A Summer the War Can't Take Away

A Summer the War Can’t Take Away

(ANS – Lviv, Ukraine – August 28, 2026) – The war continues in Ukraine. And it continues to leave its mark on children’s lives too: in the disrupted nights, the air-raid sirens, the absences, and the fears they often learn to bear far too early. In this difficult context, however, the mission of the Salesian vice province in Ukraine also continues: to stand by young people, to educate, to accompany them, and to safeguard hope.

Once again this year, in fact, the Summer for Young People program was organized, alongside numerous summer activities promoted by the various Salesian communities. In this way, around 3,000 young people from various parts of Ukraine took part. For them, these were days of play, friendship, formation, prayer, and shared life.

It was, however, yet another summer spent in a country still at war.

When the sirens sounded, the courtyards would empty and youngsters and activity leaders would head down to the shelters together. And sometimes, even there, the singing, the games, and the activities continued.

Today, in Ukraine, a Salesian playground is also this: a place where a child can continue to feel like a child, a teenager can still dream, and a young adult can learn to give of themselves to others, even when a siren forces everyone to take shelter.

This is the heart of Don Bosco’s Preventive System: not to leave young people alone, but to be present in their lives, especially when things become more difficult.

This journey has also involved many young youth leaders. The School of Salesian Spirituality, lived out in the footsteps of Don Bosco, has helped them return to the roots of the charism and understand more deeply the meaning of their service. The Bosco Forum, with the motto: “Free to Serve,” was almost the natural culmination of this: young people who have received a warm welcome, friendship, and hope, and who now choose, in turn, to become a gift to other young people.

Behind all this there is also a large family that continues to walk alongside Ukraine. “Our gratitude goes to all the organizations, friends, and benefactors, and, in particular, to the Salesian foundations and mission offices in various countries, including Missioni Don Bosco of Turin and Don Bosco Mission Bonn, who share this mission with us,” write the Salesians of Ukraine. “Your help does not simply support activities. It enables thousands of children and youths to feel that, while their country is suffering, they’re not alone and they’re not forgotten.”

Every day, the war seeks to restrict their future. The Salesian mission, however, continues to open it up.

“With Don Bosco, we continue to believe in young people,” they conclude. “And together with them, we continue to believe in life.”

Some Ukrainian kids even had the chance
to visit Don Bosco's childhood home in Becchi.

A Journey of Faith and Fraternity in Patagonia

A Journey of Faith and Fraternity in Patagonia

Frs. Jorge Crisafulli and Gabriel Stawowy visit first Salesian missions

(ANS – Buenos Aires – August 27, 2026) – From August 8 to 16, the province of South Argentina (ARS) welcomed a significant visit focused on spiritual renewal and fraternity. As part of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Salesian missionaries in the country in 1875. This visit occurred within the context of the celebrations for Don Bosco Month. The province welcomed Fr. Jorge Crisafulli (general councilor for the missions, 4th from left), Fr. Gabriel Stawowy (treasurer general, 3d from right), and Bro. Gunter Mayer, SDB, (provincial treasurer and head of the Salesian Mission Office in Austria, 2d from left). At certain stages of the journey, they were also accompanied by the ARS provincial, Fr. Manuel Cayo, Fr. Pedro Narambuena, and young volunteers.

In the basilica of Mary Help of Christians
in Buenos Aires

This tour enabled the superiors to gain a better understanding of the vast distances, the history, the economic contexts, and the evidence of holiness that characterize Patagonia.

The visit began on Saturday, August 8, in Buenos Aires. In the morning, after arriving in the country, the visitors were welcomed at provincial headquarters and at the basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Almagro. Here, together with the provincial and the local community, they visited the historic buildings and the church, entrusting the restoration work on the Salesian heritage to Divine Providence and Our Lady Help of Christians. The day concluded with the celebration of the Eucharist before their flight to the south of the country.

At the Ceferino Museum

On the 9th, the delegation landed in Tierra del Fuego, before travelling on to the historic Casa Nostra Signora della Candelaria. Accompanied by the local community and Mrs. Celina, a missionary volunteer who has served in Africa, they attended Mass at St. John Bosco Parish alongside the parish community and visited the historic buildings, with the support of local young people who assisted with translations into English.

August 10 was devoted to the community and productive life of the Salesian mission. They visited the sections dedicated to sheep shearing, dairy production, greenhouses, and food processing, before gaining a deeper understanding of the social reality of Margen Sur. The visit to the historic chapel reaffirmed in everyone the profound missionary vocation that characterizes this southern house.

