Salesians in the world

The Salesians of St. John Bosco, originally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, is an international Catholic religious Congregation, of men consecrated entirely to the Lord through the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity. It was founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco (by and large known as “Don Bosco”) in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution taking place in northern Italy, foremost in the city of Turin.
The Salesians' charter describes the society's mission as "the Christian perfection of its associates obtained by the exercise of spiritual and corporal works of charity towards the young, especially the poor, and the education of boys to the priesthood". The order is named for St Francis de Sales, an early-modern bishop of Geneva, Switzerland.  
The Salesians’ chief apostolic activities are centred around the Christian-catholic education of youths, via a salesian edifying process called “Preventive System of Education”, based on the same approach Don Bosco employed during his charitable mission amidst youths in Turin. His capability to attract numerous boys and adult helpers was connected to this educative system, because he believed sincerely that education  was a "matter of the heart," and said that the boys must not only be loved, but know that they are loved. He also pointed to three components of the Preventive System of Education: reason, religion and loving-kindness. Music and games also went into the mix. The educative system is characterized by the wish to be amidst the young sharing their life, looking sympathetically at their world, attentive to their real experiences and values; by the unconditional acceptance that becomes a tireless capacity for dialogue and power for their growth; by the preventive criterion which believes in the strength of the good already present in every youngster, even the most needy, and which seeks to develop this through positive good experiences;  by the centrality of reason which becomes reasonableness of requests and rules, flexibility and persuasiveness in proposals; and of religion understood as developing the sense of God present in every person and the power of Christian evangelization; and of loving-kindness expressed as an educative love that enables growth and brings about a meeting of minds and hearts;  by a positive environment shot through with personal relationships, enlivened by the loving and reliable presence of educators and one which is also active, energizing and on behalf of the young; with a style of animation that believes in the positive resources of the young.
The Salesians believe that their entire commitment to the education of youth is the best possible gift for all humanity and, for themselves, the best possible way to sainthood.
To date, the Salesian Society, founded in 1859, numbers 15.750 members in 128 countries.

IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DATES

DATES OF EXPANSION

SALESIAN HOLY PLACES

The official website of the Salesian Congregation