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Young Salesian Priests Renew Commitment to Consecration, Community and Mission

30 August 2026

Animation, Salesian Spirituality, Spirituality,

News reported by: Fr. Blasius Tete sdb, IND

A two-day Salesian Quinquennium renewal programme, held from August 25 to 26, brought together young Salesian priests in their first five years of priestly ministry for spiritual renewal, fraternal communion, and deeper reflection on their missionary vocation. Centred on consecration, communion and mission, the programme sought to renew their commitment to these core values.

Held under the theme “A Sacred Journey of Consecration, Communion and Mission,” the programme invited the priests to deepen their relationship with Christ, strengthen community life and rediscover mission as an expression of their consecrated vocation.

The first day began with Holy Mass, presided over by Fr. Deli, who reflected on the meaning and responsibilities of the priesthood. The morning session, led by Fr Provincial, focused on the Educative Pastoral Plan (EPP) and Salesian Educative Pastoral Plan (SEPP), showing how they support the programme’s focus on consecration, communion and mission.

Fr Vettath Jose SDB led the second session, drawing lessons from three inspiring figures—Joseph and David of the Old Testament and Mamma Margaret, the mother of St John Bosco. His reflections were followed by a group discussion that helped participants relate these figures to their own priestly journeys and the programme’s call to consecration, communion and mission.

On the second day, Fr Vettath addressed key aspects of Salesian consecrated life, including chastity, community life, brotherhood and mission identity. He invited the priests to move beyond a spirituality centred on “Christ and me” towards “Christ, me and my brothers,” linking consecration more closely with communion and mission.

Referring to Article 49 of the Salesian Constitutions, the reflection stressed that Salesian consecration is lived within the Church, in community and for mission. Drawing on Vita Consecrata, participants reflected on the call to become “experts of communion”. They examined the quality of their relationships with confrères, particularly their capacity for vulnerability, emotional openness and mutual support.

The final conference brought together the programme’s central theme: Consecration leading to Fraternal Communion and Salesian Mission. It underlined that mission is not something added to consecrated life but flows from it: “Mission is not what I do after consecration; mission is what flows from it.”

The participants also reflected on personal and pastoral challenges such as ego, comparison and the tendency to measure self-worth through pastoral achievement or popularity. Discussions explored how these attitudes could weaken the link between consecration and mission, turning ministry into a source of personal identity rather than an expression of love for Christ and service to young people.

The afternoon sessions, led by the Vice Provincial and Economer, dealt with administrative and economic responsibilities. These were presented as more than institutional obligations, highlighting them as forms of responsible stewardship that support Salesian mission and community life.

The renewal concluded with each participant making a concrete commitment to strengthening community life. These included working together in mission rather than independently, practising active listening and emotional openness, and seeking reconciliation with the courage to allow confrères to know them personally, so that consecration, communion and mission could remain closely linked.