At the tomb of Bl. Laura Vicuna

On the 11th, they flew to the Cordillera, where an inspiring journey began in the footsteps of Fr. Milanesio and Blessed Laura Vicuña. In Junin de los Andes, they walked the Via Christi and visited the house where Blessed Laura lived.

On Wednesday the 12th they continued their journey towards the cultrum in San Ignacio, paying homage to the place where the remains of Ceferino Namuncurá rest and to the chapel dedicated to St. Ignatius, which houses the tomb of Fr. Antonio Mateos, a Salesian missionary among the Mapuche native people. In Zapala, they shared a warm, fraternal lunch amid heavy snowfall, with the confreres from Chos Malal also joining them for the gathering.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group arrived in Villa Regina. For Fr. Jorge Crisafulli, it was an emotional return to the place where, more than 3 decades ago, he began his priestly ministry. He presided over the Eucharist in the parish church, as part of the parish’s centennial celebrations, and met with numerous friends and young people. After Mass they shared a fraternal dinner filled with anecdotes and discussion about the life of the Congregation.

On Thursday morning, they continued on to the shrine of Ceferino Namuncurá in Chimpay for a time of prayer. In the afternoon, they arrived in Viedma, where they visited the cathedral, the tomb of Bishop Cagliero, the bishop’s residence, and the chapel of Mary Help of Christians at the Cagliero Museum. At the Don Bosco Church, they celebrated Mass together with Bishop Esteban Laxague, SDB, of Viedma, and more than 200 members of the 34th Battalion of the Argentine Don Bosco Explorers, marking Explorers’ Day in the land of St. Artemides Zatti.

On Friday the 14th, they set off on the “Historical Route,” visiting the church in Carmen de Patagones, the first permanent Salesian center in Patagonia, founded by Fr. José Fagnano and Bp. Cagliero in 1885. They then continued their journey to Fortin Mercedes, where they celebrated Mass in the shrine, visited the museum, and had lunch before setting off for Bahia Blanca.

On Saturday, August 15, the day in Bahia Blanca was marked by remembrance. They visited the local branch of the Salesian Historical Archive, admiring historical photographs, letters, glass plates depicting the Selk’nam people, and records from meteorological observatories. There were some moving moments, such as the discovery of documents relating to the families of Fr. Crisafulli and Bro. Gunter in old publications. They also visited Bahia Blanca Cathedral and the altar where the remains of Blessed Laura Vicuña rest.

Finally, on August 16, after a week of intense activities, fellowship, and prayer for the Patagonian region, the superiors returned to Rome, leaving the communities with a renewed missionary enthusiasm and their hearts filled with stories and hope.

Fr. Joseph Nguyen Installed as Western Province Superior

Fr. Joseph Nguyen Installed as Western Province Superior

Fr. Joe Nguyen takes the oath of Catholic faith

(ANS – San Francisco – August 27, 2026) – On August 24 in Bellflower, California, Fr. Joseph Thinh Nguyen was installed during Mass as the new provincial of the Salesian Province of St. Andrew the Apostle, based in San Francisco. Fr. Hugo Orozco, councilor for the Interamerica Region, presided over the ceremony. 

Fr. Hugo Orozco preaching

In his homily, Fr. Hugo invited the new provincial to embody Salesian fatherhood by drawing inspiration from Don Bosco, fostering a spirit of listening, synodality, and closeness to the most disadvantaged young people. He noted that Fr. Nguyen, having served as master of novices for 9 years, has a deep understanding of the Founder’s paternal qualities. The homily concluded with a word of thanks to Fr. Melchior Trinidad, the outgoing provincial after six years of service, and a prayer to Mary Help of Christians, to whom Don Bosco always entrusted his works.

Fr. Joe Nguyen with his parents and confreres

Second Phase of Emergency Response in Colombia Gets Underway

Second Phase of Emergency Response in Colombia Gets Underway

(ANS – Medellin, Colombia – August 26, 2026) – Following the severe earthquake a couple of weeks ago, the Salesians in Colombia are launching the 2d phase of their emergency response, focusing on the resumption of educational and pastoral activities, humanitarian support for families who have lost their homes, and the reconstruction of damaged Salesian facilities. During the 1st phase, over 58 tons of humanitarian aid were distributed, and support was provided for emergency accommodation as well as pastoral and psychological care. The 1st financial aid payments have already been sent to affected staff members, thanks to cooperation between Salesian organizations, private individuals, and friends of the Salesian Family in Colombia. The Salesian community in Colombia thanks the worldwide Salesian Family for its ongoing support. Efforts are now focused on ensuring the continuity of educational services and carrying out technical assessments and reconstruction work, while keeping hope alive among the affected communities.

