(ANS – Rome) – A truly Salesian moment of genuine fraternity and thanksgiving to God was experienced on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at the Generalate of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) in Rome, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the religious profession of the Mother General of the FMA Institute, Mother Chiara Cazzuola. The festive anniversary was attended by the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr. Fabio Attard, who presided at the solemn anniversary Mass.

The 11th Successor of Don Bosco went to the FMA Generalate in the morning and there, accompanied by his Vicar, Fr. Stefano Martoglio, who concelebrated the rite, he celebrated the double festive Eucharist for the 153rd anniversary of the foundation of the FMA Institute and the 50th anniversary of the profession of the current FMA Mother General, in front of a colourful assembly of about 250 people, including all the FMA Provincials of Italy.

In his homily, structured around three central points, Don Attard first highlighted God’s faithfulness and the consequent human gratitude for divine goodness. ‘Fifty years of consecrated life are first and foremost fifty years of fidelity as children. When we look back on our journey, what emerges is not so much our merits, our constancy, but rather the patient and untiring divine goodness towards us,’ he began.

Using a rural metaphor, the Rector Major observed how in the vocational life of Mother Chiara Cazzuola, ‘the Lord called, planted a seed of love that grew despite occasional resistance, blossomed even through the cracks of weakness, and bore much fruit, beyond expectations.’

Faced with all this, therefore, a sense of gratitude arises spontaneously in our hearts, but, he continued, ‘it is not only a human feeling, but an act of justice, because it recognises that everything is grace, everything is a gift, everything is mercy: both spiritual joys and consolations, as well as trials and crises, periods of dryness… everything has been an instrument in the merciful hands of the Father, so that he could gradually shape the image of his Son in the human heart.’

Thus, after inviting everyone to give thanks for the many people and communities that have been part of the Mother General’s life journey, Fr. Attard focused his attention on a second aspect: the 50th anniversary is a significant milestone in a journey that continues, because the present, the reality of life, still calls us. ‘The Salesian charism continues to be relevant, to ask questions of the world, and is a treasure to be shared, a witness that young people and the world need. If proof were needed, we had it last week,’ commented Fr. Attard, referring to the Youth Jubilee.

Therefore, the mission is not over, but must always be lived, in daily life, with the awareness and serenity of those who have already experienced God’s persevering presence for 50 years. ‘The storms we have weathered teach us that peace does not lie in the absence of difficulties, but in the awareness and consciousness of the Lord’s constant presence beside us,’ added the Rector Major.

In his final thought, Fr. Attard urged us to see in the celebration of this significant anniversary the beauty and joy of the complete gift of self, ‘not a superficial or fleeting joy, but that deep joy that comes from the awareness of having done everything possible to respond generously to the Lord’s call, of having made one’s life a complete gift’.

The definitive ‘yes’ pronounced on 5 August 1975 by Sister Chiara Cazzuola has been renewed countless times over these 50 years, in small and large acts of daily fidelity, and the joy , commented the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, is that of those who have discovered ‘that in losing their lives, they have truly found them, that consecrated life is not renunciation, but fullness, not impoverishment, but enrichment, not death, but resurrection! A joy that becomes a witness for everyone, especially for young people searching for the meaning of their existence: the joy of the complete gift of oneself, to be totally Christ’s.’

In conclusion, the Rector Major paid tribute to Mother Chiara Cazzuola, describing this important anniversary as ‘a song of praise for God’s faithfulness, a hymn of gratitude for his infinite goodness, a cry of joy for the beauty of a vocation that continues to flourish’; and then, referring to the message shared by FMA Mother General herself to her sisters for the Feast of the Institute, he wished the religious and all her sisters: ‘May the Lord give you the strength to continue working for the future of the charism, to support the creative capacity of your sisters, to grow in love for God; may you become happier women every day, generators of life and hope that does not disappoint.’

For her part, in her message delivered afterwards, Mother Chiara Cazzuola sincerely thanked Fr. Attard and Fr. Martoglio for their participation, expressing how the presence of the Rector Major on that occasion was a living echo of Don Bosco’s presence in Mornese on 5 August 1872, when Mother Mazzarello and the other first 10 sisters took their first vows as Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

At the end of the celebration, the day of celebration continued with group photos and a fraternal agape meal among all those present, enriched by songs and expressions of affection and gratitude for the FMA Mother General.