St. John Bosco, Apostle to Poor Youth
St.
John Bosco
John
Bosco was born near Castelnuovo ,in the archdiocese of Turin, Italy,
in 1815.
His father died when John was only two years old and it
was his mother, Margaret, who provided him with a good humanistic and
Christian education.
His early years were financially difficult,
but at the age of twenty he entered the major seminary, thanks to the
financial help received from Louis Guala, founder and rector of the
ecclesiastical residence, St. Francis of Assisi, in Turin.
John
Bosco was ordained a priest on June 5, 1846, and with the help of
John Borel, he founded the oratory of St. Francis de Sales.
APOSTOLATE
FOCUS
At this time, the city of Turin was on the threshold of the
two greatest influences in modern, European history: the Industrial
Revolution and the rise of Socialism.
As a result of the former
there were many challenges and problems, especially for young men.
The
city reflected the effects of industrialization and urbanization.
Poor families lived in the slums of the city, coming from the
countryside for the false allure of a better life.
Bosco visited
the prisons, and became concerned about recidivism among young
offenders.
Because
of population explosion in the city, the more sanguine, traditional
methods of ministry were ineffective. So he took his apostolate to
the boys where they worked and gathered in shops and marketplaces.
They were mostly employed as pavers, stonecutters, masons, and
plasterers, he noted in his brief work, “Memoires.”
Some
of the boys did not have sleeping quarters and slept under bridges or
in bleak public dormitories.
Bosco
moved around town for several years with his oratory ministry; he was
turned out of several places in succession. Neighborhoods grew
annoyed with the noise coming from the boys at play. And it was also
suspected that the “meetings” conducted by the priest were
dangerous hotbeds of revolution against the government.
EUROPEAN
POLITICS THREATEN
Bosco especially disliked the ideals that had
been exported by Revolutionary France, and the atheism that came from
their embrace of Marxist doctrine. This, “dechristianization
of France as part of the French Revolution,
was a threat to all Christian virtues, in his opinion. He favored an
ultramontane
view
of politics, which places strong emphasis on the prerogatives of the
Pope and Christs Own Church, as opposed to the socialist belief
that State
authority is comparable and meets the needs of all.
In 1854, when
the Savoyards of Sardinia-Piedmont
were
gripped by this statism and poised to to suppress monastic orders,
and confiscate all ecclesiastical properties, Bosco sent a letter to
King Victor
Emmanuel II. In this entreaty, Bosco
admonished him to oppose any confiscation of church property and such
state suppression; the King failed to respond, as he was described as
having, “manifest blackmailing intentions.” Such was the power of
Socialist communism at the time.
As you might imagine, Bosco made enemies and faced opposition
from several quarters. Traditionalist clergy, both Catholic and
Protestant, accused him of stealing young and old people from their
parishes. Nationalist politicians, and sympathetic clergy saw his
young men as recruits for socialist revolution. Communists regarded
him an enemy because he was openly against their politics.
The
chief of police in Turin regarded his open-air catechisms as a
political threat to the State, and Bosco was interrogated on several
occasions, with no charges made. Several attempts were also made on
Bosco's life, including a near-stabbing, bludgeoning, and a shooting,
these being ascribed to the growing influence of socialist and
proto-Protestant sects
APPRENTICES
However, in
spite of criticism and the violent attacks of the anti-clericals, he
conducted workshops for the tradesmen and manual laborers, schools of
arts and sciences for young workers, and schools of the liberal arts
for those preparing for the priesthood.
He formed a network of
apprenticeship training, resulting in some of the
first apprenticeship contracts seen in Turin. All of them are signed
by the employer, the apprentice, and Don Bosco. Those contracts
legally forbade employers from making servants of the apprentices,
and compelled them to employ the boys only in their acknowledged
trade. Beatings were punishable at law, and he saw to their health,
and insisted they be given rest on feast days and an annual holiday.
Despite these efforts and contracts, the situation for apprentices
remained difficult.
So with support and de juris backing from
otherwise anti-clerical politicians, who saw value in the
apprenticeship program, Bosco organized his helpers into a loose
religious Congregation of St. Francis de Sales. Even the reigning
pope, Pope
Pius IX, supported this work.
In
1868 there were 800 students involved in this educational system. To
ensure the continuation of his work, Don Bosco officially founded the
Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians), which was approved in
1869. Also, with the help of Sister Mary Dominic Mazzarello, he
founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Auxiliatrix.
His
Salesian Order espoused the values of reason, religion, and loving
kindness with a goal of producing "good Christians and honest
citizens". Such ideas were not innovative; there was much
criticism of the punitive and outdated educational systems prevalent
in Europe during his time. But Bosco's Salesians were among the first
to combat it and to put such criticisms into practice.
FOREIGN
AFFAIRS
In
1875 a wave of emigration to Latin America began, and this prompted
the inauguration of the Salesian foreign missionary apostolate. Bosco
is the patron saint of Brasília,
Brazil, in fact, because he reportedly foresaw, in a dream, that an
extraordinary new civilization would flourish in central Brazil.
Don
Bosco became a traveller throughout Europe, seeking funds for the
missions. Some of the reports referred to him as "the new St.
Vincent de Paul."
WRITINGS
Though
Bosco's written works were little known outside of his own order and
the subscribers of his circular, The Salesian
Bulletin,
which he founded in August 1877, he wrote voluminously. Described as
a man of action and not a scholar, Don Bosco was was an exceptional
historian. He penned the 1881, “A
Compendium of Italian History from the Fall of the Roman Empire,”
which was translated and continues to the present for its cultural
importance on the knowledge base of ancient to modern
civilization.
He was also a skilled biographer and the list of
his written works is nothing short of astounding, extending to over
220 titles, collected in 38 volumes!
DEATH
This
great apostle of youth died on January 31, 1888. His
funeral was attended by thousands.
The Archdiocese of Turin
investigated, and witnesses were called to determine if Bosco was
worthy to be declared a saint. The Salesians, Daughters, and
Cooperators gave supportive testimonies.
Pope
Pius XI
had
known Bosco, himself, and pushed the cause forward. Pius XI beatified
Bosco
on 2 June, 1929, and canonised him as a saint on Easter Sunday (1
April) 1934, when he was given the title of "Father and Teacher
of Youth".
Pope
Pius XII
proclaimed
him patron
saint
of
Catholic publishers in 1949.
—Excerpted from, “Saints
of the Roman Calendar,” by
Enzo Lodi, and web-based research sources.
Patronage: apprentices; boys; editors; Mexican young people; laborers; magic performers; schoolchildren; schools, colleges, universities; students; young people; young workers
Highlights and Things to Do:
Read more about St. John Bosco:
St. John Bosco at a young age learned how to juggle and do other tricks to attract children to his apostolate. This provided opportunities for him to give catechesis to these children. Think of different activities that you could do to attract children—perhaps juggling, putting on puppet shows, storybook time—and use that opportunity to teach a virtue, catechism lesson, or just to be a good example.
Good clean fun or a wholesome activity is a lesson in itself in a world where there is so much corruption.See CatholicSaints.info for links to different writings by St. John Bosco.
His relics can be found in Turin, Italy at Basilica di Maria Ausiliatrice (Basilica of Mary Our Helper.
See the founder statue of Don Bosco at St. Peter's Basilica.
Try this short play about John Bosco.
Try cooking the stuffed raw peppers suggested for today. Mama Margaret probably cooked Peperoni farciti à la Piemontaise (peppers stuffed with boiled rice), a speciality from Turin, for St. John Bosco's boys.
Read this article from Catholic Culture's library, Don Bosco, Seeker of Souls.
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