Project of Apostolic Life

Association of Salesian Cooperators

STATUTES

Preface

Christians have different paths offered them for living out their Baptismal faith. Some, urged by the Holy Spirit and attracted by Don Bosco, carry out the ideal of “working with him” by remaining in the world, and are called to live out the same charism as the Salesian Congregation in secular circumstances.

Right from the outset, Don Bosco thought about organising co-helpers for his work: He invited lay people, men and women, and members of the diocesan clergy, to “cooperate” in his mission of salvation of the young, especially those who were poor and abandoned. In 1876 he clearly set out the project of life by means of the “Regulations for the Salesian Cooperators” which he himself wrote and which were then approved by the Church. Today the Salesian Cooperators are spread and work throughout the world.

The current text describes their project of apostolic life. It offers an authentic way to holiness, according to the needs of the Church and the world today. To make this a reality, the Salesian Cooperators trust in the faithfulness of God the Father who has called them.

Chapter 1

The Salesian Cooperator in the Church and in the world

Art. 1. The Founder: a man sent by God

To contribute to the salvation of youth, “the most delicate and precious portion of human society”, the Holy Spirit, through the motherly intervention of Mary, raised up St. John Bosco who founded the Society of St Francis de Sales (1859) and, with Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (1872). He extended the apostolic energy of the Salesian charism by officially setting up the “Pious Union of the Salesian Cooperators”, the third branch of the Family (1876), united with the Society of St. Francis de Sales also called the Salesian Society of St John Bosco or the Salesian Congregation.

The Holy Spirit formed the heart of a father and teacher in St. John Bosco, one capable of total dedication, and through him inspired an educational method permeated by the charity of the Good Shepherd.

Art. 2 The Salesian Cooperators: a specific vocation in the Church

§1. To be committed as Salesian Cooperators is to respond to the Salesian vocation, taking on a specific way of living the Gospel and taking part in the mission of the Church. It is a freely chosen gift which qualifies one’s existence.

§2. Catholics of whatever cultural or social circumstance may choose this path. They feel called to a special kind of life of faith fully involved in each day’s concerns. It is marked by two attitudes:

a) knowing God as Father and saving Love; encountering, in Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son, perfect apostle of the Father; living intimately with the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the People of God in the world;

b) feeling themselves called and sent on a concrete mission, that of contributing to the salvation of youth; committing themselves in the same youthful and popular mission of Don Bosco.

Art. 3 The Salesian Cooperators: Salesians in the world

The Salesian Cooperators live out their faith in their own secular reality. Inspired by Don Bosco’s apostolic project they feel themselves to be in living communion with other members of the Salesian Family. They are committed to the same youthful and popular mission as associates, brothers and sisters. They work for the good of the Church and society, in a manner adapted to their circumstances and actual possibilities.

Art. 4 A unique vocation: two ways of living it

§1. Don Bosco conceived the Association of Salesian Cooperators as being open to laity and to the secular clergy.

§2. Lay Salesian Cooperators live out the commitment and the Salesian spirit in their ordinary circumstances of life and work. With lay sensitivity and characteristics they diffuse values in their own setting.

§3. The Salesian Cooperator bishop, secular priest or deacon lives out his own ministry as one inspired by Don Bosco, a pre-eminent model of priestly life. Young people and ordinary settings are privileged amongst his pastoral choices.

Art. 5 The Association in the Salesian Family

The Association of Salesian Cooperators is one of the groups of the Salesian Family. Together with the Society of St Francis de Sales, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and other officially recognised groups, the Cooperator is a bearer of the common Salesian vocation and shares responsibility for the vitality of Don Bosco’s project in the Church and in the world.

The Association brings to the Salesian Family the values specific to secular circumstances, and respects the identity and autonomy belonging to each group. The Cooperator lives in a particular relationship of communion with the Society of St Francis of Sales which, by the will of the Founder, has a specific role of responsibility within the Family.

Art. 6. The Association in the Church

§1. In the Church, The Association of Salesian Cooperators is approved by the Apostolic See as a Public Association of the Faithful and shares in the spiritual patrimony of the Society of St Francis of Sales.

