Donations

The Salesian Congregation in the world

Throughout the world, numerous Salesian organizations raise funds for concrete projects and educational activities on behalf of young people. Not all, however, are able to obtain the necessary funds for their initiatives: works carried out in the most economically fragile countries often start out at a disadvantage, and precisely where the need is greatest the capacity for fundraising is weakest. To this are added the many emergencies that continually afflict the world — extreme poverty, famines, epidemics, natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, inundations), armed conflicts — situations that put at risk not only the education of young people but their very lives.

In such moments, from every corner of the Salesian world, eyes are raised in hope to the Rector Major, father and centre of unity of the Salesian Family, so that he may come to the aid of those who cannot manage on their own. These donations are meant to respond to these difficult cases and to these ever-present emergencies. A nimble instrument, ready to intervene where the need is most acute and where local resources are not enough.

The reasons behind this proposal are profoundly Salesian.
First of all, it is the very logic of the family. A family does not leave its weakest members behind: those who have more support those who have less, because charity — Don Bosco used to say — knows neither differences of race nor distances of place.

Secondly, it is the preferential option for the poorest. Don Bosco reserved the places in his houses for orphans and for boys who were totally poor and abandoned. A fund is the present-day form of that very same predilection: going to those whom no one else reaches, where poverty deprives young people even of bread and of the security of life itself.

Thirdly, it is a matter of urgency. Emergencies do not wait for the long timelines of fundraising. Don Bosco warned not to put off until tomorrow the good you can do today, for perhaps tomorrow there will be no time left. Having a fund already available means being able to respond when every hour counts.

Finally there is the loftiest motivation, one that runs through the whole life of our Father. To this task Don Bosco devoted a great part of his existence: securing the "loaves of bread" for his poor boys, sacrificing time and health, begging from door to door, reminding everyone that we are not masters of what we possess but only stewards, and that from this earth we shall take nothing with us except the acts of charity performed during our life, which remain for ever. That is why he loved to repeat to his benefactors that almsgiving is a debt of charity.

Every contribution, great or small, can become a concrete act of Salesian charity that makes it possible to continue Don Bosco’s work today. Where a boy risks being forgotten, a friendly hand can arrive. Where an educational work risks coming to a halt, it can come back to life. Where life is threatened, generosity can save it.

Donations are collected by the Salesian Missionary Institute
Via Maria Ausiliatrice, 32
10152 Torino, Italia
Tel.: +(39) 011 5224248
E-mail: istitutomissioni@sdb.org
C.F.: 00155220494

Salesian Institute for the Missions
Intesa Sanpaolo
IBAN: IT09 N030 6909 6061 0000 0062 516
BIC: BCITITMM

The Institute also accepts legacies and bequests.