Don’t be afraid to be holy! – Circular no. 1054

Rome (Italy). The Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, in choosing the title of Circular no.1054, was inspired by the appeal addressed to young people by John Paul II,  “Do not be afraid to be saints!” – in which “she reiterated the need to be saints but, above all, not to be afraid to be saints.”

A little over a month after the canonization of Saint Maria Troncatti, the Mother recalls the grace of this “a unique and exceptional event” and the good it has brought on a personal and community level, brought by the resonances received from various parts of the world.

Aware of the intensity of the moment, she highlights the need to “return, with the heart, with the mind and in prayer” to what this canonization leaves to each as Daughter of Mary Help of Christians. “How does this event affect our lives? What is it asking us to change? Why can’t we go on as if nothing had happened?”

In the month of November, “illuminated by the celebration of the solemnity of All Saints” she thus delves into the dimension of holiness, thinking about how “it must be present in our lives and in Salesian spirituality.”

The grace of canonization

“Why does the Church canonize saints?” With this question, Mother accompanies us to understand the motivations of an act performed by the Church not so much to exalt the lives of some people, but rather a call to conversion, to the authenticity of life, to look to Heaven:

“Holiness is a call to Heaven; it is a reality that belongs to God, who speaks to us of Him, of the miracle of His saving and transforming action. Let us look to this event, so that our hearts are open and our eyes are illuminated to read the newspaper, to understand what is close to our hearts and what we believe is important to us.”

The life of Saint Maria Troncatti, like those of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello, teaches that “saints are not extraordinary people and reminds us that we are all called to holiness,” even if we often behave as if holiness were an unattainable goal and therefore tend to “lower the level of our faith, our love, rather than pursuing something big and beautiful that makes us happy in time and eternity.”

While “The life of the saints teaches us that it is possible to live strongly rooted in today with its complexity, keeping in mind the invitation to shine like stars in the world” (cf. Phil 2:15).

Mother recalls Art. 5 of the Institute’s Constitutions to underline that, as Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, she called herself to involve young women and young people in this journey “walking with them on the path of holiness,” as well as orienting them to experience the transforming encounter with Jesus Christ, indicating the columns of the Salesian educational building: the Eucharist, Reconciliation, and openness to the presence of Mary, Teacher and Guide (cf. art. 71).

If the temptation of young people can be to fall into self-distrust, resignation, sadness, the mission of FMAs is precisely to “help young people become standing women and men, never withdrawn into themselves, as was the hunched woman of the Gospel who Jesus heals, restoring to her the ability to see ‘the beyond’, of ‘looking up’.”

Saints with missionary hearts

The secret of the apostolic fertility of missionaries – observes  Mother – should not be sought so much in their skills and accomplished deeds, but in their holiness, in being “men and women of faith, hope, great love, a strong inner life, belonging totally to God, and passionate about evangelization,” in this “profound dimension of life, which testifies to their full docility to God’s will and their boundless generosity. They are missionaries, because first of all they are disciples.”

And, as the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium highlights, the missionary spirit distinguishes every Christian “to the extent that one has met with the love of God in Christ Jesus; we no longer say that we are disciples and missionaries, but that we are always disciple-missionaries” (EG 120).

It is a conviction – and a joy – which accompanied the recent celebrations of 150^th of the first missionary departure of the Salesians of Don Bosco, on 8 and 9 November 2025, in Turin Valdocco, with the two days organized by the Italian Missionary Animation (BeAMission) and  on November 11, in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, with the consignment of the “missionary crucifix” to 7 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of the 148^th FMA missionary expedition, 15 Salesians of Don Bosco of the 156^th SDB missionary expedition, and 9 of the previous expeditions, in the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, with the presence of Mother Chiara Cazzuola.

The celebration of 150^th then continued in Genoa, with a pilgrimage to the Ancient Port, in memory of the first ten Salesian missionaries who left that place on 11 November 1875, and with the inauguration of the Museum of Missionary Expeditions, at the Salesian Institute of Genoa Sampierdarena.

A shared missionary journey

In this vein, Mother Chiara advocates participation-as an Educating Community-in an important initiative in preparation for the 150^th anniversary of the First FMA Missionary Expedition  which will be in 2027, proposed by the Missionary Sector in collaboration with the PEM (Missionary Spirituality Project) team: an online pilgrimage to the places of South America, where the first missionaries arrived in 1877.

Concluding the Circular, Mother once again invites “to pray intensely for peace, especially during the novena in preparation for the solemnity of the Most Holy Immaculate  Mary”, which this year “will draw inspiration from the biography of Saint Maria Troncatti, which highlights Mary’s special presence and protection.”

Finally, together with the Sisters of the General Council, she wishes “all of you, your families, educating communities, young people, adolescents and children who are entrusted to you a holy Christmas of peace and hope.”

And she addresses “a special thought of good wishes and prayer to the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, to the Salesian Confreres, and to the entire Salesian Family.

We pray, above all, for the educating communities living in situations of war, violence, persecution, injustice. We have the certainty that the Helper watches over each of them and everything they are suffering is precious to the heart of God.”

Circular no. 1054