Famiglia_Salesiana_2020_en


Famiglia_Salesiana_2020_en

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The Salesian Family
of Don Bosco

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The Salesian Family of Don Bosco
Editor
Fr. Jayapalan Raphael, SDB
Secretariat of the Salesian Family
Fr. Eusebio Muñoz, SDB
(Delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian Family)
Fr. Giuseppe Casti, SDB, Delegate for the Salesian Cooperators
Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB, Spiritual Guide for ADMA
Fr. Joan Lluís Playà, SDB, Central Assistant for VDB & CDB
Fr. Jayapalan Raphael, SDB, Delegate for the Past Pupils of Don Bosco
Sr. Maria Luisa Miranda, FMA General Councilor for the Salesian Family
Ms. Dina Moscioni, TR
Sr. Cristiane Monteiro, CN
Collaborators
Sr. Denise Ann Sickinger, FMA
Mr. Amirtham Raphael, Ph.D
Fr. Michael Mendl, SDB
Fr. Jerome Vallabaraj, SDB
Fr. Cassius Correya, SDB
Cover Design
Alfredo Franciosa
Layout
Fr. Pierluigi Lanotte, SDB
Chiara Veneruso
IME Comunicazione - Napoli
Copyright
Salesian Generalate
Via Marsala, 42, 00185 Rome, Italy
Tel. (+39) 06 656 121
January 2020
Printer
G&H Soho
413 Market St, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407, USA
+1 201-216-9400
print@Ghsoho.Com

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Table of Contents
Presentation – Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB, Rector Major
Introduction – Fr. Eusebio Munoz, SDB, Delegate
Prayer of the Salesian Family
Abbreviations
p. 11
13
15
16
Charter of the of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco
17
Chapter I: The Salesian Family in the Church
19
Art. 1. The charismatic and spiritual experience of the Founder
19
Art. 2. The development of the Family
20
Art. 3. Institutional structure
21
Art. 4. Unity and diversity
22
Art. 5. The Mystery of the Trinity, the source of communion
23
Art. 6. In communion with the Church
24
Art. 7. For a new Christian humanism
25
Art. 8. The valuable contribution of women
26
Art. 9. For new forms of solidarity
27
Art. 10. Exchange of gifts
28
Art. 11. At home with Mary
29
Art. 12. With reference to Don Bosco
31
Art. 13. The Rector Major in the Salesian Family
31
Chapter II: The Mission of the Salesian Family
35
Art. 14. A charismatic mission in the Church and for the Church
35
Art. 15. An apostolic Family
36
Art. 16. Mission to the young, the working classes and the missions 37
Art. 17. At the service of the Gospel
39
Art. 18. In the new religious and cultural contexts
40
Art. 19. Communion and collaboration in the mission
42
Art. 20. Autonomy and singularity of each group
43
Art. 21. Apostolic Co-responsibility
44
Chapter III: Spirituality
47
Art. 22. Horizons of the apostolic spirituality of the Salesian Family 47
Art. 23. Collaborating with God the Father
47
Art. 24. Living with the sentiments of Christ
48
Art. 25. Being docile to the Spirit
49
Art. 26. Communion and mission in the Church
50
Art. 27. Everyday Spirituality
51
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Art. 28. Don Bosco’s “contemplation in action”
Art. 29. Dynamic apostolic charity
Art. 30. The grace of unity
Art. 31. Preferential love for the young and dedication to ordinary people
Art. 32. Salesian loving-kindness
Art. 33. Optimism and joy in hope
Art. 34. Work and temperance
Art. 35. Initiative and adaptability
Art. 36. The spirit of Salesian prayer
Art. 37. Mary Help of Christians, Teacher of apostolic spirituality
p. 52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
60
Chapter IV: Formation for Communion and Mission
65
Art. 38. Awareness of the specific identities
65
Art. 39. Shared formation
65
Art. 40. Taking one’s place in different settings
67
Art. 41. Methodology for collaboration
68
Art. 42. The role of the priest in the Salesian Family
69
Chapter V: Composition and Animation
71
Art. 43. A growing Family
71
Art. 44. An open Family
71
Art. 45. Points of reference
72
Art. 46. Organizations of animation and times for meeting
72
Sanctity in the Salesian Family
75
Salesian Family: Family of Saints
78
List of Saints and Those in Process
79
Salesian Family Groups
85
List of Members of the Salesian Family
87
1. The Society of Saint Francis de Sales (SDB)
89
2. The Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)
103
3. The Association of Salesian Cooperators (ASSCC)
115
4. The Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA)
125
5. The World Confederation of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco (EXA-DB)
131
6. The World Confederation of the Past Pupils of the FMA (EXA-FMA) 141
7. The Secular Institute of the Don Bosco Volunteers (VDB)
149
8. The Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (HHSSCC)
157
9. The Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart (SOSC)
167
10. The Apostles of the Holy Family (ASF)
175
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11. The Sisters of the Charity of Jesus (SCG)
p. 181
12. The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC)
189
13. The Daughters of the Divine Savior (HDS)
195
14. The Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SIHM)
201
15. The Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent (IJA)
209
16. The Association of the Salesian Dames (ADS)
217
17. The Volunteers With Don Bosco (CDB)
223
18. The Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians (SMI) 229
19. The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (DQM)
237
20. The Witnesses of the Risen Lord (TR)
245
21. The Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (CSMA)
251
22. The Congregation of Sisters of the Resurrection (HR)
255
23. The Congregation of the Sisters Announcers of the Lord (SAL) 261
24. The Disciples (DISC)
267
25. The Community of Canção Nova (CN)
275
26. The Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel (CSSMA)
285
27. The Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix (SMA)
291
28. The Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (CMB)
297
29. The Sisters of the Queenship of Mary Immaculate (SQM)
303
30. The Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB)
309
31. The Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth (FCMN)
315
32. The Sisters Mediators of Peace (MP)
325
General Information on the Groups
333
- Date of Founding
335
- Founders and Where Founded
337
- Principal Patron
339
- Canonical Classification
341
- Membership Data (as of January 1, 2020)
343
- Overall Information on the Individual Groups
345
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Pope Francis:
“The Salesian Family in the Church
at the Service of the Young”

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Presentation
“With humble and joyful gratitude, we acknowledge
that Don Bosco, by the initiative of God and the maternal mediation of
Mary, gave rise in the Church to a singular experience of evangelical life.
The Spirit shaped in him a heart filled with a great love for God and for
his brothers and sisters, in particular the little ones and the poor, and in
this way made him Father and Teacher of a multitude of young people
as well as the Founder of a vast spiritual and apostolic Family” (CCISF Art.1).
With these words begins the Charter of the Charismatic Identity of the
Salesian Family, a text developed over time, and in which, as groups and
individual members, we recognize ourselves and we feel united in the
spirit of Don Bosco, expressing that identity of the Salesian charism
whose patrimony belongs to the Church and which we preserve and
make bear fruit.
But in addition to sharing the charism and mission that are common
to us, as in every family, mutual knowledge and appreciation are
fundamental to establishing strong and solid bonds. This is why the
above-mentioned Charter of Charismatic Identity reminds us in article
38 that “the communion of the Salesian Family is based, in addition to
the common charism and the same mission, also on knowledge and
appreciation of the different groups which make it up. Unity, in fact, is
never uniformity, but plurality of expressions converging on a single center”.
With this, I intend to present, dear brothers and sisters of the Salesian
Family, this publication which is very dear to me and which I wished
to have published. I am happy it sees the light almost at the end of
the six-year period of my service as Rector Major. The content is not
new. Already in 1988, the year of the centenary of Don Bosco’s death,
the first edition was published. It mentioned the groups recognized as
belonging officially and others that were close to recognition. In 2000,
the volume included 20 groups officially recognized till that time. It
included also other groups that could be recognized in the near future.
Nineteen years have passed, and after long and arduous processes
of discernment and maturation, with the blessings of the Lord, the
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Salesian Family of Don Bosco today consists of 32 groups spread
over six continents of the world. All these groups have their point of
reference in the Rector Major: “By virtue of their apostolic communion
of a charismatic nature, the groups that make up the Salesian Family
recognize in the Rector Major, Successor of Don Bosco, the Father and
center of unity of the Family itself” (CCISF, Art. 45).
The “Book of the Family” that I present to you is, above all, a reason
to thank God for the gift that our Salesian Family is for the Church, the
fruit of the action of the Holy Spirit, in view of a mission. It is also a
reason to thank the Lord Jesus for the maternal protection of Mother
Mary, who is exercising over the whole Church and over this humble
religious family, which is recognized as a Marian Family. Finally, it is a
beautiful opportunity to thank the Spirit of God for having given us our
Father Don Bosco, because this Family was not born as the fruit of a
single human project but of God’s initiative.
We offer ourselves to Him as a Family always to seek the good of all
the youth, especially the poorest, neediest and those abandoned by
the world, becoming an encouraging presence and a mediation for their
families (when they have them) and to be more and more sensitive to
the needs and aspirations of the simple people who seek God.
I conclude by thanking those who have made this publication possible,
for their generous work, and I raise my prayer for our Salesian Family,
Don Bosco’s Family, asking God to grant us the grace to be always
faithful and that, guided by Mary Help of Christians and together with
the young people, we may joyfully walk the path that leads to Love.
Turin-Valdocco, December 8, 2019
Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, Sdb
Rector Major, Tenth Successor of Don Bosco
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Introduction
On the occasion of the meeting of the World Council
of the Salesian Family, the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime,
invited us to prepare an updated edition of the book “The Salesian
Family of Don Bosco”.
The edition of 2000 is, in fact, now updated, and in recent years new
groups have been accepted into the Family of Don Bosco. Fr. Ángel also
pointed out that this ecclesial reality has come a long and rich way,
with very significant changes. Therefore, it seems not only opportune
but also necessary to publish a new edition of this precious volume.
From that moment on, preparation of the current edition began. Some
members of the Secretariat for the Salesian Family – Fr. Eusebio
Muñoz, Fr. Giuseppe Casti, Fr. Jayapalan Raphael, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni
and Fr. Joan Lluís Playa – have undertaken this commitment and, after
a long and laborious process, we have arrived at the text that you now
have in your hands. The coordination work, carried out by Fr. Jayapalan
Raphael with focus and commitment, has been decisive for the success
of the work accomplished. The constant inspiration and orientation of
the Rector Major has enabled us to move with confidence towards
concrete objectives.
From the original Italian edition, the book has been translated into
French, English, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. These translations
responded to the universality of the Salesian Family by offering
a significant document in the main languages of the groups. A
considerable number of people contributed to the translation and
corrections, and we thank them for the dedication and competence
with which they have carried out their task.
The updated edition of the book helps us to understand better the vitality
of a charismatic Family of the Church that is growing significantly, both
quantitatively and qualitatively. It is easy to realize that the significant
increase in the number of groups shows the relevance of the Salesian
charism. This surprising growth is accompanied by a continuous
evolution in each of the groups; it reflects the depth of the response
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of the Salesian Family to God according to the challenges of a time,
such as ours, in continuous evolution, following the path marked by
Don Bosco.
The book is intended, first of all, for the groups of the Salesian Family
and their members. It is also intended to be an instrument for making
the Salesian Family visible in the Church and in society, together
with the great movement of people inspired by Don Bosco and his
educational message.
We hope that these pages will be one more reason to thank God for
the invaluable gift of the Salesian Family to society and the Church.
The content of the book becomes an invitation to respond to God
with fidelity. We are part of a sacred history, marked by numerous
testimonies of holiness, where Mary Help of Christians continues to
work miracles, accompanying our response to the vocation received
and to the continuous questions of our beneficiaries.
Fraternally,
Fr. Eusebio Muñoz, SDB
Delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian Family
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PRAYER TO DON BOSCO
Father and Teacher of youth,
Saint John Bosco,
who docile to the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
bequeathed to the Salesian Family
the treasure of your special love
for “the small and the poor ones,”
teach us to be
each day for them
signs and bearers of the love of God,
cultivating in our souls
the same sentiments of Christ
the Good Shepherd.
Ask for all the members of your Family
a heart full of kindness,
constancy in work,
wisdom in discernment,
courage to bear witness
to a sense of the Church and to missionary generosity.
Obtain for us from the Lord
the grace to be faithful
to the special covenant
that the Lord has made with us,
and help us,
so that, guided by Mary Help of Christians,
we may follow with joy,
together with the young,
the path that leads to love.
Amen.
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Abbreviations
AA Apostolicam Actuositatem: Decree of Vatican Council II on the Apostolate of the Laity
AG Ad Gentes: Decree of Vatican Council II on Missionary Activity
CD Christus Dominus: Decree of Vatican Council II on the Ministry of Bishops
ACG Acts of the SDB General Council
ACGS Acts of the SDB Special General Chapter (1971-1972)
BM The Biographical Memoirs of Saint John Bosco, by Fr. John Baptist Lemoyne, et al
ChL Christifideles Laici: Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II on the Lay Faithful (1988)
CCISF Charter of the Charismatic Identity of the Salesian Family
Const Constituciones or Constitutions
Cost Costituzioni
DCE Deus Caritas Est: Encyclical of Benedict XVI, God is Love (2006)
DS Damas Salesianas: The Association of Salesian Dames
FMA Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
GS Gaudium et Spes: Pastoral Constitution of Vatican Council II on the Church in the Modern World
LG Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution of Vatican Council II on the Church
MD Mulieris Dignitatem: Apostolic Letter of John Paul II on the Dignity and Vocation of
Woman (1988)
NAe Nostra Aetate: Declaration of Vatican Council II on the Relationship of the Church with non-
Christian Religions
PAL Project of Apostolic Life of the Association of Salesian Cooperators (2007)
PC Perfectae Caritatis: Decree of Vatican Council II on Consecrated Life
PO Presbyterorum Ordinis: Decree of Vatican Council II on the Priestly Ministry
SCG Sisters of the Charity of Jesus
SDB Salesians of Don Bosco
SF The Salesian Family
SPVA Statutes of the Project of Apostolic Life of the Salesian Cooperators (2013)
SRS Sollicitudo Rei Socialis: Encyclical of John Paul II on Social Concern (1987)
UR Unitatis Redintegratio: Decree of Vatican Council II on Ecumenism
VC Vita Consecrata: Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II on Consecrated Life (1996)
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Charter of
the Charismatic Identity of
the Salesian Family
of Don Bosco

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1
CHAPTER
The Salesian Family in the Church
Art. 1. The charismatic and spiritual experience of the Founder
With humble and joyful gratitude, we acknowledge that Don Bosco, by
the initiative of God and the maternal mediation of Mary, gave rise in
the Church to a singular experience of evangelical life.
The Spirit shaped in him a heart filled with a great love for God and for
his brothers and sisters, in particular the little ones and the poor, and in
this way made him Father and Teacher of a multitude of young people
as well as the Founder of a vast spiritual and apostolic Family.
Pastoral charity which found in the Good Shepherd its source and
model was for Don Bosco a constant inspiration in his work as educator
and evangelizer, guiding his life, his prayer and his missionary zeal. In
choosing the motto Da mihi animas, caetera tolle he wanted to express
his passion for God and for the young, ready for any sacrifice in order to
carry out the mission he saw in his dream at the age of nine.
In order to respond to the needs of the youth and the ordinary people
of his time, in 1841 he founded the Oratory, which he conceived as a
large family of boys, and established the Pious Society of Saint Francis
de Sales, which he wanted to be a vital part of the Church, which
recognized in the Supreme Pontiff its center of unity.
His meeting with Mary Domenica Mazzarello in 1864 persuaded him
to extend the educational frontiers to include girls; for this reason, with
her in 1872 he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians, dedicated to a work of education conducted with his spirit
but given a feminine interpretation by the Saint of Mornese.
Don Bosco also had contact with many Catholic men and women
in various ways dedicated to the good of youth, to the defense and
strengthening of the faith among the ordinary people; with them he
experienced the strength and the effectiveness of working in a united
manner. In this way the Association of the Salesian Cooperators came
into being, committed to carrying out in their families in the Christian
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communities to which they belonged, and in society, a shared apostolate
for the young, the ordinary people and the missions, animated by the
spirit of Valdocco.
Don Bosco dedicated time, energy, formative and organizational
commitment to the founding of these three first Groups. While
recognizing their different fields of action, he was always convinced
that the apostolic strength of the whole Family would depend on its
unity of purpose, of spirit, of method and style of education. The sign
and guarantee of this unity were the juridical links of the FMAs and of
the Cooperators with the Salesian Congregation, and in particular with
its superior, the Rector Major.
From Don Bosco also came into being the Association of the Devotees
of Mary Help of Christians (today the “Association of Mary Help of
Christians”) to promote veneration for the Blessed Sacrament and
devotion to Mary Help of Christians. Around Don Bosco the first Past
Pupils also began to gather.
Art. 2. The development of the Family
On account of his stature as “a great man with a charism”1 and as a saint,
Don Bosco takes his place in a singular manner among the founders of
institutes of consecrated life, religious and secular, and of apostolic lay
associations in the Church. To our amazement and gratitude, in fact,
that first seed has grown to become a flourishing tree.
To the first four groups founded by him, numerous other groups have
been added in the course of the twentieth century and at the beginning
of the new millennium. From the founder some of his spiritual sons
have drawn inspiration and guidance in order to give life in the different
continents and in various social-cultural contexts to new groups,
sometimes begun in collaboration with the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians and with the support of the Salesian Cooperators and the
friends of the Salesian work.
Many of these groups have been officially recognized as belonging
for various reasons to the Salesian Family. While having specific
vocations, they recognize in Don Bosco the common “Patriarch”, they
1 ASGC 7.
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feel themselves animated by his spirit, which they live out according to
their own characteristics, and they find themselves with the common
mission of serving the young, the poor, those suffering, as well as
those people not yet evangelized. Other groups are in the process of
moving towards a possible aggregation to this one large Family as a
significant sign of the perennial vitality of the Church.
In the implementation of the renewal promoted by Vatican Council II,
the awareness of belonging to the single spiritual and apostolic Family
has grown more and more; the animating role of the Salesians has
been clarified, re-affirming the Rector Major as the essential point
of reference; exchanges between the groups have been fostered,
arriving at an ever more fraternal communion and a sharing which is
increasingly convinced of both the formation plan and the missionary
activity.
Art. 3. Institutional structure
The term family describes the link which connects the various groups,
though in different degrees. It is not simply a matter of closeness or
of friendly rapport, but the formal expression of a communion that is
interior, charismatic and spiritual; it helps, therefore, to explain the
different levels of belonging to the Salesian Family.
This belonging draws on a common spirit which is the foundation of the
mission inspired by the charism of Don Bosco, while respecting the
particular and specific characteristics of each group. This demands a wise
process of discernment that can lead to official recognition.
Therefore, there are different levels of belonging. The first is that
enjoyed by the Salesians, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians,
the Cooperators and the members of the Association of Mary Help of
Christians: these are the first four groups established by Don Bosco
and the direct heirs to his work. To these all the other groups need to
refer and make comparisons as regards the spirit, field of mission, and
methodology of pedagogical and apostolic activity.
A second level of belonging is that of the numerous groups of consecrated
life, both religious and secular, as well as some Catholic associations
which have come into being through the creative efforts of some of Don
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Bosco’s sons. They enrich with their particular charismatic and spiritual
forms of expression the common patrimony of the Family.
A third level, finally, is constituted by particular titles to membership
constituted by the circle of 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 volunteer 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 on the six inhabited continents.The juridical title to belong
is conferred by the official letter of recognition which the Rector Major
sends in reply to the request made by the individual groups.
Art. 4. Unity and diversity
The Salesian Family of Don Bosco is a charismatic and spiritual
community comprising different groups, officially established and
recognized, linked together by ties of spiritual relationship and
apostolic affinity. These communities are formed by diversity of types.
They are: the difference of gender, male and female; the specific,
distinct vocations; the different ministries exercised in the service of
the people of God; the distinct forms of life as male or female religious,
consecrated lay men and women, male and female Christians who
are celibate or joined in matrimony; the plan of Salesian life proper to
each group and codified in the respective Statutes; the great variety of
social, cultural, religious and ecclesial contexts in which these various
groups live and work.
Unity is nourished by the common baptismal consecration by which
all are drawn into the mystery of the Trinity and in communion with
the Church; by participation in the Salesian mission at the service
of the young and the poor and for the promotion of a new Christian
humanism; by a new sense of citizenship and solidarity on a global
scale; by sharing the spirit of Don Bosco; by the exchange of spiritual
gifts within the Family; by a common reference to Mary Help of
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Christians and to Don Bosco, their holy Founder or Patriarch; by the
special link with the Rector Major, the successor of Don Bosco.
Art. 5. The mystery of the Trinity, the source of communion
The apostolic Family of Don Bosco is first and foremost a charismatic
Family, that is to say, a gift of the Spirit to the Church in view of a mission
(see I Cor 12:1 and 4-6); its truest and deepest roots, in fact, are to be
found in the mystery of the Trinity, in other words, in that infinite love
that unites the Father, the Son and the Spirit, source, model and goal of
every human family.
If that is its origin, the members of the Salesian Family recognize in their
lives the primacy of communion with God. This is the heart of Salesian
mysticism.2 This communion with the Trinitarian God is appropriately
codified in the constitutional texts of the individual groups.
Reference to God the Father inspires and motivates the members and
the groups of the Salesian Family to welcome each other as brothers
and sisters because every individual is loved by Him and called by Him
to collaborate in the vast field of the Salesian mission; it is an invitation
to overcome any fears, reservations or doubts, and to appreciate what
each one can give and succeeds in giving.
Reference to Jesus, Apostle of the Father, sent especially to the little
ones, the poor and the sick, motivates every group to highlight one or
the other of his features: Jesus the child or the adolescent; the hidden
life of Jesus at Nazareth; Jesus obedient, poor and chaste; as the good
Samaritan; Jesus the Good Shepherd who blesses the children and
gathers disciples, men and women, around him; the Christ who on the
cross shows his merciful love, as a victim offered in sacrifice; the risen
Lord, the first fruits and hope of those risen from the dead (see I Cor
15:20). The Salesian Family aims in this way to re-live all the attitudes
and the life of the Lord Jesus, differentiating its services for the benefit
of those to whom the individual groups are sent.
The reference to the Holy Spirit relates to the fruitfulness of our Family
since it is the Spirit who in raising up Don Bosco the Founder gave him
a spiritual posterity; in this way the particular groups came into being
2 See Egidio Viganò, “Closing Address,” in Atti del Convegno di studio sulla Animazione
della Famiglia Salesiana (Rome 1980), p. 56.
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through the work of the different founders, all of them, however, linked
to Don Bosco as their Patriarch.3
The Spirit, therefore, is prompting everyone to appreciate the diversity
of charisms and the multiplicity of the forces present in Christian
communities, and to know how to recognize His presence in people’s
consciences, even those outside the boundaries of the Church,4 and to
establish intelligent relationships of dialogue and collaboration with all
people of good will.
Art. 6. In communion with the Church
The Spirit of God distributes different charisms to the faithful “for the
common good” (1 Cor 12:7), inserting them harmoniously into the life
of the Church in view of its mission of the salvation of humanity.5
He is at the origin of a marvelous variety of groups of consecrated
men and women who, while contributing effectively to the mission of
the Church, enrich her with different gifts, manifesting in this God’s
manifold wisdom and making visible the characteristic marks of the
Church herself: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. 6
The Salesian Family consists of Christian men and women, consecrated
men and women who with the individuality of their own charism and
spirit, place themselves at the service of the mission of the Church,
especially in the vast world of youth, in working class areas, for the
poor and for peoples not yet evangelized (apostolicity).
Living at the heart of the Church and carrying out the Salesian mission,
it reflects the different gifts, unites together particular vocations within
a single spiritual and apostolic Family, expresses communion between
the various different ministries, all directed towards the service of the
people of God (catholicity).
Being present in the local Churches, it fosters communion among its
members and with the Successor of Peter, in this way re-living the
devotion to the Pope handed down by Don Bosco (unity); it participates
3 See ASGC 171.
4 See GS 22e.
5 See LG 12b; AA 3c.
6 See PC 1b.
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in their apostolic activity, offering its own particular contribution,
especially in the area of the mission to the young and to the working
classes; it promotes understanding and collaboration with other
groups and institutions for an all-round education of the individual; it
takes care of the vocational guidance of the young, educating them to
the faith and setting them on the way to an apostolic commitment in
the Church and for the world. In order to carry out their educational
mission, the various groups make good use of the support of the past
pupils, including those belonging to other religions or with different
views of the world (catholicity). The Family of Don Bosco, developing
its characteristic spirituality of charismatic origin, enriches the whole
Body of the Church with a model of Christian life all of its own7 (holiness).
Bearing witness to this are the numerous ranks of the spiritual sons
and daughters of Don Bosco already declared saints or proceeding
along the path of beatification and canonization.
Art. 7. For a new Christian humanism
The apostolic Family of Don Bosco is called Salesian because it is linked
to Saint Francis de Sales, whom Don Bosco chose as his inspiration and
patron, and with whose work and writings, he proposed that Christian
humanism and that expression of charity which corresponded so well
to his intimate aspirations.
It is a humanism that does not ignore human weakness but is based
on an unshakable confidence in the intrinsic goodness of the individual
who is loved by God and by Him called to Christian perfection, in every
state of life.
This humanism is a constitutive element of the charismatic and spiritual
experience of the groups founded by Don Bosco, and as a precious
inheritance has been made their own by the other groups which today
are aggregated to the single Family.
He whole Salesian Family, therefore, enters into this large movement,
offering to the Church an original contribution in the field of education
and in apostolic work.
“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
7 See ASGC 159.
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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, recognized 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.
With the founding of the groups which make up his Family, and with
other apostolic initiatives, such as missionary expansion, Don Bosco
intended to make his own contribution to the achievement of the
program of a “Christian society” to be restored in the midst of the
secularization proper to the 19th century, or to be established in
contexts not yet evangelized.
In creative fidelity to Don Bosco, the groups of the Salesian Family are
committed to offering to today’s society their own services, following
the new guidelines promoted by Vatican Council II and subsequent
official pontifical teaching regarding the relationship between the
Church and other religions and with contemporary society, centered
on interreligious dialogue,8 on the defense of the dignity of the human
person and of the family, on the promotion of justice and peace,9 on
intercultural dialogue especially in multi-ethnic contexts, and on the
safeguarding of creation.
Art. 8. The valuable contribution of women
The Salesian experience of the first groups and of those which
subsequently arose came from and was enriched by the significant and
effective contribution of a number of women.
It is recognized that Don Bosco, in drawing up the Preventive System
and in creating the family atmosphere that was evident at Valdocco,
received a significant contribution from Mamma Margaret. Nor can we
8 See LG 16; NAe 2-5.
9 See GS 77-93.
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forget Mary Domenica Mazzarello, who knew how to translate into
feminine terms the experience of Don Bosco, giving it a practical and
original face in both the spiritual life and the educational and apostolic
life, which is the real inheritance of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians.
The first Don Bosco Volunteers, guided by Fr. Philip Rinaldi, introduced
the feminine consecrated secular state into the Salesian Family: united
among themselves by the spiritual ties of the vows of chastity, poverty
and obedience, they carried out the common Salesian mission in the
contexts of the family and the daily work place.
At the start of almost all of the new groups of consecrated persons
in the Salesian Family which arose in the 20th century, we find a
small group of Christians, generally of humble condition and already
in various ways dedicated to apostolic works, who nurture an ideal of
consecrated life and, guided by a bishop or by a Salesian priest, give life
to and develop new foundations.
In the last decades of the 20th century, a consideration of the rightful
place of woman in the various continents, has led the groups of the
Salesian Family, and in a special way the religious congregations, the
female secular institutes and the Salesian associations of the laity to
reflect on a due appreciation of the contribution of the feminine intuition
in our world, following the guidelines, in many aspects innovative, of
the teaching of St. Pope John Paul II.10
Art. 9. For new forms of solidarity
The current phenomenon of globalization has increased inter-dependence
between individuals and peoples in the economic, cultural, political and
religious spheres; the opportunities are clearly to be seen, but so too
the danger of its turning into those forms of domination which cause
new kinds of poverty and increase marginalization; none the less there
is another way of thinking about globalization, that of solidarity inspired
and guided by Gospel values.
“This, then, is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at
the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary,
10 See MD 20 21 28-31; VC 57-58.
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it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the
common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual,
because we are all really responsible for all”. 11
The groups of the Salesian Family are engaged in exercising this
solidarity through a variety of educational and apostolic activities:
1. Education, which is the highest form of solidarity, if understood
and carried out according to the criteria suggested by the Salesian
mission. Today we could define it as the “ethics of being neighbor”,
that is: personalized interventions, relationships of friendship
and trust, listening to the deepest expectations of the young and
the poor, identifying possible and effective responses, faithful
accompaniment.
2. Civil, social and missionary voluntary work, which today is very
widespread among young people and adults, can be for some an
authentic vocation, since it requires the availability of energy and
time; it puts people in contact with concrete problems, it commits
them to support promotional initiatives, it invites them to exercise
co-responsibility, it urges them to educate themselves in gift and
service.
3. The social and political commitment, implemented above all by
groups of secular members, according to the criteria expressed
by the Magisterium of the Church. We read in Gaudium et Spes:
“The Church praises and esteems the work of those who for the
good of men devote themselves to the service of the state and
take on the burdens of this office” (GS 75); and in Christifideles Laici:
“The lay faithful cannot in any way withdraw from participation in
'politics', that is to say, in the manifold and varied economic, social,
legislative, administrative and cultural action designed to promote
the common good organically and institutionally”.
Art. 10. Exchange of gifts
As heirs to the Salesian charism and spirit, the groups establish among
themselves a very close relationship so that each group expresses the
identity of the Salesian Family, but not without reference to the others.
In fact, entering a group in virtue of a specific vocation means entering
11 See SRS 38.
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the whole Family; it is as though each one feels entrusted to the others
in a mutual relationship.
It is then that the different members enable the Family to live the
completeness of gifts and values, because in the various groups an
emphasis can be seen of the particular spiritual features which are the
common patrimony and which for this reason cannot be missing in
any Salesian heart. The communion of the Family places these at the
disposal of everyone.
All this is for the benefit of the mission, since it makes it possible
to undertake in a more adequate and effective manner the human
development and Christian education of the young, of poor people, of
the sick and of peoples not yet evangelized.
The relatively short history of the Salesian Family demonstrates
that without real communion there is the danger of a progressive
impoverishment of Don Bosco’s project even to the extent of being
unfaithful to it. The recognition that without the others the members of
a particular group cannot be themselves - an awareness which ought
to be cultivated by all - inspires appropriate expressions and practical
attitudes.
Art. 11. At home with Mary
From his childhood Don Bosco saw in Mary his Teacher and Mother,
since that was how she had been pointed out to him by the Personage
in his dream at the age of nine.
In his first educational undertaking, following the custom of the
local Church, he entrusted his work to Our Lady of Consolation; the
boys “poor and endangered” becoming aware of her protection and
consolation.
Later, in communion with the Universal Church living through the
experience of the definition of the Marian dogma, he proposed to them
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Mary Immaculate, presenting her as the teacher of their love and the
powerful support of their human and Christian development.
Finally, having recognized that in the founding and development of
his work “Mary has done everything”, even in extraordinary ways, he
dedicated the newly-born Congregation to the Virgin under the title
Help of Christians.
Then, receiving from Mary the inspiration to found the Institute of
the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, he wanted it to be a “living
monument” of his gratitude to the Help of Christians.12 To her also he
entrusted the Salesian Cooperators, so that in their apostolate they
might be protected by and find inspiration in her. He also set up the
Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians, linked to the
sanctuary in Turin, as a sign of gratitude for the maternal presence of
the Madonna in all his works.
This special reference to Mary has profoundly marked the charismatic
and spiritual identity of the various groups of the Salesian Family which
came into being during the 20th century. Some have even included her
in the name by which they are officially recognized in the Church, such
as the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the Catechist
Sisters of Mary the Immaculate Help of Christians, the Sisters Servants
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help
of Christians, the Daughters of the Queenship of Mary Immaculate, the
Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix.
Although all the groups of the Salesian Family venerate Mary Help of
Christians as their principal patroness, some refer to her presence with
various titles to emphasizeparticular aspects of their apostolate.
Mary is considered not only as Mother of the Church and Help of
Christians, but also as the Mother of all humanity, so that male and
female co-workers of the various groups of the Salesian Family, also
those belonging to other religions, cultivate a sincere devotion to her.
With good reason, therefore, one can say that the Salesian Family is a
Marian Family.
12 FMA Const. Art. 1; cf. Angelo Amadei, BM vol. X (New Rochelle: Salesiana, 1977), 265.
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Art. 12. With reference to Don Bosco
The originator of a true school of apostolic spirituality, Don Bosco is the
point of reference for all those who, responding to a particular impulse
of the Spirit, feel themselves called to share his mission today in the
various states of life and in the different forms of commitment.
This means that, belonging to the Salesian Family, they gather around
him as the center of unity. In fact, the founders of the groups which
arose in the 20th century are all spiritual sons of Don Bosco, members
of his Congregation. Their constant preoccupation was to carry out the
vast mission in new contexts and with new apostolic forces, in which
they had infused the spirit of their Father and Teacher. What links
together the different groups and their members in a single Family is
a kind of spiritual relationship with Don Bosco, due to the presence of
the Spirit, the One who in the Church unites together those gifted with
particular charisms.
It is a relationship that finds expression in the pastoral charity that is
Don Bosco’s. Apostolic passion was the spiritual energy that drove him
to seek souls and serve God alone; it is a charity that filled hearts, minds
and plans intended to expand and give stability to his work. For this
reason he gathered around himself a variety of people; he coordinated
and harmonized the roles and manifold gifts as well as the different
states of life and ministries.
Don Bosco found the source of all his strength in an interior life
constantly open to a relationship with God. For us too, educative and
apostolic love requires a practical and demanding form of interior life.
Art. 13. The Rector Major in the Salesian Family
Belonging to the apostolic Family of Don Bosco has its origin in
communion and is nourished by communion. This consists in
corresponding to the Spirit, who leads it towards unity, bringing into
existence and giving practical and even official forms to it, so as to
ensure an effective relationship and collaboration in activities.
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Belonging to the Salesian Family, therefore, of necessity requires a vital
center which makes the reference to Don Bosco, the common mission
and the same spirit, a reality.
This center, according to the mind of Don Bosco, is the Rector Major. In
him all recognize a threefold ministry of unity: successor of Don Bosco,
common father, center of unity for the entire Family. It falls within his
official competence to admit to the Salesian Family the groups which
request it, according to the pre-established criteria.
Since this is his mission, his duty is to offer the necessary guidelines
to ensure the fruitfulness of the charism in each group of the Family.
Through his example and teaching he constructs unity and ensures
in the variety of the specific vocations, fidelity to the spirit and the
coordination of certain initiatives. He exercises this ministry with the
paternity which was Don Bosco’s own: an approach that requires
understanding and kindness, attention to the growth of each one,
guidance in charismatic fidelity, commitment to the fruitfulness of the
Salesian vocation in all its expressions, just as Don Bosco wrote: “Your
Rector will have care of you and of your eternal salvation”.
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2
CHAPTER
The Mission of the Salesian Family
Art. 14. A charismatic mission in the Church and for the Church
The mission of the Church flows from the free initiative of the Father,
passes through the mandate of Jesus Christ and is perpetuated by the
work of the Holy Spirit.13 It is one and is entrusted to all the members
of the people of God on account of their Baptism and Confirmation.
Particular charisms of the Spirit, however, mean that the mission is
carried out in different ways according to the different persons or
groups to whom they are sent.14
The mission of Don Bosco and of his spiritual Family is part of the
common Christian vocation to the apostolate. But because it is in
response to a spiritual gift, its origin is charismatic: it is the Spirit of the
Father and of the Risen Lord who, as in the past, sent Don Bosco to the
young and to the working classes, in the course of history continues to
send his spiritual sons and daughters to perpetuate the apostolate to
the young, the working classes and the missions.
This particular mission is influenced by and responds to, among other
things, the signs of the times.15 For us, the needs and the expectations,
the aspirations and the spiritual requirements of the young, especially
the poor ones, of ordinary people and of peoples not yet evangelized,
are signs through which, as times change and in different social and
cultural contexts, the Spirit calls and sends the various groups of the
Salesian Family to carry out their mission. This mission being carried
out in the Church and for the Church is subject to its approval, authority
and legislation, so that the charismatic mission takes its place in the
harmonious carrying out of the Church’s activity at various levels.
Then the charismatic mission finds its practical application in the
particular law of each group of the Salesian Family. Within the Society
of Saint Francis de Sales, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help
of Christians and the other religious institutes, the ones who send or
mandate are the legitimate superiors respectively. In each case the
13 See LG 2-4; AG 2-4; UR 2.
14 See LG 9b 13ab 17 32; AA 2a; AG 2a 5 6 10 35-37.
15 See GS 11.
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sender is collegial: this happens, for example, in the election of the
members of the general council by a chapter assembly.
In the case of the Don Bosco Volunteers and the other secular institutes,
as also with the Salesian Cooperators, the Damas Salesianas and the
other Salesian lay associations, there is no one in authority who sends.
The individual, however, is bound to follow faithfully the indications
regarding the mission contained in his or her own Statutes, which
specify, on the basis of particular law, the practical exercise of the
Salesian apostolate in the world.
Art. 15. An apostolic Family
The Salesian Family is an apostolic Family. The groups which make it up
are all responsible protagonists of the common mission although to a
different extent and in different ways.16
In founding the Society of Saint Francis de Sales and the Institute of the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco organizedthem as
religious congregations, not contemplative but “apostolic”. According to
the intentions of their founders, the spiritual sons of Don Bosco, all the
other religious congregations today belonging to the Salesian Family
have a clear apostolic orientation and form part of those religious
institutes recognized as “apostolic”. Some groups have come into being
in the so-called “mission” lands with the specific aim of taking part
in the work of evangelizationAd Gentes in a diversity of contexts and
cultures. Belonging to this category are the Caritas Sisters of Jesus, the
Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Missionary Sisters
of Mary Help of Christians, the Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help
of Christians, the Daughters of the Queenship of Mary Immaculate, the
Sisters Announcers of the Lord, and the Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix.
The associations of the Salesian Cooperators, the Damas Salesianas,
the Witnesses of the Risen Lord and the Friends of Canção Nova are
ecclesial associations of an apostolic nature, founded with the specific
aim of putting into practice in a vast, expansive manner, and in a secular
way, the mission of Don Bosco and of the respective founders.
16 See ASGC 163
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The secular institutes of the Don Bosco Volunteers, the Daughters of
the Queenship of Mary Immaculate, the Volunteers with Don Bosco
and the Disciples all have apostolic ends: their members carry out a
Salesian apostolate of a secular nature in the context of the family, the
world of work, social relationships, and civil commitments.
In virtue of their particular vocations, the individuals belonging to
a specific group are persons who are sent, called therefore to carry
out a common mission according to the role entrusted to them, their
capacities and the possibilities that they have.
On the basis of the constitutional norms, among the Salesians, the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the other religious institutes,
the mission is assumed and put into practice above all by the community
– both provincial and local – which is therefore the primary executor of
the mission.
Art. 16. “Mission to the young, the working classes and the
missions”
The mission of the Salesian Family is addressed to the young and to
adults, considered as both protagonists and beneficiaries of education
and located in their particular social, cultural, religious and ecclesial
contexts, with particular reference to the “places of mission”. To
indicate this, there has come into current use the formula mission to
the young, the working classes and the missions; three dimensions which
complement each other.
1. Mission to the young. According to the precise intention of Don
Bosco, the groups of the Family which he founded have as their
preferred beneficiaries poor young people, abandoned and in danger
or, in modern terms, youth of both sexes most in need on account of
situations of economic poverty or affectively, culturally or spiritually
deprived. This choice is shared explicitly by other groups and finds its
place in their constitutional texts. In the world of youth all the groups
pay particular attention to those who show signs of a specific apostolic,
lay, consecrated or priestly vocation. Some groups by preference
direct their attention to male adolescents and young people. Other
groups give preference to female young people at all stages of their
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development. Others again concern themselves with all young people
without distinction. A good number of the groups give their special
attention to those young people, male or female, who are the victims
of serious forms of marginalization, exploitation and violence.
2. Mission to the working classes. Enlightened from on high, Don
Bosco also turned his attention to adults, by preference those who
were humble and poor, the working classes, the urban underclasses,
immigrants, the marginalized, summarily, to all those who were most
in need of material and spiritual assistance. Faithful to the guidance
of Don Bosco, the groups of the Salesian Family share this preferred
option. The Association of Mary Help of Christians has inserted into its
new Regulations the Salesian apostolate directed in particular to the
working classes.
Special attention needs to be given to the family, the place where the
process of human development begins, which is intended to prepare
young people for love and the acceptance of life, and the first school of
solidarity among people and peoples. All are engaged in ensuring that
it is afforded dignity and is soundly based so that it may become, in an
ever-more evident way the small “domestic church”.17
Some groups, in virtue of a particular charism, extend their Salesian
apostolate to special categories of people: the Daughters of the Sacred
Heart to lepers, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus to the elderly, the Damas
Salesianas to the sick.
3. Missionary apostolate Ad Gentes. Don Bosco cultivated the missionary
ideal and in a practical way took part in the missionary work of the
Church in his day. He wanted the Salesian Society and the Institute of
the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to dedicate themselves to the
“missions”; and that is what the two congregations have done since
their beginnings, with an extraordinary expansion leading to their being
present in all the continents. From the very beginning, missionary
cooperation has also been an essential feature of the Association of
Salesian Cooperators. The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians
and the Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians also
dedicate themselves to missionary work as a priority. This form of
Salesian apostolate clearly enters the mission of the Volunteers of Don
17 LG 11b
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Bosco, the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the Salesian
Oblates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus, the
Witnesses of the Risen Lord, the Damas Salesianas and the Disciples.
Art. 17. At the service of the Gospel
The Son of God became incarnate to reveal the face of a Father “who
loves life” and put himself at the service of the physical and spiritual
“well-being” of men and women, especially those most in need of help
and of hope: “The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45).
Following the example of the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, the Church,
and within it the Salesian Family, puts itself at the service (diaconia) of
humanity in order to proclaim the Gospel and to call everyone to the
fullness of life.
It is a service which according to the indications of the post-Conciliar
magisterium18 includes the renewal of humanity through social works
and various forms of educational action; personal and community
Christian witness; the explicit proclamation of the Gospel through
religious teaching and catechesis; missionary work through interreligious
dialogue (especially the sharing of life and of prayer), collaboration with
those belonging to other religions in the fight against unjust situations,
and their accompaniment when they decide to enter the Church; the
animation of prayer, in particular liturgical, of the Christian community;
the many initiatives of human and Christian solidarity; the many forms of
missionary cooperation; the evangelizing presence in those areas marked
by religious indifference or atheism.
The forming of “good Christians and upright citizens” is the aim most
often expressed by Don Bosco to indicate everything of which the young
stand in need in order to live fully human and Christian lives: clothes,
food, lodging, work, study, free time; joy, friendship; active faith, the
grace of God, the way to holiness; participation, dynamism, a place in
society and in the Church. His educative experience suggested to him
a plan and a particular style of approach, which he himself summed up
18 See The encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi of Paul VI and the encyclical Redemptoris Missio
of John Paul II.
