military service
followed that tempered his character and prepared him for a tough
life in the missions. On completion of military service he finished
off his study of theology while working in the festive oratories in
Chioggia and Venice. Cardinal Eugenio Tosi ordained him priest on
15 March 1924 in the church of the major seminary in Milan. Three
months later he was destined for the new mission in Assam. On 5
October 1924 he received the missionary cross in Turin at the feet
of Mary Help of Christians. Then came the moment of detachment,
which was very painful for him: “ A violent tearing apart that broke
the last thread, but one that was consoled by a radiant vision of
endless lands and countless peoples to be redeemed, and souls, so
many souls, to save.”
The Salesian presence in Assam was in its beginnings, but
thanks to the enterprise of Bishop Louis Mathias it had developed
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in a surprising manner. What it was missing was the humble
and heroic soldier to place himself at the head of his fellows and
lead them enthusiastically, and the example for carrying out the
plans and ideals of the bishop. This part was reserved for Fr
Constantine Vendrame. “Here in front of us are many huts and
villages, mountains and valleys and rivers. And there are still many
others that we can't see. In every village and hut and in every heart
we have to bring this cross with sacrifice and love.” After 32 years
spent in the Khasi region there was no mountain he had not scaled,
no river he had not waded across and no village he had not entered
to bring the cross to. He dedicated himself immediately to the study
of the local languages. At the end of his first year in India the young
missionary was already parish priest of Shillong parish, the heart of
the Apostolic Prefecture of Assam. After 10 years of work he had the
joy of seeing 8,581 souls and 100 communities there. for some time he
was the only priest looking after the needs of the vast and flourishing
parish of Shillong. He would leave it all and, accompanied by a
catechist, went long distances, walking for days and days to bring
the good news. He had enormous physical resistance but drew his
real strength from his keen faith and union with the Lord. A life of
prayer and sacrifice was the secret of his conquests.
He worked especially in North-East India, constantly visiting the
villages, meeting the people and the children: he made himself one
with them, seeking human contact. He would go into the homes of
the poor and the sick, help them and speak with them, listen to their
stories, and after becoming their friend he would explain the life of
Jesus. He understood the importance women had in Khasi culture.
Always in the vanguard like Don Bosco, he used mass media to
evangelise the villages and projected the life of Jesus in film. Very
many people came to these projections and soon after would ask
for baptism. Fr Vendrame focused on the formation of lay catechists
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who evangelised the communities and accompanied him on his
journeys. As a good Salesian he started up then followed up the
festive oratories; he educated hundreds of children. He brought
Christianity even to Hindus and Muslims and came into contact
with the Evangelical Methodist Church, to the extent that he was
compared with a St Francis Xavier or a St Paul. But he was a very
humble man and one of great prayer. He had a great devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, had two shrines built, one in Mawlai and the
other in Wahiajer. Like Don Bosco, he also had a filial devotion to
Mary Help of Christian whom he always spoke about. He also set
up a group of young women whom he called the “Legion of Mary”
whose task was to visit the poor and the sick and pray for them.
After a brief stay back in Italy, Providence destined him for Jowai.
He left amongst the tears of thousands of faithful he had generated
for Christ. In Jowai he repeated the wonders he had done in Shillong,
but three years later came the war and he was obliged to spend
almost four years in camps in Deoli and Dehradun with another 150
confreres. In 1945, unable to return to his beloved Assam, he offered
to work in an area that was totally different for its climate, language
and customs. As the complete missionary and with the same energy
with which twenty years earlier he had begun in Shillong, he set
to work in Wandiwash. Here it was a case of bringing back the
wayward sheep to the fold. He spent six years in Wandiwash and
completed his mission. In 1951 he returned to Shillong. There was
a district there in the centre of the city, Mawkhar: with his charity,
zeal and spirit of sacrifice, he won everyone over.
His death fitted in with his 33 years of apostolate, and indeed
was its most beautiful crowning. Terrible arthritis with other
complications attacked his spinal cord. He hid this from everyone
and stayed on his feet till the end. “If I go to bed I will never get
up from there.” His purgatory on earth lasted almost three months.
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venerabile
537
venerabile
He could barely move a centimetre without atrocious pain. His bed
became a true pulpit. How much good his words did and his heroic
example! He died on 30 January 1957, on the vigil of the feast of Don
Bosco in the hospital in Dibrugarh, where he himself had asked to
be taken to die far from his people so they would not suffer. He was
so poor that Bishop Marengo, Salesian and also a Servant of God,
had to donate a cassock for him to be buried in at the time of the
funeral rites. → “servo di Dio” “santità salesiana”
venerabile
n. Venerable. • The title 'Venerable' is conferred on those for whom
the Holy Father has recognised their heroic lives and virtue, and
their reputation for holiness, by giving the Congregation for Saints
a mandate to prepare the Decree. This Decree comes from the
members of the Congregation for Saints.
SALESIAN FAMILY MEMBERS DECLARED VENERABLE:
Andrew Beltrami “Beltrami, Andrea (Ven)”
Anthony de Almeida Lustosa “de Almeida Lustosa, Antônio
(Venerabile)”
Attilio Giordani “Giordani, Attilio (ven)”
August Hlond “Hlond, Augustus (ven)”
Augustus Arribat “Arribat, Joseph Augustus (ven)”
Carlo Crespi Croci “Crespi Croci, Carlo (venerabile)”
Dorotea de Chopitea “de Chopitea, Dorotea (ven)”
Francis Convertini “Convertini, Francesco (ven)”
Ignatius Stuchly “Stuchlý Ignacy (ven)”
José Vandor “Vandor, Jószef (ven)”
Joseph Quadrio “Quadrio, Giuseppe (ven)”
Laura Meozzi “Meozzi, Laura (ven)”
Luigi Olivares “Olivares, Luigi (ven)”
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Versiglia, Luigi
538
Versiglia, Luigi
Margaret Occhiena “Mamma Margherita (ven)”
Ottavio Ortiz “Ortiz Arrieta, Ottavio (ven)”
Rudolph Komorek “Komorek, Rudolf (ven)”
Simon Srugi “Srugi, Sim‘ān (ven)”
Stephen Ferrando “Ferrando, Stefano (ven)”
Teresa V. Pantellini “Valsé Pantellini, Teresa (ven)”
Vincent Cimatti “Cimatti, Vincenzo (ven)”
Usage: While the plural is ‘Venerables’ in English, it is often
avoided by rephrasing the sentence where this reference is to be
made, since it is a relatively unfamiliar term in the plural in English.
→ “santità salesiana”
Versiglia, Luigi (santo)
proper name. (St) Aloysius Versiglia. • Salesian bishop, martyr,
saint. Beatified: 15 May 1983. Canonised: 1 October 2000. Liturgical
Celebration: 25 February.
In 1885, St John Bosco revealed to the Salesians who had gathered
at San Benigno Canavese in Piedmont, that he had dreamed about a
crowd of youngsters who had come up to him telling him: “We have
waited so long for you!”; in another dream he saw two large chalices
raised up to heaven, one filled with sweat, the other with blood.
In 1918, when a group of Salesian missions left Valdocco in Turin
for Shiu-Chow in Kwang-tung in China, the Rector Major, Fr Paul
Albera, gave them the chalice he had used for the Golden Jubilee of
his ordination and also of the consecration of the Basilica of Mary
Help of Christians. This valuable and symbolic gift was handed over
to Bishop Versiglia by Fr Sante Garelli. Bishop Versiglia said: “Don
Bosco saw that when we came to China a chalice would be filled
with blood, Salesian work would spread marvellously throughout
this immense population. You are bringing me the chalice our Father
saw: it is up to me to fill it with blood to fulfil the vision.”
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Versiglia, Luigi
Aloysius Versiglia (but more often known as Luigi) was born in
Oliva Gessi in the province of Pavia on 5 June 1873. In 1885, at twelve
years of age, he was accepted to continue his studies at the Salesian
oratory at Valdocco in Turin. The condition he laid down was that
they would not make a priest out of him! But by God’s grace, this
setting that was imbued with fervour and missionary ardour, the
attraction of Don Bosco himself who was now in the final years of
his life, transformed the soul of this boy. In a fleeting encounter in
1887, the saint told him: “Come and see me, I have something to
tell you”; but Don Bosco was unable to speak with Luigi because
soon after he fell sick and died. The young man, however, remained
bound to the figure of Don Bosco so much that in order to respond
to his vocational call, at the end of his studies at Valdocco he made
the request to “remain with Don Bosco”. In his heart he carried
the secret hope that he would be able to be a missionary one day.
He made his first religious vows in the Salesian Congregation at 16
years of age.
He was a model novice at Foglizzo, near Turin, and made his
religious profession on 11 October 1889. While he was studying
philosophy in the studentate at Valsalice, Turin (1889-90), he wrote
to his spiritual director saying that the desire to be a missionary was
growing day by day, but that he feared it might be a vain desire since
he did not have the necessary virtues, and mentioned the ones he
needed to acquire. His ascetic journey began here. Forty years later
it would lead him to the supreme heights of Christian virtue and
charity. It was the arduous achievement of a generous heart and an
iron will, supported by sincere piety and profound humility. These
were the characteristic gifts of his personality.
While attending the Gregorian University in Rome (1890-93)
he combined study with the apostolate among the youngsters at
the Salesian Oratory at the Sacred Heart Oratory (Sacro Cuore),
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with outstanding success in both fields. The boys loved him and
the confreres admired him for his gifts. But in his deep and sincere
humility he maintained that he was the least among his fellow
students and he continued his efforts to gain the virtues needed by
a good missionary. When he had completed his Philosophy degree
(1893) the Superiors entrusted him with the delicate task of teacher
and assistant to the novices at Foglizzo (1893-96). He was a clear
and forthright teacher, an attentive though strict assistant when
needed, an effective moulder of character, but ever an kind, humble,
good friend to all and the most respected among the confreres of
the house.
After his priestly ordination (21 December 1895) he was chosen
as the rector and novice master at the new house in Genzano
near Rome, despite his resistance to this, since he thought he was
incapable of it, being just 23 years of age. He was an excellent
formator of priestly and religious souls for a decade (1896-1905),
respected and loved as a father. Dozens of Salesians testified to the
veneration they had for their dear novice master, and the inhabitants
of Genzano too remembered him for many years. Over these ten
years, Fr Versiglia continued to nurture his keen desire for the
missions, and resuming a practice he had as a youngster he even
took up horse riding again, considering that it could be useful for
missionary life. In the summer of 1905, when the invitation was
offered to him to lead the first group of Salesian missionaries to
go to China, he accepted it enthusiastically as the greatest of gifts,
one that he had asked the Lord for and prepared for with intense
inner work from the time, as a fifteen-year-old, that he had asked to
