Rome (Italy). On 1 April 2025, in the 91st anniversary of the Canonization of Saint John (1934-2025), in Valdocco, Turin, there was the official inauguration of the Piazza Mary Help of Christians, renovated with an urban redevelopment intervention, and the blessing of the works on the two bell towers of the restored Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.
In the Plaza, festively colored by the presence of children of Mary Help of Christians School, the opening moment took place in the presence of the new Rector Major of the Salesian Congregation, Fr. Fabio Attard, who gave the blessing; of the Provincial of the Special District of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, Fr. Leonardo Mancini; of the Salesians of Don Bosco Chapter members; of the Rector of the Basilica, Fr. Michele Viviano; of the Mayor of the City of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo; the Councilor for ecological and digital transition, environment, mobility, transport and innovation, Chiara Foglietta; the President of District 7, Luca Deri; other civil authorities, religious, military, faithful, and members of the Salesian Family.
Also present was the General Councilor for Formation of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Sister Nilza Fatíma de Moraes, representing the Mother General; the Provincial of Mary Help of Christians Province (IPI), Sister Emma Bergandi; and several Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
The Rector of the Basilica, opening the interventions, expressed his joy to celebrate this event together with the civil institutions on the date of the Canonization of Don Bosco. “It translates what was a fundamental thought of Don Bosco’s life as an educator, who said and wished that his children would be, ‘honest citizens and good Christians, happy inhabitants of Heaven’. Good Christians, bell towers, and the Basilica, honest citizens; the square, happy inhabitants of heaven, the sound of the bells invites us to turn our gaze upwards, towards God and the Help of Christians.”
On the giant screen next to the Basilica a video was projected with the restoration of the bells, which took place in the bicentenary year of Don Bosco’s Dream at nine years of age (2024) and inaugurated with the opening of the Holy Year in the Basilica, 10 January 2025.
The Salesian Congregation has decided to enhance the bell concert, bringing it from eight to twelve bronzes. The 4 new bells honor some Saints and Blesseds of the Salesian Family, including Mother Mazzarello. The major bell is dedicated to St. John Bosco, one to Blessed Michele Rua, his first successor; one to the martyrs Luigi Versiglia and Callisto Caravario, and Saint Artemide Zatti; and one is dedicated to Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello. Present on the bronze is the quote: “Let every stitch be an act of love for God.” (For further study)
With the melody of the song “Giu’ dai Colli“, voice is then given to the bells, after which the Fire Brigade offered a wreath of flowers to Our Lady, reaching by aerial ladder the Archangel Gabriel, on top of one of the bell towers.
The civil authorities in their speeches, expressed satisfaction for the intervention on the Plaza, emphasizing the community work carried out with the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to better value this historic place, according to criteria related to sustainability, beauty, and the reception of children and adults.
The Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, recalling the charismatic importance of the Basilica and this Plaza for the whole Salesian world, highlighted the value of caring for educative spaces:
“A beautiful environment, modest but clean and healthy, is already an educative message, where violence has no reason to exist, where friendships grow, and educational processes are promoted. The Salesian houses are not fortresses, but spaces of humanity, so that young people can make their lives a gift for the city, for culture, for a better future.”
Que grande alegria, esta reconhecida homenagem a Madre Mazzarello, à presença salesiana em Turim, que se irradia pela juventude de todo o mundo.