Rome (Italy). From 7 to 9 October 2025, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians from 1 to 10 years of profession of the Italian Provinces of Saint John Bosco (IRO) and Our Lady of the Cenacle (ILS) and the Salesians of Don Bosco trainees of the Sacred Heart Central District (ICC), met in Rome to experience days of fraternity and formation together in preparation for this Church event.
The first shared moment was led by Fr. Gian Franco Poli, Episcopal Vicar for consecrated life of the Diocese of Albano, who offered stimulating and concrete ideas for living the Jubilee to the fullest. He invited everyone to have a lively remembrance of their vocation, allowing themselves to be renewed by the Mercy of God and rediscovering their missionary mandate.
Through sharing and discussion workshop groups, four work paths were then chosen that touch on fundamental dimensions of Salesian consecrated life, namely: memory and gift, the pilgrim’s journey, hope in trial, and concrete signs of hope, in order to provide tools to experience the Jubilee as concretely as possible, applying it to their daily life.
A very strong moment was the pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, culminating in the prayer vigil presided over by Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Through listening to the word of God and relaying different life testimonies, it was a precious opportunity to live the experience of being pilgrims and pilgrims of hope on the paths of peace, in communion and in sharing the richness of different charisms, cultures, and histories.
The experience ended with the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square. In his homily, the Holy Father recalled the importance of living the Religious Profession and vows “like children abandoning themselves in the arms of their father.” Through the verbs used by the evangelist Luke, “asking, seeking, and knocking,” he invited everyone to look back at their life, bringing to mind and heart what the Lord has accomplished in their life, to multiply talents, to grow and purify the faith, and make charity more generous and freer. Then quoting the words of Saint Paul VI, he forcefully reiterated to “preserve the simplicity of the littlest ones in the Gospel” and to be “truly poor, meek, hungering for holiness, merciful, pure of heart, those, thanks to whom, the world will know the peace of God.”
These days lived in prayer, in fraternity, and with the Church in the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, opened the doors to something of the prophetic, of synergy, and of synodality for the young FMA and SDB. It was of mutual enrichment in the Salesian Charism, rediscovering the beauty of being unique and similar at the same time, together for the same mission in Christ.
