Rome (Italy). The Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, shares some “truly special” events that she and the General Councilors have experienced and find themselves experiencing in recent months, and offers a reading of them in the light of the words that Martha addresses to her sister Mary upon the death of their brother Lazarus (Jn 11:28): “The Teacher is here; He is beside us and still asks for us.”
A vocational climate
The first event it recalls is the Youth Jubilee “lived in Rome from 28 July to 3 August 2025, by around one million young people who came from all over the world, including from countries at war” – whose “numerous and enthusiastic participation”, in addition to silence in moments of prayer and adoration and listening attentively to the words of Pope Leo XIV, underlines their willingness to get involved, which did not escape even the attention of the media:
“Faced with the grandeur of this immense crowd of young people, even some non-Catholic media have had to recognize, with honesty, the strength of the Church in being a ‘voice’ that summons, that knows how to speak to the new generations, tune in to them, and identify hidden yearnings in them.”
Together with the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, Mother also lived some moments of the SYM Jubilee with the approximately 5,000 young people of the Salesian Youth Movement who, before leaving for Tor Vergata, received the missionary mandate from the successors of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.
From what she was able to grasp from these young people – “open to the values of the Spirit, available and educable” – Mother recognized for all the FMA, “a call, a confirmation to still wager, not only on young people, but also on the strength of Gospel and Salesian spirituality; on everything that we are and that we can still give, because they expect this from us. They wait for us to show them the way.” An appeal to become for them not only “traveling companions” but “indicators of the journey”, like Saint John the Baptist who, after having indicated the Messiah to his disciples, “disappears to let them know and meet the Lord Jesus.”
Presence that generates missionary life and ardor
From the experience shared in the last three Triennial Verifications planned by the General Council (CIMAC-NAC, CINAB, CICSAL-CIB), lived on the American Continent in the month of August, “the strong sense of belonging to the Institute emerged as an essential component, recognizing oneself in the common Salesian identity, despite the evident differences in culture, language, and customs.”
In the words of Don Bosco – “I sketch; you will spread the colors” (MB XI 309) – Mother Chiara finds the experience of a spirituality lived in different times, places, and realities, without taking anything away from the original charismatic ‘color’. “We realized that each of us expressed our own color and, within each inter-provincial conference, all the Provinces brought their own unrepeatable nuances.”
In the words of Don Bosco – “I sketch; you will spread the colors” (MB XI 309) – Mother Chiara finds the experience of a spirituality lived in different times, places, and realities, without taking anything away from the original charismatic “color”. “We realized that each of us expressed our own color and, within each inter-provincial conference, all the Provinces brought their own unique nuances.”
On this journey, “which is very much like a pilgrimage,” a certainty has therefore made its way. “We are going towards the holy land of our identity, of our spirituality, towards the holy land of being, here and now, Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.”
At the end of the last Verification, on the occasion of the celebration of 125th of FMA presence in Paraguay, Mother stopped for a short visit to Saint Raphael Archangel Province (PAR), whose missionary dimension she was able to appreciate. Visiting one of the missionary communities in Chaco Paraguay, she was struck by the words of the Archbishop, who emphasized the indispensable support of the FMA, the only religious women present in this land. “The moment you abandoned this mission there would be no one left to take care of these people.”
Noting with her own eyes the serenity and education of the students she met, Mother Chiara proudly expresses, “truly here, in the middle of the forest, where only the reality of the mission exists, how well my Sisters are doing and with how much generosity and detachment!” And at the same time, she feels it as “a lively reminder for us, for the Institute, right now, in the imminence of the canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti.” A woman who was “so capable of sacrifice that she transformed and humanized the environment in which she worked and for which she gave her life.”
A contagious holiness
Each Daughter of Mary Help of Christians is now preparing to experience, directly or indirectly, the great event of Grace of the Canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti (19
October 2025), which helps to reflect – affirms Mother – “on the gifts we are receiving in this privileged time in the life of the Church and our Institute. The Teacher still calls us. It seems important to me that our vocation is a call to the universality of love.” Speaking of great horizons, she recalls the expression of Fr. Egidio Viganò, 7th successor of Don Bosco, who describes the spirit of Mornese thus, “It is not a greenhouse spirit, but a universal spirit.”
Another important event that the Institute is preparing to celebrate is the anniversary of the first missionary departure of the FMA to Uruguay (14 November 2027,) that Mother animates us to live, not so much as “celebratory memory”, but rather as a “personal itinerary of vocational renewal, of relaunching our vocation, of the path towards holiness, following in the footsteps and life of Sister Maria Troncatti.”
Among the many reasons to listen to the invitation of the Teacher, Mother Chiara also recalls the recent Canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, which took place in Rome on 7 September. In addition to the admiration it arouses or strengthens, is the desire to live holiness. “We, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, cannot help but let ourselves be questioned by these champions of youthful holiness which is presented to us in such a normal and possible way.”
Looking at these examples, which challenge the FMA as religious women who have chosen holiness “as a vocational path, as the orientation of our lives,” Mother leaves some questions for personal reflection.
“What does the Lord expect of us, at this moment, through events? What is His call to us today? Thinking about the path of the Jubilee, the path of the Salesian Youth Movement, how can we help our young people to find answers to their thirst for the infinite and the truth, which motivated them to endure the heat, the lines, the hunger, the various hardships, and everything that is part of a journey to discover? What proposals to offer, so that youthful holiness may continue to shine in the Salesian Family as Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello desired?”
In rereading these events, together with the words of Pope Leo XIV on the holiness of the two young people, Mother Chiara finds “an invitation to return to holiness lived joyfully; an attractive, fascinating holiness, capable of contagioning and involving Sisters and young people.” A holiness “with a joyful face,” lived according to the example of the Founders, in simplicity and joy, despite the difficulties; in the spirit of da mihi animas cetera tolle.
At the end of the Circular, one cannot miss thinking about the current world situation, for which Mother urges “to unite our voice with that of Pope Leo XIV to incessantly ask for the gift of peace in the world; also, in those regions where our Sisters live in uncertainty and suffering. We call for peace in communities, families, and in our hearts.”