“remain with Don Bosco”.
Fr Versiglia found a small orphanage in Macao that belonged to
the local bishop. In 12 years of work, with the help of a dozen or so
confreres and on a larger property, he transformed it into a modern
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technical school for 200 boarding students, most of them orphans,
who were then set on the path to trade. In 1911, assisted by another
holy Salesian, Fr Ludovico Olive (who died prematurely at 52 years
of age from the cholera he had contracted during his ministry),
Fr Versiglia began the mission of Heung-shan, a region that lay
between Macao and Canton. His apostolic zeal for the salvation of
souls reached heroic heights among sufferers from bubonic plague
and among lepers.
In 1918 the Holy See entrusted the Salesians with the new
mission of Shiu-Chow in the north of Kwang-tung. Fr Versiglia
was given the task by the Superiors in Turin of organising this
mission with the help of a dozen or so priests sent out from Italy. In
1920 the mission was erected as a Vicariate Apostolic and rumours
soon spread that Fr Versiglia would be the Vicar Apostolic and
be consecrated a bishop. He wrote heart-wrenching letters to the
Superiors in Turin, declaring how absolutely incapable he was and
begging them to relieve him of this burden. Bishop De Guébriant,
however, stated publicly that if the choice were to be made by
popular acclaim, even the tenderest little children would have
acclaimed Fr Versiglia as their father and pastor. He was consecrated
bishop in Canton on 9 January 1921. Taking on an exhausting
pastoral ministry throughout a huge area that lacked roads, Bishop
Versiglia added harsh penances to this, including using a scourge.
In 1926, at the invitation of the superiors in Turin, he took part in
the Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. Some serious surgery kept
him in the United States for a year. When his health allowed, he
busied himself with missionary propaganda, always leaving behind
an extraordinary impression.
On his return to Shiu-Chow the confreres presented him with
something new: the bishop’s house. It was a charming Chinese-style
house, not luxurious, built next to the Don Bosco institute where
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the bishop had always lived in two small rooms that felt every
movement by the 300 pupils at the institute. The new building
seemed luxurious to him and he categorically refused to call it the
bishop’s residence. But he resigned himself to living there so long as
it was actually called “The Missionary House”, where missionaries
could stay who were either ill or passing through or coming for
meetings.
In 12 years of mission from 1918 to 1930, Bishop Versiglia
wrought miracles in a land hostile to Catholics: he set up 55 primary
and secondary mission stations compared to the 18 he had found
there; he ordained 21 priests; he formed 2 lay religious, 15 local
Sisters and 10 foreign ones; he left 31 catechists (18 of them female),
39 teachers (8 female) and 25 seminarians. He converted and
baptised three thousand Christians compared to the 1,479 he found
on his arrival. He built an orphanage, a formation house for female
catechists, and a school for the male catechists; the Don Bosco
Institute, including technical classes, and a teacher’s college for
young men; the Mary Help of Christians Institute for girls; a rest
home for the elderly; a home for illegitimate children; two clinics
and the Missionary House, as he wanted his episcopal residence to
be called. The bishop would stop at nothing, not even in the face of
famine, epidemics, or the defeats that came his way and those of
his collaborators, who were not always rewarded in human terms:
apostasy, slander, those who left, misunderstandings, vilification ...
It was all overcome thanks to constant, intense prayer. Over the years
he dedicated to China, Bishop Versiglia never tired of encouraging
his priests to be in dialogue with the Lord and the Virgin Mary. It is
no coincidence that he kept up a correspondence with the Carmelite
nuns in Florence, asking them for spiritual support.
The political situation in China was not a peaceful one: the new
Chinese Republic, born on 10 October 1911 with General Chang
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Kai-shek, had unified China, defeating the warlords in 1927 who
had tyrannised various regions. But heavy communist infiltration
in the country and the army, supported by Stalin, had convinced the
General to find support from the Right and outlaw the Communists
(April 1927); this brought a renewed civil war. The province of
Shiu-Chow, located between North and South, was a transit or
rest area for various groups who were fighting among themselves
and it was normal to see ransacking, buildings burned, violence,
kidnapping and other crimes. It was also difficult to distinguish,
among these gangs of looters, who were the soldiers on the loose,
the mercenaries, hired killers, or just pirates taking advantage of
the chaos. In those sad times foreigners too risked their lives and
were classified as mere “white devils”. In general the missionaries
were loved by the poor people and Missions became a refuge at
times of looting. The worst ones nevertheless were the pirates who
had regard for no one, and the communist soldiers for whom the
destruction of Christianity was part of their programme. Therefore,
in the movements needed for missionary activity around the various
sparsely spread villages, male and female catechists, female teachers
and girls never set out on a journey unless accompanied by the
missionaries.
Due to the impending danger by land or by river, Bishop
Versiglia had also been unable to visit the Christians in the small
mission of Lin-Chow, consisting of two schools and two hundred
faithful in the devastated city of 40,000 inhabitants, troubled by
civil war. But towards the end of January 1930 he convinced himself
that he needed to go there. Young twenty-six-year-old missionary
Fr Callisto Caravario arrived at the centre in Shiu-Chow in early
February. He was in charge of the mission at Lin-Chow, and would
accompany Bishop Versiglia on the journey.
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They prepared provisions both for the eight day journey and
for the needs of the small mission, and at dawn on 24 February
the group departed by train, made up of Bishop Versiglia, Fr
Caravario, two young teachers who had graduated from the Don
Bosco Institute (one a Christian, the other not), the two sisters of
Maria (21-year-old teacher), and Paola, 16 years of age (who was
letting go of her studies to go back to the family); there was also a
22-year-old catechist, Clara. After an overnight stay at the Salesian
house in Lin-Kong-How, on 25 February they left on the boat going
up the Pak-kong river as far as Lin-Chow; the group was joined
by an elderly female catechist who would be working alongside
the younger Clara, and a then-year-old boy who was going to Fr
Caravario’s school. The large boat was managed by four boatsmen
and as it was going up-river, towards midday they saw some fires
on the riverbank that had been lit by a dozen or so men.
When the boat drew level with the men, the latter indicated they
should stop and come ashore. Aiming rifles and pistols at them they
asked the boatsmen who it was they were transporting, and when
they discovered that it included the bishop and missionary they
said: “You are not allowed to carry anyone without our protection.
The missionaries will have to pay 500 dollars or we will shoot the
lot of you.” The missionaries tried to get them to understand that
they did not have that amount of money, but the pirates jumped
aboard and found the girls who had taken refuge in a kind of hut on
deck; they shouted: “Let’s take their wives away!” The missionaries
answered that they were not their wives but students they were
accompanying as they returned home; meanwhile they tried to block
the entrance to the hut with their bodies. The pirates then threatened
to set fire to the boat, and carried across wood from a nearby boat,
but the wood was green and would not burn immediately. The
missionaries managed to quench the first few flames. Furious, the
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VET
545
VET
pirates grabbed some large branches and beat the two missionaries.
After a few minutes, the fifty-seven-year-old bishop collapsed and
two minutes later also Fr Caravario; at this point the criminals
grabbed the women and dragged them ashore amid their desperate
pleas. The two missionaries too were brought ashore. The boatsmen,
the elderly catechist, the boy and the women’s two brothers were
set free and allowed to go; they then advised the missionaries at
Lin-chow and the authorities who set a squad of soldiers.
Meanwhile the tragedy unfolded on the riverbank. Tied together,
the two missionaries heard each other’s confessions, and encouraged
the three girls to be strong in the faith; then the pirates led them
down a path alongside the Shiu-pin, a small stream flowing into
the Pak-kong, in the Li Thau Tseui area. Bishop Versiglia begged
them: “I am elderly so kill me. But he is a young man, spare him!”
The women, who had been forced to sit in an area near a small
pagoda, heard five rifle shots and ten minutes later the executioners
returned, saying: “These things can’t be explained, we have seen so
many others ... they all feared death. Instead, these two died happy
and all the girls want to do is to die.” It was 25 February 1930. The
girls were dragged up a mountainside, and were at the mercy of the
bandits for five days. On 2 March the soldiers reached the bandits’
hideout, and after a brief exchange of fire the girl were freed and
the men fled. The girls became valuable and credible witnesses of
the martyrdom of the two Salesian missionaries. → “protomartire”
“Caravario, Callisto (santo)”
VET
abbrev. VET Vocational Education and Training. • “Vocational
Education and Training (VET), as a means to foster in particular
vulnerable young people’s social and professional integration, is
a powerful agent of socialization: both initial TVET (I-VET) and
continuing TVET (C-VET) share the dual objective of contributing
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VIA Don Bosco
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VIA Don Bosco
to employability and economic growth, and of responding to
broader societal challenges, promoting social cohesion in particular”
(TOWARDS DB TECH EUROPE: a Don Bosco Network of
Vocational Excellence).
Salesians of Don Bosco Institutions are active today in 134
countries all over the world, including 19 European ones. As
vocational education and training (VET) providers, the Salesians
of Don Bosco, founded as a society by St John Bosco (also known
as “Don Bosco”) in Turin, Italy, in 1859, formally started their
activities in 1870, though Don Bosco himself was able to broker a first
apprenticeship contract for a young person attending his informal
VET courses already in 1852. Nowadays the Salesians’ VET centers
are active in 108 countries, managing about 1845 technical schools
and VET centers addressing more than 1,215,000 direct beneficiaries.
“Salesian VET” refers to this worldwide network of educational and
training institutions, numbering the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDBs)
among the oldest,most long-lasting and widest networks of training
providers in the world. → “TVET” “DB WAVE”
VIA Don Bosco
proper name. VIA Don Bosco. • VIA Don Bosco is a recognised
Belgian NGO that supports educational institutions and youth
employment initiatives in Africa and Latin America. As a Belgian
and Salesian NGO, VIA Don Bosco seeks to contribute to the
realisation of the right to education for disadvantaged young
people and marginalised communities in both the North and the
South of the world. VIA Don Bosco has been in existence for 50
years. Until 2011, the organisation was called DMOS-COMIDE.
2005 – Don Bosco Network (DBN): VIA Don Bosco, under its
former name, became one of the founding fathers of the Don Bosco
Network (DBN), through which European Salesian NGOs join
forces. → “DBN” “ONG” “solidarietà”
