Salesian Congregation is a male Catholic order of priests, deacons and lay brothers founded by Saint John Bosco in 1857 in Turin and approved by Pope Pius IX in 1873. The name Salesian was given by Don Bosco in honor of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva. It is also known as Society of Saint Francis de Sales and Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB). It was created for the sanctification of its members and works of charity towards the young, especially the poor.
The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB; also known as the Salesian Society or Salesian Order; officially named the Society of St Francis de Sales) is a Catholic religious institute of the Latin Church, founded in the late nineteenth century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children during the Industrial Revolution.
The Salesians' charter describes the society's mission as "the Christian perfection of its associates obtained by the exercise of spiritual and corporal works of charity towards the young, especially the poor, and the education of boys to the priesthood".[1] The institute is named after Francis de Sales, an early-modern bishop from Geneva.
History[]
In 1845 Don John Bosco ("Don" being a traditional Italian honorific for priest) opened a night school for boys in Valdocco, now part of the municipality of Turin in Italy. In the following years, he opened several more schools, and in 1857 drew up a set of rules for his helpers, which became the Rule of the Society of St. Francis de Sales, which Pope Pius IX approved definitively in 1873. The Society grew rapidly, with houses established in France and Argentina within a year of the Society's formal recognition. Its official print organ, the Salesian Bulletin, was first published in 1877.
Over the next decade the Salesians expanded into Austria, Britain, Spain, and several countries in South America. The death of Don Bosco in 1888 did not slow the Society's growth. By 1911 the Salesians were established throughout the world, including Colombia, China, India, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela and the United States.
The Society continues to operate worldwide; in 2000, it counted more than 17,000 members in 2,711 houses.
Salesian Coat of Arms[]
The Salesian Coat of Arms was designed by Professor Boidi. It was published for the first time in a circular letter of Don Bosco on 8 December 1885. It consist of a shining star, the large anchor, and the heart on fire to symbolize the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The figure of St. Francis de Sales recalls the Patron of the Society. The small wood in the lower part refers to the Founder of the society; the high mountains signify the heights of perfection towards which members strive; the interwoven palm and laurel that enfold the shield on either side are emblematic of the prize reserved for a virtuous and sacrificial life. The motto Da mihi animas, caetera tolle meaning "Give me souls, Take away the rest" is featured at the bottom.
Logo of the society[]
The logo of the Salesians of Don Bosco is made up of two superimposed images: in the background a stylised “S” (Salesians) in white is formed within a sphere like a globe, marked to the right and left by two cuttings between the hills/dunes. The second image is in the centre of the globe bridging the “S” road. This is an arrow pointing upwards, resting on three perpendicular legs on top of which are three closed circles, making a stylised image of three people: the first of these in the middle and taller than the others is the point of the arrow, and the other two beside it appear as it were to be embraced by the central figure. The three stylised figures with the arrow pointing upwards can also be viewed as a simple dwelling with a sloping roof and with pillars holding it up (the bodies of the three people).
The logo contains elements from German and Brazilian provinces. It is designed with the central theme "Don Bosco and the Salesians walking with the young through the world."
Various elements of the new logo[]
- Don Bosco, the Salesian and young people: Three stylized figures represent St John Bosco reaching out to the young, and his call for Salesians to continue his work
- The Salesian charism and the preventive system: The road represents an educational journey for the youth, the house represents Bosco's Oratories of Reason, Religion and Kindness (three columns of house).
- The Salesian charism, relevant and worldwide: The background is a stylized heart that is also reminiscent of a globe.
- Color composition of the logo is:[1]
- Template:Color box - Foreground: Cyan 6%, magenta 100%, yellow 82%, black 0%.
- Template:Color box - Background: Magenta 22%, Yellow 44%
Relation to the traditional coat of arms[]
| Traditional Coat of Arms | Current Salesian logo | |
|---|---|---|
| Three Virtues (Faith, Hope, Kindness) | Star, Anchor, Inflamed Heart | Three circles |
| Patron of the Salesians | Image of St. Francis de Sales | Stylized 'S' |
| Founder of the Salesians | The wood (Bosco) | Central figure of three persons |
| Perfection and Aspiration | Mountains (height) | Road (journey) |
| Virtue and Sacrifice | Intertwined palm and laurel | Circular stylized heart / open arms of central figure |
| Salesian Motto | Ribbon containing Da Mihi Animas Caetera Tolle | Saint John Bosco with open arms |
Process of logo selection[]
The new logo is the result of combining two logos already established for years in some parts of the Congregation: the German logo and the Brazilian logo.
