This story brings us to Ramona Matos, the lady who went to visit Don Bosco at the Oratory of Valdocco to ask if the Salesians could open a work for needy children in La Coruña. "If you really want the Salesians to come to La Coruña, bring Mary Help of Christians there first" was the reply of Don Bosco. On her return trip from Turin, the lady bought a statue of Mary Help of Christians.
On 1 May next, in the presence of the Rector Major, the Salesian House in La Coruña will commence the celebration of its centenary. "Don Bosco did not come here in person,” wrote Fr Mauricio Paniagua Lozano from the 'San Juan Bosco' House in the city, “but his spirit was present thanks to those who were fascinated by his life and his educational work on behalf of the ordinary classes and especially the most needy children and young people, and who pledged themselves to work for the arrival of the Salesians in La Coruña."
The Salesians have been present in the city since 1916 with Free High Schools and the Agricultural Schools in Lóngora and Bastiagueiro. Today the community carries on a long series of activities, part of an intense and fruitful Salesian work: a parish with more than 5,000 faithful, over 800 students in the school, oratories, a youth centre, a library and especially a service to the poor of the present time - migrants, mainly from Africa. This last is a response to the call of the Pope to open our hearts to our homeless brothers.
Soon we will celebrate one hundred years of pastoral service. Fr Paniagua Lozano concludes: "Don Bosco is present in La Coruña, in the hearts of thousands of friends and members of the various groups of the Salesian Family, beyond the buildings and structures that confirm his presence. One hundred years in La Coruña with and for young people."
