Don Michele Rua was the successor who Don Bosco himself appointed: upon the death of the Saint of Valdocco, it was he who inherited the role of father, master and friend. He was also assigned a specific task: strengthen and grow the Salesian family in Italy and throughout the world. For this expansion – which was both structural (he built oratories, Salesian houses and boarding establishments such as the Sacred heart in Rome) and spiritual (he expanded missions to Sicily after the horrendous earthquake of 1908 in Messina) – he dedicated a good 31 missions, sending over 1000 missionaries outside Italian borders to London, Brussels, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, Ljubljana…

To commemorate this extraordinary man, the V International Seminar on the History of Salesian Work, held in Turin from October 28 to November 1, 2009, has been named after him. The Seminar is entitled, “Don Rua, primo Successore di Don Bosco (Don Rua, the first Successor of Don Bosco)”, and will mark the hundredth year, which officially begins on January 31, 2010, since the death of this great Salesian.

The seminar will also include a series of events dedicated to Don Rua: an itinerant exhibition will be inaugurated, documenting the contributions of the Saint to the spread and expansion of his Congregation throughout the world; a documentary on Don Rua’s numerous travels in Europe and the Middle East will be screened; the book, “Vie de don Michel Rua, premier successeur de don Bosco” by Francis Desramaut, will be presented; the event will also include a concert by the Turin Music Conservatory and a performance of the musical, “Andiamo Ragazzi”, which portrays several scenes from the life of Don Rua.