Memorial of Saint John Bosco ,Priest, Mk 4,26-34

John Bosco, popularly called Don Bosco, was born on August 16, 1815, in the small mountain settlement of Becchi in Italy. Becchi belonged to the town of Castelnuovo d’Asti in the Piedmont region. His father was Francis, and his mother was Margit, née Occhien. His father was married for the second time because his first wife died. He had a son, Anton, from his first marriage, and Josef and John were born in the second. When little John was 2 years old, his father died of pneumonia at the age of 33. So Margita’s mother raised them alone. The youngest, John, had great talent. As a boy, he did all kinds of acrobatics and witchcraft tricks, which made many people in the village like him. In addition, he had an excellent memory. An old priest taught him to read and write, so he often read books to other villagers or repeated sermons that he heard in the church. As a nine-year-old, he dreamed of seeing many children screaming, cursing, and acting naughty. He saw himself there. At first, he talked to them, but then he threw himself between them and started beating them to stop. But suddenly a mysterious figure approached him and said: „No so! Not by force! Only kindly if you want to win their friendship!“ He said to himself, and suddenly, the antics were as tame as lambs. The voice of the mysterious figure further told him: „Take your shepherd’s staff and lead them to the pasture. Later, you will understand the meaning of this vision.“ Even later, Don Bosco remembered it as his first impulse to devote himself to the youth, especially those nobodies cared about. Since there were problems at home with his half-brother Anton, to whom it seemed that John was promoting himself, he preferred to go into service on a peasant property, where he spent two years. After returning, when he was 15 years old, he started attending school in Castelnuovo, about 5 km from the settlement. He walked, sometimes twice a day. A year later, he started going to the city of Chieri, which was about 20 km away. He could no longer commute, so it was bitterly challenging to find a cheap sublet, where he stayed, saying that he helped as a servant in the family of householders. He could finish elementary school and gymnasium in four years thanks to his talent, extraordinary memory, and strong will. During his studies, he founded an association called Allegri- cheerful, whose goal was to detach friends from sinful pastimes and lead them to God. After graduating from high school, he wondered what to do next. He wanted to be a priest but didn’t know whether to join a religious order or go to a diocesan seminary. He eventually became a diocesan priest. After his ordination, he studied for a while and wanted to penetrate deeper into the sacred sciences.

At that time, in 1841, he began to gather around him boys, urchins, whom no one cared about. They came themselves and sensed a love for him that they had not known until then. Some of them were not even fourteen yet, others almost twenty. Bosco’s principle was: Be cheerful, play, have fun, don’t sin. He was still among them; he could skillfully mix something from the catechism into the game. Well, not everyone liked it. The noise of the boys having fun disturbed people; some priests even thought he was crazy. They even wanted to take him to an asylum, but they failed. Soon, Don Bosco had several hundred boys around him. He knew he had to find someplace to be home. With the help of benefactors, it was possible to buy Mr. Picardi’s shed and house in Turin in the Valdocco district, which was famous for its bad reputation. His mother, Margita, became a housekeeper not only for him but also for the boys. She helped him selflessly until her death. Buildings and a church gradually grew on the poor plot, and elementary and vocational schools with workshops were established. Don Bosco also founded a printing house that still operates and is one of Italy’s largest and most modern. Don Bosco himself wrote several books. God kept telling him through dreams. He strengthened him so that he would not stop and be disgusted. On December 18, 1859, a new company was born. It was formed by priests Don Bosco, Don Alasonatti, and young clerics. Approval was given to the company ten years later – on March 1, 1869. He considered Don Bosco the main patron of the Virgin Mary’s Help of Christians. He dedicated his events to her and the main temple of the Salesian society, which he built in Turin. After a while, he founded the Association of Salesian Associates, which lived worldwide and worked for his ideas. In 1872, together with Maria Dominika Mozzarella, he founded a women’s religious society, which they named the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians. Their main content was to take care of raising girls. Even during his lifetime, the Salesians spread to many countries worldwide. He was characterized by tireless work to the point of exhaustion. He built several temples, e.g., in Rome, the temple of the Divine Heart of Jesus (Sacro Cuore, near the Termini) railway station. His life was interspersed with various wonders and miracles. Don Bosco died in Turin on 31 January 1888. He was seventy-two years old. More than a hundred thousand people attended his funeral. He was declared a saint in 1934.