We present the new donbosco.info platform, which is a Salesian search engine designed to make it easier to consult documents related to the charism of Don Bosco. Created to support the Salesian Bulletin Online, it overcomes the limitations of traditional archiving systems, which are often unable to intercept all occurrences of words. This solution integrates dedicated hardware and specially developed software, also offering a reading function. The deliberately simple web interface allows you to navigate through thousands of documents in different languages, with the ability to filter results by folder, title, author, or year. Thanks to the OCR scanning of PDF documents, the system identifies the text even when it is not perfect, and adopts strategies to ignore punctuation and special characters. The contents, rich in historical and educational material, aim to spread the Salesian message in a widespread manner. With free uploading for documents, continuous enrichment of the platform is encouraged, improving the search.

As part of the work for the drafting of the Salesian Bulletin Online, it was necessary to create various support tools, including a dedicated search engine.

This search engine was conceived taking into account the limitations currently present in the various Salesian resources available online. Many sites offer archiving systems with search functionality, but often fail to locate all occurrences of words, due to technical limitations or restrictions introduced to avoid overloading the servers.

To overcome these difficulties, instead of building a simple archive of documents with a search function, we have created a real search engine, also equipped with a reading function. This is a complete solution, based on dedicated hardware and specially developed software.

During the design phase, we evaluated two options: software to be installed locally or a server-side application accessible via the web. Since the mission of the Salesian Bulletin Online is to spread the Salesian charism to the greatest number of people, it was decided to opt for the web solution, so as to allow anyone to search for and consult Salesian documents.

The search engine is available at www.donbosco.info. The web interface is deliberately essential and “spartan” to ensure faster loading speeds. The “home page” lists the files and folders present, in order to facilitate consultation. The documents are not only in Italian, but also available in other languages, selectable via the icon at the top left.

Most of the uploaded files are in PDF format derived from scans with OCR (optical character recognition). Since OCR is not always perfect, sometimes not all the words searched for are detected. To overcome this, several strategies have been implemented: ignoring punctuation and accented or special characters, and allowing searches even in the presence of missing or incorrect characters. Further details can be found in the FAQ section, accessible from the footer.

Given the presence of thousands of documents, the search can return a very high number of results. For this reason, it is possible to narrow the scope of the search by folder, title, author, or year: the criteria are cumulative and help to find what you need more quickly. The results are listed based on a relevance score, which currently mainly takes into account the density of keywords within the text and their proximity.

Ideally, it would be preferable to have the documents in vector format instead of scanned, as the search would always be accurate and the files would be lighter, with consequent advantages in terms of speed.

If you have documents in vector format or of better quality than those already present in the search engine, you can upload them via the upload service available on www.donbosco.space. You can also add other documents not present in the search engine. To obtain access credentials (username and password), send a request via e-mail to bsol@sdb.org.

Don Bosco International (DBI) is a non-governmental organisation based in Brussels, representing the Salesians of Don Bosco to the institutions of the European Union, with a focus on the protection of children’s rights, youth development, and education. Founded in 2014, DBI collaborates with various European partners to promote inclusive social and educational policies, paying attention to vulnerable individuals. The organisation promotes youth participation in policy-making, emphasising the importance of informal education. Through networking and advocacy activities, DBI aims to create synergies with European institutions, civil society organisations, and Salesian networks globally. The guiding values are solidarity, the integral formation of young people and intercultural dialogue. DBI organises seminars, conferences, and European projects aimed at ensuring greater youth presence in decision-making processes, fostering an inclusive environment that supports them in their journey of growth, autonomy and spiritual development, through cultural and educational exchanges. The Executive Secretary, Sara Sechi, explains the activities of this institution.

Advocacy as an act of responsibility for and with our youth
            Don Bosco International (DBI) is the organisation that manages the institutional representation of the Salesians of Don Bosco to the European institutions and civil society organisations that revolve around them. DBI’s mission is centred on advocacy, which can be translated as “political influence”, meaning all those actions aimed at influencing a decision-making-legislative process, in our case the European one. The DBI office is based in Brussels and is hosted by the Salesian community of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (FRB Province). Working in the European capital is dynamic and stimulating. Nevertheless, the proximity of the community allows us to keep the Salesian charism alive in our mission, avoiding getting trapped in the so-called “European bubble”, that world of ‘privileged’ relationships and dynamics often distant from our realities.
            DBI’s action follows two directions: on the one hand, bringing the Salesian educational-pastoral mission closer to the institutions through the sharing of good practices, youth requests, projects and related results, creating spaces for dialogue and participation for those who traditionally would not have access to them. On the other hand, they deal with bringing the European dimension within the Congregation through monitoring and information on ongoing processes and new initiatives, facilitating new contacts with institutional representatives, NGOs and confessional organisations that can give rise to new collaborations.
            A question that often arises spontaneously is how DBI manages to concretely create political influence. In advocacy actions, networking with other organisations or entities that share principles, values, and objectives is fundamental. In this regard, DBI ensures an active presence in alliances, formal and informal, of NGOs or confessional actors who work together on issues dear to Don Bosco’s mission: the fight against poverty and social inclusion, the defence of the rights of young people, especially those in vulnerable situations, and integral human development. Whenever a Salesian delegation visits Brussels, we facilitate meetings for them with Members of the European Parliament, Commission officials, diplomatic corps, including the Apostolic Nunciature to the European Union, and other actors of interest. We often manage to meet groups of young people and students from Salesian schools who visit the city, organising a moment of dialogue for them with other youth organisations.
            DBI is a service that the Congregation offers to give visibility to its works and bring the voice of those who would otherwise not be heard to institutional forums. The Salesian Congregation has a potential for advocacy that is not fully expressed. The presence in 137 countries to protect young people at risk of poverty and social exclusion represents an educational and social network that few organisations can count on. However, it is still difficult to strategically present good results at decision-making tables, where policies and investments are outlined, especially at the international level. For this reason, ensuring a constant dialogue with the institutions represents both an opportunity and an act of responsibility. It is an opportunity because in the long term visibility facilitates contacts, new partnerships, funding for projects and the sustainability of the works. It is also a responsibility because, not being able to remain silent in the face of the difficulties faced by our boys and girls in today’s world, political influence is the active testimony of that civic commitment that we often try to generate in young people.
            By guaranteeing rights and dignity for young people, Don Bosco was the first actor of political influence of the Congregation, for example through the signing of the first Italian apprenticeship contract. Advocacy represents an intrinsic element of the Salesian mission. Salesians do not lack experience, nor success stories, nor concrete and innovative alternatives to face current challenges, but often a cohesion that allows for coordinated networking and clear and shared communication. By giving voice to the authentic testimonies of young people, we can transform challenges into opportunities, creating a lasting impact in society that gives hope for the future.

