Saint John Bosco

Founder (1815-1888)

Feast- January 31

One day St. Francis of Assisi went to city of Arezzo. He beheld the demons dancing with joy on the walls of the city, and exciting in the hearts of its people the fire of hatred against each other. Calling to him Brother Sylvester, a man of dove-like simplicity, he said, “Go to the gate of the city, and in the name of Almighty God command the devils, in virtue of holy obedience, to depart immediately.” The Brother hastened to fulfil his orders, and cried out in a loud voice, “All you evil spirits who are gathered together in this place, I command you, in the name of Almighty God and of His servant Francis, depart hence.” No sooner had he uttered these words than the discordant voices were hushed, the people’s angry passions were calmed, the fratricidal feud ceased, and peace was restored to Arezzo. The wisdom of the humble St. Francis saved the city from destruction. The wisdom of the humble St. John Bosco saved the city kids.

Farming has always been physically demanding work. All year long, from sunrise to sunset, in the scorching sun, rain or snow there is always something to do on farm. In 1764 James Watt made a critical improvement to the fuel efficiency of Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine. With this change, factories were no longer limited by the availability of waterpower and could spring up in more convenient locations. These factories offered job opportunities with the promise of a better life, leading many to move to urban areas. Two new classes of citizens, wealthy businesses owners – the Bourgeoisie – and working class – the Proletariat – grew rapidly. In the countryside people knew each other and knew what to expect from their neighbors; in the city it was easy to stay anonymous, and this anonymity attracted many questionable characters. This anonymity coupled with high population density created opportunities for sinful activities leading to a decline in morality among the general public. Then came the French Revolution of 1789, followed by the Napoleonic Wars in 1803–1815, and finally the Communist Revolutions of 1848 (the Springtime of Nations) further entrenching this degradation. Cities were flooded with homeless, fatherless kids raised by the streets. Many youths, especially boys, would be incarcerated with adults and the resulting abuse would further strip them of morality. but good God didn’t give them life and Jesus didn’t suffer and die on the cross to let them waste such a great gift, so He sent St. John Bosco to the rescue.

Giovanni Melchior Bosco was born as the youngest of three sons of a poor farmer in a little cabin at Becchi, a hill-side hamlet near Castelnuovo in the Piedmont district of Italy on 16 August 1815 and was raised on his parents’ small farm. St. John’s knowledge of poverty was firsthand. He was little more than two years old when his father died; Margaret Bosco and her three sons found it harder than ever to support themselves, and while John was still a small boy he had to join his brothers working the farm. His early years were spent as a shepherd. Although his life was hard, he was a happy, imaginative child.

He received his first instruction at the hands of the parish priest who taught him to read and write. He possessed a ready wit, a retentive memory, and as years passed his appetite for study grew stronger.

A dream that little Giovanni had at the age of nine revealed to him his vocation. He seemed to be surrounded by a mob of fighting and swearing children whom he tried in vain to pacify, at first by arguments and then by hitting them.

Suddenly there appeared a mysterious woman who said: “Softly, softly . . . if you wish to win them! Take your shepherd’s staff and lead them to pasture.” Even as she spoke, the children were transformed first into wild beasts and then into gentle lambs. From that time on, Giovanni concluded his duty was to lead and help other boys.

St. John found innocent fun compatible with religion. He would grab the attention of the local kids with acrobatic and conjuring tricks and then teaching them the Catechism and bringing them to church.

As he grew older, he considered becoming a priest, but poverty and the lack of a formal education made this seem impossible. By taking odd jobs in the village and with the combined help of the local priest, his mother, and some neighbors, St. John managed to get through school. In 1835 he entered the diocesan seminary at Chieri nearby Turin. When, he entered the seminary he was so poor that the village mayor contributed a hat; one friendly person gave him a cloak; another a pair of shoes and money for his maintenance; and his remaining clothes were supplied by charity.

As a seminarian he devoted his spare time to looking after the ragamuffins who roamed the slums of the city. Every Sunday, he taught them catechism, supervised their games and entertained them with stories and tricks. Before long his kindness had won their confidence, and his Sunday School became a ritual with them. In 1841 after six years of study St. John was ordained a priest on the eve of Trinity Sunday by Archbishop Luigi Franzoni of Turin.

After taking Holy Orders, his first appointment was as an assistant chaplain for a home for girls, founded by the Venerable Marchesa (marquis) Juliette Colbert Falletti de Barolo, a wealthy and philanthropic woman.

This post left St. John free on Sundays to devote himself to his group of boys. He set up for them a sort of combined Sunday School and recreation center on grounds belonging to the orphanage which he called “the festive Oratory.” In 1842, the Oratory numbered twenty boys, in March of the same year, thirty, but this position was short-lived. St. John resigned his post after permission to use the orphanage grounds by the boys was annulled.

One of St. John’s duties was to accompany his spiritual director St. Joseph Cafasso upon his visits to the prisons of the city. After witnessing the condition of the children confined in these places, abandoned to the most evil influences, he redoubled his effort to save their souls and began looking for a permanent home for them. Unfortunately, no decent neighborhood would accept the noisy crowd. For more than a year the group was regarded as a nuisance and sent from pillar to post. No property owner would put up with them for long.

