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This interactive pdf version is based on the 2nd edition (2004) of the Italian original,
Qui è vissuto Don Bosco by Frs Aldo Giraudo and Giuseppe Biancardi.
It has been translated with their permission. The section dealing with the Casa Don
Bosco Museum, which came later, has been rewritten for this English edition by the
Museum’s Vice-Director, Fr Michael Pace.
The Publishers, elledici , Leumann, Turin, have given permission to reproduce some
aspects of the book’s design.
This English version is available on condition that it not be sold. It may be freely copied.
English Translation: The Australia-Pacific Province
Text design (set in EB Garamond): The Australia-Pacific Province
Cover design: The Korea Province
Cover photograph: The Korea Province
Date: 8 December 2022

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Contents
Presentation
12
Translator’s notes:
14
Abbreviations
16
Bibliography
18
PART ONE, THE BECCHI, CASTELNUOVO
AND SURROUNDS (1815–1831)
20
Some details and their significance
21
Childhood and early teenage years
21
Emerging educational and spiritual values
26
Historical, geographical and biographical notes
28
The historical context
28
Suggestions for visits and tours
31
Timeline
34
Tours to the various places
36
COLLE DON BOSCO AND THE BECCHI
36
Biglione farmstead
37
The Casetta
39
His brother Joseph’s house
45
Museum of 19th Century Farming Life
49
Small sanctuary to Mary Help of Christians
50
Monument to John the Juggler
51
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The Dream Post or Pillar
52
The old Becchi water fountain
54
Monument to Mamma Margaret
54
Church (Basilica) in honour of Don Bosco
55
Bernardi Semeria Salesian Institute
63
The ethnological and missionary museum
64
Recent developments
65
MORIALDO
67
St Dominic Savio’s House
67
St Peter’s church and the little presbytery
69
The Sussambrino hillside
74
CAPRIGLIO
77
House where Mamma Margaret was born
77
Parish church and Fr Joseph Lacqua’s presbytery
78
Recent developments
80
CASTELNUOVO DON BOSCO
81
St Andrew’s parish church
82
The presbytery
85
The public school
86
St Bartholomew’s chapel
88
The church of Our Lady of the Castle
88
MONDONIO
88
Dominic Savio’s house
88
Parish church and school
91
Cemetery chapel
92
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BUTTIGLIERA D’ASTI
93
Parish church
93
The Càmpora farm
97
Crivelle
98
MONCUCCO AND THE MOGLIAS
98
The Moglia homestead
99
The church at Moncucco
100
SAN GIOVANNI DI RIVA
101
Dominic Savio’s birthplace
101
PART TWO, JOHN BOSCO AT CHIERI (1831–1841) 103
Some details and their significance
104
The ten years at Chieri in Don Bosco's life
104
Emerging pedagogical and spiritual values
106
Historical, geographical and biographical notes
107
John Bosco comes to Chieri
107
Timeline
108
Suggestions for visits and tours
109
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Tours to the various places
112
SAN LUIGI SALESIAN INSTITUTE AND
ST MARGARET’S CHURCH
112
School
112
St Margaret’s church
113
Salesian Oratory
113
BIRTHPLACE OF MOTHER MADELEINE
MORANO
114
CHURCH AND CONVENT OF ST DOMINIC 114
VIA DELLA PACE
115
Elijah’s Bookshop
115
Jonah’s house
116
Franciscan monastery and the church of Peace
116
SEMINARY AND ST PHILIP NERI'S CHURCH 118
The Seminary
118
S. Filippo (St Philip's) church
127
Don Bosco Visitors Centre
128
PIAZZA MAZZINI AND ADJACENT BUILDINGS 129
S. Guglielmo (St William’s) church
130
Fr Maloria's house
131
Casa Marchisio where Lucy Matta lived
131
The former City Hall
133
Cabinetmaker Barzochino’s shop
134
PUBLIC SCHOOL, CHIERI
134
How this area was arranged
135
How the schools were set up
135
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Disciplinary aspects
137
Religious formation
137
John Bosco as a student
139
PIAZZA CAVOUR AND SURROUNDING AREA 141
Church of Sant’Antonio Abate (St Anthony Abbot) 142
Muletto inn
142
Cafe Pianta
143
Tommaso Cumino’s house
145
Baker Michele Cavallo’s stable
146
DUOMO, COLLEGIATE CHURCH
146
Recent developments
148
CASA BERTINETTI AND SANTA TERESA
INSTITUTE
149
FORMER VIALE PORTA TORINO
150
PART THREE, DON BOSCO IN TURIN (1841–1849) 152
Some details and their significance
154
Further studies and pastoral choice
154
Emerging pedagogical and spiritual values
157
Historical, geographical and biographical notes
159
Social and pastoral problems in Turin in the 1840s
159
Timeline
163
Suggestions for visits and tours
166
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Tours to the various places
168
CHURCH OF THE VISITATION
168
Priests of the Mission house
168
Church of the Visitation
171
CHURCH AT THE VESCOVADO
ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE
172
