Bolivia – Assembly of the Salesians of Don Bosco 2025 with the online participation of the General Councillor for the Missions, Fr Jorge Crisafulli
Cochabamba, Bolivia – December 2025 – The Salesians of Don Bosco from the Province of Bolivia gathered on December 26 and 27 at the Don Bosco Fátima Retreat House in Cochabamba to celebrate their traditional annual Assembly. The central theme was the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition to Argentina (11 November 1875), celebrated through three guiding verbs: thank, rethink, and relaunch. The assembly began with a prayer in which the service of the Salesian missionaries in Bolivia over the last almost 130 years was remembered with gratitude. In the afternoon, a rethinking of the Salesian mission in Bolivia was initiated with a presentation by Fr Roberto Tomichá, an expert in missiology. The participants pursued their theological-missionary reflection and carried out a community discernment. A documentary celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in La Paz was then presented. On Saturday 27, guided by the words of the General Councillor for Missions, Fr Jorge Crisafulli, connected via Zoom, the assembly experienced the third verb of the anniversary: relaunch. Fr Crisafulli recalled the importance of returning to the sources of Salesian spirituality, to Jesus of Nazareth, and to the outgoing community mission, sensitive to the new forms of youth poverty. During the morning, Fr Líder Justiniano, Provincial of BOL, officially presented the new obediences for 2026 and encouraged the communities to let themselves be enlightened by the words of Fr Crisafulli.