The Congress agenda promises a rich and varied programme which, building on the journey already undertaken, projects the Association into the future that awaits it. The journey undertaken was the heart and centre of the first day, but from Fr Attard’s address it soon became clear how the Association’s past, present and future are linked in a continuum that allows the Salesian Cooperators to be, even today, that leaven in society that Don Bosco had so strongly desired.
Just as a well-risen cake immediately creates a festive atmosphere around it, the hall is a hive of languages, laughter, hugs and greetings that remind everyone of the joy of being together as a Family. It matters little if it is the first time we have met; belonging to the same Family is made tangible in the glances, faces and smiles of those who share the same mission in so many parts of the world.
And so the celebration begins at once, a celebration that reaches right up to the stage with the procession of flags from every continent, giving a sense of just how great Don Bosco’s dream has become. Shortly afterwards, the joy turns to silence, becoming an attentive gaze, an ear pricked up to the words of Fr Attard, who invites everyone to recall their personal call to be part of the Salesian Family and outlines his reflection around three fundamental points: The Rector Major emphasises how the Salesian Cooperators were conceived, from the very beginning, to be leaven within the Church and society and how their existence must be understood within a single great community, united by the same goal of ‘saving young people’. This very ‘salvation of young people’ becomes the criterion of fruitfulness for this community, which becomes generative only if it is truly able to help young people to live and to hope.
- the original project that the Spirit inspired in Don Bosco;
- the essential traits of the figure of the Salesian Cooperator;
- the biblical image of the wedding at Cana as a lens through which to interpret the four verbs to look, to listen, to choose and to act as concrete attitudes of Salesian leaven called to be fruitful today.
This is where the importance of the Salesian Cooperator’s laity comes into play, as a Salesian who lives in the world and its daily reality. Today, Salesian leaven is called to work in a world where many young people have not received the Gospel message from their families, or in all those situations where there is a risk of being swallowed up by the emptiness of having everything. The Association is, therefore, a Salesian spirit lived out by lay people who live in the world and who participate in the charism by bringing their gifts with their gaze focused on the present, and the holiness of the lay Salesian is achieved through their action in the world: this is its Gospel dimension.
There are four verbs that enable Salesian Cooperators to be leaven:
The first is to look, to recognise where young people’s lives struggle to rise, where hope is fading, and to allow oneself to be moved by what one sees, as Mary did.
The second is to listen, to have the courage to embark on a journey of deep listening to God, to oneself, to other Cooperators and to the rest of the Salesian Family. Listening that does not immediately seek to speak, but which persists until one recognises the voice of the Spirit speaking through reality.
The third verb is to choose and concerns the priorities to which attention should be given in the mission, favouring not the quantity but the quality of presence.
Finally, to act, to work as hidden and fruitful leaven, always remembering that it is not the Salesian Cooperators who save young people, but Christ who works in their hearts. To work with humility, joy and serenity, free from the anxiety to perform.
It was precisely this way of working that characterised the afternoon round-table discussion, where, through the contributions of Noemi Bertola, Paolo Santoni, Roberto Lorenzini, Laura Gambassi and Angie Carolina Quintero, the Association’s journey in the footsteps of Don Bosco was retraced through the key moments that marked some of the defining events in its history, such as the drafting of the Apostolic Life Project and the change of name from Salesian Cooperators to Salesian Cooperators.
This is an opportunity to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the Association throughout the various years of service of the different guests. The key words emerging from the various contributions serve to reinforce Fr Attard’s remarks: communion, animation, formation, laity, life project.
In each of these contributions, the Association comes to life in history, within the context of the various realities, in the families that make it up and are touched by it, and in the relationships between Salesians that are established during their service.
The round table, however, is also an opportunity to ask young people what kind of Association they see and expect for the future, and in this sense the Rector Major’s invitation to Salesian Cooperators rings truer than ever: to be and to work free from nostalgia, so as not to be prisoners of fear; so as not to fear entering the new peripheries; to be small, because we are aware that fruitfulness comes from God; to accept being that small remnant which is a sign and bearer of God’s love for young people.
Daniela Pettinao
{gallery}SSCC – Congresso – Primo Giorno 2026{/gallery}
