This society was founded by St. John Bosco, an Italian saint-educator of the nineteenth century. Salesians of Don Bosco in the whole world number 16,568. They are present in all five continents of the globe in 128 countries. Their works can be grouped into Regions, Provinces and local Presences. There are 8 Regions containing 96 Provinces that together comprise a total of 2036 works.

The Salesian Family consists of approximately 4,02,500 members. It consists of 23 different organizations that have sprung up over the years, that draw their inspiration from Don Bosco’s style and charism. The first three that originated during Don Bosco’s lifetime are The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (14,880), The Salesian Cooperators (about 30,000) and The Past Pupils of Don Bosco (about 197,730).

Education and evangelization are at the centre of our mission. The pastoral-educative service that we want to carry out is directed to the integral development of the person.

The first and principal beneficiaries of our mission are the young, especially the poorest of them, young workers and those preparing themselves for work, and apostolic vocations; in view of these we work amongst the common folk with special attention to lay evangelizers, family, social communication, and those not yet evangelized.

The activities and works, by means of which we Salesians carry out our mission, depend on the needs and situations of the people whom we serve. We carry out activities and works wherein it is possible to promote the human and Christian education of the young, such as:

1. The Oratory and Youth Centre
The oratory or youth centre is an environment of broad acceptance, open to a wide range of young people, above all those most alienated. This is achieved through a diversity of educational and evangelizing activities (games, music, drama, seminars, value education, moments of prayer and togetherness) characterized by their focus on the young and strong personal relationships between educator and youngster.


2. The school and Professional formation
The Salesian centres for formal education (schools, technical institutes, and colleges/universities) are inspired by Gospel values according to the spirit and pedagogical style of Don Bosco, in order to promote popular education, attentive to the most needy, to their professional formation and to accompanying their gradual insertion into the world of work and society at large.


3. Boardings and hostels
This is a particular service rendered for accepting young people without family or who are temporarily away from their family for work or other reasons. Young people find a space where they can relate with one another and grow in freedom and responsibility. They learn to live in harmony with other young people.


4. The parish
The Salesian parish is characterized by a special attention to young people, above all to the poorest of them, the popular environment where it is to be found, by the presence of a Salesian religious community as its animating heart, and by activity of evangelization and education to faith well integrated with the human development of the person and the group.


5. Social services and works for youth-at-risk
These centres are characterized by a family atmosphere of acceptance and education and animated by a community with ‘preventive’ criteria according to the educative style of Don Bosco. These are centres which care for young people who are abandoned or in danger. This is inspired by the Gospel and has the aim of educating and evangelizing, open to the transformation of realities which are socially exclusive and to the building of a culture of solidarity, in collaboration with other social institutions.


7. Social communication
We are involved in the world of media through education to an understanding and proper use and utilization of the media, the development of the communicative potential of persons through the new languages of music, theatre, art etc., formation to a critical, aesthetic and moral sense and promotion of information and editorial centres in press, radio, television, internet etc. And finally we are at the service of the Salesian educational and pastoral project.


8. Other new forms of Salesian presence to the young
The Salesian Youth Movement: is seen as the communion and connection between all youth groups and associations which acknowledge Salesian spirituality and pedagogy, and which take up an educative and evangelizing task and commit themselves to share and coordinate among themselves.

The Salesian Voluntarism: a voluntary activity committed to the human and Salesian development of the young, above all the poorest of them, and active amongst the common folk, according to the style of Don Bosco’s Preventive System and the values of Salesian Youth Spirituality. They carry out their activity in view of the transformation of society and the removal of causes of injustice, and they favour a community experience and the vocational development of the volunteer.

Services for vocational orientation: meetings and centres for vocational orientation, career guidance and communities where this can occur, etc…

Specialized services for Christian formation: Spirituality and retreat centres and other centres for pastoral and catechetical formation etc.

Fr. Pascual Chávez Villanueva was elected by the 25th General Chapter, 3rd April 2002; he is the ninth successor of Don Bosco.

“The Rector Major, the superior of the Salesian Society, is the successor of Don Bosco, the father and centre of unity of the Salesian Family.” (C 126)

”Your first rector is dead. But our true superior, Jesus Christ, will never die. He will always be our Master, our guide, our model….Your Rector is dead. But there will be another elected, who will have care of you and of your eternal salvation. Listen to him, love him, obey him, pray for him as you have prayed for me.” (Spiritual Testament of St. John Bosco).

The Present Provincial of Chennai Province:
Fr. Stanislaus Swamikannu SDB

The Salesian Provincial is the Chairman of the Society which runs these Salesian Institutions. He has complete jurisdiction over all these Educational Institutions. He delegates the power of administration of the Salesian schools to the Correspondent and the Headmaster. He appoints the Correspondent and the Headmaster of the schools and informs the Chief Education Officer of the locality. All the Salesian schools administered by the Salesian Society of Don Bosco, Chennai have been approved as Minority Educational Institutions.