Genoa (Italy). On 12 November 2025, as part of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the First Salesian Missionary Expedition (November 11, 1875) the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard; the Mother General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Sister Chiara Cazzuola; the General Councilor for Missions, Sister Ruth del Pilar Mora; the General Councilor for Missions, Fr. George Crisafulli; all the missionary animators of the world; the missionaries who received the missionary crucifix on 11 November; some Provincials of Italy; the Provincial of Our Lady of the Cenacle (ILS); the Provincial and several members of the Salesian Family arrived in Genoa, departing from Turin, to commemorate the first departure from the port and the inauguration of the Museum of Missionary Expeditions.
The meeting was in the early morning at the Old Port, to see with one’s own eyes the place from which the first ten Salesian missionaries left 150 years ago and to retrace by boat the route they took to reach the landing place of the steamship Savoie, near the Lanterna, and then set sail for distant Argentina. The route was accompanied by a brief explanation of how the port of Genoa was built at the time of the missionary departures and by a heartfelt historical reenactment of the events that accompanied the first departure, focused on the verbs thank, rethink, and relaunch: “a trinomial that revives and fuels hope, which pushes towards the new missionary frontiers of the Congregation and the Salesian Family, especially to meet the poorest and most marginalized young people.”
Before leaving for the Salesian Work in the Sampierdarena neighborhood, right in the Porto Antico area, accompanied by ten young people who impersonated the first missionaries, there was an initial official reenactment in the presence of civil and ecclesiastical authorities with the unveiling of a plaque commemorating that first departure. The words of all those who spoke, civil and ecclesial authorities, recalled in particular the strong link of the city of Genoa with Don Bosco. Thanking for the welcome of the Salesian presence in all these years, the Rector Major recalled the three verbs that accompany this great anniversary, “first of all to remember and thank the Lord for what we have experienced, but also to rethink what all this legacy we have received means, in order to relaunch, not so much missionary activity for itself, but as attention to new poverty, both in the Countries in need, but also in our realities.”
In Sampierdarena, the Mother General and the Rector Major were welcomed by a host of boys and girls, children, adolescents, and young people, teachers and formators from the Salesian School and Mary Help of Christians School of the FMAs of Genoa. In a very simple, yet effective way, the children told the Rector Major about their experience in a highly multi-ethnic Genoa and Sampierdarena, confirming that the mission is certainly overseas, but today it is here too!
Holy Mass, celebrated in the Church of St. Gaetano and St. John Bosco, was animated by the school children. In his homily, Fr. Fabio Attard, after urging boys and girls, educators and teachers, to welcome and listen to each other, left a message: “Don Bosco is great, not because he did spectacular things, because he did the simplest things in life. He welcomed the boys who had no home; he became humble, small, so that the boys could connect with him and when he welcomed them, he told them, ‘your life is beautiful, it is a gift’. He offered them education and invited them to do something for others.”
Following this, the inauguration of the Museum of Missionary Expeditions, located inside the Opera Don Bosco around the Saint’s bedroom, with relics, letters, and testimonies, a place of reenactment that does not only commemorate Salesian history, but it offers the visitor the opportunity to become aware of the extraordinary richness of a Charism spread throughout the world by soliciting a reflection on how to live today the Salesian mission in every place where one is called.
Fr. Sergio Pellini, Director of the Salesian Opera, expressed his emotion at being the successor to Fr. Paolo Albera, 1st Director in this house, which also had Fr. Philip Rinaldi as an illustrious student. He then gave the word to the Rector Major. Mother General then thanked for the opportunity to participate in this very important moment and expressed gratitude to those who worked at this Museum, “who take us back to the past, not to live on memories, but to read our history and find the courage to move forward and continue to fuel this great missionary spirit that is inherent in our Charism.”
Along with various civil authorities, Monsignor Marco Tasca, Metropolitan Archbishop of Genoa, was present to bless the Museum, designed and built by Fr. Francesco De Ruvo, SDB of Central Italy, together with architect Valentina Calabrese, while Mother and Rector Major, as a gesture, left a written wish that was later hung on one of the walls.
At the end of the official moments and after lunch, a photo in the courtyard under the statue of Don Bosco became the occasion for greetings and departures, continuing to fuel the missionary ardor in view of the Celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the first female departure (November 14, 1877) that in two years awaits the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the entire Salesian Family.
