THE

SALESIAN BROTHER
Don Pacual Chávez, sdb


By way of introduction

To face the issue of the identity of the Salesian Coadjutor, it is necessary to remember that Don
Bosco has expressed his thoughts on the Coadjutor in San Benigno Canavese, when he said: “I
need you. I need many. I need you to be full of virtue” (BM 16:245 ff.), because he knew that they
were called to do everything that clerics and priests could not and should not do.

This leads me to say that in order to better understand this happy and brilliant creation of Don
Bosco, we must turn to Acts 6: 1-6, when the Apostles, in order to solve a pastoral problem,
created the diaconate under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in order to not put at risk their
specific mission.

There are two key words which constitute the identity of the Salesian Brother: the lay state or
dimension, and consecration. The fact of being Salesian makes his consecration more specific. In
this short presentation, I intend to dwell a little on the two key words.

1. The Salesian Brother: a lay consecrated person

Firstly, the lay dimension or state. There was a time when “lay dimension” in the Church was
defined negatively: the lay person is someone who is not a priest; ‘lay’ meant everything that did
not belong to the priestly ministry, and so on. Today, thanks be to God, we have a much more
positive view of the lay dimension in the Church.

Above all, the lay dimension is implicitly a recognition of the importance of what is called “the
temporal order”1 , which includes the world of culture and finance, of arts and professions,
sciences, social institutions and so forth. These are all positive values to be appreciated and to
promote.

One of these values which shines out in a particular way is the world of work. It is a fact that our
modern societies are based on work. Work is an important reality for the good of human beings
and society. Through work human beings not only earn their daily bread for themselves and the
family, but develop abilities, build themselves up, grow in values; in short, they become more
human and become active part of the Creator’s own work.

The lay dimension, then, represents esteem for the secular, for this world which is the human
reality “the theatre of the story of human kind”2 and it calls on our commitment in many fields –
1
AA 7
2
GS 2
health, education and culture, industry and finance, social communication and relations between
people, justice and peace, etc. And such commitment implies study, professionalism, dialogue,
realism, patience and collaboration.

At the same time, involvement in the secular world brings us constantly face to face with the
mystery of evil with its idols of eros, riches and power. Instead of dominating temporal things,
oftentimes human beings become their slave. The flow of sinfulness which has its origins in the
human heart and then takes shape in other structures, creates situations of corruption, injustice,
exploitation, violence, hatred, oppression, ignorance and poverty which we encounter in daily
existence.

So then, the lay dimension, seen from a Christian viewpoint, while on the one hand requiring
involvement in the world’s reality, on the other hand calls on the Christian to struggle ceaselessly
to purify temporal things from sin and its consequences, to enliven and perfect the temporal order
with the spirit of the Gospel,3 and so, to direct it to the Creator from within. Witnessing to Gospel
values with one’s own life and seeking to immerse it in the warp and woof of social, cultural and
political life, the Christian works for the coming of the Kingdom of God in the world, and by
offering himself and all his efforts as an oblation to God, exercises his baptismal priesthood. This
is the way one takes part in the Church’s mission in the world, in its apostolate in the secular
arena. We have before our eyes the example of Blessed Artemides Zatti, the ‘good samaritan’
who found a fertile ground for his apostolate in looking after the sick… and for his sanctity; and
that of Blessed Stephen Sandor, the ‘good shepherd’ who consecrated all his life for the good of
boys till the extreme of giving up his life for them.

You immediately see that the “lay dimension” points to an immense field of work, very beautiful
and very necessary in today’s world. It is something carried out in the first place by the laity, who
are immersed in the secular – they marry, have a family, work fully in the world, take part in
politics etc. – clearly manifesting their typically secular nature. But there are many others who,
without embracing the secularity of the lay person, take on different degrees of the lay state,
according to their mission and spirit. Amongst them there are Societies of Apostolic Life, Secular
Institutes, Religious Institutes which are lay only, and Religious Institutes which have a specific
and original lay dimension, like ours.

