There was a stairway near the large market of Porta Palazzo where the young people sat to laugh, joke and have a snack. Don Bosco goes to meet them there. "Out there", where they normally meet and hang out. He does not lecture them; he simply offers his friendship.

Don Bosco possessed nothing, only his huge heart, which revealed itself in his unforgettable gaze: "What stood out most in Don Bosco was his gaze, sweet but penetrating, to the depths of the heart, which you could hardly resist staring at," an ancient student once said.

The poster is a page from the Gospel according to Don Bosco: “Jesus called forth a child, put him in their midst and said: 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'” (Mt 18, 1-5).

So, too, Don Bosco: he is all here, thus, with the same eyes and the same heart as Jesus.

He had a conviction about young people: "This portion is the most delicate and most precious of human society, on which the hopes of a happy future are based." It is his decisive choice: "You are the most important part of my day," "You are special, and you mean a lot to me," he would tell the young people he met. It is in this daily dynamic that the personality of young people is built, there the heart of the educational process that succeeds in forming "good Christians and upright citizens!"

His goal is simple and immense: "I want young people to be happy in time and in eternity."

In the poster, at the top of the staircase there is an open door. It is the door of the house of Don Bosco, the door of the church and the door of life. Today, young people often find only closed doors. Don Bosco wants the young to have open doors. Those of a future and a happy and responsible life, those of a mature and satisfying faith, those of joy, solidarity, open and free creativity.

This is why the Salesian Family exists.

The Strenna poster, designed by the artist Stefano Pachi, is currently being shipped to all ANSPhoto subscribers. The digital version, in six languages, is available on ANSFlickr and here.

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