Sara Sechi
Don Bosco International – DBI, Brussels

Sara Sechi, Executive Secretary of DBI, has been in Brussels for two and a half years. She is the daughter of the Erasmus+ generation, which together with other European programmes has guaranteed her life and training experiences that would otherwise have been denied. She is very grateful to Don Bosco and the Salesian Congregation, where she has found meritocracy, growth, and a second family. And we wish her good and fruitful work for the cause of young people.

The ordeal of abandoned young people continues to resonate in the contemporary world. Statistics speak of approximately 150 million children forced to live in the streets, a reality that is also dramatically evident in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. To mark the feast day of St. John Bosco, a campaign was held in Vienna, promoted by Jugend Eine Welt, an initiative that highlighted not only the local situation but also the difficulties encountered in distant countries, such as Liberia, where the Salesian, Lothar Wagner, dedicates his life to giving these young people hope.

Lothar Wagner: A Salesian who dedicates his life to street children in Liberia
Lothar Wagner, a German Salesian Cooperator, has dedicated over twenty years of his life to supporting children in West Africa. After gaining extensive experience in Ghana and Sierra Leone, over the last four years he has focused his passion on Liberia, a country marked by prolonged conflicts, health crises, and devastation such as the Ebola epidemic. Lothar has become a spokesman for a reality that is often ignored, where social and economic scars compromise opportunities for young people to grow.

Liberia, with a population of 5.4 million, is a country where extreme poverty is accompanied by fragile institutions and widespread corruption. The consequences of decades of armed conflict and health crises have left the education system among the worst in the world, while the social fabric has frayed under the weight of economic hardship and lack of essential services. Many families are unable to guarantee their children’s basic needs, thus pushing a large number of young people to seek refuge on the streets.

In particular, in Monrovia, some young people find refuge in the most unexpected places: the city’s cemeteries. Known as the “cemetery boys,” these young people, lacking a safe home, take refuge among the graves, a place that becomes a symbol of total abandonment. Sleeping outdoors, in parks, in landfills, even in sewers or inside tombs, has become the tragic daily refuge for those who have no other choice.

“It is truly very heart-breaking when you walk through the cemetery and see boys coming out of the tombs. They lie down with the dead because they no longer have a place in society. Such a situation is scandalous.”

A multiple approach: from the cemetery to detention cells
The cemetery boys are not the only focus of Lothar’s attention. The Salesian also dedicates himself to another dramatic reality: that of underage prisoners in Liberian prisons. The Monrovia prison, built for 325 inmates, now houses over 1,500 prisoners, including many young people incarcerated without a formal charge. The cells, extremely overcrowded, are a clear example of how human dignity is often sacrificed.

“There is a lack of food, clean water, hygienic standards, medical and psychological assistance. Constant hunger and the dramatic spatial situation due to overcrowding greatly weaken the boys’ health. In a small cell, intended for two inmates, eight to ten young people are locked up. They sleep in shifts, because this cell size only offers standing space to its many inhabitants.”

To cope with this situation, he organises everyday visits to the prison, bringing drinking water, hot meals, and a psycho-social support that becomes a lifeline. His constant presence is essential to try to re-establish a dialogue with the authorities and families, also raising awareness of the importance of protecting the rights of minors, who are often forgotten and abandoned to a dire fate. “We do not leave them alone in their solitude, but we try to give them hope,” Lothar emphasises with the firmness of someone who knows the everyday pain of these young lives.

A day for awareness in Vienna
Support for these initiatives also comes from international attention. On January 31, in Vienna, Jugend Eine Welt organised a day dedicated to highlighting the precarious situation of street children, not only in Liberia, but throughout the world. During the event, Lothar Wagner shared his experiences with students and participants, involving them in practical activities – such as using barrier tape to simulate the conditions of an overcrowded cell – to give them a first-hand understanding of the difficulties and anguish of young people who live in minimal spaces and in degrading conditions every day.

In addition to daily emergencies, the work of Lothar and his collaborators also focuses on long-term interventions. The Salesian missionaries are in fact involved in rehabilitation programmes ranging from educational support to vocational training for young prisoners, to legal and spiritual assistance. These interventions aim to reintegrate young people into society once they are released, helping them build a dignified and fulfilling future. The goal is clear: to offer not only immediate help, but to create a path that allows young people to develop their potential and actively contribute to the rebirth of the country.

The initiatives also encompass the construction of vocational training centres, schools, and reception facilities, with the hope of expanding the number of young beneficiaries and ensuring constant support, day and night. The success story of many former “cemetery boys” – some of whom have become teachers, doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs – is tangible confirmation that, with the right support, transformation is possible.

Despite the commitment and dedication, this path is fraught with obstacles: bureaucracy, corruption, the children’s distrust, and the lack of resources represent daily challenges. Many young people, marked by abuse and exploitation, struggle to trust adults, making the task of establishing a relationship of trust and offering real and lasting support even more difficult. However, every small success – every young person who regains hope and begins to build a future – confirms the importance of this humanitarian work.

The path undertaken by Lothar and his collaborators testifies that, despite the difficulties, it is possible to make a difference in the lives of abandoned children. The vision of a Liberia in which every young person can realise their potential translates into concrete actions, from international awareness to the rehabilitation of prisoners, through educational programmes and reception projects. The work, based on love, solidarity, and a constant presence, represents a beacon of hope in a context in which despair seems to prevail.

In a world marked by abandonment and poverty, the stories of rebirth of street children and young prisoners are an invitation to believe that, with the right support, every life can rise again. Lothar Wagner continues to fight to guarantee these young people not only shelter, but also the possibility of rewriting their destiny, demonstrating that solidarity can truly change the world.

            It is not easy to choose, from the hundreds of unpublished letters of Don Bosco that we have recovered in recent decades, the ones that most deserve to be presented and commented on. This time we take a very simple one, but one that in just a few lines summarises an entire project of Salesian educational work and offers us many other interesting facts. It is the one written on 7 May 1877 to a person from Trentino, a certain Daniele Garbari, who had repeatedly asked him on behalf of two brothers how he could found an educational institute in his area, like the ones that Don Bosco was founding throughout Italy, France and Argentina.

Dear Mr Garbari,

Humble servant Fr. Gio Bosco Turin, 7 May 1877

Positive image of Salesian work
            First of all, the letter informs us how Don Bosco, after papal approval of the Salesian Congregation (1874), the opening of the first Salesian house in France (1875) and the first missionary expedition to Latin America (1875), was always busy visiting and supporting his already existing works and accepting or not accepting the many that were being proposed to him everywhere over those years. At the time of the letter he had the thought of opening the first houses of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians beyond the one in Mornese – as many as six in the two-year period 1876-1877 – and above all he was interested in establishing himself in Rome, where he had been trying unsuccessfully for more than 10 years to have a place. Nothing came of it. Yet another Piedmontese like Don Bosco, a “priest on the move” like him, was not welcome on the banks of the Tiber, in the capital Rome which was already full of unpopular Piedmontese, certain pontifical authorities and certain Roman clergy. For three years he had to “make do” with being on the outskirts of Rome, i.e. the Castelli Romani and Magliano Sabino.

