(ANS – Rome) – From January 16 to 19, 2025, Turin-Valdocco will host the Salesian Family Spirituality Days (GSFS), an annual event that brings together members and friends of the Salesian Family from around the world. This meeting, which reaches its 43rd edition, will be a valuable opportunity to delve into the message of the Strenna for 2025, entitled “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people”, as well as to celebrate Salesian spirituality, share the charismas and strengthen fraternal ties between participants.
The thematic axis of the GSFS 2025 will be “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people”, inspired by the message of the Strenna for 2025 and the Jubilee proposed by Pope Francis. This theme highlights the fundamental values of the Salesian Family: hope in Christ as the anchor of life and the path shared with young people, following the example of Don Bosco.
The year 2025 also marks the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition, an event that continues to inspire the apostolic and missionary passion of the Salesian Family. During the Conference, the approximately three hundred expected representatives, belonging to the thirty-two groups of the Salesian Family, will be invited to reflect on how to embody the missionary spirit of Don Bosco today, bringing hope and support to young people around the world.
The GSFS program includes moments of spirituality, reflection and fraternal encounter. Main events include:
Thursday January 16: Welcome, presentation of the Spirituality Days and inaugural prayer; projection of the video of the Strenna with commentary by the vicar of the Rector Major, Father Stefano Martoglio, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist and a nighttime moment of prayer and reflection on the theme “Mary, joyful and pilgrim.”
Friday, January 17: Reflection on the Strenna 2025 with the intervention of Cristiana Freni (Salesian Pontifical University), meeting of groups by language, pilgrimage to the Turin Cathedral and mass presided over by the auxiliary bishop, Monsignor Alessandro Giraudo; presentation of the figure of youthful and Turinese holiness of Pier Giorgio Frassati (whose remains rest in the cathedral and will be canonized on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at the end of the Youth Jubilee) and a musical evening of meditation and prayer.
Saturday January 18: Opening Mass of the day, presided over by Cardinal Cristóbal López, SDB, archbishop of Rabat; a round table with young people from the Salesian Youth Movement who participated in the Synod, free visits to Salesian places in Turin; dialogue with Cardinal López on the topic “Missionary expeditions of yesterday – Apostles on mission today”; testimonies and representative workshops from various groups of the Salesian Family and from different countries – including a contribution from Ecuador about Blessed María Troncatti, close to her canonization. The day will conclude with a fraternal night.
Sunday January 19: Closing with the celebration of the Eucharist, reflection groups on the experience, synthesis of what was lived and shared, and a farewell lunch that will seal this experience of communion.
For those who cannot physically attend, some sessions will be streamed and available on the website through ANSChannel, ANS’ YouTube channel, thus providing the possibility of following the events remotely. For more information about the sessions available in streaming, you can consult the program attached at the end of this page.
For his part, Father Joan Lluís Playà, SDB, general delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian Family, has encouraged the provinces of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the various local circumscriptions of the different groups to collaborate in the organization of parallel programs online, adapting the Conference materials to the needs of their territories.
The Salesian Family Spirituality Days 2025 promise to be an event of grace and communion in which the deep sense of belonging to a great spiritual family will be expressed: sharing hope in Christ, living moments of prayer and reflection, and strengthening ties between the various groups.
In this sense, the GSFS 2025 represents the first stage of a spiritual pilgrimage that will continue throughout the year, in harmony with the jubilee path of the universal Church. Participants, both in person and online, are invited to prepare spiritually, following the guidelines of the Strenna and reflecting on their apostolic and missionary commitment. Furthermore, the jubilee framework will enrich the value of the event, allowing participants to live with renewed intensity the experience of faith and communion, not only during the Days, but also afterwards, applying what they experienced in their local contexts.
For more information, you can visit the official website of the Salesian Family at www.famigliasalesiana.org.