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vicario
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Vicuña, Laura
vicario
n. 1. vice-(provincial, rector), 2. Vicar of... • Someone who exercises
authority or substitutes for or represents another person higher up.
In ancient times and the Middle Ages, it was the title for a public
official.
The Vicar of the Rector Major is the first collaborator of the Rector
Major in the government of the Society (Cf. C. 130-132).
Note that vicario, in its wider application, but still associated
with Don Bosco, was the title of the public official responsible for
law and order in Turin. Michele Benso di Cavour was the Vicario of
the city, or City Vicar.
The Salesian vicario is always a priest (since he can take the
place of the RM/Provincial/Rector who will always be a priest. Only
relatively recently (after the renewal of the Constitutions) was the
role of vicario also applied at the local (house) level.
Usage: The Italian term vicario as applied in Salesian government
and animation usually needs to be specified since it applies to three
levels – world level (of the RM), Province level, vice provincial,
and local level (vice rector). In each case the vicario is the first
collaborator of the RM/provincial/rector, and can take his place
when that person is absent or impeded. Currently, the Constitutions
and Regulations (mainly the Regulations) refer to the 'Vicar General'
at world level. A team reviewing the C&R consider that this is not
the best translation, that 'Vicar General' is a diocesan term and
that 'Vicar of the Rector Major' (or 'his Vicar' in context) replace it.
→ False Friends “V”
Vicuña, Laura (beata)
proper name. (Blessed) Laura Vicuña.• Teenager. Declared Venerable:
5 June 1986. Beatified: 3 September 1988. Liturgical Celebration: 22
January.
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Vicuña, Laura
548
Vicuña, Laura
A significant example of holiness in the Salesian Family and as
a result of the work of the Salesian Sisters.
Laura was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1891. Her father was a
soldier. When civil war broke out, her father took Laura and her
mother to another town across the mountains in Argentina so that
they would be safe. Laura’s father died when she was only two years
old.
Laura’s mother, Mercedes, had to find some way to support
Laura and her new baby sister. After working as a cook for several
years, she met a wealthy ranch owner named Manuel Mora. Mora
promised Mercedes that if she came to live with him, he would send
Laura to a boarding school taught by nuns. Mora did not promise
to marry Laura’s mother.
Laura loved school. She was smart and did well. She loved
learning about her faith and spent a great deal of time in prayer.
On the day of her First Communion, she wrote, ‘Oh, my God, I
want to love and serve you all my life’ in her notebook. Some of her
classmates shunned her for her piety.
But her happiness at school turned to worry when she returned
home for a visit. Her mother and Mora were living as a married
couple. Laura knew that this was a sin. She prayed that her mother
would leave Mora and begin to live God’s Commandments again.
Mora stopped paying for her education, but given a scholarship,
Laura returned to school. She told a priest that she wanted
permission to join the convent. Although the priest believed the girl
had a true calling from God, he told her that she was too young and
would have to wait until she was older to make such an important
decision.
As Laura grew older, Mora turned his attention from Mercedes
to her. Laura refused his advances and, angered, Mora beat her badly
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VIE Vietnam
549
VIE Vietnam
in 1904. Weakened from the beating and already in frail health, she
died just a week later at the age of 13.
Seemingly in answer to Laura’s prayer to God, her mother
returned to the Church when her daughter died.
On 3 September 1988, Laura Vicuña was beatified by Pope John
Paul II.
Usage:The term remains in Spanish and works easily in English
that way – but efforts should be made, given the ease of
word-processing and font choice today, to retain the ñ. Beatified
in 1988 at Colle Don Bosco. The event gave rise to another term,
the Hill of the Beatitudes. → “Savio, Domenico (santo)” “”
“beatificazione” “spiritualità giovanile salesiana”
VIE Vietnam
abbrev., proper name. VIE Vietnam Province. • A Salesian Province
in the EAO Region. Based in HCM City (Saigon). The Province of
St John Bosco.
Vietnam now has a North Delegation based in Hanoi. It is a
return to the Salesian roots in Vietnam.
Vietnam is also responsible for the Mongolia Delegation.
Fr Francisque Dupont would be considered as the first Salesian
who had really worked and served the Salesian mission in Vietnam
(before him, Fr. Giovanni Casetta, SDB served as Secretary of
the Apostolic Delegate for Indochina from 1926-1927).This young
French priest, when he came to Vietnam in 1940, was 32 years
old. He had been a young missionary in Japan for five years, but
then, because of the world war, had been mobilized 'sur place'
to the French army. He then was sent to Vietnam to serve as an
interpreter of the French High Command, in dealing with the
Japanese occupying force.
On the feast day of St. Theresa of Lisieux in the year 1952, on the
occasion of the Episcopal consecration of Bishop Paul Seitz MEP, the
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VIDES
550
Viganò, Egidio
first two Salesian missionaries belonging to the Province of China
came to Viet Nam from Hong Kong: Fr Antonio Giacomino, an
Argentinian and Fr Andrej Majcen, a Slovenian. By 1954, Vietnam
was in turmoil with war between the North and the South. Some
Salesians were called back to Hong Kong; but some remained to
bring most of the children of the boy's town to the South. Fr Majcen
was among them. He is recognised as the 'Don Bosco of Vietnam'.
→ “regione” “AEO” “Majcen, Andrej (servo di Dio)”
VIDES
abbrev. VIDES Volontariato Internazionale Donna Educazione Sviluppo.
International Volunteer Movement for Development and the
Education of Women. • International association of youth volunteers
under the auspices of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
(Salesian Sisters) (www.fmaitalia.it) for the advancement of women
– acts on behalf of women, children and disadvantaged people of
both genders, especially in developing nations. → “volontariato”
“VIS”
Viganò, Egidio
proper name. Fr Egidio Viganò. • Rector Major from 1977–1995.
Egidio Viganò was a native of Lombardy, but deeply rooted in
the Latin-American culture because of his long stay in Chile
(1939-1971). Strengthened by culturally significant traditions and a
good theological school (where he was also a teacher), he took part
in Vatican Council II as an expert, bringing to that the pastoral and
educative experiences he had gained overseas along with a scientific
rigour.
As the Superior General of a relevant Religious Institute and of
many other associated groups, he was particularly attentive to the
world’s problems and especially the Third World. He systematically
shared the Bread of the Council with his confreres through detailed
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Viganò, Egidio
551
Viganò, Egidio
letters formulated as proposals of life (in the Church and for the
Church in the charism of Don Bosco). The Pope nominated him as a
Consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Family, for the Pontifical
Council for the Laity, and for the Congregation of Institutes of
Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. He was also a
member of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, of
the preparatory session for the Synod of Bishops of Europe, and a
member too of the Permanent interdepartmental Commission for
a more equal distribution of the clergy. For two years also he was
President of the Union of Superiors General (USG).
Little by little he continued to update himself through his
participation in Medellin, Puebla, Rome and their various Synods,
and also as president of the Union of Superiors General (USG).
Along with two other Superiors General (one Benedictine the other
Jesuit) he was assigned by Pope John Paul II as a member of the
extraordinary Synod on the 20th anniversary of the Council. Because
of this and of other notable experiences and accomplishments, the
period of leadership of Fr E. Viganò brought about in the Salesian
Family that ’sentire cum ecclesia’ and that fidelity to the Pope that
were such noted and important characteristics of Don Bosco. These
characteristics also carried forward in the ecclesial dimension the
renewal ’in fidelity’ to which the Salesian Family was called at the
threshold of the Millennium.
As a member nominated by the Holy Father he took part in
6 Synods of Bishops which were celebrated in Rome from 1980
to 1994, in the special meetings in the Vatican in 1981-1982 with
cardinals, bishops and superiors general concerned with problems
in Central America, while in 1983 he took part in the dialogues
of the superiors general with the Holy Father on problems and
perspectives of Religious Life in the Church. In 1986 he was invited
to preach the annual Retreat to the Pope and the Roman Curia. He
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VIS
552
VIS
gave a particular contribution to the last synod on consecrated life.
Struck down by a tumour, he spent the final months of his life in
suffering.
Fr Viganò will be remembered also as the celebrated author
of numerous publications of spiritual and theological character.
→ “Rettor Maggiore”
VIS
abbrev. Volontariato internazionale per lo sviluppo in English: VIS
(International Volunteer Movement for Development). • A Non-Governmental
Organisation founded in Italy in 1986 under the auspices of the
Salesians in Italy. Present in more than 40 countries around the
world and deals with solidarity and international cooperation.
“Insieme, per un mondo possibile” (Together for a world that is
possible) is the organisation's motto.
The ‘insieme’ (together) indicates the intention to network
throughout Italy, Europe and the rest of the world to improve the
living conditions of children, young people in vulnerable conditions
and their communities, in the conviction that through education
and training they can fight the root causes of extreme poverty.
In terms of international cooperation VIS attempts to:
- guarantee education, instruction and support to the poorest
children, girls and young people; - welcome and guarantee peaceful
growth opportunities for street children, minors who are victims of
violence, former child soldiers;
- promote vocational training, access to employment, social
reintegration of young people; - ensure support for teachers and
educators in their training;
- promote and protect the rights of children, girls and young
people;
- foster the development of local communities and create the
conditions for a real alternative to irregular migration;
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visita (ispettoriale) (straordinaria) 553
visita d’insieme
- promote access to information and training through new
technologies on issues of international cooperation and the
promotion and protection of human rights.
→ “volontariato” “VIDES”
visita (ispettoriale) (straordinaria)
np. (Provincial) (Extraordinary) visitation. • PROVINCIAL VISITATION:
Once a year he (the provincial) will make with particular care the
provincial visitation to each community.
EXTRAORDINARY VISITATION: A six yearly visit to a Province
arranged by the Rector Major (a visit he may make personally) and
normally assigned to a regional or other councillor to conduct in his
name. The delegated ‘visitor’ has the delegated power of jurisdiction
required by the nature of the visit. (Cf. R. 104).
In the case of the Extraordinary Visitation, the person assigned
by the Rector Major to carry this out is known as the ‘Visitor’ or
‘Extraordinary Visitor’. → “ispettoria”
visita d’insieme
np. Team visit. • An initiative that became part of regular practice to
promote ‘the unity of the Congregation as the fruit of communion
and charismatic fidelity’ (GC25, 88).
The term came into being and was developed through the