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in the Preventive System, which “is totally based on reason, religion and
loving-kindness”.19
The various groups of the Salesian Family, taking up again the intuitions
and the experiences of Don Bosco, and re-interpreting them in the
light of the renewed ecclesiology of the Council and of papal teaching
regarding evangelization, undertake their work as educators and
evangelizers with a variety of different formulas: “pastoral-educational
service”, practiced according to the Preventive System; “educating by
evangelizing and evangelizing by educating”; “all-round education
in the style of the Preventive System”; educating and evangelizing
according to the “pedagogy of kindness”; and similar expressions.
Fundamentally there are three areas in which the Salesian Family
puts into practice its multiform Gospel service: human development,
education and evangelization. For all the groups, evangelization,
understood as the proclamation of and witnessing to the Gospel, is the
priority objective of their mission.
Art. 18. In the new religious and cultural contexts
In the process of renewal and of communion among all the forces
which go to make it up, the Salesian Family has arrived at certain
fundamental options with regard to the missionary commitment in the
new cultural context, marked, among other things, by an ever more
rapid change in mentality and habits and a growing human mobility,
with the presence in the same territory of people belonging to different
religions and cultures.
1. Promoting Salesian humanism: This places at the center the
individual, whose dignity needs to be safeguarded and promoted
in all its expressions. In educative terms this means re-awakening
and mobilizing all the potential of youth: the capacity to think;
the variety of its affective inheritance; the forces of will directed
towards freedom and strengthened by grace.
19 Giovanni Bosco, Il sistema preventivo nella educazione della gioventù, in Pietro
Braido, ed., Don Bosco Educatore: scritti e testimonianze, 3rd ed. (Rome: LAS, 1997), pp.
248ff.
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It gives due weight to all the values that are authentically human –
among them, those such as work and culture, friendly relationships
and social commitment, artistic good taste, professional
competence and academic achievement, moral uprightness in both
private and public life, and the little things of everyday life that give
it its flavor; these values need to be defended and promoted by
everyone.
In addition, Salesian humanism strives to give meaning to everyday life
and provide a reason for hope and future prospects for the individual
and for society. Finally, it sets out to help everyone find his or her
rightful place in society and in the Church, recognizing that every young
person has the right to be helped to discover his or her own vocation.
2. Taking its place in practical situations: For all the groups of the Salesian
Family operating in the various continents, being engaged on behalf of
the individual is a challenge that is not easy given the diversity and the
complexity of the local contexts from the social, cultural, and religious
standpoints. In order to identify the possible and effective actions to be
taken in response to emerging needs, what is required is the capacity
to appreciate the local situation with intelligence and competence,
always drawing inspiration from the guidelines of the Pope and the
local hierarchy.
3. Taking care to be significant: The presence of the Salesian Family
becomes significant because of the witness value of sharing what one
has to offer, the practical operative proposals that arise from listening
directly to people over a long period of time, and the processes
of learning from each other which occur when people really work
together for the future with a common aim. Then together they face
the difficulties and identify possibilities: problems that can arise with
people and institutions; the defense and the promotion of moral values
while at the same time respecting different positions and convictions
of conscience; new solutions which need to be discovered starting
from past experiences, and looking towards the future; the defense
of the rights of those who are the weakest and most exposed; an
effective presence in the political arena, especially in those places
where educational policies are drawn up; the promotion of public
opinion nourished by human, Gospel and Salesian values. It is obvious
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that the criteria for the significance of a Salesian presence have different
applications in the various geographical and cultural contexts: what is
possible and appropriate in one place may not be so in another; what
some can do in certain situations may turn out to be impossible for
others. Being faithful to the one mission does not impose on different
people the same procedures.
4. Taking up the challenge posed by the means of communication: Don
Bosco clearly saw the effectiveness of the means of communication
and left to his spiritual Family the task of making good use of them
as means of personal and communitarian growth, and at the same
time as means of defending and promoting the Faith among the
working classes.
Today the means of information technology make public what at
one time was considered private; they act in an instantaneous
and pervasive manner, involving large numbers of people and
fascinating the young especially, producing changes in the way
people think and relate, spreading suggestions for life-styles which
are not always in harmony with a humanism inspired by Christian
values.
On the other hand, such means offer unexplored opportunities for
education and evangelization. In fact, the possibilities afforded by
networking and distance communication make it possible to do a
variety of things and create forms of synergy in ways that were
unimaginable in the past. The apostolic Family of Don Bosco
intends to put to good use these still unexplored possibilities in the
Salesian mission and to seize the opportunities that society offers,
combining abilities already acquired with innovative creativity.
Art. 19. Communion and collaboration in the mission
The link that unites the members of our Family is that of a “mission to
communion”.20 The various groups, therefore, are called to live the gift
of communion which comes from God, carrying out the common but
differentiated service of the Gospel, according to the specific needs of
the beneficiaries, their particular aims and their varied styles.
20 ChL 32.
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In all his activity as educator, pastor and founder, Don Bosco showed
a great ability in recognizing the potential and the gifts of each one, in
giving responsibility even to the youngest among his collaborators, in
harmonizing in apostolic work the most varied skills, in identifying for
each one work corresponding to his inclinations, ability and formation.
He was always aware of the need for cooperative charity in educational
and pastoral service, convinced that the Holy Spirit raises up charisms
for the benefit of the whole Church.
Communion among the groups in and for the mission is being seen as
more and more indispensable in the commitment to education and in
the missions; in fact, it is recognized that there is an urgent need to
coordinate activities, to present a variety of models of Christian life and
ensure ministries that are complementary.
In this way, working together makes the witness more effective
and the proclamation of the Gospel more convincing, fosters a more
lively apostolic charity, and makes it possible to appreciate better the
characteristic traits of each group while it reflects and gives expression
to the identity of the Family in communion and in the mission.
For this reason, while respecting the autonomy of each group, it is
necessary to safeguard ways of collaboration, and, if necessary, find
some new ones that may be possible.
Art. 20. Autonomy and singularity of each group
Communion in and for the mission does not prejudice, but rather
clarifies and strengthens the autonomy and the specific nature of
each group in the Family.
In fact, the various groups enjoy their own autonomy – not only
spiritual, formative, economic and governmental, but also apostolic,
fulfilling the mission in their own structures and according to their
own particular ways.
As a matter of fact, it is not a question of imposing a uniform way
of acting for everyone: that would lead to a levelling out of the
differences, causing confusion and uncertainty in the apostolate.
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It is rather a question of harmonizing what each one is doing in the
context of the whole project shared by everyone.
The specific character of each group in the communion, therefore,
needs to be recognized and promoted. Young people have the
right to be able to make use of the specific service offered by each
group; it is a richness for the Family and for the whole Church, in
this way multiplying the forces at work for the good of the young.
This communion in autonomy is an invitation to be co-responsible
in the mission but does not necessarily imply co-responsibility in
every single enterprise or in every particular local area.
Art. 21. Apostolic co-responsibility
Co-responsibility requires as a prerequisite that each group be able to
ensure its autonomous capacity with regard to its own development,
the formation of its members, and its apostolic enterprises, and that
it carries out, with the greatest possible effectiveness, its specific
vocation and mission ensuring within itself that vitality which is the
fruit of fidelity and creativity. To be hoped for therefore are:
1. Forms of collaboration between the different groups so that the
Salesian mission might be carried out in its various sectors and
fields and in the different kinds of works;
2. Collaboration among the groups which are living and working in
the same local area, in conjunction with the pastoral structures
of the local Church and civil institutions so as to offer a Salesian
contribution, varied in its richness and contents, to the common
construction of the civilization of love.
It is obvious that the carrying out of a common program requires a
process of convergence that can sometimes mean giving up certain
points of view or some future prospects linked to a single group to
which one belongs.
In any case, co-responsibility demands the common commitment
to pursue certain shared objectives. All the groups are called to
spread abroad – together with the values of the Gospel – the
characteristic traits of the charismatic and spiritual identity of
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Don Bosco’s apostolic Family. They are the characteristics of the
entire Family and therefore cannot be the concern of only some
groups. Everyone, including the individual members, is personally
responsible for animating and promoting the spiritual heritage
received.
The objectives which need to be recognized and pursued by each
group are:
1. To share the preoccupation regarding education in the current
historical climate, seeking the best ways to educate boys and
girls in the fundamental values of life and to bring them into
contact with the Gospel.
2. To make the Preventive System known: it represents the synthesis
of Don Bosco’s pedagogical wisdom and constitutes a prophetic
message which he left to his heirs and the whole Church. It is
a spiritual and educational experience based on reason, religion
and loving-kindness.
• Reason underlines the values of Christian humanism, such as
the search for meaning, work, study, friendship, cheerfulness,
piety, freedom not detached from responsibility, and the
harmony between human sound judgement and Christian
wisdom.
• Religion means making space for the Grace which saves,
cultivating a desire for God, fostering the meeting with Christ
the Lord as this gives a full meaning to life and is a response
to the thirst for happiness, progressively taking one’s place in
the life and mission of the Church.
• Loving-kindness expresses the fact that in order to create
an effective educative relationship it is necessary that the
young are not only loved but know they are loved; it is a
special kind of relationship and affection that awakens
in the hearts of the young all their potential and makes it
mature even to total self-donation.
Reason, religion, and loving-kindness are today more than
ever indispensable elements in the work of education, and
valuable stimuli in response to the expectations of the new
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generations for giving life to a society that is more human.
3. Through personal witness and word of mouth to spread the
Salesian spirit: Salesian humanism invests in every individual
and obliges all educators to work tirelessly for its expansion, also
in sometimes difficult circumstances; it is the foundation for a
new civilization of love.
4. Promoting the Salesian Movement: Don Bosco involved many
people in his educational and missionary work; at all levels he
tried to ensure that attention was given to his boys and to people
in need. The large Salesian Movement and the links among the
many forces at work within it are making a contribution from
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3
CHAPTER
Spirituality
Art. 22. Horizons of the apostolic spirituality of the Salesian
Family
Apostolic spirituality is the center that inspires and animates the life
of communion in and for the mission of the Salesian Family. It is, in
fact, a communion which does not arise from human planning, nor
does it coincide with an vv no matter how perfect, nor with refined
techniques for bringing people together, but flows from that pastoral
charity which, having been evoked by the Spirit in the heart of Don
Bosco, inspired him even to the heights of holiness.
Spirituality means that our life is being guided by the Spirit, who graces
with his charisms the various groups belonging to the one Family.
Apostolic means an inner force which spurs on to donation and service,
giving salvific effectiveness to the educative and evangelizing activity
and uniting the whole of life around this center of inspiration.
Moved by faith, hope and charity, the members of the Salesian Family
share in the action of God, who is always working to communicate His
merciful love to every individual, and they feel themselves to be fully a
part of the communion and apostolate of the Church.
Art. 23. Collaborating with God the Father
Putting God as the unifying center of one’s life, the source of fraternal
communion and the inspiration for one’s activity, presupposes a
certain image of God – not the distant God, totally immersed in His
solitary state and imperturbable silence with no interest in the earth,
but God-Love (see I Jn. 4:16) who gives Himself totally to humanity, a
“Father who goes on working” (Jn. 5:17), sharing the life of His children,
engaged in responding in practical ways and with infinite love to
people’s expectations; a God so involved in our history as to lay Himself
open to human freedom, accepting the risk of rejection, always giving
Himself as love which forgives (agape). 21
21 See DCE 10.
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Silently but effectively working within history, this God associates with
Himself active and busy co-workers, who in the practical circumstances
of life devote all their energies to proclaiming His love and undertaking
good works, drawing from Him the strength to love, give and serve.
For the Salesian Family and its members, “living in the presence of
God” means cultivating an intense and constant loving relationship
with Him (“union with God”); feeling oneself therefore filled with a
love similar to His, that which gives itself in a loving and selfless way
and freely spends itself for the special beneficiaries of the mission; it
also means knowing how to see and to respond to the signs of his
mysterious presence in the expectations and the requests of the men
and women of our day.
It is to this God, the merciful Father, that Don Bosco addressed his
heartfelt prayer: “Da mihi animas, cetera tolle”. To all his disciples, men
and women, Don Bosco repeats: “The most divine of all divine things is
to cooperate with God in the salvation of souls, and it is a sure path to
the highest holiness”.
Art. 24. Living with the sentiments of Christ
Don Bosco placed at the center of his spiritual life and apostolic action
a convinced devotion to Jesus present in the Eucharist, the Master of
the house – as he often used to say – and to the Divine Savior, whose
gestures of salvation he wanted to imitate.
Grafted onto Christ by virtue of our Baptism, we allow ourselves to be
assimilated to Him, docile to the action of the Spirit, so as to be able
to say with Saint Paul: “Life to me is Christ” (Phil. 1:21), “I live now not
with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20);
but also hearing the other exhortation of the Apostle: “In your minds
you must be the same as Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).
This means: an attentive awareness of being the One sent by God
guided in everything by the Spirit; unconditional obedience to the
will of the Father in carrying out the mission entrusted to Him; facing
with courage difficulties and contradictions (see Jn. 5:17-18); the
continuous and generous commitment to freeing people from all kinds
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of death and communicating to everyone life and joy; a passionate
concern for the little ones and the poor with the solicitude of the Good
Shepherd; love which always forgives even to becoming a victim on the
cross; the promise of being the travelling companion of His disciples
as He was with the two on the way to Emmaus. It is the image of the
Good Shepherd, in particular, which inspires our activity, indicating two
valuable aspects of Salesian apostolic spirituality.
The first: The apostle of the Lord puts at the center of his or her
attention individuals as such, and loves them just as they are, without
prejudice or exception, precisely as the Good Shepherd does, even with
the lost sheep.
The second: the apostle does not put himself forward but always and
only the Lord Jesus, the only one who can liberate from all forms of
slavery, the only one who can lead to the pastures of eternal life (see
Jn. 10:1-15), the only one who never abandons the lost sheep but
makes His own the weakness, and full of confidence and hope, goes
in search of the lost, retrieves and leads the lost back so that the lost
might have life to the full.
Rooted in Christ and conformed to Him is the deepest joy for a son or
daughter of Don Bosco. From this comes love for the Word and the
desire to live the mystery of Christ re-presented by the liturgy of the
Church; the careful celebration of the sacraments of the Eucharist and
Reconciliation, which educate to Christian freedom, to conversion of
heart and to the spirit of sharing and service; participation in the Paschal
Mystery of the Lord, which opens the way to a new understanding of
life and of its meaning, personal and communitarian, interior and social.
Art. 25. Being docile to the Spirit
Christian life is, of its very nature, life in the Spirit. Caught up in the
process of renewal promoted by Vatican Council II, the Salesian Family
has tried to deepen its relationship with the Spirit of the Risen Lord,
defining its own identity in terms of Don Bosco’s charism, a true gift
of the Spirit and source of the spirituality that animated his apostolic
Family.
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The features of the person of the Holy Spirit taken from the revealed
Word, are particularly illuminating for the spiritual-apostolic life of
those belonging to the various groups of the Salesian Family: the Spirit
is the Creator and gives life; the Spirit is the One sent by the Father and
by the Risen Lord in order to extend in history the work of salvation; it
is the Spirit who introduces believers to the Truth/Christ so that they
may live in Him and of Him; the Spirit is the voice who speaks to the
conscience of people to open them to the light of truth and prepare
them for the gift of love;22 the Spirit is a presence particularly alive
and active in Christians communities, uniting them in communion and
service, instilling in the faithful the spirit of the mission; the Spirit is the
One who anticipates, assists and accompanies those who are engaged
in the work of evangelization.23
The attitudes that the members of the Salesian Family are called to
assume in regard to this Spirit are: serenity and trust in the certainty
that we are always supported by the power of the Spirit; docility to
the secret inspirations; wise discernment of the presence in human
events, both personal and communitarian; intelligent and courageous
collaboration in the work for the coming of the Kingdom of God in
people’s lives, in the Church and in society; gratitude for the charism of
Don Bosco and generosity in putting into practice his educational and
apostolic plan.
Art. 26. Communion and mission in the Church
Don Bosco had a great love for the Church, which he showed in his
sense of belonging to the ecclesial community. At the same time, aware
of having received a particular charism for the education of youth, he
developed it so as to build up the Church in various cultural contexts.
Don Bosco’s Family has among its family treasures a rich tradition
of filial fidelity to the Successor of Peter, and of communion and
collaboration with the local Churches: “No effort should be spared
when the Church and the Pope are at stake”.24 “The counsels and even
their (the Popes’) wishes must be a command for us”.25
22 See AA 29c; GS 22e.
23 See AG 4.
24 Giovanni Battista Lemoyne, BM vol. V (New Rochelle: Salesiana, 1969), p. 383; C SDB art. 13.
25 See BM vol. V, p. 380
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This unconditional devotion to the Pope was in Don Bosco an expression
of his passion for the Church. And it is an inheritance that we accept
and by which we live.
The Church, in fact, is the visible presence of the Risen Christ in the
history of humanity; it is the communion of brothers and sisters in the
unity of the faith and in the variety of charisms and ministries; it is
charity which urges us to make the love of God known by proclaiming
the Gospel; it is a service offered to humanity in order to build a world
that corresponds to God’s plan; it is a family which finds the center of
its unity in Christ the Lord and the servant of unity in the Successor of
Peter.
The spirituality inherited from Don Bosco is eminently ecclesial: it
expresses and nourishes the communion of the Church, building up
within Christian communities a network of fraternal relationships
and active collaboration; it is an educational spirituality that sets out
to help young people and the poor feel at ease in the Church, and to
become builders of the Church and participators in her mission; it is
a spirituality which enriches the whole Church with the gift of the
holiness of so many of his sons and daughters.
Art. 27. Everyday spirituality
Don Bosco drew inspiration from Saint Francis de Sales, recognizing
him as the teacher of a spirituality that was simple because based on
essentials, popular because open to all, attractive because full of human
values, and therefore particularly suitable in the work of education. In
his fundamental work (Treatise on the Love of God, or Theotimus), the
holy Bishop of Geneva speaks about “ecstasy”. This word does not
so much indicate extraordinary spiritual phenomena as, according to
the etymology of the word, going out from oneself and being inclined
towards the other; it is the experience of someone who allows oneself
to be attracted, convinced and conquered by God, entering ever more
deeply His mystery. For Saint Francis de Sales there are three kinds of
ecstasy:
– intellectual ecstasy: this is wonder at what God is, but also
amazement at the great things God has done in creation and
continues to do in the life of individuals and in the history
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of humanity; it is a gaze which grows clearer if we use it in
meditating on the Word: it is the Word, in fact, which opens our
eyes so that we can see things as God sees them;
– affective ecstasy: this is having a personal experience of the
love of God for us, so that the desire to correspond to it grows,
and, nourished by such a love, we are ready to give our talents
and our lives for God’s glory and the cause of the Kingdom; it
presupposes constant vigilance, purification of the heart, the
practice of prayer;
– ecstasy of action and of life: for Saint Francis de Sales, it is
this which crowns the other two, because intellectual ecstasy
could become pure speculation, and affective ecstasy simple
sentiment. Ecstasy of action, on the other hand, reveals a
generosity and a selflessness that can come only from God;
and it is transformed into practical and effective dedication to
people’s good in various forms of charity.
The Salesian Family, in its reflection on Don Bosco the Founder, has
translated the nature of the spirituality and the mysticism of Saint
Francis de Sales into a simple and challenging formula: everyday
spirituality.
Art. 28. Don Bosco’s “contemplation in action”
The mysticism of Don Bosco finds its expression in his motto Da mihi
animas, cetera tolle, and is identified with the “ecstasy of action” of
Saint Francis de Sales. It is the mysticism of daily work in harmony of
thought, feeling and will with God; in such a way that the needs of one’s
brothers and sisters, especially the young, and apostolic concerns are
an invitation to prayer, while constant prayer nourishes the generous
and self-sacrificing working with God for the good of one’s brothers
and sisters.
It is the mysticism of “contemplation in action” described as follows by
Blessed Fr. Philip Rinaldi, who knew Don Bosco’s inner life very well:
“Don Bosco combined to the highest degree exterior activity, tireless,
totally absorbing, on a vast scale, full of responsibility, with an interior
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life which was based on a sense of the presence of God, and which
little by little, became habitual, constant and vital so as to be perfect
union with God. In this way he came to that state of perfection which
is contemplation in action, the ecstasy of action, in which he was totally
absorbed until the very end, with ecstatic serenity, in the salvation of
souls”.26
The Salesian Family takes up this mysticism, lived so intensely by Don
Bosco, and left by him as a precious heritage to all his spiritual disciples.
Art. 29. Dynamic apostolic charity
Dynamic apostolic charity represents the heart of Don Bosco’s spirit,
the essence of Salesian life, as well as the force behind the apostolic
commitment of the members of the Salesian Family.
Charity/Love is the very name of God (see I Jn. 4:16). It does not indicate
merely the powers of the human heart but is participation in the
anticipatory mercy of the Father, in the compassionate heart of Christ
and the indescribable love of the Holy Spirit. This is the distinguishing
feature of the disciples of the Lord: loving one another with the same
love with which God loves.
Apostolic: Apostolic charity is participation in the infinite love of the
Father, who sends Jesus so that we may have life to the full; it is a
sharing in the solicitude of the Good Shepherd for the salvation of
all; it is openness to the flow of love with which the Spirit works in
consciences and in people’s life-history.
Dynamic: Apostolic charity expresses lively activity, a capacity for
innovation, not being satisfied with what has been done already, not
giving way to habit, avoiding all kinds of mediocrity and the comfortable,
but rather with passion and creativity seeking the most necessary
and effective way of responding in practical terms to the expectations
of the world of youth and of the working classes.
For Don Bosco all this implied an oratorian heart: it is fervor, zeal, making
all possible resources available, seeking new paths, a capacity to resist
26 Filippo Rinaldi, Conferenze e scritti (Turin: LDC, 1990), p. 144.
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under trial, the will to start again after defeats, an optimism that is
nurtured and cultivated and spread abroad; it is that concern, full of
faith and of charity, which finds in Mary a shining example of self-giving.
In the groups in which Salesian service is directed towards infants and
children, dynamic apostolic charity becomes evangelical tenderness; in
the groups which educate adolescents and young people it becomes
acceptance, participation and guidance in the goals of growth and
development; in the groups dedicated to the care of people affected
by various forms of poverty it has a tone of merciful and providential
love; in the groups whose apostolate is among the sick and the elderly
it becomes compassionate charity; in the Daughters of the Sacred
Hearts it shows itself in oblational love, especially towards the lepers;
in the groups engaged in a Salesian apostolate among simple people
scattered in far-distant villages or immersed in urban slums, it becomes
a humble love that offers solidarity and oneself.
Art. 30. The grace of unity
Expressions used in Salesian circles to refer to the source of this
apostolic charity are the grace of unity, apostolic interior life, the
contemplative dimension of life, a vital synthesis, a single movement
of love for God and for the young, the liturgy of life.
Evangelizing by educating and educating by evangelizing is a formula well
known by now to express the interior unity of the members of the
Salesian Family, since it refers not only to a method of education but
also to the spirituality of individuals and of the groups: when one allows
oneself to be guided by the Spirit, life and the apostolate form a single
whole, just like prayer and action, love for God and one’s neighbor,
attention to oneself and dedication to others, education in human
values and the proclamation of the Gospel, belonging to a group and
being part of the Church.
Everything leads to unity; and it is the vital synthesis which is holiness.
From this comes an incredible force for action and witness, by the
power of the Spirit, who has taken possession of all the people to make
them free and joyful instruments of his action.
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Apostolic charity constitutes for everyone belonging to the Salesian
Family the inner principle and force capable of unifying the many
different daily activities and preoccupations. It fosters the fusion in
a single inner movement of the two inseparable poles of apostolic
charity: passion for God and passion for one’s neighbor.
Art. 31. Preferential love for the young and dedication to ordinary
people
To carry out the mission to the young and the working classes
effectively, all the disciples of Don Bosco cultivate a genuine predilection
for the young and devote themselves to the working classes. They
are convinced that they have an experience of God precisely through
those to whom they are sent: young people and the ordinary people, in
particular the poor.
Boys and girls are recognized as a gift from God to the Salesian Family;
they are the field shown to Don Bosco by the Lord and by Mary in which
to carry out his work; for all of us they are the objects of the Salesian
vocation and mission.
Being dedicated to the young means having one’s heart constantly
turned towards them, picking up their aspirations and desires, problems
and needs. It also means meeting them at the point where they are in
their process of maturing – not just to be in their company, but rather to
lead them to where they are called; for this reason educators recognize
the power for good that the young have within them and support them
in their growing pains both human and Christian, identifying with
them and for them possible educational opportunities. In the heart of
educators and evangelizers full of passion always resound the words
of Paul: “The love of Christ overwhelms us” (II Cor. 5:14).
The world of the working classes is the natural and ordinary context
in which we encounter the young, especially those most in need of
help. The commitment of Don Bosco’s Family is addressed to ordinary
people, supporting them in their efforts for human development and
growth in their faith, indicating and promoting the human and Gospel
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values it stands for, such as the meaning of life, hope for a better future
and the exercise of solidarity.
Don Bosco traced out also with the Association of the Salesian
Cooperators and the Association of Mary Help of Christians a path of
education to the Faith for the people, making good use of the contents
of popular religious devotions.
In addition, he dedicated himself to the promotion of the means of
communication, so as to reach as many people as possible for the
purposes of education and evangelization.
Art. 32. Salesian loving-kindness
The loving-kindness of Don Bosco is without doubt a characteristic
trait of his pedagogical method considered still valid today, both in
contexts still Christian and in those in which young people who belong
to other religions are living.
It cannot, however, be reduced to simply being a pedagogical principle;
it needs to be recognized as an essential element of our spirituality.
It is, in fact, authentic love because it draws its strength from God; it
is love which shows itself in the language of simplicity, cordiality and
fidelity; it is love which gives rise to a desire to correspond; it is love
which calls forth trust, opening the way to confidence and profound
communication (“education is a matter of the heart”); it is love which
spreads out and in this way creates a family atmosphere, where being
together is beautiful and enriching.
For the educator, it is a love which demands a strong spiritual effort: the
willingness to be there and stay there; self-renunciation and sacrifice;
chastity in affections and self-control in attitudes; participation in
dialogue and patient waiting in order to identify the most appropriate
moment and the best ways; the capacity to forgive and renew contacts;
the meekness of the one who sometimes knows how to lose, but
continues to believe with unlimited hope. There is no real love without
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asceticism, and there is no asceticism without an encounter with God
in prayer.
Loving-kindness is the fruit of pastoral charity. Don Bosco used to say:
“On what is this reciprocal affection based? … On the desire I have to
save your souls, which were redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus
Christ, and you love me because I try to lead you on the paths of eternal
salvation. Therefore, the good of our souls is the foundation of our
affection.27
In this way loving-kindness becomes a sign of the love of God, and a
means of reawakening God’s presence in the hearts of those who are
reached by Don Bosco’s goodness; it is a way of evangelization.
From this comes the conviction that the apostolic spirituality of the
Salesian Family is characterized not by a generic kind of love, but by the
ability to love and make oneself loved.
Art. 33. Optimism and joy in hope
In Jesus of Nazareth God reveals Himself as the “God of joy”,28 and the
Gospel is “good news” that begins with the “Beatitudes”: men and
women sharing in the blessedness of God Himself. It is a question of a
not insignificant but profound gift, since joy, rather than being a passing
sentiment, is an interior power that is able to resist in the face of the
difficulties of life. Saint Paul says, “In all our hardship, I am filled with
encouragement and overflowing with joy” (II Cor. 7:4). In this sense the
joy we experience here below is an Easter gift, a foretaste of that full
joy we will possess in eternity.
Don Bosco took the desire for happiness the boys had and translated
their joy of life into the language of cheerfulness, of the playground, of
celebration; but he never stopped pointing out to them that God was
the source of true joy. Some of his writings, such as The Companion
of Youth, the biography of Dominic Savio, the explanation contained
27 Giovanni Bosco, Letter to Fr. Joseph Lazzero and the community of the artisans at
Valdocco, Rome, 20 January 1874, in Epistolario, ed. Francesco Motto, vol. IV (Rome:
LAS, 2003), p. 208.
28 Saint Francis de Sales, Letter to President Brulart, Annecy, 18 February 1605, in
Oeuvres, vol. XIII, 16.
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in the story of Valentine, are a demonstration of the connection that
he established between grace and happiness. And his insistence on
the “rewards of heaven” projected the joys of here below into the
perspective of their completion and fullness.
At the school of Don Bosco, the person belonging to the Salesian Family
cultivates some attitudes that encourage joy and communicates them
to others.
1. Confidence in the victory of good: «Even the most callous boys have
a soft spot”, Don Bosco writes. “The first duty of the educator is to
locate that sensitive spot, that responsive chord in the boy’s heart,
and take advantage of it».29
2. Appreciation of human values: The disciple of Don Bosco is able
to make one’s own what is good in the world and does not bewail
one’s own times; the disciple accepts all that is good, especially if it
appeals to the young and the people.
3. Education to the joys of every day: a patient effort of education is
needed in order to learn or to re-learn, to enjoy, with simplicity, the
many human joys that the Creator puts in our path every day.
Since they entrust themselves every day totally to the “God of joy” and
bear witness in words and works to the “Gospel of joy”, all the disciples
of Don Bosco are always joyful. They spread this joy and know how to
educate to the happiness of Christian life and to a sense of celebration,
remembering Saint Paul’s exhortation, “I want you to be happy, always
happy in the Lord” (Phil. 4:4).
Art. 34. Work and temperance
The exercise of apostolic charity includes the need for conversion and
purification, in other words, the death of the old man/woman so that
the new man/woman may be born, live and grow, who in the image of
Jesus, the Apostle of the Father, is ready to sacrifice himself/herself
every day in apostolic work. Giving oneself means emptying oneself
and allowing oneself to be filled by God so as to give Him to others.
29 BM V, p. 237.
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Detachment, renunciation, sacrifice are essential elements, not only
because of any taste for ascetism, but fundamentally by the logic of
love. There is no apostolate without ascetism and there is no asceticism
without mysticism. Whoever puts his whole self at the service of the
mission has no need for extraordinary penances; the difficulties of life
and the fatigue of apostolic work are sufficient if they are accepted
with faith and offered with love. The asceticism recommended by
Don Bosco has various aspects: the asceticism of humility, so as not
to feel like anything other than servants before God; the asceticism of
mortification, so as to be in control of oneself, guarding one’s senses
and one’s heart and taking care that seeking after comfort does not
cause generosity to dry up; the asceticism of courage and patience, so
as to be able to persevere with one’s actions when confronted by hard
reality; the asceticism of abandonment, when events take us closer to
the cross of Christ.
Art. 35. Initiative and adaptability
The desire to do good means looking for the best ways to put it into
practice. At stake are the correct interpretation of needs and practical
possibilities, spiritual discernment in the light of the Word of God, the
courage to take the initiative, creativity in identifying untried solutions,
adaptation to changing circumstances, the ability to collaborate, and
the willingness to evaluate.
Fr. Philip Rinaldi reminds the Salesians – and what he says applies
to all the groups of the Salesian Family: “This flexibility in adapting to
every form of good continually arising among humanity is the spirit
proper to our Constitutions: the day in which a variation contrary to this
spirit should be introduced would be the end of our Society”.30
There are many words of Don Bosco recommending a spirit of initiative:
“I do not hesitate to take a risk in projects which may benefit endangered
youth or help lead souls to God”.31 “Let us always . . . strive to meet
their wishes as best as we can, adjusting to modern requirements, local
customs and traditions as far as our conscience allows us”.32
30 Egidio Viganò, “Don Philip Rinaldi, Authentic Witness and Interpreter of the ‘Salesian
Spirit’”, in AGC no. 332, Rome, 5 December 1989.
31 Letter to Charles Vespignani, in Epistolario, ed. Eugenio Ceria, vol. III (Turin: SEI,
1958), 166-167; see Eugenio Ceria, BM vol. XIV (New Rochelle: Salesiana, 1985), 536.
32 Eugenio Ceria, BM vol. XIII (New Rochelle: Salesiana, 1983), 210.
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It is not only a question of strategy, but also a spiritual matter, since
it implies a constant renewal of themselves and of their actions in
obedience to the Spirit and in the light of the signs of the times.
The coming into being of numerous groups of the Salesian Family
which began in the 20th century was the fruit of the spirit of initiative
and of the flexibility of the respective founders, faithful and creative
sons of Don Bosco.
Art. 36. The spirit of Salesian prayer
Salesian prayer is apostolic prayer; it is a movement that starts from
action in order to reach God, and it is a movement that, from God, leads
back to action with Him, since mind and heart are filled with His love.
Don Bosco did not devote long hours to prayer, nor did he use any
particular methods or forms (for him the “practices of the good
Christian” were enough), because in him action and prayer were all
one. The extraordinary work in which he was engaged from morning
until night did not disturb his prayer; rather, it gave rise to it and guided
it. The prayer cultivated in the depth of his heart nourished in him
renewed energies of charity to dedicate himself with everything he had
for the benefit of his poor boys.
The very name oratory given to his first institution is meant to convey
that everything in that place was prayer or could become prayer; and
that whatever good was done in that house was the fruit of prayer:
that of Don Bosco, his collaborators and his boys.
Prayer expands and therefore is typical of those who live Don Bosco’s
spirituality and carry out his mission. Not, however, to the neglect of
those moments of explicit prayer, nourished by listening to the Word
of God and a loving response, which transform life into prayer, prayer
into life.
Art. 37. Mary Help of Christians, teacher of apostolic spirituality
Devotion to Mary has been one of the three devotions (together with
that to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and to the Pope) which marked the
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spiritual and apostolic life of Don Bosco. The whole Salesian Family is
and feels itself to be a Marian Family, which came into being through
the motherly care of the Immaculate Help of Christians. All the groups,
in fact, express this conviction in their own Constitutions.
For the Salesians, Mary Help of Christians is the model and guide in
their educational and apostolic activity,33 mother and teacher in their
formative experience,34 particularly invoked in their prayer.35
For the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mary the Virgin Mother,
the humble handmaid, Mother of the Savior, is mother and teacher of
every Salesian vocation and the “real superior of the Institute”.36 She
is the model of faith, hope, charity, and union with God, of motherly
care and tenderness, of consecrated life, prayer, openness, listening,
docility, collaboration, and apostolic charity. 37
The Salesian Cooperators “in the Immaculate Virgin and Help of
Christians discover the deepest elements of their vocation: being true
‘Cooperators of God’ in the h of his salvific plan”. 38
For those belonging to the Association of Mary Help of Christians,
entrustment to Mary means “living a daily spirituality with evangelical
attitudes, especially with thanksgiving to God for the wonders he
continually works, and with fidelity to him even in times of difficulty
and grace, following Mary’s example”. 39
According to the Sisters of the Charity of Jesus, Mary helps them to
live animated by the Holy Spirit, to put Jesus Christ at the center of
their lives, to nourish a sincere love and great confidence in her in their
relationships with people, to imitate the example of the woman of faith
who seeks the will of God in ordinary daily life, of the loving mother
concerned about others, of the disciple of the Son who listens to the
Word, of the consoler of the afflicted, of the help of Christians and the
33 See Const SDB art. 20 34, and 92.
34 See Ibid art. 98.
35 See Ibid art. 84, 87, and 92.
36 See Cost FMA art. 17, 18, 44, 79, and 114.
37 See Ibid art. 4, 7, 11, 14, 37, 39, 44, 79, and 71.
38 SPAL art. 20.
39 New Regulations of ADMA art. 4.
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mother of humanity.40
The Damas Salesianas in their Ideario put it this way: “Mary is the first
committed laywoman who in the giving of herself faithfully accepts
the plan of God, brings to life his word, as woman, spouse and mother,
teacher and witness, the first to be evangelized and to evangelize.
She is the inspiration and the model to be followed by the Dama
Salesiana, and all this leads us to declare her to be the First Dama
Salesiana, the norm, the guide, the inspiration, mother, sister and
faithful companion in our mission”. 41
Daily entrustment to Mary therefore is a characteristic of our spirituality.
Entrustment has an upward action: it is a giving of oneself in order to
respond generously to a mission to be accomplished; but there is also
a downward motion: accepting with trust and gratitude the help of
her who guided Don Bosco and continues to guide the spiritual Family
which has its origin in him.
40 See Cost SCG art.12.
41 See Ideario DS art.14.
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4
CHAPTER
Formation for Communion and Mission
Each group of the Salesian Family takes care of the formation of its own
members while drawing on the common patrimony and its own specific
features. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify common elements and
possible convergences and to hope for forms of collaboration.
Art. 38. Awareness of the specific identities
In addition to the common charism and the same mission, the
communion of the Salesian Family is based also on knowledge and
appreciation of the different groups which make it up. Unity, in fact,
is never uniformity, but plurality of expressions converging on a single
center.
It is therefore necessary to foster knowledge about each other in order
to enjoy the gifts and the particular features of each group insofar as
together they constitute a treasure that is to everyone’s benefit.
Helpful in contributing to this are contacts on an occasional or regular
basis, informal or official, social gatherings and moments of prayer in
common.
Distribution of the Charter of charismatic and spiritual identity, of writings
about Don Bosco, of biographies of the founders or cofounders, of the
annual strenna of the Rector Major, of the planning documents of the
individual groups, of the Salesian Bulletin, of particularly significant
apostolic experience, can contribute to reciprocal knowledge and
esteem and at the same time re-enforce the unity of the Family. Special
attention needs to be given to the groups directly begun by Don Bosco
and those present and at work in one’s own area.
Art. 39. Shared formation
To ensure unity of spirit and a convergence on the mission, moments
of formation in common are also necessary, especially when it is a
question of throwing light on or studying in depth the essential aspect
of the charism or of planning joint projects. All of this can be done while
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always respecting legitimate autonomy, but also that family spirit
which expresses and strengthens unity.
In order to be formed together, it is necessary, above all, to learn to
think together, since there is always the danger of simply leading the
other person to one’s own point of view. This is possible when the fear
of real debate and discussion is overcome, when instead of focusing on
oneself each one concentrates on the others, when the aim is seen to
be what is good in itself and not the affirmation of oneself, and when
truth and charity come together.
In addition, it is necessary to learn to work together, identifying the
methods and strategies for shared reflection and constructive dialogue.
It is always and everywhere necessary to pray together since the Spirit
is the light of truth and source of unity, the One who inspires all that
is good, just and right for the benefit of individuals and of the whole.
There can be many occasions for formation in common:
• study sessions on aspects of the charismatic experience which
are common yet differentiated, on the spirituality which is
proper to us, on the patrimony inherited from Don Bosco, on the
challenges which the signs of the times present to us, on the
main ecclesial events or on important directives of the pontifical
and episcopal magisterium;
• discussions on youth ministry issues and problems, on particular
topics of Salesian pedagogy, on strategies regarding the mission
in view of the new evangelization;
• participation in a process of discernment in situations of
particular difficulty or with regard to formation programs or
apostolic projects to be undertaken together.
Particularly relevant in this area is the Consultative Committee of the
Salesian Family, which needs the presence and the support of all the
groups.
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Art. 40. Taking one’s place in different settings
The mission requires the ability to enter varied cultural, social
and ecclesial contexts, being able to perceive urgent needs and
demonstrating the ability to collaborate with all those working for
good.
For this, it is necessary to train oneself to adopt a listening attitude
without prejudice, acceptance without being suspicious, appreciation
without jealousy, participation without reservation. It is in this way
that a contribution is made to the inculturation of the Faith and of the
charism while ecclesial communion is built up, always wider than that
of a particular group or of the Salesian Family itself. It is a formation
that takes place in the practical circumstances of meetings with groups,
movements and associations which express the richness of the Church
and place themselves at the service of the Kingdom. First among these
is the vast Salesian Movement, of which the spiritual Family of Don
Bosco constitutes the animating center.
Other places which favor this formation are constituted by the
presence of the groups of the Family in the local Churches, and by
collaboration with other ecclesial groupings operating in the area.
The multiform grace of God given to the various ecclesial movements
expresses itself in a particular spirituality and in an original apostolic
form which needs to be known and accepted, while to all we offer
the gift of our charismatic identity and the support of our specific
mission. It is a formation which educates to respect each other, to be
generous in charity and to be willing to collaborate with patience and
farsightedness, and to be ready to accept the sacrifice this sometimes
implies.
As the Salesian Family, stimulated by the example of Don Bosco, who
for everyone had sentiments and words of acceptance and gratitude
and who knew how to share with everyone insights, experiences and
achievements, we are called to strengthen the gift received and to
share it with the whole Church.
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Art. 41. Methodology for collaboration
Knowing how to collaborate does not come automatically; formation is
needed that takes into consideration certain essential elements:
1. Above all, it is necessary to educate oneself about planning together.
Every educative and apostolic activity should start from an analysis
of the situation of one’s own beneficiaries and aim at achieving
certain specific objectives, short, medium and long-term. All this
needs to be studied and planned together, making good use of the
skills available, respecting different points of view and encouraging
convergence.
2. It is necessary to work together on the strategies of coordination.
The combination of different forces in view of an enterprise never
occurs automatically. In fact, certain abilities are required: to have
precise knowledge of the problem one intends to solve, to clarify
the purpose of the exercise, to weigh up realistically the possibilities
for action, to assess the forces and the resources available, and to
state honestly the support that one can give and one intends to
give.
3. It is also necessary to accept the consequences of the logic of
reciprocal action. Giving and receiving are never uni-directional.
Mutual appreciation is an awareness of one’s own gifts and those
of others, the recognition of one’s own worth and that of others, the
acceptance and the exchange of complementary sensitivities, ideas
and skills, and making contributions with generosity and humility.
4. Finally, it is necessary to educate oneself to shared responsibility.
The success of collaboration in the educative and apostolic fields
depends on both the acceptance of a primary responsibility that
coordinates the project, and the recognition of the responsibilities
of others, giving everyone space so that they can actively take part
in carrying out the common plan.
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Art. 42. The role of the priest in the Salesian Family
Vatican Council II presents priests as guides and educators of the people
of God. It states, “Ceremonies however beautiful, or associations
however flourishing will be of little value if they are not directed toward
educating men in the attainment of Christian maturity”.42
And it gives the reason for this affirmation: “As educators in the faith
priests must see to it, either by themselves or through others that the
faithful are led individually in the Holy Spirit to a development of their
own vocation as required by the Gospel, to a sincere and active charity
and to that freedom with which Christ has made us free”.43
In this way, the Salesian priest is called to his most significant
responsibilities in the area of formation. The Word of God, the
sacraments and in particular the Eucharist, the service of unity and of
charity represent the greatest treasures of the Church.
Paraphrasing an expression of the Council, it can be said that it is not
spiritually possible to form an apostolic Family such as the Salesian
Family unless it has, as its basis and center, the celebration of the
Eucharist, from which must originate all education aimed at forming
the spirit of the family. 44
The groups of the Salesian Family have always demonstrated this
requirement for formation, and they re-enforce it in this Charter of
Identity.
42 PO 6.
43 Ibid
44 See Ibid.
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5
CHAPTER
Composition and Animation
Art. 43. A growing Family
The Salesian Family in these last decades has experienced a real
springtime. Under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, other groups have
been added to the original groups and have enriched communion and
broadened the Salesian mission.
Everyone can see how much the Family has grown, and how the
apostolic work has multiplied in various countries of the world, and
the field of activities has extended to the benefit of many young
people and adults. This invites us not only to thank God, but also
makes us more aware of our greater responsibility; in fact the
vocation of our Family, like every other vocation, is at the service of
the mission, in a particular way for the salvation of youth, especially,
the poorest, the abandoned and those in danger.45
Art. 44. An open Family
The Salesian Family, which has the characteristics of a great
Movement for the salvation of youth and expresses itself in a variety
of forms for the apostolate in the missions, among the working
classes, in the means of communication and in the care of vocations,
is open to other groups which ask to be officially recognized by the
Rector Major.
