Salesian Heritage

“The approach to develop all facets of the students’ personality including the intellectal, emotional and spiritual, has remained the salient feature of Don Bosco educational institutions,” wrote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his message to the Salesian centenary souvenir, “Don Bosco India Centenary 1906 - 2006.”
Rightly do people identify and wonder at the first instance, the special charism of the Salesian; above all the great legacy left us by Don Bosco and the early Salesian.
Legacy that is Ours
Rev. Fr. Joaquim D’Souza writing about the arrival of Salesians to India remarked, “Unlike the glamour and glitter of fads, God’s work mostly begins as something small and seemingly insignificant, like the tiny mustard seed. But then it germinates, takes root, grows and becomes a mighty tree. Such was the case with that small band of five Salesian and one aspirant that landed in Bombay on 5th January a hundred years ago.”
He further added, “They knew neither the people nor the language. They were not schooled in the customs and traditions of their ultimate destination. They did not know what the future held. But in their hearts they had a dream – a dream told them by their father, Don Bosco, a dream which was theirs to realize in this land and amongst these peoples, especially the young and the poor.”
While this was the humble beginning of the Salesian work in India, in a recent conference to the Salesians in Chennai Fr. Joaquim said, “By the mere fact that the Salesians are invited to animate the various congregations in different parts of the country is a sign that the Salesian legacy is a rich legacy and it is paying results.” The legacy left behind by Don Bosco and early Salesians is considered to be the greatest treasure for Salesians and for the youth for whom every effort of theirs is directed.


“By the mere fact
that the salesians are invited
to animate the various congregations
in different parts of the country
is a sign that the Salesian legacy
is a rich legacy and it is paying results.”



Constituents of the Salesian Heritage
The legacy which was a design made known by the Lord to Don Bosco constituted a spiritual and apostolic experience lived initially at Valdocco; it grew and acquired further clarity through the years; it flourished in innumerable new places and flowed in the passage of time.
Quoting the Holy See’s document on relations between bishops and religious Fr. Egidio Vigano said, “…it speaks of an experience of the Spirit transmitted to disciples to be lived, safeguarded, deepened and constantly developed in harmony with the Body of Christ in constant development. This Founder’s heritage is manifested in the special style of sanctification and apostolate lived according to its particular tradition that allows its elements to be adequately visible and objectively distinguished.”
Thus this legacy constitutes the charism of the founder, Don Bosco, the Methodology he proposed after a lived experience and the many special promptings of the spirit and the Blessed Mother.
The unifying Force of Salesian Charism
The Salesian Family of Don Bosco is a charismatic reality; in other words, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, destined to grow and extend itself among the People of God. It has a determined and constant scope that transcends the changing circum-stances of time and place.
The congregation envisaged by the founder grew so big in to a great Salesian Family. Many groups formed part of the Salesian family with their specific differences but with a unifying force of Salesian charism.
The Salesians, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Co-operators, the Don Bosco Volunteers, the Past Pupils and various other groups with their own specific characterizations form part of the Salesian Family.
The unifying force of Don Bosco’s charism has indeed given rise to a spiritual family that is unique, variegated and possessing many branches; it constitutes a kind of atmosphere of spiritual serenity from which no one is excluded; it is open to all races, nationalities and pluralistic cultures; no continent is excluded.
Family Spirit – the Hallmark
One of the greatest gifts left by Don Bosco is family spirit. The constitution tells us that the Salesians, if they are faithful to the spirit of Don Bosco, establish within their communities that unmistakable style of relationship which is known as family spirit.
It is family spirit that unites us. The model for the Salesian family spirit is in the first place the life the oratory at Valdocco, where Don Bosco lived as a father among his boys and collaborators.
In those days the oratory was truly a family. Don Bosco ran the oratory as a large family and the boys really felt as if they had never left their homes. Peaceful joy, unmarred by worry, ruled the oratory and family spirit brightened its life.
System of Education
Pope John Paul II in his letter Juvenum Patris wrote, “Don Bosco realized his personal holiness through an educative commitment.” This system is based entirely on reason, religion and above all on loving-kindness.
His pastoral praxis and pedagogical style spring from this experience. Love and pastoral charity unifies and drives the Salesian to be in the Church sign and bearer of God’s love for the young.
Having such great legacy there is a lot of expectation from the Church and the youth. Not only understanding this legacy, but also living up to it is the greatest challenge posed to the followers of Don Bosco. The Salesian Family demands a commitment to convergent action in offering an appropriate and exacting accom-paniment to each young person following the same legacy.