Fr. Comini's "Dear Little Book"

Fr. Comini’s “Dear Little Book”

The Diary of Fr. Elijah Comini, Salesian martyr

(ANS – Rome – August 26, 2026) – To mark the beatification of Fr. Elijah Comini, scheduled for September 19, the text Caro librettino: Diario di don Elijah Comini, salesiano, martire di Monte Sole has been published, edited by Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator general.

In an unabridged version, as faithful as possible to the original manuscript, Fr. Elijah’s spiritual diary – which he affectionately called “my dear little book” – provides an intimate and safe space in which to express his thoughts, emotions, dreams, and concerns: the Diario (Diary) which Fr. Elijah kept faithfully from the end of 1927, when he was a 17-year-old Salesian, until July 1944, just before the chain of events that would lead to his martyrdom on the evening of October 1. In his “dear little book” – small even in size (13.5 x 5.5 cm) – he records daily events thru a rigorous examination of conscience that helps him to scrutinize his intentions and aims; to adjust them in constant conformity with the primacy of the Gospel; and, above all, to give thanks, pray, and formulate firm resolutions, to which he remained faithful.

Rereading the diary in the light of the final event in Fr. Elijah’s life – his martyrdom in the Monte Sole Massacre – takes on a very special significance. It’Hs the supreme culmination of a life constantly oriented toward virtue and love, the pinnacle of a journey of faith and fidelity, in which his fortitude enabled him to face the ordeal of the supreme witness of love for Christ and his brothers. The young Salesian with an open smile and a practical nature, who showed his love first and foremost by doing things for others, lived a world within that largely eluded his confreres and which is – once again – revealed by his diary. Above all, certain resolutions he formulated at particularly significant moments in his religious and priestly life bear witness to a clear awareness of the total self-giving that being a religious and a priest entails: he asks God for the gift of holiness and shows himself to be clear-sighted and steadfast in ratifying, thru a free act of commitment, the sacrifice of his life.

The diary brings to light his “heroic love for souls” and his total self-giving to God, expressed from his youth: “Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo,” as he noted as early as the age of 18. This helps us to understand his “pastoral charity” in the spirit of St. John Bosco, which drove him to remain among his people “until the very end” and which illuminated, beyond all uncertainty, “the 3-day period of suffering” (September 29 – October 1, 1944), culminating in his holding “the breviary tightly in his hands” and the loud recitation of the Litany of Loreto in his final moments.

As Fr. Pasquale Liberatore, SDB, then postulator general of the Salesian Congregation, wrote in the Preface to the edition of the diary edited by Fr. Rino Germani in 1994: “This diary will contribute to a more complete understanding of Fr. Elijah Comini thru his daily determination to strive for perfection in religious life, in accordance with the demands of his consecration to God and in the spirit of St. John Bosco’s joyful yet demanding spirituality. The value of the diary lies in a revelation. It reveals, thru language imbued with intimacy and confidence, the degree of familiarity attained in his dialog with the Lord. This revelation comes as a surprise because, outwardly, Fr. Elijah never let anything show. It is precisely this contrast – a somewhat austere demeanor and such an eloquent heart – that gives rise to an intriguing interplay of light and shadow in his holiness.”

The most brutal and largest massacre carried out by the Nazi SS in Europe during the 1939-1945 war took place around Monte Sole, in the areas of Marzabotto, Grizzana Morandi, and Monzuno, altho it is commonly known as the Marzabotto massacre. Between September 29 and October 5, 1944, 770 people were killed; however, the total number of victims at the hands of the Germans and Fascists, from the spring of 1944 until liberation, stood at 955, spread across 115 different localities within a vast area comprising the municipalities of Marzabotto, Grizzana, and Monzuno, as well as parts of neighboring territories. Of these, 216 were children, 316 were women, 142 were elderly people, 138 were recognized as partisans, and 5 were priests, whose “crime” in the eyes of the Germans was to have stood by the entire population of Monte Sole – thru prayer and material aid – during the tragic months of war and military occupation. Alongside Fr. Elijah Comini, a Salesian, and Father Martin Capelli, a Dehonian, 3 priests from the archdiocese of Bologna were also killed during those tragic days: Frs. Ubald Marchioni, Ferdinand Casagrande, and John Fornasini. Fr. Fornasini was killed on October 13, 1944, and beatified on September 26, 2021.

For further information, please write to: postulatore@sdb.org

Homily for the Feast of St. Louis IX

Homily for the Feast of
St. Louis IX[1]

Aug. 25, 2026
Collect
Abp. Shaw HS, Marrero, La.

