Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Italy – September 2024 - On 8 September, in the Basilica of Colle Don Bosco, 11 novices from Croatia, Germany, Spain, Poland and Italy made their first religious profession as Salesians of Don Bosco. In his homily, Fr Juan Carlos Pérez Godoy, Councillor for the Mediterranean Region, who presided over the celebration, recalled the beginning of Castellani's splendid 1988 film. In the first scenes, Don Bosco as an old man reveals the secret of when, as a very young tightrope walker, right here in the meadows at the Becchi, he walked on the rope: "to look straight ahead of me, not stopping, not looking one way or the other... or the emptiness under my feet, and looking straight ahead, with my gaze turned to the Lord." In that secret lies the heart of Salesian consecrated life: to keep our gaze and heart fixed on Jesus, to overcome all fear, and to be totally at the service of young people, where and how the Lord wants. Without reservation. A recollected celebration, in which the centre was the presence and action of God and the thought and prayer for the poor young people for whom these 11 young Salesians will try, daily renewing their yes to the Lord, to give their lives. The involvement of families of origin, many Salesians and young people is beautiful and warm. After the departure of the newly professed, the Salesian Novitiate at Colle Don Bosco continues, thank God, to be alive due to the presence of a lively group of novices who began their journey on 6 September.