Saint John Bosco, Confessor
S. Ioannis Bosco Confessoris
Priest of Turin and apostle to the young, Saint John Bosco (1815–1888) founded the Salesian Society to educate and save poor and abandoned boys. He is the patron of youth, of apprentices, and of editors.
Saint John Bosco — known affectionately as Don Bosco — was born in 1815 at Becchi, near Turin in Piedmont, the son of poor farmers. His father died when John was a small child, and he was raised by his devout mother, Margaret, whose faith left a lasting mark on him. From boyhood he longed to be a priest in order to help the young, and after years of labour and study, often supporting himself by humble trades, he was ordained in 1841.
The Oratory and the Young
The Turin of his day was a city swelling with poor and abandoned boys, many drawn from the countryside by the early industrial age and left without family, faith, or trade. Don Bosco gathered them on Sundays for catechism, games, and the Sacraments, and in time established a permanent home and workshops — the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales — where boys could learn a trade, receive an education, and grow in the love of God. He insisted that young people be governed not by fear and punishment but by reason, religion, and loving-kindness, a method he called the “preventive system.” His motto was simple: Da mihi animas, cetera tolle — “Give me souls, take away the rest.”
A Lasting Work
To carry on his work after his death, Don Bosco founded in 1859 the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, the Salesians, and with Saint Mary Mazzarello the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians for the education of girls. He was a tireless promoter of devotion to Our Lady under the title Help of Christians and to the Blessed Sacrament. He also wrote and published widely to spread good and wholesome reading. He died in Turin on 31 January 1888, mourned by the whole city. He was canonised in 1934, and his spiritual sons and daughters now serve the young across the world.
The Collect
O God, who didst raise up Thy Confessor Saint John to be a father and teacher of the young, and didst will that, through him and with the help of the Virgin Mary, new families should flourish in Thy Church: grant, we beseech Thee, that, kindled by the same fire of charity, we may be able to seek after souls and serve Thee alone. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Deus, qui sanctum Ioannem Confessorem tuum adolescentium patrem et magistrum excitasti, ac per eum, auxiliatrice Virgine Maria, novas in Ecclesia tua familias florere voluisti: concede, quaesumus; ut, eodem caritatis igne succensi, animas quaerere tibique soli servire valeamus. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Patronage
He is the patron of young people, of apprentices and laborers, of schoolchildren, and of editors and publishers.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his memorial is also kept on 31 January, observed as an obligatory memorial.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint John Bosco?
His feast is celebrated on 31 January in both the 1962 Roman Missal (Third Class) and the modern Roman calendar (obligatory memorial).
What is the ‘preventive system’ of Don Bosco?
It is his approach to educating the young, founded on three things: reason, religion, and loving-kindness. Rather than relying on fear and punishment, he sought to surround young people with kindness and good influences so as to prevent wrongdoing and form them in virtue.
What are the Salesians?
The Salesians are the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, the religious congregation Don Bosco founded in 1859 to educate and care for poor and abandoned youth. Together with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, whom he co-founded, they continue his work for the young throughout the world.
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