            Paradoxically, the opposite had happened with the city administrations and government authorities of the Kingdom of Italy, where Don Bosco had many, if not friends – their ideas were too far apart, at least great admirers. And for a very simple reason that every government was interested in: to manage the newly-minted country Italy with honest, hard-working, law-abiding citizens, instead of populating the prisons with vagrant “criminals” unable to support themselves and their families with a decent job of their own. Three decades later, in 1900, the famous Jewish anthropologist and criminologist Cesare Lombroso would give Don Bosco full credit when he wrote: “The Salesian institutes represent a colossal and ingeniously organised effort to prevent crime, the only one indeed made in Italy.” As the letter in question well states, the image of Salesian works in which, without taking sides with the various political parties, boys were educated to become “good Christians and upright citizens” was a positive one, even in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to which Trentino and Venezia Giulia belonged at the time.

Typology of a Salesian House
            In the continuation of the letter Don Bosco went on to present the structure of a house of education: rooms where the boys could be housed (and he implied at least five things: courtyard to play in, classrooms to study in, refectory to eat in, dormitory to sleep in, church to pray in) and “a plant or workshops” where a trade could be taught with which the youngsters could live and have a future once they left the institute. As for economic resources, he indicated three assets: the minimum monthly boarding fee that the boys’ parents or relatives could pay, the small income from the craft workshops, public grants (government, municipalities) and especially private charity. It was precisely the Valdocco experience. But Don Bosco was silent here about one important thing: the total dedication to the educational mission by the Rector and his close collaborators, priests and lay people, who for the price of a loaf of bread and a bed spent 24 hours a day in work, prayer, teaching and assistance. At least that was the way it was done in the Salesian houses of the time, highly appreciated by both civil and religious authorities, bishops first and foremost, without whose approval it was evidently not possible to found a house “that educated by evangelising and evangelised by educating” like a Salesian one.

Results
            We do not know if there was a follow-up to this letter. Mr Garbari’s Salesian foundation project certainly did not go ahead. Nor did dozens of other foundation proposals. But it is historically certain that many other instructors, priests and lay people throughout Italy were inspired by Don Bosco’s experience, founding similar works, inspired by his educational model and his preventive system.
            Garbari had to consider himself satisfied, however: Don Bosco had suggested a strategy that worked in Turin and elsewhere… and then he had his hand-written letter which, however difficult to ‘decipher’, was still a letter from a saint. So much so that he jealously preserved it and today it is kept in the Central Salesian Archives in Rome.

A secret to be found
It is well known that Don Bosco’s reputation for getting things done had spread throughout Italy. Since he succeeded in so many enterprises, many people asked him for advice on how to do the same.
How to find the funds to build a church? Mrs Marianna Moschetti of Castagneto di Pisa (today Castagneto Carducci-Livorno) expressly asked him in 1877. Don Bosco’s answer on 11 April, in its brevity and simplicity, is admirable.

Starting point: get to know the situation
With the practical wisdom that came to him from his family upbringing and from his experience as founder-builder-realiser of so many projects, Don Bosco took up his pen and wrote, intelligently, that “there is a need for us to talk to each other to examine what projects can be done and what probability there is of being able to carry them out.” Without healthy realism the best projects remain a dream. The saint, however, does not want to discourage his correspondent right away, so he immediately adds “[carry out] what seems good to me in the Lord.”

In nomine Domini
He begins well, one might say, with this “in the Lord”. In fact, the first, and therefore the most important advice he gives to the lady, is to “pray and invite others to pray and go to communion often, as a most effective way of deserving his graces. The church is the house of the Lord, who will not fail to bless a church project if it is advanced by those who trust in him, pray to him, live a Christian life and make use of the indispensable means. A life of grace certainly deserves the Lord’s graces (Don Bosco is convinced of this), even if everything is grace: “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labour in it.”

Collaboration with everyone
The church is everyone’s home; certainly the parish priest is primarily responsible, but not the only one. Therefore the laity must have a sense of shared responsibility, including the most sensitive, the most available, perhaps the most capable among them (those who today could be part of the pastoral council of each parish). Here then is Don Bosco’s second piece of advice: “Invite the parish priest to put himself at the head of two committees with as many members  as possible. One of men, the other of women. Let each member of this committee sign up for a donation divided into three instalments, one for each year.”
Note: two committees, one male and one female. Of course, at the time the men’s and women’s associations in a parish were normally separate; but why not also see it as fair and loyal “competition” in doing good, in managing a project with their own strength, each group “in its own way”, with its own strategies? Don Bosco knew how much he himself was financially indebted to the female world, to the marquises, countesses, aristocratic women in general: they were usually more religious than their husbands, more generous in works of charity, more willing “to help the needs of the Church”. It was wise to rely on them.

Widening the circle
In fact Don Bosco immediately added: “At the same time each one should seek donors who will give money, work or materials. For example, invite those who will have an altar made, the pulpit, the candlesticks, a bell, the window frames, the main door, smaller doors, glass etc. But only one thing each.” Beautiful. Everyone had to commit to something that they could rightly consider their own personal gift to the church under construction.
Don Bosco had not studied psychology, but he knew – as all parish priests, and not just them, know – that by tickling people’s legitimate pride one can also achieve a great deal in terms of generosity, solidarity, altruism. Moreover, throughout his life he had needed others: to study as a child, to go to the Chieri school as a young man, to enter the seminary as a cleric, to begin his work as a priest, to develop it as a founder.

A secret
Don Bosco then acts a bit mysteriously with his correspondent: “If I could speak to the parish priest I could suggest another means in confidence; but I hesitate to entrust it to paper.” What was that all about? Hard to say. One could think of the promise of special indulgences for such benefactors, but it would have been necessary to go to Rome and Don Bosco knew how much difficulty this could cause with the bishop and other parish priests also involved in similar building projects. More likely it was a confidential invitation to seek the support of political authorities so that they might support the cause. The suggestion, however, would be better made viva voce, so as not to compromise himself before either civil or religious authorities, at a time of fierce opposition between them, with the historical Left in power, more anticlerical than the previous Right.
What more could he say? One thing that was important to both: prayer. And indeed this is how he bids farewell to his correspondent: “I will pray that everything goes well. My only support has always been to have recourse to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and to Mary Help of Christians. God bless you and pray for me who will always be with you in J.C.”.

The Salesians are in 136 countries around the world, including several countries in North Africa, where a new circumscription encompassing Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria was created last year.

