St

SAINT JOHN BOSCO - His Life and Work

Giovanni Bosco (Don Bosco) {1815-88} founder of the Salesian* Order of Priests and lay-Brothers. Born in Piedmont, Southern Italy, he was the youngest son of a peasant farmer who died when John was two years old. He was brought up by his mother in extreme poverty; when he entered the seminary in 1831 his clothes and shoes were provided by charity. He was ordained priest in 1841 and soon settled into his life's work: the education and apostolate of boys and young men, especially of the working class.

Turin was the principal place of his activity. Persuaded by the rector of a seminary in Turin - Joseph Cafasso - later canonised a saint - to abandon his dream of foreign missionary work he was introduced by him to both wealthy benefactors and to the slums and prisons which would gain most from his ministry. John Bosco was appointed a chaplain of a Refuge for girls. He devoted himself also to the needs of young men especially on Sundays. His attractive, charismatic personality soon drew many to his Oratory and his evening classes.

Soon he resigned his post as chaplain and lived in poverty with his mother and about forty destitute boys in the Valdocco area: later he opened workshops for training shoemakers and tailors. By 1856 their number had grown to 150 resident boys with four workshops: there were also 500 children attached to the Oratories and ten priests to teach them. An eloquent preacher and a popular writer of great skill and diligence, John Bosco also had a reputation as a visionary, a wonder worker and one with an extraordinary gift for handling difficult youths without punishment but with a gentle but effective firmness.

Don Bosco often used to take boys on Sunday expeditions in the country, with Mass to start with, followed by breakfast and open-air games, a picnic, catechism class and Vespers to conclude. He believed in the value, especially for deprived urban boys, both of contact with natural beauty and the uplifting power of music. In 1850 he began to organise a Congregation which was formally approved in 1874; at the founder's death fourteen years later it numbered 768 in sixty-four houses in both the Old and the New World. Now it numbers many thousands and specialises in pastoral work and schools of all kinds, including technical, agricultural and ecclesiastical seminaries.

As a church builder Don Bosco achieved the apparently impossible by heroic trust in Providence to provide the necessary finance. One of his triumphs in this regard is the church of Sacro Cuore: completed shortly before his death. Another achievement was the foundation of an Order for nuns to do work for girls similar to that achieved for boys by his own Institute. It was called The Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians and spread to most of the countries where the Salesian Fathers were at work.

The funeral of Giovanni Bosco in 1888 was attended by a large proportion of the citizens of Turin; 40,000 people visited his body as it lay in state. He was canonized in 1934. His Feast Day is 31st January.

Source: The Oxford Book of Saints

References: G. B. Lemoyne & E. Ceria, Memorie biografiche di Giovanni Bosco (19 Vols., 1898 -1939; Eng.tr., 1964- ); E. Ceria (ed.), Epistolario (1955- ); Lives by A. Auffray (1929, Eng.tr. 1930, H. L. Hughes (1934), Henri Ghé on (1935, Eng.tr. 1935), and L. C. Sheppard (1957). See also articles in N.C.E and Bibli. SS.

* Don Bosco was inspired by a frenchman and named his Order Salesian in honour and commemoration of Francis de Sales, Saint born Aug. 21, 1567, Thorens-Glières, Savoy died Dec. 28, 1622, Lyon; canonized 1665; feast day January 24. Roman Catholic bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church. He studied in Paris and at Padua and was ordained in 1593. He was consecrated bishop of Geneva in 1602. In 1610, with St. Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded the Visitation of Holy Mary (the Visitation Nuns), a teaching order. His Introduction to a Devout Life (1609) argued that spiritual perfection is possible for ordinary individuals busy with worldly affairs. He was an active opponent of Calvinism. Pius XI named him patron saint of writers.

Tony Brady. February 2008