St John Bosco (Don Bosco)

Word for the day

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:5

Life

John Bosco was born on 16 August 1815 at Becchi, near Castelnuovo d'Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy, into a poor farming family. His father died when he was not yet two, and his mother, Margaret Occhiena, raised her sons with deep faith. John had to work hard and struggled for years to be able to study.

He was ordained a priest in Turin in 1841. The city was growing fast with factories, and many boys from the countryside lived on the streets, worked in harsh conditions or ended up in prison. Don Bosco, as he came to be called, gathered them on Sundays for games, catechism and prayer. This Oratory, named after St Francis de Sales, found a permanent home at Valdocco in 1846. He opened workshops and schools, and his mother came to live there as a mother to the boys.

His way of education, which he called the preventive system, rested on reason, religion and loving kindness: the educator stays among the young, wins their trust and prevents evil rather than only punishing it. In 1859 he founded the Salesian Society, and in 1872, with St Mary Domenica Mazzarello, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. He built the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin and sent missionaries to South America. Among his pupils was St Dominic Savio.

Don Bosco died in Turin on 31 January 1888. Pope Pius XI canonised him on Easter Sunday 1934. The Salesians came to India in 1906, and today in Kerala and across the country their schools, technical institutes and homes for children at risk continue his work.

Lessons

Love that the young can feel

Don Bosco wanted young people to know that they were loved.

Prevention, not only punishment

Reason, faith and kindness form good Christians and honest citizens.

Joy and holiness

Holiness can be cheerful.

Trust in Mary

He did everything under the protection of Mary Help of Christians.

Stories

The dream at nine (tradition)

In his Memoirs Don Bosco tells of a dream he had at about nine years old: a crowd of fighting boys, a majestic man who told him to win them not with blows but with gentleness, and a lady who showed him wild animals turning into lambs. He understood it later as his life's mission.

The young acrobat (tradition)

As a boy, according to his Memoirs, John learned juggling and rope tricks to draw the village children together; after the show he would repeat the Sunday sermon and lead them in prayer.

Il Grigio (legend)

Stories told by Don Bosco and his companions speak of a large grey dog that appeared when he was in danger on the streets of Turin and protected him, then disappeared.

Words of the saint

It is not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved.
St John Bosco, Letter from Rome, 1884, in substance

Homily

1. Welcoming the child

Whoever welcomes a child welcomes Christ (Matthew 18:5).

2. Reason, faith and kindness

A way of education for families and schools.

3. Mary Help of Christians

She did it all, he said.

Dear friends, St John Bosco grew up poor, lost his father as a baby and had to fight to get an education. When he became a priest in Turin, he saw boys living on the streets, exploited in workshops and locked in prisons, and he decided to give his life to them.

Jesus said: Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me (Matthew 18:5). Don Bosco welcomed thousands. He played with them, taught them a trade, heard their confessions and led them to Christ. His way was reason, religion and loving kindness.

He used to say that it is not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved. Parents, teachers and priests can ask themselves: do the young people around me feel loved? Do they find in us patience and joy?

Let us pray today for the children and youth of our families and parishes, especially those in danger or without care. May St John Bosco and Mary Help of Christians, whom he loved so much, guide them to Christ. Amen.

Prayer

Lord God, in St John Bosco you gave the young a father and a friend; through his prayers give us patience, joy and kindness with children and young people, and help us to lead them to Christ. Amen.