Postulation – Salesian Holiness

Organisation of the Salesian Congregation

The Postulation for the Causes of Canonisation of the Salesian Family is the body entrusted with promoting, following and coordinating the canonical processes concerning members of the Salesian Family for whom a reputation for holiness, martyrdom or heroic offering of life is recognised. It operates at the service of the Church and of the Congregation, with the aim of discerning, documenting and proposing models of Christian life matured along the path of Don Bosco’s charism.
Its mission is not primarily administrative, but ecclesial and spiritual: to bring to light and safeguard the living memory of men and women who embodied the Gospel in an exemplary way according to the Salesian spirit.

A service to the Church
Holiness is the ultimate goal of the Christian life and the authentic criterion of the fruitfulness of a charism. The Postulation collaborates with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, following the canonical norms in force and attending to every phase of the procedural process: from the diocesan phase to the preparation of the Positio, up to the theological and historical examination at the Holy See.
This work requires specific competences of a juridical, historical and theological character. The collection and analysis of documents, the critical examination of writings, the listening to testimonies, the verification of the fame of holiness and of signs constitute a rigorous path of ecclesial discernment. The Postulation acts with scientific method and with a deep sense of responsibility, aware that the causes of canonisation are not private celebrations, but official acts of the universal Church.

Holiness in the Salesian charism
From the very beginning, the Salesian Family has seen numerous figures of holiness flourish. The first and most radiant reference isSt John Bosco, founder and spiritual father, who passed on to his sons and daughters a concrete and joyful vision of holiness. Alongside him are Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of God who lived the charism in different cultural and historical contexts.
The Postulation takes care of the causes concerning members of the different groups of the Salesian Family: Salesians of Don Bosco, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Salesian Cooperators, members of the ADMA and of other aggregated Institutes and associations. This plurality of vocations – consecrated and lay – manifests the richness of the charism and its capacity to generate paths to holiness in the ordinary conditions of life.
A distinctive feature of Salesian causes is the centrality of the educational and pastoral mission. Many candidates for the altars lived the heroic practice of the virtues in accompanying young people, in missionary dedication, in witnessing to the point of martyrdom, or in daily fidelity to their duties. In them we recognise the concrete fulfilment of the “Da mihi animas, cetera tolle”.

A work of memory and of vision
The Postulation is not limited to following canonical procedures. It also carries out a work of spiritual and cultural animation, promoting knowledge of the figures in question and fostering the spread of their spirituality. Publications, conferences, pastoral aids and communication tools help to make their message accessible to new generations.
In this sense, the Postulation acts as custodian of the charismatic memory. Remembering figures of holiness does not mean turning to the past in a nostalgic way, but offering credible models for the present. The causes of canonization thus become an occasion of spiritual renewal for the Congregation and for the entire Salesian Family.
Particular attention is given to the missionary and universal dimension of Salesian holiness. The causes concern people from different continents, a sign of the inculturation of the charism and of its fruitfulness in the local Churches. Salesian holiness is not uniform but plural: it takes on the features of the cultures, the epochs and the social situations in which it is lived.

A shared responsibility
The promotion of causes is not the exclusive task of the Postulation. It involves the Provinces, local communities, the groups of the Salesian Family and the faithful who knew the persons in question. The fame of holiness is born from the People of God and is nourished through prayer, testimony and the spread of knowledge.
The Postulation accompanies this process, offering guidelines and criteria, and ensuring that every cause is conducted with transparency, rigour and fidelity to ecclesial norms. In this way it is guaranteed that the official recognition of holiness is founded on solid and shared bases.

Holiness as a horizon
The Postulation for the Causes of Canonization of the Salesian Family constantly reminds us that holiness is not an abstract ideal, but the concrete vocation of every baptized person. The figures proposed to the altars are not unreachable exceptions, but witnesses of an evangelical life lived with radicalism in the ordinary conditions of existence.
For the Salesian Family, holiness represents the lofty measure of the Christian life and the authentic test of fidelity to the charism. Through its service, the Postulation helps to keep this horizon alive, pointing out to the Congregation and to the young models of following Christ according to the spirit of Don Bosco.
Thus, in the industrious silence of historical research and in the rigour of canonical discernment, the Postulation carries out an essential mission: to show how the Salesian charism continues to bear fruits of holiness in the Church and in the world.

The Postulator General
The task of following the Causes of Canonization of the Salesian Family is entrusted by the Rector Major with the consent of his council, and the person chosen remains ad nutum.
At present the Postulator General is Father Pierluigi CAMERONI.

To access the documents of the Postulation of the Salesian Congregation, click HERE .