Fr Mendes dos Santos goes on:
His dream, like seeds of the Gospel, spread throughout the world. The seed grew and became a great Salesian Family. We are a great movement of people who love God and the young.
We are part of the great Salesian map dreamed of and planned by our father, Don Bosco.
Coming from all continents, we draw the Salesian map with our love for young people. A map that is always new because it is drawn with the colours and beauty of the Salesian charism. It is always open, without borders, because it welcomes all young people, especially the poorest and most needy.
In this world map, each Salesian in each community is part of the educational characteristics and features of this great map of the evangelisation of young people.
Each community in each Province is a route on this map educating for life and to hope.
All our works in all the countries where we are working provide the colour and dynamics of the Salesian mission at the service of those to whom we are sent in the different regions and cultures.
We are the map of young people! A map made up of the Salesian Family: Salesians, Salesian Sisters, Salesian Cooperators, ADMA, Past Pupils, friends of Don Bosco.
We are the map of new youthful languages, the digital map and the map of social networks. As a great network of love and service to young people, we are the educational networks that give vitality and visibility to the Salesian map in the world.
Don Bosco, at Valdocco, was the creator of this map that we continue to redraw every day of our life together with our young people.
One afternoon in 1883, according to the BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS, Fr Philip Rinaldi “entered Don Bosco's office in Turin for an informal conversation and was surprised to see Don Bosco with a globe on his desk and his eyes lost far away in the immensity of the places on the globe”. Don Bosco so wanted to send out his Salesians to be missionaries everywhere, to create a globe of evangelization.
Don Bosco always believed that Our Lady Help of Christians was the one who did everything. We entrust to her all the members of the Salesian Family, all the young people, friends who share the gift of the Salesian charism in all nations, forming the great and ever new Salesian map, a map for today and for tomorrow.
The “Salesians in the World” map is available in two versions and three formats.
