The entire community gathered around the Successor of Don Bosco: Salesians, parishioners, young people, families, and civil and military authorities filled the church, bearing witness to a bond that, for a century and a half, has continued to shape the educational and social face of Vallecrosia.
The Homily: “Jesus does not avoid difficult places”
In his homily, Fr Attard offered a profound reflection on the Gospel account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. He first recalled a significant detail: for a Jew, it was not customary to pass through Samaria, a land considered hostile. Yet Jesus deliberately chooses that road.
“Jesus does not avoid difficult places,” he emphasized. “He does not choose only comfortable roads or easy situations. He goes precisely where there are divisions, distrust, walls.” Even more surprising is His dialogue with a Samaritan woman, at a time when such public encounters were culturally unthinkable. Jesus presents Himself tired, thirsty, vulnerable. Not as a hero, but almost as a beggar: “Give me a drink.” From this flows the invitation not to flee complex situations, existential peripheries, personal and social fragilities.
“We are often tempted to avoid what is complicated. But the Gospel tells us that those places too must be inhabited. God wants to meet people there as well.”The gifts we receive — joy, serenity, faith — are not private property, but responsibilities to be shared. “Sometimes very little is needed,” he said. “A small bucket of water can change the world.”
The woman, initially distrustful, allows herself to be drawn into the dialogue. After encountering Jesus, she leaves her jar and runs back to the city. She becomes a witness. She does not proclaim absolute certainties, but shares an experience: “Come and see…” “In the end,” the Rector Major added, “we are all somewhat like the Samaritan woman: wounded, imperfect people, yet capable of encountering Jesus.”
From here came a direct appeal to educational responsibility: “All of us Salesians have a great responsibility: to take our relationship with Jesus and the Gospel seriously, because to the extent that we take it seriously, we truly understand Don Bosco.” Don Bosco, he explained, did nothing other than translate the Gospel into the concreteness of daily life, through reason, religion, and loving-kindness, creating environments of empathy, serenity, and welcome for young people. “My wish,” he concluded, “is that you may be places of joy and hope, and that young people may always remain loved through Salesian loving-kindness. Because love is the very essence of God.”
The Mayor’s Message: “The Town Hall is Open to Young People”
At the end of the celebration, Mayor Fabio Perri expressed the city’s emotion for these three days of celebration:“We will never be able to forget these three days.” Taking up the Rector Major’s invitation to translate words into concrete choices, the mayor addressed a direct message to young people: “It is not only the oratory that is open: starting today, our Town Hall is open to any young person who needs to turn to the institutions for support or help.”
Recalling a well-known expression of Pope Francis — “Politics is the highest and noblest form of charity” — the mayor reaffirmed that the administration’s commitment is service to the community, especially to the younger generations. “You have filled us with a strength and a joy that will lead us to put your words into action,” he said, addressing Fr Attard, concluding with good wishes to the community and to all women on March 8.
The Gratitude of the Salesian Family
The Provincial, Fr Roberto Colameo, highlighted the atmosphere of affection and participation that characterized the celebrations: “Vallecrosia loves Don Bosco, and the most eloquent sign of this we have seen in these days, seeing all of you active and engaged.”
He thanked the small yet significant local Salesian community — Fr Simone, Fr Mario, Fr Natale, and Fr Daniel — recalling that this was the first visit of the Rector Major to a work of the Province. “We Salesians, without young people and without the laity, are nothing,” he reiterated, also expressing gratitude to the authorities and to the Carabinieri for their closeness and solidarity.
An Anniversary That Becomes Commitment
The Eucharistic celebration thus sealed three days that united memory and future, gratitude and responsibility. Not a simple historical commemoration, but a renewed covenant between the city and the charism of Don Bosco. One hundred and fifty years after his arrival in Vallecrosia, the Salesian work continues to be a living presence: in the oratory, in the parish, in the school, in institutions, and in the heart of the community.
The visit of the 11th Successor of Don Bosco strengthened a bond that does not belong only to the past, but reaches into tomorrow: a shared commitment so that every young person may find open doors, credible adults, and the certainty of being loved. And so, as the celebrations come to a close, a new chapter opens: that of a community that once again chooses, together, to walk alongside young people with reason, faith, and loving-kindness.
{gallery}Messa Finale RM – Vallecrosia 8.3.26{/gallery}
