Carabanchel becomes the main refuge for the Salesian legacy in Madrid

Carabanchel has another reason to be on Madrid’s cultural map. The neighbourhood, known for its neighbourhood life and mix of generations, has recently become home to Spain’s largest centre for Salesian heritage. At a time when the city seeks spaces connecting past and present, this enclave becomes guardian of the memory of the order of Saint John Bosco.

The project, promoted more than a decade ago by Miguel Ángel Fernández, responds to a clear need: preventing Salesian history from fading away in a time of scarce vocations. Fernández, together with his team, has spent years travelling through Salesian houses throughout Spain to inventory and gather the most valuable pieces. The result is a space that is not merely a storehouse, but a place designed to preserve and share the legacy with new generations.

The centre occupies the former theology building of the Salesian school in Carabanchel, beside the playground where pupils and neighbours cross paths every day. There, among historic gardens, are statues, carvings, relics, photographs and a library already exceeding 100,000 books. The first floor is dedicated to religious images, many restored in the centre’s own workshop, where careful decisions are made over which pieces to preserve and which to return to other Salesian houses.

In an adjoining room, the photographic archive grows daily. Fernández has set himself the task of digitising and commenting on one negative a day, already adding 4,000 files documenting Salesian life and work in Spain. The second floor contains a library specialising in Salesian publications, with 8,000 copies and new additions planned from Seville and the south of the country.

But the heart of the centre is the great central library, spread over two floors and open to theology, philosophy and education. More than 100,000 books by authors from around the world await the definition of their access model: it is not yet clear whether it will be a space open to the neighbourhood or reserved for researchers and devotees. The decision will shape the centre’s role in Carabanchel’s cultural life.

Meanwhile, interest is growing. Researchers and artists already come to the centre seeking inspiration and documentation. The team also organises routes around Madrid to discover other corners bearing a Salesian imprint, such as Tetuán. The City Council, through the Distrito 11 project, supports the initiative and highlights Carabanchel’s role as an expanding cultural hub.

The Salesian school in Carabanchel, beyond its educational role, has for decades been a meeting point for generations in the neighbourhood. Its playground, classrooms and gardens form part of the everyday landscape and collective memory. Now, with the arrival of the Salesian heritage centre, the building strengthens its connection with local history and opens itself to new forms of cultural participation. Madrid is already beginning to move in that direction.