For the occasion, there were several groups of the Salesian Family, civil, political and military authorities, friends and benefactors of the Salesian mission at Colle Don Bosco. Fr Ezio Orsini, the rector of the Basilica, welcomed the Cardinal on behalf of all those present.

During the Mass at 11 am in the Don Bosco Basilica, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime expressed his great joy at being at the Colle Don Bosco in the midst of the Christian community. He recognised and appreciated the presence of civil, political and military authorities. He thanked the entire Christian community for their fidelity to prayer, which is a manifestation of our citizenship. In the first part of the homily, Cardinal Fernandez recalled: "Exactly 208 years ago he was born here at the Becchi where the Basilica of St John Bosco, is located. His parents were true farmers and John Bosco had every opportunity to become like them. His father was a strong, hard-working, and protective man. His mother, a strong young woman from Capriglio, was a model mother. And God had a plan for little John Bosco. ” This observation led Cardinal Angel Artime to the second point of his homily: “Everything that does not come from God becomes a disaster for humanity. We see it in the exercise of power today, with the serious abuses that thwart human life. In contrast to human power, John Bosco was called by God to serve humanity. Pope Pius XI said: Jesus is the true Lord. Today we see that the world is more violent and aggressive than twenty years ago. All this is due to the abuse of human power: the arms race that destroys and erases human life from the earth. The dynamics of human power are not good. But if we are in God's dynamic, we will do our brothers and sisters a good service. If our power is of this world, there will always be others: Ukraine, Palestine, Gaza and so on. There are more than 200 places in the world today that are in the misery of armed conflict because of the dynamics of human power.

Jesus said to Pilate, “I am King, but my power is not of this world.” With these words, Cardinal Artimé moved on to the third point of his homily, asking the question: “Can we help God build his kingdom? Of course, the Cardinal replies. If we know how to do things "in the way of grandmothers", that is, bringing affection, care, joy and hope to the family and to all the people we meet. To be “the grandmother” is to do what we should be doing. Being a “grandmother” means taking our place in the Church. Maybe someone won't appreciate what we do, maybe we'll lose the elections because of it, but we'll have done our job.” Being a grandmother means offering a humble service to our brothers and sisters. With these words, he concluded his Homily. He greeted and blessed the congregation of the faithful.

At the end of the Mass, the Rector, Fr Thathireddy Vijay thanked the Cardinal for his presence. He shared the fact that the elevation of Fr Angel Fernandez to Cardinal is certainly a recognition of the great gifts he possesses and his ability to serve the universal Church in these difficult times. Above all, it is also an immense honour to the Salesian Congregation conferred by Pope Francis and the Church for its unceasing service to young people and the poor around the world.

Don Bosco was an ardent lover of the Church and the Pope. Don Bosco would be happy for his successor to be a close collaborator of the Pope in the person of Cardinal Angel Fernandez.

The Colle Don Bosco community presented him with a gift, a stole with the image of Don Bosco and Mary Help of Christians. After the mass all those present had the opportunity to take photos with the Cardinal.

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