Fr Attard will arrive on the evening of 14 May at Bandaranaike International Airport and will begin his programme at the Provincial House in Dungalpitiya. On 15 May  he will celebrate the Eucharist and meet the confreres and the Provincial Council, before sharing a cultural evening with the aspirants at Dankotuwa.

On 16 May the Rector Major will preside at the Jubilee Holy Mass in Negombo and meet young people and members of the Salesian Family, followed by a visit to the Postmovitiate in Ahungalla, underlining the importance of formation. On 17 May  he will travel to Northern Sri Lanka to address youth and the Salesian Family in Kilinochchi, visit the Aspirantate in Mankulam, and continue to Don Bosco Nochchiyagama.

The visit will conclude on 18 May with the celebration of Holy Mass in the newly built church at Nochchiyagama, visits to educational and technical centres, and the inauguration of a Jubilee Memorial in Negombo, before his departure in the early hours of 19 May.

Expressing the sentiments of the Vice-Province, the Provincial, Fr Roshan Miranda, said, “We are filled with profound joy as we prepare to welcome Fr Fabio Attard, the 11th Successor of Don Bosco, to our island. His presence among us is a sign of communion with the entire Congregation and a fatherly encouragement to our confreres and young people. We truly believe this will be a moment of grace for Sri Lanka — renewing our missionary zeal and strengthening our commitment to serve the young, especially the poorest, with the heart of Don Bosco.”

The Salesians have been in Sri Lanka since 1956 and are celebrating 80 years of presence in the country this year. There are around a hundred Salesians in the LKC, with an average age of under 40 – making it one of the youngest circumscriptions in the Congregation.

Through their 19 houses and the various apostolates carried out throughout the country, supported also by five other groups of the Salesian Family – the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), the Salesian Cooperators and the Past Pupils – they carry on Don Bosco’s mission in the island state, accompanying young people towards the fulfilment of their vocation.

{gallery}RMG – Lancio visita RM in LKC 2026{/gallery}