(ANS – Turin) – After a frenetic afternoon of intense pilgrimage walking, the participants in the XLIII Days of Spirituality of the Salesian Family gathered at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians for an evening of prayer and music. It was an hour dedicated to music and spirituality, offered by the youth musical group Sal.es, with the aim of rekindling in the participants the desire for God in their hearts, savoring the Lord in the Eucharist and contemplating the fruitfulness of his love. through the cross; the wonders he has accomplished through Don Bosco and Salesian holiness; and holiness in Mary.
Sal.es is the name of a youth musical initiative that began to develop around the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians starting in May 2021. Its name encapsulates its objective: to be inspired above all by the holiness of Saint Francis de Sales, for the depth that this figure represents and the attention he dedicated to culture and the arts. But Sal.es (with the dot) also means, in Latin, “you are salt.” Spontaneously, it evokes the evangelical expression that encourages everyone to rise above mediocrity: Sal.es pursues this purpose, addressing pieces of high-level sacred, polyphonic, Gregorian and popular music, with special reference to Mary, Helper mother.
This happened in Fátima, on August 31, 2024, on the occasion of the World Congress of the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), and in the same way on Friday, January 17, 2025, in the Basilica, at the request of the central delegate of the Rector Mayor for the Secretariat of the Salesian Family, Father Joan Lluís Playà, and with the approval, in addition to the Salesian community of Mary Help of Christians, of Father Stefano Martoglio, vicar of the Rector Major.
On the occasion, polyphonic pieces by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and other classical authors, Gregorian hymns, instrumental compositions and also some Marian pieces, composed by the Basilica Chapel Master and choir director, Father Maurizio Palazzo, were presented.
In the attentive silence of the participants of the 2025 Spirituality Days, the basilica offered an authentic moment of prayer and beauty.