The Salesian Brother, in the words of GC21, “has the duty and the right as an educator and
evangelising member of the Salesian community to engage in its apostolic activity, which is
prophetic, sanctifying, and renewing in respect of the temporal order. Since he will bring a lay-
religious dimension to the mission entrusted to the community, it follows that there exists a lay
contribution which only he can make to the human and Christian promotional services through
which the Salesian mission is unfolded. This contribution lies in the exercise of those typically lay
functions and services that further the development of the Salesian mission.”4

In its desire to present the particular characteristics of the Salesian Brother, GC21 re-echoed the
Special General Chapter:

§ “he lives his vocation as a member of the laity, seeking the Kingdom of God by
engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plans of God;
§ he exercises his baptismal priesthood, prophetic witness and kingly service, and in
this way truly shares in the life and mission of Christ in the Church;

3 Cf. AA 5
4 GC21,181.

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 § with the intensity that derives from his specific consecration, and by “mandate” of
the Church, and not merely as a private individual, he fulfils the mission of spreading the
Gospel and of sanctifying in a non-sacramental manner;
§ his works of charity are undertaken with greater dedication within a Congregation
devoted to the integral education of youth, especially those most in need;
§ finally, as regards the Christian renewal of the temporal order, since he has
renounced worldliness, he exercises this form of apostolate as a religious in a most
efficacious manner, educating youth to the Christian renewal of work and to other human
values.”5

It is this – his lay dimension – that constitutes the greatest and most meaningful contribution of
the Salesian Brother to everyone – to the community, to his Salesian priest confreres, to the
Christian lay folk, to young people:

§ to the community: “he brings to every field of education and pastoral activity the specific
qualities of his lay status, which make him in a particular way a witness to God’s Kingdom
in the world, close as he is to the young and to the realities of working life”;6 this creates
in every member a particular sensitivity for the world of work, for the local area, and for
the demands of a professional approach to carrying out pastoral and educational activity;
§ to his priest confreres: he lives his distinctive lay characteristic in a close integrating
rapport with the priestly character of the Salesian priest. The lay character of the
Brother… exists in a wonderful symbiosis with the priestly character of the Salesian
priest;7 besides, he calls them constantly to an active collaboration with lay people, and
reminds them of an apostolic goal and ideal that is complex in its reality because it goes
beyond priestly and catechetical activity in the strict sense;8
§ to Christians generally: he recalls the value of total dedication to God for the sake of the
Kingdom;9
§ to young people: he presents the values of the lay religious vocation as an alternative to
the priestly religious vocation, and to those who do not feel themselves called to the
religious life he offers a more immediate model of the Christian life, of sanctified work,
and of the lay apostolate.10

However, there is a caution to add: being lay is not something limited to the apostolic work of the
Salesian Brother; it permeates every aspect of his life. In a sentence that sets us thinking, GC21
says that the lay dimension fills “the entire existence” of the Salesian Brother: his Salesian
mission, his life in community, his apostolic activity, his religious profession, his life of prayer
and his spiritual life – all of which are lived by him in his capacity as a Salesian religious
layman”.11 For example:

§ his involvement in the “world of work” and in the reality of worldly things to be
transformed through an evangelical spirit, bring him to the experience of certain values of
the Salesian spirit: solidarity with the poor, a practical sense and a sense of what is
needed, a spirit of initiative and creativity, an ability to evaluate situations and adapt to
different circumstances;

5 Ib,178.
6 C. 45
7 Cf. GC21,194.
8Cf. ibid,195.
9 Cf. GC24,154.
10 Cf. GC21,195.
11 Ibid,178.

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 § his lay circumstance allows him a new and specific closeness to the young and to lay
people; this way he can put the Salesian relational style into practice in an original way:
openness and warmth, simplicity, delicateness in dealing with people, development of
those social qualities recommended for lay people;
§ the type of work he does allows him to exercise Salesian optimism in a particular way: he
admires creation and the power which, through it, God has entrusted to human beings; he
appreciates earthly realities such as art and technical matters, and rejoices in the
successes of human progress;
§ as an expression of his being lay, he feels that he is concerned in a sanctifying way with
transforming all his activities, from the humblest to the most brilliant, into an offering to
God for his glory and his Kingdom: in this way he exercises his baptismal priesthood and
transforms his life into a “liturgy made holy by prayer and union with God” (C 95).12


2. The Salesian Brother: a consecrated lay person

I would like to move, then, to the second key word which qualifies the vocation and mission of
the Salesian Brother, and this is the word consecration. The Salesian Brother is a consecrated lay
person.

“Consecration” simply means that God becomes a partner in a person’s life adventure. He calls
him; he reserves him to himself so that he will be dedicated to Him in a particular way; he
confers his Spirit on him as a source of grace such that in consecration the person’s response is
expressed through a profound and freely given self-abandonment. For his part, consecration
focuses his life on God. He seeks to closely imitate the way that Jesus focused his life on the
heavenly Father, that is: by living obedient, poor and chaste, living each moment of his existence
as a beloved son of the Father and consequently as a gift to his fellows.

