Our Founder Servant of God Stephen Ferrando carried within him the deep and dignified imprint of his Italian heritage-rooted in the rugged grace of Piedmont region, a land of strong hearts, deep faith, and missionary fire. This region, which gave birth to Don Bosco and so many passionate witnesses to the Gospel, also formed him– in its language, its spirituality and its enduring sense of purpose. It was the quiet strength of his homeland – the simplicity of its people, their tenacity in hardship, their love for God and neighbour and great devotion to the Holy Mother of God – that most deeply marked his soul. While he would one day leave behind the vineyards and valleys of his native land and the embrace of his beloved family and people, as well as the historic city of Turin– with its sacred spaces, formative grace and Salesian spirit that shaped his religious and priestly call– for the missions of North East India, their imprint never left him.