The essential criteria to be recognized in the Salesian Family are:
1. Participation in the “Salesian vocation”, in other words, sharing,
to a significant degree, in the human and charismatic experience
of Don Bosco. In fact, he remains for all the groups the original
inspiration for a particular path of discipleship and apostolate;
as such, he is the source of inspiration and point of convergence.
2. Participation in the Salesian mission to the young and/or the
working classes. This means that every group, among its specific
45 See Pascual Chavez, “The Salesian Family Yesterday and Today: The Seed Has
Become a Tree and the Tree a Wood,” Strenna of the Rector Major, Rome, 2009.
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ends, includes some typical element of the Salesian mission, even
though expressed in different forms and with particular emphasis.
3. Sharing the spirit, the educative method and the missionary
style, in other words, sharing the spiritual and pedagogical
patrimony of Don Bosco.
4. Evangelical life according to the Salesian spirit, that is to say, a life
inspired by the evangelical counsels as the way to holiness; this
is expressed in practical terms either by the profession of the
vows of religious consecration, or in the various kinds of promise
or commitment which give each of the groups its particular
features.
5. An active fraternity, which leads each group to link itself and work
in harmonious synergy with the other groups of the Salesian
Family.
Art. 45. Points of reference
In virtue of their apostolic communion of a charismatic nature, the
groups which make up the Salesian Family recognize in the Rector
Major, successor of Don Bosco, the Father and center of unity of the
Family itself.
Then, the Salesians of Don Bosco, particular heirs of his charismatic
richness, have the responsibility of animating the whole Salesian
Family. They, in fact, have particular “responsibilities: to preserve
unity of spirit and to foster dialogue and fraternal collaboration
for mutual enrichment and greater apostolic fruitfulness”.
Therefore they carry out a service which does not belong to the
authority of government, but to the humble and joyful dedication of
one who promotes a path of fidelity to the gift received, fostering its
communication, sharing and bringing into reality.
Art. 46. Organizations of animation and times for meeting
To ensure a regular and effective animation of the Salesian Family,
some essential coordinating bodies are available to us, and we
encourage specific occasions for meeting together.
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At world, regional, national, province and local level, unity and
animation are supported and strengthened by councils or consultative
committees of the Salesian Family.
The meeting of the consultative committee at various levels is intended
to achieve the following objectives:
•ƒTo study and examine more deeply Don Bosco, his life,
pedagogy and spirituality in order to know, understand and
imbibe better the heart, his apostolic project and his criteria for
pastoral activity;
•ƒTo strengthen the sense of belonging, fostering a direct and
practical knowledge of the different groups of the Family and
appreciation of their specific identity;
•ƒTo arrange meetings and formation experiences in common;
•ƒTo know the pastoral challenges facing society and the local
Churches within which the Salesian Family takes its place,
studying possibilities for forms of pastoral synergy, according
to the specific nature of the individual groups and in communion
with the Salesian mission;
•ƒTo seek to put into action, as often as possible, practical
apostolic initiatives, shared by all the groups in the area.
The World Consultative Committee meets every year at the Salesian
Generalate and proposes the essential lines for animation for the
next pastoral year.
In the individual regions or provinces, every year the Salesian Family
Day is celebrated with specific opportunities for formation and the
sharing of experiences.
At the world level, every year the Spirituality Days of the Salesian
Family are held. These represent a time of communion, reflection and
sharing, during which it is possible to study specifically the contents
of the strenna of the Rector Major. This document is proposed each
year by Don Bosco’s Successor as an invitation to come together
in reflection and in the practical implementation of some particular
aspect of Salesian spirituality and mission.
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Sanctity
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Salesian Family: Family of Saints
“The true protagonists of the new evangelizationare the saints; they
speak a language comprehensible to all through the example of life and
through the works of charity” (Benedict XVI, 23 October 2012).
It is necessary to express profound gratitude and praise to God for the
holiness already recognized in Don Bosco’s Salesian Family and for
those in the process of recognition.
The outcome of a cause for beatification and canonization is an event
of extraordinary importance and ecclesial value. In fact, it is a matter
of discerning the reputation for holiness of a baptized person, who
lived the evangelical beatitudes to a heroic degree, even to the point of
giving his/her life for Christ.
The celebration of the bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth was a favorable
occasion to deepen and spread his spiritual experience, which flourished
in a very rich form and had diverse fruits of holiness.
From Don Bosco to the present day, we experience a tradition of
holiness which deserves attention, because it embodies the charism
which originated from him and which is expressed in a plurality of
states of life and forms.
These are men and women, young and old, consecrated and lay,
bishops and missionaries who have made the Salesian charism shine
in a unique light in different historical, cultural and social contexts in
time and space, representing a heritage that plays an effective role in
the life and community of believers and for people of good will.
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List of Saints and Those in Process
as of January 1, 2020
The Salesian congregation is concerned with 172 Saints, Blesseds, Venerables, and
Servants of God. The causes for canonization directly followed up by Salesians are 55.
SAINTS (9) and the date of canonization
St. John Bosco, priest (April 1, 1934) – (Italy)
St. Joseph Cafasso, priest (June 22, 1947) – (Italy)
St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello, virgin (June 24, 1951) – (Italy)
St. Dominic Savio, adolescent (June 12, 1954) – (Italy)
St. Leonard Murialdo, priest (May 3, 1970) – (Italy)
St. Louis Versiglia, bishop, martyr (October 1, 2000) – (Italy - China)
St. Callistus Caravario, priest, martyr (October 1, 2000) – (Italy - China)
St. Louis Orione, priest (May 16, 2004) – (Italy)
St. Louis Guanella, priest (October 23, 2011) – (Italy)
BLESSEDS (118) and the date of beatification
Bl. Michael Rua, priest (October 29, 1972) – (Italy)
Bl. Laura Vicuña, adolescent (September 3, 1988) – (Chile – Argentina)
Bl. Philip Rinaldi, priest (April 29, 1990) – (Italy)
Bl. Magdalene Morano, virgin (November 5, 1994) – (Italy)
Bl. Joseph Kowalski, priest, martyr (June 13, 1999) – (Poland)
Bl. Francis Kęşy, layman,
and 4 companion martyrs (June 13, 1999) – (Poland)
Chester Jóżwiak
Edward Kazmierski
Edward Klinik
Jarogniew Wojciechowski
Bl. Pius IX, pope (September 3, 2000) – (Italy)
Bl. Joseph Calasanz, priest,
and 31 companion martyrs (March 11, 2001) – (Spain)
Zacarías Abadía Buesa, seminarian
Francisco Bandrés Sánchez, priest
José Batalla Parramón, priest
Jaime Bonet Nadal, priest
José Bonet Nadal, priest
Javier Bordas Piferrer, seminarian
Jaime Buch Canals, coadjutor brother
María Amparo Carbonell Muñoz, virgin
José Caselles Moncho, priest
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José Castell Camps, priest
Sergio Cid Pazo, priest
Recaredo de los Ríos Fabregat, priest
Miguel Domingo Cendra, seminarian
Agustín García Calvo, coadjutor brother
Eliseo García García, coadjutor brother
José Giménez López, priest
Felipe Hernández Martínez, seminarian
Julio Junyer Padernv priest
Antonio María Martín Hernández, priest
Juan Martorell Soria, priest
Pedro Mesonero Rodríguez, seminarian
María Carmen Moreno Benítez, virgin
Jaime Ortiz Alzueta, coadjutor brother
José Otín Aquilé, priest
Alejandro Planas Saurí, lay employee
José Rabasa Bentanachs, coadjutor brother
Ángel Ramos Velázquez, coadjutor brother
Gil Rodicio Rodicio, coadjutor brother
Julián Rodríguez Sánchez, priest
Alvaro Sanjuán Canet, priest
Félix Vivet Trabal, seminarian
Bl. Louis Variara, priest (April 14, 2002) – (Italy - Colombia)
Bl. Artemides Zatti, coadjutor brother (April 14, 2002) – (Italy - Argentina)
Bl. Maria Romero Meneses, virgin (April 14, 2002) – (Nicaragua - Costa Rica)
Bl. August Czartoryski, priest (April 25, 2004) – (France - Poland)
Bl. Eusebia Palomino, virgin (April 25, 2004) – (Spain)
Bl. Alexandrina Maria Da Costa, laywoman (April 25, 2004) – (Portugal)
Bl. Albert Marvelli, layman (September 5, 2004) – (Italy)
Bl. Bronislao Markiewicz, priest (June 19, 2005) – (Poland)
Bl. Henry Saiz Aparicio, priest,
and 62 companion martyrs (October 28, 2007) – (Spain)
Tomás Alonso Sanjuán, coadjutor brother
Emilio Arce Díez, coadjutor brother
Pedro Artolozaga Mellique, seminarian
Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, layman
José Blanco Salgado, coadjutor brother
Manuel Borrajo Míguez, seminarian
Pablo Caballero López, priest
Antonio Enrique Canut Isús, priest
Teresa Cejudo Redondo, laywoman
José María Celaya Badiola, coadjutor brother
Antonio Cid Rodríguez, coadjutor brother
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Esteban Cobo Sanz, seminarian
Federico Cobo Sanz, aspirant
Juan Codera Marqués, coadjutor brother
Pio Conde Conde, priest
Pascual de Castro Herrera, seminarian
Nicolás de la Torre Merino, coadjutor brother
Higinio de Mata Díez, aspirant
Juan de Mata Díez, lay collaborator
Francisco Edreira Mosquera, seminarian
Virgilio Edreira Mosquera, seminarian
Ramón Eirín Mayo, coadjutor brother
Antonio Fernández Camacho, priest
Manuel Fernández Ferro, priest
Salvador Fernández Pérez, priest
Victoriano Fernández Reinoso, seminarian
Esteban García García, coadjutor brother
Matéo Garolera Masferrer, coadjutor brother
Anastasio Garzón González, coadjutor brother
Valentín Gil Arribas, coadjutor brother
Tomás Gil de la Cal, aspirant
Manuel Gómez Contioso, priest
Andrés Gómez Sáez, priest
Teódulo González Fernández, seminarian
Félix González Tejedor, priest
Pablo Gracía Sánchez, coadjutor brother
Sabino Hernández Laso, priest
Honorio Hernández Martín, seminarian
Juan Luis Hernández Medina, seminarian
Andrés Jiménez Galera, priest
Justo Juanes Santos, seminarian
Juan Larragueta Garay, seminarian
Miguel Lasaga Carazo, priest
José Limón Limón, priest
Francisco José Martín López de Arroyave, coadjutor brother
Germán Martín Martín, priest
Manuel Martín Pérez, seminarian
Luis Martínez Alvarellos, seminarian
Francisco Míguez Fernández, priest
Antonio Mohedano Larriva, priest
Miguel Molina de la Torre, priest
Félix Paco Escartín, priest
Antonio Pancorbo López, priest
Carmelo Juan Pérez Rodríguez, subdeacon
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Heliodoro Ramos García, coadjutor brother
Antonio Rodríguez Blanco, diocesan priest
Florencio Rodríguez Güemes, seminarian
Rafael Rodríguez Mesa, coadjutor brother
Antonio Torrero Luque, priest
Dionisio Ullívarri Barajuán, coadjutor brother
Esteban Vázquez Alonso, coadjutor brother
José Villanova Tormo, priest
Bl. Zefferino Namuncurá, layman (November 11, 2007) – (Argentina)
Bl. Maria Troncatti, virgin (November 24, 2012) – (Italy-Ecuador)
Bl. Stephan Sándor, religious, martyr (October 19, 2013) – (Hungary)
Bl. Titus Zeman, priest, martyr (September 30, 2017) – (Slovakia).
VENERABLES (17) and the date of decree concerning virtues
Ven. Andrew Beltrami, priest (December 15, 1966) – (Italy)
Ven. Teresa Valsé Pantellini, virgin (July 12, 1982) – (Italy)
Ven. Dorothy Chopitea, laywoman (June 9, 1983) – (Spain)
Ven. Vincent Cimatti, priest (December 21, 1991) – (Italy - Japan)
Ven. Simon Srugi, coadjutor brother (April 2, 1993) – (Palestine)
Ven. Rudolph Komorek, priest (April 6, 1995) – (Poland - Brazil)
Ven. Louis Olivares, bishop (December 20, 2004) – (Italy)
Ven. Margaret Occhiena Bosco, laywoman (October 23, 2006) – (Italy)
Ven. Joseph Quadrio, priest (December 19, 2009) – (Italy)
Ven. Laura Meozzi, virgin (June 27, 2011) – (Italy - Poland)
Ven. Attilio Giordani, layman (October 9, 2013) – (Italy - Brazil)
Ven. August Joseph Arribat, priest (July 8, 2014) – (France)
Ven. Stephen Ferrando, bishop (March 3, 2016) – (Italy - India)
Ven. Francis Convertini, priest (January 20, 2017) – (Italy - India)
Ven. Joseph Vandor, priest (January 20, 2017) – (Hungary - Cuba)
Ven. Ottavio Ortiz Arrieta, bishop (February 27, 2017) – (Peru)
Ven. August Hlond, cardinal (May 19, 2018) – (Poland)
SERVANTS OF GOD (28)
Elijah Comini, priest (Italy)
Ignatius Stuchly, priest (Czech Republic)
Anthony De Almeida Lustosa, bishop (Brazil)
Charles Crespi Croci, priest (Italy - Ecuador)
Constantine Vendrame, priest (Italy - India)
Jan Świerc, priest and 8 companions, martyrs (Poland)
Ignatius Antonowicz, priest
Ignatius Dobiasz, priest
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Charles Golda, priest
Francis Harazim, priest
Francis Miska, priest
Louis Mroczek, priest
Vladimir Szembek, priest
Casimir Wojciechowski, priest
Orestes Marengo, bishop (Italy - India)
Charles Della Torre, priest (Italy - Thailand)
Anna Maria Lozano, virgin (Colombia)
Andrew Majcen, priest (Slovenia)
Rudolph Lunkenbein, priest (Germany - Brazil)
and Simon Bororo, layman, martyrs (Brazil)
Matilda Salem, laywoman (Syria)
Charles Braga, priest (Italy – China - Philippines)
Antoninus Baglieri, layman (Italy)
Antoniette Böhm, virgin (Germany - Mexico)
Silvio Galli, priest (Italy)
Rosetta Marchese, virgin (Italy)
Louis Bolla, priest (Italy)
Vera Grita, laywoman (Italy)
CAUSES BEING FOLLOWED BY THE POSTULATOR’S OFFICE
Ven. Camillo Costa de Beauregard, priest – (France)
Ven. Casimir Barello Morello, Franciscan Third Order – (Italy -Spain)
Ven. Jan Tyranowski, layman – (Poland)
Ven. August Bertazzoni, bishop– (Italy)
Servant of God Felice Canelli, priest – (Italy)
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Groups in
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List of the Members
1. The Society of Saint Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco – SDB)
2. The Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)
3. The Association of Salesian Cooperators (ASSCC)
4. The Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA)
5. The Association of Past Pupils of Don Bosco (EXA-DB)
6. The Association of Past Pupils of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (EXA-FMA)
7. The Secular Institute of the Don Bosco Volunteers (VDB)
8. The Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (HHSSCC)
9. The Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart (SOSC)
10. The Apostles of the Holy Family (ASF)
11. The Sisters of Charity of Jesus (SCG)
12. The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC)
13. The Daughters of the Divine Savior (HDS)
14. The Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SIHM)
15. The Sisters of Adolescent Jesus (IJA)
16. The Association of the Salesian Dames (ADS)
17. The Volunteers with Don Bosco (CDB)
18. The Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians (SMI)
19. The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary Immaculate (DQM)
20. The Witnesses of the Risen Lord (TR)
21. The Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (CSMA)
22. The Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection (HR)
23. The Congregation of the Sisters Announcers of the Lord (SAL)
24. The Disciples (DISC)
25. The Community of “Canção Nova” (CN)
26. The Sisters of St Michael the Archangel (CSSMA)
27. The Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix (SMA)
28. The Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (CMB)
29. The Sisters of the Queenship of Mary Immaculate (SQM)
30. The Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB)
31. The Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth (FCMN)
32. The Sisters Mediators of Peace (MP)
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1. Founder and Origins
The Congregation was founded in 1859 by St. John Bosco in Valdocco
as the culmination of a long and intense experience of apostolate
among the poor youth of Turin. John Bosco was the second child of
Francis and Margaret Occhiena, simple farmers. He lost his father
very young and, at the age of sixteen, began studying in Chieri to
become a priest. He was ordained a priest on June 5, 1841, by the
Archbishop of Turin, Luigi Fransoni, and for the next three years he
stayed in the capital of Piedmont where he completed his theological
formation at the Ecclesiastical College (the Convitto Ecclesiastico).
The Beginnings
Thanks to his friendship with Don Giuseppe Cafasso, his fellow
countryman, Don Bosco knew the dramatic reality of youth prisons
and the difficult situation of many young people in Turin. In those
years, Turin was experiencing a period of rapid industrialization and
many young people moved from rural areas to the city to look for
work. On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December
8, 1841, he began his educational work in favors of young people
by beginning to teach catechism to an apprentice bricklayer at the
church of St. Francis of Assisi. The boys he followed soon became
almost two hundred.
The missionary dream continues
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The Birth of the Congregation
On January 26, 1854, Don Bosco called together four of “his boys” to test
themselves with deeds of charity and, later, if possible and desirable,
by formal vow. These become the first four to be called “Salesians”.
Municipal Minister Urbano Rattazzi made some important suggestions
to their Founder for the organizational structure of his work.
Rattazzi proposed not to give the institute an openly religious character
but create an association of free citizens who would voluntarily
collaborate in the welfare of poor and abandoned youth; have your
members retain their civil rights; as to the Priests, have them wear the
dress of the secular clergy; and for those would hold an office, have them
called by secular names, such as “inspector” or “director.”
In 1858, Don Bosco was received in Rome by Blessed Pope Pius IX
who encouraged him regarding his work and plans. On December 18,
1859, the Founder and his first 18 companions gathered in his room to
form this new religious society by committing themselves to establish
a Congregation to promote the glory of God and the salvation of souls
- especially those most in need of education and training. On May 14,
1862, the first twenty-two members made their public profession of the
vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Salesians received pontifical approval in 1869 and their
Constitutions were approved by the Holy See in 1874.
Since the beginning, they have dedicated themselves to the
instruction and education of the young in schools, youth centers,
parishes, technical and agricultural schools, the communications
media, and the missions.
Missions
The first request to the Salesians for the missionary apostolate came
from Argentina, for the evangelization of Patagonia. On May 12, 1875,
Don Bosco chose missionaries from among his Salesians. The future
Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero was appointed head of the expedition. From
Argentina, the Salesians spread to the northernmost states of Latin
America (Uruguay and Brazil), where they played an important role in
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The missions
the missions in the Amazon and Mato Grosso. In 1896, they arrived in
the United States of America.
The commitment to Africa had already been in Don Bosco’s plans, but
only after the death of the Founder did the first Salesians settle on the
continent. In 1891, the Salesians opened a house in Oran, Algeria, but
it was in the Congo that the apostolate of the Congregation was most
successful: the missionaries arrived in Katanga in 1912 and in 1925
the territory was erected as an apostolic prefecture. In 1980, project
Africa was initiated by Fr. Egidio Viganò, the Rector Major at that time.
In 1906, with the arrival of the first missionaries at Thanjavur, in
The missions
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India, the Salesians extended their mission to Asia. Louis Mathias
and Stefano Ferrando carried out their apostolate in Assam and in
the regions bordering Tibet and Burma. In 1926, Vincenzo Cimatti
led a group of Salesians to start the Salesian mission in Japan.
3. Identity
Article 2 of the Constitutions states: “We, the Salesians of Don Bosco
(SDB), form a community of the baptized. 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. By carrying out this mission we find our own way to
holiness.”
"Our Society is made up of clerics and lay men who complement
each other as brothers in living out the same vocation”. (Ibid, Art. 4).
Salesian Pedagogy
The educational principles of the Salesian Society are set out in some
of the writings of the Founder: “The Treatise on Youth”, “Confidential
Reminders to Directors”, “The Preventive System in the Education of
Youth”, the “Letter from Rome” and the Circular Letter on Punishments.
Don Bosco rejects repressive methods and proposes the “Preventive
Method”: he advocates the need to make the students aware of the
rules and regulations of the community and he invites the educators
to watch with love to prevent young people from committing faults,
putting the student in an optimal position to achieve an integral
and harmonious development.
The core of Salesian pedagogy is “pastoral charity”. Educators are
invited to act with love, cordiality, and affection. It is also necessary
to make young people understand that they are loved because
those who know that they are loved, love in return.
Pedagogy becomes Salesian youth spirituality inspired by the
humanism of Saint Francis de Sales and combined with a sincere
devotion to Mary Help of Christians.
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The Rector Major Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime with the General Council (2014-2020)
The Salesian Family
Article 5 of the Constitutions is expressed as follows: “Don Bosco
inspired the start of a vast movement of persons who in different
ways work for the salvation of the young.” He himself, in addition to the
Society of St. Francis de Sales, founded the Institute of the Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians, the Association of Salesian Cooperators,
and the Association of Mary Help of Christians.
Today, there are 32 groups of the Salesian Family. Living in the same
spirit and in communion with one another, while exercising specific
vocations, they continue the mission he began.
In it, by the will of the Founder, the Salesians have particular
responsibilities: to “maintain the unity” of spirit and to foster dialogue
and fraternal collaboration for mutual enrichment and greater apostolic
fruitfulness.
The Past Pupils are part of this by the education they received. Their
membership becomes stronger when they commit themselves to
participate in the Salesian mission (Constitutions, Article 5). These
are not merely lofty-sounding (but hollow) pronouncements in the
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Constitutions; the Regulations contain the concrete consequences of
the service that the Salesians render to the Salesian Family.
It is the duty of the Provincial and the Rector, assisted by their
respective delegates, to make the communities aware of the fact that
they are fulfilling their task in the Salesian Family.
The Community, in agreement with the leaders of the various Groups,
and in a spirit of service with respect for their autonomy:
• offers them spiritual assistance;
• promotes meetings;
• encourages educational and pastoral collaboration;
• cultivates a common commitment to vocations.
A secretariat specifically for the Salesian Family has been set up to
carry out the commitments cited above.
It should be remembered that the specific animation of the Salesians
of Don Bosco with regard to the rest of the Salesian Family does not
cover all forms of animation.
All Saints Day race, November 1, 2012
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Rector Major meeting the youth in America
Mandalay (Myanmar).
One of the bread products
of a Technical institute
Far from being a monopoly, it leaves ample room for the other Groups,
respecting their autonomy and promoting their co-responsibility, to
be animators of one another.
4. Present Situation
At the time of Don Bosco’s death, the Congregation had 773 professed
Salesians and 276 novices. Today the Salesians of Don Bosco are
14,601 spread over 132 countries in the world in 5 continents.
The Salesian Society is made up of Provincial Communities which, in
turn, are divided into local Communities. Since 1965, the Provinces
have been grouped into Regions, which guarantee the link between the
center and the provinces. The Regions, reorganizedduring the General
Chapter of 2014, are seven: Mediterranean Europe (which also includes
the Middle East); Central-Northern Europe (including the British Isles);
Inter-America (Central-Northern America); America South Cone; South
Democratic Republic of Congo. Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime’s visit to the province of Our Lady of the Assumption
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Macao (China). Visit of the Rector Major to the Province of Mary Help of Christians
Asia (India and Sri Lanka); Oceania-East Asia (China, Japan, Philippines,
Southeast Asia, Australia); Africa-Madagascar.
The Rector Major, Superior of the Salesian Society, is the successor of
Don Bosco, the Father and Center of unity of the Salesian Family.
Mission and Activities
Article 6 of the Constitutions indicates the following areas of the Salesian
mission: “Faithful to the commitments Don Bosco has passed on to us, we
are evangelizers of the young, and the more so if they are poor; we pay
special attention to apostolic vocations; we are educators of the faith for
the working classes, particularly by means of social communication; We
proclaim the Gospel to those who have not yet received it.”
The activities, therefore, carried out by the Salesians of Don Bosco are:
• Direct education: in oratories and youth centers; in academic
schools of varying grades, technical schools, and boarding
schools; in homes for young people at risk; in universities; and in
catechetical and pastoral centers. Young people are the first and
privileged beneficiaries of the work of the Salesians.
• Direct evangelization: there are about 1000 parishes entrusted
to the Salesians. The Congregation was born of a “catechism”
and thus takes special care of the New Evangelization the
modern world.
• Direct mission work: there are about 3000 Salesians working in
a missionary context. They work in various missionary territories
on all the continents.
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Sanctity in the Congregation
The Constitutions state that in fulfilling their mission Salesians find
their sanctification. The flowering of holiness in the Society confirms
the truth of these words and the richness of God’s gift for all of them.
The Saints
Don Bosco (canonized on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934); Luigi Versiglia,
bishop and martyr, and Callistus Caravario, priest and martyr (canonized
on October 1, 2000).
The Blesseds
Fr. Michael Rua (October 29, 1972); Fr. Philip Rinaldi (April 29, 1990); Fr.
Luigi Variara and Brother Artemide Zatti (April 14, 2002); Fr. Augustus
Czartoryski (April 25, 2004).
There are 88 Salesian martyrs beatified at the moment. Specially there
are 2 Spanish groups: Enrique Saiz Aparicio and 62 fellow martyrs
in Spain (October 28, 2007); José Calasanz Marques and 28 fellow
martyrs (17 priests, 7 coadjutors, 5 clerics) beatified on March 11,
2001; and Fr. Enrique Saiz Aparicio and 55 companions (22 Priests, 18
coadjutors, 16 clerics) beatified on October 28, 2007. There are also
Fr. Joseph Kowalski, martyr in Poland (June 13, 1999); Coad. Stephan
Sándor, martyr in Hungary (Budapest, October 19, 2013); and Fr. Titus
Zeman, martyr in Slovakia (Bratislava, September 30, 2017).
The Venerables
Fr. Giuseppe Augusto Arribat, Fr. Andrea Beltrami, Fr. Vincenzo Cimatti,
Fr. Francesco Convertini, Bishop Stephen Ferrando, Fr. Augusto Hlond,
Fr. Rudolph Komorek, Bishop Luis Olivares, Bishop Ottavio Ortiz Arrieta,
Fr. Giuseppe Quadrio, Bro. Simone Srugi, Fr. José Vandor.
Servants of God
Fr. Elia Comini, Fr. Ignatius Stuchly, Bishop Antonio De Almeida Lustosa,
Fr. arlo respi roci, Fr. ostantino endrame, Fr. io anni wierc and
8 companions (martyrs), Bishop Oreste Marengo, Fr. Carlo Della Torre,
Fr. Andrea Majcen, Fr. Carlo Braga, and Fr. Rudolph Lunkenbein, martyr.
Young Saints
Among the young people who lived in Salesian Houses, there are also
saints: Saint Dominic Savio (canonized on June 12, 1954) and Blesseds:
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the Polish martyrs, Jarogniew Wojciekowski, Edward Kazmierski,
Ceslaw Jozwiak, Franciszek, and Edward Klinik (beatified on June 13,
1999) and young Araucan Zeffirino Namuncurà beatified on November
11, 2007. Don Bosco’s mother, Venerable Mamma Margaret, deserves
a very special mention for her holiness.
5. Challenges for the Future
The Congregation’s growth is marked by the history of its General
Chapters. If asked what the challenges are today, General Chapter
XXVIII highlights them along these three essential lines:
The first is the priority of the Salesian mission among the young people
of today. They note a strong call to return once more to the truly poor
of the world and to continue to focus strongly on them in the places
and presences where they are already working. They are called to be in
tune with the very many adolescents and young adults who expect not
to be left to their own devices but to be accompanied - young people
with structured or unstructured families who need the presence of an
educator and a friend in their lives and those of their families.
Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, Brazil. Yanomami youth in the Mission center
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Rector Major with the youth of Papua New Guinea
This challenge is an invitation to open their eyes and to be sensitive
to the needs of adolescents and young adults who, by virtue of their
language, points of view, and understanding, belong to the digital
world, the care of and respect for creation, and volunteerism.
A second challenge, closely linked to the first, is that of the profile
of the Salesian for young people today. They are called to renew
their perspective on Don Bosco because he is their model. His is a
charismatic, dynamic, and committed gift that is forward-looking.
Their commitment is to make Don Bosco’s experience ever more alive
with his characteristics: the unity of his person, his life, and his work,
and the admirable harmony between grace and nature.
This challenge involves other topics, such as those of vocation and for-
mation, i.e., seeing and planning formation as a permanent response
to God’s call. Connected with this are the topics “mission” and “com-
munion”, i.e., living the mission as an Educative Pastoral Community.
A third challenge is that of collaboration with the Salesian Family and
the laity in the mission and in formation. This is a topic that the final
document of the Synod on Youth, Young People, the Faith and Vocational
The Technical Schools, Valdocco in1920
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Discernment, so strongly emphasized. Reciprocity, sharing, and joint
formation are some of the issues that they are called to delve into and
deepen so that the face of Don Bosco today is increasingly relevant
and connected with time and history.
Haiti. Humanitarian Aid
These are challenges that help the whole Congregation to deepen, as
far as possible, what is and what should be the “profile of the Sale-
sian” who is prepared to live the Salesian mission with many lay peo-
ple. Together they will be able to respond to all the young people of
today, especially the poorest and neediest, the marginalized and the
abandoned, the most fragile, and those deprived of their fundamental
rights.
Azerbaijan
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Salesians at the service of the people in Nepal, during Natural calamities
Young Salesians at World Youth Day (Krakow 2016)
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1. Founder, Co-Foundress and Origins
“Through a gift of the Holy Spirit and with the direct intervention of
Mary, Saint John Bosco founded our Institute as a response of salvation
to the profound hopes of girls and young women. He endowed it
with a spiritual heritage inspired by the charity of Christ, the Good
Shepherd, and imparted to it a strong missionary characteristic” (FMA
Constitutions, Art. 1).
The decision to found a religious Institute for the education of young
girls matured within Don Bosco thanks to inspirations from various
sources: observation of the situation of abandonment and poverty
in which many girls found themselves; contact with various female
Institutes; the confirmation of Blessed Pope Pius IX who encouraged
him along this path; the unanimous vote of Don Bosco’s own Council in
1871; and repeated “dreams” and extraordinary events that he himself
recounted, in addition to his own profound Marian devotion.
At the same time that this idea was maturing within him, Mary
Domenica Mazzarello, a member of the Association of the Daughters
of Mary Immaculate in Mornese (in the province of Alessandria in Italy),
was animating a group of young women along with her best friend,
Petronilla Mazzarello, and who dedicated themselves to care for the
girls of their village. They taught them how to become skilled in sewing,
but, above all, guided them to be good Christians and honest citizens.
Thus, two initiatives converged into one identical ideal: a Religious
Family similar to that of the Salesians was to be born for young girls.
A new educational charism in the Church was born. For his foundation,
Don Bosco chose the group of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate in
Mornese. Mary Domenica Mazzarello became its co-Foundress, giving
life, form, and development to the new Institute.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
On August 5, 1872, in Mornese, the first group of young Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians pronounced their “yes”, just as the Virgin
Mary had done, so as to become, like Her, “helpers,” especially in
the education of young working-class girls. They remained in the
house of the foundation from 1872 to 1879. In that short period of
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Mornese. The house in the beginning
Punta Arenas. First Missionaries
time an identity and a spirituality were formed and named after the
small town of origin: “the Spirit of Mornese”.
Guided by the formative wisdom of Mother Mazzarello and constant
guidance of Don Bosco, the FMA creatively combined Don Bosco’s
“Preventive System” with women’s resources and with the needs
of the education of women and children, with an active presence in
schools and catechesis.
Having obtained diocesan approval of the Constitutions from the
Bishop of Acqui, on January 23, 1876, the FMA, driven by missionary
zeal, began to leave Mornese to go first to France and then reach
Uruguay in 1877 and then Argentina in 1879. Following this, the
Institute spread more and more in Italy, other parts of Europe, and
Latin America.
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In 1879, the Mother house was transferred to Nizza Monferrato
(Asti) where the Institute opened its first Normal School for the
formation of teachers and experienced a strong missionary
enthusiasm and a promising increase in vocations.
Since 1891, the FMA have been present in Asia; since 1893 in Africa;
since 1894 in Mexico and 1908 in the United States; and since 1954
in Australia. The mission takes place in a plurality of educational
environments open to multi-culturalism and inter-religiousness
with particular attention to girls and women. Wherever there is
an attempt to keep alive the missionary impulse of the origins,
“an essential element of the identity of the Institute” (See FMA
Constitutions, Art. 75), it is done with vigilant attention to the needs
of the times and of the particular Churches.
In 1906-1907, following the publication of the Normae Secundum
Quas (1901), the Institute went through the process of independence
from the Salesian Congregation with regard to the administrative
aspect and the juridical dependence on the Rector Major. However,
there remains communion and active collaboration in sharing the
spirituality of the Founder and the educational mission.
In 1911, after 39 years from its foundation, Pope St. Pius X granted
the pontifical approval to the Institute.
Up until now the FMA have experienced a remarkable geographical
development that guides them in responding to the emerging
educational needs of the six continents. Since the seventies,
however, there has been a clear decline in the number of vocations,
especially in Europe and the Americas; however, in various
countries there has been a variety of educational and promotional
works that have arisen from the creativity and apostolic audacity
of the FMA. Wherever they are located, they aim to respond to the
unprecedented poverty of children, young women, families, and
migrants. In this way, the Institute continues to experience new
forms of charismatic vitality, also thanks to the importance given
to the lay vocation of the Past Pupils and Salesian Cooperators with
whom it shares its educational mission.
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3. Identity and Mission
FMA are a Religious Family born from the heart of St. John Bosco
and the creative fidelity of St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello. Don
Bosco chose the name “Daughters of Mary Help of Christians”
because he wanted them to be a living monument of gratitude to
Our Lady.
The FMA are consecrated women in the Church who, living in
community and in the midst of the people, especially children
and young adults, express the mysticism and the prophecy of a
passionate love for Jesus.
In the certainty that Mary Help of Christians inspired the Institute,
the FMA seek to bear witness in today’s world to her attitude of
faith, hope, and charity, and of communion with Christ so as to be
like her “helpers” especially among the young (FMA Constitutions,
Art. 4).
In simplicity and joy, they live the educational mission and they
cultivate missionary dedication both ad gentes and at home. This
contributes to the opening of daily realities to wide apostolic
horizons.
The educational charism
Animated by the Salesian Charism with the specific traits of the
“Spirit of Mornese,” the FMA have as the purpose of their work
the integral growth of people, faith formation through systematic
catechesis and education to active citizenship, to free self-giving,
and solidarity. It is a mission that harmonizes educational and
evangelizing action through the practice of the “Preventive System”
of Don Bosco and Mary Mazzarello, crafted with faithful attention
to the changing situations of the times and contexts.
A specific dimension of the educational tradition of the Institute is
the charismatic experience of Mary Domenica Mazzarello. Through
her joyful adherence to God’s plan, she intended to bring each
young person to a vital encounter with Jesus. The educational
message of the Co-Foundress of the Institute is rooted in taking
care of the person, educating him/her to discover his/her vocation
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Mother Yvonne Reungoat at Campos Censa (2013)
in order to make a responsible contribution to the family, society,
and the Church.
The education of young women is a priority choice of the FMA that is
carried forward in various countries through different interventions:
cultural formation and evangelization, integration into the world
of work, promotion of women’s cooperatives in the missions,
rescue of girls on the fringes of large cities, who are easy victims
of prostitution and human trafficking, empowering them to fight
for their dignity and for the development of a culture inspired by
Christian humanitarianism.
FMA in the Salesian Family
The Institute “is a living part of the Salesian Family.” In it, the FMA
share with all the other Groups the spiritual heritage of the Founder
and offer, as happened in Mornese, the original contribution of their
vocation (FMA Constitutions, Art. 3).
Through their General Councilor for the Salesian Family and the
provincial and local Delegates, the FMA accompany the Past Pupils
with particular attention so that they may live out their lay vocation
in the Church and in society with responsibility and autonomy. They
also share with the Salesians of Don Bosco the animation of the
Association of Salesian Cooperators and the Association of Mary
Help of Christians.
4. Present situation
Today there are about 11,791 FMAs in 96 countries on six
continents, in 1,362 houses. The mission of the FMA gives priority
to the holistic education of all young people, in particular those
who find themselves in a situation of poverty and risk, not only in
Christian countries, but also in those not yet evangelized or those
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de-Christianized (FMA Constitutions, Art. 6). In the various socio-
cultural contexts, the FMA try to be an evangelizing presence that
creates culture in defense of the rights of the poorest and in favors
of justice and peace.
The most significant works
The Oratory-Youth Center: A place characterized by a formative
environment rich in human and Christian values which are
Colombia. Street education and evangelization
Tailoring Institute
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Oratory, FMA Generalate (Rome)
transmitted through a wide range of activities adapted to different
ages and different places. The Youth Center-Oratory aims to create
an authentic community of young people united around the Lord.
It presents itself as an opportunity for informal education, relevant
also in interreligious contexts because it is open to all young people
without precluding participation due to their origin, religion or
culture.
Schools and Vocational Training Centers: Places for critical cultural
development, matured through a constant comparison with the
Christian vision of the person, of existence, and of history, and
building professionalism according to a life plan inspired by Gospel
values. The necessity to give practical responses to the need for
jobs and to youth unemployment has strengthened vocational
training in 5 continents, directing young people towards the world
of work and entrepreneurship.
Institutions of Higher Studies: The educational mission and
humanization of culture in a Gospel perspective characterized by a
scientific and rigorous approach to research and curricula that are
in harmony with a Christian vision of the human person and life.
Since 1970, the Church has entrusted the Pontifical University of
Educational Sciences, the “Auxilium”, to the Institute.
Works for Children, Adolescents, and Young People at risk: Group
Homes, community centers, and reception centers that have an
educational focus. They take as their starting point the concrete
situation of the young, their precarious situation, and their reality
of abandonment. Here, accompanying these wounded persons to
freedom and maturity is the goal.
Spirituality Centers for Young People: They offer the opportunity
to experience silence, prayer, and serene and extended contact
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with nature and with the Word of God, which provides them with
criteria for direction and evaluation.
Centers for the Promotion of Women: Their primary mission is the
promotion of self-awareness, social integration, cultural formation,
orientation towards economic autonomy, and health care. The
goals are to make young women aware of their dignity, rights, and
mission as educators in the family, in the world of work, and in the
Church, as well as to be promoters of a more humane society, in
collaboration with men.
The International Association “VIDES”: “Volunteers in
Development, Education, and Solidarity” is an initiative of the FMA
Institute, offering young people the chance to volunteer to serve
other young people on the various continents. Its purpose is to
offer them concrete places where they can exercise protagonism,
free self-giving, and intercultural dialogue. The volunteer work that
is promoted is of an educational nature based on and oriented to
reciprocity, according to the Salesian missionary and social style,
and one that fosters sustainable development.
Recognized as an International Association by Belgian Law, it
has obtained from the United Nations the ECOSOC Consultative
Status which allows it to participate actively in and make a specific
contribution to the various UN fora.
The Human Rights Office: Located in Geneva (Switzerland), it
promotes human rights activities at the level of the educational
works of the Institute. In 2008, it obtained special consultative
status with
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of the Institute. In 2008, it obtained special consultative status with
ECOSOC from the United Nations as the “International Institute of
Mary Help of Christians” (IIMA).
All these works are animated, with a feminine sensitivity inspired
by the charism of the Institute, by the members of the FMA com-
munities. They are moved by the ardor of the “da mihi animas, cetera
tolle” and are open to collaboration with families, institutions, and
lay people who share the same mission.
Sanctity in the FMA Institute
Saints (2)
St. John Bosco, priest (April 1, 1934)
St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello, virgin (June 24, 1951)
Blesseds (7)
Bl. Laura Vicuña, adolescent (September 3,1988)
Bl. Maddalena Caterina Morano, virgin (November 5, 1994)
Bl. Carmen Moreno Benítez, martyr (March 11, 2001)
Bl. M. Amparo Carbonell Muñoz, martyr (March 11, 2001)
Bl. Maria Romero Meneses, virgin (April 14, 2002)
Bl. Eusebia Palomino Yenez, virgin (April 25, 2004)
Bl. Maria Troncatti, virgin (November 24, 2012)
Venerables (2)
Ven. Teresa Valsè-Pantellini, virgin (July 12, 1982)
Ven. Laura Meozzi, virgin (June 27, 2011)
Servants of God (2)
Antonietta Böhm, virgin (Germany - Mexico),
Opening of the diocesan enquiry: May 7, 2017
Rosetta Marchese, virgin (Italy), Opening of the diocesan enquiry: 2019
5. Challenges for the Future
The responses for the future center around challenges in three core areas:
Primacy of God
In a time of globalization, pluralism, rapid epochal changes, complexity
and relativism, the Institute is called to turn to the essentials in
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the sequela Christi. For this reason, it is committed to living pastoral
conversion with the prophetic force of being communities that “go
out” to and with the young to witness and proclaim Jesus with hope
and joy.
Together with many lay people, the FMA share the same charism. As
an alternative to the logic of consumerism and competition, the FMA
choose simplicity as a way of life and the communion of goods so as
not to reproduce within the Institute cultural patterns that generate
inequality, exclusion, and impoverishment.
Relationships
Inspired by the journey of the Church today, the Institute chooses
to live the synodal style more deeply in its educating communities.
Don Bosco understood the strength there is in unity and convergence
and involved all those who could collaborate in his educational work
in favor of the poorest young people. The FMA are called to “walk
together” giving visibility to those fundamental traits, typical of the
“Preventive System”, which characterize the synodal style: the sense
of the sacredness of the human person, joyful and warm welcome
in the style of a family, trust, proximity, hospitality, solidarity,
gratuitousness, integration, and the recognition of the other for what
the other is and what the other might become.
This was the style of animation also of Mother Mazzarello who was
able to involve everyone, both within and outside of the Community.
It is a style that shares visions, arouses new energy, opens horizons,
and generates life.
Shared mission
The spread of poverty in its old and new forms affects especially the
younger generations and women, in particular. Given the plurality of
situations that exist in the world, the Institute chooses specific lines of
action that are shared with the Past Pupils, the Salesian Cooperators,
ADMA, families, the local Church and the territory.
During the recent General Chapters, they have renewed their commitment:
• to take on the “oratorian heart” as the criterion for the renewal of
educational works and Communities;
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Animation Games
• to commit oneself to be with young people by listening to
them, trusting them, meeting them where they are today and
to express particular solidarity with migrants, refugees, and the
excluded;
• to take care with greater determination the formation in
Communities with young men and women in the various
stages of Religious Life and foster a vocational culture, taking
into consideration all the various vocations in the Church. This
requires a commitment to activate systematic and enculturated
paths of discernment and vocational accompaniment for young
people; and
• to invest in the formation of the FMA, of lay collaborators, and of
members of the Salesian Family who share the Salesian Charism,
through planning, and overcoming the temptation of giving hasty
formation which is inadequate to the educational challenges of
today.
Mission among Indigenous people, Darien – Panama
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1. Founder and Origin
In April 1876, Don Bosco went to Rome for the eleventh time.