initiative of the Rector Major from Fr Ricceri’s time. It is not included
in the Salesian code of law, that is, it is not prescribed by the
Constitutions and Regulations.
The Team Visit aims to accomplish:
* an assessment of how the Provinces and Region have
communicated and assimilated GC26 and put it into practice;
* the discovery of basic horizons for the Provinces’ and Regions’
way forward;
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visitatoria
554
vita comune
* the study of one or two topics of particular interest for the
Region.
The aims and objectives of the Team Visit are in fact dependent
on the Rector Major and his Council. → “consiglio”
Usage: The term would normally be capitalised (both words).
visitatoria
n. Vice-province. • C. 158 The vice-province is similar to the
province. It is established when distance, number or other
circumstances require that some houses be detached from one or
more provinces, but the lack of personnel, of financial resources
or some other reason does not warrant the establishment of a new
province.
Usage: The term may be capitalised as Vice-province and may
appear without a hyphen as vice province or Vice province and even
as Viceprovince or viceprovince.
Linguistic note: The superior of a vice province is called ‘superior’,
not ‘provincial’ and certainly not ‘vice provincial’ which is an
entirely different role. → “ispettoria” “delegazione”
vita comune
np. 1. common life, 2. community life, 3. fraternal life in common,
4. fraternal life in community. • Religious institutes are societies in
which the members in accord with their proper law profess public
vows and lead a life of brothers or sisters in common (Canon 607
§2).
‘Common life’ for DB was closely linked to the bonds of fraternal
charity, obedience. It is something practical rather than doctrinal for
him.
Canon Law specifies: “two elements of union and of unity among
the members can be distinguished:
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vita consacrata
555
vita consacrata
– one, the more spiritual: ‘fraternity’ or ‘fraternal communion’,
which arises from hearts animated by charity. It underlines
‘communion of life’ and interpersonal relationships;(13)
– the other, more visible: ‘life in common’ or ‘community life’,
which consists of ‘living in one’s own lawfully constituted religious
house’ and in ‘leading a common life’ through fidelity to the same
norms, taking part in common acts, and collaboration in common
services.” (Can 602, 607)
The core element common across cultures and situations is
‘living and working together’.
Usage: The description ‘community life’ is more a colloquial
reference than an official or even canonical one (the latter refers
to ‘fraternal life in community’ by preference. Thus the term is
seen more as a common, homely expression for a reality which is
integral to religious life, along with its mission and profession of
the evangelical counsels, or vows.
vita consacrata
np. Consecrated life. • ‘Life consecrated through the profession
of the evangelical counsels is a stable form of living in which the
faithful follow Christ more closely under the action of the Holy
Spirit and are totally dedicated to God who is supremely loved. By
a new and special title they are dedicated to seek the perfection of
charity in the service of God’s kingdom for the honour of God, for
the building up of the Church and the salvation of the world. They
are a splendid sign in the Church as they foretell the heavenly glory.’
(Canon 573, 1).
An implication of the definition is specified in the following
canon. The state of persons who profess the evangelical counsels
belongs to the life and holiness of the Church. It is therefore to be
fostered and promoted by everyone in the Church (Canon 574).
This obligation belongs especially to families.
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vita consacrata
556
vita consacrata
In the Church there are many institutes of consecrated life that
differ according to the grace given to them e.g. the intention of the
founders, the nature of the institute, its purpose and spirit and its
sound traditions… (Canon 578) these elements are to be included in
the constitutions of the institute to protect the vocation and identity
of the institute (Canon 587, 1).
The consecrated life by its nature is neither clerical nor lay. If,
by the will of the founder, an institute is governed by clerics and
implies the exercise of sacred orders, it is called clerical. If, by the
will of the founder, the institute is not governed by clerics and does
not imply the exercise of sacred orders, it is called lay (Canon 588).
The institute can be either pontifical or diocesan. It is pontifical
if it has been established by the Apostolic See. It is diocesan if it
has been established by the diocesan Bishop (Canon 589). Each
institute taking into account its special character is to define in its
rule or constitutions how the evangelical counsels and the common
life are to be lived in the institute. (Canons 598-602) For example,
the foundational documents of the community define whether it is
contemplative or apostolic.
Usage: There is often, in common speech, confusion or misuse
of terms in relation to consecrated life. At the 1994 Synod on
consecrated life ( ‘The Consecrated Life and Its Role in the
Church and in the World.’ The word ‘consecrated’ was used in
place of ‘religious’ because it is a broader concept that includes
hermits, virgins, secular institutes, and new forms of consecrated
lay persons who do not live in a religious community), the
Synod members (Cardinal Hume posed seven questions) asked
for clarification. What emerged from this important Synod was
at least this: Consecrated life was seen as an essential aspect of
ecclesial communion. An important and useful distinction was
made between ‘consecration as such’ and various concrete forms
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volontariato
557
volontariato
of consecration. Consecrated life is more than a structure in the
Church; it is a structure of the Church which calls all to holiness.
→ “carisma”
volontariato
n. Voluntary service. • ‘A service of solidarity, made gratuitously
and freely by a young person [but there are older people who offer
themselves and their services in the same way], sent and welcomed
by a community, integrating him/herself into the educative and
pastoral project of a Salesian presence or promoted by it, with
a sufficient continuity of time, motivated by the faith, with the
missionary style and according to the pedagogy and spirituality
of Don Bosco.’ (From the PDMA Manual published in 2018 by the
Missions Department, annex on Salesian Missionary Volunteering).
The four key elements are a) a service of solidarity, b) Freedom, c)
Gratuity, d) Sufficient continuity.
PDMA (Provincial Delegate for Missionary Animation) is a key
reference person for the Volunteer Movement locally.
It is noted that in the Salesian context voluntary service has
developed considerably in recent decades, so much so that some
Salesian works begun in the last 25 years would not be what they
are without the valuable service of the volunteers. At present in the
Salesian world there is a great variety of experiences considered
‘voluntary service.’ It is difficult to make a complete list. We shall
mention some of the more common ones.
The freely given service of leaders, catechists and other
collaborators in the oratories and youth centres and in Salesian
parishes. Some of these provide a full time service while others a
regular but intermittent service.
* Social voluntary service among the poor.
* Voluntary service in educational contexts.
* Voluntary service of a directly evangelising nature.
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VSDB
558
VSDB
* Voluntary service as a specifically vocational form of activity
in a Salesian centre.
* Voluntary service as a vocational choice of life, for an unlimited
period.
* Group experience, normally outside one’s own environment
and for a short time – from two weeks to three months – to carry out
a specific project. Often these experiences are carried out in Salesian
contexts in developing countries.
* Voluntary service for a considerable length of time (about a
year) outside one’s own environment in works in the same Province.
* Voluntary service for a short period of time (three months to a
year) or for a longer period (more than a year) in other countries in
mission territories entrusted to the Congregation.
* Civilian (social) service supported by the State, that can take
the place of military service.
From the variety in this list, to which could be added other
experiences, it can be seen that in different parts of the Salesian
world, not everyone has the same thing in mind when they speak
about ‘Salesian voluntary service.’ For this reason we feel the need
to establish certain criteria for the organisation and the promotion
of this rich and promising phenomenon. As Salesians, we want to
discover these riches, and recognise the challenges, bearing in mind
the current social and ecclesiastical context, within the context of
history and of Salesian values. → “SALVO”, “Cagliero Project”
“pastorale giovanile” → False Friends “V”
VSDB
abbrev. The Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco. • A religious Congregation
of Diocesan Right.
Founder: Bishop Hubert D’Rosario SDB (1919–1994), Bishop
of Shillong (1969–1994). Date of foundation: 31 May 1983.
→ “famiglia salesiana”
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wantok (system)
559
wantok (system)
W
wantok (system)
[tpi] n. Wantok (system). • In Tok Pisin, the ‘lingua franca’ of Papua
New Guinea, wantok means ‘one talk’ – meaning the language of
the tribe or clan that a person belongs to. The Wantok system and
Wantokism make up the traditional welfare system that evolved
around that tribe. It has evolved into an omnipresent approach to
life in Papua New Guinea, and thus affects the lives of Salesian
communities and their work.
And indeed, the PGS Vice Province has adopted the term for its
annual youth gathering, Wantok Don Bosco.
The Wantok system has a significant impact in every area of life
in PNG. wantoks who gain a position of responsibility are expected to
look after their wantoks... whether that be in their own small business
such as a trade store or small workshop, in an existing business, in
the Civil Service or as a politician.
Seen positively, wantokism is a system where people depend
on, care for, and help each other in many aspects of society. While
traditionally family and clan members were obligated to provide
support for each other, the ‘wantok system’ today performs a set
of broader roles. It acts, for example, as form of social security,
whereby families look after their sick or elderly family members. The
wantok system has a set of underlying values for its practices. Three
such values are protection (physical and social), accountability (to
kin) and that allegiance to wantoks outweighs other considerations.
When the wantok system operates well in the village and traditional
society, it helps maintain a community’s well-being, and provides a
form of social glue or strength for the community.
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wantok (system)
560
wantok (system)
In the modern context, the wantok system is now under pressure,
especially in the urban areas. Not only are these social connections
stressed by the concentration and complexity of urban lives, but
the expectations and pressures from wantoks can also lead to
the abuse of office by employees, managers, public servants and
politicians. Often, migrants respond by striving to focus on their
individual family rather than the clan, allowing them to accumulate
wealth away from the bounds of social obligations. Regardless, the
‘wantok system’ is often held to blame (by Papua New Guineans
and outsiders) for a variety of problems within contemporary
life in Papua New Guinea – most prominently corruption and
nepotism but also, as wantoks start placing untenable pressures
on better-off relatives, the breaking down of traditional kinship
relations. → “PGS”
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57.1 Page 561

