Rome (Italy). From 27 September to 2 October 2025, a group of missionary Daughters of Mary Help of Christians who came from various Provinces around the world to participate in the XXVII Missionary Ongoing Formation Course held in Rome from 6 October to 7 November at the Salesian Pontifical University together with the new missionaries, experienced a charismatic stop at the places of origin of Mother Mazzarello and Don Bosco, accompanied by collaborators from the Institute’s Mission Sector.
The first part of the pilgrimage took place in Mornese and Nizza Monferrato, on the sites of Mary Domenica Mazzarello, to continue where John Bosco was born and raised in Castelnuovo Don Bosco (AT), then in Chieri, and concluding in Turin in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.
Returning to the places of the origins to reawaken the memory of the heart and rediscover the joy of belonging to an Institute that has spread from a remote village to the whole world, revived the missionary passion to continue the path of unconditional dedication to many poor people wounded by life, and young people present in the mission realities from which these Sisters come.
At any time and in any place, there have been many calls to the imminent Canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti, a great FMA missionary and, as Mother Chiara Cazzuola states in Circular n°1052, everything “helps us to reflect on the gifts we are receiving in this privileged time of the life of the Church and our Institute. The Teacher calls us again. It seems important to me to remember that our vocation is a call to the universality of love. In fact, describing the spirit of Mornese, Fr. Egidio Viganò said, ‘It is not a greenhouse spirit, but a universal spirit’.”
The testimony offered by the missionaries was a source of edification for the FMA and for the people encountered during the pilgrimage days. A testimony of Sisters capable of reaching the peripheries of the world to be messengers and instruments of compassion.
It is the “meek strength” that Pope Leo XIV spoke about in the homily of the Jubilee of the Missionary World, on October 5 in St. Peter’s Square, in which the group was able to participate:
“Faith does not impose itself by the means of power and in extraordinary ways. A mustard seed is enough to do unthinkable things (cf. Luke 17:6), for it carries within itself the power of God’s love that opens paths of salvation. It is a salvation that is achieved when we commit ourselves personally and take care, with the compassion of the Gospel, of the suffering of others. It is a salvation that makes its way, silent and apparently ineffective, in daily gestures and words, which become just like the small seed that Jesus tells us about. It is a salvation that slowly grows when we make ourselves ‘useless servants’, that is, when we put ourselves at the service of the Gospel and our brothers and sisters without seeking our interests, but only to bring the love of the Lord into the world.”
During their stay in Rome, in addition to participating in the Course at the UPS, the missionaries will have the opportunity to participate in the great event of the Canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti, to experience moments of fraternity and conviviality with the Community of the General House, with Mother and the General Councilors of the Animation Sectors of the Institute, and to learn about some good practices of the ecclesial fabric of the Church of Rome and its surroundings.
The new missionaries, instead, continue their path of preparation for the mission, following some courses at the Pontifical Urbaniana University and the Salesian Spirituality Course at Mother Ersilia Canta House.
Buon e proficuo cammino missionario sotto lo sguardo dell’Ausiliatrice di Don Bosco e Madre Domenica Mazzarello. La mia umile preghiera vi accompagni. Devotissima Exalieva ❣️