(ANS – Rome) – On January 26, 2026, the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, officially promulgated the fifth edition of The Formation of the Salesians of Don Bosco – Principles and Norms – Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis et Studiorum.

This date was chosen because it marks the simple yet fruitful beginning of our existence and vocation as Salesians. On that day in 1854, Rua, Cagliero, Artiglia, and Rocchietti gathered in Don Bosco’s room. The minutes of that meeting, written by sixteen-year-old Michael Rua, were recorded in a notebook measuring 12 cm by 5 cm. This small notebook is the first document now preserved in the Don Bosco House Museum and can be seen by entering Don Bosco’s room through the original entrance, which once opened onto the external balcony.

The minutes read:

“On the evening of January 26, 1854, we gathered in Don Bosco’s room: Don Bosco, Rocchietti, Artiglia, Cagliero, and Rua. We were invited to commit ourselves, with the help of God and St. Francis de Sales, to an experiment in the practical exercise of charity toward our neighbor, in order eventually to make a promise and later, if possible and appropriate, a vow of it to the Lord. From that evening, the name Salesians was given to those who chose—and would in the future choose—to engage in such an exercise.”

As Fr. Fabio Attard explained in the interview he gave on this occasion (available through the provided link), promulgating the Ratio on this same date gives the entire process the right direction from the outset. It is a journey that begins with renewed fidelity to the Salesian vocation and mission in our own time, with all its challenges and opportunities.

The Rector Major reflects:

“ ‘The name Salesians was given’… As we approach the Feast of Don Bosco, let us reflect on what arose from those humble beginnings and how the lives of millions of young people have been touched and transformed by that ‘practical exercise of charity toward our neighbor,’ which then became a promise and a vow to the Lord, in the school of our father and teacher. There are many more young people looking to Don Bosco today, and there will be many more tomorrow. The more creatively faithful we are to the vocation and mission entrusted to us, the more the young people who enter our houses and encounter those who continue the exercise of charity begun by Rua and Cagliero today ‘will be happy in time and in eternity.’ This was the only desire of Don Bosco’s heart, as he assured us in his letter from Rome, written from this very house in 1884. Simply put, the Ratio is all of this. Let us not allow this gift of conversion and renewal that the Lord offers us to slip through our fingers.”

The decree of promulgation is available at the bottom of the page. The full text of the document will be made available in digital format as soon as the official translations are completed, by the end of February. The printed edition will follow shortly thereafter.

Audiovisual materials and other learning resources designed to help individuals and communities become familiar with this fifth edition of the Ratio will also be distributed. These materials will focus primarily on the first five chapters (a total of 60 pages of the approved text), which present the fundamental themes inspiring the entire formation process before moving on to more specific aspects such as structures, initial stages of formation, admissions, and study plans.

This year, audiovisual resources and reading guides for each of the first chapters will be released every two months: Chapter 1 in early March, Chapter 2 in early May, Chapter 3 in early July, Chapter 4 in early September, and Chapter 5 in early November. These materials may be used both for community animation and for personal formation. Those who wish to receive them by email and/or WhatsApp may register through the provided link.

Finally, one hundred young Salesians from various regions are collaborating to develop proposals for engaging confreres and communities in the initial stages of formation. Their goal is to make this new journey an interactive process, using language and approaches familiar to younger generations.