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561
X
No entries as yet.
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562
Y
No entries as yet.
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Zatti, Artemide
563
Zatti, Artemide
Z
Zatti, Artemide (santo)
proper name. (St) Artemides Zatti. • Salesian Brother. Declared
Venerable: 7 July 1997. Beatified: 14 April 2002. Recognition of
miracle clearing the way for Canonisation: 9 April 2022.
Artemides Zatti was born in Boretto (Reggio Emilia) on October
12, 1880. He experienced difficulties and sacrifices from an early
date. By the age of nine he was already earning his living as a day
labourer. Poverty forced his family to emigrate to Bahia Blanca,
Argentina. Here Artemides began to attend the parish run by the
Salesians and developed great confidence in the Parish Priest, Fr
Carlo Cavalli. Advised to become a Salesian, he was accepted as an
aspirant by Bishop Cagliero and, at the age of 23, entered the house
of Bernal. Among other things, he was entrusted with the care of a
young priest who was suffering from tuberculosis.
Artemides caught the disease. He was sent to the hospital of San
José. While there, the priest, doctor, Fr Evarisio Garrone, followed
him, in a special way. With him, he asked and received the grace of a
cure from Mary Our Help. On his part, he promised to dedicate his
whole life to the care of the sick. He was cured and kept his promise.
At first, he looked after the hospital Pharmacy. After the death of Fr
Garrone, he was totally responsible for the hospital, which became
the scene of his holiness. In 1913 he directed the building of a new
hospital, which later, to his great disappointment, was demolished
in 1941, to make room for the episcopal residence for the new diocese
of Viedma. In 1950, a fall from a stairs forced him to retire. A few
months later he showed symptoms of cancer.
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zelo
564
Zeman, Titus
He died on March 15, 1951. His remains lie in the Salesian Chapel
of Viedma. John Paul II beatified him on April 14, 2002, in Rome.
→ “santo” “santità salesiana”
zelo
n. Zeal.• The Greek term zelos means ardour, the act of emulating
something (or someone). In religious terms it is a strong sense of
ardour, directed to God or for the salvation of souls – in this sense
then we hear it used as applied to Don Bosco. We see phrases in
Salesian discourse such as tireless zeal, the zeal for souls, zeal of the
Da mihi animas. Fr Chávez, following the UISG (Superiors General)
meeting in 2004, began to use the synonymous term ‘passion’ much
more frequently.
Zeman, Titus (beato)
proper name. (Blessed) Titus Zeman. • Salesian priest. Beatified 30
September 2017. Liturgical celebration 8 January.
The story of Titus Zeman is an excellent example of fidelity to
Don Bosco's cause, especially through zeal and love of saving the
vocation of young Salesians when the Communist regime came to
Slovakia and was set up there.
Titus Zeman, a Slovak, was born to a Christian family on 4
January 1915 in Vajnory, near Bratislava. He had wanted to become
a priest since he was ten years old. He completed his secondary
schooling in the Salesian houses in Šaštín, Hronský, Svätý, Benadik,
and Fryštak u Holešova. In 1931 he began the novitiate and made his
perpetual profession on 7 March 1938 at the Sacred Heart institute
in Rome. He was a student of theology at the Gregorian University
in Rome, and then used his free time to carry out an apostolate in
the oratory in Chieri. He reached the much desired goal of priestly
ordination in Turin on 23 June 1940, thanks to the imposition of
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Zeman, Titus
565
Zeman, Titus
hands of Cardinal Maurilio Fossati. He celebrated his first Mass in
Vajnory on 4 August 1940.
On the night of 13 April 1950 the Communist regime in
Czechoslovakia banned all religious orders, soldiers took over
convents and religious houses, deporting men and women religious
to other convents that had been turned into concentration
camps: in Slovakia this dramatic night was called “The night
of the barbarians”. Providence saw that during these months
Fr Zeman was in the diocesan parish of Šenkvice and he
avoided imprisonment. Then came the idea of young Salesian,
Fr Ernest Macák, to get the young clerics illegally across the
Czechoslovak-Austrian border, bringing them to Turin to the
Salesian mother house where they could complete their theological
studies, reach the priesthood and once Communism had fallen (they
hoped quickly), rebuild their country spiritually.
Fr Zeman took up this risky activity: he began preparing the
clandestine passage across the border between Slovakia and Austria
and organised two expeditions for more than 30 young Salesians.
On the third expedition which also included some diocesan priests
persecuted by the regime, he was arrested with most of those in
the group. He was beaten during the interrogations and some of
his teeth were broken. When Fr Zeman experienced the violence
against himself and saw the same happening to the confreres,
he took all responsibility upon himself and blamed himself for
having organised their flight abroad. Regarding this period Fr Titus
said: “When they captured me it was a Via Crucis, a physical and
psychological point of view that I experienced during my initial
imprisonment. In practice it lasted for two years ... I lived in constant
fear that at any moment the door of my cell my open and they would
take me away to the place of execution. Look, this is why my hair has
turned white! If I think back to the unimaginable tortures suffered
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Zeman, Titus
566
Zeman, Titus
during those interrogations, I can tell you sincerely that it still sends
shivers up my spine. They used inhuman methods in beating and
torturing me. For example, they would bring a bucket full of sewage,
dip my head in it and hold it until I started to choke. They would
kick me hard all over my body and beat me with everything. After
one of these blows I became deaf for several days.”
He underwent a harsh trial during which he was described as
a traitor to his country and a Vatican spy, and the attorney general
demanded the death penalty for him. On 22 February 1952, he was
sentenced to ‘only’ 25 years in prison without parole, and branded
as a ‘mukl’, i.e. ‘someone destined for elimination’. He only came
out of prison, on parole and after being excluded from numerous
amnesties, after almost 13 years in prison, on 10 March 1964: his
health was already compromised. He lived with his brother and
worked as a labourer in a textile warehouse. Later he was allowed to
work as a warehouse worker, an occupation he carried out until the
end of his life. He died five years later, on 8 January 1969, surrounded
by a glorious reputation for martyrdom and holiness. He lived his
ordeal with a great spirit of sacrifice and offering: “Even if I lost
my life, I would not consider it wasted, knowing that at least one of
those I helped became a priest instead of me.”
The dedication, courage and sacrifice shown at the highest level
by Fr Tito during his clandestine escape across the border show
that he was a priest who could be described as a martyr for the
salvation of vocations. Unjustly imprisoned, tortured, condemned,
kept in hard labour for 13 years and subsequently always supervised
and prevented from fully carrying out his priestly and educational
vocation, he is an example and model of the pastor, capable of
spending and giving his life for those young people who, in their
hearts and also in their social lives, were prevented from following
Christ more closely. His message: “Always act according to Don
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Ziggiotti, Renato
567
Ziggiotti, Renato
Bosco's model and others will follow you” is still relevant today.
→ “beatificazione” “martirio” “santità salesiana”
Ziggiotti, Renato
proper name. Fr Renato Ziggiotti. • Renato Ziggiotti rose to the top
after an authentic experience of coming up through the ranks as
soldier, then teacher and animator among the young. After his
experience as a General Councillor and Vicar he took up the reins
of the Congregation in the difficult post-war years, spurring it on
to unity by means of a fervent spiritual life and the charism of Don
Bosco.
Fr Ziggiotti was the first Salesian Rector Major after the
generation formed directly in the school of Don Bosco, Founder, and
he saw it as necessary to ‘fall in again’. His service was exceptional.
His postwar period as Rector Major was marked by – other than
the normal activities of government – his extraordinary journeys
around the world that carried him into direct contact with the reality
of the Congregation, helped him to know all of the confreres, gave
him ways to confirm and encourage daring programs.
Above all he spurred the Congregation on to rebuild the unity
of communities which the wartime events had disturbed through
years of separation and segregation. He knew how to rebuild in
democratic style, almost heartily, but no less incisively. If he had the
gift of command that betrayed something of its ‘military’ origins,
it revealed nevertheless a great interiority. He drew life from God,
from the Church, from the Madonna and from Don Bosco. As a
result he lived for his confreres and their mission. So little did he
see himself as important that after the Second Vatican Council –
in which he participated with mind and heart as a true son of
the Church – he humbly retired as superior and withdrew to the
Sanctuary of Don Bosco on the Becchi Hill, as its first Rector, and
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Ziggiotti, Renato
568
Ziggiotti, Renato
then to his beloved Veneto, where he remained until his death.
→ “Rettor Maggiore”
→ “Table of Contents”

