Valladolid, Spain – 1971 – In a suburb characterised by urban precariousness and scarcity of resources, a story of faith, commitment and community began to take shape in the 1970s. This photograph is a graphic testimony to the beginnings of the Salesian presence in Pajarillos Altos, Valladolid. On 17 August 1971, three Salesians – Fr Aureliano Laguna, Fr Francisco Carrasco and Fr Francisco García – arrived in Valladolid with a clear mission: to found a Salesian community in the neighbourhood of Pajarillos Altos. The first contact with the parish priest of San Ignacio, in Pajarillos Bajos, was unsuccessful, but the following day a suitable space was found. Today, the building that appears in this image no longer exists, but a glass cross remains, bearing witness to the beginnings of the work. It is a discreet symbol, but one laden with memory.
