Messina, Italy - December 2023 - The academic community at the Salesian St Thomas Theological Institute (ITST) in Messina gathered to commemorate the birth of the Salesian Oratory, where "everything began with a Hail Mary," as the Memoirs of the Oratory written by St. John Bosco remind us. After a greeting from the ITST director, Fr Gianni Russo, the student representative, Fr Federico, took the floor, reminding those present that: "After starting the academic year with an address that reminded us of the theological meaning of the 9-year dream, we are now pausing to consider the beginning of Don Bosco's missionary activity, through the episode of young Bartholomew Garelli." Brother Federico recalled how Don Bosco did not wait in the sacristy for the boys to come to him, but went to visit them where they lived, especially the most disadvantaged, offering them an alternative way of life through human and Christian education. This is how the Oratory was born! Don Bosco's missionary activity is in line with today's Magisterium, of a Church in exit, of a field hospital, as Pope Francis' heart desires.