57.9 Page 569

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569
False Friends
False Friends
Sometimes an Italian word can be correctly translated by looking
for similarities with English words, but in many cases the word has
a different meaning. False friends are words which look or sound
similar to an English word but differ significantly in meaning. Some
false friends have more than one translation between Italian and
English, and so it is very important to recognise the different possible
meanings of some English words compared to their Italian ‘friend’.
The use of loanwords, too, often results in the use of a word in a
restricted context, which may then develop new meanings not found
in the original language, thus also creating a false friend.
“A” “B” “C” “D” “E” “F” “G” “I” “L” “M” “N”
“O” “P” “Q” “R” “S” “T” “U” “V” “W” “Z”
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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 570
A
Italian
False Friend Comment
abitazione habitation
Mostly means house or residence and
this is how it should be translated. It
could be ‘habitation’ but the English
sense of this is usually something like
insediamento in Italian
accidente accident
Mostly means a stroke or fit, a shock,
or ‘damn! (only if accidenti’. It could
be ‘accident’ but that would normally
be incidente
accomodare
accommodate Means to fix, arrange. ‘To accommodate’
would normally be alloggiare.
Similarly accomodamento is not
accommodation but to come to an
agreement
addetto
addict
Not an addict but an employee! An
addict would be a tossicodipendente or
someone who is preso da (taken up
with) something
addizione addict
Not an addict but addition! See above
for ‘addict’
ad hoc
ad hoc
Means specially made, bespoke. ‘Ad
hoc’ as we use it in English would be
improvvisato
affluente affluent
Means a tributary. ‘Affluent’, as we
use it in English would be ricco
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58 Pages 571-580

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58.1 Page 571

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571
False Friends
Italian
affrontare
agenda
agonia
alimento
annoiare
anticipare
approfittare
appuntare
argomento
arrangiare
False Friend
affront
agenda
agony
ailment
annoy
anticipate
profit
appoint
argument
arrange
Comment
Means to face someone. ‘Affront’
(cause affront) as we use it in English
would be oltraggiare, offendere
Means a diary. ‘Agenda’ as we use it
in English would be l’ordine del giorno
Means death throes, not agony, even
if death throes might involve agony.
‘Agony’ is dolore, angoscia, atroce
Means food or as alimenti means
alimony. ‘Ailment’ is malanno
Means to bore. (To) annoy is
translated as irritare, dar fastidio
Means to bring forward (which is
another meaning of ‘anticipate’) but
normally, ‘anticipate’, in the sense of
foresee, would be prevedere, aspettarsi
Does not mean to profit but to take
advantage of. ‘To profit from/by’ is to
ricavare beneficio da
Not appoint but to pin something
(together) or to point at. ‘Appoint’ is
nominare
Means topic. ‘Argument’ in Italian
would be discussione, litigo
Means to fix, manage. ‘Arrange’ as we
use it in English would be sistemare,
disporre
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58.2 Page 572

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 572
Italian
False Friend Comment
attendere attend
Means to wait for. ‘Attend’ as we use
it in English would be frequentare
attico
attic
Means a penthouse or top-floor flat.
‘Attic’ as we use it in English would
be soffitta
attitudine attitude
Not attitude but aptitude. ‘Attitude’ is
atteggiamento
attuale
actual
Means current (can mean actual).
But ‘actual’ as we most often use it
in English would be effettivo, reale.
Similarly attualità is not ‘actuality’
but refers to, say, a current affairs
program, today's news
avanzo
advance
Means leftover, remains (of food).
‘Advance’ could be avvanzare,
anticipare, avanzata, anticipato
depending on context
avvertimento advertisement Means a warning, notice, caution.
‘Advertisement’ would be annuncio,
inserzione
avviso
advice
Means a notice, a notification.
‘Advice’ would be consiglio
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573
False Friends
B
Italian False Friend Comment
baldo bald
Means courageous. ‘Bald’ is calvo
basamento basement Means a base (e.g. of a bed). A
‘basement’ is a seminterrato
bendare bend
Means to bandage. ‘To bend’ is curvare,
inchinare, piegare
biologico biological Can mean biological, but more likely to
mean organic.
box
box
Afraid not! It is a loan word that has
changed meaning in Italian and means a
garage or parking space. Box is scatola
brace brace
Means embers. alla brace is barbecued.
‘Brace’, depending on context, would be a
rinforzo, sostegno to tenersi forte
bravo brave
Means well done! Clever, good. ‘Brave’ is
coraggioso
brina brine
It refers to hoarfrost. ‘Brine’ would be
acqua salata
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58.4 Page 574

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 574
C
Italian
camera
camping
candido
cantina
carta
casualità
cautione
cava
caldo
False Friend Comment
camera
Means room. ‘Camera’ is macchina
fotografica
camping
It might be an English word, but
Italian often uses the -ing form of
English words as a noun, hence it
means camp site. Instead, ‘camping’
is campeggio
candid
canteen
Means pure, honest. ‘Candid’ is
schietto
Means cellar, basement. ‘Canteen’ is
mensa
card (or cart!) Could mean card (and definitely
not cart) but more often, in a
Salesian context, it will mean charter,
document. ‘Card’ could be tessera,
biglietto, and ‘cart’ would be carro,
carello or carretto
casualty
It means of a chance nature. A
‘casualty’ is a vittima, ferito
caution
Means bail. ‘Caution ’ is cautela
cave
Means pit, quarry. ‘Cave’ would be
caverna
cold
Means the opposite – warm. ‘Cold’ is
freddo, fresco
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58.5 Page 575

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575
False Friends
Italian False Friend Comment
clamoroso clamorous
Means resounding, noisy, or even
sensational. ‘Clamorous’ in the
noisy sense is chiassoso or insistente in
the sense of people clamouring for
something
coda
code
Means tail or queue. ‘Code’ is codice
coerenza coherence
Means consistent (viewpoint).
‘Consistent, consistency’ as in texture
would be consistenza
collaboratore collaborator could be 'collaborator' but might also
be 'helper', 'co-worker', 'partner'
collegio college
Means boarding school. ‘College’
(US) would be istituto universitario.
Or ‘college’ as in the UK, Australia...
would simply scuola secondaria
colloquio colloquium friendly talk, chat.
comodità
commodity
Means comfort, convenience.
‘Commodity’ is prodotto, merce,
materia prima
comprensivo comprehensive Means understanding, inclusive,
sympathetic, while an istituto
comprensivo might be a K-12 school.
‘Comprehensive’ is esauriente
concussione concussion
It means extortion instead!
Concussion in the medical sense
would be a commozione cerebrale
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58.6 Page 576

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 576
Italian False Friend
conduttore conductor
collaboratore collaborator
colloquio colloquium
confetti confetti
confidenza confidence
confrontare confront
consistente consistent
conveniente convenient
Comment
Means driver (tram, bus). ‘Conductor’
is bigliettaio (tram), direttore d'orchestra
(music)
Could mean this but also partner,
co-worker. The negative sense
of the word in English would be
informatore, collaborazionista
Could be, but in the Salesian sense
a friendly chat, conversation. An
academic colloquium is a seminario
accademico
Means wedding sweets, sugared
almonds. ‘Confetti’ as we use it (at
weddings) is coriandoli
Be aware that it does not always
mean confidence. it can refer to a
close relationship, intimacy between
two people, a good relationship with
someone
Means to compare. ‘Confront’ as we
use it in English is far fronte a
Generally means substantial, solid.
‘Consistent’ would be coerente,
costante
Means of good value. ‘Convenient’
as we use it in English is adatto,
comodo, opportuno
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577
False Friends
Italian
costipato
crema
crudo
False Friend
constipated
cream
crude
Comment
While it can mean constipated, the
phrase essere costipato means to have
a bad cold
Means custard. ‘Cream’ is panna
Means raw. ‘Crude’ is volgare
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58.8 Page 578