Wexford Friary Window of St. Louis IX
By Andreas F. Borchert,
httpscommons.wikimedia.orgwindex.phpcurid=12783627

In the prayer of the Mass, we noted that St. Louis, king of France for about half of the 13th century, passed “from the cares of earthly rule to the glory of a heavenly realm.”  Then we prayed that we might come to God’s “eternal kingdom by fulfilling our duties on earth.”

Louis IX isn’t a saint because he was a king but because he brought his Christian faith into his family life and his public life.  He was a faithful husband and a good father to 11 children, 6 of whom lived to adulthood.  He was a man of prayer and supported the Church by completing Notre Dame Cathedral and building a personal chapel, one of the jewels of Gothic architecture, called the Sainte-Chapelle.  He promoted learning by initiating what would become one of France’s premier universities, the Sorbonne, and was a friend of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas while they were theology professors at the University of Paris.

More important is that St. Louis was a friend of the poor and sick, providing for their needs, doing what the prophet Isaiah spoke of in our 1st reading (58:6-11).  He reformed the laws and made sure that justice was carried out regardless of the high or low estate of those who came to court.  He made peace treaties with his neighbors in Spain and England.  His sense of justice was such that other European rulers sought him as a mediator, and he had cordial diplomatic arrangements even with the Mongol rulers of Central Asia.

St. Louis learned the qualities of virtue and good government from his saintly mother, Blanche of Castille.  Listen to your mothers’ good teachings, and always respect them.

St. Louis did well what all rulers are supposed to do:  provide for the well being of their people, maintain justice, keep the peace, and be mindful that God is our supreme ruler.  Religion is far more than praying and going to church (those are important); it’s also applying what we believe to our personal daily lives, or as the gospel today said (Matt 22:34-40), loving God and loving our neighbors.

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[1] St. Louis is the patron saint of the archdiocese of New Orleans. His day is a feast outside the city of N.O. and a solemnity within it.

Homily for 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 23, 2026
Matt 16: 13-20
Wynhoven Apts., Marrero, La.
St. Joseph, Gretna, La.
MHC, Harvey, La.

Jesus Gives Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven
(Tempio di Don Bosco, Colle Don Bosco)

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matt 16: 13).

On the last 3 Sundays, we’ve seen Jesus work wonders:  feeding a massive crowd with a few loaves and fish, walking on water, and expelling a demon.  If we had read the passages from Matthew’s Gospel that come between those episodes, we’d also have heard some of his teaching.

Today Jesus brings his disciples to the point where he’s been leading them, the crucial point of his earthly ministry.  He asks his disciples a fundamental question about his identity:  who do people think I am?

Drawing from current events and Israel’s messianic expectations, they offer some suggestions:  John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the old-time prophets, brought back to life by God’s plan.

That’s not really what Jesus wants to ask, however.  The fundamental question is, “Who do you say that I am?” (16:14).  You’ve followed me for months, you’ve heard my teaching, you’ve seen my miracles, you’ve gone out and preached and healed in my name, you’ve lived with me.  What does all that tell you about me?  What’s that all about?  Who am I, really?

We can imagine an awkward silence, some nervous looking around, some looking down at the ground.  You all remember moments like that in a classroom, right?

Finally, Simon Peter replies.  He sounds pretty sure of himself:  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:15).  Jesus affirms his answer, emphatically.

Jesus’ question is fundamental for us, too.  Who is Jesus in our lives?

If we answer, “He is the Christ,” i.e., the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, God’s agent of our salvation; if we answer, “He is the Son of God,” the Second Person of the Holy Trinity—what does that mean for us?  Does it really affect us?  Can we follow him haphazardly?  Can we belong to him for an hour on Sunday and then just mosey thru the rest of the week with him on the sidelines of our lives?  Does “he is the Christ, the Son of the living God” require a conversion of us?  What impact does our answer have on our lives—on how we act, how we speak, how we think?

Jesus’ response to Simon Peter also requires our attention.  He says he’ll build his Church on Peter, the rock of faith in him as the Messiah.  Jesus promises that the powers of sin and death shall not prevail against his Church; Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, to admit or to deny entry (16:18-19).  The Church belongs to Jesus Christ; but he entrusts it and its message of salvation to Peter.

That entrustment continues in the person of Peter’s successors, in the 266 men who have followed him up to and including Pope Leo XIV.  Christ has commissioned them to preach and preserve the Gospel of salvation, to combat the powers of error, of sin, of darkness, of death, and to dispense the mercy of God by which we sinners may be admitted to the kingdom of heaven.

The keys that Jesus gives to Peter may also be used to lock the gate.  Charged by Christ to determine what is authentic faith in him, Peter and his successors define true Christian faith and distinguish it from false teaching.  An example occurred last month when Pope Leo ruled that the Society of St. Pius X, which rejects the Second Vatican Council, is outside the faith of the Catholic Church, its leaders are excommunicated, and some of its sacraments are invalid.