When we contacted missionary Fr Domenico Paternò, a Salesian priest, to ask him to share a few outlines of the Salesian presence in North Africa with us, he wanted to start with a reflection on the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean is not only a sea that is geographically very well known, but it is a real cradle of civilisations that have grown up around it over the millennia, giving the whole of humanity contributions of cultures, knowledge, human, social and political experiences that are still the subject of study and investigation today.
All the countries that are bathed by what the Romans called “Mare Nostrum” have a very rich history and are all bearers in various ways of important cultural and natural riches.
Moreover, the Mediterranean, the natural border between Europe and Africa, has a not inconsiderable geopolitical and strategic importance.

If we cross the Mediterranean from Europe, we arrive in the Maghreb, a North African region that is becoming increasingly familiar with the charism of Don Bosco. Last year, in fact, the Special Circumscription of North Africa (CNA) was officially created on 28 August, the feast of St Augustine, to whom the circumscription, which includes Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, was dedicated. This is a new missionary frontier full of challenges and opportunities.

The Maghreb has clear, classical Roman roots. It was called “Afriquia”, thus giving its name to the whole continent that begins here. The sons of Don Bosco, who, incidentally, are in almost all the countries bordering the Mediterranean and have therefore established the Mediterranean Region of the Congregation, have recently decided to develop their presence and service among the young people of these countries. The Maghreb is not “the wrong part” of the Mediterranean, as misinformed people say, but is instead a geographical, human and cultural area that one never ceases to discover and appreciate!
The Salesians are interested in the education of the many young people who flock to these countries: almost 50% of the population is under 25 years of age. These are, therefore, countries rich in hope and future. The aim of the Salesians and their collaborators is to support and develop the dream of these young people.

A “dream that makes one dream” as the Strenna of our Rector Major this year, recalling the bicentenary of Don Bosco’s childhood points out, and if this is true in Salesian life everywhere, in Maghreb it is even more true and significant. The presence today of Don Bosco’s sons seeks to implement the Founder’s dream and make the “wolves” become lambs who are not only peaceful but builders of peace and development. And so, even though we have different religions, Christians and Muslim, all descendants of Abraham, we find ourselves journeying together for the good of the young people and families around us and with us. The school, the oratory, training for work, the playground, human and religious formation, the sharing of joys and sorrows, the mutual knowledge and dignity that each recognises in the other, the family spirit and collaboration – all this helps us to walk together and concretely do good to all.
What is the goal of the Salesians working in these countries?
The answer to this question is very simple: in the Maghreb, Don Bosco’s sons and daughters strive every day for the common good, that is, to become, as Don Bosco wanted, “upright citizens” and “good believers”, each in his own Faith, without renouncing the witness of Christian life, while respecting the culture and religion of others.

Even with some common elements, each country has its own peculiarities that distinguish it.

The Salesians have been in Morocco since 1950 in Kenitra, a large city on the Atlantic coast between Rabat and Tangier.
There is no shortage of work in the fields of education, recreation, welcoming, faith. The Salesians run schools of various levels and types: a primary school, a secondary school and a vocational training centre. This responds to the need for education and employment of the many young Moroccans to give them greater opportunities in life.
In addition, many sports and associative activities are organised in line with Don Bosco’s Preventive System.
The Parish of Christ the King supports the faith of the Christian minority and is attended mainly by young African students studying in Morocco and by Europeans who are in the city. Other specific works include two houses for young migrants, a children’s home and job training for girls. All these initiatives involve more than 1,500 people including children, staff, families and other recipients, who are, with the exception of the parish, all Muslims and all united in the Don Bosco style of inclusive family and mutual assistance. The Salesian presence in Morocco has a point of reference in the archbishop of Rabat, Salesian Cardinal  Cristóbal López Romero, a former missionary in Paraguay before coming to Morocco from 2003 to 2011 and returning after nine years as pastor of the archdiocese. Until last year, Morocco was entrusted to the Province of France (FRB). In addition to the people, the intercultural experience is also lived in the Salesian community, made up of four priests from France, Spain, Poland and DR Congo.

Another Maghreb country with two Salesian presences is Tunisia, where, in Manouba and Tunis, the Salesians run two primary schools, a secondary school, a nascent vocational training centre, two oratories, collaboration activities with the local Church, a parish in Hammamet for Italian and European residents, and other special initiatives. It is a growing presence to which new missionaries have recently been entrusted, also from different countries: Italy, Syria, Lebanon, Spain, DR Congo, Chad.
It is an experience of family and, in particular, of the Salesian Family, with two communities of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the “Friends of Don Bosco”, a group of lay Muslims close to Don Bosco’s charism, and many lay people involved in various capacities. The hope is to establish a group of Salesian Cooperators as well. A total of at least 3,000 people are involved in educational work. Until last year, the province of Sicily took care of the Salesian presence in Tunisia, and Fr Domenico Paternò, originally from Messina, who arrived in Manouba more than ten years ago, was appointed superior.

This brings us to the last country, one of the newest missionary frontiers for the Salesian Congregation, still being defined in terms of details on locations and personnel: Algeria, where the first Salesians will soon arrive.
Actually, it must be said that Algeria was the first country in Africa where the Salesians landed as far back as the 19th century, in 1891, in Oran, where there was an oratory. Subsequently there were two more openings in the capital Algiers, but after several years the unstable and hostile political situation did not allow the work to continue and forced the final closure of the work in 1976. The Salesians thus responded to the invitation of the Archbishop of Algiers after several years of dialogue and study.

In addition to this picture of the Salesian presence in the Maghreb, there are many activities with religious communities and civil society in which the Salesians are involved. For the sake of completeness and seriousness of information, we cannot forget the difficulties that exist and which certainly also give reasons for difficulties that cannot always be overcome. Suffice it to think of the language, which is not easy, the rather fragile socio-economic context often due to international politics, families in difficulty, youth unemployment, the great scourge of the entire region, the absence of effective youth policies capable of providing a future. But despite the undeniable challenges, the possibility and hope for positive development, not only economic but also human and social is great. Sometimes there are signs of intolerance and unreasonable radicalism, but these are very minor phenomena.  They are young societies and therefore open to the future ‘more future than past’, as Fr Egidio Viganò used to say.

In the past months, the Special Circumscription of North Africa held its first Provincial Chapter on the theme of General Chapter 29: “Passionate for Jesus Christ, dedicated to the young. Living our Salesian vocation faithfully and prophetically”. Fr Domenico Paternò stressed how it is a grace to live this moment after only a few months of existence of the Circumscription. The Chapter members drafted the Salesian Provincial Directory and the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project, the first fundamental steps for the future development of the Salesian presence.

In the last Salesian missionary expedition, two Salesians were assigned to the North African circumscription: Brothers Joseph Ngo Duc Thuan (from Vietnam) and Kerwin Valeroso (from the Philippines), currently in France, in Paris, to study French.
The Salesian Congregation, guided by the Holy Spirit, welcomes the challenge of these new frontiers with courage and determination, and is ready to bet on them in order to give renewed missionary enthusiasm and reach more and more poor and abandoned young people in every part of the world.

