THE SALESIAN CHARISM IN THE VATICAN

Telling something of one's own story in the Vatican is especially emotional; one feels part of a dream and senses the joy once again of being a “son of Don Bosco in shirt sleeves” in service of the Holy Father; part of a providential design that continues after 75 years of history.
Salesians were called by His Holiness Pius XI in 1937 in early August of that year, to take up the difficult task of managing the so-called “Poliglotta”, look after the administration, dissemination and printing of the L’Osservatore Romano (until 1991 separate tasks, then combined into one) and to immediately put into practice what Don Bosco's charismatic tradition had taught various generations through experience of professional and managerial activity. Acceptance of this new task, which was offered to Don Bosco's successor, Fr Ricaldone, was perfectly in line with the Founder's thinking, in a spirit of obedience to the Pope. “No effort is to be spared when it is a question of the Pope or the Church” Don Bosco often told his sons, and the esteem that Pius XI had for religious, and especially the Salesians, had grown along the way. This was a time, when the Holy See entrusted many activities to Religious Institutes, according to their charism, to contribute to ecclesial communion, total dedication to the Church and to overcome the temptation to unedifying social climbing that was harmful to the Institute itself.
The Pope had understood perfectly the importance of social communication and so put tools, resources and people in place to work strategically on proclamation with what Providence had given the Church. He wanted people and tools available for him to help him spread God's Word far and wide. So he invited the Salesians to work with their skills, their intelligence, and their managerial ability so that the many texts of the Word of God, Papal teaching and the Magisterium could be printed their within the Vatican officially and in a way that was adapted to reaching the multitudes. These texts, looked after in terms of their printing, translation into many languages, were always appreciated for their quality.
Attention given to the new needs of the times along with the greatest availability, so much work and so much sacrifice all carried out with discretion and in silence. The education given the employees, young and not so young, always went beyond just example to a faithful and consistent form of witness.
In January 1980 Fr Martina, a Jesuit, had to prepare a Congress on Religious and Rome, and he needed the best information available on the Salesians in the Vatican, so he put this question to Fr Toti: “What led Pius XI to call the Salesians to look after the technical and administrative leadership of the Poliglotta Vaticana and the L’Osservatore Romano?
Above all it was the long-standing knowledge that Pius XI had about the Salesian Congregation. As a young priest he spent some days as a guest with Don Bosco in Valdocco, Turin, precisely to get a close-hand view of what this Piedmontese priest was doing through his oratories, and the vocational schools in particular. As Nuncio in Poland, too, he was close to our work, and when he was elected Pope he elevated the then Provincial, Fr Augustus Hlond, to the cardinalate.
Another reasons that did not escape Pius XI was the growth of vocational schools after the First World War not only in Italy but throughout the world and especially in Latin America.
In 1934 the great moment came: Don Bosco's canonisation, unusually held on Easter Sunday that year.
There was much public recognition over those years and the Holy Father placed much trust in the Religious.
We could sum up the desire for the future of this wonderful presence by hypothesising what Don Bosco might want today in order for us to remain faithful to the charism for which Pius XI called us to the Vatican:

• The Salesian charism of the Press, at the service of knowledge and the apostolate. This is our daily work in a vital and delicate sector of spreading the teaching and activities of the Holy See through the Press.
• A clear declaration of intent well known to all: fidelity to the See of Peter.
• Particular affection for the Pope in person, a family trait that binds us to Francis now and any successor of his in the future.
• Our style: hard work and professionalism, without arrogance, almost hidden, honest and transparent, “pro-government” (because our choice is always for the Pope), correctness, rigorous management in a typically Salesian family style.
• We need to affirm our merits: complete and disinterested dedication, full time, full time given without recrimination or complaint, and spontaneously. All of this has value and meaning if it serves to achieve the purpose of being effective and consistent with the proposed and strongly desired objective.
• United in the community that is our strength and our family. A united, calm and welcoming community; a community which is part of the great Vatican family, open to communication with authorities and our benefactor friends, and where everyone who comes in feels at home; a community aware of its responsibility for acting in Don Bosco's name and the name of his successors, exposed as we are to constant scrutiny of our work, given weight through our words, attitudes, management, relationship with individuals and especially the way we administer our goods”.

May Don Bosco guide our steps in continuing and communicating our educational passion for the young, our love for the Church and work so we may gain our place in Heaven.

Sergio Pellini sdb