In 2011 the Ostello di Parma, today Student's Hostel, was named after Luciano Ferraris and we believe it is right to highlight the story of his life here.

Luciano Ferraris was born in Turin on 18 September 1914 and died on 8 June 1989.

Since he was a boy he attended the Work of Don Bosco's Salesians, engaging in the animation of the scouts who frequent the oratory, assimilating the values ​​and spirit of the Salesian apostolate.

After having obtained the technical diploma, he began his professional activity as a designer at Fiat.
He participates in the Second World War as an under officer of the Air Force.

In 1945 he promoted the rebirth of Scouting, reconstituting some Scout groups at the Salesian oratories, with very poor means, but with the desire to reconstruct positive experiences for young people who came out of the experience of war.
His ability to immediately empathize with the sufferings of others soon made him an autonomous and convinced precursor of smile therapy and service to the weakest.

In 1952 Luciano Ferraris, connecting to Unitalsi, discovers the wealth of educational experiences that he can transmit in the service to the sick in Lourdes, and since then he has been trying to start or finish the routes by involving the scouts in this undertaking.
It was on a pilgrimage that he had met the French Foulards Blancs: the experience had thrilled him. Thus, with the determined contribution of the priest Don Dusan Stefani, in 1958 he succeeded in giving birth also in Italy to the experience of the scout service to the sick which in a few years saw thousands of young people on the Unitalsi and Offtal trains serving who was forced to live in suffering.

For almost thirty years he personally participated in the animation and direction of the national pilgrimages to Lourdes and Loreto, holding the role of national manager for nine years.

When in 1979 the Foulard Bianchi community was able to walk alone, he returned to direct his full-time attention and his inexhaustible energy to other goals, always in the field of education / animation and service to the marginalized.

He directed courses for leaders in expression and animation for several years, followed by a series of books on the subject.