The members actively cooperate in its mission in the Church’s name, under the authority of the Rector Major as Don Bosco’s Successor, in a spirit of fidelity to their Pastors and in collaboration with other ecclesial forces.

§2. The Salesian Cooperators manifest a childlike devotion to the Supreme Pontiff.

§3. The Association of Salesian Cooperators is recognised as a juridical and ecclesiastical public entity. It has its headquarters in Rome.

Chapter 2

The Salesian Cooperators’ Apostolic commitment

Art. 7. The witness of the Beatitudes

The personal lifestyle of the Salesian Cooperators, marked by the spirit of the Beatitudes, commits them to an evangelisation of culture and social life.

For this reason they live and witness to:

• The primacy of the spirit, the fruitfulness of suffering and non-violence as a leaven of peace and pardon;

• freedom in obedience to God’s plan, by appreciating the value and proper autonomy of the secular reality, and by involving and directing themselves especially to the service of the people;

• evangelical poverty, administering goods entrusted to them with criteria of simplicity and sharing, in view of the common good;

• sexuality, according to an evangelical view of chastity, marked by delicacy and a married or single celibate life of integrity and joy, based on love;

Art. 8. Apostolic commitment

§1. Salesian Cooperators carry out their apostolate through their daily tasks in the first instance. They follow Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, sent by the Father to serve all people in the world. This is why they are committed to putting into practice, in the ordinary circumstances of life, the evangelical ideal of love for God and for one’s neighbour.

§2. Enlivened by the Salesian spirit, they bring a privileged attention to young people wherever they are, especially to those who are poorest or victims of any kind of marginalisation, exploitation and violence, to those setting out in the world of work and to those who show signs of a specific vocation.

§3. They foster and defend the value of family as the basic nucleus of society and Church and are committed to building it up as “a domestic Church”. Married Co-operators live their mission as spouses and parents through their marriage: “co-operators in the love of God the creator”, “first and chief educators of their children”, according to the pedagogy of kindness proper to the Preventive System.

§4. They put the Church’s Social Teachings into practice and are attentive to social communications media, promoting its correct use as a means of education.

§5. They support the Church's missionary activity and foster education to a global perspective by an openness to dialogue amongst cultures.

Art. 9. The task of Christian education

§1. The Salesian Cooperators take up the task everywhere of educating and evangelising as Don Bosco did, in order to form “honest citizens and good Christians to be the fortunate inhabitants of heaven some day”, convinced that they are always on the way to greater human and Christian maturity.

§2. They share with the young the taste of the authentic values of truth, freedom, justice, the sense of the common good and of service.

§3. They educate the young to encounter the Risen Christ through faith and the sacraments, so they may find their meaning of life in Him and grow as men and women renewed.

§4. They are committed to helping the young develop life projects, able to encourage them to witness to their Christian and Salesian presence in the Church and society.

Art. 10. The pedagogy of kindness

In their educational task the Salesian Cooperators:

§1. adopt Don Bosco’s “Preventive System” which “is based especially on reason, religion and loving-kindness”, seeks to persuade and not to impose, prevent rather than to punish.

§2. create a family environment where animating presence, personal accompaniment and group experience help in perceiving God’s presence.

§3. foster what is good and educate to love for life, to responsibility, solidarity, sharing and communion.

§4. appeal to a person’s inner resources and believe in the invisible action of grace. They look upon each young person with realistic optimism, convinced of the value of education and the experience of faith. Their relationship with the young is inspired by a mature and accepting love.

Art. 11. Typical activities

Salesian Cooperators are open to many kinds of apostolate. Among these they give privileged place, along with their own work and professional involvement, to:

• Christian catechesis and formation,

• animation of youth and family groups and movements,

• collaboration in educational and scholastic institutions,

• social service for the poor,

• working in social communications,

• cooperating in pastoral ministry for vocations,

• missionary work in general,

• collaborating in ecumenical and religious dialogue,

• charitable commitment to social and political service

• developing the Association.

Art. 12. Structures and ways of working

§1. Salesian Cooperators support their own apostolate with prayer, by involving others and through material means.