The idea of combining the two came out of suggestions from an enquiry about the new logo conducted throughout the Congregation and from contributions by the General Council.
The combination, besides profiting from the mutual enrichment of the elements, is intended to be an expression of communion and of intercultural dialogue.
The artistic work of combining the two was carried out by the designer Fabrizio Emigli, from the Litos Company, in Rome.
Organization[]
Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco (2014-present)
The Salesians of Don Bosco are headed by the Rector Major and the society's general council; each of the ninety-four geographical provinces is headed by a Provincial. These officers serve six-year terms; the Rector Major and the members of the general council are elected by the Chapter General, which meets every six years or upon the death of the Rector Major. Each local Salesian community is headed by a superior, called a Rector (or more commonly, "Director"), who is appointed to a three-year term and can be renewed for a second three-year term.
The current Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco is the Very Reverend Father Ángel Fernández Artime.
He has served the congregation as youth ministry delegate, director of the school at Ourense. He was a member of the provincial council of Leon, later serving as vice provincial, and then provincial from 2000 to 2006. In 2009, he was appointed Salesian provincial for southern Argentina, a post he held until his election as rector major. It was in this capacity that he came to know, and worked with, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis), the archbishop of Buenos Aires. Prior to his election as Rector Major, Artime was appointed in December 2013 as head of the new Seville province.[2]
Map showing the regional organization of the Salesians of Don Bosco, dotted with the location of the headquarters of Salesian provinces and vice-provinces.
Works[]
Salesian communities primarily operate shelters for homeless or at-risk youths; schools; technical, vocational, and language instruction centers for youths and adults; and boys' clubs and community centers. In some areas they run parish churches. Salesians are also active in publishing and other public communication activities, as well as mission work, especially in Asia (Siberia - in the Yakutsk area), Africa, and South America (Yanomami). The Salesian Bulletin is now published in fifty-two editions, in thirty languages.
In the 1990s Salesians launched new works in the area of tertiary education, and today have a network of over 58 colleges and universities. The official university of the Salesian Society is the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome.
Controversy and Child Sex Abuse[]
A number of schools and churches established under the Salesian order have been at the center of child sex abuse scandals, including Mary Help of Christians in Tampa, Florida.[3] Due to ongoing sexual assault law suits and settlements, several of the all boys boarding schools were closed [4].
Women's institute[]
The women's institute is known as the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco or, more officially, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA).
Visitationist sisters, members of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, are also sometimes called Salesian Sisters, in honor of one of their founders, Saint Francis de Sales. However, the two societies are not the same and their membership does not overlap.
Notable members[]
Lucas Van Looy, Bishop of Ghent
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- Cardinal Angelo Amato
- Bl. Alexandrina of Balazar, ASC
- Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
- Matilde Salem, ASC
- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
- St. Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco
- S.D. Carlo Braga
- Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero
- Cardinal Rosalio José Castillo Lara
- Sean Devereux
- Cardinal Raffaele Farina
- Ven. August Hlond
- Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga
- Javier de Nicoló
- Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo
- Cardinal Antonio María Javierre Ortas
- Massimo Palombella
- Bl. Michele Rua
- S.D. Vincenzo Savio
- Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez
- Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler
- Cardinal Štěpán Trochta
- Cardinal Ignacio Velasco
- Bl. Titus Zeman
- Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun
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See also[]
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- Don Bosco School
- List of Salesian schools
- Rector Major of the Salesians
- Croatian Salesian Province of Saint Don Bosco
- Salesian Pastoral Youth Service, a Maltese Salesian developmental team of religious and lay youth leaders
- Salesians in Hungary
- Salesians in the Philippines
- Sexual abuse scandal in the Salesian order
- Bartolome Blanco Marquez, martyr of the religious persecutions of the Spanish Civil War
- Giuseppe Moja
- Jan Tyranowski, mentor of the young Karol Wojtyla, later to be Pope John Paul II
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