Rome (Italy). Returning with a Salesian heart to the educational and pastoral value of sport, was the leitmotif that guided the reflection meeting at the Salesian Headquarters of the Sacred Heart in Rome on Monday, 2 February 2026. Present at the meeting were the President of PGS International (PGS-I), Georg Leibold, the General Councilors for Youth Ministry of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian Congregation — Sister Runita Borja and Father Rafael Bejarano — Sister Francesca Scibetta and Father Jerry Matsoumbou, Delegates for Youth Ministry FMA and SDB in PGS-I. The Vice-President of PGS-I, Father Tibor Reimer, from Slovakia, participated remotely.
The Rector Major, Father Fabio Attard, led the opening prayer, encouraging everyone to continue animating the Association, reviving the awareness that sport is one of the privileged ways of the Salesian charism to reach young people and accompany them in their integral growth.
President Georg then presented the current reality of PGS-I, an association founded after PGS Italy to promote opportunities for interaction, through sport, among young people attending the FMA and SDB houses in the Salesian provinces of Europe and other interested Countries. These are young people who have always followed their path of integral formation, according to the Salesian educational tradition, within the Salesian houses and who, through the PGS-I International Games, experience the joy of being together and sharing the same values with young people from other Countries.
PGS-I is the result of an initiative by the SDB and FMA, who, together with lay people, have continued to invest in sport and play as constitutive elements of their charismatic identity, as evidenced by the 2006 message to the Salesian Youth Sports Associations (PGS) from the then Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chávez Villanueva:
“From the very beginning of the Oratory, Don Bosco understood the educational power of play and sports. He made the courtyard the center of his houses, creating in them a youthful environment of joy, spontaneity, and family. In this environment, he offered young people a path of joyful Christian life, capable of leading them to holiness. Play and sports thus became important elements in the Salesian educational and pastoral approach. […]
The Salesian presence in the field of sports continues to be important and can be very significant, reaching many children and young people who would otherwise not receive an educational opportunity. But, for this to happen, we must remain faithful to typical Salesian principles: the centrality of the young person, the animating presence of animators and adults among young people, the courage to offer educational programs that encourage young people to go beyond their limits, and the will to evangelize… In the sporting world of our society, we must be a presence that promotes an alternative form of sport, at the service of people and their integral development.”
Father Rafael and Sister Runita emphasized the priority of initiating a process of reflection and awareness-raising on the value of sports ministry as an integral part of Youth Ministry.
Joining forces, developing appropriate strategies, and proposing the necessary pathways to revitalize the sporting dimension in the Salesian mission will be the next steps to put into practice what emerged from the meeting.