§2. A good part of the activities of the Salesian Cooperators takes place, in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, in structures where secular circumstances offer them the greatest hope of meaningful involvement: civil, cultural, socio-economic, political, ecclesial, Salesian.

§3. The Salesian Cooperators can also carry out their apostolic commitment in works run autonomously by the Association and in initiatives which respond to the needs of the locality.

Chapter 3

The Salesian Cooperators in communion and collaboration

Art. 13. Brothers and sisters in Don Bosco

Their common vocation and belonging to the same Association make Salesian Cooperators spiritual brothers and sisters. “One in heart and soul”, they live out fraternal communion with the characteristic bonds of Don Bosco’s spirit.

They take part joyfully in the “family life” of the Association in order to know one another, exchange experiences, apostolic plans and grow together.

Art. 14 Co-responsibility for the mission

§1. Salesian Cooperators feel responsible for the common mission and carry it out according to their possibilities and abilities. Each is bound to take part in a spirit of initiative in planning, carrying out and evaluating the different activities, and in choosing those responsible for fulfilling special roles in the Association.

If asked to take on positions of responsibility, they commit themselves to carrying out the tasks entrusted to them faithfully and in a spirit of service.

§2. Each Salesian Cooperator supports the Association’s financial autonomy responsibly and with a sense of belonging, so it can realise its mission.

Art. 15 Participation in the life of the Salesian Family

Salesian Cooperators cultivate fraternal communion and cooperation with the other groups and members of the Salesian Family through mutual awareness and information, mutual spiritual assistance and help in formation, and involvement in common apostolic tasks.

Through the Salesian Family’s Advisory Councils at various levels, and other groups, they foster common research into initiatives which can enable the Salesian mission to offer a richer service to the Church.

Art. 16. The ministry of the Rector Major

§1. The Rector Major of the Society of St Francis de Sales is Don Bosco’s successor. Through the explicit will of the Founder he is the Superior of the Association and carries out the functions of Supreme Moderator within it. He is the guarantor of its fidelity to the Founder’s project and fosters its growth.

§2. His ministry, also exercised through his Vicar or other representative, ordinarily makes use of the World Council especially in animating the entire Association and coordinating formation and apostolic initiatives.

§3. The members of the Association nurture feelings of sincere affection towards the Rector Major and are faithful to his directions.

Art. 17. Particular bonds with the Society of St Francis de Sales and the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians

The Association of Salesian Cooperators has "a stable and secure bond" with the Society of St Francis de Sales and special charismatic ties with the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

Salesian communities (SDB and FMA), provincial and local, feel themselves involved in the task desired by Don Bosco of “supporting and giving growth to” the Association, contributing to the formation of its members, making it known and promoting its Project of Apostolic Life.

Art. 18. Links with other groups of the Salesian Family

The Salesian Cooperators sense their closeness to all other groups of the Salesian Family. They are open to and foster all kinds of cooperation, especially with lay groups, respecting each one’s identity and autonomy.

Chapter 4

The Salesian Cooperators’ Salesian spirit

Art. 19 A precious heritage

Led by the Holy Spirit, Don Bosco perceived an original style of life and action, and handed it on to the members of his Family: the Salesian spirit.

The Salesian spirit is a typical evangelical experience which has its source in the heart of Christ himself. This animates the presence and action in the Church and world of the one who lives it. It is nourished by apostolic commitment and prayer, and characterises his or her entire life, making it a witness to love.

It requires a demanding “ascetical method” lit up by a cheerful smiling face in accordance with Don Bosco’s saying: “work and temperance”.

Art. 20 Experience of committed faith

§1. Salesian Co-operators welcome this spirit as a gift of the Lord to the Church and make it fruitful in accordance with their particular circumstance, lay or ministerial. Each one participates in Don Bosco’s spiritual experience, lived with particular intensity by those first Cooperators among the young in the Oratory at Valdocco, and they commit themselves to living out the Sequela Christi, the following of Christ.

§2. In the Immaculate Virgin, Help of Christians they discover the deepest elements of their vocation: Being true “co-operators of God” in the realisation of his salvific plan.

