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.”
