Don Bosco

ST. JOHN BOSCO

or Don Bosco as he is commonly known ("Don" being the Italian equivalent of Father), was born in the foothills of the Alps in Northern Italy on August 16, 1815. His father died when he was two. In his youth he learned various trades which served him well when he later became a priest. He spent most of his priesthood in the industrial city of Turin where he cared for young men from the neighboring town who flocked into the city in search of jobs. He visited the local prisons, and he soon realized that he needed to prevent young people from pursuing lives of crime. He opened a center to house these young people and teach them one of the many skills he had learned: shoe making, carpentry, blacksmithing and printing. Don Bosco chose as his patron St. Francis de Sales, a saint noted for his kindness and charity. From this saint, Salesian takes its name. Academic courses were also taught and from this humble beginning developed the thousands of Salesian institutions now in existence worldwide. It was during this flourishing of activities that Don Bosco realized the need for education of the young girls of the area. With the collaboration of St. Mary Mazzarello, he founded an order for women who would be responsible for girls' education and needs. Under the same Salesian spirit, the Salesian Sisters continue Don Bosco's concern for the necessity of a well-rounded education for all youth. Don Bosco died on January 31, 1888. In 1934, Don Bosco was acknowledged by the Church as a saint, who lived out his life in the message of Jesus Christ: "Let the children come to me" (Matt. 10:14). Pope John Paul II declared him Father and Teacher of Youth in 1989.

ST. JOHN BOSCO