Emblem and motto of the Salesian Co-opertors
“Da Mihi Animas” means Give Me Souls
The Association of Salesian Co-operators was founded by Don Bosco and endorsed canonically by Pope Pius IX on the 9th of May, 1876. The co-operators are men and women whose life embraces a holy vocation, despite not professing the evangelical vows. Like the Salesians, they dedicate themselves to the welfare of young people, and live according to Don Bosco’s Salesian Spirit. Mamma Margherita (Mother of Don Bosco) was considered as the first Salesian Cooperator. Also, in 1944 Blessed Alessandrina da Costa, a mystic, became a member of the Asssociation of Salesian Co-operators
The Salesian Co-operators have been in Malta since 1883, when word of Don Bosco’s work spread to our islands through ‘The Salesian Bulletin’. Professor Mgr. Luigi Farrugia, Dean of the Cathedral, was so astonished by the marvellous works Don Bosco had accomplished, that he gathered a group of men and women to initiate the Association of Salesian Co-operators in Malta, and also to raise awareness amongst the Maltese, about the need of having the Salesians of Don Bosco in Malta. He also became the first spiritual director of the Co-operators in Malta, and travelled to Turin to meet Don Bosco and visit the Oratory of Valdocco.
Little Domenico Savio was a holy child and student of Don Bosco. He died at the tender age of fourteen on the 9th March 1857, and was canonized on the 12th June 1954