On the positive side, you hear a beautiful expression of the gates of God’s mercy opening wide every time you go to confession.  In Jesus’ name, the priest gives you absolution:  “God the Father of mercies, thru the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; thru the ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  [That was a demo, not a sacramental celebration.]  There is Christ’s Church at work, effectively prevailing against “the gates of the netherworld,” the gates of death, when the Church expresses Peter’s faith, preached and preserved by the Holy Father.

New Rochelle Province Commissions 9 Lay Missioners

New Rochelle Province Commissions 9 Lay Missioners

Led by Fr. Dominic Tran, SDB, the Salesian New Rochelle Province commissioned 6 men and 3 women as Salesian Lay Missioners for service in 3 countries during the coming pastoral year. The commissioning took place during Evening Prayer on August 14, vigil of the solemnity of the Assumption, in the chapel of the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw, N.Y.

During the commissioning rite, each missionary was given a mission cross, and all were prayed over and blessed. Each read a short statement of purpose and signed a document of commitment.

The 9 SLMs come from the states of Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Dakota and the province of Ontario. Two of the volunteers are adults who’ve had careers; the younger adults range in age from 19 to 24. Six are college graduates.

Fr. Tran places a mission cross
over the head of Matthew Heidenreich

Four of the men will go to mission territory in Amazonian Ecuador, sanctified by the holy labors of St. Maria Troncatti, FMA (1883-1969), as well as by Fr. Thomas Brown, SDB (1939-1995), an American medical missionary. Brendan Moorehouse, Matthew Heidenreich, Richard Lytle, and Keaton McCollum will be the first SLMs missioned to that part of the Salesian world. The Ecuador Province has been sending its mission volunteers there for years.

Two women, Noelle Chmelik and Veronica D’Andrea, will serve at Hogar Sagrado Corazon, a girls orphanage in Montero, Bolivia. Dozens of SLMs have ministered there over the years, but none since 2020.

Veronica D'Andrea reads
her mission statement

Craig Duff and Ephraim Black are going to the Salesian school and mission center in Okinawa, Bolivia, another work served by a lot of SLMs, but not recently.

Joanne Maher will serve at the provincialate of the Salesian Sisters in San Antonio, Texas.

Brendan Moorehouse signs
his commitment document

Under the direction of program director Adam Rudin, the 9 SLMs went thru 3 weeks of orientation in Port Chester, New Rochelle, and Haverstraw, including mission inculturation, introduction to Don Bosco and the Salesian charism, safeguarding, service projects, a retreat, and a hike in Harriman State Park. Mr. Rudin was assisted by 3 SLM veterans, Fr. Craig Spence, SDB, Douglas Hindman, and Angel Nunez.

Along Pine Meadow Brook
in Harriman State Park

In the SLM program’s 50+ years, more than 425 volunteers have served in 35 countries, including the U.S., mostly in Salesian or Salesian Sisters’ works, always on behalf of the young and the poor.

About 25 Salesians participated in 2026’s commissioning liturgy, along with 7 returned SLMs and about 20 youths from 2 Salesian schools who were at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Haverstraw-Stony Point for a week-long service-retreat program.

Fr. Tran’s homily focused on God’s call to make Christ present, whether we do that in the missions or in our ordinary lives. The Virgin Mary models that for us; when she visited her relative Elizabeth, both Elizabeth and unborn John recognized the presence of Jesus immediately on Mary’s greeting her cousin, before she did a single thing.

Photos: https://linkit.shutterfly.com/FS9289

"Charity is patient; charity is kind"

“Charity is patient; charity is kind”

Fr. Fabio Attard unveils the theme of the 2027 Strenna

(ANS – Rome – August 19, 2026) – The rector major has officially unveiled the theme of the 2027 Strenna, offering the Salesian Family an in-depth reflection on the journey undertaken in recent years and on the prospects that lie ahead. The new theme, “Charity is patient; charity is kind – ‘Dedicated’ to the integral good of young people,” is rooted in St. Paul’s hymn to charity and in the pedagogical legacy of Don Bosco’s Preventive System. It invites every member of the Salesian Family to a renewed educational and pastoral commitment to young people, especially those most in need.

