The Rector Major and all present then moved to the Salesian house in La Cuesta, where he was welcomed with great enthusiasm by the Salesian community and more than 1,100 students from the different school levels.

On the occasion, the Rector Major addressed some words of animation to all those present: “Don Bosco used to say: take care of the youth of the whole world... In the last 7 years, I’ve had the opportunity to visit 118 nations where Salesians are present and to share my time with young people from all cultures. One of the things I like to think is that if Don Bosco appeared in the flesh, he would say, ‘Dear young people, I am very happy to meet you.’ All of us educators and Salesians have faith in you. We believe in young people. That is why Don Bosco would also say, ‘We love you.’ As educators, we care about you and we want the good of each of you. Take advantage of the opportunity to be in a Salesian home. At the end of your time here, you will carry with you an invisible backpack full of many things, and always fill it with your best."

Speaking to the educators, he added, “This message is for you in the name of the young people. In the name of Don Bosco, thank you for this dream that we are fulfilling together... We must transform this place into another Valdocco, so that all young people feel at home, loved, listened to. I’m convinced that this is already the case, but it’s important because this is the big difference that distinguishes a Salesian home from any other environment.”

In conclusion, he left a challenge: “Always pursue your dreams. As Don Bosco wanted: Be happy, today and in eternity.”

After the photo session with the students, a meeting with the bishop of the Diocese of Nivar, Bishop Bernardo Álvarez Alonso, and civil authorities took place, and the ceremony concluded with the blessing of a commemorative azulejo - a glazed ceramic tile from the Portuguese and Spanish tradition - of Fr. Á.F. Artime’s visit, alongside those commemorating the passages of the different Rectors Major for that Salesian work.

In the afternoon, there was a conversation between the Educational-Pastoral Community of La Cuesta and the Rector Major himself. Fr. Francisco Ruiz, Salesian Director of the work, recalled the importance of this visit and the value of the figure of the Rector Major in the Salesian Congregation. Then Fr. Á.F. Artime answered the various questions asked by the different sectors of the house, on topics such as the First Announcement, animation toward young people in vocational search, the animating presence in the Youth Center, the role of educators in daily life, and the significance of the Salesian Family in the works without a Salesian community. He also reiterated his gratitude. “On behalf of Don Bosco, I thank you for what we are doing together. Each of us is giving the best of ourselves, making each educational space a genuine work to reach out to the most disadvantaged and marginalized of society, to give them a chance. Everything you are doing is of exceptional value.”

To end the day, the Eucharist was celebrated in the parish church of Our Lady of Candelaria, where he had some words of recognition for the entire Salesian Family.

“It is right and proper to be grateful,” he began in his homily. “Every day in Valdocco, I walk through the courtyard where Don Bosco walked, the place where he played with the boys, the first church and its chapel, the dining room... All this reminds me that it is true that when something comes from God, it remains in time. And who could have told Don Bosco that his legacy would reach as far as a place as beautiful as Tenerife?”

He concluded, “Today, so many educators and members of the Salesian Family, wherever we are in any setting or environment, are the continuation of those arms of Don Bosco, of that gaze, of those words in the ear and that joy when one arrives at a Salesian home. That is the great miracle when a charism is sustained by God.”

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