Marco Fulgaro

“Zatti – hospital”
Zatti and the hospital were an inseparable pair. Fr Entraigas remembers that when there was a telephone call the Salesian Brother answered almost instantly: “Zatti-Hospital”. Without realising it he was expressing the inseparable reality between himself and the hospital. Having become responsible for the hospital in 1913 after the death of Fr Garrone and after Giacinto Massini left the Congregation, little by little he took over every task, but he was first of all and unmistakably the “nurse” of the San Jose hospital. He did not prepare himself casually but tried to perfect what he had learned empirically through personal study. He continued to study throughout his life and gained a high level of experience thanks to 48 years of practice at San Jose. Doctor Sussini, who was among those who practised there the longest, after having stated that Zatti cured the sick with “santa vocación” adds: “From the time that I met him, as far as I know, being the mature and already prepared man that he was, Bro. Zatti did not neglect his general level of knowledge, nor his knowledge of nursing and pharmacy.”
Fr De Roia spoke of Zatti’s professional development: “Speaking of cultural and professional training, I remember seeing medical books and publications and asking him once when he read them. He replied that he did so at night or while patients were taking a nap, once he had finished his duties in the hospital. He also told me that Dr Sussini sometimes lent him some books and I saw that he often consulted the ‘Vademecum e ricettari’”
Doctor Pietro Echay said that for Zatti “the Hospital was a sanctuary.” Fr Feliciano López describes Zatti’s position at the hospital, after long experience with him: “Zatti was a man of leadership, he knew how to clearly express what he wanted, but he accompanied this with gentleness, respect and joy. He never lost his temper, indeed, he would downplay things in a good-natured sort of way, but his example of industriousness was overwhelming and more than being a director without title, he had become a kind of universal worker. Apart from this, he quickly advanced in professional competence, in order to achieve the respect of doctors and even more, his workers. So I never heard it said that peace did not reign in that small world of 60 or 70 patients, in the early days with several Sisters, other women who provided their service and some nurses. And even if there might sometimes be disagreements, as is natural, these did not degenerate thanks to Zatti’s prudence. He was able to remedy these situations.”
The San José Hospital was a special sanctuary for human suffering where Artemides embraced and cared for the suffering flesh of Christ in every suffering brother and sister, and gave meaning and hope to human suffering. Zatti – and with him many men and women of good will – embodied the parable of the Good Samaritan: he was close to people, he stretched out his hand to them, uplifted them, and cared for them. For him, every sick person was like a child to love. Men and women, big and small, rich and poor, intelligent and ignorant, all were treated in a respectful and lovable way, without being upset by or rejecting the insolent and unfriendly ones. He used to say: ‘Sometimes you can have someone with a nice approach, sometimes an unpleasant one, but before God we are all the same.’
Though the hospital was poor, and though many of those who were hospitalised were poor, given the time, places and situations of all hospitals, including national hospitals at the time, Zatti followed the correct health and hygiene standards. Things then were done a bit more flexibly, but this never meant that Bro. Zatti, as a nurse, lacked either justice or charity towards his patients. He was well educated for his task and had good experience. He knew what he had to do and the limits of his skills. There is no record of any mistake, any neglect or any accusation against him. Dr Sussini said: “In his interventions with the sick, he always respected the legal norms, without exceeding his powers […]. I would like to point out that in all his interventions he consulted some of the doctors who were always at his side to support him. As far as I know, he never attempted any serious operations […]. It is certain that he used the established hygienic prescriptions, although sometimes, given his great faith, he considered them excessive. The socio-economic scenario in which Bro. Zatti mainly carried out his activity was one where the economy was poor, education was poor and the people generally had little education. In his activity within the hospital he put into practice the consolidated knowledge of hygiene and technique that he already had and others that he learned by asking professionals. Outside the hospital, his activity was more difficult because changing the situation around him was very difficult and beyond anything he could do.”
Luigi Palma had more to say: “Bro. Zatti’s discretion and prudence was commonly spoken of in Viedma, and any abuse in this matter would have been quickly known in a small population such as Viedma, yet nothing of the kind was ever heard. Bro. Zatti never exceeded his competence. I don’t think he performed any difficult operations. If there had been any abuse, the doctors would have reported it, but they did nothing but praise Zatti’s work […]. Bro. Zatti used the prescribed hygienic precautions. I know this because he treated me on several occasions: injections or small treatments done with all due diligence.”
For a man who spent his whole life with enormous sacrifice for the sick, who was sought by them as a blessing, who won the respect of all the doctors who collaborated with him and against whom a voice of accusation could never be raised, it would be unfair to deny some of the freedom that his experience and prudence could allow him in some particular circumstance: the sublime exercise of charity, even in this case, was worth more than the observance of any formal prescription.

