The meeting took place on Saturday 31 January at the St Francis de Sales institute in Maturana and marked the resumption of school and pastoral activities after the summer break, so the day had a ‘flavour of reunion’, as expressed in the official programme.

The celebrations began with a moment of gathering, games and spontaneous sharing in the courtyard, followed by the Eucharistic Celebration and, subsequently, concluded with music and youth entertainment. The theme that inspired the day was ‘A Flamboyant Story’, a phrase that will accompany the Salesian Province of Uruguay in all its activities throughout 2026, the year that marks a century and a half since the second missionary expedition sent by Don Bosco to Montevideo in 1876. In this sense, the missionary spirit was the great protagonist of this celebration, with those present invited to participate wearing the characteristic ‘remeras’, the T-shirts of their different ‘mission lands’, thus transforming the place into a great mosaic of colours, designs and phrases.

‘Don Bosco is alive and this is the source of all this joy,’ said Fr Francisco Lezama, Superior of the Province of Uruguay.

Don Bosco today

The central moment of the meeting came when the thousand people present, and many others who followed the meeting via live streaming, were invited to give thanks for the life of Don Bosco and his dream extended in Salesian Uruguay.

In an atmosphere of profound interiority, Fr Lezama insisted that ‘Don Bosco is more alive than ever.’ He emphasised that, although 31 January 1888 was a sad day in Turin, celebrating this date makes sense because it means recognising that the Salesian charism is still present wherever a young person needs a word of hope and encouragement. Fr Lezama assured that the Saint’s immortality does not lie only in his entry into Heaven, but in the present community: ‘We are Don Bosco today,’ he remarked, adding that the light that shone in the eyes of the Saint from Turin is still lit in every work, family and courtyard in Uruguay. Echoing the Gospel of Matthew, Fr Lezama recalled that Jesus does not ask us to ‘strive’ to be light, but declares that we already are. Quoting the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah, he linked this light to social and missionary action: ‘The light shines when we break the chains, when we go out to meet others, when we free the oppressed.’

With a symbolic and dynamic gesture, the Provincial invited those present to share where they felt they needed to let that light shine today and, microphone in hand, gave space to the testimonies of Salesian Cooperators, lay people and young people.

In turn, alluding to the beginning of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Salesians in Uruguay, Fr Lezama emphasised that they were not celebrating ‘ashes’ but a fire that had been handed down from generation to generation since 1876.

Concluding his speech, the Provincial asked the assembly to look at the full moon rising over the courtyard of the institute and explained that, just as the moon has no light of its own but reflects that of the sun, Salesians – and Christians in general – are only a reflection of the light of Jesus.

The celebration ended with a call for unity and hope, paving the way for a jubilee year that promises to keep the missionary spark alive throughout the country.

{gallery}URU – Festa di Don Bosco 2026{/gallery}