He asked Pope Pius IX for spiritual favors for his Cooperators
and presented him with the definitive project entitled Salesian
Cooperators: A Practical Way of Contributing to Public Morality and to
the Good of Civil Society. At the audience on April 15, the Pope was
surprised to find no reference in the text to women (in fact, Don
Bosco had planned for them a separate association, aggregated to
the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians which had
been founded in 1872):
“Women,” the Pope told him, “have always played a leading role in
the performance of good works in general, in the life of the Church,
and in the conversion of nations. By their very nature they are
charitable and zealous in sponsoring good works, even more so
than men. If you exclude them, you will deprive yourself of the very
best help” (Biographical Memoirs, volume XI, 73-74).
Don Bosco took up this suggestion of the Pope with solicitude and
enriched his text in this sense. In the meantime, on May 9, 1876, he
obtained the famous Brief Cum Sicuti, in which Pope Pius IX showed
his extreme benevolence by granting to the “Society or Union of
Salesian Cooperators” the indulgences granted to the Third Secular
Franciscan Order (Biographical Memoirs, volume XI, 545-547), and
with this he implicitly approved the Association itself in its juridical
form. When he returned to Turin, Don Bosco took care of the
publication of the definitive Rule, inserting an important preface,
“To the reader”, dated July 12, 1876.
The Rector Major at the World Congress of the Salesian Cooperators
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2. History from the Foundation to the Present
On April 29, 2013, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life definitively approved the present
Project of Apostolic Life which, in full fidelity to Don Bosco’s inspiration
regarding “extern Salesians”, updates the Founder’s Rule to ensure
spiritual, theological, and pastoral harmony with the teachings of
Vatican Council II and all the Magisterium of the Church. It gives a
Christian and Salesian response to the new challenges of today’s
world.
World Congress V of Salesian Cooperators (2018)
3. Identity
Co-operators are those who wish to deal with charitable works not
in general, but in particular, in agreement with and according to the
spirit of the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales.
Alone, a Cooperator may be able to do good, but the fruit remains
very limited and mostly of short duration. On the contrary, united
with others, he/she finds support, advice, and courage and, often
with slight effort, he/she obtains much because even weak forces
become strong if they are united; unity is strength.
Therefore, our Cooperators, following the objective of the Salesian
Congregation, will work according to their strength to gather
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Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Check-in
dangerous and abandoned children in the streets and squares; to
bring them to catechism, to engage them on holidays, to place them
with an honest master, to direct them, and to help them as much
as they can to make them good Christians and honest citizens. The
rules to be followed in the works, which for this purpose will be
proposed to the Cooperators, will be the subject of the Salesian
Bulletin (Don Bosco, in the first Salesian Bulletin, August 1877).
The Project of Apostolic Life (the PVA) thus defines the profile of the
Salesian Cooperator in such a way as to make the individual worthy
of his/her vocation and mission.
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The most characteristic features of a Cooperator are:
• A person rich in humanity, a typical element of the optimistic
humanism of Saint Francis de Sales, which leads to a positive
vision of himself/herself, of reality, of the Church, and of the
world because he/she learns to see God in all things and to see
them with the gaze of God.
• A baptized person, with immense love for the Church, who lives
his/her state of being a son/daughter of God and a disciple of
Jesus with joy, gratitude, and responsibility - incorporated into
temporal reality with a clear identity and a practicing Christian.
• A Salesian in the world, according to Don Bosco’s original insight,
who is a passionate collaborator with God in the significant
choices of the Salesian mission: the family, the young, education,
the Preventive System, and socio-political involvement.
Requirements to become a Cooperator
Above all, one must be convinced that “the Spirit of the Lord fills
the universe”; God is not satisfied with inspiring vocations to the
Priesthood and Religious Life; God calls every baptized person
to find his/her original place in the Church and to carry out the
particular task in the common mission. It is therefore necessary to
pray: “Come, Spirit of Light, show me my way!”
It is necessary to have a certain taste for authentic Christian life, in
the face of so many baptized people who seem to ignore completely
the demands of their Baptism. One must desire to flee from
mediocrity and a formulaic piety and to take the Gospel seriously,
setting out on the formidable adventure of a life lived in faith and
generous self-donation.
Moreover, one needs to be sensitive to the problems of youth and
of poverty, aware that these are the most crucial problems of the
world and its near future and, therefore, to be empathetic to the
young and the poor so as to help in ensuring their human and
Christian promotion.
One needs to know Don Bosco and realize that his personality, his
work, his realistic and dynamic spirit, and his educational method
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are in harmony with certain traits of one’s own character. Following
him and working with him will, therefore, develop one’s natural and
supernatural gifts for the benefit of the Church.
Finally, one needs to have a sense of fraternity, enjoy encountering
others, love working with others, accept the values of co-
responsibility and collaboration, and thus a certain disciplined
action.
Young people and adults who say “YES” to the invitation of the Holy
Spirit surrender themselves to a life of integral Christianity in the
spirit of Don Bosco, thus inspiring more young people to become
Salesian Cooperators.
“One needs to be clearly aware that to commit oneself to be a
‘Salesian Cooperator’ is to respond to a true ‘call’; it is, therefore, to
accept an authentic Salesian apostolic vocation” (Acts of the Special
General Chapter, no. 730). Hence, a formation journey is necessary.
4. Present Situation
11 REGIONS - 27,035 (COOPERATORS)
ITALIY - MIDDLE EAST - MALTA
6700
IBERIA 3550
NORTH AND CENTRAL EUROPE
1738
EAST CENTRAL EUROPE
4395
EAST ASIA - OCEANIA
2511
SOUTH ASIA 3404
AFRICA - MADAGASCAR
1440
AMERICA SOUTH CONE
1955
BRAZIL 1505
INTERAMERICA
2449
PACIFIC SOUTH CARRIBEAN
353
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Sihanoukville. Group of Cooperators
Mission
According to the mind of Don Bosco, the Salesian Cooperators carry
out their apostolate, first and foremost, in their daily commitments.
They want to follow Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, sent by the
Father into the world.
For this reason, they tend to implement, in the ordinary
circumstances of life, the Gospel ideal of love for God and neighbor.
They do so with the Salesian Spirit and with special attention to
needy youth everywhere.
Flexible organization
The Association has a flexible and functional structure, based on
three levels of government: local, provincial and global. By means
of this organization, it ensures the effectiveness of its action in
its own territory and at the same time open to the universality of
communion and mission (Project of Apostolic Life, Statutes, Art. 34).
5. Challenges for the Future
The “extern Salesians” - the name which Cooperators legitimately
deserve whether lay people or Priests - according to their Rule,
have to “acquire perfection,” “keep a strictly Christian standard of
living,” and exercise “every work of spiritual and corporal charity
towards the young, especially the poorest.”
The Cooperators also have as their “fundamental aim” that of
“doing good to themselves by setting up a high standard of living
for themselves, as far as possible, similar to that which is held in
common life” with exercises of piety adapted to people who are
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inspired by the ideal of the Gospel Counsels (poverty, chastity, and
obedience) in their secular state of life and thus rejuvenate the ideal
of the ancient third orders with the practice of charity; all this with
a particular style, the Salesian one, because it is the Salesian life
that they take as their model and want to achieve in their particular
reality (Project of Apostolic Life, Statutes, Article IV and Conclusion).
East Timor (Timor-Leste)
112222
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ATTILIO GIORDANI
At home and in the Oratory
Attilio Giordani was born
in Milan on February 3,
1913; his mother Amalia
was a housewife and had
precarious health.
His father Arturo, a
railwayman, divided his
time, always tight, between
work, family and for doing
good to people. “In the
morning, daddy got up
early," remembered his
daughter Sister Angela,
"and brought a coal sack to
light a fire for two old men”.
A “school of family” that
inspired Attilio, Angela and
Camillo to solidarity, prayer,
creating loving atmosphere in the family. Attilio, after the elementary
school, obtained the diploma from the Commercial Technical School.
At the age of nine, with
Camillo, he began to
attend the Oratory of
St. Augustine of the
Salesians, near his home.
At that time the “Via
Copernico” was a country
lane; the Via Melchiorre
Gioia, a thin ribbon
was narrow to let the
Martesana canal run. But
the space around it was
wide; the meadows and
gardens never ended.
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Attilio grew up in serenity and in simple and affectionate relationships,
in the spirit of Don Bosco.
“Giordani’s charity,” said Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini on the occasion
of the diocesan process of canonization, "was exercised first of all in
the oratorian context and for us Ambrosians, it is nice to think that
a young oratorian is entrusted to the Investigation Commission, once
called 'Tribunal'… He is in this process, after a century. Attilio built his
personality as a human being and as a Christian in joy.”
"When you get up,” he always started with good humor and said to his
brother Camillo, "whistle a cheerful song.”
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Decree of the Archbishop of Turin, Bishop
Alessandro, of the Erection of the Association of
Mary Help of Christians (April 18, 1869)
1. Founder and Origin
The origin of ADMA is directly
linked to the construction of the
Basilica of Mary Help of Christians
in Turin and to the extraordinary
graces that the Virgin Mary gave.
A born organizer, Don Bosco did
not leave the devotion to Mary
Help of Christians to chance or to
be something of the spur of the
moment. He gave it stability with
an Association that took its name
from her. The Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians,
the second group founded by Don Bosco, was canonically erected
at the shrine of Valdocco on April 18, 1869, with the intention of
“promoting devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary
Help of Christians”46 and was “considered by him almost an integral
part of the Salesian Society”.47
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
In 1870, Pope Pius IX raised it to the status of Arch-Confraternity
and enriched it with spiritual benefits. To make it more widespread,
Don Bosco and his successors obtained over time more and more
permissions to form groups and to join them to the Primary ADMA
of Turin.
In 1988, the centenary year of Don Bosco’s death, its title was
changed to the “Association of Mary Help of Christians”.
A significant recognition came from General Chapter XXIV of the
Salesians (1996), which stated: "Don Bosco also gave life to the
Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians, including it in
the spirituality and mission of the Congregation with commitments
possible for the majority of ordinary people.”
126
46 From the request of Don Bosco to the Archbishop of Turin for the canonical erection of an
Association of Mary Help of Christians.
47 Fr. PIETRO RICALDONE, Maria Ausiliatrice, Colle Don Bosco 1951, 83.

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Since 1988, the International Congresses of Mary Help of Christians
have been celebrated as events of the Salesian Family. In its
devotion to Mary Help of Christians, the Salesian Family recognizes
devotion to Mary as a cornerstone of its spiritual and apostolic
identity. To date, the International Congresses have taken place in:
1988 - Turin - Valdocco (Italy), on the centenary of Don Bosco’s
death.
1995 - Cochabamba (Bolivia).
1999 - Seville (Spain).
2003 - Turin - Valdocco (Italy), on the occasion of the centenary
of the coronation of Mary Help of Christians.
2007 - Mexico City (Mexico).
2011 z stochowa Poland .
2015 - Turin - Valdocco / Colle Don Bosco (Italy), on the occasion
of the bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco.
2019 - Buenos Aires (Argentina).
In 2003, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and
Societies of Apostolic Life approved the New Regulations.
In 2015, on the occasion of VII International Congress of Mary Help of
Christians - with the motto “From Mary’s House to Our Homes” - the
Rector Major gave the following recommendations:
• to translate the Preventive System into a language adapted to
the situation of families, following the example of Mary and with
her help;
• to ensure that youth ministry is increasingly open to family
ministry; and
• to promote exchange, complementarity, and co-responsibility
between these two ways of life (Religious and secular)
3. Identity
For the members of the Association of Mary Help of Christians,
entrustment to Mary means “living the spirituality of daily life with
Gospel values, in particular with gratitude to God for the wonders
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ADMA Youth in Turin
He continually works, and with fidelity to Him even in times of
difficulty and of the Cross, following the example of Mary.”48
Personal membership in the Association requires the following
commitments:
• to promote the practice of personal Christian life and participation
in liturgical life, in particular in the Sacraments of the Communion
and Confession, always in accordance with the teachings of the
Church and by following Mary who is their example and model;
• to live and to spread the devotion to Mary Help of Christians,
renewing the practices of popular piety, according to the spirit
of Don Bosco;
• to cultivate in one’s family a Christian environment of welcome
and solidarity, like Mary;
• to practice, in prayer and deed, concern for the poorest young
people and people in need;
• to pray for and promote lay, consecrated, and priestly vocations
in the Church and, in particular, in the Salesian Family; and
• to live the spirituality of daily life with Gospel attitudes, following
the example of Mary: obedience to the Will of God (Fiat); gratitude
to God for the wonders he continually accomplishes (Magnificat);
and fidelity to Him even in times of difficulty and of the Cross
(Stabat).
4. Present Situation
Promoting ADMA means offering “a practical and simple itinerary
of sanctification and Salesian apostolate”.49 Today the defense and
48 New Regulations, art. 4.
49 New Regulations, art. 2.
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growth of the Faith in the People of God concerns the family and the
new generations in a special way. For this reason, the Association
has renewed itself with special attention to the family.
ADMA FAMILIES: “Family” in Don Bosco’s Charism
Don Bosco placed the family spirit at the heart of his mission. It is a
question of placing Marriage at the center and Jesus at the center
of Marriage and of cultivating day by day the grace of being spouses
and parents.
Today, no family can walk alone; it is essential for them to follow
common paths of faith and spirituality, using the following means:
• the Commemoration of Mary Help of Christians on the 24th of
each month;
• monthly retreats;
• annual Spiritual Exercises;
• Family Encounters – “A Family of families” - with moments of
prayer, sharing, and social interaction;
• pilgrimages; and
• the itinerary devised for engaged couples and newlyweds in the
early years of marriage.
The educational covenant made between spouses, between
families, between young and old, and between consecrated and lay
people, is an important trait of this experience so they can learn to
A family with the successor of Don Bosco, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime
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live together and to build pastoral and educational communities. To
promote this objective, groups of ADMA youth who want to make
their own the spirituality and apostolic commitment of ADMA were
born.
ADMA has spread to over 50 countries in the world, with about
100,000 members in 800 groups aggregated to ADMA Primary in
Turin. They operate in communion with the Church and with the
other Groups of the Salesian Family.
5. Challenges for the Future
The specific commitment, always in communion with the
Magisterium of the Pope and the guidance of the Rector Major, is
to live and to spread the Marian dimension and the centrality of the
Blessed Sacrament and Holy Mass in the Salesian Charism, both in
the Association and in the Salesian Family, as a witness to staunch
faith in times of trial for the Church and disorientation for humanity.
ADMA youth of the Philippines
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1. Founder and Origin
The historical memory of the movement dates back to June 24,
1870, the “name day” of Don Bosco, when a group of Past Pupils, full
of filial affection, brought him coffee cups as a gift. No one thought
this event would start a tradition, let alone mark the beginning of
a vast movement. It was Don Bosco himself who realized it and
wanted to continue it, dedicating an entire day to celebrate with
them, including an invitation to lunch and an exchange of gifts. The
first “fraternal agape” and gathering for an annual conference took
place on July 19, 1874, and still takes place today in many Salesian
Houses.
The Association of Past Pupils did not have a precise “Founder”
as Don Ceria writes. It was born “with the strength of events that
derive their origin and life from natural and spontaneous factors.”46
It sprang from the Family Spirit of the Preventive System at the
Oratory of Valdocco. Don Bosco himself had written that his
style of education “makes the pupil a friend.”47 “The Past Pupils’
movement was not, therefore, instituted by the educators as a
post-school association with chosen criteria, with the purposes of
an association, but it came on its own, with the vitality of a Charism
since its beginnings.”48
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
In 1884, the group of Past Pupils (over 300) devised its first
organizational structure. They were committed to maintaining the
education they had received, to continuing their service to young
people in need, and to fostering friendship and solidarity among the
members. The first Statutes were drawn up in Turin on December 8,
1911, on the occasion of the First International Congress, under the
guidance of Blessed Philip Rinaldi.
On May 23, 1920, at the inauguration of their monument to Don
Bosco, their organizational structure was defined. It consists
of Local Unions, Provincial Federations, and an International
Federation (a World Confederation since 1954).
132
46 E. CERIA, “Annali” vol. I, 715.
47 Ibid.
48 U. Bastasi.

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At the same meeting in 1920, it
was decided that the Past Pupils of
non-Christian religions would also
be welcomed into the association,
thus uniting students of all
religions. The fraternal bond and
sense of unity thus established are
sources of pride for the movement
and the Association.
The Confederation is part of the
Organization of Past Pupils of
Catholic Education (OMAAEEC)
recognized by the Church as an International Catholic Organization
(IICs), an organization that welcomes the Past Pupils of various
Congregations.
3. Identity
The Past Pupils of Don Bosco are persons who because they attended
an oratory, a school or any other Salesian Presence, received a formation
for life, in various and diverse ways and according to: different cultures,
religion, the educational experience of each setting, the ability to accept
individuals, pursue the principles of Don Bosco’s Preventive System and
to form persons by developing their individual authenticity.49 The Past
Pupils are:
• a fruit of the Salesian mission,
• a richness offered to humanity,
• a great strength as leaven in society, by being "honest citizens
and good Christians” in the world.50
• Committed to become in Society and in the Church the “salt of
the earth and light of the world”.
The Past Pupil is faithful to the promises of Baptism and
Confirmation and lives them with the original charism of Don Bosco.
49 Statute of the World Confederation of Past Pupils of Don Bosco, Rome, December 5,
2015, Art. 2a.
50 Statute, art. 1,a.
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This charism takes concrete form in a lifestyle based on reason,
religion, and loving-kindness, oriented towards young people and
lived in the joy of being a disciple of Christ.
The Past Pupil of other religions participates in the ideals of Don
Bosco, shares the cultural, spiritual, social and educational values
of the Salesian Preventive System and recognizes them as the
common heritage of the human family. He/she promotes these
values in his own living and working environments and supports
them even with what his/her religion and culture suggest.
They believe and live by the values of:
•ƒ Life,
•ƒ Freedom,
•ƒ Truth,
•ƒ Solidarity,
•ƒBrotherhood and
•ƒ Communion51
The Rector Major in the Association
The World Confederation of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco recognizes
the Rector Major of the Salesian Congregation as the Father and
51 Statute, art. 6, a.
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Center of unity of the Salesian Family and, as successor of Don
Bosco, considers him the primary reference point for the World
Confederation.52
4. Present Situation
There are about 100,000 past pupils, half of them are registered
members. They are organized in local unions, provincial/national
federation in 4 regions (Africa, America, Asia and Europa) and world
confederation. Every region organizes the meeting of delegates
and presidents every two years and congress every four years.
According to Statute Article 2, the Association of the Past Pupils
participates in the mission of Don Bosco and the Salesian Family
in various ways. The association has strategic plan with 7 priorities
and 4 flagship projects.
Strategic Plan
The strategic plan for the six years from 2015-2021 has
been prepared with a view to making progress in every area
of the Association’s life. It is primarily focused on qualitative
and quantitative growth to be achieved through a process of
institutionalization and professionalization, so as to be powerful
and efficient. They aim to create a worldwide network of people
capable of being “salt of the earth and light of the world” in everyday
life.
Seven Priorities
These are the objectives and dreams of the World Confederation
for the time frame 2015-2021:
•ƒ Growth and Solid Structure: Increasing the number
of active National Federations and consolidating their
structures with new operational methods;
•ƒ Formation and Training: Developing broader training and
a training plan within the framework of the “Past Pupils
Academy” project, for all Past Pupils, on professional,
anthropological, Christian, and Salesian topics;
52 Statute, art. 14, a.
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The President, Michael Hort, on the day of his election with the Rector Major,
Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime (2015)
•ƒ Promotion of Young Past Pupils (Giovani Exallievi - GEX):
Giving young people leadership within their Association
and including an increasing number of young people in their
activities through the promotion of the School of Leaders,
Past Pupils’ Voluntary Service, Job Placement, and other
concrete initiatives for young people;
•ƒ Funding and Fundraising: Developing a strong financial
plan to consolidate and increase the number of sources
of funding as a Business Platform, so as to increase their
social commitment through numerous projects;
•ƒ Family Support: Giving importance to families and including
them in their Past Pupils’ movement;
•ƒ Salesian Family: Increasing their commitment within the
Salesian Family and providing their professional skills to
initiate projects that address the current challenges of their
societies: immigration, unemployment, child labor, and
exploitation; and
•ƒ Communication and External Relations: Developing a
communication strategy to improve internal and external
communications, using all available social networks and
new media; implementing public relations plans to increase
their influence in society and in the Church.
Flagship Projects
•ƒ Permanent Secretariat: All over the world permanent
secretariats at various levels, with paid staff, will ensure
the daily work in the Federations of Past Pupils and in the
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World Confederation, and will take care of the technical
part of projects and activities.
•ƒ Business Platform: Associations of entrepreneurs (Past
Pupils and friends of Don Bosco), who will try to apply
Christian and Salesian principles and ideals to the world of
business, defending the values of responsibility, integrity,
and human dignity. As part of their commitment, they will
actively support the projects of the Salesian Family.
•ƒ Past Pupil Academy: The umbrella project that brings
together all the initiatives of formation and education
for Past Pupils, both adults and GEX, in the professional,
personal, spiritual, and Salesian fields.
•ƒ Past Pupils’ Voluntary Service: A new initiative that brings
together all the voluntary activities organized by the Past
Pupils in Youth Ministry and in missionary activities abroad.
Cooperation with the Salesian Congregation is essential for
the development of this initiative.
Laos
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Mongolia
Thailand – Printing press
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Philippines
5. Challenges for the Future
All the Past Pupils, considering the urgency of problems faced
by the young, are concretely active in order to respond, also on
a personal level, to all those cultural and formative initiatives
that touch young people and to their educational needs,
helping them to grow and to assume responsibility at all levels.
The Presidency of the World Confederation aims to make the
Association, the National Federations, the Local Unions and the
individual members grow according to the motto: “Good Christians
and honest citizens.”
This development is expressed in the program that is implemented
through a new and solid structure, new and important projects, and
the valuable contribution to Don Bosco’s mission.
The World Presidency (2020)
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Asian Meeting of National/Provincial Presidents and Delegates in Bangkok, Thailand (November 2018)
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1. Founder and History
The roots of the Association go back to Don Bosco himself. In the
Biographical Memoirs of St. John Bosco, one reads of a conversation
Don Bosco had with Fr. Giulio Barberis, which the latter noted in his
chronicle of February 19, 1876: “I have been working on another
project and shall perfect it during the next two years. Then once
the Salesian Cooperators have been put on a firm basis, they shall
announce this plan also. It has to do with what I would call a Third
Order of Women, associated not with them but with the Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians” (Biographical Memoirs, vol. XI, 62). These
prophetic words of their father Don Bosco were realized not too
much later; the Past Pupils made his dream a reality under the
guidance and encouragement of Fr. Philip Rinaldi, SDB, Don Bosco’s
third successor.
In 1911, Fr. Philip Rinaldi said the following about the Association
in a meeting with the FMA Superiors: “Don Bosco would have done
it, but the time was not ripe. If this had not been Don Bosco’s idea,
I would not have founded it.”
Past Pupils 1914, Carmen de Paragones
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Association was officially recognized as an Official Group of the
Salesian Family by the Rector Major, Fr. Egidio Viganò, on October
29, 1988, the centenary year of Don Bosco’s death. It is also
recognized by the Institute of the FMA in Article 74 of their Constitutions.
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The Association was
established in Italy by a
document certified by a
public notary and dated
February 12, 1990, in
accordance with Article
36 et seq. of the Civil Code.
It also approved their
first Statutes. Today, the
Statutes approved by the
Fifth Elective Assembly of
2015 are in force.
In the first Rule of 1908,
Don Bosco’s mother,
Margherita Occhiena, a
strong and wise woman,
a heroic Christian mother,
and a wise educator is
Caterina Arrighi, Collaborator in the Foundation
proposed to the Pupils
as a model for their life.
Immediately, and with surprising initiative, the Past Pupils began
to organize works of concrete solidarity and education to reach
Confederal President, Delegate, and Councillors in Poland
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young people, children, mothers of families, workers, teachers, and
peasants. They set up evening schools for homemakers and Italian
emigrants, free vocational schools for the children of the poorer
classes, mutual aid societies, circulating libraries, and theatre
companies.
3. Identity
The Past Pupil is the person who, after having received a Salesian
education, commits him/herself to live the values acquired through
the Preventive System of Don Bosco. She/he places her/himself in
society as leaven and a force for transformation, developing in a
creative way the charism of the Institute of the FMA in the different
socio-cultural realities and geographical areas.
As Fr. Egidio Viganò said to the Past Pupils in 1987: “The prefix
‘Past’ together with the word pupil, is meant to indicate the reality
of the assimilation of many educational values, their maturation
and, therefore, the continuity of an attitude of permanent formation
throughout life”, which finds vitality in belonging to the Association.
The Association is made up of women and men trained in an
institution or in the activities of the Salesian Sisters regardless of
their religious, cultural, social, and ethnic affiliation, who want to
share, deepen and bear witness to the human and religious values
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with which they were educated according to the Preventive System
of Don Bosco. Under the same conditions, those who, albeit not
educated in a work of the Salesian Sisters but who have come to
know about the Association and have taken on Salesian values in
their lives, can join the Association after an adequate formation
journey. It is an Official Group of the Salesian Family, of which the
Rector Major - successor of Don Bosco - is the Father and Center
of unity.
4. Present Situation
Mission
In the spirit of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello, the Past
Pupils pay particular attention to girls, women and young people,
especially those who are in a situation of poverty or exclusion, in
order to involve and make themselves protagonists of their integral
formation and their vocational choice.
Organization
There are 35,973 registered past pupils. The Association recognizes
the Superior General of the FMA as its point of reference.
The Association is organized according to this structure: World
Confederation, Regional Federations, and Local Unions. The World
Bangalore, Women Empowerment
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Confederation is made up of all the Federations of the world. The
Federations are constituted by the local Unions.
The Union represents the most direct contact with the members
of the Association at world level and the point of reference and
aggregation for each individual member at local level.
At each level, an Assembly and a Council are constituted, with roles
of animation and deliberative and executive functions.
The World Confederation has its own official periodical Unione
(“Union”) which is a liaison, training, and information entity. It
is published in hard copy in Italian and online on their website in
foreign languages.
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First Italian National Congress at Assisi (2018)
First Asian Congress (May 2013)
First Centenary of the Foundation of FMA Past Pupils (Turin 2009)
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First Italian National Congress , in Assisi (2018)
Delegate of the Past Pupils
The Delegate of the Confederation, Federation, and/or a Local
Union is a Daughter of Mary Help of Christians and represents the
Institute in the animation and the formative accompaniment of the
Association, becoming guarantor of the charismatic heritage.
5. Challenges for the Future
In accordance with the Statutes, biennial meetings, called
Conferences, are organized on six continents for the purpose of
promoting commitment in implementing the guidelines approved
by the Assembly. Some common themes are:
•ƒContinuing the creation of links among the Confederation,
Federations and Unions;
•ƒIdentifying the needs of the various territories;
•ƒValuing and putting in common the talents of each Past
Pupil so as to be active today with a view to building up
the future;
•ƒListening to young people by involving them in various
projects, thus enhancing their talents.
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1. Founder and History
The Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers (VDB in Italian)
was officially established on May 20, 1917. On that day, in the
presence of Sr. Felicina Fauda, FMA, Provincial, Fr. Philip Rinaldi
launched the Institute with Maria Verzotti, Francesca Riccardi, and
Luigina Carpanera. These were women who were dedicated in their
animation of the oratory and who had been keeping in their hearts
for some time the desire to live this form of consecrated life in the
world. Through their first experience of secular consecration in the
Salesian Family, they gave life to the Institute of the Don Bosco
Volunteers.
Fr. Rinaldi sensed the importance of a life entirely consecrated to
God with the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience while living
in the heart of the world and being fully woven into secular realities
so as to renew society from within through a credible, silent, and
coherent witness. At that time, there was nothing of that type
officially recognized in the Church, but the saints know how to
grasp the signs of the Holy Spirit. In 1919, the first seven young
people consecrated their lives to God.
School
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Oratory
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
After the death of their Founder, on December 5, 1931, they went
through moments of trial and uncertainty. Even though they
remained without a guide, they continued to be faithful to their
vocation and to the teachings of Fr. Rinaldi, keeping lit the “fire
under the ashes.” Thus, the little plant slowly grew and became a
large tree.
In 1947, the Church approved the Secular Institutes through
the Apostolic Constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia, clarified and
developed their thoughts the following year with the motu proprio
“Primo Feliciter” and the Decree “Cum Sanctissimus”. It was then
that the Association of the Zelatrici - the name of the first group of
associates at that time - was approved by the Church.
From the very beginning, the Association was firmly established
within the Salesian Family and, in a certain sense, anticipated what
would arise in the Church in subsequent years. The process for
various ecclesial recognitions began thanks also to the support of
the Rectors Major, Fr. Renato Ziggiotti and Fr. Luigi Ricceri, and to
the accompaniment given by Fr. Stefano Maggio, SDB, to the VDB
with a great fraternal spirit.
This process was accompanied by a constructive, formative
commitment and supported, above all, by the first President of
the Institute, Velia Ianniccari. On January 31, 1964, the Don Bosco
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Volunteers were recognized by the Church as a “Pious Association”.
On January 31, 1971, it received recognition as a Diocesan Right
Secular Institute and on August 5, 1978, Pope St. Paul VI recognized
it as a Pontifical Right Secular Institute.
3. Identity
The Don Bosco Volunteers are consecrated lay women. They live
the Salesian Spirituality and are involved in ordinary occupations
and various professional activities in order to make God’s love
present in all secular environments. In those environments, they
discover and make visible the values that have been there since
creation. Sensitive to the signs of the times and the needs of their
area, they want to live authentically every human and Christian
value, placing their lives joyfully at the service of all, especially the
young and the poor, finding opportunities for interventions with
creativity and flexibility. Consecrated through the profession of the
Gospel Counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience, they place
Christ at the center of their existence and they commit themselves
to being witnesses to His radical love.
Don Bosco Volunteers live their consecration in fruitful reserve
according to the indications of the Church so as to be able to work
more effectively, especially in certain difficult environments where
acknowledgment that one belongs to an Institute of Consecrated
Life could be a cause of prejudice. For them, reserve is a sign of
poverty; an invitation “to be” rather than to say or to show; and
a call to be attentive to the signs of God’s presence. They want to
be like salt that dissolves and gives taste to food and like yeast,
unseen, that leavens the dough and makes the bread soft.
They regard the world with love and optimism and are open to
accepting the authentic values inherent in human reality. They
commit themselves to create communion and dialogue in order
to build a society based on acceptance, justice, and respect for the
dignity of the person. They believe it is important to carry out their
work with competence and professionalism and to build a more
humane world according to Christian values; to value the person
more than profit; and to collaborate in the work of God in the world.
Nourished by a life of prayer, they pay particular attention to the
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young and the poor, with Don Bosco’s passion. They live the spirit
of the Beatitudes with passionate love to witness to people the
Gospel style of life lived by Christ.
Through their vow of chastity, they want to bear witness to the
world that they can love every creature as God does. Through their
vow of poverty, they want to say that they can live among material
goods with a style of sharing and solidarity. Through their vow of
obedience, they want to bear witness to full availability to God
who manifests Himself in history and to adopt a lifestyle based on
service.
They do not live the common life, but they do live in communion
of life, creating groups in which they meet, form, and support one
another.
4. Present Situation
Mission
Their mission is carried out in the places where they live, in their
daily lives, and by committing themselves, above all, to be present
in the “frontier places”, on the fringes of society. They are present
where challenging emergencies are most dire, in the midst of
the new types of poverty, in educational and social fields, and in
environments in which justice and rights are denied. They are in
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these places to bring Christ through the witness of their presence,
generous action, and the ability to listen, to be kind, and to
understand.
They want to be present in an active and responsible way, according
to each one’s possibilities and abilities, in the world of culture and
the mass media so as to speak to contemporary humans a message
of hope.
Organization
Their Institute has a geographical organization that consists of a
set of groups and regions. The general organization of the whole
Institute is entrusted to the World Coordinator and the Central
Council, elected by the General Assembly. Both at the local and
regional level, there are leaders who, together with their Councils,
accompany the BDV on their journey.
Within the local groups, they meet monthly for a day of retreat, to
support one another through shared prayer, formation programs,
and moments of fraternity. At the Regional level, they meet for
spiritual exercises, formation courses, and days of fraternity.
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The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) provide spiritual assistance to
the Institute at all levels. Currently, there are 1200 members in 183
Groups spread throughout the world. They belong to different
cultures and they try to permeate every environment with Gospel
values through their presence.
5. Challenges for the Future
In 2017, in Turin-Valdocco, together with the Salesian Family,
they celebrated the first Centenary of their Foundation. They look
forward with renewed enthusiasm to the future in order to respond
to the challenges of today’s society by being coherent and faithful
witnesses of God’s love, with the charism of Don Bosco.
Sensitive to the signs of the times and the needs of the society
in which they live, they want to live authentically every human
and Christian value, placing their lives joyfully at the service of all,
especially the young and the poor, finding space for interventions
with creativity and flexibility.
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1. Founder and Origin
Founder: Bl. Luigi Variara SDB (1875-1923)
Blessed Luigi Variara, SDB, was born in Viarigi (Asti, Italy) on January 15,
1875, and entered the Oratory of Valdocco on October 1, 1887. Thanks
to a glance received from Don Bosco, he discovered his vocation. He
made his Religious Profession as a Salesian on October 2, 1892. At the
age of 19, with Fr Michael Unia, SDB, he left for Colombia and on August
6, 1894, he arrived at the leprosy center of Agua de Dios. On April 24,
1898, at the age of 23, he was ordained a priest in Bogotá. Agua de Dios
was known as “the city of pain” for in that center more than 800 of the
2000 people who lived there were affected by leprosy.
The presence of the young Salesian filled the hospital with joy; he
organized a festive oratory, a musical band, and a theatre, and built
an oratory for the young lepers and the children of the sick.
In the exercise of his ministry, through the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, he discovered the Religious vocation of a few
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Servant of God Mother Anna Maria
Lozano Diaz
young people already suffering
from leprosy and of others,
daughters of the lepers but
without leprosy, whose desire
to consecrate themselves to the Lord was still unfulfilled. On May
7, 1905, he founded the Congregation. In 1919, the Founder was
definitively removed from Agua de Dios after much suffering and
misunderstanding.
In Cucuta, Fr. Variara was a guest of the Faccini, the family who took
care of him. He was visited by his confreres in Tariba but a few days
later, on February 1, 1923, he died peacefully at the young age of 48. In
1957, the process for his Beatification and Canonization was opened
and on April 14, 2002, he was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II.
Co-Foundresses (First Sisters)
Some of the young people of the center who were part of the “The
Daughters of Mary” group confided in Confession to Fr. Variara their
secret desire to become Religious despite the clear impossibility
of realizing it just because they were lepers. Led by their Founder,
six of them, four sick with leprosy and two healthy individuals, but
daughters of lepers, began the Institute, becoming co-Foundresses.
The personal experience of the Religious vocation alive in these
young people who were suffering from leprosy or who were
daughters of leprous parents, in particular, was one of the factors
that favored the realization of the foundation. To this were added
their conviction concerning their vocational call, their docility, and the
commitment and responsibility that they demonstrated despite the
uncertainties, misunderstandings and sufferings - ones that were also
shared by the Founder.
The first Sisters perceived illness and pain as a means of redemp-
tion, of total self-offering, and of solidarity with the suffering, in the
Salesian Spirit. In the group, Sr. Oliva Sánchez, herself a leper, was
outstanding and became the first Superior and cornerstone of the
Institute. She died two years after the foundation.
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Oratory in Cartegena, Colombia
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Oratory in Cameroon
“40 hours” in Agua de Dios
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2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The second Superior, Sister Anna Maria Lozano, daughter of a leper
father, who was declared a Servant of God in June 2014, directed the
Institute from 1907 until 1969 with only two short intervals of hiatus
for three years each. She was responsible for the development of the
Institute, the acceptance of healthy young people who had no personal
connection with leprosy, and the spread of the Institute in Colombia
and other countries.
The Institute was originally named the “Daughters of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus.” However, already in 1908, it took its present name: the
“Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.”
The Congregation was approved as a Diocesan Institute on June 5,
1930, and received the Decree of Approval from the Apostolic See on
June 12, 1952. It became a Pontifical Right Institute on April 6, 1964. It
then received the recognition as an Official Group of the Salesian Family
on December 23, 1981 and the approval of its renewed Constitutions
on March 22, 1986.
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Luigi Variara Secular Movement
In 1975, by a decision of their General Chapter, the “Luigi Variara
Secular Movement” was founded. This movement reinstitutes the
lay consecration that existed prior to the birth of the Congregation
(1902-1904). The group is dependent on the Sisters. Diocesan
priests, men and women, married or single, the young or adults, the
healthy or the sick - all of whom remain in their dioceses - belong
to this Movement.
They live the charismatic experience of self-oblation and of service
to the little ones and the sick.
3. Identity
Originality of the Salesian Charism
The spirituality of the Institute and the characteristics of its mission
were born and developed in a typically Salesian environment among
the children and the young people of the leprosy center of Agua
de Dios in Colombia. It was leprosy that delineated the sacrificial
dimension of the Salesian Charism, inspired by the example of Don
Andrea Beltrami, SDB. The Institute’s coat-of-arms, designed by Fr.
Variara, reads: “Ibi nostra fixa sint corda ubi vera sunt gaudia” (“Let
our hearts be fixed there where true joys are found”). A Daughter
of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary loves the Cross, the sign of
salvation. For this reason, she accepts illness, suffering, difficulties,
and worries in her daily life along with the joy of those who believe
in the Resurrection.
Fr. Variara took to himself the experience of the plan of a sacrificial
style of Salesian life from having known Fr. Andrea Beltrami, SDB.
Fr. Variara had seen Don Bosco when the latter was in his final
days and who, though very ill, continued to await the young people,
offering himself for them. This image of the Father and Founder
would take on a doctrinal form in the experience and writings of
the Founder’s great friend, Fr. Andrea Beltrami, who discovered in
his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, present in the Blessed
Sacrament, the apostolic significance of his illness. For this reason,
Fr. Beltrami was the Salesian model that Fr. Variara presented to
his Daughters.
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Moreover, Fr. Luigi learned the virtue of religious discipline from Don
Bosco right from the time of the pre-novitiate and exhorted the
Sisters to consider themselves Daughters of the Saint. He referred to
the youth apostolate or to other apostolates mentioned in the Rules
and, compatible with the disease, as means to holiness.
Outstanding Witness of the Community
The experience of the sacrificial dimension of Salesian Spirituality
is realized in the evangelization of the poor, especially of lepers,
sick, children, and young people. For this reason, the Institute
also promotes health care ministry within the various educational
activities it conducts. There are also some centers for assistance to
the sick and for social and missionary works.
Patrons
The Principal Patrons of the Institute are the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary. The protectors are St. Joseph, St. John Bosco, and St.
Margaret Mary Alacoque. The liturgical feast celebrated throughout
the Institute from its very beginning is on May 24, the Solemnity of
Mary Help of Christians. Currently, January 15 is the liturgical feast
of the Blessed Founder.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
“They are with other apostolic forces, members of the Salesian
Family, which is a gift of the Spirit in the Church. They recognize
the Rector Major of the Society of St. Francis de Sales as a center
of unity and the spiritual and charismatic point of reference. While
they are aware of the common mission and the common spirit,
they are also aware of how much their own charism enriches”
(Constitutions Art. 6).
The sense of communion with the other groups of the Salesian
Family has been characteristic of their Institute since its
inception. This communion was specifically manifested in the
conscious participation in a common spirit through the various
communications, participation in the World Council, the provincial
councils, the work of the commissions, the Spirituality Days, and
the events proper to the Family.
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4. Present Situation
The Institute has 308 members in 55 Communities in 11 countries:
Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic,
Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.
5. Challenges for the Future
Since General Chapter XV, the Institute of the Daughters of the
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary has chosen as its program:
“Rebirth in collegiality and equity following the example of the first
Christian community”. Thus, they have committed themselves to
promoting teamwork, starting with Community life. They intend to
care for relationships: not only among the members of the councils,
the individual Sisters, and the different commissions that respond
to the various areas of their life and organization but also in
mutual collaboration with the members of the Luigi Variara Secular
Movement and the lay collaborators in their mission.
Educational Mission in Agua de Dios (Colombia)
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The current program is divided into three macro projects that
comprise the fundamental aspects for the new organization of the
Institute:
1. Authority as service in the style of Jesus the Good Shepherd;
2. Walking towards a greater charismatic identity;
3. the organization: “Construction of the Kingdom of God.”
Unity and fraternity are to be emphasized in fraternal life, as well as
through participation, responsibility, and charismatic identity at the
level of the Institute, the Salesian Family, and the Church.
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Divine Baby Center in Bogotà.
1. Founder and Origin
Fr. Miguel González, SDB, was born in Urdiales del Pàramo, in the
Province of León, Spain, on April 27, 1927. He met the Salesians
through Fr. Rosendo González, SDB, who initiated the Don Bosco
Volunteers Institute in Venezuela. Fr. Miguel was ordained a priest
in San Salvador, Central America, on November 14, 1954. During his
youth, he experienced the difficult times of post-war Europe, the
socio-political drama of Central America, and the Cuban revolution.
He guided the Salesian Dames with originality while transmitting
common elements of the Salesian Family, such as the Salesian
vocation, mission for the young, spirituality, charism, and
educational method. From the beginning, he said: “They are an
apostolic movement of human promotion and evangelization...
which instils vitality for a great apostolic project of lay people.” In
May 1968, the Constitutive Act of the Association was signed; thus,
this Private Association of Christian Faithful was born, formed from
the desire of a specific group of lay faithful.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Salesian Dames (Damas Salesianas) were born from a concrete
historical fact: the expulsion of the Founder from the island of Cuba
and his arrival in Venezuela in 1961.
The construction of the national church of St. John Bosco in Altamira,
Caracas (a promise of the SDBs of Venezuela, long planned and
dreamed of), found effective inspiration in their Founder. There
was no better way to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the
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Salesian presence in Venezuela. Next to the national shrine also
stands the “Don Bosco Social Complex,” today the “Mother House
of the Association of the Damas Salesianas”.
On December 3, 1967, a group of women, collaborators in the social
works of Don Bosco institutions, decided to remain united, free and
autonomous, to give life to the social aspirations of the complex
and form a new Christian and Salesian Association called “Damas
Salesianas.” This is how the Holy Spirit manifested Himself.
The Association of the Damas Salesianas was officially founded
on May 13, 1968, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima and of St. Mary
Domenica Mazzarello, co-Foundress of the Daughters of Mary Help
of Christians with Don Bosco. On December 29, 1988, the Rector
Major, Fr. Egidio Viganò with his Council officially recognized the
Association as an Official Group of the Salesian Family. On March
14, 2014, Fr. Miguel González died. His remains rest in the chapel
of Mary Help of Christians in the national shrine to St. John Bosco
in Caracas.
3. Identity
The Association of the Salesian Dames is a group of lay Catholic
women immersed in the Christian community and in civil society.
They promote legitimate
secular autonomy and strive to
transform society according to
the Gospel.
Their vocation is a call from
the Holy Spirit to sanctify
themselves in their daily
activities and work for the
renewal of the world in Christ. It
is an initiative of the Holy Spirit
offered to the Church, society,
and women of today so that,
by interpreting the signs of
the times, it may develop in a
special way its own structures
of human promotion and
Little children at ADS Generalate, Caracas
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evangelization. It is addressed to women, as active subjects and
at the same time recipients of the mission, women who are often
socially restless but with sufficient values and qualities and who
devote part of their time to be agents of social change and social
promotion, hoping to build up the community carrying out the
mission wherever they are placed.
