(ANS – Rome – November 12, 2026) – On Wednesday, November 11, the Salesian Headquarters in Rome hosted a roundtable discussion titled “The First Missionary Steps in South America.” The event concluded the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition. That expedition departed from Genoa on November 11, 1875, led by Fr. Giovanni Cagliero.

The Rector Major’s Greeting

Fr. Fabio Attard opened the proceedings. He described it as “providential” to commemorate this event in Rome while the Pope is in Latin America. He recalled the presentation of the crucifix to the ten missionaries at Valdocco and the mandate to seek “souls, not money, nor honors, nor dignity.”

He emphasized that the missions arose from Don Bosco’s dream and the involvement of the young people of the Oratory. He noted that today the Salesian presence spans 137 countries. He highlighted two anniversaries in 2026: the 100th anniversary of Cagliero’s death and the 110th anniversary of the death of Bishop Giuseppe Fagnano. He noted that scholarly biographies of both men are still lacking. Finally, he invited everyone to rediscover the “saints next door”—the many missionaries, both men and women, whose names we barely know.

Cagliero and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians

Father Francesco Motto described Cagliero’s “diplomacy” during his first 19 months in Argentina and Uruguay (1875–1877). Drawing on letters to Don Bosco, he showed how Cagliero forged alliances with civil and Church authorities to ensure stability for the first houses. He also highlighted his realistic assessment of Patagonia and the constant problem of a shortage of trained personnel.

Sister Grazia Loparco traced the journey of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians from Uruguay to Patagonia (1877–1888). She recalled the very young pioneers led by Sister Angela Vallese, who arrived in Montevideo in December 1877, and the extreme poverty of those early days. She also recalled the founding of Punta Arenas in 1888, the southernmost mission in the world. She emphasized that the sisters had a real educational and social impact, one that was anything but secondary.

Brazil and Patagonia

Speaking via video link from Ponte Nova, Brazil, Sister Maria Imaculada da Silva presented the Brazilian context during Bishop Cagliero’s visits (1890–1896). She spoke about the nascent republic and the separation of Church and state. She recalled the reorganization of the Brazilian province following the death of Bishop Lasagna and extended an invitation to the international congress of the Association of Scholars of Salesian History, to be held in Brasília in June 2027.

Architect Rinio Bruttomesso proposed an interpretation of Fagnano as a “revolutionary Salesian” during the years 1887–1892. He identified four “revolutions”: the urban missions, the cultural revolution, the revolution of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and the “brick revolution,” following the 1892 fire at the church in Punta Arenas. He then proposed adding text to the plaque on the Turin street named after Fagnano to commemorate his role as a Salesian missionary.

A Testimony from the “End of the World”

Particularly moving was the address by Sister Susana Andrea Díaz Vidal, FMA, who was born in Punta Arenas in 1981. She recounted that, for the people of Magallanes, the Salesian presence had been “the air they breathed” every day. She concluded with a letter from Fagnano to Don Bosco, dated 1887, in which he described himself as one of the farthest-flung sons but perhaps the closest to Don Bosco’s tenderness.

Finally, Prof. Nicola Bottiglieri recounted the 1909 exploratory expedition to Tierra del Fuego. Fagnano undertook it to open a route from the Gulf of Admiralty to Río Grande, across Tierra del Fuego, and to establish a third mission for the Ona people. The venture was based on erroneous information, but it reveals the figure of a “down-to-earth visionary.” The proceedings were coordinated by Alejandro Mario Dieguez, a scholar at the Vatican Apostolic Archives, who was born in Argentina—just like Pope Francis.

At the end of the event, both the in-person audience and the large online audience expressed great satisfaction with the historical presentations that concluded the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Salesian missions.

The entire event can be viewed on ANSChannel at this link.