Three significant anniversaries

Presented at a time of great significance for the Salesian world, the 2027 Strenna forms part of the journey marked by the years from 1875–1877, a 3-year period rich in foundational events for Don Bosco, the Congregation, and the Salesian Family. Fr. Fabio Attard recalls the journey already undertaken with the 2025 Strenna, “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people,” dedicated to the first Salesian missionary expedition of 1875 and marked by the Church’s Jubilee, and with the 2026 Strenna, “Do whatever he tells you – Believers, free to serve,” focused on the foundation of the Salesian Cooperators and on Mary’s words at the wedding at Cana (John 2:5). To these 2 anniversaries is now added the 150th anniversary of the First Missionary Expedition of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, as well as the 150th anniversary of the writing, in 1877, of one of Don Bosco’s most important works: “The Preventive System in the Education of Youth.”

The choice of theme

The title of the 2027 Strenna draws directly on the words with which Don Bosco himself described the foundation of his educational method, quoting Saint Paul: “The practice of this system is entirely based on the words of St. Paul, who says: ‘Charity is patient and kind.... Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.’” The 2nd part of the title – the call to be “dedicated” to the integral good of young people – takes up an expression that Don Bosco himself used twice in his writings, emphasizing how the director and the educator must be “dedicated [the Italian is consacrato] entirely” to their pupils, ready to face any hardship for the sake of their civic, moral, and academic education.

The structure of the 2027 Strenna

In the light of these references, Fr. Attard has structured the 2027 Strenna in 2 parts. The 1st part offers an in-depth reading of the context of St. Paul’s hymn to charity, contained in chapter 13 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, presented as “the most excellent way” leading to conformity with Christ.

Originally written in response to the divisions and rivalries within the Corinthian community, St. Paul’s eulogy of charity becomes, for the Salesian Family, a criterion for gauging the authenticity of Christian life and pastoral charity toward young people. “We may speak all languages, know the mysteries of God, possess extraordinary faith and perform heroic deeds; but without love we are merely noise, and everything we do loses its deepest value.”

The 2nd part of the strenna reinterprets the 3 pillars of the Preventive System – reason, religion, and loving-kindness – in the light of current educational challenges.  In terms of reason, Fr. Attard proposes rediscovering the Preventive System as a “pedagogy of encounter,” which places at its center not programs or structures, but each individual young person, with his own story and potential, drawing on the experience of Valdocco and the importance of educational networks built together with young people, not merely for them. In terms of religion, the rector major invites us to recognize the “spiritual thirst” that dwells in young people’s hearts, in an age marked by hyper-connectivity, loneliness, and a lack of spaces for silence, emphasizing the importance of accompanying them in recognizing God’s voice in their own lives. Finally, in terms of loving-kindness, Fr. Attard proposes Jesus the Good Shepherd and the pilgrim on the road to Emmaus as a model, capable of walking alongside his disciples, listening to them, and shedding light on their experience – a style characterized by closeness, gentleness, and kindness, already evident in Valdocco and directed with particular care toward the poorest young people.

The Preventive System: our treasure

“Charism and competence go hand in hand for the integral good of young people,” writes Fr. Attard, recalling that the Preventive System is not merely a method, but the gift of a charism entrusted to the whole Salesian Family throughout the world, to be loved, understood, and safeguarded with humility and intelligence, avoiding all superficiality.

With the presentation of the 2027 Strenna, Fr. Attard invites all members of the Salesian Family to celebrate joyfully the 150th anniversary of the Preventive System in the education of young people, turning it into a precious and providential opportunity for a deeper understanding of the Salesian charism and for a renewed educational and pastoral commitment to young people.

Later on, the official poster for the 2027 Strenna will be presented to the whole Salesian Family, while the full text will be available at the end of December 2026.

Fr. Attard’s presentation is already available in Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Polish.

Salesians in Nigeria Finish Construction of New Residence

Salesians in Nigeria Finish Construction of New Residence
Project was funded by U.S. donors

(ANS – Ogidi, Nigeria – August 18, 2026) – The Salesians in Nigeria were able to complete construction of a residence and perimeter fence in Ogidi, Anambra state of Nigeria, thanks to donor funds from Salesian Missions in New Rochelle.

The project was completed in order to foster the Salesian mission and promote the holistic education of youth. The direct beneficiaries of the project are the 150 Salesians and close to 300 students who attend the Salesian institute, 300 youths who will use the facilities for the youth program, and 30 staff of the institute.

A Salesian explained, “The residence is now fully operational and provides a conducive environment for Salesian religious life, pastoral outreach, and youth education. Its completion significantly enhances the capacity of the Salesians to serve the young people of Ogidi with renewed dedication and stability.”

Ogidi is located in the southeast region of Nigeria, an area that has been experiencing persistent security tensions due to ongoing agitation by groups advocating for regional autonomy. This situation has at times created an unstable environment in the region.