And in living this lifestyle of Jesus, he follows in the footsteps of another who was inspired by
God to walk this path: in our case, St. John Bosco. Like Jesus, Don Bosco was a good shepherd for
his young people; like Jesus, Don Bosco sought to conquer his young people through gentleness
and self-giving, spending his life for them. And in this way – like Jesus – he lived his sonship of
the heavenly Father – and we should add, became a reflection of that fatherliness for the
youngsters, many of whom were orphans.

Here lies the meaning of our consecration: a life centred on God as Jesus lived it on this earth and
as given to us as an example by Don Bosco.

Of the Venerable Brother Simon Srugi it was said: “To see Simon and to be reminded of the Lord
were one and the same thing”. “His presence was like the shadow of God’s presence”.

Now, consecration, like vocation, is a continual, ongoing reality. Vocation, as you know, is not
something that happens once in life, at 15 or 20 or 25 years of age, with God giving the
inspiration to become a Salesian, and from then on the rest of life becoming a response to that
call. No!, vocation is an ongoing call: God called, yes, when we were young. But God calls today,
day after day, and each call forms part of that vocation he gave us. He calls us to respond to new
challenges in the service of the young today; he calls us to faithfulness when we get older and it
is not possible to do all the things we used to do.

12 Cf. Ibid,189.

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Consecration is a similar reality. It is not to be reduced to a single “moment”, the moment of the
profession rite: once done, there’s just the obligations to carry out. No!, consecration embraces
the whole of life. It is not so much a “state” where, once and for all, something is established, but
a continual gift, a journey to be undertaken constantly, a relationship to be continually
cultivated. “One’s whole of life given to the service of God establishes a special consecration.”13
To God is given the first place in my life – always and in everything. Consecration is an ongoing
rapport which grows throughout our life – like marriage.

Each person’s life is moved along by a constellation of values, meaning that these values arrange
themselves into some sort of hierarchical order: some lie at the centre, while others revolve
around them and in connection with them. Putting the primacy of God and the following of Christ
at the centre of one’s life, the consecrated person, the Salesian Brother, is moved towards other
values (education, human promotion, research…): the religious value then becomes the
justification and the context for everything that he does. In my letter on Consecrated Life, I
quoted P. Tillard who maintained that “at the root of every authentic religious life we discover as
primary and all-embracing motive not a ‘for’ but a ‘reason why’. And it is none other than Jesus
Christ who is this ‘reason why’. We don’t become religious ‘for’ something, but ‘because of’
someone: because of Jesus Christ and the fascination he exercises over us.”14 And this way our
life becomes a synthesis between a search for an authentic professionalism in our particular
work and growth in spiritual authenticity.

It is obvious that, as a lay person, the Salesian Brother does many things which are the same as
those done by other lay people. But the difference lies in this: he does them as a consecrated
person. He carries out his mission more for who he is than for what he does, or in other words, his
very life becomes mission even before his work. Or put another way again, he does not embrace
consecrated life just to do wonderful things from the point of view of society and progress, but
because above all he wants to manifest the presence of God and the primacy of God in his life.

As Vita Consecrata indicates, by taking on “a ‘conforming’ to Christ of one’s entire existence”,15
one becomes a reference to the Jesus event, for the Christian community and the world and “a
living memory of Jesus’ way of existing and acting as incarnate Word before his Father and his
fellows,… a living handing-on of the life and message of the Saviour”.16 “The religious state
imitates more faithfully and represents, in the Church, the style of life that the Son of God
embraced by coming into the world to do the Father’s will; and it is this that it proposes to the
disciples who would follow him.”17

Today we have much to say about the prophetic nature of consecrated life as something urgently
demanded, especially of religious. Prophecy means being a sign that speaks spontaneously to the
people, that transmits a message which touches their life, calls them to the important things in
life, challenges the kinds of values offered by the world, offers an alternative and better way of
life, shows a more fully human way of living. In other words, people and consecrated
communities become eloquent signs and do not simply respond to human needs: prophets, not
just ‘social workers’. Jesus operate many miracles but also and beyond everything else he
revealed a new dimension of life, opened people up to the horizons of God, spoke words and
performed actions which seemed “incomprehensible” and “brave”, perhaps useless and open to
criticism at the time, but which established the basis for a new way of living in the world.

