Community Profile

Salesians of Don Bosco Vocation Contact 45 Landons Rd Chennai, 600 010, INDIA 973-674-2400 sdbonj@aol.com www.salesians.org

Community Information

International? More than 120 countries No. in community (professed members) Thousands Year founded 1859 Generalate/ motherhouse Province/federation Represented in US (Arch)dioceses Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; New York, NY; and others

About Us

Mission statement/description The Salesians are a worldwide organization founded by St. John Bosco, and are the third largest Catholic religious order in the world. The Salesians can be found in many different initiatives serving young people: schools, oratories, youth centers, technical and professional training centers, parishes, and foreign missions. They also work in the realm of mass media and social communications. They serve in more than 20 U.S. cities, as well as many other parts of the world. Qualifications for entry Sound mental and physical health; good judgment and common sense. Formation program The first stage is candidacy, during which the candidate lives with a Salesian community and may may take college courses. The next stage is pre-novitiate, which usually begins in August, and involves a program of study in the Salesian formation house. The next step, the novitiate, is truly the beginning of the Salesian religious experience in following Christ. Here the novice prepares to give himself completely to God knowingly and freely in his first profession, which takes place at the end of this year. An individual who makes the first profession is a religious brother. Brothers then usually complete their university education and work in a Salesian apostolate for two or three years. Some brothers, called clerical brothers, will later study to become priests. Those for whom brotherhood is their unique vocation are called coadjutor brothers. Final profession (marking permanent acceptance into the society) ordinarily takes place six years after first profession. Age range/limit Consider belated vocations? No Belated/late vocations explanation