(Rome) – Rome prepares to welcome a landmark gathering of Salesian educational leaders from across the globe as the International Conference on “Participatory Models in Salesian Higher Education: Synodal & Salesian Facilitation” opens on 27 October. The five-day event, part of the Jubilee of Education celebrations, is hosted by the Salesian University, Rome, and organized by the Salesian Institutes of Higher Education under the aegis of the Salesian Youth Ministry Department.
The curtain rises with the Jubilee Opening Mass at 17:30 in St Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Pope Leo XIV. A welcome dinner follows at the Salesian Generalate’s Sacro Cuore Terrace, overlooking Termini Rail and Bus Stations, with Rector Major Don Fabio Attard greeting the participants.
The inaugural session on Tuesday, 28 October, will be held from 9:00 to 10:30 am Rome time and live-streamed globally.
Day 1 – Inaugural Session : https://youtube.com/live/R1ZJBOJGnaA?feature=share
Day 2: https://youtube.com/live/n6Elr93l9ng?feature=share
Day 3: https://youtube.com/live/u6ucw1_GS5Y?feature=share
The conference brings together 35 participants from all continents, including 16 delegates from India—among them two resource persons. Ten of India’s 11 Salesian provinces are represented, reflecting the country’s deep engagement with the global Salesian educational mission. The presence of the Rector Major and the Rector of the Salesian University will lend ceremonial weight to the proceedings, alongside international facilitators with over 30 years of experience in organizational management.
The three-day working sessions (28–30 October) promise an immersive, in-person experience aimed at reimagining institutional management, teaching-learning processes, community engagement, and research through a distinctly Salesian and synodal lens. “The process of engagement will be participatory, synodal, and Salesian,” affirms Prof. George Abraham Thadathil, Global Coordinator of Salesian University Institutions. “It is an invitation to explore the Catholic and Salesian identity of our Higher Education Ministry.”
Participants include Rectors, Presidents, Principals, and Vice Principals of Salesian universities and colleges. The conference, an initiative of the IUS Coordination Office, Rome, sets the stage for regional follow-ups, including the South Asia Annual Conference of 51 institutions in Goa (17–20 November) and province-level training events on Salesian Facilitation.
The closing day, 31 October, will feature an audience with the Pope, passage through the Holy Doors, a city tour, a virtual reality experience at Museo Don Bosco, and a celebratory dinner—marking the culmination of a week steeped in reflection, renewal, and rejoicing in the Salesian educational mission.