Rome (Italy). From 3 to 28 May 2025, twelve Daughters of Mary Help of Christians from the Province of Mary Help of Christians (VTN) – most of them for the first time in Italy – lived the experience of the Mornese Project in Vietnamese, organized by the Formation Sector of the FMA Institute with the objective of, “Reviving the beauty of our vocation at the sources of the Salesian charism, to be with Mary a presence that generates life today.”
For the participants, accompanied in the path by Sister Maria Vo Diem Trinh and Sister Maria Ta Thi Giang, it was a time of grace to return to the heart that is “the core of every human being, its most intimate center, it is not the core of the soul but of the whole person in their unique identity, which is of soul and body” (Dilexit nos 21).
In Rome, at the heart of the Church and the Institute, there is a stronger sense of belonging to the family of the Catholic faith and the Salesian charism. On Sunday 4 May, together with the community of the Generalate, in particular the Vietnamese Sisters in Rome, the group had the joy of celebrating for “the second time” the Feast of Gratitude to Mother Chiara.
The following day, with the greeting of the General Councilor for Formation, Sister Nilza Fátima de Moraes, with all the Sector Collaborators, Mornese Project had its official start.
During their stay in Rome, the Sisters were also able to visit all the Papal Basilicas in Rome. Every time a Holy Door was passed, the loving voice of the Good Shepherd echoed, “I am the door: if one enters through me, he will be saved” (Jn 10:9). Entering the Holy Door is entering into the heart of the Lord Jesus to immerse oneself in the merciful love of the Father, “O Holy Door that opens to hope, O Holy Year that provokes communion, may the heart be opened to receive and to draw on overflowing divine grace.” (Sister Teresina Van Yen).
In addition to the gift of being able to make a pilgrimage to the Eternal City in the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, the group had the grace to participate in the festive moment in St. Peter’s Square immediately after the white smoke. Being in the ‘sea’ of the faithful celebrating the election of the 267th Successor of Saint Peter, Pope Leo XIV, one could strongly feel the affirmation of the Creed regarding the Church, “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic”.
In Turin, at the heart of the Salesian Family, in the footsteps of Don Bosco, the participants experienced concretely the courage and dynamism with which the Founder formed and developed the work for the good of the neediest young people. The contemplation of the well-rooted tree raises the prayer that “all members of the Salesian Family are united to cultivate and spread the Salesian spirit in today’s world” (Sr Maria Đo Huong). Also, the conviction of the presence of Our Lady in life, in the mission, in the teaching of Don Bosco makes filial love ardor towards Her who “always waits for us, recognizes us, protects us”, and urges us to recognize with Her: “Thus, Mother, I come to you now, but you have been waiting for me for a long time!” (Sister Maria Ngoc Lan).
On 13 May, on the day of the liturgical feast of Mother Mazzarello, the encounter with Sister Anna Persico – one of the first missionaries in Vietnam – at Mary Help of Christians Community of Roppolo of Mary Help of Christians Province (IPI), filled the hearts of all with gratitude and missionary dynamism. Sister Anna still understands and speaks Vietnamese, and never ceases to pray for the presence of the FMA in this mission land.
The most significant phase took place in Mornese, to walk “with Main on the paths of life.” They were days of recollection and reflection, listening to the movements of their own heart in the light of the Psalms, and confronting with the life of Mother Mazzarello and the first Sisters in Mornese. The village of Mornese, “so small” (Fr. Giacomo Costamagna), the places not written on the map – such as Valponasca, Borgo Alto, Roverno – become “a whisper of history, of life given, of the infinite love of Mother Mazzarello for young girls” (Sister Maria Bich Tram). The testimony of the international community Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, very united and dynamic in this strong land, expresses “the joy of the Salesian vocation” and “a presence that generates life and hope” (cf. the goal of Project Mornese 2022-2027).
To live the Solemnity of Mary Help of Christians, on 24 May, in Nizza, which is “Mother House and House of Our Lady” filled the heart with feelings of gratitude for a charism well incarnated in this city, but especially in the hearts of such devout and benevolent people. “The moments in Mother Mazzarello’s Rooms are unforgettable as one reads the passages of the third volume of the Cronistoria: the last day, the last night, the extreme hour of Mother Mazzarello” (Sister Maria Dat). “How comforting are her last words; ‘Who loves Mary, will be happy’!” (Sr Maria Kiem).
In the conviction that “everything is unified in the heart, which can be the seat of love with all its spiritual, psychic, and even physical components” (Dilexit nos 21) the desire of the whole group before embarking on the pilgrimage, was to return to the heart of existence, that is, to the interior life, as Pope Francis invited us to “make room for the confidence of the heart that, like a thin but resistant flower, does not succumb to the bad weather of life but blooms and grows in the most unexpected places” (Message of Pope Francis for the 59th World Social Communications Day 2025).
And now, after the lived charismatic experience, a mutual wish is alive: to return to daily life with a “renewed heart” full of love for the Lord and revived in the vocation of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
