Salesian Family Groups
in Kenya, South Sudan and the Sudan
01
Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB)
Religious Institute of Pontifical Right
Founder and Origins - Turin, (Italy) 1859
The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (Latin: Societas Sancti Francisci Salesii), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youngsters during the Industrial Revolution. The congregation was named after Francis de Sales, a 17th-century bishop of Geneva.[1]
Mission
Education and evangelization for the young especially those who are poor.
Activities
Some of the works include: oratories and youth centers; primary, secondary, technical schools, Colleges and universities; boarding and hostel arrangements; parishes; social services and works for youth-at-risk; social communication etc.
02
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)
Religious Institute of Pontifical Right
Founder, Co-Foundress and Origins - Mornese (Italy) 1972
FMA are a Religious Family born from the heart of St. John Bosco and the creative fidelity of St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello. Don Bosco chose the name “Daughters of Mary Help of Christians” because he wanted them to be a living monument of gratitude to Our Lady.
The FMA are consecrated women in the Church who, living in community and in the midst of the people, especially children and young adults, express the mysticism and the prophecy of a passionate love for Jesus.
Mission
Education and evangelization for the young especially the poor young girls and women.
Activities
The oratory-youth center, schools and vocational training centers, institutions of higher studies, works for children, adolescents, and young people at risk, spirituality centers for young people, centers for the promotion of women.
03
Salesian Cooperators (ASSCC)
Public Association of the Christian Faithful
Founder and Origin - Turin (Italy) 1876
Salesian Co-operators are those who wish to deal with charitable works not in general, but in particular, in agreement with and according to the spirit of the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales.
They are Salesians in the world, according to Don Bosco’s original insight, who are passionate collaborators with God in the significant choices of the Salesian mission: the family, the young, education, the Preventive System, and socio-political involvement.
Mission
According to the mind of Don Bosco, the Salesian Cooperators carry out their apostolate, first and foremost, in their daily commitments. They want to follow Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, sent by the Father into the world. For this reason, they tend to implement, in the ordinary circumstances of life, the Gospel ideal of love for God and neighbor. They do so with the Salesian Spirit and with special attention to needy youth everywhere.
04
Association of Devotees of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA)
Public Association of the Christian Faithful
Founder and Origin - Turin (Italy) 1876
The origin of ADMA is directly linked to the construction of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin and to the extraordinary graces that the Virgin Mary gave.
The Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians, the second group founded by Don Bosco, was canonically erected at the shrine of Valdocco on April 18, 1869, with the intention of “promoting devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary Help of Christians” and was “considered by him almost an integral part of the Salesian Society”.
Identity
For the members of the Association of Mary Help of Christians, entrustment to Mary means “living the spirituality of daily life with Gospel values, in particular with gratitude to God for the wonders He continually works, and with fidelity to Him even in times of difficulty and of the Cross, following the example of Mary.”
05
World Confederation of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco (EXA DB)
Public Interreligious Lay Association
Founder and Origin –Turin (Italy) 1870
The Past Pupils of Don Bosco are persons who because they attended an oratory, a school or any other Salesian Presence, received a formation for life, in various and diverse ways and according to: different cultures, religion, the educational experience of each setting, the ability to accept individuals, pursue the principles of Don Bosco’s Preventive System and to form persons by developing their individual authenticity.
The historical memory of the movement dates back to June 24, 1870, the “name day” of Don Bosco, when a group of Past Pupils, full of filial affection, brought him coffee cups as a gift. No one thought this event would start a tradition, let alone mark the beginning of a vast movement. It was Don Bosco himself who realized it and wanted to continue it, dedicating an entire day to celebrate with them, including an invitation to lunch and an exchange of gifts.
06
World Confederation of the Past Pupils of the FMA (EXA FMA)
Public Interreligious Lay Association
Founder and Origin - Turin (Italy) 1908
The roots of the Association go back to Don Bosco himself. In 1911, Fr. Philip Rinaldi said the following about the Association in a meeting with the FMA Superiors: “Don Bosco would have done it, but the time was not ripe. If this had not been Don Bosco’s idea, I would not have founded it.”
Identity
The Past Pupil is the person who, after having received a Salesian education, commits him/herself to live the values acquired through the Preventive System of Don Bosco. She/he places her/himself in society as leaven and a force for transformation, developing in a creative way the charism of the Institute of the FMA in the different socio-cultural realities and geographical areas.
Mission
In the spirit of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello, the Past Pupils pay particular attention to girls, women and young people, especially those who are in a situation of poverty or exclusion, in order to involve and make themselves protagonists of their integral formation and their vocational choice.
07
Don Bosco Volunteers (DBV or VDB)
Pontifical Right Secular Institute of Women
Founder and History - Turin (Italy) 1917
The Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers (VDB in Italian) was officially established on May 20, 1917.