With the heart of Don Bosco
In Zatti, what Don Bosco recommended to the first Salesian missionaries leaving for Argentina had been fulfilled: “Take special care of the sick, of the young, of the old and of the poor, and you will win the blessing of God and the good will of men.” As a Good Samaritan, Zatti took the poor, the sick, and people discarded by society to the inn that was his heart, and to the San José Hospital in Viedma In each of them he saw Christ, looked after Christ, fed Christ, clothed Christ, hosted Christ, honoured Christ. As one doctor at the hospital testified: “The only miracle I have seen in my life is Bro. Zatti, for the extraordinary nature of his character, the ability to serve his neighbour and his extraordinary patience with the sick.”
Zatti was able to recognise a gift in every brother, in every sister, in every person, especially the poor and needy, that he encountered: he was able to see the luminous face of Jesus in each of them. How many times he would exclaim when welcoming a poor or sick person: “Jesus is coming! Christ is coming!” This keeping his gaze fixed on Jesus, especially at a time of trial and in the dark night of the soul, would be the strength that would not allow him to fall prey to his own thoughts and fears.
In the exercise of this charity, Zatti showed God’s embrace for every human being, especially the lowliest, and by involving heart, soul and all his being, he lived with the poor and for the poor. It was not simply the rendering of services, but a tangible manifestation of God’s love, recognising and serving the face of the suffering Christ in the poor and sick with motherly delicacy and tenderness. Living with the poor, he practised charity in a spirit of poverty. He was not an official or bureaucrat, not a service provider, but a true charity worker: and in seeing, recognising and serving Christ in the poor and the excluded, he also educated others. When he asked for something, he asked for Jesus: “Give me a suit for an elderly Jesus”; “Give me some clothes for a 12-year-old Jesus!”
It is impossible to forget his adventures on his bicycle, his endless trips with his classic white dust coat with knotted ends tied at the waist, greeted with tender affection by those he met on his way. Given the slow progress on his bicycle he had time for everything: an affectionate greeting, a kind word, some measured advice, some therapeutic pointers, spontaneous and disinterested help. His large pockets were always full of medicines, all of which he distributed to the needy. He personally reached out to those who called on him, generously giving them not only his well-established medical knowledge, but also the trust, optimism, and faith that radiated from his constant, broad, gentle smile and the kindness of his gaze. Any seriously ill person who received a visit from Bro. Zatti would feel the unmeasurable relief that came from this man at their side. Anyone who died with Zatti there did so without anguish. The charity so generously dispensed around Viedma’s muddy streets meant that Artemides Zatti was remembered by the city with a street, a hospital and a monument named after him.
He carried out a small apostolate that showed the extent of his charity, but that involved much time, work, difficulty and many little inconveniences. Since everyone knew his goodness and goodwill in serving others, everyone turned to him for all kinds of things. The Salesian rectors of houses in the province wrote for medical advice, sent confreres to be looked after, brought people to his hospital when they were unable to bring themselves. The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians sought favours no less than the Salesians. Italian migrants asked for help, had him write to Italy, asked for records. Those who had been well cared for in the hospital sent relatives and friends for him to look after as if it were an expression of gratitude, but it was because of the respect they had for his care. The civil authorities often had people who needed help and resorted to Zatti. Prisoners and other people, seeing how well he got on with the authorities, got him to ask for clemency for them or work on solving their issues.
One event that expresses Zatti’s authoritative power to impact the lives of people by his gospel witness and persuasive word is the conversion of Lautaro Montalva. Known as “the Chilean” because of his country of origin, he was a revolutionary, exploited by the usual political agitators. He would disseminate magazines against religion. Finally, when everyone abandoned him, he fell into poverty and was on his deathbed, but with a large family. Only Zatti had the courage to enter his hovel, manage his first reactions of rejection then win him over him with his charity. The revolutionary calmed down and asked to be baptised: his children were also baptised. Zatti admitted him to the hospital. Shortly before his death he asked the parish priest: “Give me the sacraments that a Christian should receive!” Montalva’s conversion was a conquest of Zatti’s charity and Christian courage.
Zatti made the mission to the sick his own educational space where he embodied Don Bosco’s Preventive System daily – reason, religion, loving kindness – in closeness and assistance to the needy, helping them to understand and accept the painful situations of life. He was a living witness to the presence of the Lord.

Zatti the nurse
Artemides Zatti’s professional profile, which began with a promise, was rooted in trust in Providence and developed once he recovered from his illness. The phrase “I believed, I promised, I recovered”, the motto used at his canonisation, shows the total dedication that Zatti had for his sick brothers and sisters, the poorest and neediest.
He continued this commitment daily until his death in the hospital in San José, founded by the first Salesians to arrive in Patagonia, and he reiterated it during every home visit, urgent or otherwise, that he made to the sick who needed him.
On his bicycle, in his administrator’s office, in the operating room, in the courtyard during recess with his poor “relatives”, in the hospital departments he visited every day, he was always a nurse; a holy nurse dedicated to healing and alleviating, bringing the best medicine: the cheerful and optimistic presence of empathy.

A person and a team doing good
It was faith that drove Artemides Zatti to tireless but reasonable activity. His religious consecration had introduced him directly and completely into the care of the poor, the sick and those who need the health and merciful consolation of God.
Bro. Zatti worked in the world of healthcare alongside doctors, nurses, healthcare personnel, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and many people who collaborated with him to support the San José hospital, the first in Argentine Patagonia, in Viedma during the first half of the 20th century.
The tuberculosis he contracted at the age of twenty was not an obstacle to persevering in his career choice. He found in the figure of the Salesian brother the style of commitment to working directly with the poor. His religious consecration, lived in his profession as a nurse, was the combination of his life dedicated to God and his brothers and sisters. Naturally this manifested itself in a special, unique and unrepeatable personality. Artemides Zatti was a good person who worked directly with the poor, doing good.

Direct contact with the poor was aimed at health, that is, soothing pain, enduring suffering, accompanying the final moments of their lives, offering a smile in the face of the irreversible, lending a hand with hope. For this reason, Zatti became a “medicine-presence”: he cared directly with his pleasant presence.
His main biographer, Salesian Raul Entraigas, made an original discovery. He identified the summary of Artemide Zatti’s life in the phrase of a fellow villager: he seems to be “the kinsman of all the poor”. Zatti saw Jesus himself in orphans, the sick and the indigenous people. And he treated them with such closeness, appreciation and love, that they looked like they were all family members.

Training himself to help
Seeing the needs of the village, Zatti perfected his profession. Gradually he became responsible for the hospital, studied and gained State credentials when requested. The doctors who worked with Artemides, such as doctors Molinari and Sussini, testify that Zatti possessed great medical knowledge, the result not only of his experience, but also of his studies.
Fr De Roia adds: “Speaking of cultural and professional training, I remember seeing medical books and publications and asking him once when he read them. He replied that he did so at night or while patients were taking a nap, once he had finished his duties in the hospital.”
A document, the “Credencial Profesional”, issued by the Secretary for Public Health of the Nation, qualified him with the “Matriculaprofesional de Enfermero N. 07253”. They were the studies he had carried out at the National University of La Plata in 1948, at the age of 67. Added to this is a previous certification, in 1917, as “Eligible” in Pharmacy.
His lifestyle led him to a commitment in which he directly met the poor, the sick, the most needy. For this reason, the nursing profession had an added value: its presence was a testimony to the goodness of God. This simple way of looking at reality can help us better understand Zatti’s life, paying particular attention to the term “directly”.
In this perspective we find what is most genuine in Zatti, which highlights what is defined as “religious life” or “consecration”. This is why Artemides is a Salesian saint. He was a holy nurse. This is the legacy he left everyone. And this is the challenge he issues to everyone and invites them to take up.

1908
Once his health recovered, Zatti entered the Salesian Congregation as a brother. He began taking care of the pharmacy at the San José hospital, the only one in Viedma.
1911
After the death of Fr Evasio Garrone, director of the hospital, Zatti remained in charge of the pharmacy and the hospital, the first in Patagonia. He worked there for forty years.
1917
He obtained the title of “Idóneo (Suitable) in Pharmacy” from the University of La Plata.
1941
The hospital building was demolished. Patients and professionals moved with Zatti to the “San Isidro” agricultural school.
1948
Zatti enrolled in Nursing at the University of La Plata.

