Each one of us is called by God to one Salesian vocation. Yet not all of us are called to the same state in which this vocation is lived out. Some are called to be ‘Salesian Clerics’ others are called to be ‘Lay Salesians’ (or Salesian Brothers).

Salesian Clerics are those who dedicate themselves to the service of the young through their sacramental ministry either as permanent Deacons or as Priests (The term ‘clerics’ includes those who prepare themselves for the deaconate or priestly ordination).

Salesian Laymen are those who dedicate themselves to the same vocation of serving the young while remaining in the lay state as brothers among brothers.

Each of us is responsible for the common mission, and participates in it with the richness of his own personal gifts and with the lay and priestly characteristics of the one Salesian vocation.

The Salesian brother brings to every field of education and pastoral activity the specific qualities of his lay status, which make him in a particular way a witness to God’s Kingdom in the world, close as he is to the young and to the realities of working life.

The Salesian priest or deacon brings to the common work of promoting human development and of educating in the faith the specific quality of his ministry, which makes him a sign of Christ the Good Shepherd, especially by preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments.

The significant and complementary presence of clerical and lay salesians in the community constitutes an essential element of its make-up and of its apostolic completeness.

(Const. Art. 45)

THE SALESIAN PRIEST OR DEACON
The specific Salesian priestly features are as follows:
	evidence shown of the figure of Christ the Shepherd of whom the Salesian, like Don Bosco, is a witness for youth most in need, especially by means of preaching the Gospel and in the administration of the sacraments.
	a deepening of the ecclesial sense of unity and communion with the Church, in particular with the Pope and the Bishops; docility in accepting the magisterium and in helping young people and the faithful to accept its teachings.
	the vital experience of the priestly ministry in and from within the local and provincial community, in reciprocal complementarity with the Salesian Brother.
	development of the capacity to discern the will of God in events and persons, and of preparation for animation and spiritual direction especially of the young.
	the development of a particular sensitivity proper to the Salesian spirit, for the catechetical, vocational and Marian dimensions in the exercise of the priestly ministry.
	growth in awareness that the priesthood is a specific dimension of his Salesian vocation. This awareness is present in all his activities being, as he is a priest or deacon like Don Bosco everywhere and at all times. Today, the Salesian Congregation counts amongst its number 11069 priests and 17 deacons who work side by side Salesian Brothers in community al the service of the young throughout the world.
THE SALESIAN BROTHER – THE LAY SALESIAN
The specific features of the Salesian Brother are as follows:
	The response to the vocation which stems from baptism; called by God to give himself completely to Him in Christ and to serve him as a ‘lay religious’ in the Salesian Congregation;
	The carrying out of the specific mission of the integral Christian education of the young, especially the porrest of them, in the spirit of Don Bosco and in communion with the Salesian priest. All this within the context of a religious community;
	The living out of the lay vocation that seeks the Kingdom of God through temporal matters and orienting them towards God. He does this with characteristics that are proper to religious life;
	The fulfilling of a non-sacramental mission of evangelization and sanctification, with an intensity that comes from his specific consecration and the Church’s mandate. Today, the Salesian Congregation numbers 2,317 Salesian Brothers working side by side with priests in community, at the service of the youth of the world. They work as educators, animating and managing the various works and activities of the Salesian mission: schools, hostels, technical institutes, centres of agricultural development, editorial activities in the area of press, radio, television, and centres of social, legislative and economic development.
(Source GC21, 172, 173, 178).
Courtesy www.sdb.org