Fr. Chris Ansu said: “We were truly encouraged when construction of the vocational training center began in Ogidi. At the same time, however, we faced a concern, wondering how to maintain this when there was no local residence for the Salesians. This project has come at exactly the right moment. We are deeply grateful that by the time the school resumes, the Salesians will already be living in the residence.”

Fr. Ansu added: “Our physical presence and visibility among the people of Ogidi allow us to support them in their daily lives. Establishing our presence in Ogidi will reduce idleness among youths who currently have nothing concrete to engage their time. In turn, this will contribute to a reduction in crime and create a safer, more hopeful environment for the entire community.”

About 64% of households in Nigeria consider themselves to be poor while 32% of households say their economic situation had worsened over a period of one year, according to UNICEF. Poverty still remains one of the most critical challenges facing the country, and population growth rates have meant a steady increase in the number of people living in conditions of poverty.

Two Salesians Make First Religious Profession

Two Salesians Make First Religious Profession

Bro. Tim Hughes (left) and Bro. Franky Chazhikattu (right)
with Fr. Dominic Tran

Bros. Francis Chazhikattu, SDB, and Timothy Hughes, SDB, made their first professions as Salesians of Don Bosco on August 15, 2026, at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Haverstraw, N.Y.

Fr. Dominic Tran, SDB, provincial, presided at the Mass of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, received the brothers’ vows, and preached.

The parents of each of the newly professed assisted at their sons’ profession. So did about 40 of their Salesian confreres, more than a dozen FMAs, 9 men and women who had been commissioned the previous day as Salesian Lay Missioners, other members of the wider Salesian Family, and young people from Salesian parishes and schools.

Fr. Dominic opened his homily by noting that Mary’s Magnificat (in the day’s gospel reading) includes 15 statements, and God is the subject in 11 of them. Mary recognizes God as the actor in everything about salvation. He is the source of the blessing that she experiences. Similarly, by their profession Bros. Tim and Franky will praise God for what he does for the young thru Don Bosco under Mary’s influence.

Fr. Dominic also stressed the trust that following Jesus requires. Mary didn’t know what would follow her “yes” at the Annunciation. Nor do we know how God will lead us to our ultimate destination. It was so with Don Bosco too. His guiding dream at age nine didn’t include details, only the surety that Mary would be his teacher.

On their profession day, we pray that Bros. Tim and Franky will go forward with the same faith in Jesus that Don Bosco showed.

Early Formation of the Brothers

Bros. Francis and Timothy spent a year of novitiate under the tutelage of Fr. Joseph Nguyen, SDB, master of novices, and Bro. Thomas Dion, SDB, his assistant. There were 3 other novices in the class: two from Ireland and one from the San Francisco Salesian Province; they professed vows in their home provinces.

Before novitiate, both young men completed the Salesian prenovitiate program at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. As prenovices, they taught religious education at St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester, N.Y.; planned and ran youth retreats there; assisted in campus ministry at the Prep, and accompanied Don Bosco students on service programs.

Both young men were then admitted to the novitiate and moved across the country to Richmond, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area. As novices, the 5 classmates learned more about St. John Bosco, Salesian spirituality, community life, Salesian traditions and the Constitutions, and had the opportunity to practice being Salesian educators.

The novices assisted in campus ministry at Salesian College Prep and the Salesian Youth Club in Richmond, planned parish retreats, and served at 2 summer camps. They also took up roles for the San Francisco Province’s annual Salesian Youth Leadership Conference.

Following their religious profession, the 2 new Salesian brothers will become part of the Salesian formation community at Orange, N.J. As “clerical” brothers, they’ll study philosophy at Immaculate Conception Seminary-Seton Hall University in South Orange.

Bro. Timothy Patrick Hughes, SDB

Bro. Tim Hughes was born in 1998, in Mission Viejo, Calif. He is the youngest of the 4 children of Patrick Joseph and Regina Hughes, members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Carlsbad, Calif., in the San Diego Diocese.

Tim met the Salesians thru Fr. Steve DeMaio on a FOCUS mission trip to Lima, Peru. He felt an ease and kinship with the young priest, admiring his honesty, openness, and willingness to play games and hang out with the young people on the mission trip. Consequently, when Fr. Steve invited him to apply to the Salesian Lay Missioner program, he took it seriously because the invitation came personally from him.

During the SLM orientation in 2022, he met many Salesians from the New Rochelle Province. He and another young man then served at Casa Hogar del Nino Colimense in Colima, Mexico, in 2022-2023, experiencing the impact of Don Bosco’s mission to the young. He writes: “I came to have such a profound and arresting love for them, and at the end of the mission when they said goodbye to me, I was struck by their great love for me. It was being with those young people that made sense of one of Don Bosco’s great quotes: ‘For you I study, for you I work, for you I live, for you I am even prepared to give my life.’ Ultimately, I felt conquered by the overpowering love of God the Fr. and the love of those young people.”

