Salesian Cooperators

The Salesian Cooperators are Catholics who
are living the gospel message in the spirit of Saint John Bosco
while choosing to live in the world.

The Salesian Cooperators are the first group
of youth ministers established by Don Bosco.
He began his work in 1841 by gathering street kids
and young workers on Sundays.
Turin, Italy was an industrial town at the beginning of the industrial revolution. Child labor was common
and because of the economic crisis in the agricultural
areas of Italy at the time, great numbers of children
and young people were leaving the farms
to find work in the cities.
The children worked six days a week but had Sundays off.
Don Bosco gathered these street kids in vacant lots for a day of play.
He brought them to Church for Mass and a catechism lesson.

To help him with the hundreds of boys who came to him,
he enlisted the help of several people and a few local priests.
Don Bosco knew he would need the help of other committed people
of good will to care for the children.
He invited people whom he felt had the talent and the desire
to minister to young people.
His own mother, Margarita, came to help him.

"The work of the Cooperators will extended to every country,
it will spread throughout Christianity... The hand of God sustains it!
The Cooperators will be the ones who foster the Catholic spirit... You may think my idea is utopian,
but I stand by it nevertheless!" DON BOSCO

Cooperators are Catholics who, while living their faith
within the framework of their own secular condition,
draw their ispiration from Don Bosco's apostolic project.
To contribute to the salvation of the young,
"that part of human society which is so exposed and yet
so rich in promise".
The lay Cooperators fulfill their commitment and
live the Salesian spirit in the normal situations of their life and work, according to their lay state,
and spread their values in their environment.

If you are interested in more information about the Salesian Cooperators, you may want to look at their Regulations, which are available at The Site of the Cooperators in Australia or please contact Sr. Nivia Arias at programdirector@nac.net