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 578
D
Italian False Friend Comment
delusione delusion
Means disappointment. ‘Delusion’ is
illusione
destituzione destitution Means dismissal, removal. ‘Destitution’
is indigenza
diffidenza diffidence Means distrust. ‘Diffidence’ is sfiducia
discussione discussion Often means an argument or quarrel in
Italian, although it can mean discussion.
‘Discussion’ is dibattito
disgrazia disgrace
Means bad luck, misfortune. ‘Disgrace’
is vergogna, disonore
disporre di dispose of
Means to have (something) at your
disposal, make arrangements. (To)
dispose of is disfarsi di
docile
docile
Could be docile but more likely
well-behaved, obedient. ‘Docile’ is also
arrendevole, mansueto
domandare demand
Means simply to ask. ‘To demand’ is
pretendere, esigere, insistere
duomo dome
Means cathedral. A ‘dome’ is cupola
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E
Italian
economo
editore
educato
educazione
effettivo
emarginati
emotivo
579
False Friends
False Friend
economer
editor
educated
education
effective
emarginated
emotive
Comment
We are stuck with 'Economer
General' and 'Provincial
Economer, but other cases
at local level might employ
'bursar', 'administrator',
'treasurer'...
Means publisher. ‘Editor’ is
direttore, curatore (books)
Means polite, well brought-up.
‘Educated’ is istruito, erudito
Take care, because in
context it very often means
upbringing, good manners.
‘Education’ per se is cultura,
formazione, istruzione but also
educazione
Means real. ‘Effective’ is
efficace. Hence effettivamente is
never ‘effectively’ but ‘really’,
‘actually’
marginalised, sidelined
Means emotional, though it
could be emotive.
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58.10 Page 580

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 580
Italian
False Friend
Comment
energetico
energetic
Often means simply energy
though it could also be
energetic. ‘Energetic’ is
energico, attivo
equamente
equally
Correct meaning is justly,
fairly
esaltato
exalted
It really means a range of
things like hot-headed,
wound up, fanatical
eseercizi spirituali spiritual exercises We would normally say
retreat, or perhaps spiritual
retreat
esibizione
exhibition
Means performance.
‘Exhibition’ is mostra
estate
estate
Means summer. ‘Estate’ is
proprietà, tenuta, eredità
eventualmente eventually
Means if necessary, possibly.
‘Eventually’ is alla fine,
finalmente
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59.1 Page 581

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581
False Friends
F
Italian False Friend Comment
fastidioso fastidious Means annoying. ‘Fastidious’ is esigente,
scrupoloso
fatale
fatal
Means inevitable though can also be
fatal. ‘Fatal’ is usually mortale, fatidico
fattoria factory
Means farm. ‘Factory’ is fabbrica
fiction fiction
Although it is borrowed from English,
it has changed meaning to mean a TV
drama. ‘Fiction’ is narrativa, un'opera di
narrativa
finalmente finally
Means ‘at last’, which is similar but not
the same as finally. ‘Finally’ is alla fine
formazione formation Could be, but could also be education
fornitura furniture Means supply. ‘Furniture’ is mobili,
mobilia
fragilità fragility Frailty, especially in fragilità vocazionale
frequentare frequent (v) Mostly means to attend (e.g. school).
‘Frequent’ (v) can also be frequentare
furore furore
Means fury. ‘Furore’ is scalpore
(sensation) or just entusiasmo
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59.2 Page 582

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 582
G
Italian False Friend Comment
geniale genial
Means brilliant, gifted. ‘Genial’ is
simpatico, amichevole
gentile
gentle, genteel Means kind. ‘Genteel’ might be
raffinato, distinto while ‘gentle’ could
be gentile but also delicato, amabile,
amichevole
giaculatoria ejaculation invocation, brief prayer, aspiration
ginnasio
gymnasium
Means upper secondary studies (in
Italy) preceding Liceo. A gymnasium
is a palestra
globale global
Can mean global but more often
‘overall’. ‘Global’ could be mondiale
gratuità gratuity
Means gratuitousness. A ‘gratuity’
(tip) is a mancia
gregario
gregarious
Means backup or support. ‘Gregarious’
is socievole
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I
Italian
impervio
impersonare
impressionante
inabitato
incaricato
583
False Friends
False Friend
Comment
impervious
Means impassable.
‘Impervious’ is
impermeabile
impersonate
Means to personify,
play a role.
‘Impersonate’ is
fingersi, imitare
impressive
Can mean impressive
but tends to
be stronger,
especially shocking.
‘Impressive’ is
notevole
inhabited
Actually means
the opposite –
uninhabited!
‘Inhabited’ is abitato
incharge or in-charge Incharge doesn't
exist in English
and nor does
in-charge as a
noun. ‘Individual in
charge’ is acceptable,
or ‘appointee’ or
similar. An incaricato
is also an addetto or
employee
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59.4 Page 584

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 584
Italian
incidente
False Friend
incident
incombente
incumbent
inconveniente
inconvenient
infatti
influsso
ingiuria
in presenza
in fact
influx
injury
in presence
integrale
integral
Comment
Means an accident.
An ‘incident’ is an
evento
Means imminent,
impending.
‘Incumbent’ could be
a titolare, beneficiato
or, if it is incumbent
on someone, then
spetta a luia a...
Means a setback,
disappointment.
‘Inconvenient’ is
scomodo
Either 'as a matter of
fact', or 'indeed' are
more appropriate
Means influence.
‘Influx’ is afflusso
Means insult.
‘Injury’ is ferita,
danno
Means physical
presence, but
expressed in English
as 'in person'
rounded, all-round,
holistic, complete...
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59.5 Page 585

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Italian
interrogazione
intimazione
intossicare,
intossicazione
irrelevante
irrinunciabile
itinerario
585
False Friend
interrogation
intimation
intoxicate,
intoxication
irrelevant
unrenounceable
itinerario
False Friends
Comment
Means an oral
exam (school).
‘Interrogation’ is
interrogatorio
Means an order
or command!
‘Intimation’ is an
accenno
Not really. It means
poison, poisoning.
‘Intoxication’ is
ubriacchezza
Means insignificant
(although it can
mean irrelevant).
‘Irrelevant’ is
normally non
pertinente
'inalienable', or in
context, 'essential'
Can be, but can
also be a range
of other things
like: curriculum,
'progress made',
process
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59.6 Page 586

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 586
L
Italian False Friend Comment
largo
large
Means wide. ‘Large’ is grande
lettura lecture
Means a reading. ‘Lecture’ is conferenza,
lezione depending on context
libreria library
Means bookshop. ‘Library’ is biblioteca
licenza licence
It does mean licence (hunting, fishing,
marriage), and also permission,
copyright, but is not used in reference to
a vehicle licence, which is patente
liminalità liminality
Means a frontier situation. The rather
special meaning of liminality in
anthropology is disorientamento
linguaggio language
Can be language but also style,
expression. ‘Language’ can be lingua,
idioma, dialetto, even parola. linguaggio has
a broader semantic range in Italian than
it does in English.
lunatico lunatic
Means quirky, temperamental. ‘Lunatic’
is pazzo, matto
lurido lurid
Means filthy, disgusting. ‘Lurid’ is
spargiante, pacchiano
lussurioso luxurious Means lustful. ‘Luxurious’ is lussuoso, di
lusso
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59.7 Page 587

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587
False Friends
M
Italian
False Friend Comment
magazzino magazine Means warehouse. ‘Magazine’ is
periodico, rotocalco
mansione
mansion
Means duty, task. ‘Mansion’ is villa,
blocco di apartamenti
marmellata marmelaide Means jam (any kind of jam).
‘Marmalade’ is marmellata di agrumi
marrone
maroon
Means brown. ‘Maroon’ is rosso fegato
or rosso granata
miseria
misery
Means poverty. ‘Misery’ is sofferenza
mobbing
mobbing
It might be an English word but it has
changed meaning in Italian except
when used in the ‘virtual’ sense when
it would be ‘flash mob’, so take note of
the context.
missionario/a missionary Often it should be rendered simply as
mission (adj)
mister
Mr (Mister) The meaning has changed to ‘trainer’
(sports) in Italian. The Italian word
would be allenatore
monsignore
monsignor
Means bishop, archbishop...
‘Monsignor’ (with its meaning of
a special title for a priest) is also
monsignore
morbido
morbid
Means soft. ‘Morbid’ is morboso
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59.8 Page 588

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 588
Italian
moroso
False Friend Comment
morose
Means in arrears (rent!), though it can
be used in a familiar sense to mean
sweetheart. ‘Morose’ is scontroso
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59.9 Page 589

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589
False Friends
N
Italian False Friend Comment
nominare nominate Means to name, appoint. ‘Nominate’ is
proporre per una candidatura
novella novel
Means a short story. ‘Novel’ is romanzo
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59.10 Page 590

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 590
O
Italian False Friend Comment
obitorio obituary Means a morgue! ‘Obituary’ is necrologio
occasione occasion
Means this but also opportunity, bargain.
‘Occasion’ is not always occasione. It could
be and evento, momento
occorre occur
Means to need something. ‘Occur’ is
accadere, venire in mente
operativo operative Could be 'operative' but more likely
'practical', 'working...'
orfano orphan
Means orphan but in Italian, an orphan
may have lost only one parent, e.g. orfano
di padre
organico organic
Means systematic, holistic, complete.
‘Organic’ is more likely to be biologico,
ecologico, naturale
organismi organisms Can be organisms but think more in terms
of an organisation
ostriche ostriches
Means oysters. Careful what you order!
‘Ostrich’ is struzzo
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60 Pages 591-600