For Novice Tim, the best parts of the year at Richmond were “living in community with my brother novices and experiencing the joy of fraternal life with them as well as accompanying the St. Anthony’s Youth Group [in Oakland] and seeing their growth and receiving their trust as young people.”

Bro. Tim hopes “to hit the ground running and truly discern how I can serve in the mission and encounter the young that God sends to us. I want to take seriously my Salesian identity and truly embrace this total self-gift that God is calling me to.”

In the longer term, he aspires to ministry in media. He states: “Prior to my discerning the Salesians, I was about to begin pursuing a career in acting. I already had extensive experience studying it, making film projects with friends, and performing onstage. After having read about the realm of communications within our mission as laid out in our Constitutions, it makes me see more the fertile ground there is here for evangelizing and educating young people within our provinces utilizing all forms of media and storytelling arts. I would be honored to utilize my gifts and the skills I’ve acquired in theater, film, and storytelling to help grow this key sector of our mission to the young for our province and the Congregation.”

Bro. Tim adds this coda to his story: “I am thankful to God for this vocation and that he has brought immense joy to my life. I hope that my simple living out of my Salesian life may be a testimony to the young that they may encounter Christ’s love and receive the joy He calls them to in their vocations. My advice to young people is, ‘Let God surprise you!’”

Bro. Francis Siri Chazhikattu, SDB

Bro. Franky Chazhikattu was born in Philadelphia on July 14, 2003. His parents are Siri and Reny Chazhikattu, and he has an older sister and 2 brothers. The Chazhikattus relocated to Brandon, Fla. (your humble blogger’s hometown[1]), just outside Tampa. There they belong to Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Forane Parish, part of the Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago. Before the Syro-Malabar parish had their own church, they worshiped and received religious education at Mary Help of Christians Center in Tampa.

At MHC, Fr. Steve Ryan was the first Salesian he got to know. “He showed me what it meant to be a true spiritual father. Despite directing a very busy place, he always prioritized the people he served, welcoming my family, learning our names, and making us feel at home.”

Fr. Steve encouraged Franky’s mother to enroll him at Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School, which eventually “brought me to the door” of vocational discernment. As he was growing up, he “was instilled with a strong sense of devotion—to hard work, to family, to those in need, and above all, to God.” He took part in a Salesian leadership retreat, where he “experienced God’s love in a new way and became more open to His call.” When Fr. Eddie Chincha invited him to serve at Mary Help’s summer camp, he accepted and discovered a new way of self-giving.

After Franky graduated from Cristo Rey Tampa, the Salesians continued accompanying him and inviting him into youth ministry. Thru the young people he encountered, “especially those on the peripheries, and a rambunctious yet wise Salesian community, I came to recognize Christ present in surprising yet very real ways, where others might not see Him in them.”

Thru all this, several specific Salesians “accompanied me at crucial moments, teaching me thru their example that even after leaving a place, I never left their thoughts and prayers, and ultimately they were the ones who ‘guided me to step thru the door’ of his vocation.” Franky recognizes “that God had quietly made the Salesians an integral part of my life long before I ever wanted to become one. Ultimately, I realized that God had been guiding and reshaping my entire journey to be ingrained in the Salesian charism, giving direction to that desire to devote myself to Him and leading me toward an ever-deepening and daily-renewing ‘yes’ to His call.” He came to see that he could serve the young generously as a professed Salesian himself.

The best part of Novice Franky’s novitiate year “was the many opportunities for personal formation. Thru the various classes, prayer life, examples of confreres and lay collaborators, and especially thru the young people who were a ‘burning bush,’ I was continually reminded of the need and way to grow. I came to recognize that almost every experience contained an opportunity for formation, one that I am glad to undergo, which continues to strengthen my desire continually to grow in my identity as a Salesian.”

As a postnovice in Orange, he aspires “to deepen the necessary knowledge, assimilate the Salesian charism and my vows, and become better prepared to serve Don Bosco’s mission in whatever reality I am sent. Ultimately, if I continue growing in my relationship with God and faithfully responding to His call, I trust that everything else will follow as I strive to live in the footsteps of Don Bosco and Christ the Good Shepherd.”

Bro. Franky is open to whatever mission God will call him to as a Salesian pastor-educator, ready to collaborate with lay people as well as his confreres. He looks for the prayers and other support of the many friends of Don Bosco.

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[1] See From the Eastern Front: Out of Brandon.