The Salesian Dames live the spirituality of action, of giving, of
sacrifice, of generous sharing in the service of others. They nourish
themselves with prayer, the Eucharist and devotion to Mary Help
of Christians. Their patrons and protectors are Don Bosco and
Saint Michael. The Association has a spiritual director in charge of
promoting the Salesian Charism and spirit in all the Centers.
4. Present Situation
The Dames address the physical, moral, and spiritual needs of the
poor. Young people, marginalized and deprived of any educational
process, constitute the significant focus of their apostolate. They
care for children with material, physical, and spiritual deficiencies,
while caring for the needs of mothers.
They are conscious that they are lay missionaries: Apostles of the
New Evangelization; committed to society; Volunteers by natural
disposition and by vocation to service; Entrepreneurs because they
organize human and religious commitment as an enterprise of the
Kingdom of God; Marian, because they are women, mothers, and
wives striving to live in imitation of Mary; and women who work
with feminine sensitivity - the dynamism, intuition, and generosity
of women.
They evangelize through human promotion and thus build up the
civilization of love. The Association intends to liberate modern
women, regardless of social status. They run their own Centers and
give priority to general health, education with a view to employment,
the salvation of the young and of women in general, the education
of women as a means of promoting motherhood, the promotion of
indigenous people, the rehabilitation of the female prisoners, and
micro-enterprises.
The Association has a structure comprised of three main levels:
local, national, and international. In areas where their presence is
more numerous, there is also a regional level. Each Center has its
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own local Council which is always in contact with the national and
international Council.
The Association has 3153 members in 115 Centers. There are 24
in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama,
Honduras, Nicaragua); 7 in the Caribbean islands (Puerto Rico,
Dominican Republic, Curazao); 6 in North America (United States
of America, Mexico); 72 in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia,
Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela); 2 in
Europe (Spain); 2 in Asia (Philippines) and 3 in Africa (Angola)
“Fr. Miguel Gonzalez Center” in Leon (Spain)
Damas Salesianas in action, Colombia
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5. Challenges for the future
The Dames have as an urgent challenge for the next 3 years the
growth in the number of volunteers and lay vocations to support
and strengthen the work. They intend to work to update their
evangelization and catechetical program in order to adapt to the
challenges and continuous changes proposed by the Church in the
light of the most recent documents on the new evangelization.
They want to encourage in each of the members the use of
information technologies, such as social networks, the Internet,
and the improvement of operational capacity in communications.
They aim to develop content related to evangelization, animation
and training of the association’s vocational volunteers in order to
reach more people around the world.
The ADS, as an organization, has an irreplaceable fundamental
element, the Salesian Dame, who in the light of the Holy Spirit is
the executor of the mission (Constitutions, Art. 44). Their efforts are
directed to the recruitment of new volunteers and to their spiritual
formation by maturing the capacity to work in teams, so that the
Association can grow and continue to develop over time.
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1. Founder and Origin
In the second half of the 1980s, some young men in four countries
(Italy, Malta, Paraguay and Venezuela), moved by the Holy Spirit,
without knowing one another, expressed their desire to consecrate
themselves to God in the world.
Accompanied by three Salesian priests and a VDB, they began to
explore this form of life. The then Rector Major, Fr. Egidio Viganò,
informed of the path taken, recognized the gift of the Spirit and
encouraged the young people and their animators to move forward.
In December 1993, he invited them to Rome. They came together
again the following year and decided to give the official start to the
group “Volunteers With Don Bosco” (“Con Don Bosco” - CDB) on
September 12, 1994, the feast of the Name of Mary. On the same
occasion, the Constitutions were drawn up ad experimentum and the
first Profession took place.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
On May 24, 1998, at the request
of the then Rector Major, Fr.
Juan Edmundo Vecchi, SDB, the
Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal
Ignacio Antonio Velasco Garcìa, SDB,
issued the decree through which he
erected the “Volunteers With Don
Bosco” as a public association of lay
faithful with a view to making it a
Lay Secular Institute. With the same
decree, Cardinal Velasco approved
the Constitutions. Their membership
in the Salesian Family was also
recognized contemporaneously.
From 1998 to the present day, the
Volunteers With Don Bosco (CDB) have
organized six General Assemblies,
deepening and defining their identity
as Salesian secular consecrated
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persons, the mission, the contents and methods of formation, and
the life of communion.
3. Identity
The CDB’s identity can be summed up in three words: secularity,
consecration and Salesianity.
Secularity: CDBs live in the world, for the world, but do not belong to
the world. They live their vocation in their work, in their professional
competence and in the ordinary circumstances of life, remaining in
their family of origin or living alone. They see Jesus of Nazareth as
their model, with the silent and discreet presence of His hidden
life. They live “among” others, “as” others. In order to guarantee
better the effectiveness of their apostolic action in frontier places
and in the secular sphere, they maintain a prudent and responsible
‘reserve’ on their own belonging and that of others’ belonging to the
Institute. It is their life that must speak, bear witness, seek meaning
and, above all, show for whom these men live and to whom they
bear witness.
Consecration: CDBs lead a life according to the Gospel Counsels
of chastity, poverty and obedience, through which they commit
themselves to follow Christ radically, bearing witness to the love
of God who walks the streets of men and women. They have
no Community Life but are united by a strong bond of fraternal
communion and meet for moments of formation and interaction.
Salesianity – member of the Salesian Family: CDBs are part of the
Salesian Family. They choose to live according to the spirit of Don
Bosco, cultivating a profound interior life, being attentive to the
urgent needs of the world of youth and bearing witness to God’s
love for the world with joy and optimism. As part of the Salesian
Family, they are in communion with other groups and offer their
specificity of the Salesian charism. They recognize the Rector Major
of the Salesians of Don Bosco, the successor of Don Bosco, as
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common Father and Center of Unity as regards the Salesian Spirit
and fidelity in mission; they ask the Salesian Congregation for the
service of spiritual assistance.
4. Present Situation
The small seed sown in 1994 has now germinated and its
shoots have spread to twenty-six nations in five continents. As
of September 12, 2018, there were 94 CDBs - 57 of whom were
committed through the profession of the Gospel Counsels of
poverty, chastity and obedience; others were committed to the
path of discernment or to the path of initial formation.
The Volunteers With Don Bosco are happy men, loved in a special
way by God Who consecrates them in the Church for the world.
Attentive to the signs of the times, they want to be witnesses to
God Who walks the streets and, for this reason, they make God’s
passion for the world their own.
The whole life of the Volunteer is a mission: each one participates in
the mission of the Church and is inserted into the world of work and
in the various sectors of human activity with professionalism and
competence. It is precisely in these realities that he experiences the
encounter with God and with his brothers and sisters, responding
to the needs and demands of the society that surrounds him, with
joy and creativity.
The journey of life of the Volunteers With Don Bosco is a journey of
holiness: a simple and concrete holiness, lived by adhering to the
Will of God in the midst of suffering and the difficulties of daily life.
In March 2012, the cause of beatification of a CDB Volunteer, Nino
Baglieri (1951-2007), was launched. For 39 years, he lived the
call to holiness in suffering the conditions of his particular illness,
dedicating himself to the apostolate and as a witness of a man
redeemed and loved by the Lord.
Servant of God Antonino Baglieri
The Servant of God Antonino (Nino) Baglieri was born in Modica on
May 1, 1951, of Pietro and Giuseppa Rivarolo. He had two brothers
and a sister. After attending primary school and taking up the job
of bricklayer, at the age of seventeen, on May 6, 1968, he fell from
a 17-meter scaffolding. Immediately he was hospitalized, Nino
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realized with sadness that he was completely paralyzed. Some
of the doctors proposed euthanasia as a solution to the problem,
but his mother, trusting in God, courageously opposed it, declaring
herself willing to take care of him personally for the rest of her
life. Thus, begins his long journey of suffering, passing from one
hospital to another, but without any improvement.
Returning to Modica in 1970, after the first days of visits from
friends, Nino experienced ten long dark years marked by despair.
He remained locked in the house with only the company of
suffering. On March 24, 1978,
Good Friday, at four o’clock in
the afternoon, a group of people
of the Charismatic Renewal
prayed for him and Nino felt a
transformation in himself. From
that moment he accepted the
Cross and said his “yes” to the
Lord. He, first read the Gospel
and then the entire Bible,
rediscovering the wonders of
faith.
He learned to write with his
mouth, while helping some
children to do their homework.
He wrote his memoirs in this
Servant of God, Antonino Baglieri
way, entered into correspondence with people of every category
in various parts of the world, and personalized the imagery he
gave to those who came to visit him. With the help of a rod, he
dialed telephone numbers and got in direct contact with many sick
people. His calm and convincing word comforted them. He began
a continuous flow of relationships that not only brought him out
of isolation but enabled him to bear witness to the Gospel of joy
and hope. He published his first book with the significant title From
Suffering to Joy and a booklet in which he meditated on the 14
Stations of the Cross.
From May 6, 1982 onwards, Nino celebrated the Anniversary of
the Cross and, in the same year, he joined the Salesian Family as a
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Salesian Cooperator.
His vocational search led him to ask the Rector Major, Fr. Egidio
Viganò, to profess his vows as a Salesian in the world. This is why,
when the Volunteers With Don Bosco began their journey, Nino was
welcomed among them. He made his First Profession on February
4, 1996, and Perpetual Profession on August 31, 2004. On March
2, 2007, Nino Baglieri, after a period of long suffering and trial,
returned to God. He desired to be buried wearing a suit and shoes
and his wish was fulfilled.
Thousands of people came to pay respects to him and kept vigil
the whole night to give him the silent goodbye. On April 8, 2007,
the book In the Shadow of the Cross was published and on March 2,
2008, on the first anniversary of his death, another new book On the
Wings of the Cross was published. Nino Baglieri moved forward with
much desire! On March 3, 2012, at the Cathedral Church, Bishop
Antonio Staglianò of Noto (SR), in the presence of the Rector Major
of the Salesians, Fr. Pascual Chavez Villanueva, received the Supplex
libellus from the Postulator General of the Salesian Congregation,
Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni. Thus, began the journey towards the
Beatification and Canonization of Nino Baglieri.
On April 18, 2012, the Bishops of Sicily, after having known the
human and spiritual experience of Nino Baglieri, said they were in
favor of opening the Cause of Beatification by granting the relative
nulla osta.
On Sunday, March 2, 2014, the Bishop of Noto, Antonio Staglianò,
in private chapel in Noto, officially instituted the investigation into
the virtues of Nino Baglieri towards declaring him as Servant of
God, in accordance with current legislation for the Causes of Saints.
The diocesan phase of the process is still on.
5. Challenges for the Future
The CDBs feel the urgency of facilitating the proposal to live the
Gospel Counsels while remaining as lay people in the world. They pay
particular attention to communion of life and formation, overcoming
the various linguistic and cultural barriers and valuing the riches of
each one. They consider it fundamental to put themselves at the
service of all people living on the fringes of society in order to bring
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1. Founder and Origin
The Institute was founded on December 12, 1948, by Louis La
Ravoire Morrow, SDB, a zealous missionary, renowned writer and
Bishop of Krishnagar, West Bengal, India. Bishop Morrow was
born on December 24, 1892, in Texas, USA. When Louis was five
years old the family moved to Mexico for business reasons where
he eventually came in contact with the Salesians. During his thirty
years as bishop, he built up his languishing diocese on all fronts and
rendered notable services to Krishnagar city.
During the violent Mexican Revolution, as all the foreign priests
were exiled, Cleric Louis acted as Director of the Salesian Seminary.
The building was then turned into barracks. When a captain ordered
Louis to open the chapel for men and horses and he refused, he
was threatened with being shot. Louis replied that the troops could
enter the chapel “over my dead body”. Hence, he was imprisoned in
the school building until the American Consul ordered his release.
He was ordained a priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1921 in
Puebla, Mexico. He founded La Buena Prensa to promote wholesome
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literature and cinema for the character formation of youth. The
Archbishop authorized him to screen the movies shown in the city.
From 1922 to 1939, he served as Secretary to the Apostolic Delegate
to the Philippines. In 1926, he founded the Catholic Truth Society of
Manila to publish Catholic literature. This led him to author some
25 books: a series of Catechism books for all age groups, devotional
books and nine textbooks for schools. His renowned book is My
Catholic Faith, later titled Their Catholic Faith.
Father Morrow was a popular Retreat Director and Organizer of
parishes. He organized the International Eucharistic Congress in
Manila in 1937. He directed the huge choir of 50,000. He had a great
capacity for hard work, learning, writing and more, with success.
His episcopal appointment surprised him for he had never dreamed
of being a bishop, nor of working in India. He did not even know
where Krishnagar was, he thought that it was perhaps in Africa! His
missionary zeal was first for Mexico and later for the Philippines.
In 1939, he was ordained Bishop of Krishnagar by Pope Pius XII
in Rome. The Pope presented him the Pectoral Cross saying, “This
cross is the least heavy. I am sending you to an extremely poor place.
Be a father to all!” He always cherished it and fulfilled that mandate,
as confirmed by the Rector Major. On arriving in Krishnagar, he set
his heart on forming a solid Christian community, visited his poor
and illiterate flock and promoted literacy so vigorously that the rate
rose from 4.5% to almost 100% during his episcopacy.
He faced the major crises of World War II, the Disastrous Famine
of Bengal, and the Partition of India courageously and with total
dependence on God. Through timely action, he succeeded to keep
his Italian clergy from being interned in campus. It was the only
such exception granted to any Catholic Mission in India.
The Disastrous Famine of Bengal engulfed his mission. He girded
himself with God’s shield and buckler and believed that his trust in
the Lord would make everything possible. He was chosen Chairman
of a voluntary Citizens’ Food Committee of 49 members. He collected
food supplies from wherever he could, especially from the Catholic
Relief Services in New York, and saved the life of thousands.
The partition of India resulted in the sudden amputation of two-
thirds of his flourishing diocese. He sheltered the refugees that
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Interaction with families
poured into Krishnagar, without
regard for caste or creed, and
was a force in the community.
For twelve years he served as
Commissioner of the Krishnagar
Municipal Board, and promoted
notable development: extension
of water works, a telephone
system and the acquisition of an
X-ray machine.
He was the official visitor to
the District Jail and Hospital
and a consultant to the Indian
Red Cross Society. He contributed to the Stadium, Children’s Park,
the City Library and the Students’ Health Home. He trained and
supported his Catechists and erected churches that were simple
and catechetical. As a pioneer in the use of audio-visuals, he built a
vast theatre-hall and organized free shows for all castes and creeds
on weekends to spread the Faith. He obtained a mobile unit for the
villages. The Holy Mass was his Number One Joy, and he promoted it.
Foundation of the Congregation
Upon taking charge of his diocese, Bishop Morrow discussed with
his priests his Pastoral Plan. They told him, “Their difficulty is to
reach the women. They simply cannot meet them.” They clearly
saw the necessity of educated women Religious; they prayed
and hoped for Sisters to visit homes. He invited Sisters of various
Congregations, but all were busy with their own institutions.
In 1948, Bishop Morrow went to Rome to seek the guidance of
the Holy See concerning the progress of his diocese. There he
was advised to start a Congregation of his own, which would be a
blessing for his diocese.
After prayer and discernment, he consented. Kneeling before the
altar, he resolved that the name of the new Congregation would be
that of Mary Immaculate and its Patroness St. Therese of the Child
Jesus.
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Sisters on bicycles visiting villages
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
He prepared the Constitutions and the Holy See approved them in
1954. With tremendous sacrifice, he financed the religious and
professional education of his Sisters for the benefit of the people.
Known as the Smiling Bishop, he shared that joy with everyone and
imparted the Smiling Apostolate to his Sisters as an instrument for
winning souls. As a devoted Son of Don Bosco, he passed on to
his Sisters the Principles of the Preventive System for their life and
Mission.
In 1964, the first General Chapter was held. In 1966, the
Congregation became one of Pontifical Right. The provinces were
erected in 1990. Bishop Morrow was a vigorous Council Father
at Vatican II. He was greatly influential in introducing vernacular
into the Liturgy and in modifying the laws of abstinence and the
Eucharistic fast. After retirement, he continued revising his books
and distributing the Bible in different languages in print and on
audio cassettes.
He was an ardent advocate of women’s rights and was convinced
that justice and peace cannot prevail until and unless women have
an equal voice in legislative assemblies throughout the world.
Bishop Morrow was called to his eternal reward on August 31,
1987.
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3. Identity
The spiritual and apostolic charism of SMI would be The Little
Way of Spiritual Childhood, and Evangelization and Catechesis, as
explained to them by their Founder, drawing strength from the
Abba-experience of Jesus. The specific purposes of the Congregation
are evangelization and catechesis, mainly through visiting homes in
towns and villages proclaiming the Good News that Jesus came to
lead all to the Father. They work with women, girls and children by
preference.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
On June 10, 1992, the Rector Major issued the official document
of their membership. The SMI Constitutions, Article 18, and their
Directory of Rules, Articles 15-30, define the practice of the
Preventive System. The SMI accept membership in the Salesian
Family because of the affinity of their spirit and mission, for mutual
enrichment and greater apostolic fruitfulness, while preserving
their own identity.
4. Present Situation
There are 665 members living in 88 communities, serving the Church
in India, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Tanzania and the USA through their
five provinces and one delegation. They have 25 novices and 120
pre-novices.
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Collaboration in the Salesian Family Mission is carried forward in
the fields of Evangelization and Catechesis through:
• Pastoral ministry - teaching catechism, visiting families,
instructing people to receive the Sacraments and preparing for
parish celebrations; and
• Print Media - Bishop Morrow’s Catechism Books, especially My
Bible History, are being taught in a number of Salesian formation
houses, parishes and schools in India.
Their Mission
Home Visits: SMI visit families of Christians and others and assist
the sick and homebound, pray with them, listen to them and help
them to live godly lives.
Village Apostolate: SMI stay among the people, prepare them for
the Sacraments, share their joys and sorrows and help them to
improve their standard of living.
Pastoral Ministry: SMI take active part in the pastoral and
ministerial works entrusted to women Religious and encourage
everyone to participate consciously and actively in liturgical
worship, to encounter Christ in the Sacraments, and to experience
deeper communion with God.
Catechetical Media: Bishop Morrow’s catechetical publications
are made available to all; they are in use all over India, in the USA
and beyond. Thousands of students of all castes and creeds use My
Bible History as their textbook.
Anti-human Trafficking Ministry: The SMI visit remote villages and
conduct awareness program for women, girls and children. The
Legal Cell is active to rescue and rehabilitate those who had been
trafficked and to provide legal aid to them, in collaboration with
like-minded groups.
Small Christian Communities: The they promote Small Christian
Communities at the parish, diocesan, regional and national levels in
India and help the faithful experience deep intimacy with God in the
Eucharist and be enlightened by the Word of God.
Healing Ministry: This is carried out mainly through their health
Centers.
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Interactions with children and people of the village
Teaching Ministry: The SMI run schools of various levels and kinds,
especially boarding schools for poor girls, teaching them to be
compassionate, especially towards the poor, the aged, the needy
and the suffering. They instil in them love and respect for all God’s
creation and to be responsible citizens. They are also engaged in
other ministries like hostels, vocational and cultural Centers and
empowerment of girls and women.
5. Challenges for the Future
• to grow deeper in personal sanctity by living faithfully the Little
Way in all aspects of their life;
• to be intimately united with God, linked with humankind, sharing
its joys, hopes and anxieties;
• to be more humble, faithful to their simple lifestyle, detached,
self-sacrificing and charitable towards all;
• to promote religious vocations through prayer, sacrifices,
witnessing Community Life, enjoying one’s own call, motivating
and facilitating their perseverance;
• to be more committed in the prime apostolate;
• to use the Media responsibly; and
• to be transparent in the use of financial resources upholding the
Founder’s teaching.
Ministry to women in the maternity ward
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1. Founder and Origin
The Founder Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB (1900-1982), was born on
July 9, 1900, into a peasant family of humble and very religious
origins in Cernusco sul Naviglio in the Lombardy province of Italy.
In 1917, at the outbreak of World War I, the young Carlo, not yet
eighteen, was called to army duty for a year and a half and was
sent to Albania as a lieutenant in the Arditi, owing to his courage
and discipline. When he returned home, he saw his father die of
stomach cancer. He was the angel who consoled the family: he
helped his mother and participated in parish activities, teaching
catechism to children.
Servant of God, Carlo Della Torre, SDB, with the First young Daughters of Queenship of Mary
At the age of 23, he entered the Cardinal Cagliero Salesian Institute
in Ivrea, which, at that time, was the Missionary Institute of the
Congregation where the young Salesian Missionaries would receive
their training before leaving for the missions worldwide. Thus, on
October 26, 1926, after only a three-day stay with his family, he set
sail from Genoa for the Salesian Mission in China. It was a journey
of no return because Fr. Carlo, a missionary for 56 years, never
went back home to see his loved ones again, fulfilling his mother’s
words: “Go and never return.”
After just seven months of novitiate in Macao, his Superiors sent
him to the new Salesian Mission in Thailand. He arrived in Bangkok
on October 25, 1927, with Fr. Gaetano Pasotti, SDB, the future
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Bishop. On December 8, 1927, Br. Carlo made his first Religious
Profession and was ordained a priest on January 26, 1936.
During World War II, as a Salesian missionary priest in Thailand,
he began to gather a group of young women in the village of Thà
Muang in the province of Kanchanaburi in order to prepare them to
consecrate themselves to the Lord. In an atmosphere of family and
Christian faith, he taught them how to sacrifice themselves and to
face the difficulties of life, always trying to do the Will of God. After
the war, he led the group in Bangkok.
In 1949, Fr. Carlo was faced with the painful dilemma of either
abandoning the direction of his newly-established secular Institute
or asking for an indult to leave the Salesian Congregation and have
himself incardinated in the diocese of Bangkok. With a heavy heart,
he left the Congregation and was incardinated by the Bishop and
allowed to dedicate himself fully to the Institute.
On December 3, 1954, His Excellency Louis Chorin, MEP, Archbishop
of Bangkok, officially erected “The Daughters of the Queenship of
Mary Immaculate” as a Diocesan Right Secular Institute of Women.
In 1955, the first seven women made their Profession in the new
Institute.
Fr. Carlo continued to take care of the Secular Institute he had
founded throughout his life and animated it with Salesian spirit and
apostolic dedication, especially among the poorest youth.
The motto of the Institute: “Spread the Kingdom of God
with ‘Prayer and Work’ under the guidance of Mary, our Mother”
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2. History from the Foundation to the Present
Fr. Carlo was given various assignments but dedicated his life
especially to the spiritual direction of the young Sisters of the
Secular Institute he had founded. When he was sure that the
Institute had acquired strength and that it would have a prosperous
future, Fr. Carlo, by then suffering from a painful illness, obtained
permission to return to the Salesian Congregation which, as a true
Son of Don Bosco, he had always loved. He returned to the House
of the Father on April 4, 1982, at the age of 81, leaving the Secular
Institute he had founded well-established.
Identity Crisis
The charism of the secular Consecrated Life was clearly expressed
both in the first Constitutions and in the revisions after the Second
Vatican Council and also in the Letter of Recognition of membership
in the Salesian Family. Their Constitutions, however, did not differ
much from those of Religious Congregations, indicating that their
way of life had changed from Secular Consecrated to Religious
Consecrated.
The Acts of General Chapter 2004, which studied the problem of
their charismatic identity in depth in the light of the writings of their
Founder and of ecclesial documents, reaffirmed the charism of
consecrated secularity. It introduced some changes to the articles
of the Constitutions to make their charism of secular Consecrated
Life lived in community more explicit and more suited to their
culture and to the mind of their Founder.
However, a group of members, convinced that the passage from
secular consecration to Religious consecration was already
envisaged by their Founder, did not accept the Acts of the Chapter.
The differences were so serious that the intervention of the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life was asked. It took into consideration the personal
request of each member and approved the division of the Institute
into two with the following names: “Secular Institute of the
Daughters of the Queenship of Mary” and “Sisters of the Queenship
of Mary”.
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Prayer Moment, Thailand
This resulted in the birth of a new Institute of Diocesan Right
composed of those who wished to live the vocation to Religious
Life, bringing with it the obligation to draw up new Constitutions for
both Institutes.
3. Identity
The Institute of the Daughters of the Queenship of Mary is a
Diocesan Right Secular Institute of Women, founded in the spirit
of the Apostolic Constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia (1947) of Pope
Pius XII, to bear witness to the Gospel message. The Institute was
officially approved by Bishop Louis Chorin, MEP, Apostolic Vicar of
Bangkok, on December 3, 1954.
The motto of the Institute is: “To spread the Kingdom of God through
prayer and work under the guidance of Mary, Our Mother”. Fr.
Carlo was confident that the members would commit themselves,
as daughters, to live their special vocation, imitating Mary in her
simplicity, humility, obedience and spontaneity, in an atmosphere
of love and the Family Spirit. The Institute is dedicated to youth
pastoral work. The DQM’s evangelizing action, the witness of faith
through words and work, the Community Life in an atmosphere of
fraternal love, and the practice of the Gospel Counsels take place in
the world, with the world and for the world so that the world may
change and be sanctified from within.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary became part of the Salesian
Family on July 12, 1996. The DQM have a special relationship with
the Salesian Congregation both through its Founder and through
the spirit handed down to the Institute. It recognizes the Rector
Major, the successor of Don Bosco, as Father and Guide of the
whole Salesian Family, and thus feels called to promote its growth
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and unity. The aspects of the Institute that embody the Salesian
charism are: Commitment to young people - the most significant
way of sharing in the Family of Don Bosco; the Spirit of Don Bosco
- the soul of the Salesian Family; and the Preventive System lived
with gratitude and love for Don Bosco, taking him as teacher and
concrete model for work with youth and adults, offering them
effective proposals for human and Christian growth.
4. Present Situation
After the division, the Institute convened a new General Chapter and
elected a new Governing Council - a post that had been vacant for a
long time. The current Council is under the guidance of Coordinator
Maria Kesorn Chaikaeo. The choice of “the school” as a locus of
evangelization was also confirmed.
The Institute has 40 members in 5 houses. In 2016, the Institute
expanded its area of evangelization and educational activities, thus
helping more young people. It opened a new school in the province
of Udon Thani, located in north-eastern Thailand. At the same
time, it opened a small after-school Center for needy students in
Prachuap Khiri Khan, about 300 km south of Bangkok in the diocese
of Surat Thani.
The Institute is structured in such a way that the members can live
their witness of life, both in community with other members and
individually in the family. Currently, most of the members live in
communities of two or more.
Since the Daughters of the Queenship of Mary are secular
consecrated persons, the mission of the Institute takes concrete
form essentially in the witness of life through the following
activities of evangelization:
• The education and formation of young people in schools;
• Catechetical activities according to different contexts;
• Prayer groups which voluntarily adhere to the daily recitation of
the Rosary;
• Youth activities of the group “Friends of Mary”;
• Charitable activities as occasions demand, e.g., during floods;
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• Organization of “Single Mother Groups” (mothers who have
been left alone to raise their children);
• Collaboration in ecclesial activities on the commissions of
the Episcopal Conference of Thailand, such as communication,
liturgical office,
• Missionary society.
5. Challenges for the Future
The following are some of the present challenges and significant
decisions taken for the future:
• Living in simplicity: They live the spirit of poverty in their choices
of shelter, clothing, lifestyle and the workplace, taking Mary as
their model of life.
• Educating young people: promoting the human person, guiding
young people in their spiritual life, helping them cultivate good
habits and promoting the values of the Gospel.
• Forming good Christians: as Christians in Thailand are a
small minority, they offer Christian children an opportunity to
experience a family atmosphere and the care of adults.
• Promoting the Rosary: the recitation of the Rosary and its
promotion are a legacy of Fr. Carlo and a very challenging task
for the Institute.
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1. Founder and Origin
At the end of the 1970’s, a few lay people who wished to deepen
their knowledge of the Word and to reflect on it in their lifestyle found
a guide in the Salesian Fr. Sabino Palumbieri, SDB. On December
8, 1984, their scattered ideas converged around a Project for a
Movement Centered on the joy of the Resurrection, “Witnesses
of the Risen Lord, towards the year 2000”, thanks to the couple
Cesira Ambrosio and Agostino Aversa, with their anthropological
and exegetical reflections, the focus was placed on Easter. Because
the group is composed, above all, of families, the experience of the
“Catechumenate of couples” began.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
On December 8, 1984, the Project for a Movement “Witnesses
of the Risen Lord, towards the year 2000” (Testes Resurrectionis -
Acts 1:21-22) took off, thanks to the couple Cesira Ambrosio and
Agostino Aversa. The Lay Spiritual Movement and the 20th Group
of the Salesian Family was recognized by the Conference of Italian
Bishops (CEI) and was admitted to the National Council of Lay
Associations on September 25, 2008.
Agostino Aversa was succeeded in 2010 by Raffaele Nicastro as
General Coordinator. At present, Dina Moscioni (2015-2020), also a
lay member of the world-level Secretariat for the Salesian Family,
holds that position. Fr. Luis Rosón Galache, SDB, has been the
spiritual guide since 2011, when he was appointed by Fr. Chavez,
the then Rector Major.
Via Lucis (The Way of Light ) in Cameroon
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Because the members of the movement were looking for a prayer
to express its charism, they developed the Via Lucis. It is modelled
after the Via Crucis and so has 14 stations designed so that the
faithful may reflect on Christ’s life from the Resurrection forward.
The Stations cover the period and events from the finding of the
empty tomb on Easter morning to the descent of the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost. This devotion spreads Easter as a way of life: sowing
joy where there is sadness, optimism where there is pessimism,
courage where there is terror, and hope where there is despair.
The Rector Major, Fr. Egidio Viganò, SDB, the 7th successor of Don
Bosco, liked the vision immediately. Gradually, it was welcomed
into various parishes and dioceses and then recognized by
the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments. During the Jubilee Year 2000, St. Pope John Paul II
included it as a popular devotion alongside the Via Crucis and the
Rosary.
3. Identity
The Witnesses of the Risen Lord movement is a journey of faith and
friendship shared in the gathering - Family of Families - that brings
together young people and adults to understand, experience, bring
to life, and radiate Easter joy better wherever the Lord calls - in the
family, in school, in the professional, ecclesial and life experiences
of every day in where they live and work.
Baptism, the Paschal Sacrament par excellence, shapes every
Christian who commits himself/herself to being transformed by
the Spirit of the Risen Lord. The Easter novelty of the “Witnesses
of the Risen Lord” is a new way of “being” at three levels: thought,
love and behavior. Each member seeks to educate himself/herself
in the light of the Word, to take on “a new mind” so as to look at the
world with that of the Risen One, to love as He loves, and to serve
Christ, the Church, and his/her neighbor, beginning with the least
and the last.
The spirituality of the Witnesses of the Risen Lord is summarized in
II Timothy 2:8: “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the lineage of David,
rose from the dead.” It is actualized in the daily mission of service
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Activity during the Retreat in 2018
to the poor and needy, in constant formation, in daily prayer, and
in the celebration of the Via Lucis, especially in the time between
Easter and Pentecost.
The icon of the two disciples of Emmaus is the paradigm of the
Movement’s journey of faith: the encounter with the Risen Jesus
“on the streets of the world” makes the brothers and Sisters
proclaim, “We have seen the Lord” (Jn. 20:25).
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Witnesses of the Risen Lord became the 20th group of the
Salesian Family on March 25, 1999. They live the Paschal Joy which
is the core of Don Bosco’s spirituality, of his attention to the poor
and young people, of his commitment to live the pastoral charity
and zeal of the Kingdom of God, and of active participation in
building up the family, each in his/her own situation.
4. Present Situation
The lay vocation of the Paschal Church requires that young people
be joyful witnesses today more than ever in human society so that
it may place itself at the service of the holistic dignity of humans
in communion and collaboration with the ecclesial institutions, the
Salesian Family and other lay groups for the new evangelization,
starting with the family.
The Via Lucis is now celebrated throughout the world. We recall
extraordinary celebrations in the Holy Land, in Russia, on Colle Don
Bosco (where the Stations are prominently on display for personal
piety in the upper church), in Assisi, in Pompeii, in China, in Rome
during WYD 2000, in Cameroon, Argentina and Fatima; sometimes
with the installation of the panels made by the artists Giovanni
Dragoni and Giorgio Rossi in the church. Presently, in the third
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millennium, there are 500 lay people in the Movement to bear
witness to the Risen Christ with a renewed sense of the hope-filled
proclamation that He is truly Risen!
The Movement has Centers (22 constituted and 6 in formation),
mainly in Italy and recently also in Argentina and Spain.
Organization
It is organized into three sectors: Youth - Adults - Volunteers
• Young people: to build authentic relationships; to sow optimism
and communicate dynamism; to discover one’s vocation; to
transmit the desire to be a young Easter man/woman capable of
dreaming together with his/her companions to deeply influence
the part of the world in which he/she lives.
• Adults: for ongoing formation; constant prayer; concrete
commitment; and daily witness. There are three consecrated
Sisters who follow the Risen Lord with a spousal spirit, trusting
in Providence, and being generous to the poor. They are attentive
to young people, especially those most in need of the Easter
message and build their relationships with gentleness and
firmness, tenderness and strength, compassion and loving-
kindness, hospitality and prudence, and simplicity and serenity.
The couple, Cesira Ambrosio and Agostino Aversa, with Fr. Sabino, SDB, founded the TR
group, together with Mr. Enrichetta in the house of blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame
Quattrocchi
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• Volunteers: The Risen Lord invites us to collaborate with Him
for the “resurrection” of those who are hungry, physically and
intellectually. Volunteers have already started development
projects in Cameroon and Rwanda through the ONLUS (Non-
Profit Organization for Social Utility) Association “Volunteers for
the World”.
The Formative Process
• Annually: Retreat;
• Twice a year: General meetings to get to know one another better,
to deepen the themes of the Spiritual Exercises, and to discuss
current issues in the light of the Word and the documents of the
Church;
• Twice a month: Meetings of the local group to reflect while
praying and to pray while reflecting using Lectio Divina and
themes chosen by the group itself;
• Every day: All are spiritually united through the prayer of Emmaus
at 20:00 – “Stay with us, Lord, because it is evening and make us
witnesses of Your Easter”.
5. Challenges for the Future
The commitment to live a joyful Christian life and to bear witness to
it is felt by different people who grow up in a common vocation and
who try to live Easter every day in their family by blood, in the family
in their Center, in the family of families comprising the Witnesses of
the Risen Lord, and in the Salesian Family, following the example of
Don Bosco and the Blesseds Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi.
A challenge they face is always to cooperate in the salvation of
young people and of families. They are to be witnesses of the
Beatitudes in daily life with the pedagogy of goodness and with
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1. Founder and Origin
The Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel was founded by Blessed
Bronislaw Bonawentura Markiewicz (1842-1912). He was born on July
13, 1842, in Pruchnik, Poland, in the present archdiocese of Przemyśl.
Inspired by the divine call to the priesthood, he entered the major
seminary of Przemyśl in 1863 and was ordained a priest on September
15, 1867. In 1875, he was appointed parish priest in Gac and in 1877
in Blażowa. In 1882, he was entrusted with the teaching of pastoral
theology at the Major Seminary in Przemyśl. Experiencing further a call
to Religious Life, in November 1885 he left for Italy and had the joy of
meeting St. John Bosco, in whose hands he took his religious vows on
March 25, 1887.
In 1892, he returned to Poland to take up the ministry of parish priest
at Miejsce Piastowe, where he remained until his death on January 29,
1912. He dedicated himself, in the spirit of Saint John Bosco, to the
formation of poor and orphaned youth. For that purpose, he opened
an Institute at Miejsce Piastowe in which he offered his students both
material and spiritual support, preparing them for life with professional
training in the schools opened at the Institute itself. In 1897, he
detached himself from the Salesians, with the desire to found a new
Institute according to the spirituality of St. John Bosco, but with specific
rules and charism.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
He continued his activity as parish priest and director of the
Institute (Society) which he called “Temperance and Work” (1898)
and placed it under the protection of St. Michael the Archangel, in
its two branches: male and female. Approval was granted in 1921
for the male branch and in 1928 for the female branch.
3. Identity
The spirituality and lifestyle of the Religious Family, popularly known as
the Michaelites, has two mottos: “Who is like God!” and “Temperance
and Work”.
The first motto clearly indicates God as the only meaning in life. The
second highlights the charism and lifestyle of the Michaelites. A
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Mount Sant’Angelo-Foggia. Church dedicated to St. Michael
Michaelite realizes his call through the virtue of temperance, understood
as freedom from any inner or outer conditioning of passions, to serve
God totally and to dedicate themselves in loving availability to others,
especially abandoned young people.
Another element that characterizes the mission of the Michaelites
is that of the “triple work”: spiritual, intellectual and manual. By
“Temperance and Work” they intend to propose this lifestyle as
a strong countersign to today’s society which is overwhelmed by
consumerism as the pursuit of well-being and to make the invitation to
rediscover the true values of austerity, justice and solidarity. Therefore,
in their pastoral commitment, the Michaelites pay particular attention
to young people and children, the people of tomorrow, both in parish
work and through schools and the foundation of Institutes for children
and young people (Oratories).
In addition to the care of parishes, the Michaelites exercise their
charism also through missions to common folk, spiritual exercises,
publishing activities, the care of priestly and religious vocations and
the direction of some shrines.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The reference to Don Bosco, to his spirit, his apostolic choice, and, in
many ways, his way of organizing characterize their Congregation. In
particular, in reference to his spirituality, it is necessary to emphasize
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‘hard work and temperance’; apostolic availability to everything that
the mission asks for, following the practice of the Preventive System;
and prayer as openness to recognize the presence of God in one’s
personal life and in the mission.
In the area of their apostolic commitment, they give great value to
the commitment to the education of young people, to good literature,
to social communications and to vocational promotion. Their official
recognition as a Group of
the Salesian Family took
place on January 24, 2000.
4. Present Situation
The Michaelites are 330 in
32 houses. They are present
in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine,
Italy, Switzerland, Germany,
Austria, Canada, the United
States, Australia, Papua
New Guinea, Argentina, The church of the Michaelites in Miejsce Piastowe (Poland)
Paraguay, the Dominican
Republic and the Antilles. In Italy, the Michaelite Fathers have been
called to take care of the prestigious Shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo,
dedicated to their protector. They also carry out their ministry in the
province of Viterbo, in Castel Sant’Elia, where they take care of the
parish and guard the Pontifical Shrine of Mary ad Rupes, which is also
the place of their major seminary.
5. Challenges for the Future
The mission of the Michaelites, in the spirit of St. John Bosco, is to serve
young people (schools, oratories, catechesis). Young priests are formed
to respond better to the new challenges of the world that is always
changing. With their motto “Who is like God!” (Quis ut Deus!), they seek
to put God at the center of their apostolate. With the protection and
help of St. Michael the Archangel, they are called to proclaim to the
people that they can be free from modern slavery of different types.
To this end, particular importance is given to take the statue of St.
Michael the Archangel to parishes, besides preaching and conducting
the spiritual exercises.
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1. Founder and Origin
The Little Community of the Sisters of the Resurrection was
founded in the Salesian Mission of San Pedro Carchá, Guatemala, in
1977 by Fr. George Puthenpura, SDB, an Indian Salesian missionary
from Poovathode, Kerala, India, living among the indigenous people
of Guatemala since 1970.
In May 1976, the Salesian provincial, Fr Ricardo Chinchilla, made
a surprising proposal of organizing a group of girls to serve as
translators to help the Salesians during their visits to the villages
and who, later, could be formed into an Indigenous Religious
Community. They themselves showed the Salesians the process
and the means. It was Providence! The young women, all local and
illiterate, with an average age of
eighteen, were eager to help their
indigenous brothers and sisters as
the Sisters were doing.
Accompanied, at first, by a Sister, the
girls learned to read and write and
devoted themselves to the study
of catechism. At the same time,
they learned simple handiwork. As
soon as they learned something
new, they wanted to teach it to their
indigenous brothers and sisters. It
did not take long for more girls to
join the group. They all had a great
interest in learning and wanted to
prepare for their future.
Sr. Guadalupa, catechist to the children
On September 15, 1977, new
“volunteers” living with the Sisters
began an experience of Community
Life with the intention of making
it permanent, in an independent
house under the guidance of Fr.
George Puthenpura, SDB. They lit an
Easter candle and began the experience,
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Sisters and novices with Fr. Eusebio Muñoz, SDB
taking the name of the “Little Community of the Sisters of the
Resurrection”.
The young women organized themselves, chose their leadership
group according to their cultural traditions and, with the help of the
Salesians, formed their new community.
Although they were a little confused and disorganized in the
beginning, they soon discovered that they could be the protagonists
of their lives and that they could live a life of service while being
faithful to their original culture.
On January 31, 1980, three young people from the group expressed
their desire to form a “small community” with the aim of serving
their “campesino” brothers and sisters. The “Little Community of
the Sisters of the Resurrection” was approved by Bishop Gerardo
Flores Reyes as a Diocesan Right Institute of Women Religious.
On that same day, fourteen girls who had previously made their
vows in private professed publicly their vows of chastity, poverty
and obedience. Three of them, among the first to begin the journey,
were immediately admitted to Perpetual Profession. Luisa became
the first Superior. Two communities were set up. The “Talita Kumi”
Center became the most significant work of the Congregation.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Sisters of the Resurrection began a vast missionary movement
that spread rapidly over the entire territory of the indigenous
population of Q’eqchi’, covering two dioceses and two apostolic
vicariates. A handful of Sisters managed to catechize thousands of
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young people and train them to be apostles to the children and to
their own companions.
The visit of the relic of Don Bosco was an excellent opportunity to
transform the young Q’eqchi’ into “little John Boscos” of today in
their communities. In their four educational Centers, the Sisters
continue, with the Salesian Spirit and method, to form hundreds
of indigenous and peasant girls and boys, making them true
evangelizers and catechists and capable of bringing socio-cultural
change in their communities.
With a post-Conciliar vision, the Sisters collaborate with the laity,
who are co-responsible in their activities of social promotion and
the mission of evangelization of the indigenous peoples.
3. Identity
Inspired by the words of Pope Leo XIII to the Church in India: “Oh
India, your children will be your salvation,” the Congregation is
Sr. Amalia with an elderly person in
“Papa Francesco” home
Sr. Juana with a sick child in “Papa
Francesco” home
called the “Little Community” of the Sisters of the Resurrection.
Fr. George always held in his heart that the natives themselves
must be the authentic apostles to their own people. It was totally a
new experience for them who lived by this significant motto: “Christ
is risen; we too will rise with Him”. The Paschal Candle became the
symbol of the Community.
The “Little Community” is truly enculturated: they are all indigenous,
even if it is not a statutory requirement. At first most of them were
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Sr. Zoila Candelaria with Oratory children
illiterate, but this did not prevent them from transmitting a deep
and heartfelt cultural richness.
Their apostolate is to enculturate the Gospel and help their poorest
brothers and sisters, especially the young people and women,
through catechesis, human and social promotion, literacy program,
health education, family life, domestic economy, agriculture and
trade with small networks of mini-credit cooperatives.
4. Present Situation
The “Little Community” is currently (year 2019) composed of
59 professed, 12 novices, 15 postulants and 23 aspirants, all
indigenous of different ethnicity. There are 11 communities in two
dioceses and two vicariates in the region, with the majority from the
Maya Q’eqchi’ people, one of the main ethnic groups of indigenous
people in Guatemala.
