(ANS - Rome) - On the weekend of 25 and 26 October the Salesian Rector Major, Fr Fabio Attard, will visit the Salesian presence in Ciutadella, on the island of Menorca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain, belonging to the Spain’s Mary Help of Christians Province (SMX). This is an institutional meeting, the first in Spain since his appointment as Rector Major last March, and will take place within the framework of the closing ceremonies of the 125th anniversary of the Salesian work in Menorca.
(ANS – Rome) – On the evening of October 19, 2025, the Generalate of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) in Rome became the center of a profound and heartfelt thanksgiving celebration. This special event followed the canonization of St. Maria Troncatti, marking a moment of grace and gratitude for the Salesian Family, the Church, and the world. As the first FMA saint after the co-foundress St. Mary Mazzarello, St. Maria Troncatti stands as a powerful testament to the fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit’s gift, passed down through the charism of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.
(ANS – Rome) – On 20 October 2025, at 5:00 p.m., the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome hosted a solemn Mass of Thanksgiving for the gift of the canonisation of Saint Maria Troncatti, celebrated the previous day. The celebration brought together a large number of bishops, priests, Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), young people, and members of the Salesian Family from all over the world. Presided over by Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, former Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco and current Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, the Mass was attended by members of the past and present Salesian leadership, including the Rector Major Fr Fabio Attard and Rector Major Emeritus Fr Pascual Chávez.
(ANS - Rome) - The life of Saint Maria Troncatti, a woman from the mountains who became a missionary in the Amazon, speaks powerfully to our times. Her experience, despite her humble origins, offers concrete answers to the questions that permeate our era: how to live a meaningful life? How to exercise authentic leadership? How to build bridges in a fragmented society?
(ANS – Rome) – The Generalate of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) in Rome hosted the solemn opening of the celebrations for the canonisation of Sister Maria Troncatti, who will be the first saint of the Institute after its co-founder Mother Maria Domenica Mazzarello. The event marked an 'extraordinary' moment of preparation and a strong vocational call for the Institute and the entire Salesian Family.
(ANS - Rome) - On Wednesday, 22 October 2025, the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome will officially inaugurate its new academic year: an appointment of particular importance for the entire university community, an occasion for meeting, reflection and sharing the values that animate academic life. This year, the traditional ceremony will see an element of particular novelty: the new Grand Chancellor of the UPS, the Rector Major elected by the 29th General Chapter of the Congregation, Fr Fabio Attard, will proclaim the year officially open.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – In conversation with a Salesian influencer: Fr Eustace Siame(ANS - Rome) - ‘“Go and mend the nets.” Jesus called his first apostles while they were mending their fishing nets (cf. Mt 4:21-22). He asks the same of us today. Indeed, he asks us to weave other nets: networks of relationships, of love, of gratuitous sharing where friendship is profound and authentic; networks where we can mend what has been broken, heal from loneliness, not focus on the number of followers, but experience the greatness of infinite Love in every encounter.’ This was the appeal Pope Leo XIV made to Catholic influencers and digital missionaries last July for the Jubilee dedicated to them. Salesian Fr Eustace Siame is certainly one of them, and today he presents his apostolate to us.
EDITORIAL
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RMG – Don Bosco: “The Fascinating Saint”(ANS - Rome) - Don Bosco is perhaps the most amazing and fascinating saint, history has ever produced. The humble work which he began for the welfare of his poor and abandoned boys in Italy has produced astonishing results, and today there are nearly 14000 Salesians working in 138 countries, and there are more than 200,000 members belonging to the 32 groups of the worldwide Salesian Family sharing the charism of Don Bosco and reaching out to the needy young people.
EVENTS
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South Korea – Catechist Formation, From Theory to Practice: Symposium Held on “The Wise Use of the Guidelines for Catechist Formation”(ANS – Seoul) – A symposium titled “The Wise Use of the Guidelines for Catechist Formation” was successfully held on Saturday, 8 November, at the Salesian Provincial House in Shingil-dong, Seoul, to diagnose the current state and seek the future of catechetical education in the Korean Catholic Church.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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RMG – The feast that gave Birth to the Oratory and the Salesian Mission(ANS – Rome) – The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is like a “birthday” in Salesian history: it marks the beginning of Don Bosco’s Oratory, the foundation of the Congregation, and a permanent Marian key for Salesian spirituality and mission. All the successors of Don Bosco have repeatedly returned to 8 December to rediscover in it the style, hope, and maternal presence of our Immaculate mother that continues renewing the Salesian Family today.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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The Christmas Grotto, where Heaven Meets EarthTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Fabio Attard, SDB
The mystery of Christmas begins with a “scandal of love”: the Great One who makes Himself little. It's not a poetic image, but the most shocking reality in human history.
God, the Infinite, chooses to become finite; the Almighty chooses the fragility of a newborn baby who cannot yet speak, walk, or defend Himself. It is pure gratuitousness made manifest, a gift that seeks nothing in return, that imposes no conditions in order to gain access.