After the first introductory performances featuring some very young people, the host, the Superior of the Italy-Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta (ICP) Circumscription, Fr Leonardo Mancini, welcomed everyone present. ‘My hope is that we welcome these SFSD 2026 as a renewed opportunity to grow in faith – understood as listening to God, in his Word, in young people and in history – and that our listening may constantly be transformed into free and joyful service, into the Gospel lived!’ began the Salesian.

Next, the two presenters, Roberto and Silvia, introduced Fr Joan Lluís Playà, Central Delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian Family, who, together with some introductory information, also delivered his message of greeting, noting first of all the richness of the past year: ‘How many events in recent months! The General Chapter of the Salesians, the election of Fr Fabio Attard, the farewell to Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV, the events of the Jubilee, the canonisation of Maria Troncatti, the 150th anniversary of the First Salesian Missionary Expedition…’

Then, looking ahead to the Days about to begin and to the episode of the Wedding at Cana, which inspired the motto of the Strenna, he added: ‘Let the contemplation of Mary and the gesture of Jesus awaken our deepest being, as it did for the disciples who “believed in Him”.’

After a moment of prayer and invocation of the presence of the Holy Spirit and Mary on these SFSDs, we got down to business with the screening of the Rector Major’s Strenna video. In the darkness of the theatre, hundreds of animators from various groups of the Salesian Family watched the audiovisual presentation attentively, gathering the first ideas and suggestions. But it did not take long before, as the central act of this first day, the Rector Major himself came to establish a frank and open dialogue with all those present and to clarify his Strenna message in detail.

In his explanatory address the Rector Major spoke about the genesis of this Strenna, a direct descendant of the previous one: in fact, if 2025 for the Salesian Family – together with that of the whole Church in its jubilee year – was marked by hope; and if Christian hope is not a feeling, ‘but a person, Jesus Christ’; then it was natural for Fr Attard to indicate the next step to be proposed to all Salesians and the Salesian Family: to trust that person, to believe in him, and ultimately, to seek and listen more to his voice and his will than to their own.

Hence, his methodological emphasis on bringing the insights of the Strenna to fruition: to make use not only of the video, but also of the text that has been prepared and distributed, and to take it up and revisit it several times during the year, courageously discussing the questions and proposals for action that conclude the four sections of the message.

For another hour and a quarter, Fr Attard remained available to answer questions that had been collected in advance on many topics: ‘What can we learn from the first Salesian missionaries? What can we do to improve our listening to God today? How should the Salesian Family respond to the challenges of the present? How can we ensure that pastoral and educational activities are not just human plans and projects, but the fruit of truly listening to God’s will? How are the lay and consecrated dimensions articulated today in the common Salesian mission?’

With his usual clarity and the effectiveness of his vivid words, the Rector Major urged everyone not to seek ready-made solutions to the challenges of the present, but to have the attitude of Mary at Cana, the same attitude that was at the basis of all Don Bosco’s pastoral action and which was also carried on by his missionaries. “What would Don Bosco do today? Are we looking at reality in the light of the Word? Or are we just looking on detachedly?” These are some of the provocative questions and answers left by Don Bosco’s 11th Successor, who concluded by renewing the invitation to always seek a constant relationship with God as the first and fundamental step in every action.

After the first session in the theatre, Mass was celebrated in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. In his homily, the Rector Major examined the Gospel of the day, about the cleansed leper (Mk 1:40-45), recalling that true healing comes from the courage to believe that God wants our good. Jesus, by touching the excluded man, overturns the logic of purity: he does not contaminate, but ‘contaminate’ themselves with compassion. Not only that: Fr Attard also observed how the experience of the healed leper is not a private one, because the Lord sends the leper back to the priest and the community; so too with grace, education and accompaniment, which lead to ecclesial and social integration.

In conclusion, Fr Attard urged the Salesian Family to live out the four steps – believing, touching, reintegrating and giving glory to God – feeling like purified lepers, simple instruments so that every young person can feel like a beloved child of the Church.

More photos from the day are available on ANSFlickr.