As the Salesian Province of Kolkata (INC) marks its historic centenary, the forthcoming visit of the Rector Major of the International Salesian Society of Don Bosco, Fr Fabio Attard, 11th Successor of Don Bosco, from 5th to 8th February 2026 stands as a spiritual and fraternal highlight, weaving together the diverse threads of the Salesian charism across West Bengal. The province is preparing to welcome a visit of deep historical and spiritual significance. This anticipated visit will form the heart of the centenary celebrations marking one hundred years of Salesian presence and mission in eastern India.
An Extraordinary and Symbolic Visit
The visit of the Rector Major during the centenary year echoes the rare and memorable visits of Don Bosco’s successors in various parts of the Salesian world. Such visits are never routine; they are moments of renewal, encouragement, and discernment. His journey begins with a strategic meeting with the Provincial Council in Kolkata (5th Feb) before heading to Siliguri, where he will engage deeply with the vibrant youth of Don Bosco School and Salesian College, offering messages of hope and sharing informal interactions. The Rector Major’s itinerary emphasizes personal accompaniment, featuring key sessions with Salesians (SDBs), the Salesian Family, and past pupils, notably during a dinner in Siliguri with members of Salesian Family, and a grand welcome by past pupils at Sealdah Station, Kolkata. For the Province, this visit will symbolize the unbroken bond between the local Salesian mission and the global Salesian Family.
The Rector Major’s presence with the Confreres, members of the SF and college students of Salesian College Siliguri (6th Feb) and Eucharistic celebration there, will not only honour the past hundred years but will also challenge the Province to read the signs of the times: changing educational realities, the aspirations and struggles of today’s youth, technological transformations, and the growing need for inclusive, value-based education and formation.
A Century of Salesian Presence and Mission in Kolkata Province
Over the past hundred years, the Salesian charism has taken deep root in the soil of Kolkata Province. From modest beginnings, the Province today comprises around 40 institutions (34 canonically erected) animated by nearly 263 Salesian confreres, serving the Church and society through academic and technical educational institutions (25 Boardings and hostel, 30 Higher Secondary Schools, 13 Technical and vocation training institutes, 3 Institutes for higher studies), 32 parishes, youth centres, social works, and missionary initiatives spread out in Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Bangladesh and Nepal. At the centre of this vast network stands the unwavering commitment to young people, especially the poor and the marginalized, faithful to Don Bosco’s dream and preventive system.
The centenary is not merely a commemoration of dates and milestones. It is a celebration of lives transformed, vocations nurtured, and generations of young people accompanied towards hope, dignity, and responsible citizenship. In this context, the forthcoming visit of the Rector Major is seen as a moment of grace—one that reconnects the Province directly with the living source of the Salesian charism.
A Visit Marked by Listening, Closeness, and Communion
The planned visit is expected to unfold in a distinctly Salesian style—marked by closeness, listening, and fraternity. Encounters with Salesians, members of the Salesian Family, educators, young people, and lay collaborators in its different regions namely, Kolkata, Siliguri and Azimganj, will provide space to share the lived realities of the Province: its joys, challenges, creative initiatives, and missionary horizons.
Special moments with Educative and Pastoral Communities across institutions will highlight how the Salesian mission in Kolkata continues to integrate education, evangelization, and social transformation. The Rector Major’s attentive listening will reaffirm the importance of shared responsibility between Salesians and lay partners in carrying forward Don Bosco’s mission.
Eucharistic Celebration and the Call to Renewed Mission
A central moment of the visit will be the solemn Eucharistic celebrations, gathering confreres, youth, and the wider Salesian Family at different regions of the province. A significant spiritual landmark will be the Holy Eucharist at Azimganj (7th Feb), where his homily will be translated into Santhali to reach the hearts of the local faithful, followed by a cultural immersion and interaction with SF, Religious, priests and the Prenovices at Savio Bhavan. The centenary celebrations will reach their crescendo in Kolkata on 8th February, where the Rector Major will preside over a solemn Eucharist and a concluding cultural programme including a message from the RM for the general audience at Don Bosco Park Circus (8th Feb, evening), leaving the province with a renewed missionary mandate and a strengthened sense of Salesian identity as it embarks on its next century. The Rector Major will spent time in interaction with the SDBs at Nitika Don Bosco in the morning. Drawing from Salesian spirituality, the Rector Major is expected to invite the Province to rediscover its identity as a servant Church for and with the young.
In continuity with the Salesian tradition, the focus will not be on power or prestige, but on humble service—educators as companions, pastors as brothers, and communities as welcoming homes. The Salesian vocation will once again be presented as a call to tenderness, patience, and presence: a “revolution of love” capable of healing wounds and opening futures for young people burdened by poverty, exclusion, addiction, and loss of meaning.
Looking Beyond the Centenary: A Mandate for the Future
The centenary celebrations, crowned by the Rector Major’s visit, will consciously avoid nostalgia. Instead, they will serve as a launching point for the future. One hundred years of Salesian presence in Kolkata is not an end, but a springboard toward renewed commitment to:
- quality and inclusive education,
- technical and skill-based training for employability,
- vibrant parish and youth ministry in collaboration with the laity,
- preferential love for the poorest and most vulnerable young people, and
- stronger collaboration within the Salesian Family and the local Church.
As a visible sign of continuity and hope, the centenary year will also emphasize remembrance with responsibility—honouring the pioneers of the past while empowering today’s Salesians and young people to become builders of a more just and compassionate society.
The forthcoming visit of the Rector Major during the centenary year stands as a powerful affirmation of the Salesian Province of Kolkata’s journey over the last hundred years. Rooted in Don Bosco’s charism and attentive to contemporary realities, this visit will renew the Province’s missionary zeal and strengthen its resolve to remain a living sign of God’s love for the young.
The centenary is therefore not simply a look back at the past, but the launch of a new challenge. As will be emphasized during the days of the visit, these hundred years are not a goal, but a springboard to renew the commitment to education, inclusion, and social responsibility, pillars on which the Salesians will continue to build the future of the Province. With the Successor of Don Bosco, the Salesian Province of Kolkata looks ahead with gratitude, courage, and hope—ready to continue walking with the young, for the next hundred years and beyond.