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60.1 Page 591

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591
False Friends
P
Italian False Friend Comment
paragone paragon
Means a comparison. ‘Paragon’ is
modello di virtù
parenti
parents
Means relatives. ‘Parents’ are genitori
passività passivity Careful! It might mean 'liabilities' in
accounting
pastorale pastoral
Yes, but in Salesian context it may often
refer to ministry or pastoral ministry
patente
patent
Means licence. A ‘patent’ is a brevetto
paternità
paternity
Means fatherhood, authorship. To
be ‘fatherly’ (fatherliness) is (essere)
paterno
pavimento pavement Means floor. ‘Pavement’ (footpath) is
marciapiede
pedagogia pedagogy Can often be rendered more simply as
‘education’
penuria penury
Means shortage. ‘Penury’ is indigenza
petrolio petrol
Means oil. ‘Petrol’ is benzina
preoccupato preoccupied Means worried. ‘Preoccupied’ is assorto
presbiterio presbytery Means the sanctuary in the church.
‘Presbytery’ is casa parrochiale or
canonica
preservativo preservative Means contraceptive, condom,
‘Preservative’ is conservante
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60.2 Page 592

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 592
Italian False Friend Comment
presidenza presidency executive group, committee, though
'presidency' seems to apply in the
European Union
pretendere pretend
Means to claim (Pretender to the
throne!). ‘To pretend’ is far finta
prevaricare prevaricate Means to abuse (use of power).
‘Prevaricate’ is tergiversare
procura
procure
Salesian usage suggests it might be a
Mission office. But the noun ‘procure’
does not exist in English, while the verb
‘to procure’ can have an insalubrious
meaning! Call it a PDO or Mission
Office
professionale professional it could be 'professional' but might also
mean 'technical' as in the case of some
scuole professionali
profetico
prophetic it could be 'prophetic' but it might
simply mean 'inspired'
protocollo protocol
Means register, register number,
registry office. ‘Protocol’, instead, is
etichetta, though it would be protocol if
it refers to a draft document or treaty.
A foglio protocollo on the other hand is a
sheet of foolscap
puntura
puncture
Means sting (wasp, i.e. puntura di
vespa). A ‘puncture’ is foratura di
pneumatico
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593
False Friends
Q
Italian False Friend
questionare questionnaire, or to
question
qui pro quo quid pro quo
Comment
Means to argue or quarrel.
‘To question’ is interrogare,
while a ‘questionnaire’ is a
questionario
One letter makes the
difference! A ‘qui pro
quo’ is a mistake, a
misunderstanding. ‘Quid
pro quo’ means ‘tit for tat’,
‘You scratch my back I
scratch yours!’
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60.4 Page 594

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 594
R
Italian False Friend
Comment
radiografia radiography or X.Ray overview
rapa
rape
Means turnip. ‘Rape’ is stupro
rata
rate
Means instalment. ‘Rate’
(depending on context) is
tasso, livello, velocità
realizzare realise
Means to carry out or fulfil or
achieve. ‘Realise’ is accorgersi,
capire
recipiente recipient
Means container. ‘Recipient’ is
destinatario, beneficiario
regolamento regulation
'regulations' in the plural,
more likely, especially if with
capital 'R'
retribuzione retribution
Means remuneration, salary.
‘Retribution’ is punizione,
ricompensa
ricordo record
Means a memory, a reminder.
‘Record’ is disco, or appunto
ricoverati recovered
it means people given shelter,
or taken to hospital or...
‘Recover’ is guarire (da),
recuperare
rilanciare relaunch
it could be 'relaunch' but might
also be 'reinvigorate'
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60.5 Page 595

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Italian
rilevante
False Friend
relevant
rettorato rectorate
ritenere retain
rude
rude
595
False Friends
Comment
Means important, remarkable.
‘Relevant’ is pertinente
Rectorate does exist but is rare.
Better expresses as term of
office, e.g. of Rector Major, or a
Rector.
Means to think, consider.
‘Retain’ is conservare, trattenere
Means rough and ready.
‘Rude’ is maleducato, offensivo
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60.6 Page 596

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 596
S
Italian
salario
sano
scaldare
scarsamente
scolaro
sconvenienza
scopo
False Friend Comment
salary
Means wages more
generally. ‘Salary’ is
stipendio, which is also
a stipend or payment to
clergy (also known as a
congrua
sane
Means healthy. ‘Sane’ is
equilibrato
scald
Means to heat up or
in the reflexive to
get excited. ‘Scald’ is
sbollentare
scarcely
Means rarely. ‘Scarcely’
is a stento, appena
scholar
Means pupil. A ‘scholar’
is a studioso
inconvenience Means a failure of good
manners, unseemly.
‘Inconvenience’ is
disturbo, scomodità
scope
Means purpose. ‘Scope’
is ambito, possibilità
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60.7 Page 597

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Italian
scuole pubbliche
sensibile
serrato
servizievole
sinergia
simpatico
597
False Friends
False Friend Comment
public schools It means state schools
specifically. ‘Public
schools’ can have
other meanings in
different parts of the
English-speaking world.
They could be private
schools charging high
fees (UK)
sensible
Means sensitive or
perceptible. ‘Sensible’
is ragionevole, sensato,
equilibrato
serrated
Means closed, shut,
clenched. ‘Serrated’ is
seghettato
serviceable It really means, helpful,
obliging, amiable
synergy
Might be synergy, but
might also be simply
‘teamwork’
sympathetic
Means nice, pleasant
character. ‘Sympathetic’
is more likely to be
comprensivo
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60.8 Page 598

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 598
Italian
slip (as in woman's
undergarment)
smoking
sopportare
soave
spiritato
stipulare
straniero
suggestivo
False Friend Comment
slip
The meaning has been
extended in Italian to
cover a woman's bikini
briefs, a man's briefs
(undies) and even
swimming trunks. The
Italian words would be
mutande, sgambata
smoking
Means a dinner jacket
or tuxedo. ‘Smoking’ is
fumare
support
Means to put up with.
‘Support’ is sostenere
suave
Means gentle. ‘Suave’
is mellifluo, insinuante
depending on context
spirited
Means wild, influenced
by the devil. ‘Spirited’ is
animato, focoso
stipulate
Means to draw up
something. ‘Stipulate’ is
stabilire (che)
stranger
Means foreigner.
‘Stranger’ is sconosciuto,
forestiero
suggestive
Means full of atmosphere,
evocative. ‘Suggestive’ is
allusivo
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60.9 Page 599

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599
False Friends
T
Italian False Friend Comment
tenente tenant
Means lieutenant. ‘Tenant’ is inquilino
territorio territory
Might well be territory, but in a Salesian
context it can often be glossed simply as
‘local area’ or ‘neighbourhood'
toast toast
Has changed meaning in Italian and
means toasted sandwich. ‘Toast’ is pane
tostata, brindisi depending on context
tremendo tremendous Means awful, terrible. ‘Tremendous’ is
fantastico
triviale trivial
Means vulgar, indecent. ‘Trivial’ is banale
truce truce
Means grim, cruel. ‘Truce’ is tregua
tutore tutor
not tutor (often) but guardian. tutore can
be tutor, but normally this would be a
precettore or insegnante privato
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60.10 Page 600

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 600
U
Italian False Friend Comment
udienza
audience Can mean audience but usually a
hearing. ‘Audience’ is pubblico
ufficioso officious Means unofficial. ‘Officious’ is invadente
ulteriore ulterior
Means further (in addition). ‘Ulterior’
as in motive would be seconda fine,
otherwise recondito
ultimamente ultimately Means lately, of late. ‘Ultimately’ might
be in definitiva, in fin dei conti
urna
urn
Can mean urn but would normally be
translated as casket when used, for
example of Don Bosco's remains or
relics. An urna is also a ballot box in
Italian. An urn could also be a vaso
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61 Pages 601-610

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61.1 Page 601

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601
False Friends
V
Italian False Friend Comment
veste
vest
Not vest, but more generally a garment.
‘Vest’ could be a maglia intima,
panciotto... depending on context
vicario
vicar
Yes, but also a vice-rector
vile
vile
Means cowardly. ‘Vile’ is brutto, orribile
villano
villain
Means a lout or a boor. A ‘villain’ is a
mascalzone
virtualmente virtually
Normally it means potentially.
‘Virtually’ might normally be
praticamente, although virtualmente
could occasionally be used
vizioso
vicious
Means bad, dissolute. ‘Vicious’ is
brutale, maligno
vocabolario vocabulary Can mean vocabulary but also often
used for a dictionary. A ‘vocabulary’ is
a lessico, glossario or list of words
volenteroso voluntary It really means willing, eager, keen
volontariato voluntariate 'volunteer movement' or 'volunteer
group' preferred
volubile voluble
Means to be changeable, fickle.
‘Voluble’ would be loquace
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61.2 Page 602

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Salesian Encyclopaedic Dictionary 602
W
Italian False Friend Comment
water water
Careful. It refers to a toilet (bowl)! L'ho
gettato nel water = I threw it in the toilet
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61.3 Page 603

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603
False Friends
Z
Italian False Friend Comment
zappare zap
zappare means to hoe. ‘Zap’ (e.g. on a TV) is
known in Italian as fare lo zapping
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61.4 Page 604

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