Hajja Salesjana January-March 2021

32 The Purple Arrow The first floor is dedicated to champions of salesian holiness. The symbol isan open arrow points upward. It evokes Don Bosco’s passion for inspiring the young to allow their faith to lift them higher as they grow in holiness. The arrow is “open”, a reminder that the journey of faith is never finished. Why purple? To recall the episcopal vestments of St. Francis de Sales. Two majestic paintings of the Savoyard bishop, from the original oratory church that bears his name, are displayed in the Gallery of Paintings. They have been out of the public eye for nearly sixty years, now beautifully restored. The Gold Circle The gold circle captures the essence of the second floor, dedicated to Don Bosco, the Saint: the room where he lived, the room where he died, his beatification, his legacy. The circle represents the sun, a boundless source of energy, reminiscent of Don Bosco’s relentless pursuit of whatever encouraged his boys to seek holiness and fullness of life. The gold colour evokes the liturgical finery on display from Don Bosco’s 1929 beatification and 1934 canonization: the embroideredvestments and the gilded urn built by Salesian craftsmen and used to translocate Don Bosco’s body from Valsalice to the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians. When the courtyard and steeple are considered together, we recallthe belltower of the Church of St. Francis de Sales that overlooks the courtyard where the boys ran, learned, worked, prayed and celebrated. The Oratory, then as now, is a playground that welcomesand a church that evangelizes. The hour glass and gold circle together evoke the Eucharistic and chalice. The sacraments are the pillars of the Preventive System, Don Bosco’s way of educating and evangelizing. In the sacraments, the passing of time becomes pathway to eternity. For Don Bosco as for us, the Eucharist is a life-giving encounter with Christ where chronos opens to kyros.