Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco

On August 5, 1872, in Mornese, Alessandria, Italy, the first Daughters of Mary Help of Christians gathered with Don Bosco and Msgr. Joseph Sciandra, the Bishop of Acqui, to celebrate their admission to the novitiate and their first professions. On that day St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello was also elected the first superior. Sr. Mary Mazzarello and her first companions were able to profess their perpetual vows, after studying with the Sisters of St. Anne for their religious formation, on August 28, 1875, in the presence of Don Bosco. The year 1880 saw the second missionary expedition of the Salesian Sisters to Patagonia (Argentina), as they followed their Salesian brothers who had prepared the way for their arrival. In 1881, Mother Mazzarello took ill and died at Nizza Monferrato on May 14, at age 44. In 1908, the first Salesian Sisters arrived in the U.S. and settled in New Jersey. From there, Salesian youth and outreach programs spread to Canada and throughout New England, as well as other parts of the country, including Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and California. In 2017 the work of Sister Carolin Tahhan Fachakh in Syria was recognised by the United States Secretary of State who awarded her an International Women of Courage Award. Sister Carol runs a nursery in war-torn Aleppo that cares for mothers and children irrespective of faith. The sisters teach mothers to sew. Sister Carol who had been nominated under President Obama spoke out against President Trump and in support of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. ==Apostolate==

The ministry of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians is youth-centered. The Sisters in Liverpool, England, opened Mary, Help of Christians High School in 1965. As of 2020, they number 11,535 members in 89 countries, and on five continents. Mother Antonia Colombo served as Superior General. The current Superior General is Sr. Chiara Cazzuola. Image:Daughter of Mary Help of Christians-Vellore-music.jpg|Salesian sister teaching music in Vellore, India Image:Hunger and sickness Madras.jpg|Salesian sister caring for the sick and poor in former Madras Presidency, India == Saints, Blesseds, and other holy people ==

Saints • Maria Domenica Mazzarello (9 May 1837 – 14 May 1881), founder of the order, canonized on 24 June 1951 • John Bosco (16 August 1815 – 31 January 1888), founder of the order, canonized on 1 April 1934 • Maria Troncatti (16 February 1883 - 25 August 1969), professed religious, canonized on 19 October 2025 Blesseds • Laura del Carmen Vicuña Pino (5 April 1891 – 22 January 1904), Chilean child who studied under the Sisters, beatified on 3 September 1988 • Maddalena Caterina Morano (15 November 1847 - 26 March 1908), professed religious, beatified on 5 November 1994 • Eusebia Palomino Yenes (15 December 1899 - 10 February 1935), professed religious, beatified on 25 April 2004 • Carmen Moreno Benítez (24 August 1885 – 6 September 1936), martyred during the Spanish Civil War, beatified on 11 March 2001 • Amparo Carbonell Muñoz (9 November 1893 – 6 September 1936), martyred during the Spanish Civil War, beatified on 11 March 2001 • María Romero Meneses (13 January 1902 – 7 July 1977), professed religious and "Social Apostle of Costa Rica", beatified on April 14, 2002 Venerables • Teresa Valsè Pantellini (10 October 1878 - 3 September 1907), professed religious, declared Venerable on 12 July 1982 • Laura Meozzi (5 January 1873 - 31 August 1951), professed religious, declared Venerable on 27 June 2011 Servants of God • Rosetta Marchese (20 October 1922 - 8 March 1984), professed religious, declared Servant of God on 13 January 2021 • Antonieta Böhm Schwanewilm (23 September 1907 - 27 April 2008), professed religious and centenarian, declared Servant of God on 19 October 2016 == Controversies ==

On the 20th of December 2019, Maria Angela Fare, a former Italian nun of the Sisters of Don Bosco, has been sentenced to years facing jail for sexual abuse on a girl she met in the oratory: the girl later committed suicide in 2011. == References ==