They are dedicated to pastoral
ministry in the parishes,
educational Centers and
charitable works such as
homes for the elderly and the
sick.
Sr. Zoila Caal Cacao, Superior General
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5. Challenges for the Future
The numerical growth of the “Sisters of the Resurrection” has been
slow. They are sure that they are part of the ranks of the children
of the indigenous peoples of America Latina of whom Don Bosco
dreamed on January 31, 1885. This conviction was confirmed by
Rev. Fr. Pascual Chávez, Don Bosco’s 9th successor, when he wrote
to their Mother General: “It is beautiful and very stimulating that
Don Bosco dreamt of you on January 31, 1885, and the most
beautiful thing is, above all, that you are making that dream of our
beloved Father come true.”
Thanks to the wise guidance of Rev. Fr. Pascual Chávez, the Sisters
have developed their pastoral work among the almost 600,000
Q’eqchi’. The challenge they have to face now is that those who
are called must commit themselves more and take their message
beyond the borders of their region and country.
Sisters on their way to visit a rural community
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1. Founder and Origin
The Congregation of the “Sisters
Announcers of the Lord” was founded by
Bishop Luigi Versiglia, SDB, in 1930 with
the purpose of helping the mission work in
Shaoguan as well as devoting themselves First group of the Sisters Announcers of the Lord
to the education of the young. He was born
on June 5, 1873, in Italy and was a faithful follower of St. John Bosco.
He was the first Salesian to go to China and the first to be martyred
in the Salesian Congregation. The “Sisters Announcers of the Lord”
were recognized by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
in Rome in 1936. In the same year, the novitiate was opened.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Motherhouse was first situated in Shiu Chow. There were thirty
professed Sisters at the time of the Communist occupation; however,
they were unable to continue their mission under the Communist
Government. The novices and postulants were sent home and the
Sisters were scattered across the country. A few were sent to do farm
work while others were sent to different towns to wait for the chance
to escape.
All of them proved very faithful and courageous during the time of
trial. Eventually 10 succeeded in arriving in Canton and took up jobs as
helpers and grocers, as well as other types of work.
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In 1953, eight of them were given a passport by the Central People’s
Government of the People’s Republic of China and they arrived in
Hong Kong. With even greater zeal, they started their work once again
amidst difficulties.
Bishop Bianchi of Hong Kong was very kind to the refugee Sisters and
granted them a piece of land near the Catholic Cemetery of Chung
Sha Wan on which to build a temporary residence. The Sisters were
asked to teach in Mother of Mercy Primary School. The new ministry of
teaching and helping the parish brought great joy to them.
They grew in number and, in 1954, several girls joined them as
aspirants. In 1955, two Sisters were invited to help the missionary
work of Ngau Tau Kok parish under the care of Rev. Fr. Dempsey. Since
then, the scope of the work of the Sisters has widened.
With the permission of the Congregation for the Propagation of the
Faith, a novitiate was established in Lung Shan mission in Ngau Tau
Kok in 1958. Six novices made their First Vows in 1960. The Bishop of
Hong Kong also gave them permission to open a school with the aid of
the government. The Sisters obtained a piece of land in Yau Yat Chuen
and the building of a primary school was started with three classes in
the hall of St. Teresa’s Church. Eventually, the primary school building
with 20 classrooms was completed in 1961 and was named Tak Nga
School.
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Members of the Mother House
The Chinese section at the secondary level was started in 1962.
Another piece of land was granted by the Government next to the
existing school and the secondary section building was finished in
1964. In the same year, two Sisters were sent to take care of the lepers
in Macao under Fr. C. Nicosia, SDB. They gave religious instruction to
women and taught also in the neighboring school.
They owe their development and success to the late Fr. J. Cucchiara,
SDB, who was their guardian from the time they arrived in Hong Kong.
With his help and encouragement, the Sisters applied for another piece
of land to build a subsidized secondary school for girls. It was granted
to them in 1966 just before their beloved guardian passed away. Owing
to financial constraint, they could not start the project until 1970. They
started to admit pupils in September 1971, taking five classrooms
from Tak Nga School. Later, the building with 24 classrooms, 10
special rooms and an auditorium was completed in September 1972
and named as Our Lady of the Rosary College. It is situated in Yau Yat
Chuen, Kowloon.
In 1967, three Sisters went to Tai Wan to serve the parish there. In
1968, the Sisters had a kindergarten built in Tai Pei. In 1970, they were
asked by the Maryknoll Fathers to take over Pope Pius XII Primary
School in Ngau Tau Kok and gratefully accepted the offer.
The Sisters received their first Mother General in 1966, when she
was appointed by the Bishop of Hong Kong for a period of six years.
In 1971, the Congregation experienced a great event: its First General
Chapter, which lasted almost one month (July to August). During it, the
Constitutions were re-drafted. The Chapter was held in two sessions:
the first dealt with administration, finance, formation, and apostolate;
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the second with consecrated life, community life and spiritual life. The
Second General Chapter was held in 1978 (August 1-14), during which
they elected their second Mother General.
3. Identity
The Congregation was founded to catechize girls and serve the sick,
thus spreading our Holy Doctrine and giving greater glory to God.
In every circumstance, the members are called to serve the Lord
in holy joy and proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom in word and
in deed according to the purpose intended by the Founder: “They
shall be distinguished by the zeal to save souls and to give greater
glory to God” (Constitutions, Art. 4). “One must love souls very much.
Charity teaches us all the means to do good to souls” (Constitutions,
Art. 5). Their main mission consists in the education of the young
and in pastoral service in parishes (Constitutions, Art. 6).
Besides educating young girls in primary and secondary schools,
the Sisters also assist priests in different parishes to preach the
good news.
4. Present Situation
There are nineteen professed Sisters - twelve in Hong Kong; one
in Calgary, Canada; and seven in Shaoguan, Canton, China. The
Motherhouse is now located at 1 Fa Po Street, Yau Yat Chuen,
Kowloon, Hong Kong. They run one primary school and two
secondary schools in Hong Kong.
The candidates must be at least eighteen years old at the time
of entering the postulancy and will have at least six months of
postulancy before entering into the two-year novitiate.
The novices are expected to be in good health, of respectful
character, and with the minimum of a secondary education.
Perpetual profession takes place after six years.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Congregation was accepted as a member of the Salesian Family
on July 28, 2005. The Sisters share the Salesian charism transmitted
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by their Founder who was a Salesian Missionary and also the first
Salesian martyr.
The Sisters Announcers of the Lord has always received - and
still receive - spiritual direction from the Salesian confreres and
practices the Preventive System of Don Bosco in its educational
mission for young people. It participates in all major events of the
Salesian Family - celebrations, liturgies, study days, and educational
and pastoral ministry organized by the Salesian Family Council. The
Sisters collaborate in the pastoral plan of Shitan (mainland China)
together with the FMA and the SDB with an excellent apostolic
spirit.
5. Challenges for the Future
The Congregation is now quite small in size. However, there seems
to be signs of hope to have more vocations from China. It is hoped
that with the help of God, it will thrive and flourish in the future so
that the Kingdom of God may be known to all.
Mission: “Our Lady of Rosary Hostel” in Yau Yat Chuen, Kowloon
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1. Founder and Origin
In 1973, when Fr. Joseph D’Souza, SDB, was the Vocation Director
of the Diocese of Krishnagar, a few older girls who wanted neither
to become Religious Sisters nor to get married approached him
and expressed their desire to consecrate themselves to serve the
Lord’s people. They were staying with their families while working
at their own jobs. He proposed to them a Secular Institute. They
took up the idea and started gathering them periodically for times
of recollection, spiritual direction and ongoing formation. Soon their
number grew to sixteen.
In 1979, when Fr. Joe was transferred to the Parish of Jokbahla
in the Raigarh Diocese, the vision for the Disciples found a more
fertile field in this large parish with its 60 villages spread over a very
large area and with a large Catholic community of deep faith but
living in inaccessible conditions. His proposal to the young people
was well-received there and many responded to it. The work done
by the Disciples in Jokbahla began to bear fruit in different areas
outside the parish at the invitation of the Bishop and Priests of
Raigarh diocese. Two-by-two, the Disciples visited various villages
making a difference among the people. As the Good News spread,
other dioceses began to ask for the presence and services of the
Disciples.
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First disciples with Fr. Joe D’Souza, SDB
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2. History from the Foundation to the Present
During the decade between 1979 and 1989, Fr. Joe defined the
lifestyle for the Disciples, strengthening them in their charism of
being available in the neediest areas, relying on the hospitality of the
people, and being totally committed to Jesus’ command: “Go out to
the world proclaiming the Good News to all Creation” (Mk. 16:16).
Fr. Joe was permitted to live in Kunkuri in the Jashpur Diocese to
look after the Association, and travel to the various regions where
the Disciples ministered, instructing them, directing them, and
interacting with the clergy under whose care and direction they
lived. The Salesian Society accepted his vision and made it possible
for him to give his full attention to the Association as its Founder
and Guide and incorporated the Institute into the Salesian Family.
Fr. Joe was assisted by other personnel to continue his work of
direction and guidance of the Association.
In 1983, a few young men, seeing the work of the Sister Disciples,
were inspired to join the Institute as Brothers and Deacons. They
were accepted and were sent out, alone or two-by-two to help the
parishes in the different dioceses, institutions, or Congregations
who had asked for them as evangelizers, catechists, academic
teachers, hostel guardians, or administrators.
In 1992, the Bishop of Krishnagar, Lukas Sirkar, SDB, a companion
of Fr. Joe for many years and associated with the Disciples from
its initial stages, approved and erected the Disciples as a Pious
Association in his diocese. In April 2000, the Bishop of Ambikapur,
Patras Minj, SJ, who had been chaplain of a group of the Association
from 1983 before he became Provincial and then Bishop, approved
the association as a Public Association of the Faithful along with its
rules.
Besides the approval of the Ecclesiastical authorities, the very
encouraging recommendations and requests from many diocesan
bishops and Church institutions made Fr. Joe more convinced of the
validity and timeliness of the Association. He defined its identity
more clearly, focusing more concretely on the charism and the spirit
of the Association, tracing out a simple rule of life, and developing
a spirituality adapted to the members’ requirements and the needs
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of the particular region where they work, and according to the
religious and socio-economic context of the country.
He had to organize and coordinate over 415 members spread out
in 184 Centers of 51 dioceses in India and abroad so that the vision
would be accepted and the Institute established with fire and zeal,
thus ensuring the growth and stability of the charism. All this was
the result of his concern to “let everything be done with propriety
and in order” (I Cor. 14: 40). On October 5, 2016, the Congregation
for Consecrated Life in Vatican accepted the Institute as a new form
of Consecrated Life.
3. Identity
The Congregation of the “Disciples”, a new form of Consecrated
Life with Sisters, Brothers and Deacons was founded by Fr. Joseph
D’Souza, SDB, in the Krishnagar Diocese, Nadia Dt., W.B., in 1973.
The Congregation adopted Mary Help of Christians as its Chief
Patroness. There are also other Patrons for each specific dimension
of the vocation: St. Joseph (for secularity), St. John Bosco and St.
Francis de Sales (for Loving-kindness and the Preventive System)
and St. Paul, St. Francis Xavier and St. Teresa of Child Jesus (for the
Missionary apostolate).
The Institute follows Don Bosco’s System and Method. In imitation
of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Don Bosco based his educational
pastoral care on reason, religion and loving-kindness. He lived and
walked with the young. This method helps the Disciples to recognize
and respect the image of God in every person and to conform to that
image through generous self-giving love. The Preventive System
inspires the Disciples to accompany the needy in their daily seeking
and in the stress of every day. The Motto of the Institute is “Going,
therefore, to teach all nations”. The charism of the Institute is “to
proclaim the Good News to those in need, especially in rural areas”.
The mission of the Institute is the Proclamation of the Love of God,
announcing the Gospel following the example of the Apostles, the
first disciples of Jesus, through service to the poorest and the needy
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Sisters at the tailoring machines
Sr. Tripti and Sr. Renu making the rosaries
according to the Salesian Spirituality by
imitating Don Bosco in the style of the
Good Shepherd.
The Institute draws its inspiration from
Christ. Following the 12 apostles and
the 72 disciples, the members go two-
by-two, or sometimes in small teams,
to remote villages and new parishes
where there is more need and where
they are not reached by others. The
Disciples proclaim the love of God the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to all,
especially the needy, the poor, sinners,
the sick, orphans, widows, children, the
young, the elderly and the disabled. The
Disciples live among the people (like salt,
leaven, light and grain), visiting them in
their houses, slums and on the streets
like the Good Shepherd. The Disciples
accept whatever food and shelter that
the people and the parish priest may
offer. They work according to their
age, health, intelligence, qualification,
situation, etc. They pray, teach, heal,
serve, sanctify and suffer like Christ.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Disciples were welcomed in the
Province of New Delhi in 1998 and
were accepted by the Rector Major as
a “Group of the Salesian Family” on
January 21, 2009.
The Salesian Preventive System based
on reason, religion and loving-kindness,
both practiced and taught by Don Bosco
and the Salesians, is their inspiration
and method in following the Good
Disciples in 1973
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Shepherd. Disciples strive to live to the full the Gospel teaching of
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
The Salesian characteristics present in the Institute are its apostolic
orientation, its lifestyle and educative methods (the Preventive
System, Salesian Presence and dialogue), a lively sense of the
local Church, preference for work among people - particularly the
poorest and the needy, their ardent devotion to Mary Help of
Christians (as the model of listening to the Word of God, accepting
the Will of God, visiting and helping those in need, openness to the
Holy Spirit and presence among the Apostles and Disciples in the
work of evangelization), the Family Spirit, poverty, work, simplicity,
joy, self-donation, courage and youth apostolate.
4. Present Situation
There are 350 Sisters and 65 Brothers. They collaborate with the
Salesians in evangelization and education and in youth centers in 8
Salesian provinces in India and one in Peru. They also collaborate with
7 other Congregations: Jesuits (SJ), Pallottines (SAC), Society of the
Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier-Pilar (SFX), the Carmelites of
Mary Immaculate (CMI), Society of the Divine Word (SDV), Order of
Friars Minor (OFM), Society of Jesus Mary and Joseph (JMJ).
The Generalate of the Sisters is at Shishya Niketan Shantipara,
Kunkuri, Chhattisgarh (India). There are 7 coordinating Centers:
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One of the Disciple in Peru
Sister Disciples in Saraskombo

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Krishanagar (West Bengal), Kunkuri (Chhattisgarh), Jhabua (Madhya
Pradesh), Tinsukia (Assam), Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh), Jagdalpur
(Chhattisgarh) and Sicily (Italy). Every coordinating center is
animated by a coordinator with her council.
The Generalate of the Brothers is at Don Bosco Ashram, Raidanr
P.O. Narayanpur Dt., Jashpur, Chhattisgarh.
According to latest statistics of 2019, the Disciples are present
in 42 dioceses in India, 8 dioceses in Italy (Noto, Catania, Vicenza,
Bronte, Modica, Randazzo, Rome and Udine) and 1 diocese in Peru
in South America.
5. Challenges for the Future
• Challenge: Many Bishops and Congregations want the Disciples
to help them in their schools, hostels and administration and not
for direct evangelization. This takes the Sisters away from the
charism of the Congregation, though it serves well for Brothers
since their charism is like that of the seven Deacons who help
the Priests and Bishops in their schools, hostels, parishes and
administration.
• Future Plan: To remove the Sisters gradually from schools,
hostels, and administration and place them in places where they
can carry out direct evangelization. In future in all new Centers, to
engage them purely for direct evangelization as far as possible.
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1. Founder and Origin
The Canção Nova (New Song) Community was founded on February
2, 1978, by Fr. Jonas Abib, SDB. He undertook his vocational journey
with the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1949 at the São Manoel College
in Lavrinhas, in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). He was ordained a
priest on December 8, 1966.
In 1968, he began his work with young people together with
other confreres, promoting meetings in Campos do Jordão. As a
pioneering movement, it included teachings, prayers, music and
group dynamics. Serving young people in the evenings after a busy
day was the cause of tuberculosis that made him stay for three
months in Campos do Jordão for treatment. But his passion for
youth was so great that even in the hospital he organized small
meetings for young patients, attracting the attention of doctors. As
soon as he was cured, the doctors asked his superiors to transfer
him immediately because he was over-involved in his activities.
Fr. Mario Bonatti remembers: “Father Jonas suffered from the same
illness as Don Bosco did; he was crazy about the young people and
he did not spare himself.”
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The cofoundress and cofounder of Canção Nova community, Luzia De Assis Santiago and
Wellington Jardim, with St. Pope John Paul II

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After that, Fr. Jonas was transferred from São Paulo to the College
of São Joaquim in Lorraine (SP) as professor of Ecclesiology at the
Seminary. That tranquility did not last long and he was entrusted
with the spiritual direction of the Cathedral of “Our Lady of Mercy”.
In November 1971, Fr. Jonas learned about the spirituality of the
Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the following year he began
his first event, now called “Seminar of New Life in the Spirit”, and
resumed his meetings with young people. In order to welcome the
young, he obtained a kind of farm in Areias (SP) and started the
Canção Nova Association.
An important event that culminated in the founding of the
Community was the dialogue with the Bishop of Lorraine, Bishop
Antonio Affonso de Miranda (in 1976, Bishop Antonio commented
on the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope St. Paul VI,
Evangelii Nuntiandi) who asked Fr. Jonas to serve the young. Thus
was born the experience of the “Catechumenates”: an in-depth
catechesis course for young people.
In the course of time, the formation and accompaniment of those
young people became increasingly demanding and structured.
Feeling the need to have a place of their own to welcome
participants, Fr. Jonas built a retreat house in Queluz (SP) in 1977
called “Canção Nova – The House of Mary”.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
In November 1978, on the Feast of Christ the King, Fr. Jonas, moved
by an inspiration, challenged the young people who participated in
that meeting: “Who is willing to leave his home to come and
live in community and work
for evangelization?” At the
beginning of the following
year, 12 young people - boys
and girls - and 3 Salesian
Sisters began a community
experience with Fr. Jonas,
the first nucleus of the
‘Padre Pio Medical Center’ at Cachoeira
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Community. The teachings began to be recorded on tapes, thus
giving rise to the first audio recordings which in the future would
become “DAVI” – the “Audio-Visual Department”.
The Benedictine monk Fr. Cipriano Chagas gave Fr. Jonas a portable
recorder - a professional piece of equipment used for the production
of the first radio program. Number 45 of the document Evangelii
Nuntiandi guided the action of the Community:
The Church would feel guilty before her Lord if she did not use these
powerful means, which human intelligence makes more and more
perfect every day; by using them, the Church “preaches from the
rooftops” the message of which she is the repository; in them she
finds a modern and effective version of the pulpit. Thanks to them
she succeeds in speaking to the multitudes (EN 45).
Without any financial help, Fr. Jonas had the courage to buy “Radio
Bandeirantes AM” in Cachoeira Paulista (SP), the city where the
headquarters of Canção Nova is currently located. It is a small
broadcaster of little range, but it was the beginning of a great
communication adventure. From the start, in order to manage the
communication work, the need was felt for a legal administrative
body that corresponded to the requirements of the Brazilian
government’s laws. Hence, in 1982, the “John Paul II Foundation”
was established with the sole purpose of financing the Canção
Nova communication system.
The commitment to expand the proclamation of the Word of God
led the Community to begin its ministry via television. On December
8, 1989, the first live broadcast of the celebration of the Holy Mass,
in honor of the Immaculate Conception and the 25th anniversary of
the priestly ordination of Fr. Jonas Abib, took place.
Currently, the communication system of Canção Nova includes
radio, television, internet, magazines, social networks, bookshops,
publishing houses and recording studios.
Another dimension of evangelization is the network of social
development, with an educational system, socio-cultural activities,
medical care and promotion of life.
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After many years of intense work, the Canção Nova community
received Pontifical Recognition on October 12, 2008, and became an
Official Group of the Salesian Family on January 21, 2009.
3. Identity
The Community of Canção Nova is an international Pontifical Right
Private Association of the Lay Faithful. Its charism is to foster
the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, as the
fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit.
The mission of the Community of Canção Nova is to evangelize
by communicating Jesus and the New Life that He has given us,
through both prayer meetings and the mass media. It is also involved
in education, health, arts, culture and social promotion, with the
specific objective of contributing concretely to the transformation
of the human being and social structures.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
Don Bosco entered the life of Fr. Jonas already at his birth. When
his mother was admitted to the hospital for delivery, she suffered
some moments of crisis.
Visit of the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, to the Institute of Canção Nova
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From the adjoining room, she heard a talk of a new young saint, St.
John Bosco. She addressed to him her sincere prayers for the child
to be born. She obtained the miracle and thus decided to consecrate
the newborn to the care of Don Bosco.
The financial difficulties in the family were many. Because of a
problem with little Jonas’ eyes, they were forced to move to São
Paulo. While living in the capital, Jonas began to attend the social
work of the Sisters of Divine Providence who had Mary Help of
Christians as their Patron Saint.
It is said that a Salesian Priest once went to the Sisters and spoke
of Fr. Jonas thus: “He was so joyful, that already at that time he
said, ‘I would like to be a priest. I love my parish Priest, but I would
like to be a Salesian Priest’.”
Thus, his path commenced and later he attended the Salesian
technical school where he studied graphic arts - which was for him
the sign that Don Bosco was in his life and which led him to the
realization of his vocation.
Having become a Salesian, his love for young people grew further.
Don Bosco’s expression, “It is enough that you are young for me
to love you,” was embodied in his life, in such a way that it could
276
Ceremony of Pontifical Recognition (November 3, 2008)
Promulgation by the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr. Pascual Chavez, SDB

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be said that all the work of Fr. Jonas found impetus in his love for
young people.
From the very first encounters, and with the advent of the
Community and its ability to speak to young people through music
using gestures and words, Canção Nova formed new men and
women, inviting them fearlessly to holiness.
Fr. Jonas says that the Community of Canção Nova is the extension
of Don Bosco’s dream: a community of young people, who live
totally for evangelization, with holiness as the ultimate goal.
Presence of Mary
Don Bosco said many times, “Mary has done everything.” From the
very start, the Canção Nova Community has recognized the silent
maternal presence of the Mother of Jesus. Canção Nova is the
House of Mary.
First home of the Canção Nova TV Station
4. Present Situation
Following Don Bosco, the Community of Canção Nova is committed
to a process of ongoing formation. Men and women always grow,
both humanly and spiritually, until they reach the full stature and
maturity of Christ, the Perfect Man. The aim is always to form new
men and women for a new world, inspired by Don Bosco’s advice:
good Christians and honest citizens.
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The Preventive System
The Preventive System is present not only in the educational system
of the Don Bosco Institute but also of the whole Community: To
know, love and serve the Lord with the freedom of children, learning
to choose the good consciously for the sake of its goodness, beauty
and truth and to be responsible for one’s own process of conversion
while, at the same time, to be co-responsible for the conversion of
others. One lives in Community to evangelize and, by evangelizing
oneself, one can bring the Gospel to others.
Sanctified work
The Canção Nova Community is a working community to promote
the Kingdom of Heaven. Just like Don Bosco, who did not spare
his physical energies and who consumed himself for the youth of
his time, the Community lives totally dedicated to the mission of
saving souls.
It is no coincidence that the project of evangelization is the project
“Da mihi animas”. It is not a mere slogan to support the work of
evangelization but a project of life and mission.
The Dress Code of the Missionary (Salesian Joy)
For a time, there was a thought of adopting a habit or some other
sign that could identify the missionaries, but Fr. Jonas indicated
that the smile is the only visible instrument of the Canção Nova
missionary. According to Fr. Jonas, one must show the joy of
belonging to God, even if there are difficulties and sufferings in life.
Pontifical Recognition helped the Canção Nova Community to
organize itself from an institutional point of view. The General
Administration is composed of nine Councilors: the President
(Bishop Jonas Abib), the Vice-President, the General Formator, the
General Secretary, the General Treasurer, the Councilor for Married
Couples, the Councilor for Clerics, the Councilor for Celibates and
two General Councilors.
The Community is currently present in the following countries:
Brazil, Portugal, Italy, France, Mozambique, the United States and
Israel.
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A diocesan shrine dedicated to the Father of Mercy was inaugurated
at the headquarters of the Canção Nova community, an expression
of the merciful love of God Who welcomes all His children with open
arms. The members of the Community are dedicated to animation
and maintenance of this diocesan Shrine.
5. Challenges for the Future
One of the challenges of the Canção Nova Community is to remain
faithful to the way of living and communicating principles of life and
be more and more committed, assuming grace and responsibility
as its own. The principles of the Community are:
• Authority and submission - the way to live the Gospel Counsel
of Obedience.
• Living by Divine Providence - the way to live the Gospel Counsel
of Poverty.
• The healthy living together of people from different walks of life
- the way of living the Gospel Counsel of Chastity.
• Reconciliation and transparency in relationships - the way of
living fraternity and cultivating deep bonds.
First prayer meeting in Rincão in1980
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1. Founder and History
The Congregation was founded towards the end of the 19th century
by Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz (1842-1912) with the collaboration
of Venerable Anne Kaworek (1872-1936) who is considered the Co-
Foundress.
As a Salesian, Fr. Markiewicz wanted to spread Don Bosco’s insights
and works in the territory of Poland. When he became parish priest
at Miejsce Piastowe near Krosno, in Sub-Carpathia (at that time
these lands were part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire), he began
to organize educational institutes and to gather candidates for the
Congregation of the Salesian Sisters (Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians). In the autumn of 1896, Sister Rosalia Zakrzewska, FMA,
came to Miejsce Piastowe to prepare candidates for Religious Life
together with Fr. Pietro Sikora, SDB. Six of these candidates made
private vows (promises) on March 5, 1897.
When Fr. Markiewicz began to found his own Institutes, these same
candidates formed the first nucleus of the nascent Congregation for
women. After some time, Sister Anna Kaworek was chosen by the
Sisters as their Superior. Under the direction of Fr. Markiewicz, she
organized their lives according to the Constitutions he had prepared,
which closely reflected the Constitutions of the Salesian Sisters.
The Congregation grew in number and worked in the educational
institutes organized by Blessed Markiewicz in Miejsce Piastowe and in
Pawlikowice near Krakow.
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Servant of God, Anna Kaworek
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2. History from the Foundation to the Present
Fr. Markiewicz soon asked the Bishop of Przemyśl, St. Joseph Sebastian
Pelczar, for diocesan approval of the Institute of the Sisters, but the
latter did not accept the request because of the lack of a sufficient
number of candidates and the poor financial security of the group.
Despite the refusal, the candidates decided to stay with Fr. Markiewicz,
being content to be simple servants and carrying out all the tasks
entrusted to them. After the death of the Founder, they bought a piece
of land and began to build a house for themselves and for the orphan
girls, devoting themselves to their education. They remained faithful
to their ideals despite the obstacles they had to face from the Bishop,
whose death in 1924 completely changed the situation of the Sisters.
The new Bishop, Anatol Nowak, received the “Nihil obstat” from the
Congregation for Religious by the said Decree of August 21, 1928, and
erected the “Society of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel” as a
Diocesan Right Institute of Women Religious. On the same day, the
Sisters received the Religious habit they had so desired and began
their novitiate.
On September 29, 1930, fifty-four Sisters made their first Religious
Profession and, three years later, forty-nine of them made their
Perpetual Profession.
During this long period of waiting (over 30 years) for the ecclesiastical
approbation of the Congregation, Venerable Mother Anna Kaworek
played a significant role. She, lovingly dedicating her life to persevering
work for poor and abandoned children and young people, raised
and sustained in her Sisters the hope of obtaining the approval of
the Congregation from the ecclesiastical authorities. She served as
Superior General until her death. On December 30, 1936, she died
as a holy person, leaving to future generations the ideal of fidelity to
the spirit of the Founding Father and to the mission entrusted to the
Congregation.
Once established, the Congregation grew in number and continued
to run numerous educational works in Poland. In 1956, it received
the Decree of Honor from the President of the Polish Episcopal
Conference, which was later confirmed by the Congregation for
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Participation of the Major superiors of Michaelites at the World Council of Salesian Family
in Turin in 2015
Religious, thus becoming a Congregation of Pontifical Right. During the
period of the Communist regime, the Sisters were unable to carry out
their educational work because the government did not permit anyone
to run any educational institution. The Sisters, therefore, dedicated
themselves more to catechesis in the parishes.
After regaining their freedom, they returned to educational work. They
opened new educational institutes for girls and organized oratories. In
addition to this, they currently run nurseries, work as nurses, and serve
parishes as catechists, sacristans and organists.
3. Identity
The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel, also
called the “Michaelite Sisters”, is a Religious Institute in which the
Sisters combine the contemplative dimension of praising God with
active apostolic charity, lived in pedagogical, catechetical and charitable
activities and in social service, in parish ministry and in the missions.
The spirit of the life of the Sisters is summed up by two expressions:
“Who is like God!” and “Work and Temperance”.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
During the General Chapter of the Congregation held in 2007, it was
decided to apply to the Rector Major of the Society of St. Francis de
Sales for membership in the Salesian Family. Here are some passages
from the Superior General’s letter on this subject:
As spiritual Daughters of Blessed Bronislaw, we truly feel a deep family
bond with the Congregation founded by St. John Bosco, from which our
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Founder drew our spirit and charism. The biography of our Founder
and his works show the great influence the Salesian Congregation and
the person of Don Bosco had on him and on his mission. The events
of the first Michaelites and the entire history of our Congregation
reveal the great importance of the Salesian formation received by
Blessed Markiewicz which he transmitted to the Institute. All the
later generations of Sisters followed the footsteps of those who had
preceded, imitating their tireless work, spirit of temperance, generosity,
sincere love for abandoned children, and a joyful praise for God, the
giver of all good. The Family Spirit of the Salesian Congregation, also
handed down to us by the Blessed Founder, which we try to cultivate
and strengthen in our formation, confirm that we are together in the
deepest and most precious ideals that unite the members of the
Salesian Family in a formal way.
On January 22, 2009, the Salesian Congregation welcomed the
request of the Sisters. That same day, during the Spirituality Days
of the Salesian Family in Rome, the then Rector Major, Fr. Pascual
Chavez Villanueva, officially declared in the presence of the Superior
General, Mother Natanaela Bednarczyk and the other heads of the
Groups of the Salesian Family and approximately 340 participants,
that the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel
was now part of the Salesian Family.
4. Present Situation
Apart from Poland, the Sisters serve also in Italy, Germany, France,
Belarus, Ukraine and Cameroon. Currently, the Congregation has 256
members in 38 communities. They animate the young in Oratories in
8 places with 625 children and run nurseries in 12 places with 930
children. Moreover, many Sisters conduct catechesis in schools and
state nurseries, reaching approximately 11,000 children. They also
lead various parish groups with a total of about 3,000 people.
5. Challenges for the future
The Michaelite Sisters in Cameroon, among the many ministries such
as the management of schools, oratories and kindergartens, a medical
dispensary, are also currently involved in the formation of young
people. Thanks to this work, the Sisters already have vocations, and a
new house of formation has been opened for candidates and novices.
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Recently, another religious house was founded in Paraguay where the
sisters serve in the oratory the poorest children and families who live
in extreme poverty in the slums. The sisters who have been working
there for the past three years have welcomed their first vocation.
Thus, the novitiate house has been opened. The new vocations and
their youthful enthusiasm instilled hope for the expansion of the
mission.
For several years now, the Michaelite communities have been
developing in their Centers the mission for women of different
countries. Following the example of St. Michael the Archangel and the
new Angelic Choirs, they join in the praise of God by fighting for the
salvation of children and for those who are victims of various forms of
slavery.
Bearing in mind that the mission of the Congregation is to serve the
poorest, they seek to listen to the needs of the present time and to
help children, youth, and families who suffer from various forms of
poverty.
The first challenge of the Congregation is to transmit the spiritual
patrimony of the Founders to all those in need through works of
charity. They, with their daily commitment want to give love and bring
back the smile in so many weak and fragile people, because the poor
need the hands of others to be lifted up, the hearts of the brothers
and sisters to feel again the warmth of affection and the presence to
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Children gathered in front of the statue of Bl. Bronislaw Markiewicz during the annual
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overcome loneliness. The second challenge is to discover where the
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1. Founder and History
The seed of the Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix was sown on May 13,
1976 in Vyasarpadi, Chennai (India) by the Salesian Priest Fr. Antony
Muthamthotil (M.C. Antony), SDB. Its charism is “to help the poor and
abandoned young people”. He began the mission with four Sisters,
taking care of the young who were neglected by society both materially
and spiritually.
Before 1976, the Tamil Nadu government in India had created a
housing project in Vyasarpadi for the refugees from Burma; however,
the people still lacked the means to obtain their daily livelihood. Fr.
Francis Schlooz, SDB, who had been sent to the parish in Beatitudes
Center, Vyasarpadi, seeing the agony and trauma of the people,
consoled them and offered economic and welfare assistance to them.
He also felt the need to find someone with an exclusive mandate to
care for disadvantaged repatriates. During the course of his mission,
he inspired Fr. M. C. Antony.
With a little hesitation, Fr. M. C. Antony accepted the noble assignment
and moved into action with the help of the Legion of Mary. Becoming
aware of the pathetic conditions and the traumatic experience lived
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Visit of the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, to the SMA Generalate
by those people, especially the young, he decided to found a Religious
Congregation that would take care of them - particularly young girls.
It was this pathetic reality that gave him a renewed impetus to found
this new Congregation of the “Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix”.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
After the death of the Founder on January 23, 1990, Fr. Vincent Durairaj,
SDB, the Provincial of Chennai, appointed Fr. N.A. Joseph, SDB, as
director of the Congregation. He supported the Sisters both spiritually
and materially from 1990 to 1997.
Fr. Camillus Fernando, SDB, the next Provincial of Chennai, appointed
Fr. Rosario Krishnaraj, SDB, as ecclesiastical assistant. The next
Provincial, Fr. Bellarmine, SDB, and Fr. Mark Velankanni, SDB, as well
as other Salesians also contributed to the growth of the Congregation.
The Congregation, initially a “Pious Union”, was raised to the status
of a Diocesan Right Institute by the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore,
Bishop Aruldas James, on May 24, 1999. The Constitutions prepared
by the Founder were studied in the light of the teachings of the Church
and were revised taking into account the needs of the time. They were
then approved by the then Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, A.M.
Chinnappa, SDB, on December 15, 2005.
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3. Identity
Following Jesus and Don Bosco’s Salesian Spirituality, the charism
adopted by the Congregation is: “to take care of the poor and abandoned
young girls”. It was a feather in the Congregations’ cap when it was
recognized as an Official Group of the Salesian Family on July 16, 2009,
by Rev. Fr. Pascual Chavez, the ninth successor of Don Bosco.
4. Present Situation
The seed that was sown in 1976 has grown and become stronger and
has blossomed like a tree, according to the charism of its Founder.
In 2019, the Congregation had 108 perpetually-professed Sisters, 16
temporary-professed Sisters and 11 novices. The Congregation has
32 Centers in different parts of India and in Italy: It has expanded its
roots into 11 dioceses: Chennai, Chingleput, Trichy, Vellore, Sivagangai,
Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu; Ernakulam in Kerala; Eluru in Andhra; Raiganj
in West Bengal, and Vicenza and Trento in Italy.
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Sisters committed to the empowerment of women
Inspired by Don Bosco’s motto “Da mihi animas, cetera tolle”, the
Congregation promotes and networks in the following activities to
help young people to live a holistic life in the context of new forms
of poverty: Institute of formal and informal tailoring; Institute of
Typing; Evangelization; Night School for children in backward areas;
Orphanage; Visits to families; Day Care Center; Home for the elderly;
Primary school; Health Centers; Social work; Computer Centers; Non-
Governmental Organizations; Eradication of child labor; Nursery school;
Work for tribals peoples and Technical training (Community College).
5. Challenges for the Future
The Congregation faces many challenges: lack of vocations, weaker
presences (spiritual and social activities) in various parts of India;
inadequate level of required education of the Sisters; lack of ongoing
formation for an appropriate religious approach in the modern
world; lack of adequate knowledge of socio-economic, religious and
cultural values; absence of proper formation and involvement of the
laity; financial instability; and lack of necessary and well-equipped
infrastructural facilities.
The Congregation has the following plans:
• to enhance the formation of the Sisters in the current context of
society;
• to build an Adoration Chapel for the Sisters to pray for peace in
the world;
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• to take care of the formal and non-formal qualification of the
Sisters;
• to initiate a lay movement: “Friends of the Sisters of Mary
Auxilium” (FSMA) so as to form and involve the laity more;
• to mobilize local resources to facilitate financial sustainability;
• to network with other agencies such as Religious Congregations,
government agencies and lay Non-governmental Organization
(NGO) fora to strengthen the mission;
• to start a project for the young at-risk and released detainees;
and
• to pay particular attention to strengthen the ongoing spiritual and
social activities for young girls.
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1. Founder and Origin
The Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart were born from the
pastoral heart of the Salesian Bishop Giuseppe Cognata (1885-
1972). In 1933, he was appointed Bishop of Bova in Reggio Calabria,
an episcopal see which had been vacant for several years precisely
due to its difficult and disadvantaged social, cultural, economic, and
religious conditions.
In preparing his pastoral plan, the young Salesian bishop
immediately understood the urgent need to establish nursery
schools which would be entrusted to Sisters for the education of
children. They would also take care of the girls, help the parish priest
with catechism, and assist in parish activities. Not having found
any Religious Institute willing to take on this type of apostolate
that required true missionary generosity, the idea of founding an
Institute with a missionary spirit that would respond to the needs
of the poor people grew in his heart.
Thus, on December 8, 1933, just six months after having entered
the diocese, he founded the Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart.
They began their mission on December 17, 1933, in Pellaro (Reggio
Calabria).
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Institute expanded very rapidly due to a series of requests
for the opening of new Missions - as the works of the SOSC are
called - and in 1936 it extended from Calabria to Sicily and Lazio.
The Sisters became involved in the educational work of parishes in
small towns that had no other Religious Institute.
In 1939, following painful calumnies, the Founder was condemned
by Rome, relieved of caring for the nascent Institute and, in January
1940, forced to abandon his diocese and return to the status of
a simple priest, accepting the obedience of living as a simple
Salesian. He lived in the Salesian houses of Trento, Rovereto and
Castello di Godego. The “silent ordeal” thus began and the young
bishop offered it up to God. It lasted for almost thirty years. For
the Congregation he founded, it was a time of consolidation and
stability despite the destructive will that had been unleashed.
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Mother Graziella Benghini with the youth
Among the poor of Bolivia
The young Sisters preserved the genuine spirit transmitted to them
by the Founder and faithfully continued their work with missionary
zeal. This allowed the Pious Society of the Salesian Oblate Sisters
of the Sacred Heart to be raised, on June 5, 1959, the Solemnity
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to a Religious Congregation in the
Diocese of Tivoli.
After long years in which the Institute was under the direction of
Apostolic Visitors and Superiors of other Congregations, in October
1959, they celebrated their first General Chapter, electing Sr. Bice
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Mother Bice Carini
Giuseppina Carini as Mother
General. By a design of Divine
Providence, when she was a
young girl, her family moved to
Rovereto, where Bishop Cognata
was residing. This enabled her
to be nourished in the spirit
of the Oblation directly at the
source and thus be prepared to,
one day, pass on the authentic
charism to the Sisters that God
would entrust to her.
Under her leadership, the Institute consolidated and expanded
into other regions of Italy and had the joy of seeing the Founder
re-integrated into the episcopate by John XXIII (1962) and later, on
August 26, 1963, admitted to the Second Vatican Council following
his appointment as Titular Bishop of Farsalo by Paul VI. In November
1965, the Institute obtained permission to meet the Founder.
On the Feast of St. Francis de Sales in 1972, the Holy See established
the Institute as a Pontifical Right Institute. The following June, the
Founder obtained the definitive grace of being able to resume
relations with his Foundation, just a few weeks before his death
on July 22, 1972, in the motherhouse of Pellaro (RC). In 1985, the
Congregation opened a house for the missio ad gentes in Bolivia at
Puerto Acosta.
Retreat with the youth
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Oratory and Parish activities
In July 1989, General Chapter VI elected Sr. Carmelina Francesca
Mosca as Superior General. Ample impetus was given to the
preparation of the members so they could respond adequately to
the new apostolic expectations.
On October 14, 2006, the first mission in Peru was opened. Various
missions were opened for pastoral purposes only as a response to
precise and urgent requests and to the invitation to be an “outgoing
Church.” Since the 1990s, the spiritual writings of the Founder and
the circular letters of Mother Bice have been published.
In these years, the lay movement ALOS (Asociación de Laicos
vinculado a la Congregación – The Association of Laity linked to the
Congregation), whose members propose to live the charism of
oblation in the lay state, have taken greater shape and structure. In
2008, the first promises were made in the presence of the Rector
Major Don Pascual Chávez in the chapel of the Generalate in Tivoli
where the tomb of Bishop Cognata is found.
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3. Identity
The Salesian Oblates are an Institute of active life, of pontifical right,
and of temporary vows (Constitutions, Art.1). They follow Jesus in
His voluntary self-oblation to the Father through evangelization
and human promotion in small towns with no presence of Religious
and at the immediate service of the Local Church. With a missionary
spirit, they seek out difficult and abandoned areas and offer their
active collaboration in parish activities (see Constitutions, Articles
2-3), faithful to their motto “Caritas Christi urget nos” (II Cor. 5:14).
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
On December 24, 1983, the Congregation received the decree that
it is an Official Group of the Salesian Family by right, distinguishing
itself by the specificity of its sacrificial charism (Constitutions, Art. 8).
They follow St. Francis de Sales and St. John Bosco, their Patrons, by
living humbly and simply a spirit of welcome and of trust in Divine
Providence, in serenity and joy, and inspired by the Preventive
System. Theirs is a vocation of great simplicity and, at the same
time, of great generosity (Constitutions, Art. 9).
4. Present Situation
As of July 2019, the Congregation has 262 members in 57 “houses”
in 4 nations and in 25 dioceses. The Congregation held the General
Chapter XI with the theme, “Following Maria, the Mother of
Oblation”. Since July 16, 2013, Sr. Graziella Maria Benghini has been
Superior General, re-elected during the General Chapter in 2019.
5. Challenges for the Future
In the last six years, the Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart have
faced challenges, as have many other Religious Congregations,
with unlimited trust in God’s resources and Providence, taking care
to live the charismatic heritage of the Oblation and always ready
to respond to the needs of the Church. In answer to an unrelenting
and exceptional request, in 2016 a new mission was established to
serve the Holy See at the Nunciature of Malta.
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ALOS Congress
ALOS group of Calabria
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1. Founder and Origin
Cardinal Giuseppe Guarino (1827-1897), the Founder was born
at Montedoro, Caltanisetta, Italy, on March 6, 1827. He studied at
Agrigento before and after his ordination (September 22, 1849). At
Palermo, he held positions in Public Administration (1855-1871).
He was a highly esteemed and beloved archbishop, first of Syracusa
(1872) and then of Messina (1875), with renewed pastoral zeal and
competence. He was made cardinal in 1893 by Pope Leo XIII. He
died on September 21, 1897. In 1997, the diocesan inquiry for the
cause of canonization was completed and is currently in process in
Rome.
