Salesian Accompaniment in Formal and Non-Formal Settings

Accompaniment constitutes a perennial theme in a Christian context, best encapsulated in the Emmaus story (Luke 22:13-35) when Jesus accompanies the two disciples on what could be described as a journey of discovery. This journey paradigm, which underpins many Religious Education programmes, constitutes a central feature of the Salesian education vision known as the Preventive System. St John Bosco (1815-1888), the founder of the Salesians, was concerned with the transformation of the lives of every young person with whom he came into contact, resonating with ‘the uniqueness of the individual’, one of the key principles of Catholic education elucidated by the English and Welsh Bishops Conference (CBCEW, 1996, p. 1). According to one of his first Salesians, Bosco encouraged them to ‘go to the pump’, to meet young people where they had gathered and to engage in a genuine encounter. This chapter will explore the extent to which this model of effective presence and encounter reflects the vision of St John Bosco which involves the teacher/pastoral worker and the accompanied meeting each other and having frequent conversations in informal ways in a variety of environments, marked by openness, trust and availability. Recent scholarship will be accessed to facilitate the breaking open the concept of Salesian accompaniment in a contemporary context.