Identity
The Don Bosco Volunteers are consecrated lay women. They live the Salesian Spirituality and are involved in ordinary occupations and various professional activities in order to make God’s love present in all secular environments.
Don Bosco Volunteers live their consecration in fruitful reserve according to the indications of the Church so as to be able to work more effectively, especially in certain difficult environments where acknowledgment that one belongs to an Institute of Consecrated Life could be a cause of prejudice. They do not live the common life, but they do live in communion of life, creating groups in which they meet, form, and support one another.
Mission
Their mission is carried out in the places where they live, in their daily lives, and by committing themselves, above all, to be present in the “frontier places”, on the fringes of society. They are present where challenging emergencies are most dire, in the midst of the new types of poverty, in educational and social fields, and in environments in which justice and rights are denied. They are in these places to bring Christ through the witness of their presence, generous action, and the ability to listen, to be kind, and to understand.
08
Catechetical Sisters of Mary Immaculate (CSMI)
Pontifical Right Institute of Women Religious
Founder and Origin - Krishnagar (India) 1948
The Institute was founded on December 12, 1948, by Louis La Ravoire Morrow, SDB, a zealous missionary, renowned writer and Bishop of Krishnagar, West Bengal, India.
Identity and Mission
The spiritual and apostolic charism of SMI would be The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood, and Evangelization and Catechesis, as explained to them by their Founder, drawing strength from the Abba-experience of Jesus. The specific purposes of the Congregation are evangelization and catechesis, mainly through visiting homes in towns and villages proclaiming the Good News that Jesus came to lead all to the Father. They work with women, girls and children by preference.
Ministry
Home visits, village apostolate, pastoral ministry, catechetical media, anti-human trafficking ministry, small Christian communities, healing ministry, teaching ministry.
09
Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC)
Pontifical Right Institute of Women Religious
Founder and Origin - Guwahati (India) 1942
The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC) was founded in Guwahati, Northeast India, on October 24, 1942, by Venerable Bishop Stephen Ferrando, SDB, who placed it under the patronage of Mary Help of Christians. It is a Congregation of consecrated women dedicated to the service of the poor, especially the less privileged and the marginalized of the society – namely, women, girls, and children. It was founded in response to a special historical situation in Northeast India.
Mission
The mission of the Congregation is primarily education through direct evangelization (missio ad gentes); the education of women, girls, and children in villages; and the education of the young in formal and “informal” schools. It also provides health care for the poor and needy, works for the empowerment of women, and becomes involved in society for the transformation of the same.
10
Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB)
Diocesan Right Institute of Women Religious
Founder & Origin - Shillong (India) 1983
Archbishop Hubert D’Rosario founded this Congregation of Women Religious adopting Mary at her Visitation as its Patroness and model. Mary, who responded to the Word of God at the Annunciation, went in haste to visit her aged cousin Elizabeth who was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Her visit shows the virtues of sensitivity, availability, generosity and readiness to let go of her comfort in loving service to those in need. The Sisters, too, following her example, joyfully go in haste to aid those in need in the distant villages and neglected urban areas.
Mission
The missionary charism of the VSDB is manifested in their service to the poor and needy in the rural and neglected urban areas. In obedience to Christ’s command, “Go, disciple” and in imitation of Mary at her Visitation, the VSDB go in earnest to visit people in their homes to evangelize and catechize, thereby bringing the love, unity, justice, peace and joy of Christ and, thus, promoting radical transformation in their lives, particularly the young, in the spirit of Don Bosco.
11
Sisters of Charity
Pontifical Right Institute of Women Religious
Founder & Origin – Japan, 1998
On 8 February 1926, the first nine Salesian missionaries, led by Monsignor Vincent Cimatti, arrived in Japan. In 1929, realising the miserable conditions of the people, Fr Antonio Cavoli, then parish priest of the church in Miyazaki, invited some young women from the “Daughters of Mary” parish group to serve and visit the poor and the sick.
In December 1932, a hospice for orphans and the elderly began, in which the group of women, living together, worked for free in the service of the poor. The Congregation was then officially recognised as a Pontifical Institute on 1 January 1998.
Mission
The Sisters bear witness to the merciful charity of Jesus to the poor and suffering through various works of evangelisation. They care not only for children and young people but also for the sick, the elderly and those suffering from various forms of poverty, inspired by St Vincent de Paul and St John Bosco.
Our aim is to uplift communities through partnerships, innovation, and unwavering dedication to the Salesian mission.
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Contact Info
Address: Don Bosco Catholic Church Dagoreti North, Matumbato Rd, Nairobi.
Phone: +254 785 724 635 | +254 701 146 975