He was an admirer of Don Bosco and was inspired by his youth
spirituality; eventually he became a Salesian Cooperator, as we know
from his correspondence. He asked for and fervently welcomed the
first Salesians in Sicily (Randazzo). He interceded with the Roman
Curia for the cause of Don Bosco (Biographical Memoirs XIV 352-
355; Biographical Memoirs XV 239, 242-44, 340, 352, 355-56). He
had the inheritance of the Marino couple donated to the Salesians
which facilitated the opening of the house of the FMA in Ali (1890)
and the work of the Salesians in Messina (1893).
On June 29, 1889, in St. Pier Niceto, Bishop Guarino founded the
Congregation of the Little Servants of the Holy Family (today called
the “Apostles of the Holy Family”) from a group of Daughters of
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Mary who were imbued with the Salesian Spirit. He gave them a
Rule inspired by that of the Visitation Sisters of St. Francis de Sales
“for the moral and civil education of children”.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
With this same vision, a “House of the Holy Family” was built
in Messina in 1890. It was called the “Leo XIII Institute.” The
earthquake of 1908 in Messina destroyed the work and dispersed
a few surviving Sisters. Sr. Teresa Ferrara undertook the work of re-
foundation and reconstruction of the Institute in 1912 and guided it
as Superior General until her death in 1956.
In 1957, the Holy See assigned a Daughter of Mary Help of
Christians as Internal Apostolic Superior and thus contacts with the
Salesians increased. Beginning with the Special General Chapter
of 1970, the Institute sharpened its educational identity, took on
its present name, and asked for the spiritual direction from the
Salesians of Don Bosco.
The first house was established on November 23, 1890, in
Messina; the Constitutions were approved on January 26, 1902;
the new Decree of Erection promulgated on February 11, 1965;
the Constitutions were updated and approved on November 21,
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1981, and the final version approved on December 13, 1982.
Acceptance as an Official Group of the Salesian Family took place
on December 18, 1984 (AGC 313, 47), at the request of the Fourth
General Chapter in 1982. The Decree of Erection of the Institute
with Pontifical Right and the approval of the new Constitutions took
place on June 19, 1998.
3. Identity
The motto of the Congregation is “Faith expressed in works of
charity” (Gal 5:6). The Patrons are the Holy Family, St. Francis de
Sales, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John Bosco.
“Our Founder was inspired by St. Francis de Sales as a model of Chri-
stian educator and in developing his mission activities with ecclesial
spirit, he wanted our consecrated life to be expressed in the style of
the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. Thus, in the mission of edu-
cating the youth, he passed on to us the legacy of his pastoral style:
inner balance, a friendly and delicate style, a spirit of sacrifice and an
exuberant and ever new burst of love for souls” (Constitutions, Art. 3).
As Apostles of the Holy Family, they are immersed in the journey of
love for God, for their sanctification, and they are striving to coopera-
te by vocation, in the formation of authentically Christian families in
the Church through the education of young people.
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In the style of the Founder, in the practice of the Gospel Counsels,
through the profession of vows of chastity, poverty and obedience,
and in the exercise of their mission, ASF draw inspiration from the
Word of God and the teachings of the Church and the Preventive
Method of Don Bosco becomes their guide.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
In the wake of the examples offered by the Founder, who wanted
to be associated with the Salesian co-operators and maintain lively
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and life-giving relationship with his spiritual children, considering
the common identity, vocation and spirituality, the ASF Institute
asked and obtained recognition as a “member” of the Salesian
Family (Letter of the Rector Major, Don Egidio Viganò, Art. 4,
December 24, 1984).
4. Present Situation
The Apostles of the Holy Family promote the integrity and holiness
of the family through the education of children and young people
in schools, boarding schools, oratories, youth and parish activities,
through the associations of Past Pupils, and in the foreign missions.
They are happy in their consecration to God and try to bring the joy
of the Lord’s Easter (Constitutions, Art. 5).
Mother Maria Diana Mellace was elected Mother General along
with four General Councilors during General Chapter X, in 2019.
The Apostles of the Holy Family number 54 (perpetually professed
51, temporary 3, Aspirant 1), in 10 communities: 8 in Italy (Lazio,
Calabria, and Sicilia) and 2 in Brazil.
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1. Founder and Origin
On February 8, 1926, the first nine Salesian missionaries led by Bishop
Vincenzo Cimatti, SDB, arrived in Japan. In 1929, seeing the poor and
miserable conditions of the people, Fr. Antonio Cavoli, SDB, then parish
priest of the church in Miyazaki, invited the women belonging to the
Daughters of Mary, one of the groups in the parish, to serve and to
visit the poor and the sick. Eventually a hospice for orphans and the
elderly was established in December 1932. The women, then called
the “Daughters of Charity,” (Caritas Daughters) gathered here from
various places to live together and to work gratuitously for the love of
God.
Before World War II, in the midst of the rise of nationalism and anti-
foreigner movements, Bishop Cimatti advised Fr. Cavoli to make the
Caritas Daughters into a Religious Congregation in order to continue
the work.
On the insistence of Bishop Cimatti, Fr. Cavoli finally responded like St.
Peter, “Because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Thus, on August
15, 1937, a new Religious Congregation was born in Miyazaki.
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2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The new Congregation suffered difficulties beyond description
during World War II. However, the heroic sacrifices of its young
members helped to overcome the utter poverty of the time. After
this period, the Congregation developed rapidly.
In 1956, the Congregation sent its first missionaries to Korea. Later,
it sent missionaries to Latin America (1964) and to Europe (1977).
On January 24, 1986, it became an Official Group of the Salesian
Family. It continued to send missionaries to Oceania (1989), to
North America (1991), and finally to Africa (2011).
The Congregation was recognized as a Pontifical Institute on January 1,
1998. In 2008, the Generalate was transferred from Tokyo to Rome.
In 2009, the name of the Congregation was changed from “Caritas
Sisters of Miyazaki” to “Suore della Carità di Gesù” (Sisters of the
Charity of Jesus, Caritas Iesus) so as to express their charism better.
3. Identity
Liturgical Animation
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The spirit of the Congregation is rooted in their intimate love for
and encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament which inspires
and spurs on their activities.
The mission of the Caritas Sisters of Jesus is to testify to the merciful
charity of Jesus towards all and especially towards the poor and the
suffering through different works of evangelization . SCG turn their
gaze not only towards children and the young but also towards the
sick, the elderly, and those who suffer from various kinds of poverty.
In this sense, they venerate St. Vincent de Paul and St. John Bosco
as Patrons of their Congregation.
The name “Caritas” was inspired by the farewell speech of Fr. Philip
Rinaldi, SDB, then Rector Major of the Salesian Society, to the
missionaries to Japan in 1925. Fr. Cavoli, recalling the words of
Fr. Rinaldi, wrote: “Caritas is the only and indispensable means to
gain access to the hearts of the Japanese.”
The Congregation, born and raised in a Salesian atmosphere, has
been practicing the mission of St. John Bosco in the Church in ways
suited to each place and time. In fact, the following characteristics
of the spirit of the Congregation are inspired by the Salesian Spirit:
Family Spirit, trust and love for Mary Help of Christians, fidelity to
the Church, optimism and joy, work and temperance, a spirit of
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With the collaborators
initiative, and flexibility.
The Sisters, as members of the Salesian Family, strive to participate
actively in the common mission by living the Salesian Spirit in ways
proper to the Congregation.
4. Present Situation
Currently, the Congregation has 930 Sisters working in 16 countries
as apostles of the love of the Heart of Jesus for the salvation of
souls. SCG serve in parishes as well as in the ministries of social
welfare and education, nurturing physical and mental health in
babies, children, the youth, needy parents, and the elderly. Above
Education to faith
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all, the Congregation is particularly committed to apostolates to
families and overseas missions for primary evangelization .
5. Challenges for the Future
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Begun in Japan with Japanese and Korean members, the
Congregation has flourished chiefly in their native lands. In
response to the conflictual relationship which exists between these
two countries, engendered by war, the Congregation hopes to be a
sign of unity and communion in the world. They believe that their
community life, which reflects God’s love, is an inspiration to the
loneliness and suffering caused by the widespread individualism in
today’s society.
Furthermore, the Congregation feels the challenge to rekindle the
courage and zeal handed down to them by their Founder to move
into poorer missionary areas. Its members are also engaged in the
formation of the collaborators with whom it shares the charism
and is working to organize the association of these co-operators at
the international level.
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1. Founder and Origin
The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of
Christians (MSMHC) was founded in Guwahati, Northeast India, on
October 24, 1942, by Venerable Bishop Stephen Ferrando, SDB,
who placed it under the patronage of Mary Help of Christians. It
is a Congregation of consecrated women dedicated to the service
of the poor, especially the less privileged and the marginalized of
the society - namely, women, girls, and children. It was founded in
response to a special historical situation in Northeast India.
World War II was raging in all its fury of tears, toils, blood, and
deaths in Assam. More than one hundred missionaries had been
taken to internment camps hundreds of miles away.
Foreign Sisters remained under house arrest in their convents.
The people of the villages, especially the most vulnerable groups
- women, girls, and children - became destitute, suffering from
misery, ignorance, and poverty. It was against this historical
backdrop that Bishop Ferrando contemplated the founding of an
indigenous Congregation of women.
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Thus, after a long period of discernment, he decided to found the
Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians. On July 20, 1942, he
received permission to do so from the Sacred Congregation for the
Propagation of Faith.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
Eight candidates entered the novitiate on October 24, 1942, at St.
Mary’s Convent in Guwahati, thus inaugurating the Congregation.
St. Mary’s was a Community of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians (FMA). FMA continued to nurture the new indigenous
Congregation for 26 years. Once the Congregation was strong
enough to stand on its own two feet, the governance and formation
was handed over to the new Congregation’s own members.
Sr. Magdalene Surin was appointed Mother Vicar by Bishop Ferrando
on July 15, 1967. She guided the Congregation most ably during
the period of transition of governance from the FMA Superiors to
the first MSMHC Superior General, Mother Mary Rose Thapa, who
had been so named on February 4, 1970, by Archbishop Hubert
D’Rosario of Shillong-Guwahati. The Congregation was raised to
the status of Pontifical Right on March 21, 1977.
The Beginning of the MSMHC Congregation: Aspirants, postulants, novices and Sisters with
Mother Nellie Nunes
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3. Identity
The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of
Christians is an integral part of the Catholic Church, of Pontifical
Right, dedicated to apostolic works, with public vows, and is an
Official Group of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco.
The mission of the Congregation is primarily education through
direct evangelization (missio ad gentes); the education of women,
girls, and children in villages; and the education of the young in
formal and “informal” schools. It also provides health care for
the poor and needy, works for the empowerment of women, and
becomes involved in society for the transformation of the same.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Congregation was officially accepted as a Group of the Salesian
Family on July 8, 1986.
Sr. Luigina Saletta FMA,
first Mother General (1955-1956)
Sr. Teresa Villa FMA, Mother Ge-
neral (1956-1962)
The aspects and values of the MSMHC that incarnate the Salesian
Charism are: missionary vibrancy which manifests the pastoral
charity of Don Bosco; the evangelization of women, girls, and
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children - especially the poor and the suffering; commitment to
missionary evangelization and the accompaniment of people along
their journey of faith; Family Spirit; Marian piety; commitment to
the Gospel way of life (vows, prayer, and asceticism) which reflects
the spirit of Don Bosco; and commitment to living the Preventive
System as a pastoral and educative method and spirituality.
4. Present Situation
The organizational style of the Congregation is one that is typical of
the Salesian Family. The Superior General is the supreme authority
of the Congregation who takes the place of the Founder. She is
assisted by the General Council which consists of six members, each
entrusted with a specific office to be fulfilled in close collaboration
with and under the direction of the Superior General.
The Superior General and the members of the General Council
are elected during the General Chapter held once every six years.
Besides the General Council there are six provincial superiors
and their councilors who head the six geographical provinces of
the Congregation. They are appointed by the Superior General
in consultation with her Council for a period of three years. The
Congregation has 1244 Sisters in 205 houses. There are six
provinces in India, a delegation in Italy, and a sub-delegation in
Africa.
The African mission/sub-delegation functions directly under the
Superior General who animates and administers the communities
through a sub-delegate superior and a three-member council.
Each MSMHC Community is headed by a local superior (Animator)
for a term of 3 years and who may be reappointed for another term
of office.
5. Challenges for the Future
A challenge that the Congregation is facing, is how to safeguard
missionary vibrancy in the hearts of its members against the
growing tendency to remain inert within comfort zones, seeking
just to maintain the internal and external status quo.
Another challenge is the lack of adequately-prepared personnel
to respond to the ever-growing demands of the mission as the
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Congregation is receiving numerous invitations for collaborative
ministry both from overseas as well as in India. Until today,
missionary availability and vibrancy have paved the way for many
significant choices that contributed to the growth and expansion of
the Congregation and its apostolic effectiveness and fruitfulness.
A further challenge is the lack of adequately-prepared personnel
for the ministry of formation and accompaniment of the young
Sisters who are engaged in varied apostolates, especially in remote
and distant mission areas.
The Congregation foresees a radical renewal in consecrated life and
mission in the light of the vision of the Founder. It is an ongoing
journey of study, reflection, discernment, renunciation, and risk-
taking.
An ever-challenging process of decision-making calls for fidelity
to the founding charism and prayerful union with the Holy Spirit in
order to promote creative thinking, daring, and firm steps towards
the desired radical renewal.
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1. Founder and Origin
When Fr. Pedro Arnoldo Aparicio Quintanilla, SDB, was dean of
Don Bosco College and was exercising his priestly ministry hearing
Confessions, he discovered that many young people, for various
reasons, were not accepted in Religious Congregations.
When, in 1984, he was appointed the first Bishop of the Diocese
of San Vicente, in El Salvador, Central America, by Pope Pius XII, he
realized there was a scarcity of Priests and Religious in the nascent
diocese. Thanks to this realization and the inspiration of Fr. Pedro
Tantardini, SDB, former Salesian Provincial of Central America, who
suggested the foundation of a Women’s Religious Congregation of
simple life and dress which would help him in catechesis, parish
schools, and youth ministry, he founded the Congregation.
Through the encouragement of Sr. Ersilia Crugnola, FMA, then
Provincial in Mexico, who had a special devotion to Our Lady,
Bishop Aparicio entrusted himself to the intercession of Mary Help
of Christians. When he wrote letters to Sr. Ersilia, asking her to
present them to the Blessed Virgin, he received this answer: “You
will see your desires fulfilled if you trust in your Heavenly Mother.
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The Congregation that you have in mind, my Son, will be established
with the apostolic spirit of St. John Bosco, teaching those who are
ignorant and bringing souls to Heaven. Everything will fall into place,
my Son. I bless you. Mary Help of Christians, Your Mother always.”
Ten years later, on December 24, 1956, at midnight, that affirmation
about Mary Help of Christians was fulfilled with the founding of
the Congregation: the Daughters of the Divine Savior. Five young
women began this journey of faith with the motto: Oportet Illum
Regnare (He must reign).
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
In 1972, it was recognized by Pope St. Paul VI, as a “Religious
Congregation of Diocesan Right.” In 1989, it obtained the decree of
“Pontifical Right” by Pope St. John Paul II. Eight General Chapters
have been held since its foundation. The Institute has been guided
by four Superiors General. In 2005, during General Chapter VI, the
Lay Secular Group “Unione Apostolica Divino Bambino” (UADB) - The
Divine Child Apostolic Union - was approved.
The first group with two FMAs who collaborated in their Formation
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3. Identity
The Daughters of the Divine Savior are a women congregation of
“Pontifical Right”, accepted into the Salesian Family on February 5,
1987, by Rector Major Don Egidio Viganò, SDB.
They were founded by the Salesian Bishop Pedro Arnoldo Aparicio
Quintanilla, in the republic of El Salvador, in Central America.
They are religious-catechists-educators-missionaries who live
the spirituality of “the childhood of the Infant Jesus of the Crib of
Bethlehem” and Don Bosco, at the service of children and young
people (Constitutions, Art. 1-13).
The spirituality of the
Crib is a typical element
of their charism because
the Institute was founded
on Christmas night. The
virtues characterized by the
Nativity scene in Bethlehem
- simplicity, poverty,
humility, and spiritual
tenderness - are part of the
lifestyle of every Daughter
of the Divine Savior. The
title was given in honor of
the Patron of El Salvador, the country in which HDS were founded.
Don Bosco’s spirituality was handed down to them by their Founder
from the very beginning of the Institute. Throughout his life, he
taught them this spirituality as a way to reach holiness.
The following Salesian virtues find a place in their Constitutions:
God’s merciful love and the graciousness of Christ the Good
Shepherd, pastoral zeal, understanding, joy, Family Spirit,
empathetic affection, diligence, temperance, and union with God.
These are inculcated into the Sisters from the earliest stages of
formation (Constitutions, Articles 2, 4, 9, 60, 61, 66, and 67).
HDS recognize the Rector Major as being the Father and Center
of the unity of the Salesian Family and is manifested in their
acceptance of his guidance (Constitutions, Art. 4).
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The Sisters participate in the “Salesian Family Spirituality Days” and
are represented and participate in the World Council of the Salesian
Family in Rome. At the local level, unity of spirit is maintained with
the various Groups of the Family through fostering dialogue and
fraternal collaboration.
4. Present Situation
The central governance is taken care of by the Superior General
with her Council. The Generalate is located in the Republic of El
Salvador, where the Congregation was founded. In other countries,
the Congregation is organized through Delegations.
Presently, in 2019, there are 170 Sisters and 10 novices. They
are present in 8 countries: El Salvador (9 Centers), Guatemala (2
Centers), Panama (1 Center), Venezuela (3 Centers), Bolivia (6
Centers), Argentina (2 Centers), Italy (1 Center) and the United
States (1 Center – in Tulsa, Oklahoma).
Participants of General Chapter VIII (2017)
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The Mission
Their mission consists in making Christ reign in those contexts where
they are invited to evangelize (Constitutions, Articles 2, 10, 82; Regu-
lations, Articles 36-64). HDS seek to bring this about mainly through:
• Catechesis: Coordination of parish catechesis and the formation
of catechists;
• Education: Colleges, Parish Schools, families, Preschools, Nursery
Schools, and Workshops for Human Promotion (Constitutions,
Articles 3, 5, 10);
• Parish Ministry: Youth ministry, catechesis, assistance to the sick,
and collaboration with Parish Councils allow them to exercise
their charism for the young and ordinary people in the parish
context.
5. Challenges for the Future
The current needs of the Institute are: the growth of the
Congregation, the perseverance of its members, and even more,
the faithful preservation of the charism inherited from the Founder.
The future plan is to make God’s love present in various milieux, all
over the world, by organizing the Congregation into provinces. One
dream is to set up a Community in Africa by 2020.
Educational services to the young
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1. Founder and Origin
The Founder, Bishop Gaetano Pasotti, SDB, was an Italian Salesian,
who made his First Profession on September 15, 1906, and
was ordained on March 18, 1916, during World War I. He left in
1918 for the missions in China that was under the guidance of
Bishop Luigi Versiglia, SDB, for 9 years. On October 15, 1927,
he left China as the head of a Salesian expedition to Thailand,
at that time called Siam. He was consecrated Bishop on June
24, 1941, in Bangkok during World War II. With a lively sense of
the local Church and apostolic zeal for the evangelization of the
people, he founded the Congregation of Sisters “Auxiliatricum”. Their
name in the Thai language is “Xi Song Khro”. In 1971, the name was
changed to the “Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”.
In his report to the Congregation for the Propagation of Faith of
August 1, 1932, then Fr. Pasotti expressed his hope of obtaining
their cooperation in establishing a Religious Congregation
composed of native women.
He wanted to found a new Congregation from among the group
of young women working in the kitchen of the Salesians, who had
already had Christian formation. The Congregation was founded
by Fr. Gaetano Pasotti’s Official Letter of December 7, 1937. On
the following day, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 7
young women began their novitiate. On that same day, a year later
in 1938, six of them made their
First Profession.
2. History from the Foundation
to the Present
At its founding, Bishop Pasotti
chose Mary under the title
of Immaculate Conception
as Patroness of the new
Congregation. Following the
Church’s consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942,
he dedicated the Congregation
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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as its new Patroness. He enlisted the assistance of the Daughters of
Mary Help of Christians in founding the Congregation. Sr. Antonietta
Morellato, FMA, was the first Novice Mistress for 15 years and Sr.
Luigina di Giorgio, FMA, became the first Superior General of the
Congregation (1941-1964).
The Congregation grew in number and reached out to different
parishes in the Diocese of Ratchaburi. In 1949, during Holy Mass on
New Year’s Day, Bishop Pasotti presented the first official copy of their
Constitutions to the Sisters with this precious instruction: “Daughters,
my wish for you is that all of you may be united to the Heart of Jesus.
Be holy by living these Constitutions.”
In 1964, the Congregation became autonomous and Sr. Agatha
Ladda Satvinit was elected as the first SIHM Superior General.
During the General Chapter of 1985-1986, the revised Constitutions
were approved. The subsequent Chapter, in 1990, approved the
Regulations. The present Mother General is Sr. Maria Goretti Maliwan
Paramatthawirote, appointed in 2015. In the year 2000, a lay group called
the “Lay Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” was formed with
Catholic teachers of their
schools and workers of their
houses. They have been
formed gradually in the
spirit of the Congregation.
They collaborate with the
Sisters in their mission,
support them in the field
of religious vocations, and
serve as a bridge in their
family apostolate.
Suor Luigina Di Giorgio, FMA
In 2012, the 75th anniver-
sary of their foundation,
the “SIHM Youth Leaders
Group” was formed and
in 2015, “SIHM Teach-
er Leaders Group” was
formed. Both groups are
present in every school,
animated by a youth com-
mittee.
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3. Identity
The Sisters dedicated themselves to helping missionaries in small
Centers or parishes and in the field of education. They are a women
religious congregation of “Diocesan Right”. From the beginning of
the Institute, all the bishops who have had authority over them,
as a Congregation of Diocesan Right, have been Salesians: Bishop
Peter Carretto (1951-1988), Bishop Michael Praphon Chaicharoen
(1988-2003) and Bishop Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil. While the
Congregation is dedicated to the service of the Local Church, it also
reaches out to the needs of the Universal Church.
In 1997, the first two members were sent to Cambodia as
missionaries and associated members of the Thai Missionary
Society (TMS) to work, initially, in the Diocese of Battambang.
The Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are Religious
who are involved in parishes, animating various groups with a mis-
sionary spirit. They live the Fiat of the Virgin Mary, always ready to
do the will of God. They strive to be all things to all people, living and
working with family spirit, simplicity, joy, optimism, and the ability
to adapt themselves appropriately to different situations, with the
motto proposed by Bishop Gaetano Pasotti: “Caritas Christi Urget
Nos!” (“The love of Christ impels us” - II Cor. 5:14) and the spirit: “To
love, to serve, and to forgive”.
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Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Congregation was accepted as an Official Group of the
Salesian Family on February 28, 1987, the Golden Jubilee year of
the Foundation of the Congregation. The Sisters believe that their
membership in the Salesian Family was really the design of Divine
Providence.
Through the firm guidance of Bishop Pasotti and the FMA formators,
they were able to know, absorb, and live the Spirit of Don Bosco and
Mother Mary Domenica Mazzarello. This helps them be “signs and
bearers of God’s love” to the young in their parish ministry and their
pastoral ministry for the children and the young in schools.
They live according to the Salesian Charism, expressed through
work, temperance, loving-kindness, fraternal charity, and
educational expertise.
The Congregation establishes a close relationship with the
Salesians, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and the
other Groups of the Salesian Family through sharing Don Bosco’s
Salesian Spirit and joint apostolic initiatives. It collaborates with the
various Groups as occasions arise through meetings, conferences,
reflection and teamwork.
75 th anniversary at the place of Foundation
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4. Present Situation
The SIHM Congregation is still a Diocesan Right Congregation. Its
Mother House is in the Diocese of Surat Thani, under the leadership
of Bishop Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil, SDB. There are 91 members,
including 7 temporary-professed Sisters, 4 novices, 2 postulants
and 5 aspirants.
Sisters engaged in the parish with a missionary spirit, animating various groups
They work in 4 dioceses in Thailand: Ratchaburi, Surat Thani, Bangkok,
and Chiangmai; and in Cambodia in the Battambang Diocese in two
Centers. They work in 32 Centers/parishes in eleven Communities.
Their mission is carried out in schools and in parishes of different
dioceses through:
• Youth ministry - in diocesan high schools and their own schools:
kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary schools, and
also among the young who are drop-outs;
• Family ministry;
• Basic Christian Communities;
• Education and Faith-formation;
• Household pastoral ministry - for their own workers;
• Catechism - for the young and adults;
• Missionary Apostolate;
• Charitable works - for the poor and abandoned, especially
children and youth.
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5. Challenges for the Future
A big challenge facing the Sisters is the decrease in the number of
Religious Vocations, due to many factors. Changes in society affect
the values of Catholic families. Families are becoming small with
only one or two children.
Parents face many difficulties. They have little time for their
children, leaving them alone to learn from sources like social media.
As a consequence, most of them lack basic human and Christian
formation.
Another challenge is to work more among poor families that are
in the peripheries of the cities in Thailand. They need to promote
more vocations in Cambodia so that they will have more Cambodian
Sisters who will serve their own people.
SIHM are also faced with the challenge of deepening their charism
in the hearts of the new generations of their members and
strengthening them in their vocation so that they may become
‘signs and bearers of God’s love for the young’ and become ‘all to all.’
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There are more elderly Sisters than young ones while needs
increase in various fields. They foresee that they will not be able
to serve the Local Church well without the cooperation of the laity.
In order to address these challenges, General Chapter XI has
decided:
• To renew religious witness as SIHM: to be more credible
missionary disciples according to the SIHM Identity - signs of
love, joy, and compassion;
• To promote lay and religious vocations by strengthening the faith
formation of the young and accompanying them in their journey
of life; and
• To educate and take more care of Catholic families and all families
in their rapidly changing society, with the focus on the parents in
their schools and parishes and in society-at-large.
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1. Founder and Origin
Fr. Vicente Priante, SDB (1883-1944), the Founder, was born in
Barra Mansa (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) on October 17, 1883. He made
his First Profession at Lorraine on July 19, 1904, and was ordained
a priest in Taubate on January 28, 1912. He was appointed as the
director of colleges and then as a parish priest in São Paulo. He was
consecrated bishop on May 13, 1933, of the diocese of Corumbà
(Mato Grosso), whose extent was as large as France (Campo Grande
is part of it; in 1952 it was divided into 3 dioceses). The number of
parishes tripled during his episcopacy. He founded the Sisters of
Jesus the Adolescent from a small group of the Daughters of Mary.
He was a man who contemplated the world and the Church of his
time, from within a profound experience of God immersed in the
history of people in need of evangelization . He died in São Paulo,
Brazil, on December 4, 1944.
The Bishop founded the Group to respond to two urgencies he
perceived:
• The immense pastoral needs of a vast diocese of about 400,000
sq. km., with very few priests; and
• The need to enter religious life for good girls, mostly daughters
of parents in irregular family situations, or girls that the existing
Congregations did not accept.
He laid the foundations of this missionary Congregation and
founded it on December 8, 1938. The first 7 novices professed in
1939. His death in 1944 left the Institute weak.
2. History from the foundation to the Present
His successor, Bishop Chaves, then took it into his hands before
being transferred to Cuiabá, entrusting it to the direction of an
excellent FMA, Mother Josefina (1952-1967). Under her leadership,
the Congregation came to know and deepen Don Bosco’s charism,
spirituality, and method of formation.
New serious difficulties arose and the number of the Professed
fell from 74 to 28 until the Institute was reorganized following
the Special General Chapter in 1975, when it received its new
Constitutions. They were updated further in 1982 and the Institute
grew.
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3. Identity
The Institute is a diocesan one under the responsibility of the
Archbishop of Campo Grande. Its motto is “All things to all men”.
These words of St. Paul guide their commitment. It also reminds
them of Don Bosco’s teaching in the Preventive System: to become
persons consecrated to the good of those to whom the Lord sends
them.
Their Patrons are Jesus the Adolescent and Mary Most Holy.
They look to Nazareth, where Jesus and Mary lived and worked,
and learned the spirit of a family and the joy of interpersonal
relationships.
Like the adolescent Jesus, they are called to take care of the things
of the Father, being the sign of His love for the neediest and most
rejected so that the world may become one family.
The initial name of “Little Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent” was
simplified in 1978 to “Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent.” By assuming
this name, they sought
to sum up the various
elements that characterizes
the life of the Institute.
From a spiritual point of
view, their reference point is
the Person of Jesus.
From a pastoral point
of view, attention to the
complete human, Christian,
and spiritual growth of
their beneficiaries is the
fundamental commitment.
Their spirituality is Centered
on the Person of Jesus
Christ and is nourished by
the Gospel. They follow the
Lord in joy, simplicity, and
trust, in the Mystery of His
obedience to the Father, and
in the gift of Himself in the
Sr. Maria Rodrigues Leite,
Superior General
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service of the Kingdom, growing in age, wisdom, and grace before
God and people, making themselves “All things to all men”. The IJA
try to contemplate and imitate the Immaculate Virgin Mary Help of
Christians in her fullness of love for God and for their brothers and
sisters.
The Sisters live a special concern to “incarnate” themselves among
the people, as did Jesus in Nazareth, and to remain sensitive to the
needs of the particular Church. IJA practice the Preventive System
of Don Bosco and try to deepen it, drawing on the richness of
pedagogy and spirituality contained in the few pages composed by
Don Bosco.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The IJA Institute was born and is nourished by the spirit and mission
of St. John Bosco and recognizes the Rector Major of the Society of
St. Francis de Sales as the Center of unity and the bond of fidelity
to the Salesian Spirit. Fr. Egidio Viganò, the Rector Major, gave the
Institute the official recognition of belonging to the Salesian Family
on January 1, 1989 (document 89/007).
4. Present Situation
The Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent have 19 members, present
in 6 Communities in 3 Brazilian dioceses. After the difficult years
that saw a drastic reduction in the number of Sisters, the great
commitment to promoting vocations has borne fruit.
Open to spiritual and social values, the Congregation’s members
seek to live their mission by giving an evangelizing response
to the concrete problems of the particular Churches: through
education of the poorer classes, family pastoral care, and various
social activities, with special attention given to children and the
elderly, especially the poorest. The family is their place and space
for evangelization and for journeying with children, adolescents,
and young people. The spirit and mission of St. John Bosco in the
Institute are concretized in:
• the option for the poor and the abandoned;
• the places of the poorer classes, with a view to religious, social
and cultural promotion;
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• the preference for the particular poor Churches where there is a
shortage of clergy and where families find it hard to live by the
Faith;
• the application of the Preventive System of Don Bosco;
• the apostolate with missionary zeal.
5. Challenges for the Future
Challenges and plans for the years 2018-2021:
• define a program for the whole Congregation, capable of ispiring
themselves and others;
• run Oratories with a view to professional animation;
• hold Formation meetings for all the Sisters, under the different
aspects of religious life;
• strengthen the Sisters’ understanding in some priority biblical
and anthropological areas of the “things of the Father”;
• seek advice for the Congregation;
• empower the sisters by integrating their personal gifts into the
congregational charism;
Youth group of Our Lady of Pilar parish, Jaur city
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Sr. Alzenir Maria Severino with a homeless person at Campo Grande
• form Sisters and laity for leadership in community and mission;
• rotate responsibilities in the community and in the mission;
• commit to the promotion of vocations;
• participate actively in common fora, networks, municipal
councils, conferences, and social projects;
• become involved with those who need the “care of the Father,”
being the sign of His love;
• update the programs of initial and continuing formation;
• rethink the places where ministry is carried out, with a view to
choosing places on the frontiers of the mission.
Structures
• study, discussion about, and updating of some parts of the
Constitutions;
• construct new forms of coordination in the Congregation;
• care for the residences of the Sisters;
• consolidate into larger Communities;
• commit in a greater way to the use of technological resources;
• generate income; and
• support the local Church (projects, mission).
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Challenges
• to be in the world without being of the world;
• to overcome discouragement and doubt;
• to review their community lifestyle and economic choices
courageously on personal, Community, and Congregational
levels with the perspective of the “discipleship of equals, as in
Bethany”;
• to overcome their dependence on the hierarchical and pastoral
model of the Church and focus on their vocation to discipleship;
• to start afresh with a fundamental attitude; and
• to identify the “things of the Father” that He Himself assigns to the
Congregation.
Conclusion of Retreat (January 2019), with Auxiliary Bishop, Mariano Danecke, OFM Conv.,
and Fr. P. Lima, SDB
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January 31, 2015 - Feast of Don Bosco at Colle Don Bosco,
Diaconal Ordination of Guido Pedroni
1. Founder and History
The foundation dates back to 1982 according to a re-reading of
the history of the CMB. This made it possible to recognize as a
“founding element” the original inspiration that occurred during a
Eucharistic celebration in Rome. In those early years their Founder,
Deacon Guido Pedroni, formed the first missionary group (1983)
from among some animators of the Oratory of the Sacred Heart.
After a few months, some more young people became involved
who gave shape and strength to the new group. Initially, their
missionary service was carried out in Ethiopia because the Italian
Lombardy-Emilia SDB Province was entrusted with that nation as
part of “Project Africa”.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
Their “missionary” attention turned with the same intensity
towards educational activity in mission territories. This became
more and more a giving “witness with one’s life”.
The Community was established as a Civil Association with its own
Statutes in 1994. It was definitively approved by the Church with a
Rule of Life in 2004. It was then accepted by decree into the Salesian
Family on January 15, 2010.
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The foundation involved the work
of some people who, in the first
years, constituted the core group,
or the nucleus, with the Founder.
The Community has spread into
various countries - in oratories,
educational centersand reception
homes, forming groups and
“Tents”, the latter being the
nuclei that animate the entire
community-building. That re-
reading of the Group’s history
has led in due course to the
adaptation of the Statutes and
Rule of Life. Of great importance
was the organization of two
Educational Center in Haiti
(world) General Assemblies in 2010 and 2016.
Numerous members of the Community have borne witness in their
lives to the missionary dimension, in various countries: from Italy to
Ethiopia, Madagascar, Burundi, Haiti and Ghana; from Madagascar
to Burundi and Haiti; from Burundi to Ghana; from Argentina to
Ghana and Haiti; from Chile to Haiti.
They know and believe that “it is fundamental that people keep
moving so that they can meet one another. In this way, ideas are
shared and the energy of a healthy community is renewed.” The
formation and promotion of the community spirit has been fostered
by means of several meetings held in Italy with representatives
from all the countries where the Community is present. Meetings
have been organized among the groups of the Community of the
Mission of Don Bosco in South America also.
3. Identity
The Community has regarded “Unity, Charity and Essentiality” as
the three main pillars since 1983. It recognized itself as a growing
community in 1988. The discovery of a paternity that emerges from
history, of an original way of living the Preventive System based on
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four dynamic verbs (to believe-evoke-involve-create), and of having
a specific spirituality (“Spirituality of Search”) has made it possible
to outline its own original charismatic identity. The Emeritus Rector
Major, Rev. Fr. Pascual Chavez, SDB, recommended this to all the
Groups of the Salesian Family.
It has always been essential to involve and share with the local
people the different types of activities carried out so as to arouse
interest and enthusiasm, together with a solid and on-going
formation, so as to build up, in a gradual manner, their own sense
of responsibility for the activities and works.
First General Assembly at the Pisana, Rome, 2010
To create true and deeper relationships, in the deepest possible
way, is to believe that the Lord is the primary builder of these
relationships. In this way and in this specific vocation, the spirit
of belonging to the Community and to the Church may become
stronger and more alive, joined to a spirit of dedication to children.
The continuous search for the Will of God and, above all, how and
where to “apply” it is the meaning of the “Spirituality of Search”.
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Members of the CMB are well aware that the educational horizon
and the way of living the Faith are constantly moving further
towards the peripheries, thus expanding boundaries.
The fundamental and specific characteristics of the Group are,
therefore: Dedication and Missionary Spirit. In the formation
process (at least 5 years in length), there are some commitments
before God and the Community, including a “pedagogical” path, but
also the gradual acquisition of a profound sense of belonging to the
CMB.
The first step is Reception, followed by the Act of Commitment, the
Act of Faith and, finally, the Act of Dedication, which the Rule of Life
indicates as an intermediate step between promise and vow. With
the Act of Commitment, specific mandates are received from the
Group’s Head, according to a particular form of obedience called
“convergence”.
CMB community in Henintsoa house, Madagascar
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4. Present Situation
The presence of the CMB calls for involving young people and
adults to grow in faith along a journey of closeness and sanctity.
This growth is concretized in the commitment to the poorest
children according to the Salesian identity proper to the Community.
Currently, the CMB are composed of 400 members at various levels
of membership in 7 countries.
5. Challenges for the Future
Reflection on the missionary spirit which is manifested in a constant
dedication to God, to the Community and to children has led to the
discernment of the CMB as living a permanent diaconate.
Following Mary’s attitude of service to the Lord can be the model
for the members of the Community to receive the Sacrament of
Holy Orders by becoming Permanent Deacons.
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1. Founder and Origin
During World War II, Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB (1900-1982), a
Salesian missionary Priest in Thailand, began to gather a group
of young women in the village of Thà Muang in the province of
Kanchanaburi in order to prepare them to consecrate themselves to
the Lord. In an atmosphere of family and Christian faith, he taught
them how to sacrifice themselves and to face the difficulties of life,
always trying to do the Will of God. After the war, he led the group
in Bangkok.
In 1949, Fr. Carlo was faced with the painful dilemma of either
abandoning the direction of his newly-established Secular Institute
or asking for an indult to leave the Salesian Congregation and have
himself incardinated in the Diocese of Bangkok. With a heavy heart,
he left the Congregation and was incardinated by the Bishop and
allowed to dedicate himself fully to the Institute.
On December 3, 1954, His Excellency Louis Chorin, MEP, Archbishop
of Bangkok, officially erected “The Daughters of the Queenship of
Mary Immaculate” as a Diocesan Right Secular Institute of Women.
In 1955, the first seven women made their Profession in the new
Institute.
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Fr. Carlo continued throughout his life to care for the Secular
Institute he had founded and animated with the Salesian Spirit and
apostolic dedication, especially among the poorest youth.
For more details on the Founder Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB, please
refer to the document on the “Daughters of Queenship of Mary
(DQM)” in this book. The “Sisters of the Queenship of Mary (SQM)”
is a group that branched off from the mother group, “Daughters of
Queenship of Mary (DQM)”.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The first Constitutions drafted by Fr. Carlo were approved by
the Roman Curia as a Secular Institute on December 3, 1954,
bearing the name of the “Daughters of the Queenship of Mary”.
Nonetheless, Fr. Carlo began to form the Secular Institute with a
style of formation that befits a Religious Institute.
When Fr. Carlo’s health began to deteriorate, he asked a Salesian
priest in 1973 to help with the spiritual direction and religious
formation of his Institute. In 1974, he sent two Sisters to Turin, Italy,
to be trained in Religious Life by the Salesian Sisters (Daughters of
Mary Help of Christians) so they would be prepared to be future
formators.
A group of Sisters of the Queenship of Mary
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In the meantime, he asked Bishop Praphon Chaichareon, SDB, to
help adapt the second edition of the Rules and Regulations (1982)
governing Religious Life. After a careful study, Fr. Carlo was satisfied,
as is testified to in his letter to his children dated November 29, 1980.
After Fr. Carlo’s death on April 4, 1982, the Daughters of the
Queenship of Mary called for their First General Chapter to approve
the 3rd edition of the Constitutions (1986).
The fact that they bore a style befitting Religious Life became clearer.
In them was a deeper understanding of formation to Community
Life, proclaiming the Good News, living as public witnesses of
Christ and His Church, and a life of poverty lived as a Community by
placing everything in common; however, the status of the Secular
Institute remained. This may have been so because, at that time, the
Church did not clearly differentiate between Secular and Religious
Institutes. This differentiation was made clear in the renewed Code
of Canon Law in 1983.
In 2000, when the Church called upon all Institutes to return
to their origins, the “Daughters of the Queenship of Mary” also
reflected on their historical origin. They sought assistance from
both the Universal and Local Churches to clarify the understanding
of the lifestyle of those who took vows. This paved the way for the
formation of two groups, one as a Secular Institute (the Daughters
of the Queenship of Mary) and the other as a Religious Institute (the
Sisters of the Queenship of Mary). Thus, from April 1-5, 2008, a
special General Chapter took place to resolve the afore-mentioned
division.
The unanimous decision was to allow each member to live the
gifts of the Holy Spirit at the service of the Church according to the
charism of the Founder and according to each one’s conscience. The
“Sisters, Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (SDM)”, therefore,
requested official approval for its status as a Religious Institute so
that their new way of life – differentiated from the original form of
a Secular Institute – would be approved officially in writing by both
the Universal and the Local Church.
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After corrections to the
Constitutions and Regulations
were made according
to the directives of the
Congregation for Institutes
of Consecrated Life and
Societies of Apostolic
Life so that they would
fall more in line with the
lifestyle
corresponding
to a Religious Institute,
that same Congregation
suggested a name change
from the Congregation
of the “Daughters of the
Queenship of Mary (SQM)”
to the “Sisters of the
The Rector Major Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime
with two Sisters of the Queenship of Mary
Queenship of Mary (SQM)” in order to make the separation clear,
both in Thai and in English.
3. Identity
The “Sisters of the Queenship of Mary” is a Diocesan Right Institute
of Women Religious under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of
Bangkok. The members make the Vows of Chastity, Poverty and
Obedience in response to the call of God. They live in Community.
Their Charism is “living Sisterhood to serve God and
the Church by imitating the Spirit of the Holy Family
of Nazareth, following the outstanding example of
Fr. Carlo Della Torre, Founder, who lived and tried to cultivate
piety and service in the hearts of every member.” This is clearly
manifested in their fervent love for the Holy Eucharist, their
prayers, work, special love and devotion to the Blessed Mother
Mary, cheerfulness, fraternal relationships, an atmosphere of love
and humble and mutual respect, imitating the example of the Holy
Family of Nazareth.
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Choreography in Bangkok (2008)
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
Since the SQM Congregation has had special relationship with the
Salesians both through the Founder and the Salesian Spirituality
inherited from him. The Congregation desired to continue to receive
formation from the Salesian Priests as much as possible in order
to maintain the spirit of the Founder. They were formally accepted
as an Official Group of the Salesian Family in 2012 upon their
separation from the Secular Institute.
4. Present Situation
Their mission is: Commitment to “renewal and implanting the
Kingdom of God through prayers and charitable activities among
Christians as well as non-Christians, with special focus on the
poor and the less fortunate young people among them, in close
collaboration with the Local Church.”
They have 24 perpetually-professed Sisters and 1 temporary-
professed Sister and 1 second-year Novice. They run five schools
of their own: two in Bangkok, one in the Surathani diocese, one
in Ayutthaya and a new one in the Ubonratchthani diocese. They
work also in 2 schools in the Bangkok diocese.
5. Challenge for the Future
The real challenge is to maintain this heritage faithfully and to make
greater progress with perseverance.
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1. Founder and History
The dire needs of the villagers who lived in distant areas under
the pressure of poverty, ignorance and disease sickened the heart
and mind of Archbishop Hubert D’Rosario, SDB, the Archbishop
of Shillong-Guwahati. He had himself experienced and seen the
pathetic situations when he visited them in their homes.
After much prayer and consultation, he was convinced that a
new Congregation would be a solution to such a need. He then
announced on June 29, 1982, at the monthly meeting of the
priests, “I have been thinking for years how to help our villagers
get the full Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Most of our Christians
live in villages, steeped in poverty, ignorance and disease. There is a
pressing need of Sisters living in their midst and helping them rise...”
