155th Missionary Expedition Is 13 Days Away

The 155th Salesian Missionary Expedition Is 13 Days Away

(ANS – Rome – September 16, 2024) – Waiting is growing in the Salesian world for the renewal this year of an ancient rite, always rich in value, started by Don Bosco and never interrupted in the history of the Congregation: the sending of the Salesian Missionary Expedition. The 155th occasion is scheduled for September 29 and will be presided over by Fr. Stefano Martoglio, vicar of the Rector Major and leader of the Salesian Congregation until the election of the next Rector Major at the 29th General Chapter. The celebration will take place in the basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, starting at 12:30 p.m. (UTC+2).

The missionary dimension belongs to both the Congregation and the Salesian Family. It was observed that at Don Bosco’s death about a fifth of his spiritual children were engaged in Salesian missions in Latin America. From then on, the zeal to bring the Gospel and the charism of Don Bosco to all corners of the world thru an explicit word or through the witness of a life genuinely at the service of the neediest young people, has never stopped and has reached over 135 countries on 6 continents.

For the missionary fire to continue, however, there’s always a need for new standard bearers. And it is here that the evocative event of the missionary expedition takes place; for the Salesians who participate in it, it’s the final stage of several years of vocational and missionary discernment and the culmination of the 5 weeks of their preparatory program.

The 27 Salesians of the 155th SDB missionary expedition will receive the missionary cross, and with them also the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians from the 147th FMA missionary expedition and some lay volunteers from the Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (CMB), a private association of the faithful belonging to the Salesian Family.

Thinking of the many interested parties around the world who won’t be able to be physically present, the live broadcast of the Mass has been scheduled, accessible to all on the ANS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ANSchannel  

“We join in prayer for this sign of fruitfulness and availability at the service of the Church for the good of so many young people around the world!” says the Congregation’s Mission Department.