(ANS – Turin) – “Avvenire” is a prominent Italian daily official newspaper of the Catholic Church in Italy which has featured an article on our New Rector Major Fr. Fabio Attard. We present you an extract from the article:
In the long ministry of Fr. Fabio Attard, the new Rector Major, a Salesian for 45 years and a priest since 1987, there’s a deep and enduring passion for young people that runs through both his pastoral work and academic pursuits. After returning from Tunisia in 1991—where he helped establish the Salesian presence and learned Arabic—he served as Rector of the Salesian school and oratory in Malta.
From 2008 to 2020, he was General Councillor for Youth Ministry. In line with the theme of the 29th General Chapter that elected him Rector Major, he became firmly convinced that today, “one cannot be passionate about Jesus Christ without being dedicated to young people.”
“This is the heart of our Salesian vocation,” says Fr. Attard. “And it’s right here in Turin—where our Salesian charism was born among the most vulnerable and needy youth—that we want to begin again.”
His First Visit: A Meaningful Gesture
Is this why, for his first public visit as Rector Major, on April 3rd, he chose to go to the juvenile detention center in Turin, “Ferrante Aporti,” where Don Bosco himself used to visit imprisoned boys?
It was in a prison like this that Don Bosco’s Preventive System was born. And it’s from this very place, where the Salesian charism began, that Fr. Attard wants to continue to walk alongside young people who have received the least in life.
“As our founder reminded us, ‘In every young person, even the most unfortunate, there is a point of goodness, and it is the first duty of the educator to find that point, that sensitive chord of the heart, and draw upon it,’” Fr. Attard says.
Accompanied by fellow Salesian Fr. Silvano Oni, he met the detained boys, most of whom are foreign and Muslim. “It was a very moving encounter,” he recalls. “I spoke with some of them in Arabic. And I am more convinced than ever, as our fellow Salesian Fr. Domenico Ricca—the prison chaplain there for 40 years—used to say, that the tragedy of these minors is having been ‘born in the wrong cradle.’”
Just as Don Bosco wrote in his Memoirs of the Oratory, in 19th-century Turin—so similar to the outskirts of today’s world—it was essential to give hope to the most fragile and impoverished youth.
What Did Don Bosco Understand Behind Bars?
Don Bosco wrote:
“To see so many boys aged 12 to 18, all healthy, strong, intelligent, but idle, eaten alive by lice, starving both spiritually and physically—this horrified me. I thought: If only these boys had a friend outside, someone to care for them, to assist and teach them about God on Sundays—who knows? Maybe they wouldn’t end up back in prison. I shared this thought with Fr. Cafasso (his spiritual director and the patron saint of prisoners), and with his advice and insight, I began looking for a way to make it happen.”
This was 1855, and “Ferrante Aporti” was then known as “la Generala.” From those afternoons spent playing and talking with the imprisoned boys, Don Bosco’s Preventive System took shape. That’s why, ever since, the chaplains at “Ferrante” have always been Salesians, who—like in oratories all over the world—try to love young people as Don Bosco taught:
“More can be achieved with a glance of kindness and a word of encouragement than with many reprimands.”
After all, Pope Francis himself, by opening the second Holy Door of the Jubilee (after St. Peter’s Basilica) in the Rebibbia prison, reminded us where hope and comfort need to be brought.
The fact that Don Bosco’s way still works is proven by the attentive, bright-eyed response of those troubled boys at “Ferrante.” And when it was time to leave, they said to Fr. Attard, “Come back soon!”
“Our Youth Need Adults Who Listen, Not Judge”
You spent 12 years as General Councillor for Youth Ministry, traveling the globe. What unites young people across the world? What are they looking for, and how do Salesians respond? How can we speak of Jesus to today’s youth?
“What unites young people everywhere,” Fr. Attard explains, “is the profound lack of meaningful adults in their lives—adults who have the patience to respect their gradual growth, and who don’t try to plan their lives for them. Young people today—whether sons, daughters, students, or those in our care as Salesians—need ears, not tongues. They need to be listened to, not lectured.”
“When youth sense an authentic relationship, they find the space to open up their hearts. That’s when they’ll ask, ‘Prof, do you have 5 minutes?’ or ‘Father, do you have 5 minutes?’ And I always tell my Salesians: ‘When a young person asks for time, drop everything and say, “Hi, how are you?”’ That question is really a cry for understanding.”
“If you, as an adult, find those five minutes, the young person will feel heard and cared for. They’ll know you were waiting for them. When a young person seeks you out, you can’t be absent. That ‘Father, do you have 5 minutes?’ comes from a deep place… and it’s from there we can begin to speak about Jesus, responding to their deep questions about meaning. Because today’s youth are crying out from the heart for purpose and direction. We must become beggars for their questions.”
The Mission of the New Rector Major
Here it is—the proclamation of Jesus Christ. This is how Don Bosco did it: through games, conversations, and simply spending time with the boys. Fr. Fabio, what does it mean to be elected the 11th Successor of Don Bosco, and what is the current state of the Salesian family you are now preparing to lead?
“If we just look at the numbers,” Fr. Attard admits, “it’s clear we’re fewer than ten years ago. But if we consider what Don Bosco’s charism can mean in our time, there’s no doubt: our Congregation is alive. What our founder started here in Turin, through the power of the Spirit, is still burning bright. He began it, and we are called to continue and safeguard it.”
“We believe this is the right path—young people are asking for it. The big challenge is how to live out our charism, which is a gift of the Spirit, in today’s world, which, as Pope Francis says, is not just changing—it’s a change of epoch.”
“That’s what we’re trying to do. In our schools and oratories around the world, we welcome young people of every faith and background. But Jesus’ message is clear: we welcome all, without losing our identity. We must pay attention to what young people today are looking for—it’s not the same as what their parents or teachers sought.”
“To be good Salesians and good adults,” Fr. Attard concludes, “we must learn to listen contemplatively to the hearts of young people—not to give quick answers, but to first understand the questions they’re asking.”
Marina Lomunno, Avvenire