Zatti with the doctors: he was a father!
Among Zatti’s main collaborators at San José Hospital were the doctors. The relationships were delicate, because a doctor was the director of the hospital from a legal point of view and had professional responsibility for the patients. Zatti had organisational and nursing responsibility and conflicts could arise. After the first years, several doctors came to Viedma, the capital of the Rio Negro, and to Patagones and Zatti had to make use of their specialisations at the hospital without arousing rivalry. He acted in such a way as to win everyone’s respect for his kindness and competence. We find the names of the directors in the documentation such as Dr Riccardo Spurr and Dr Francesco Pietrafraccia; then Antonio Gumersindo Sussini, Ferdinando Molinari, Pietro Echay, Pasquale Attilio Guidi and Giovanni Cadorna Guidi, who would speak about Zatti’s holiness. Finally, there were also Drs Harosteguy, Quaranta and Cessi. There were others, certainly, but temporarily because, after a period of internship, the doctors aspired to more central and developed locations. There was unanimous recognition that Zatti, as a nurse, was subject to the instructions and directions given by the doctors, but he was respected by them all for his kindness and gave them no cause for concern for the assistance he provided to patients in his own house. Dr Sussini, who followed him up until his death, declared: “All the doctors, without exception, showed him affection and respect for his personal virtues, kindness, mercy and his pure, sincere and disinterested faith[i].”
Dr Pasquale Attilio Guidi explained: “Always correct, he followed the doctors’ instructions. I remember that Dr Harosteguy, who was quite difficult, sometimes blamed Bro. Zatti for his problems when I was present during an operation, but at the end of the operation he would shake hands with him and apologise. So we knew there weren’t many complaints against Zatti. Zatti was someone respected by everyone[ii].” Dr Harosteguy’s daughter and Dr Echay confirmed Harosteguy’s strong character and the unjust complaints against Zatti, who won him over him with his resistance to such. Indeed, when Dr Harosteguy fell ill, he would only allow Zatti to visit him, grateful and appreciative for his presence and closeness.
Dr Molinari testified: “Bro. Zatti respected the medical body and strictly followed their instructions. Given the large number of patients who exclusively required his intervention, he had to act spontaneously very often, but always on the basis of his excellent skills, experience and medical knowledge. He never attempted difficult surgery. He always called for the doctor. We doctors had affection, respect and admiration for Bro. Zatti. This feeling was general […] I would say that the patients ‘worshipped’ Bro. Zatti and had blind faith in him[iii].”
Dr Echay makes this particular observation: “With all the staff of the Zatti hospital he was a father; even with us younger doctors he was a good adviser[iv].” Regarding the visits that Zatti made around the city, Dr Guidi says: “The doctors never looked upon this work of Zatti’s negatively, but as a collaboration. […]. The patients he helped would raise a monument to him[v].”
Even outsiders always saw close relationships of collaboration and respect between Zatti and the doctors, as witnessed by Fr López: “Bro. Zatti’s behaviour towards the doctors was seen by them as warm acceptance. All the doctors I spoke to were, without exception, his admirers[vi].” Fr López once again: “Zatti always had a reputation for kindness towards doctors, tolerance and humanity in the face of the rudeness typical of many doctors; in particular Dr Harosteguy was an abrupt individual and Zatti’s virtue in dealing with him can be deduced because he became an admirer of Zatti, even came close to revering him[vii].” Oscar Garcia puts it eloquently: “The doctors collaborated with the hospital in large part because Bro. Zatti was there, attracting people by his charity[viii].” His life shook the religious indifference of some of them: “When I look at Zatti, my unbelief wavers[ix].” In many cases there were conversions and the beginning of Christian life.

Zatti and the nurses: he was everything to us!
The largest group for the hospital service were female collaborators. The San José, at certain times had up to 70 beds: naturally, professionally trained nurses, kitchen helpers, laundry and ironing machines, cleaners and other staff were needed. It was not difficult to find staff for the lowliest and ordinary tasks because the population had many poor elements and employment in the hospital seemed particularly desirable and secure. It was more difficult to find nurses, because, perhaps throughout the country and certainly in Patagonia there were no schools to train them. Zatti had to deal with all this himself: choose, train, organise, assist the nurses, find what they needed to work with, think of wages to the point that he began the training of female staff for the hospital.
Providence brought several good but poor young people to the hospital who had themselves been ill and had recovered, and who wanted to do something with their life. Zatti was aware of their goodness and willingness; he showed by his own example and word how beautiful it was to serve the Lord in sick brothers and sisters. And then he made the suggestion that they stay with him and share the mission at the hospital. The best girls sensed the greatness and joy of this ideal and stayed at San José. Zatti took responsibility for preparing them professionally and – as a good religious – took care of their spiritual formation. Thus, as a group they ended up as a kind of congregation without vows, a group of chosen souls who chose to serve the poor. Zatti gave them everything they needed for life, even if he ordinarily did not pay them, and thought of good accommodation if they wanted to leave the service at the hospital. We should not think that the situation at that time required all the guarantees that hospitals require today. For those girls the solution offered by Zatti was an enviable one from the material point of view and just as much from a spiritual point of view. In fact they were happy, and when the San José Hospital closed, or before, none of them found it hard to set themselves up. As a group they always expressed their gratitude.
Fr Entraigas recalled 13 names of the female staff who worked at the hospital at different times. Among the documents are reports by the nurses: Noelia Morero, Teodolinda Acosta, Felisa Botte, Andrea Rafaela Morales, Maria Danielis. Noelia Morero tells her story, which was identical to the stories of several other nurses. She arrived at San José as a patient: “I was a patient here and then I began to work with the hospital until the end of 1944, when I moved to the National Regional Hospital in Viedma, which opened in 1945 […]. Zatti was much loved and respected by all staff and patients; he was everyone’s ‘handkerchief to wipe away tears’. I don’t remember any complaints against him. When Zatti entered the ward, it seemed that ‘God Himself’ entered! I don’t know how else to put it. He was everything to us. I never knew of any particular difficulties; as a patient I never lacked anything: not food, nor medicine, nor clothes. Bro. Zatti was mainly concerned with the moral training of the staff. I remember that he made us learn by practical lessons, accompanying him when he visited the sick and after one or two times he made us do it, especially with the most serious cases.[x]”

Film seen before the conference

Video of the conference: Zatti the Good Samaritan, for the sick, doctors and nurses
Lecture given by Fr Pierluigi CAMERONI, Postulator General of the Salesian Society of St John Bosco in Valdocco, on 15.11.2023.

[i] Testimony of Dr. Antonio Gumersindo Sussini. Positio – Summarium, p. 139, § 561.

[ii] Testimony from Attilio Guidi, pharmacist. He knew Zatti from 1926 to 1951. Positio – Summarium, p. 99, § 386.

[iii] Testimony of Dr Ferdinando Molinari. He knew Zatti from 1926 to 1951. He became a doctor at the San José Hospital and looked after him during his final illness. He gave the official address on the occasion of the inauguration of the monument to Zatti. Positio – Summarium, p. 147, § 600.

[iv] Testimony of Dr Pietro Echay. Positio – Informatio,p. 108.

[v] Testimony of Attilio Guidi, pharmacist. Positio – Summarium, p. 100, § 391.

[vi] Testimony of Father Feliciano López. Positio – Summarium, p. 171, § 694.

[vii] Ibid, p. 166, § 676.

