(ANS – Rome) – The series of “goodnights” offered by the General Councilors to the members of the Sacred Heart Community at the Salesian Headquarters continued on July 31 with Fr. Jorge Mario Crisafulli, Councilor for the Missions, who shared reflections inspired by the recent Missionary Quinquennium meetings and his visits to missionary communities around the world.
Regional Meetings of the Missionary Quinquennium
Fr. Crisafulli began by recalling the regional meetings of the Missionary Quinquennium, which in recent months brought together more than 100 young missionaries from Expeditions 150–155, who were sent between 2020 and 2025.
“They provided an opportunity for fellowship, reflection on one’s life, an assessment of strengths and challenges, ongoing formation and, above all, sharing the joy of being Salesian missionaries,” he said.
The Councilor for the Missions emphasized the importance of providing close support to young missionary confreres before, during, and after their departure. He shared several significant statistics: from 1969 to 2026, 1,953 Salesians have been sent ad gentes y ad vitam. Of these, 663 continue serving in mission territories, 466 died in the missions where they were assigned, 137 changed their destination, 393 left the Congregation, and 720 returned to their province of origin. The average age at departure is 35, including 954 priests, 712 students or deacons, and 287 Salesian Brothers.
According to Fr. Crisafulli, these figures underscore the urgent need to strengthen the discernment, selection, and formation of missionary candidates. For this reason, the Rector Major and his General Council have approved revisions to the missionary formation programs, including a new, longer, and more in-depth Germoglio course lasting six months. The program will be piloted during the 2027–2028 academic year and fully implemented in 2028–2029.
Visits to Missionary Communities
In the second part of his reflection, the Councilor for the Missions highlighted three themes that emerged from his visits to missionary communities over the past six months.
The first was interculturality, demonstrated by the missionaries’ respect for the cultures and traditions of the people they serve, from the Brazilian Amazon a Vanuatu.
The second was sacrifice and joy, exemplified by the missionaries in Iauaretê y Maturacá, who endure 12 hours of river travel while “always smiling… able to absorb suffering and transform it into service and hope.”
The third was fraternity, lived out even in communities marked by violence and persecution. This spirit of brotherhood has helped foster new local vocations, particularly in Brazil and the Pacific Islands.
The Missions Are Not “Just Another Sector”
Fr. Crisafulli concluded by sharing three convictions.
First, the missions are not “just another sector,” but rather “a primary and necessary means of renewing the apostolic vitality of the Congregation.”
Second, Don Bosco envisioned a Congregation that would be born and grow as a missionary body, and the missions remain “the privileged place where the Salesian charism unfolds its full educational, social, and pastoral potential,” quoting Fr. Luigi Ricceri.
Finally, he stressed that the missionary spirit “involves everyone” and is “a spirit that permeates all our sectors, all our regions, and our houses.”
“May the Generalate not be a comfortable armchair for us, but a springboard,” the Councilor for the Missions urged, inviting his confreres to live “our missionary exodus with humility, joy, and openness—from our offices in Roma toward the peripheries of the world, where young people are waiting for us.”