St. John Bosco

January 31st, we celebrate the feast of St. John Bosco, popularly known as Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Society, named in honour of St. Francis de Sales, and of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians and patron saint of youth.

John’s father died when the boy was two years old. The family, quite poor, struggled to make ends meet and as soon as he was old enough to do odd jobs, John did so to help support his family. Bosco would go to circuses, fairs and carnivals, practice the tricks that he saw magicians perform, and then put on one-boy shows.

After his performance, while he still had an audience of boys, he would repeat the homily he had heard earlier that day in church. He also demonstrated piety and devotion to the Lord from an early age and professed his wish to become a priest at the age of nine, following a dream.

Finally, a holy priest, St. Joseph Cafasso, became aware of John’s desire to be a priest. Father Cafasso helped him enter the seminary. Being larger than his peers, and noticeably more impoverished, John was the constant focus of his classmates’ ridicule and teasing.

To pay for his education, John spent his evenings working in whatever capacity he could—as a tailor, cobbler, and a waiter—returning to his small room to study through the night by candlelight. Upon graduation, he began his studies for the priesthood.

St. John Bosco was ordained a priest at only twenty-six. During his time as a seminarian, he devoted his spare hours to looking after the street boys who roamed the slums of the city. Every Sunday he taught them catechism, supervised their games and entertained them with stories and tricks. He spent weekdays recruiting the roughest and dirtiest he could find, inviting them to the Sunday gatherings.

Upon ordination, Saint John immediately sought to formalise his ministry to the poor boys of the city, opening a hospice. When he was unable to secure a building in a “good” section of town, he took one in the slums. This first “oratory” was soon joined by three others, as educators and religious sought to join him in his ministry. His mother joined him as well, serving as a housekeeper.

Saint John fed and clothed the boys, but also spent long hours providing them with a basic education and teaching them skills to obtain employment. Within the hospice was a tailoring and shoemaking room, as well as a printing press. Above all, he instructed the boys in the Gospel, modelling by example the life of Jesus Christ, and creating an atmosphere of a Christian family built on trust and love.

By 1856, the institution had grown to 150 boys and had added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. His interest in vocational education and publishing justify him as patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers.

As their number grew, the Salesian Society of priests and lay brothers was formed. Named after Saint Francis de Sales, noted for his gentleness and kindness, Saint John Bosco dedicated this new society to the saint. Saint John travelled to Rome in 1858, and met with Pope Pius IX who encouraged his new religious community. Four years later, he founded an order for women, The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, to care for abandoned girls in the same manner.

By 1868, over 800 boys were being cared for in the Salesian oratories. Along with this, Saint John oversaw the writing, printing and distribution of countless pamphlets that popularised Catholic teaching and answered the objections of anti-Catholics. Moreover, he was reported to receive supernatural guidance from the Lord, in the form of vivid dreams and visions, many of which he recounted. Saint John is also remembered for working miracles, especially the multiplication of food when funds were short.

Saint John Bosco reformed the way children were educated. Rather than the punitive system which was common at the time, John enacted a preventative system which rejected corporal punishment. By tending to basic needs, educational needs, and spiritual needs, the Salesians sought to put children in an environment which reduced the likelihood to commit sin.

He advocated frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with his boys’ work, study and play. Saint John Bosco died on January 31, 1888. His incorrupt relics are frequently taken on pilgrimage around the world, to visit the faithful.

Prayer:

O God, who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco as a father and teacher of the young, grant we pray, that, aflame with the same fire of love, we may seek out souls and serve you alone.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

St. John Bosco, pray for us