They turn to Mary, Help of Christians and Mother of the Good Shepherd, asking her for the strength needed to be practically involved in the salvation of the young.

§3. They foster an experience in practice of ecclesial communion through the Association, which is a living part of Church.

Art. 21. Apostolic love takes centre place

§1. The heart of the Salesian spirit is apostolic and pastoral charity. It makes the Father’s mercy, Christ’s salvific love and the power of the Holy Spirit present amongst the young. Don Bosco expressed this in his motto: “Give me souls, take away the rest”. He signified this by the name “Salesians”, choosing Saint Francis of Sales as patron, model of Christian humanism, apostolic dedication and kindness.

§2. For Salesian Cooperators this charity is a gift of God that unites them to Him and to young people. It is inspired by Mary’s motherly solicitude, which helps them in their daily witness.

Art. 22. Salesian presence in the world

§1. Salesian Cooperators feel they are “intimately linked” with the world in which they live and wherein they are called to be its light and leaven. They believe in an individual’s inner resources. They share the values of their culture. They accept what is new with a Christian critical sense. They integrate “all that is good” in their life, especially if it pleases the young.

§2. They adopt a constructive attitude in the face of the many challenges and difficulties amidst which they are called to work. They are committed to spreading a Christian culture of solidarity and acceptance in society.

Art. 23 Style of action

Salesian Co-operators sanctify their existence through work and daily life. They live as “good Christians and honest citizens”. They are available, altruistic and generous and believe in the value of acting without selfish interests. Their activity is rooted in union with God.

Art. 24 Style of relationship

Salesian Cooperators practise the loving-kindness desired by Don Bosco in their relationships. They express themselves openly, warmly and joyfully, always ready to take the first step, and to accept the other with kindness, respect and patience. They give rise to relationships of trust and friendship creating a family atmosphere around them consisting of simplicity and affection. They work for peace and seek clarification and agreement in dialogue.

Art. 25 Style of prayer

§1. The Salesian Cooperators are convinced that without union with Jesus Christ, they can do nothing. They call on the Spirit who enlightens and strengthens them day by day. Their prayer is simple trusting, joyful and creative, permeated by apostolic zeal and faithful to life.

To nourish their life of prayer Salesian Cooperators have recourse to spiritual helps offered by the Church, the Association and the Salesian Family. They take an active part in liturgy, seeing value in forms of popular piety that can enrich their spiritual life.

§2. They reinvigorate their faith in sacramental experience. The Eucharist nourishes their apostolic charity. In Reconciliation they encounter the mercy of the Father who impresses a dynamic and constant conversion on their life and helps them grow in their ability to forgive.

§3. They similarly strengthen their interior and apostolic life with moments of spirituality which are planned by the Association.

Art. 26. In communion with Mary and our Saints

§1. Salesian Cooperators, like Don Bosco, nurture a childlike love for Mary Help of Christians, Mother of the Church and humankind. She cooperated in the salvific mission of the Saviour and today, too, she continues to be Mother and Helper of the Christian People. She is a special guide for the Salesian Family. Don Bosco entrusted the Salesian Cooperators to her so that they may receive protection and inspiration from her in their mission.

§2. They turn to Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, with particular affection. They have trusting recourse to the intercession of St. John Bosco, “Father and teacher” of the young and of all the Salesian Family.

§3. Amongst the models of apostolic life, they especially venerate Saint Francis of Sales, Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, Mamma Margaret and the other Saints, Blesseds and Venerables of the Salesian Family.

Chapter 5

Belonging, and formation of the Salesian Cooperator

Art. 27. Entry into the Association

§1. The commitment to become a Salesian Cooperator demands a free, gradual, motivated and mature choice at the urging of the Holy Spirit and accompanied by those responsible for formation. The aspirant, wishing to enter and be a part of the Association, accepts an appropriate preparatory programme.

§2. When the aspirant has achieved sufficient maturity in the Salesian charism, recognised as such by those responsible in the Centre, he or she presents a request for admission. However, the individual is required to have reached the age of majority.

§3. Belonging to the Association begins with the personal Promise which expresses the will to live out one’s Baptism according to the Project of Apostolic Life.