Eventually, in a rather tumbledown section of the city where no one was likely to protest, upon the site of an old shed St. John established an oratory named after Saint Francis de Sales. St. John went to live in some poor rooms adjoining the new Oratory. At the new place he was joined by his mother known as “Mama Margaret.” She gave the last ten years of her life in devoted service to the little inmates of this first Salesian home, which quickly reached seven hundred members.

The Sunday gathering would start with Mass at the local church with a short instruction on the Gospel; breakfast would then be eaten, followed by games. In the afternoon Vespers would he chanted, a lesson in Catechism given, and the Rosary recited. It was a familiar sight to see St. John in the field surrounded by kneeling boys preparing for confession. His next step was to build for his flock a small church which he placed under the patronage of his favorite saint, Francis de Sales. Once completed, he started to build a home for his steadily growing family. No one knew just how he managed to raise the money for these various projects. Enrollment grew so rapidly that by 1849 he had to opened two more youth centers in other parts of Turin.

Some teachers volunteered their time and a night school took shape. St. John knew that pure academic learning was insufficient, so he planned programs that combined prayer, play, song, study, and manual work. In this way, he could manage them without any formal punishment.

The evening classes swelled and gradually dormitories were provided for many who desired to live at the Oratory. Those enrolled as boarders in the school were of two sorts: young apprentices and craftsmen, and other youths in whom St. John discerned future helpers, with, possibly, vocations to the priesthood. At first, they attended classes outside, but, as more teachers were enlisted, academic and technical courses were given at the house. By 1856 a hundred and fifty boys were in residence; there were four workshops, including a printing shop, and four Latin classes, with ten young priests as instructors. Urbano Rattazzi, a local liberal, anti-clerical politician and the future Prime Minister of Italy saw an opportunity to accelerate his career by advocating for St. John’s work; and although an Italian law forbade the founding of religious communities at that time, he promised government support.

For a long time, St. John Bosco had considered founding an Order to carry on his work. On the night of January 26th, 1854, in his room he met with small group of coworkers, among them were Bl. Michael Rua and future Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero. From that evening, the name of Salesian was given to all who embarked on that form of apostolate of practical works of charity to help neighbors.

In 1858 St. John, in assistance to Bl. Michael Rua, went to Rome and received preliminary approbation from Pope Pius IX. Four years later he founded an Order for women, The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, to care for abandoned girls. Then to supplement the work of both congregations, he organized an association of lay people interested in aiding their work. Sixteen years later in 1874 he obtained full sanction, together with permission to present candidates for Holy Orders. The new society grew rapidly. Within five years there were thirty-nine Salesians; at the time of the founder’s death there were eight hundred, and by 1929 the number had increased to about eight thousand priests.

In 1868, to meet the needs of the Valdocco quarter of Turin, St. John resolved to build a church. Accordingly, a plan was drawn in the form of a cross covering an area of 1,500 sq. yards. The church was consecrated on the 9th of June, 1868, and placed under the patronage of Our Lady, Help of Christians.

Later he found means to put up another spacious and much-needed church in a poor quarter of Turin, and placing it under the patronage of St. John the Evangelist.

During the last years of Pope Pius IX, plans were drawn up to build a church in Rome in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Pius himself had donated money to buy the site. His successor, Leo XIII, was eager for the work to be carried forward, but there was difficulty in raising funds. It was suggested to the Pope that this was something that St. John Bosco did better than anyone else, and when he was asked to undertake it, he accepted the challenge. After obtaining a considerable sum in Italy, he went to France, where devotion to the cult of the Sacred Heart was particularly intense at this time. He was successful in his appeals, money came flowing in, and the early completion of the church was assured.

St. John Bosco accomplished what many people considered an impossibility; he walked through the streets of Turin, Italy, looking for the dirtiest, roughest urchins he could find, then made good men of them. His understanding of young people and their needs and dreams gave him great influence. He lived to see twenty-six houses started in the New World and thirty-eight in the Old. His outgoing personality made him popular as a preacher, and there were many requests of his time to speak to various congregations. In the few hours that remained to him, he wrote useful and popular books for boys, stories based on history, and sometimes popular treatises on the faith. In that day there were few attractive reading materials written specifically for young people.

Exhausted from touring Europe to raise funds for a new church in Rome, Don Bosco died on January 31st, 1888, but his work continues today in over a thousand Salesian oratories throughout the world. No modern Saint has captured the heart of the world more rapidly than this smiling peasant-priest from Turin, who believed that to give complete trust and love is the most effective way to nourish virtue in others.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Saint John Bosco, Founder.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_bosco.html (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church of Picayune, MS – Devotion – Patron Saints – St. John Bosco.” http://www.scborromeo.org/saints/bosco.htm (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[3]          “St. John Bosco | EWTN,” EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/john-bosco-631 (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[4]          “St. Francis of Assisi and his confrontations with the Devil.” http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Francis%20of%20Assisi%20and%20the%20Devil.html (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).