It was necessary for the new Congregation to dedicate themselves
to the poor and the needy of the villages, not limiting themselves to
the sporadic visits during the year.
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On May 31, 1983, the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the dream came true when the Pious Association of the Visita-
tion Sisters of Don Bosco was founded.
Earlier, on May 29, 1983, ten young women from the Shillong
Archdiocese had come to Madonna Convent to be the nucleus of
the new Congregation. On May 31, 1986, the first group of Novices
made their First Profession. The Founder wanted the Sisters to
have a strong bond with their parents through frequent contact.
For this purpose, he established the Parents’ Association of the
Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco on October 14, 1993.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The Congregation was initially under the care of the Sisters
of Our Lady of the Missions (the RNDM Sisters). Beginning in
1992, the Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco began to shoulder the
responsibilities themselves, with the guidance of the Founder.
But from August 30, 1994, when the Founder returned to his Lord
and Master, the Sisters had to take all the responsibility onto their
young and unprepared shoulders.
On December 8, 1997, the Pious Association of the Visitation Sisters
of Don Bosco was canonically raised to the status of a Diocesan
Right Institute by Archbishop Tarcisius Resto Phanrang, SDB.
The Congregation began to spread its wings to fly to different
villages by setting up communities of Sisters starting with “Our
Lady of Good Health”, Pomlakrai, on January 31, 1988. Since 1997,
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the Congregation has extended its mission to Assam and later to
other states of Northeast India, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and
Manipur. In 2012, the Congregation responded to the call from the
South Sudan mission in Africa by opening a community there.
3. Identity
Archbishop Hubert D’Rosario founded this Congregation of Women
Religious adopting Mary at her Visitation as its Patroness and mo-
Moment of Eucharistic Adoration
del. Mary, who responded to the Word of God at the Annunciation,
went in haste to visit her aged cousin Elizabeth who was in her six-
th month of pregnancy. Her visit shows the virtues of sensitivity,
availability, generosity and readiness to let go of her comfort in lo-
ving service to those in need.
Sisters making their missionary visits
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The Sisters, too, following her
example, joyfully go in haste to
aid those in need in the distant
villages and neglected urban
areas.
Some of the prominent ele-
ments of the VSDB are their
mission, lifestyle, apostolic
life, apostolic Community Life
and the parents’ association.
The missionary charism of the
VSDB is manifested in their
service to the poor and nee-
dy in the rural and neglected
urban areas. In obedience to
Christ’s command, “Go, disci-
ple” and in imitation of Mary at
her Visitation, the VSDB go in
earnest to visit people in their homes to evangelize and catechize,
thereby bringing the love, unity, justice, peace and joy of Christ and,
thus, promoting radical transformation in their lives, particularly
the young, in the spirit of Don Bosco.
Choreography by the young Sisters
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Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Congregation became an official Group of the Salesian Family
on January 25, 2012. Though the Congregation has Mary as its mo-
del and guide, it bears the name of Don Bosco. As a true Son of Don
Bosco, the Founder desired that his Congregation be part of the Sa-
lesian Family. Thus, the Sisters took inspiration from the missionary
dynamism of Don Bosco in fulfilling their life and mission.
VSDB Constitution Article 2 §2 says that “the VSDB live their life of
love with all other necessary virtues in fidelity to the Constitutions.”
Obedience to the Pope and the Church, passionate love for poor
youth, the Preventive System, the oratory style and joyful Family
Spirit are some of the Salesian aspects which constitute the life and
mission of VSDB.
4. Present Situation
Direct evangelization, catechesis and pastoral care through home
visits hold the pride of place in the Congregation. The VSDB attend
to the spiritual needs and fundamental social development of the
people through healing ministry, counselling, retreat animation,
seminars, social work, education - both formal and informal -
and health care, both clinical and holistic treatments such as
acupressure and sujok therapy.
The Generalate of the VSDB is situated at Nongkseh, Upper Shillong,
Meghalaya, India. As per the 2018 statistics, the Congregation
is blessed with 142 professed members. It is growing in number
as well as in its dynamism. At the present time, it serves in 29
presences in India and South Sudan.
5. Challenges for the Future
Experience shows that we face more challenges than readymade
solutions. Broken families, drug addiction, alcoholism, hopelessness
and meaninglessness of life, especially in the life of the youth are
their daily concerns and challenges. These situations challenge
all to be skillful and tactful so as to empower the victim and the
suffering group.
As they look into the future with hope, VSDB wish to learn to
translate the charism, spirit and tradition of the Congregation into
more concrete acts, a trait handed down to them by the Founder.
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1. Founder and Origin
The initiative of the Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth
has its roots in a dream that Archbishop Nicolás Cotugno, SDB,
had since his Salesian novitiate (Como - Italy) in 1957, when he
manifested his inclination towards the contemplative life; however,
he was encouraged by his superiors to continue in the Salesian
Congregation.
In 1964, Fr. Egidio Viganò - the future seventh successor of Don
Bosco - showed him, in response to his persistent enthusiasm, that
a strong appeal to contemplation comes from the Salesian charism.
In 1974, Fr Raineri, General Councilor for the Salesian Family, also
encouraged him positively. In 1975, the decisive encouragement
came from Bishop Gottardi, Auxiliary Bishop of Montevideo.
On the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary in 1977,
a group of young people - made up of engaged couples, married
couples and nascent communities of consecrated men and women
- were the first members to consecrate themselves to our Lady
as a Contemplative Fraternity during Holy Mass at which Bishop
Gottardi presided and Fr. Nicola concelebrated. They initiated a new
experience of contemplative fraternity in Montevideo.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
All Nazarenes (as the members of the FCMN are called) began
to assume the Contemplative Fraternity as a vocational reality,
committing themselves to live their vocation with enthusiasm and
June 2, 1991 - The first Nazarenes at Colle Don Bosco, Italy
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St. Pope John Paul II, inspiration to the Founder and the Fraternity
fidelity. As they tried to strengthen and deepen the identity of each
of the groups, the awareness of unity and of their belonging to the
Movement emerged in them.
On December 7, 1986, the Archbishop of Montevideo, José Gottardi,
in a solemn concelebration in the Cathedral, incorporated the
Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth into the Local Church,
receiving publicly the Vow of Contemplation of 33 Nazarenes. At
the beginning of 1986, the Community of consecrated persons
had its headquarters in Montevideo. On May 3, 1993, the Feast of
Saints Philip and James, he legally recognized the Contemplative
Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth as an Association of the Christian
Faithful.
On December 20, 1998, now Bishop Nicola [of the Diocese of Melo
(Uruguay) from 1996-1998] was appointed by the Holy Father
A young people celebrate in St. John Paul II chapel
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as Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Montevideo
(Uruguay). Once again, the Lord surprised all with His plans and
called the members to a renewed and greater fidelity to the charism
received as a gift from the Holy Spirit to the Fraternity.
3. Identity
The Lord asks all to pray without ceasing (Lk. 18:1). The Nazarenes
seek concrete ways of fulfilling this evangelical mandate in the
world today, in a culture dominated by activity. They want to
live contemplation as the summit of prayer and action. Through
contemplation in action, they want to achieve union with God not
only in action, but through action itself, following the guidelines of
St. John Paul II (see Redemptoris Missio, 90), aware that this same
contemplation, transforms human action into a sacrament of union
with God, an extension of divine action in the world.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus says: “My Father works always and I also
work” (5:17). Through contemplation in action, the Nazarenes,
want to immerse themselves in the Mystery of the human activity
of Jesus who, while being one with the Father, lived in history, and
through His action attained the fullness of union with the Father.
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They want to be “disciples” of this living Jesus here and now. His
presence is decisive for their personal and social life, in the concrete
context of the Church which is His Body, of which He is the Head.
When the Nazarenes speak of contemplation, they mean Jesus’
experience of union with God – anticipating in Nazareth together
with Mary and Joseph – the way of living in history as New Men
and New Women. Because their movement is characterized by
interplay of the three walks of life in the Church – lay, consecrated
and sacerdotal – their unity is based on complementarity and
subsidiarity. Their work and their activities are characterized by the
pluriform nature of the service rendered.
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
In the Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption in 1977,
Bishop Gottardi affirmed: “... What I can assure you is that this
contemplation in action which is the aspiration by which they want
to live their lives, is profoundly within Salesian Spirituality.” On July
18, 2016, the Fraternity was incorporated into the Salesian Family
as its 31st Official Group.
4. Present Situation
There are 52 Nazarenes with the “Perpetual Vow of Contemplation”,
29 Nazarenes with the “Temporal Vow”, 10 young Nazarenes with
the “Promise of Contemplation”, 25 young Nazarenes with the
Young Nazarenes during General Assembly IV of the Fraternity (2016)
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“Commitment to Contemplation” and 200 young people “On a
Journey”.
They are present in Uruguay (Montevideo, Melo-Cerro Largo and
Tacuarembó); Argentina (Buenos Aires); Italy (Colle Don Bosco,
Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Valfenera, Chieri, Buttigliera, Turin); the
Slovak Republic (Bratislava); and the Czech Republic (Prague).
Uruguay
The Contemplative Fraternity is made up of: consecrated women
who live in communities or in their own homes; couples and
young people who are actively engaged and who, together
with consecrated men and women and priests, are the triple
manifestation of the Fraternity, which is ‘one’ in its vocational and
charismatic identity.
There are three Nazarene priests, who are incardinated in the
archdiocese of Montevideo; an auxiliary Bishop with the Perpetual
Vow of Contemplation; and three young Nazarenes who are in the
inter-diocesan seminary of Montevideo. All these clergymen are
involved in the local Church and are active in different parishes and
diocesan organizations.
The appointment and consecration of Fr. Nicola Cotugno, SDB, as
Bishop of Melo (the capital of Cerro Largo, a city in the northeast
of Uruguay, and the residence of a consecrated Nazarene in that
The Founder with a group of animators
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city), marked the beginning of a new presence of the Fraternity. The
result of his brief stay of two years in Melo established a group of
four consecrated Nazarene women and two aspirants there today.
The presence of a Nazarene couple in Tacuarembó (a city in the
north of Uruguay) gave rise to the birth of the “Rincón Nazaren”
(Nazarene Corner). This is the seed ground of many young people
who had to migrate to the capital to continue their studies and who
joined the path of spiritual growth proposed by the Movement,
assuming as their own the charism of union with God in their daily
life.
Currently, together with other young people from Montevideo,
about 200 have joined the Fraternity, taking on the commitment,
the promise and the vow of contemplation.
Numerous groups of children, adolescents, young people and
new families are open to come to know and deepen the Nazarene
proposal. They are accompanied by Nazarenes (young people,
couples and adults) to walk along the path of this vocation.
Argentina
On December 28, 1991, a few Uruguayan Nazarenes, accompanied
by Fr. Cotugno, began the experience of the Fraternity in Argentina
at the request of Fr. Juan Cantini, SDB, the Salesian provincial in
Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. There, Nazarenes from
different areas hold meetings together with the aim of promoting
the contemplative dimension of the whole People of God. These
meetings are organized in such a way as to be open to all those who
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want to experience union with God in their daily lives. Currently, a
consecrated woman with the Perpetual Vow of Contemplation is
the coordinator.
Italy
Fr. Egidio Viganò, the then Rector Major, invited the Fraternity to be
present at Colle Don Bosco, the cradle of the Salesian charism, in
October 1989. Thus, on May 31, 1991, two consecrated Nazarene
women, accompanied by the Founder, arrived at Colle Don Bosco.
This invitation was decisive for the life of the Fraternity.
The presence of the Fraternity at Colle Don Bosco is certainly one
of the greatest graces that Mary Help of Christians, through Don
Bosco, has granted them which they have welcomed from the first
moment, imitating the docility and surrender of Mary of Nazareth.
From that seed sown by the first community of consecrated
Nazarenes in the land of Don Bosco, the reality today shows that
there are people in different walks of life and in some groups who
want to live their Christian life in a Nazarene way.
Currently there are 12 Nazarenes with the Perpetual Vow
of Contemplation and 6 others with the Temporary Vow of
Contemplation. Together with lay people (couples and young
In Prayer to Mary, Virgin of ‘Trentatré’ (thirty-three)
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Nazarene Students, after a spiritual retreat
people) committed to the Movement, the Lord has given them a
consecrated woman who made her Perpetual Profession during IV
General Assembly of the Fraternity in August 2016.
Slovakia
In January 1993, the first meeting was held in response to the
interest expressed by a Salesian priest, Fr. Ladislav Tóth.
Other meetings were then organized by the consecrated Nazarene
women of Colle Don Bosco. Currently the presence consists of two
consecrated women with the Perpetual Vow of Contemplation and
a group of lay people committed to the Vow of Contemplation.
Czech Republic
As a consequence of the birth of the Fraternity in Slovakia, and
with the mediation of a Salesian Priest from Prague, an aspirant
to the Consecrated Life joined in the Czech capital. After three
years of formation, in August 1998, the first profession of the
Gospel counsels of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience and the vow of
Contemplation were made in Montevideo, Uruguay, on the occasion
of the First General Assembly of the Movement.
Later, a few lay people (couples, young people and others) joined
her in search of the contemplative dimension of Christian life. At
present, there are two consecrated Nazarene women, a couple with
the Perpetual Vow of Contemplation and a group of 8 lay people
committed to the vow of contemplation.
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5. Challenges for the Future
ƒƒ To strengthen the pastoral work for vocations by growing
in fidelity to the charism received.
ƒƒ On July 18, 2016, they received the gift of recognition as an
official Group of the Salesian Family. For them, it is a grace
and at the same time a challenge: to make the identity of
the Fraternity and the contemplative dimension of Don
Bosco perceptible.
ƒƒ To concretize the invitation of the Rector Major: “To make a
valid and original contribution to the Salesian Family, enriching
it with their own charism of contemplation in action, in the
spirit of Don Bosco and in fidelity to the Founder.”
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1. Founder and Origin
On July 1, 1957, Bishop Antonio Campelo de Aragão, SDB, gathered
a group of young missionaries and founded the Association of
Messengers of Santa Maria, in Petrolina-PE, Brazil.
The bishop, besides assuming the pastoral care of the diocese
entrusted to him, assumed also the formation of his spiritual
daughters. He was zealous, precise in his interventions, attentive
to all the needs. He knew how to guide, correct, motivate, animate
and educate with love. In a particular way, he carefully guided those
responsible for the direction and formation of future religious. He
appointed Sr. Iria Maciel as the first Mother General.
2. History from the Foundation to the Present
The new Association, although born from a good seed, encountered
serious difficulties in its development. In particular, in delineating
its identity following the Founder’s directives, a group of members,
supported by the Mother General, allowed themselves to be
strongly influenced by ideas that interpreted the principles and
statements of the Second Vatican Council differently.
Faced with this situation, Bishop Campelo respectfully withdrew,
leaving the Association free to go its own way. The group consisted
of one hundred and fifteen Sisters, fifty aspirants and a large
number of novices.
Motherhouse at the time of Foundation, Petrolina
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Not satisfied with the
situation, half of the
group got separated
from the original
group and asked
Bishop Campelo to
found a new Institute.
As a man of strong
faith, unshakable
hope and ardent
charity, he accepted
Via Lucis in Camerun
the suffering. He did Inauguration of the academic year 2019, Petrolina
not allow himself to
be suppressed by the pain of an apparent failure.
He trusted in the action of the Spirit who is capable of “making all
things new” and of giving new vigour to discouraged and downcast
spirits (see Is. 43:18-19).
Bishop Campelo re-read the events. Recognizing God’s call in so
many signs, on December 10, 1968, he founded the Institute of
the “Sisters Mediators of Peace” at the “Social Center Pius XI”, in
Petrolina-PE.
Servants (servas) and youth media group
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“Green thumb children” - kindergarten school, El Salvador
The new Institute was inspired to commit itself to the development of
solid piety and a profound interior life as indispensable elements for
personal sanctification and supernatural fruitfulness in the apostolate.
3. Identity
ƒ Diocesan Right Institute of Women Religious;
ƒ Promulgation of the Decree of Canonical Erection on July 5,
1993;
ƒ Charism: to be a mediating presence and builder of peace;
ƒ Spirituality: Centered on Jesus Christ the Mediator;
ƒ Mission: To work in the fields of education, health, social
assistance, catechesis and evangelization;
ƒ Motto: “I will do everything for the elect” (II Tim. 2:10);
ƒ Core Words: Holiness and apostolate; action and contemplation;
ƒ Patrons: Our Lady Mediatrix and Queen of Peace and Don
Bosco.
Mission to children – Amazzonia
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Affiliation to the Salesian Family
The Congregation was accepted as the 32nd Official Group of the
Salesian Family by Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major, on
February 17, 2019.
Rector Major’s meeting with the “Mediators of Peace” Family
4. Present Situation
Organization
As a faithful Son of Don Bosco, Bishop Campelo handed down to
the organization of the Congregation the Salesian Spirit.
ƒ The General Coordinator is the center of unity of the “Mediators
of Peace” Family. She is elected by the General Chapter for five
years, with four other Councilors, each exercising her specific
mission. She has the mission of coordinating, directing and
animating the Religious Life of the members.
ƒ Every local community also has a Coordinator who, in
communion with the General Administration, ensures the living
out of the Charism, Spirituality and Mission, in communion also
with the pastors and with the People of God.
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ƒ The stages of formation are well-defined: Aspirantate,
postulancy, novitiate, juniorate and perpetual profession.
ƒ Currently there are 71 Sisters in 14 communities in 9 dioceses.
The current Superior General is Sr. Lúcia Barbosa de Oliveira,
MP.
ƒ The “Mediators of Peace” Family is constituted thus: Mediators
of Peace Sisters, Mediator Youth (JUME) and Mediator Servants
of Peace. These groups live in communion with the Sisters,
living their charism and spirituality, and participating in their
mission, animated by the Gospel and the spirit of Don Bosco.
Mission
They live the Salesian Charism in the following areas and ways:
ƒ Evangelizing mission: among the poorest and in most difficult
places - in the Tugúrios;
ƒ Catechesis: for families, children, adolescents and young
people, in centers of social assistance, in education, in the
oratory and in the hospital;
ƒ Application of the Preventive System as an educational and
pastoral method;
ƒ Marian and Eucharistic Spirituality;
ƒ Cultivation of the three devotions: Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament; Mary Mother Mediatrix and Queen of Peace; and
the Pope, the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ; and
ƒ Missionary work: Especially among the poorest and in most
difficult parishes, attentive to the family as a whole, applying
Don Bosco’s Preventive System.
5. Challenges for the Future
At the 50th anniversary of the Institute, in the current social context
of family disintegration, relativism and consumerism, the Sisters
Mediators of Peace have realized that their mission is faced with
these challenges:
ƒ To deepen the spirituality and teachings that Fr. Campelo
handed down to them and that will lead them to renew with
deep joy their witness of Christ and of Community Life;
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ƒ To strengthen their areas of action and to continue the process
of qualifying the Sisters in order to reinvigorate the mission of
the Institute;
ƒ To take care of the formation of the formators and to
strengthen the service of vocational animation; and
ƒ To become more aware of the fact that the Lord “does everything
for His chosen ones”, and thus to entrust themselves to His
Grace and to His Presence.
Visit of Fr. Joan Lluís Playà , SDB. El Salvador (BA)
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General Information
on Groups

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Date of Founding
1. During Don Bosco’s life
1859 (December 18): Society of St. Francis de Sales (Turin, Italy)
1869 (April 18): Association of Mary Help of Christians (Turin, Italy)
1872 (August 5): Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Mornese, Italy)
1876 (May 9): Association of Salesian Cooperators (Turin, Italy)
2. Under the direct inspiration of Don Bosco
1870 (June 24): Past Pupils of Don Bosco (Turin, Italy)
1889 (June 29): Apostles of the Holy Family (Sicily, Italy)
1897 (September 2): Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel
(Miejsce Piastowe, Poland)
1897 (September 2): Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Michael the Archangel
(Miejsce Piastowe, Poland)
1905 (May 7): Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
(Agua di Dios, Colombia)
1908 (March 19): Past Pupils of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
(Turin, Italy)
1917 (May 20): Don Bosco Volunteers (Turin, Italy)
3. The Strong Missionary Spirit
1931 (May 30): Sisters Announcers of the Lord (Shaoguan, China)
1933 (December 8): Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart (Calabria, Italy)
1937 (August 15): Sisters of the Charity of Jesus (Miyazaki, Japan)
1937 (December 7): Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(Bangkok, Thailand)
1938 (December 8): Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent (Campo Grande, Brazil)
1942 (October 24): Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (Assam India)
1948 (December 12): Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians
(Krishnagar, India)
1954 (December 3): Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (Bangkok, Thailand)
1956 (December 25): Daughters of the Divine Savior (San Vicente, El Salvador)
4. In the last 60 years
1968 (May 13): Association of Salesian Dames (Caracas, Venezuela)
1968 (December 10): Sisters Mediators of Peace (Petrolina, Brazil)
1973 (June 2): The Disciples (Chattisgarh, India)
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1976 May 13): Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix (Chennai, India)
1977 (September 15): Sisters of the Resurrection (San Pedro Carcha,
Guatemala)
1978 (February 2): Community of Canção Nova (Queluz-SP, Brazil)
1983 (May 31): Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (Shillong, India)
1983 (October 7): Community of the Mission of Don Bosco
(Bologna, Italy)
1984 (December 8): Witnesses of the Risen Lord (Rome, Italy)
1986 (December 8): Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth
(Montevideo, Uruguay)
1994 (September 12): Volunteers With Don Bosco (Rome, Italy)
2008 (April 5): Sisters of the Queenship of Mary
(Bangkok, Thailand)
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Founders and Where Founded
1. In Italy
Bologna
ƒ Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (Deacon Guido Pedroni, at age 25)
Mornese
ƒ Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (St. John Bosco, at
age 57; St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello, at age 35)
Messina
ƒ Apostles of the Holy Family (Cardinal Giuseppe Guarino, Cooperator, 62
years)
Pellaro (RC)
ƒ Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart (Bishop Giuseppe Cognata, 48 years).
Rome
ƒ Witnesses of the Risen Lord (Fr. Sabino Palumbieri, SDB, 50 years)
ƒ Volunteers With Don Bosco (Fr. Egidio Viganó, SDB, Rector Major, 74 years)
Turin
ƒ Society of St. Francis de Sales (St. John Bosco, priest from Turin, 44 years).
ƒ Association of Mary Help of Christians (St. John Bosco, 54 years).
ƒ Association of Salesian Cooperators (St. John Bosco, 61 years).
ƒ Confederation of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco (Mr. Carlo Gastini; Structure
with Statutes by Bl. Filippo Rinaldi, SDB, Prefect General, 52 years)
ƒ Confederation of the Past Pupils of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians (Bl. Filippo Rinaldi, SDB, Prefect General, 52 years)
ƒ Secular Institute of the Don Bosco Volunteers (Bl. Filippo Rinaldi, SDB,
Prefect General, 61 years)
2. In Poland
Miejsce Piastowe
ƒ Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel (Bl. Bronislaw Markiewicz, 55
years)
ƒ Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Michael the Archangel (Bl. Bronislaw
Markiewicz, 55 years and Ven. Anna Kaworek, 25 years)
3. In Latin America
Brazil
ƒ Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent (Bishop Vicente Priante, SDB, 55 years)
ƒ Sisters Mediators of Peace (Bishop Antonio Campelo Aragão, SDB, 50 years)
ƒ The Community of Canção Nova (Fr. Jonas Abib, 42 years)
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Colombia
ƒ Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Bl. Luigi Variara, SDB, 30 years)
El Salvador
ƒ Daughters of the Divine Savior (Bishop Pedro Arnoldo Aparicio, SDB, 48 years)
Guatemala
ƒ Sisters of the Resurrection (Fr. George Puthenpura, SDB, 36 years)
Uruguay
ƒ Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth (Bishop N. Cutugno, SDB, 51 years)
Venezuela
ƒ Association of Salesian Dames (Fr. Miguel González, SDB, 41 years)
4. In India
Assam
ƒ Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (Ven. Bishop Stefano Ferrando,
SDB, 47 years)
Chattisgarh
ƒ The Disciples (Fr. Joe D’Souza, SDB, 32 years)
Chennai
ƒ Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix (Fr. Muthamthotil Antony, SDB, 51 years)
Krishnagar
ƒ Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians (Bishop Luis La
Ravoire Morrow, SDB, 56 years)
Shillong
ƒ Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (Archbishop Hubert D’Rosario, SDB, 65 years)
5. In East Asia
China
ƒ Sisters Announcers of the Lord (St. Luigi Versiglia, SDB, Bishop, given its form
by Bishop Ignazio Canazei, 48 years)
Japan
ƒ Sisters of the Charity of Jesus (Fr. Antonio Cavoli, SDB, 49 years)
Thailand
ƒ Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Bishop Gaetano Pasotti,
SDB, Apostolic Prefect, 47 years)
ƒ Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB, 52 years)
ƒ Sisters of the Queenship of Mary (Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB, 52 years)
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Principal Patron
1. Our Lord, Jesus Christ
1. Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
2. Sisters Announcers of the Lord
3. Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart
4. Sisters of the Charity of Jesus
5. Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent
6. Daughters of the Divine Savior
7. Disciples
8. Sisters of the Resurrection
9. Witnesses of the Risen Lord
2. Mary, Our Blessed Mother
1. Association of Mary Help of Christians
2. Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
3. Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
4. Past Pupils of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
5. Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
6. Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians
7. Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians
8. Daughters of the Queenship of Mary
9. Sisters of the Queenship of Mary
10. Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix
11. Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth
12. Sisters Mediators of Peace (Our Lady Mediatrix and Queen of Peace)
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3. The Holy Family
1. Apostles of the Holy Family
4. Saint Michael the Archangel
1. Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Michael the Archangel
2. Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel
5. Saint Francis de Sales
1. Salesians of Don Bosco
2. Salesian Cooperators
3. Association of Salesian Dames
6. Saint John Bosco
1. Past Pupils of Don Bosco
2. Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers
3. Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco
4. Community of the Mission of Don Bosco
5. Volunteers With Don Bosco
7. Other
1. Community of Canção Nova
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Canonical Classification
1. Pontifical Right Institutes of Men Religious
1. Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Italy
2. Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (CSMA), Poland
2. Pontifical Right Institutes of Women Religious
1. Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), Italy
2. Congregation of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel
(CSSMA), Poland
3. Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (HHSSCC),
Colombia
4. Apostles of the Holy Family (ASF), Italy
5. Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SOSC), Italy
6. Sisters of the Charity of Jesus (SCG), Japan
7. Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), India
8. Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians (SMI), India
9. Daughters of the Divine Savior (HDS), El Salvador
10. Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix (SMA), India
3. Diocesan Right Institutes of Women Religious
1. Sisters Announcers of the Lord (SAL), China
2. Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SIHM), Thailand
3. Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent (IJA), Brazil
4. Sisters Mediators of Peace (MP), Brazil
5. Sisters of the Resurrection (HR), Guatemala
6. Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB), India
7. Sisters of the Queenship of Mary (SQM), Thailand
4. Pontifical Right Secular Institute of Women
1. Don Bosco Volunteers (BDV), Italy
5. Diocesan Right Secular Institutes
1. Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (DQM), Thailand
2. Disciples (DISC), India
6. Public Associations of the Lay Faithful
1. Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), Italy
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2. Association of Salesian Cooperators (ASSCC), Italy
3. Volunteers With Don Bosco (CDB), Italy
4. Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth (FCMN), Uruguay
7. Spiritual Movements and Private Associations of the Lay Faithful
1. Association of Salesian Dames (ADS), Venezuela
2. Community of Canção Nova (CN), Brazil
3. Witnesses of the Risen Lord (TR), Italy
4. Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (CMB), Italy
8. Interreligious Associations of Laity
1. World Confederation of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco (EXA-DB), Italy
2. World Confederation of the Past Pupils of the FMA (EXA-FMA),
Italy
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Membership Data (as of January 1, 2020)
1. Salesians of Don Bosco
14,601
2. Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
11,791
3. Association of Salesian Cooperators
27,035
4. Association of Mary Help of Christians
100,000
5. World Confederation of Past Pupils of Don Bosco
50,000
6. World Confederation of Past Pupils of the FMA
35,973
7. Don Bosco Volunteers
1,141
8. Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
308
9. Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart
262
10. Apostles of the Holy Family
54
11. Sisters of the Charity of Jesus
935
12. Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians
1,244
13. Daughters of the Divine Savior
170
14. Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
91
15. Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent
19
16. Association of Salesian Dames
3,153
17. Volunteers With Don Bosco
82
18. Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians
665
19. Daughters of the Queenship of Mary
40
20. Witnesses of the Risen Lord
500
21. Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel
330
22. Sisters of the Resurrection
59
23. Sisters Announcers of the Lord
19
24. Disciples
415
25. Community of Canção Nova
1,340
26. Congregation of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel
256
27. Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix
124
28. Community of the Mission of Don Bosco
400
29. Sisters of the Queenship of Mary
24
30. Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco
142
31. Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth
118
32. Sisters Mediators of Peace
71
TOTAL
251,362
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Overall Information on the Individual Groups
1. The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB)
Founder
Date and place of Foundation
Generalate Address
Web Page
St. John Bosco
December 18, 1859, Turin, Italy
42, Via Marsala, 00185
Roma, Italy
Tel: (+39) 06-656121
www.sdb.org
2. The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)
Founder
Co-foundress
Date and place of Foundation
Affiliation to Salesian Family
Generalate Address
Web Page
St. John Bosco
St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello
August 5, 1872, Mornese, Italy
FMA Constitutions, Art. 3.
Istituto Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice
Via dell’Ateneo Salesiano, 81
00139 ROMA - Italia
Tel.: (+39) 06-87.27.41
Fax.: (+39) 06-87.13.23.06
E-mail: fmasegreteria cgfma.org
www.cgfmanet.org
3. The Association of Salesian Cooperators (ASSCC)
Founder
St. John Bosco
Date and Place of Foundation
May 9, 1876, Turin, Italy
Central Office
Associazione Salesiani Cooperatori
Via Marghera, 59 - 00185 Roma, Italia
E-mail: segreteria@asscc-mondiale.org
Web Page
www.asscc-mondiale.org
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4. The Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA)
Founder
St. John Bosco
Date and Place of Foundation
April 18, 1869, Turin, Italy
Office Address
ADMA Primaria
Via M. Ausiliatrice 32 - 10152 Torino, Italia
Tel. (+39) 011 5224216
E-mail: adma@admadonbosco.org
Web Page
www.admadonbosco.org
5. The World Confederation of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco (EXA-DB)
Founder (Origin)
Mr. Carlo Gastini
Organizer (Statutes)
Blessed Philip Rinaldi
Date and Place of Origin
June 24, 1870, Turin, Italy
Structure with Statutes
September 8, 1911, Turin, Italy
Affiliation to Salesian Family SDB Constitutions, Art. 5; Statutes, Art. 1
Confederal Office
Confederazione Mondiale Exallievi/e di D. Bosco
Via Tiburtina, 994 - 00156 ROMA RM Italia
E-mail: office@exallievi.org
secretariat.rome@exallievi.org
Web Page
www.exallievi.org
6. The World Confederation of the Past Pupils of the Daughters of
Mary Help of Christians (EXA-FMA)
Founder
Blessed Philip Rinaldi
Date and Place of Foundation
March 19, 1908, Turin, Italy
Affiliation to Salesian Family
October 29, 1988
Central Office Via Gregorio VII N.133, sc/B int. 4 - 00165 ROMA
Tel.: (+39) 06-635692 fax: (+39) 06-39375131
E-mail: segretariaconfederale@gmail.com
Web Page
www.exallievefma.org
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7. The Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers (BDV)
Founder
Blessed Philip Rinaldi
Date and Place of Foundation
May 20, 1917, Turin, Italy
Affiliation to Salesian Family
May 20, 1917
Central Office Address
Ist. Secolare Volontarie di Don Bosco
Via Aureliana, 53 - 00187 Roma, Italia
Tel. (+39) 06 4883946/45438633
Fax: (+39) 06 4870688
E-mail: segreteria@istitutovdb.it
Web Page
www.volontariedonbosco.org
8. The Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (HHSSCC)
Founder
Blessed Luigi Variara, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation May 7, 1905, Agua de Dios, Colombia
Affiliation to Salesian Family
December 23, 1981
Generalate Address Carrera 15, No 45-39 Santafe de Bogotà,
Colombia
Tel. (+57) 1 2457273
Email: hijascorazones1904@gmail.com
suoredonvariara@yahoo.it
9. The Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart (SOSC)
Founder
Bishop Giuseppe Cognata, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation December 8, 1933, Pellaro (RC), Italia
Affiliation to Salesian Family
December 29, 1983
Generalate Address
V.lo Ciaccia, 29 00019 - TIVOLI (RM)
Tel: (+39) 0774 330962
E-mail: sosc.segreteria@libero.it
Web Page
www.salesianesosc.org
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10. The Apostles of Holy Family (ASF)
Founder
Cardinal Giuseppe Guarino
Date and Place of Foundation
June 29, 1889, Messina, Italy
Affiliation to Salesian Family
December 18, 1984
Generalate Address
Istituto Leone XIII, Via Elenuccia n.15
98121 Messina
Tel. and Fax: (+39) 090 51174, 339 8251122
E-mail: casageneralizia@apostolesacrafamiglia.it
Web Page
www.apostolesacrafamiglia.it
11. The Sisters of the Charity of Jesus (SCG)
Founder
Date and Place of Foundation
Affiliation to Salesian Family
Generalate Address
Web Page
Fr. Antonio Cavoli, SDB
August 15, 1937, Miyazaki, Japan
January 31, 1986
Piazza Antonio Salviati 3
00152 Roma, Italia
Tel.: (+39) 06 5346238
E-mail: contact@caritadigesu.org
www.caritadigesu.com
12. The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC)
Founder
Ven. Stefano Ferrando, SDB, Bishop
Date and Place of Foundation October 24, 1942, Assam, India
Affiliation to Salesian Family
July 8, 1986
Generalate Address
MSMHC Generalate,
Little Flower Convent,
Hatigaon, Guwahati -781038,
Assam, India
Tel.: (+91) 0361 2263631
E-mail: msmhcghy06@gmail.com
Web Page
www.msmhc.org
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13. The Daughters of the Divine Savior (HDS)
Founder
Bishop Pedro Arnoldo Aparicio Quintanilla, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation December 25, 1956, El Salvador
Affiliation to Salesian Family
February 5, 1987
Generalate Address
Hijas del Divino Salvador,
Ant. Carr. Panamericana Nº 24 Bº San José
13011 Santo Domingo - Dep. S. Vicente,
El Salvador, Centro América
Tel.: (+503) 23330166 /2333 0424
Cell: (+503) 70233156
E-mail: hdssecretaria@gmail.com
Web Page
hijasdeldivinosalvador.org
Blog
hijasdeldivinosalvador.blogspot.com
Facebook
www.facebook.com/ hijasdeldivinosalvadorhds
Instagram
hds_aparicio1
Twitter
@del_ hijas
14. The Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SIHM)
Founder
Bishop Gaetano Pasotti, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
December 7, 1937, Bangkok,
Thailand
Affiliation to Salesian Family
February 28, 1987
Generalate Address
230/2 Phetchakasem Rd, Hua Hin,
Prachuabkirikhun,77110 Thailand
Tel.: (+66) 32532625; Fax: (+66) 32532737
E-mail: sistersihm@gmail.com
Web page
www.sihm.or.th
15. The Sisters of Jesus the Adolescent (IJA)
Founder
Bishop Vicente Bartolomeu Maria Priante, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
December 8, 1938,
Campo Grande, Brazil
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 1, 1989
Generalate Address
Istituto di Gesù Adolescente
Rua Antonio Maria Coelho, 1583 - Centro città
79002-221 - Campo Grande - MS - Brasile
E-mail: jesusadolescente@yahoo.com.br
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16. The Association of the Salesian Dames (ADS)
Founder
Fr. Miguel González, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation May 13, 1968, Caracas, Venezuela
Affiliation to Salesian Family
December 29, 1988
Generalate Address
Av. San Felipe Edif. Don Bosco 88,
La Castellana, Caracas, Venezuela.
Tel.: (+58) 212 2630960
E-mail: asistenteadsdi68@gmail.com
Web Page
adsmundo.org.ve
17. The Volunteers With Don Bosco (CDB)
Founder
Rev. Fr. Egidio Viganò, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation September 12, 1994, Rome, Italy
Affiliation to Salesian Family
May 24, 1998
Central Office
Segreteria Centrale
Via Marsala 42, 00185 Roma
E-mail: segreteria.centrale@volontaricdb.org
Web Page
www.volontaricdb.org
18. The Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians (SMI)
Founder
Bishop Louis La Ravoire Morrow, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation December 12, 1948, Krishnagar,
India
Affiliation to Salesian Family
June 10, 1992
Generalate Address
Sisters of Mary Immaculate
Mother House and Generalate
Krishnagar 741101
West Bengal, India
Cell: (+91) 9475843334
E-mail: smisecygen@gmail.com
Web Page
www.smiofbpmorrow.org
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19. The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (DQM)
Founder
Servant of God, Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
December 3, 1954, Bangkok,
Thailand
Affiliation to Salesian Family
July 12, 1996
Generalate Address
Daughters of Queenship of Mary (DQM)
247 Chan Rd 27 Sathorn, Bangkok 10120
Thailand
Tel.: (+66) 026749451-2
E-mail: tereat@gmail.com
Web Page
www.dqmi.org/www.c-dellatorre.org
20. The Witnesses of the Risen Lord (TR)
Founder
Fr. Sabino Maria Palumbieri, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
December 8, 1984, Rome, Italy
Affiliation to Salesian Family
March 25, 1999
Office Contacts
Tel. and Fax (+39) 06 45540104
E-mail: coordinatrice.tr@gmail.com
Web Page
www.testimonidelrisorto.org
www.vialucis.org
Periodical
Trnews
21. The Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (CSMA)
Founder
Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz
Date and Place of Foundation
September 2, 1897,
Miejsce Piastowe, Poland
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 24, 2000
Generalate Address Ul.Marszalka Jozefa Pilsudskiego 248/252
05-261 Marki, Polonia
Tel.: (+48) 22 7811490 - Fax: (+48) 22 7713456
E-mail: kuria@michalici.pl - dariuszwilk@poczta.fm
Web Page
www.michalici.pl
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22. The Sisters of the Resurrection (HR)
Founder
Fr. George Puthenpura, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation September 15, 1977, Guatemala
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 31, 2006
Generalate Address
Centro Talita Kumi,
San Pedro Carchá A.V. Guatemala
Tel.: (+502) 30753059
E-mail: caalcacao1973@gmail.com
23. The Sisters Announcers of the Lord (SAL)
Founder
St. Bishop Luigi Versiglia, SDB (made concrete by
Bishop Ignazio Canazei)
Date and Place of Foundation May 30, 1931, Shaoguan, China
Affiliation to Salesian Family
July 28, 2005
Generalate Address
1 Fa Po Street, Yau Yat Chuen,
Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Tel.: (+852) 69339055 - Fax: (+852) 27899354
E-mail: tnpstsang@yahoo.com.hk
24. The Disciples (DISC)
Founder
Rev. Fr. Joseph D’Souza SDB
Date and Place of Foundation June 2, 1973, Chattisgarh, India
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 21, 2009
Generalate Address (Sisters)
Shishya Niketan Shantipara P.O.
Kunkuri 496 225
Jashpur Dt., Chattisgarh.
Tel.: (+91) 9425575137
E-mail: dsouzajoesdb@gmail.com
Generalate Address (Brothers) Don Bosco Ashram, Raidanr, P.O-
Narayanpur 496 225 - Jashpur Dt., Chattisgarh.
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25. The Community of Canção Nova (CN)
Founder
fr. Jonas Abib
Date and Place of Foundation
February 2, 1978, Queluz-SP,
Brazil
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 21, 2009
Central Office
Comunidade Canção Nova
Av. João Paulo II, S/N – Alto da Bela Vista,
Cachoeira Paulista, SP, 12630-000
Tel.: (+55) 12 31862000 | Ext. 30153
E-mail: secretariageral@comunidadecn.com
Web Page
https://comunidade.cancaonova.com
26. The Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel (CSSMA)
Founder
Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz
Cofoundress
Ven. Madre Anna Kaworek
Date and Place of Foundation
September 2, 1897,
Miejsce Piastowe, Poland
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 22, 2009
Generalate Address
ul. Ks. Br. Markiewicza, 22
Miejsce Piastowe, Polonia
Tel.: (+48) 134338130 - Fax: (+48) 134338132
E-mail: m.generalna@michalitki.pl
Web Page
www.michalitki.pl
27. The Sisters of Maria Auxiliatrix (SMA)
Founder
Rev. Fr. Muthamthotil Antony, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
May 13, 1976, Chennai, India
Affiliation to Salesian Family
July 16, 2009
Generalate Address
SMA Generalate
No. 226, Thapalpetty, MMC Road
Chennai 600 060, Tamil Nadu, India
Tel.: (+91) 44 25556436, 9444694805
E-mail: smasuperiorgeneral@gmail.com
Web Page
www.smasistersmadhavaram.org
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28. The Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (CMB)
Founder
Deacon Guido Pedroni
Date and Place of Foundation October 7, 1983, Bologna, Italy
Affiliation to the Salesian Family
January 15, 2010
Central Office
Comunità della Missione di Don Bosco
c/o Istituto Salesiano
Via Jacopo della Quercia, 1 - 40128 Bologna, Italia
E-mail: presidente@associazionecmb.it
Web Page
www.associazionecmb.it
29. The Sisters of the Queenship of Mary (SQM)
Founder
Servant of God, Fr. Carlo Della Torre, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation April 5, 2008, Bangkok, Thailand
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 24, 2012
Generalate Address
Queen Maria’s Rome, 2/1
Soi Sathuoradut 34,
Bang Pongphang, Yan Nawa, Bangkok 10120
Tel.: (+66) 0942281
E-mail: nongdasqm@gmail.com
Web Page
http://www.sqmsister.org
30. The Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB)
Founder
Archbishop Hubert D’ Rosario SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
May 31, 1983, Shillong, India
Affiliation to Salesian Family
January 25, 2012
Generalate Address
Madonna Convent, Nongkseh,
Upper Shillong, 793005 Meghalaya, India
Tel.: (+91) 9485448733
E-mail: madonnavsdb@gmail.com
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31. The Contemplative Fraternity of Mary of Nazareth (FCMN)
Founder
Date and Place of Foundation
Affiliation to Salesian Family
Generalate Address
Archbishop Nicolás Cotugno, SDB
December 8, 1986, Montevideo,
Uruguay
July 18, 2016
Avda, 8 de octubre, 2835
12.400 Montevideo (Uruguay)
Tel.: (+598) 24807412
E-mail: tarrago1@adinet.com.uy
Secretary: margarev@hotmail.com
32. The Sisters Mediators of Peace (MP)
Founder
Bishop Antônio Campelo de Aragão, SDB
Date and Place of Foundation
December 10, 1968, Petrolina,
Brazil
Canonical Erection
July 5, 1993
Affiliation to Salesian Family
February 17, 2019
Generalate Address
Rua Edgar Chastinet, 01, Quadra I,
Bairro Santa Mônica, 40.342-100
Salvador-BA-Brasil
Tel. (+55) 071 33863216 - Fax: (+55) 33860168
Cell: (+55) 992976232
E-mail: ismep@ig.com.br - pazoliveira2012@hotmail.com
Web Page
www.impaz.org.br
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