Turin (Italy). On the afternoon of 17 January, on the 3rd Day of the Salesian Family Spirituality Days, some members of the World Council of the Association of Salesian Cooperators took turns on stage to present the reality of this Group of the Salesian Family, recognized by Pope Pius IX on 9 May 1876, (then known as the “Pious Union of Salesian Cooperators”).
In his brief greeting to the assembly, Carlo Pellegrino, World Secretary of the Association, recalling the 2026 Strenna of the Rector Major who dedicates an entire chapter to them, introduced a “journey” to discover how SSCCs and the Salesian Family can be “new wine” for the world.
The word was passed to Italo Canaletti, World Councilor for the Italy – Middle East – Malta Region, who presented, “The History and Roots of the Association” through a summary of the main events that followed one another, starting from Don Bosco’s original idea, which he expressed to the Cooperators at a conference in Turin with these words, “I needed everyone… That little square became this church in 1852, and that house became the poor boys’ hospice. All this is your work, O meritorious cooperators, O meritorious cooperators” (Turin, 16 May 1878, MB XVI, 625).
In his historical excursion, Italo emphasized, “150 years have passed since that 9 May 1876, and little by little, they became Salesians outside the works, in the secular world, according to their own living conditions. We are and represent an ‘outgoing Church’’. The Association has changed because the eras it has gone through have been different”.
Moving forward, he referred to the reflection of the Second Vatican Council regarding the mission of the laity in the Church and presented the approval of the Regulations of Apostolic Life (1986), and then arrived at the definitive approval of the current Project of Apostolic Life (2013).
He then highlighted two important changes that have occurred over time. The first, “no longer Cooperators Salesian but Salesian Cooperators. It is not a simple modification, a name change, but an evolution of identity, both vocational and charismatic.” The second, the Life Project, “our spiritual identity card, our life book, which points the way to be ‘Salesians in the world’.”
Italo was keen to point out that, in addition to the Association’s growing number and presence in the world, “over the course of 150 years, awareness has grown of our vocation as responsible lay people in the Church, capable of carrying out specific and significant pastoral action.”
He also specified the threefold identity of the members: charismatic, the SC has a specific vocation in the Church – to engage as a SC is to respond to the Salesian apostolic vocation (art. 2) – in the Salesian Family (it is one of the 32 Groups). Canonical, to be witnesses in the local and universal Church. It is approved by the Apostolic See as a public association of the faithful and participates in the spiritual heritage of the Society of St. Francis de Sales, demonstrating a filial devotion to the Supreme Pontiff. Civil, as the SSCCs insert themselves, according to their own abilities and possibilities, into cultural, trade union, socio-political structures, to achieve the development of the common good.”
Before concluding, he presented its geographical distribution: “We are just over 30,000, present in 102 nations, divided into 11 Regions” – the number of Provinces and Local Centers of each Region, as well as the Association’s animation and governance bodies, namely the World Executive Secretariat and the World Council.
Borja Pèrez, Councilor for the Iberian Region – Spain and Portugal, presented the second moment entitled, “The dream lives today”, sharing the path of the three-year preparation for the celebration of the 150th of its foundation. (2023-2026). “A journey that is not just an anniversary; it is also an opportunity to rediscover who we are, where we come from, and where we want to go… in addition to the desire to make a profound conversion”, she specified. And she presented the logo, theme, and three verbs, one for each year: Remember: return to the roots and dream of Don Bosco; Renew: update the vocation in daily life; Relaunch: project the mission towards the future.
The World Coordinator of the ASSCC, Antonio Boccia, then accompanied the assembly “towards the future” and presented the theme and summary of the objectives of the VI World Congress to be held in May 2026: “Being a ferment to be fruitful”.
Antonio emphasized the invitation of Strenna 2026, “Do whatever he tells you” by relating it to the mission and vocation of the members of the Association, that is, to “be those servants called to fill the amphorae of history with the water of daily life, confident that the Lord will transform it into a new wine of hope and salvation for young people.”
He then reiterated the specificity and strength of the SSCCs, namely the lay state, “not a diminished condition compared to consecrated or priestly life, but rather a vocation in its own right with its own dignity and irreplaceable mission. Our seclusion is the world, our ‘convent’ is the family, office, factory, school. It is there that we are called to live our baptismal consecration, to embody the Preventive System, to be Don Bosco today. Our vocation does not ask us to leave the world, but to sanctify it from within, like yeast in dough.”
The three main reports were complemented by testimonies offered by Noemi Bertola, Enzo del Giudice, Antonio Lloret, and Fr. Alfonso José Filiberto, Salesian Cooperators who shared their experience and the origins of their vocation through an interview conducted by Raùl Fernàndez, World Administrator of the Association.
This moment animated with vibrancy by the Salesian Cooperators, concluded with the anthem of the VI World Congress previewed for the participants of the GSFS 2026.
