Since when

The Salesian Congregation in the world

A brief history of the beginnings

The origins: the experience of the Oratory (1841-1846)
The 8 December 1841is the symbolic date from which Salesian history takes its beginning. On that day, in Turin,San Giovanni Boscomeets the young Bartholomew Garelli in the sacristy of the church of St Francis of Assisi. From that simple conversationthe Oratory is born, an initiative that initially consists of Sunday meetings for catechism and friendship.
The historical context is decisive: Turin, capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, is in the midst of economic and social transformation. The nascent industrialization attracts thousands of young people from the countryside, often without family, stable work or education. Don Bosco realizes that occasional assistance is not enough: a stable environment must be created that combines education, religious formation and human accompaniment.
In the12 April 1846, Easter day, the Oratory finds a permanent home at Valdocco. Here an original educational model develops: a home that welcomes, a school that prepares for life, a parish that evangelizes, a courtyard where friends can meet. It is in this pastoral workshop that the so-called “Preventive System” takes shape, founded on reason, religion and loving-kindness. Even before its canonical foundation, a concrete and structured experience already exists.

Towards a stable form: the decision of 1859
As the years went by the work grew. Around Don Bosco gathered young collaborators who shared the same educational passion. It became clear that, in order to guarantee continuity to the Oratory and to the new initiatives (schools, workshops, boarding houses), a stable juridical structure was necessary.
On 18 December 1859 Don Bosco gathered 17 members and officially founded the Society of Saint Francis de Sales. This was not merely a formal act, but a strategic choice: the work must not depend on the life of the founder, but must take root in a religious institute with shared rules.
The reference to Saint Francis de Sales expressed a precise spiritual inspiration: pastoral gentleness, trust in the educability of the young, Christian optimism. The new Congregation was born with a clear purpose: “the salvation of souls”, especially of the poor and abandoned young, through integral education.

The recognition of the Church (1864-1874)
The young Congregation goes through a complex process to obtain official recognition. The political climate of the time was marked by tensions between State and Church in the context of Italian unification. Founding a new religious institute is not a simple matter.
On 23 July 1864 the Society received a first recognition from Rome, the “Decretum Laudis” (decree of praise). Subsequently, on 19 February 1869, it obtained the decree of approval from the Holy See under the pontificate of Pope Pius IX. This was a decisive step: the Congregation was recognized as a religious institute of pontifical right.
On 3 April 1874 the Constitutions were definitively approved. This act established in an organic manner the aims, the religious vows, the internal government and the educational mission. From that moment the Congregation possessed full ecclesial legitimation and a normative structure guaranteeing its stability and development.

The missionary opening (1875)
Only one year after the approval of the Constitutions, the Congregation takes a step that will define its international character. In 1875 the first missionary expedition sets out for Argentina. Don Bosco sends a group of Salesians led by Father Giovanni Cagliero, with the mandate to assist Italian emigrants and to evangelize the local populations.
This choice reveals two fundamental elements: the universal horizon of the charism and the organizational capacity now attained. Within a few decades the Salesians spread throughout Latin America, France, Spain and progressively to other continents. Vocational education, agricultural schools, parishes and oratories become privileged instruments of pastoral presence.
Missionary expansion is not a marginal addition, but an integral part of the original project: to go where the young are most in need.

Consolidation after 1888
At Don Bosco’s death, on 31 January 1888, the Congregation numbered hundreds of members and numerous houses in Europe and America. The transition of leadership represented a decisive test of the solidity of the institute.
His first successor, Michael Rua, guided the Congregation with fidelity to the charism and great organizational capacity. During his rectorate the Salesian houses multiplied and the presence spread further. The institute demonstrated that it was able to continue the mission after the death of the founder, and that it possessed structures and a spirituality capable of enduring over time.

The founding of the Salesian Congregation is not the result of an isolated act, but of a gradual process: from the concrete experience of the Oratory to the foundation of 1859; from papal recognition to the missionary expansion; from the guidance of the founder to institutional consolidation.
At the centre of this journey remains a simple and radical conviction: education is a privileged path of evangelisation and human promotion. The history of the Salesian origins shows how a pastoral intuition, rooted in the social reality of the time, can be transformed into an ecclesial institution capable of making an impact at a worldwide level.