Art. 28. Value of belonging

§1. The Salesian Cooperators are aware that belonging to the Association is a privileged experience of faith and ecclesial communion. It also means that it is a vital element in sustaining their own apostolic vocation.

§2. They recognise that this belonging demands concrete signs of presence and active participation in the life of the Association.

Art. 29. Responsibility and initiatives on behalf of formation

§1. Salesian Cooperators are the first ones responsible for their own human, Christian, Salesian and professional formation.

§2. The Association fosters and sustains personal and group formation through the instrumentality of qualified Salesian Cooperators, Delegates, and other members of the Salesian Family.

Art. 30. Faithfulness to tasks assumed

§1. To be a Salesian Cooperator is a vocation lasting an entire lifetime. With a profound sense of belonging, Salesian Cooperators know how to constantly express their witness, apostolate, and kinds of service. They are called by God to live the Salesian charism in the Association, in openness and availability also to working in initiatives fostered by other agencies, church or religious organisations.

Their fidelity is supported by the affection and solidarity of the members of the Association and of the Salesian Family.

§2. To consolidate the value of belonging to the Association – and through this to the Salesian Family – the commitments of association made by means of the Promise will be confirmed according to the most appropriate manner established by the Regulations.

Art. 31. Leaving the Association

§1. The Salesian Cooperators who intends, by personal choice, to cease to belong to the Association, will present the Local Council with a written statement attesting to his/her decision. The Local Council will give copies of the statement to the Provincial Council.

§2. The Association's decision to exclude one of its members for serious reasons is to be taken by the Provincial Council following the reasoned request of the Local Council. This is done in a spirit of charity and clarity after judging a life style which is not coherent with the fundamental duties expressed in the Statutes and Regulations, and the decision is to be communicated in writing to the one concerned.

Art. 32. The Promise and its meaning

§1. The meaning and scope of the promise is to express the will to live out the baptismal option according to the Project of Apostolic Life. Don Bosco himself proposed the promise as an apostolic expression of their Salesian vocation in the world.¹

§2. The promise

“Father, I adore you because you are so good and because you love each one of us.

I thank You for having created and redeemed me, / for having called me to be a part of Your Church / and for having made Don Bosco’s apostolic Family part of it. / This Family lives for You in the service of the young / and of ordinary people.

Drawn by Your merciful Love,

I want to love You in return by doing good.

For this reason, after preparing myself,

I PROMISE

To commit myself to living the evangelical Project of the Association of the Salesian Cooperators , that is:

To be Christ’s faithful disciple in the Catholic Church;

To work in Your Kingdom, especially for the welfare and salvation of the young;

To deepen and witness to the Salesian spirit;

To cooperate, in Family communion, in all the apostolic initiatives of the local Church.

Grant me, Father, the strength of Your Spirit,

so I may always be faithful

to this proposal in my life,

Mary Help of Christians, Mother of the Church,

Help me and guide me. Amen”.

The current formula may be adapted according to various circumstances, so long as its contents are respected. When the promise is renewed, instead of “after preparing myself I promise”, say: “I renew the promise of …”

Organisation of the Association of the Salesian Cooperators

Art. 33. The Organisation’s motivations

The Salesian Cooperators are called to live their vocation by being aware of the need for an appropriate organisational structure. They are organised in an Association understood as a means to help them live their project of apostolic life in a spirit of unity, according to Don Bosco’s invitation.

Art. 34 Flexible organisation

The Association, faithful to the will of its Founder, has a functional and flexible structure based on three levels: local, provincial and world.

Through such organisation it aims at placing value on the efficiency of its action in a locality and its opennes to the universality of communion and mission.

Art. 35 Government and animation at local, provincial and world level

For its government and animation the Association, reserved to the authority of the Rector Major normally represented by his Vicar, or by his delegate, is entrusted to Councillors who also include Religious appointed by the SDB and FMA Provincials. Legal representation of the Association is entrusted to the Coordinator of the respective Council.

