Statistics of Salesian Congregation as of 12/31/25

Statistics of the Salesian Congregation as of December 31, 2025

Updated picture of the SDB presence in the world

(ANS – Rome – February 26, 2026) – The general secretariat of the Salesian Congregation, led by Fr. Guido Garino, has compiled statistical data on the the Congregation at the end of 2025. The information, based on data contained in the “Flash reports” provided by the 93 secretaries of the Salesian provinces and vice provinces around the world, collected through the portal portal.sdb.org, offers a detailed picture of the Salesian presence in the 138 countries where the Salesian Family operates.

The Congregation’s personnel

As of December 31, 2025, there were a total of 13,444 professed Salesians, to which 114 bishops were added, for a total of 13,558 sons of Don Bosco. They include 9,116 priests (67.81%), followed by clerics or seminarians (2,654; 19.74%), coadjutor brothers (1,276; 9.49%), novices (384; 2.86%), and permanent deacons (14; 0.10%).

The number of members fell slightly from 2024 (-96); deaths and departures (233 and 264, respectively) surpassed admissions (398 novices and 3 re-admissions).

Young vocations: a figure to reflect on

The data relating to the new generations deserves particular attention. The 384 novices at the end of 2025 represent the future of the Congregation. Of those who started during the year, only 18 left, while 4 novices from 2024 obtained an extension of their novitiate. The personnel in formation also includes 423 prenovices, 939 postnovices, 492 practical trainees, 757 theology students, and 373 university students.

During the year, 364 first professions, 209 perpetual vows, and 151 priestly ordinations were celebrated: tangible signs of a formation journey that continues to bear fruit, despite demographic challenges.

Salesian houses around the world

The total number of Salesian houses amounts to 1,850, of which 1,598 are canonically erected with a resident Salesian community and 119 are not canonically erected but have a Salesian presence. The rules on the composition of houses require at least 4 confreres with perpetual vows for canonically open houses and no fewer than 3 for those that are not canonically open.

The geography of the Salesian presence

The geographical distribution sees India in first place with 2,742 professed members, followed by Italy (1,704), Poland (755), Spain (725), and Brazil (566). These 5 countries together represent over 45% of the entire Congregation.

Methodological details and interpretation of numbers

The 2025 data also include some corrections to the 2024 Flash, due to the regularization of pending situations and the integration of documents received during the year. The complete data have been processed and collected divided by province, country, and Salesian region.

“These statistics are not just impersonal numbers and figures: they are indicators of the life and dynamism that the Congregation continues to experience 166 years after its foundation,” commented Fr. Garino. “These data represent and express, in the way that numbers can, all the various dimensions in which the Salesian presence has taken root in the world, becoming a traveling companion to countless people and tracing a path of light that, thanks to God, shows no sign of stopping.”