Puertollano, Spain – 1960s – This photograph, preserved in the archives of the Salesians of Puertollano, shows a celebration in honor of Mary Help of Christians. It was presumably taken in May during the 1960s, at the estate known as El Bonal, on the outskirts of Puertollano. During those years, this rural enclave hosted a Salesian seminary with the permission of the diocese, established thanks to the generosity of the estate’s owner, Doña Concepción Narváez Ulloa, Marchioness Dowager of Álava and Viscountess Dowager of Casa Blanca, who granted the use of the property for the Salesians’ educational and vocational mission.

The Procession and the Monument

The scene captured in the photograph likely portrays the procession in honor of Mary Help of Christians, in which young aspirants took part together with the Salesian community. In the background, one can clearly recognize the distinctive monument to Mary Help of Christians, created by the Salesian sculptor Fr. Enrique Herencia. El Bonal marked the lives of generations of young people until the Salesians left the estate in the 1970s. However, the monument has remained standing, preserved through the respect and care of the local population, becoming a silent testimony to the Salesians’ presence in that place.