[viii] Testimony of Oscar García, police employee. He met Zatti in 1925, but dealt with him mainly after 1935, both as a leader of the former students and as a member of the Workers Club. Positio – Summarium, p. 111, § 440.

[ix] Testimony of Father Feliciano López. Positio – Summarium, p. 181, § 737.

[x] Testimony of Noelia Morero, nurse. Positio – Informatio, p. 112.

Don Bosco wrote at night by candlelight, after a day spent in prayer, talks, meetings, study, courtesy visits. Always practical, tenacious, with a prodigious vision of the future.

“Da mihi animas, cetera tolle” is the motto that inspired all of Don Bosco’s life and action from time of the wandering Oratory in Turin (1844) to his final initiatives on his deathbed (January 1888) for the Salesians to go to England and Ecuador. But for him souls were not separated from bodies, so much so that since the 1950s he had proposed to dedicate his life so that young people would be “happy on earth and then in heaven.” Earthly happiness for his “poor and abandoned” young people consisted in having a roof, a family, a school, a playground, friendships and pleasant activities (games, music, theatre, outings…) and above all a profession that would guarantee them a serene future.
This explains the “arts and trades” workshops at Valdocco – the future vocational schools – that Don Bosco created from nothing: an authentic start-up, to put it in today’s terms. He had initially offered himself as the first instructor for tailoring, bookbinding, shoemaking… but progress did not stop and Don Bosco wanted to be at the forefront.

The availability of engines
Starting in 1868, at the initiative of the mayor of Turin, Giovanni Filippo Galvagno, some of the Ceronda stream, which had its source at an altitude of 1,350 m, were captured by the Ceronda Canal to be distributed to various industries that were springing up in the northern area of the Piedmontese capital, Valdocco to be precise. The canal was then divided into two branches at the height of the Lucento district, the one on the right, completed in 1873, after crossing the Dora Riparia with a canal, continued to run parallel to what is now Corso Regina Margherita and Via San Donato to then discharge into the Po. Don Bosco, ever vigilant to what was happening in the city, immediately asked the City Hall for “the concession of at least 20 horsepower of water power” from the canal that would pass alongside Valdocco. Once the request was granted, he had the two inlets built at his own expense, arranged the machines in the workshops so that they could easily receive the motive power, and had an engineer study the engines needed for the purpose. When everything was ready, he asked the authorities on 4 July 1874 to proceed with the connection at his own expense. For several months he received no answer, so on 7 November he renewed his request. The response this time came fairly quickly. It seemed positive, but he asked for some clarifications first. Don Bosco replied in the following terms:

“Your Excellency the Mayor,
I hasten to convey to Your Excellency, the clarifications that I was pleased to ask you for in your letter of the 19th of this month, and I have the honour of notifying you that the industries to which the horsepower from the Ceronda water will be applied are:
1st Printing works for which no fewer than 100 workers are employed.
2nd Pulp factory with no fewer than 26 workers.
3rd Typeface foundry, copper engraving with no fewer than 30 workers.
4th Iron workshop with no fewer than 30 workers.
5th Carpenters, cabinet-makers, turners with hydraulic saw: no fewer than 40 workers.
Total workers more than 220.”

This number included instructors and young students. Given the situation, besides being subjected to unnecessary physical exertion, they would not have been able to withstand the competition. In fact, Don Bosco added: “These works are now done at the expense of a steam engine for the printing works, but for the other workshops they are done by manpower, in such a way that they could not withstand the competition of those who use water power.”
And in order to avoid possible delays and fears on the part of the public authorities, he immediately offered a warning: “We do not object to depositing a bill of public debt as security, as soon as it can be known what it should be.”

He always thought big… but was content with the possible
He had to think about the future, about new laboratories, new machines and so the demand for electricity would necessarily increase. Don Bosco then raised the demand and cited existential and contextual reasons:
“But while I accept the theoretical strength of ten horsepower, I find myself needing to note that this is totally insufficient for my needs, since the project which is being carried out was based on 30 [?] as I had the honour of expounding in my letter of November last. For this reason, I would ask you to take into consideration the construction work already underway, the nature of this institute, which lives on charity alone, the number of workers involved, the fact that we were among the first to subscribe and therefore be willing to grant us, if not the 30 horsepower promised, at least the largest amount available…”
“Word to the wise, one might say.

A successful entrepreneur
The amount of water granted to the Oratory on that occasion has not come down to us. The fact remains that Don Bosco once again demonstrates the qualities of a capable entrepreneur that everyone at the time recognised and still recognises in him today: a story of moral integrity, the right mix of humility and self-confidence, determination and courage, communication skills and an eye to the future. Obviously, the fuel for all his ambitions and aspirations was a single passion: souls. He had many collaborators, but somehow everything fell on his shoulders. Tangible proof of this are the thousands of letters, just one of which we have published here, corrected and re-corrected several times: letters he usually wrote in the evening or at night by candlelight, after a day spent in prayer, talks, meetings, study, courtesy calls. While drawing up his plans by day, by night he was then able to dream up how they would develop. And these would come in the following decades, with the hundreds of Salesian vocational schools scattered around the world, with tens of thousands of boys (and then girls) who would find a springboard to a future full of hope in them.

The Italian Lira, with its subdivisions into 100 centimes, was the official currency of Italy from 1861 to 2002 when it was ultimately replaced by the European currency, the Euro. It was the currency in Don Bosco’s time and in the early history of the Salesian Congregation.

The Italian Lira (abbreviated as £ or Lit.) was first minted by the Republic of Venice in 1472. In 1806, it was adopted by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, also known as Regno Italico, founded in 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte, when he had himself crowned as ruler of the northern and central-eastern part of what is now Italy. Ten years later, in 1814, following the dissolution of the Napoleonic state, the currency of the Kingdom was maintained only in the Duchy of Parma and the Kingdom of Sardinia. After another two years, in 1816, King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy introduced the Savoy lira, which remained in circulation until the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, when it became the Italian lira. This currency remained in circulation until 2002, when it was replaced by the Euro.

When we follow the history of Don Bosco and the Salesian Congregation, we always comes across the difficulty of correctly quantifying the financial efforts that were made to support and educate thousands, indeed tens of thousands of boys, as the Italian currency has undergone great variations over the years. The difficulty increased even more with the adoption of the European currency, when in 2002 the exchange rate was set at 1936.27 Italian lira for one Euro. And there have been further significant variations due to inflation.
We propose below a calculation table of the revaluation of the Lira from 1861 to 2002 with the possibility of an update to 2022.

The calculations were made on the basis of the revaluation coefficients provided by the Central Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and were determined according to the trend of the cost-of-living indices, which since 1968 have taken the name of consumer price indices for blue- and white-collar households. For the period after the year 2002, the inflation index was added, which comes to 38.70% in 2022 compared to the time of the launch of the single currency (Euro), based on data provided by ISTAT itself (1 Euro in 2002 = 1.39 Euro in 2022).