(ANS – Rome) – The 5th Meeting of the Association of Salesian Cooperators of the Italy–Middle East Region took place from July 31 to August 2, 2026, at Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano, on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. The gathering was held to mark the 150th anniversary of the Association’s foundation by St. John Bosco and was celebrated under the theme “Drawn by Your Merciful Love.”

The highlight of Saturday, August 1, dedicated to the motto “We Want to Love You Again by Doing Good,” was the two-part reflection offered by Fr. Fabio Attard, Rector Major of the Salesians: the morning address, “Do Whatever He Tells You,” and the homily during the Eucharistic Celebration.

Cana: The Key to the Preventive System

In his address, Fr. Attard presented the Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1–11) as “an interpretive key that brings together the Strenna and the charism, the Gospel and Salesian pedagogy,” emphasizing that this is not “an artificial juxtaposition.”

The Rector Major invited participants to “look closely at the scene” at Cana, identifying four elements that summarize Don Bosco’s educational style:

• Mary’s gaze, which is able to recognize that “they have no wine” before anyone else notices;
• Mary’s words, which “evoke in the servants a response of trust and faith in Jesus”;
• The atmosphere of engagement that follows, in which the servants “fill the jars to the brim” through free choice rather than blind obedience;
• The active role of the servants, whom “the Lord does not bypass” but instead “involves in his work.”

On this Gospel foundation, Fr. Attard developed the three pillars of the Preventive System:

Reason: An invitation to look at the world of young people “not through the lens of fear, judgment, or nostalgia,” but with a gaze capable of recognizing “the signs of God, the deep desires, and the thirst for authenticity” among young people living in urban peripheries, countries affected by war, migrant communities, and digital environments.

Religion: The need to “listen to God” through daily prayer as the foundation of all pastoral action, remembering that “without daily listening to the Word, we risk creating many generous initiatives that are not very evangelical.”

Loving-kindness: A style modeled on the servants at Cana that “does not create dependence, but shared responsibility,” making young people and laypeople “agents of good, capable in turn of receiving and bringing the new wine to others.”

The Rector Major concluded his reflection by referring to the words of the banquet master at Cana: “You have kept the good wine until now” (Jn 2:10), presenting them as an image of hope for the Association:

“Celebrating 150 years of history does not mean nostalgically preserving a vintage wine: it means believing that the Lord still has new wine to serve through us, and that the best of our vocation is not behind us, but ahead of us.”

He then entrusted the Meeting to Mary Help of Christians, “the watchful Mother of Cana,” and to Don Bosco, asking for the grace to become “that humble and fruitful leaven which makes the dough rise.”

The Homily: Consistency as Daily Martyrdom

During the Eucharistic Celebration, Fr. Attard reflected on the Gospel account of the martyrdom of John the Baptist (Mt 14:1–12), drawing a connection between the theme of the Meeting and the story of Herod, “a tragic figure who encounters the message of grace yet refuses to be drawn to it.”

The Rector Major observed that Herod “does not encounter Jesus; he merely catches an echo of him,” filtered “through his restless conscience.” He highlighted how the tetrarch “never truly makes a decision: his decisions are made by others,” first held captive by fear of the crowd and then by concern for the opinions of his guests.

Fr. Attard contrasted this barren figure with John the Baptist, who, although “chained and destined for death,” remains free and fruitful because “he does not compromise the truth, nor does he bend it to the convenience of the palace.”

The central message of the homily was:

“We shall not be witnesses as long as our faith remains an opinion, exposed to the winds of public opinion […]; we shall be witnesses to the extent that faith becomes conviction, conviction becomes witness, and that witness is prepared, if the Lord asks it, to pay a price.”

Addressing the Salesian Cooperators directly, the Rector Major explained that the martyrdom required today is not necessarily one of blood, but rather one “of consistency: to say ‘this is not permissible’ when everyone else is silent, to remain faithful when it would be more convenient to turn away, to keep the Gospel intact in a world that would have us be more pliable, more conformist, more tamed.”

He recalled that this consistency “does not come from our own strength, but from having allowed ourselves to be loved first,” echoing the theme of the Meeting. He concluded by entrusting the participants to Mary Help of Christians, “the first to be drawn to him,” and to the witness of John the Baptist, “the friend of the Bridegroom.”

The Conclusion of the Meeting

The 5th Meeting concluded on Sunday, August 2, with a day dedicated to the theme “This Is Why We Promise.” The gathering ended with the closing celebration and the renewal of the Promise of the Salesian Cooperators.

The event marked the fifth stage of a journey that began in 2014 in Pesaro and continued through Palermo, Falerna, and Chianciano Terme—a journey described by organizers as a “thread” connecting lives, places, and generations within the Association founded 150 years ago by St. John Bosco.