On Sunday 26th February 2023, at the end of the Eucharistic celebration at 10:00 a.m., Fr. Cameroni presented and blessed a canvas depicting several Salesian saints, in particular those linked to Liguria: St. Dominic Savio, St. Domenica Maria Mazzarello, Blesseds Michele Rua and Filippo Rinaldi, who consolidated the growth of the Salesian presence in Ligurian land; Blessed Augustus Czartoryski, who was ordained a priest in Sanremo and ended his short life in Alassio; Blessed Laura Vicuña, Blessed Zeffirino Namuncurá, the Venerable Mons. Stefano Ferrando, a native of Rossiglione, missionary and founder in the North East of India, who died in Genoa-Quarto, and the Servant of God Vera Grita, Salesian Cooperator, who lived in Savona. Young people, religious, a teacher belonging to the ranks of 'small and poor souls' whom St. John Paul II recalled in his Apostolic Letter Divini amoris scientia.
The joyful union of these figures confirms the strength and effectiveness of working together, inspired by the Gospel and the method of the Good Shepherd in the style of Don Bosco.
In the background of the painting, the courtyard of the Oratory and the church of La Spezia can be glimpsed, as holiness is an objective within reach of each of us and can only be achieved by creating positive relationships. The artist who painted the painting, Luca Pontassuglia, recalled, quoting Paul Klee, that 'art reveals what is invisible to the eyes, but makes visible what is not always so'. This depiction is intended to inspire in those who contemplate it a path of spiritual growth within their own community.