13 Essential elements of the Church’s teaching on religious life, III, 4; PC 5

14 P. Chavez Villanueva, “You are my God,my happiness lies in you alone”, in: AGC 382 (2003), 16.
15 VC,16
16 ibid, 22.
17 LG 44

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The world needs prophets like this, people who are “professional” in matters concerning God
and spiritual things. Our experience tells us that no value can survive for long in society unless
there is a group of people who are totally dedicated to promoting it. Without medical and
hospital personnel, good health would be something impossible. Without artists, people’s artistic
sense would go into decline. The same occurs with a sense of God: the Salesian Brother as a
consecrated person is a person who keeps the sense of God alive in people, especially in young
people, who helps them to interpret life in the light of God and to experience his presence.

Against the widespread tendency of concentrating on the material aspects of life, he reminds
people of the need to pay attention to another dimension – the spiritual dimension – without
which all external progress, as much as it is necessary and desirable remains largely incomplete;
here we are dealing with placing the Kingdom of God above all other earthly things.

And at the same time, paying attention to future realities that he already anticipates in this
present life. By means of his freedom in the face of the things of this world, through his union
with Christ as the Lord of life, through universal brotherhood, he renders a service of hope and
vision with regard to what he expects to find beyond this earthly existence – the future
encounter with the Lord and the expected life of future happiness.

Vaticano II puts it this way: “the profession of the evangelical counsels appears as a sign, which
can and must effectively attract all the members of the Church to carry out the duties of the
Christian vocation. Since in fact the people of God have no permanent abode here, but are
searching for one in the future, the religious state, which frees its followers from earthly cares,
also shows all believers in a better way the heavenly goods already present in time, better
witnesses to the existence of a new and eternal life, won by Christ’s redemption, and better
announces the future resurrection and glory of the heavenly kingdom.”18

So, speaking practically:

§ The Salesian Brother turns his mission into a prophecy when it is not simply limited to
responding to the needs of young people, no matter how urgent they may be. He is aware of
the difficulties that young people have today in knowing of the presence of Christ and in
believing that he is alive today and not just an edifying story from the past. Precisely for this
reason, following the Constitutions, “in a world tempted by atheism and the idolatry of
pleasure, possessions and power, (his) way of life bears witness, especially to the young, that
God exists and that his love can fill a life completely; and that the need to love, the urge to
possess and the freedom to control one’s whole existence afind their fullest meaning in Christ
the Saviour”.19

§ In his word and example, the young find a critic and a pointer: a critic of the excesses of a
permissive mentality, of an unbridled pursuit of material goods which leaves others poorer,
and of a freedom without direction; a pointer to new and original ways in which a person can
seek fulfilment, the real happiness as proposed by the Beatitudes, and self-giving as the way
to go.

§ His way of living the vows questions certain directions of exaggerations in society like, for
example, the growing exaltation of a sexual instinct unconnected with any moral norm; the
search for riches at any cost, something which leads to social insensitivity and to a practical

18 LG 44.
19 C. 62

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 abandonment, by governments and public opinion, of the poor to their destiny; the
exaggerated and narcissistic desire for success, to be gained at any price, for becoming
someone of importance, for gaining more power. But there is more: by means of a serene and
fulfilling life, he offers an alternative kind of education, proposing ideals on which young
people can base their happiness, offering the wisdom contained in the Gospel, and
demonstrating the power of Christ’s grace working wonderfully in the Church.

§ His life of communion becomes prophetic when, even given differences of age, background,
level of formation and work, and notwithstanding the inevitable conflicts and difficulties
between himself and his confreres, he remains united with them: “he witnesses to something
higher that makes us look higher”20. He shows so eloquently the meaning of “Church” and the
transforming force of the Good News. He is convinced that his communion with his brothers
is already an apostolate or, as we are accustomed to say today, that “communion is mission”,
and directly contributes to the work of evangelisation. “The sign par excellence left by the
Lord is in fact that of a fellowship lived: ‘By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another’ (Jn 13:35).”21

§ His community prayer becomes prophetic when his prayer becomes not only a rich
experience nurturing his life but awakens in others the desire to encounter God. In fact, the
Church today asks religious communities to accept this “appointment with history” by
becoming “privileged places where one can experience the ways that lead to God,… where the
experience of God should be able to be experienced in its fulness and be communicated to
others”.22

And so here I am at the point from which I started out. I have spoken of two elements – being lay
and being consecrated – that, together, constitute the identity of the Salesian Brother. GC24 put it
well: the Salesian Brother “combines in himself the gifts of consecration and the lay state”.23