Art. 36 The local level

§1. The basic nucleus of the Association’s reality is the local Centre. Ordinarily it brings together Salesian Cooperators working in a determined locality. The centre is preferably erected at an Institution of the Salesians of Don Bosco or the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

§2. The Local Centres are directed collegially by a Local Council which elects a Local Coordinator from amongst its members. Each Centre has a Delegate SDB or FMA appointed by their respective provincials.

§3. Men and women of good will, of other confessions, religion and culture, who sympathise with the Salesian charism, can share in the initiatives of the Local Centre and offer their collaboration as friends of Don Bosco.

Art. 37 The provincial level

§1. The Local Centres are organised into provinces erected by the Rector Major on the recommendation of the World Council.

§2. In consideration of the special bonds which link the Association to the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the provinces correspond to the respective SDB or FMA Provinces.

§3. Each province has a Provincial Council elected by the Local Councils according to procedures laid down in the Regulations.

§4. The Provincial Council is organised collegially, electing a Provincial Coordinator from among its members. Each Provincial Council has an SDB and FMA Delegate appointed by their respective Provincials.

§5. For the animation of the Association, provinces, respecting their autonomy to govern, are organised into regions on the basis of language, culture or locality, by decision of the Rector Major in understanding with the World Council. They elect their World Councillor for the Region. The SDB and FMA Provincials concerned come to agreement over the appointment of a Regional SDB and FMA Delegate.

Art. 38. The world level

§1. The World Council is made up of World Councillors elected by the Regions and the World Executive Secretariat (WES). The WES is made up of the World Coordinator, directly appointed by the Rector Major, the World Administrator and the World Secretary elected, by secret ballot, by the World Councillors, the SDB World Delegate appointed by the Rector Major and the FMA World Delegate appointed by the Rector Major at the proposal of the FMA Mother General.

§2. The members of the World Council remain in office for six years.

§3. The directives of the World Council come into effect only after their approval by the Rector Major.

Art. 39. Administration of the goods of the Association

§1. The Association of Salesian Cooperators, inasmuch as it is a public, ecclesiastical, juridical, entity, has the ability to acquire, posses, administer and alienate temporal goods, according to law. The good possessed by the Association as such are ecclesiastical goods.

§2. The Rector Major with the World Council administers the goods of the Association at the world level and is the competent authority for granting local and provincial councils permission to carry out acts of extraordinary administration and alienation which do not require the intervention of the Apostolic See.

§3. The Councils, through the administrators chosen from among them, see to the management of the goods of the Association. The administrator also prepares the financial report to give to the council at a higher level.

Art. 40. Final dispositions

§1. The Association of Salesian Cooperators is governed by the current Statutes. Other norms are contained in the Regulations at world level or in Directories at various levels.

The Statutes set out the vocational identity of the Salesian Cooperator, the spirit, mission and principles for the organisational structures of the Association of Salesian Cooperators.

The Regulations contain the practical points which specify and regulate activity, methodology, structure and organisation. The Regulations allow the Statutes, to which the document is subordinated, to be applied in practical form in the daily life of the Association.

The Directories are particular dispositions of the Association for adapting the Statutes and the Regulations to function concretely in the various territorial realities or specific activities. They are approved by their respective Councils and ratified by the Superior Councils in the immediate area, who have to guarantee that the Directories conform to what is set out in the Statutes and the Regulations.

§2. The current Statutes may be modified at the proposal of the Supreme Moderator, the World Council or the Provincial Councils. In whichever case it is up to the Supreme Moderator of the Association to approve the proposals for modification which will be then duly published.

Proposals for modification should establish: a clear and detailed presentation of the reasons justifying the modification, the concrete aims which justify it, the principles it articulates.

The process for making the modification will be defined by the World Council under the supervision of the Rector Major.

The modification must then be approved by an absolute majority of those taking part in the World Congress, by the Supreme Moderator of the Association and by the Apostolic See.

Conclusion

Art. 41. A way to holiness

The Salesian Cooperators choose to share the evangelical way traced out by these current Statutes and Regulations.

They shape a responsible commitment on the way that leads to holiness.

With his abundant grace, may the Lord accompany all those who work in the spirit of the “da mihi animas”, doing good to the young and to ordinary people.

Rome, 8^th December 2006