4. By way of conclusion

Allow me to conclude with the example of our Salesian Brother Artemide Zatti, the first Salesian
Brother to be beatified. His biography is full of episodes which witness to this marvellous fusion
which I have spoken of, the unifying element of which was always God himself.24

One day, when a sick person arrived at the hospital of San José and the hospital was full, Zatti
brought him to his own room and put him into his own bed. At night he put a rug on the floor and
slept there. Unfortunately, the sick person snored all night long, loud, so Zatti couldn’t sleep. Next
morning Zatti was very tired, and the others more or less chided him for the night he’d spent ‘on
the tiles’. “But I was glad he snored,” he answered. “Each time I thought: Thank God he’s still
alive.”

He went up to another sick person who was suffering a lot and said: “Pray that God may lessen
your pain. Look: the sparrows pray too. Can you hear them warbling as they sing on the branches
of the Eucalyptus? They are praying, in their own fashion…”

20 Fraternal life in community, 56

21 ibid, 54.
22 ibid, 20.
23 GC24, 154.
24 The episodes here– and many others – can be found in the book by Enzo Bianco, Zatti: parente dei poveri, Torino 2002.

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His way of speaking to the Sister looking after the linen was typical: “Take a look, Sister, and see
if there are some clothes for the Lord.” And then: “Haven’t you got something better? We should
give something better to the Lord to wear.” And another time, “Sister, have you got some clothes
for a Jesus who is about 10 years old?” And to the nurse: “Sister, prepare a bed for Our Lord.”

For many years he kept a mute woman and a poor malformed boy in the hospital. The two made
a good match. When Zatti found out one day that both of them could be looked after in another
institute in Viedma he answered: “No.” And they asked him: “Why not?” He answered: “Because
these two attract God’s blessing.”

Zatti had his own particular way of asking for alms for the hospital. He used say: “Don Pedro,
could you not lend 5000 pesos to the Lord?” And don Pedro, amazed, would say: “To the Lord?”
To which Zatti would say: “Yes, don Pedro. It’s always a good thing to lend the Lord something.”

One day, one of the doctors asked him: “Don Zatti, are you happy?” And Zatti answered: “Very.
And you, doctor?” “Me, no…” the doctor said. “You see,” Zatti shot back, “each one carries his
happiness within. So be happy and satisfied with what you have, even if it’s just a little or nothing
even: This is what the Lord wants. He’ll think of the rest.”

There was an unbeliever amongst the doctors who confessed: “Faced with Zatti, my lack of belief
gets shaky. If ever there were to be saints on earth, this is one of them. When I see myself with a
scalpel in my hand, and I see him with a rosary, I feel that the room has something supernatural
filling it.”

These are small examples, tied to a particular period and culture different from our own, but
they reveal in Zatti’s soul a deep spiritual experience tha enlivened and moved him from within.
His daily life was interlaced with a variety of activities typical for an infirmarian, but filled with a
spirit of constant union with God that altered everything. This way he showed himself to be a
‘together’ person, calm, balanced, open to the mystery of God lived in daily life.

Commenting on the perspectives that Zatti’s message opens up for us today, Fr Vecchi wrote:
“The search for professionalism – which seems to be an unavoidable need in society today,
especially for more developed people – is a challenge for religious life. In fact there is the risk of
settling for a worldly view, making professionalism the source of personal identity, thus hiding –
or allowing second place only – to the identity of religious life, tied to supernatural motives…”

We need a “new professionalism, Gospel-inspired, capable of renewing our quality of life. This is
the result of particular cultural and technical skills, of well spelt out relational ability, of
profound ethical and spiritual motivation. And it seems able to redeem and give new meaning to
human work – which makes up the bulk of life – and, at the same time, to support and encourage
a civilisation of love.”25

I believe that the challenge for the Salesian Brother is to bring about such a synthesis in his own
life – as did Blessed Artemide Zatti and Blessed Stephen Sandor – by fulling living out their lay
identity shot through with their identity as a consecrated persons and so making it transparent
that God is the source, basis and aim of their entire life. Such is the way that leads them to
holiness. Such and no other is also the way that will lead you too, my dear Brothers, to the
fullness of life, happinness and love, ie. to holiness.

25 J. Vecchi, “Beatificazione del coad. Artemide Zatti: una novità dirompente”, in: ACG 376 (2001),

31-32.