Don Bosco and his archbishops
173
ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
175
Church and convent of St Francis
175
The Convitto ecclesiastico or Pastoral Institute
176
DON BOSCO AND THE MARCHIONESS
BAROLO'S WORKS
186
Palazzo Barolo
188
Don Bosco’s oratory at the Refuge
191
Don Bosco's oratory at St Philomena’s
193
THE WANDERING ORATORY
196
St Peter in Chains
197
St Martin’s chapel at the Molassi
199
Casa Moretta
201
Filippi field
204
THE ORATORY AT CASA PINARDI
208
Pinardi chapel
208
Don Bosco at the Pinardi house
218
The area around the Pinardi house
232
DON BOSCO'S OTHER ORATORIES
234
St Aloysius Oratory
235
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The Guardian Angel Oratory
237
CHURCHES USED DURING THE
WANDERING ORATORY STAGE
239
The Consolata
240
The Superga Basilica
242
Monte dei Cappuccini
244
Madonna del Pilone
246
Madonna di Campagna
247
PART FOUR, DON BOSCO DEVELOPS THE
ORATORY (1850–1888)
249
Some details and their significance
250
Mature choices
250
Emerging pedagogical and spiritual values
253
Historical, geographical and biographical notes
256
Social and pastoral activity in the second half of
the 19th century
256
Timeline – buildings (1851–1888)
259
Timeline–Events (1850–1888)
260
Suggestions for visits and tours
264
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Tours of the various places
265
THE HISTORICAL CENTRE
266
Church of St Francis de Sales (1851–1852)
266
The 1853 building (Don Bosco’s house)
277
The 1856 building (former Pinardi house)
283
Further extensions to the camerette (1861, 1862, 1876) 290
The 1929 Camerette Staircase
293
DON BOSCO’S HOUSE TODAY: CASA
DON BOSCO MUSEUM INCLUDING
THE CAMERETTE
295
The Ground Floor
296
The Basement
296
The First floor
299
The Second floor with the camerette
304
THE BASILICA OF MARY HELP OF
CHRISTIANS
323
Historical origins of the title Help of Christians
324
Don Bosco‘s inspiring motives
325
The project and works
328
What did Don Bosco’s church look like?
334
Restoration and extensions
336
Visiting the Basilica
339
Beneath the Basilica
354
OTHER BUILDINGS BY DON BOSCO
358
The Reception (1874–1875)
358
Printing works (1881–1883)
360
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FORMER BUILDINGS THAT HAVE BEEN
REBUILT
361
casa Filippi (Filippi house 1861, rebuilt in 1952)
361
casa Audisio (Audisio house 1864, rebuilt in 1954)
363
CURRENT WORK AT VALDOCCO
365
Vocational Training Centre (CFP)
365
The St Dominic Savio Middle School
367
The Daily and Festive Oratory
367
Reception area
368
The Salesian Circumscription of Piedmont and
Valle d’Aosta
369
The Missioni Don Bosco Museum
370
The courtyard
371
PIAZZA MARIA AUSILIATRICE
373
Monument to Don Bosco
374
OTHER WORKS DON BOSCO BEGAN IN
TURIN
374
The Church and Institute of St John the Evangelist 375
Valsalice and Don Bosco’s tomb
379
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Presentation
The first edition of this guidebook was printed in 1988 within the
context of the many activities the Salesian Family had put in place to
celebrate the Centenary of Don Bosco’s death.
Fifteen years later it was offered in updated form, prior to the
celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of Dominic Savio’s canonisation.
Dominic represents the most successful result of Don Bosco’s educational
activity for young people.
Though updated, corrected and added to in certain areas, the text
has not substantially altered in character and purpose.
It is still a guidebook to places where Don Bosco carried out his
wonderful human and Christian venture. More than just a tourist’s or
visitor’s handbook, it is an aid to understanding Don Bosco’s historical
and geographical context, and attempts to encompass the spiritual and
pedagogical message that emerged from his experience and which is of
ongoing universal worth.
This is why, along with historical notes and biographies related to
the various places, one also finds passages which illustrate some of the
more significant events that took place in these settings. Don Bosco’s
choices, the values which inspired him, his spiritual and educational
pointers as well as what he achieved, thus take on a particularly evocative
potential. As far as possible we let Don Bosco speak in first person by
drawing from his autobiographical Memoirs of the Oratory (MO) and
other writings of his; you will also find frequent use of the Biographical
Memoirs put together by G. B. Lemoyne, A. Amadei and E. Ceria.
This guidebook is in 4 parts, corresponding to stages of St John
Bosco’s life:
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Presentation
1. His childhood and early teenage years lived around Colle, which
means “hill” in English, where he was born at the Becchi (1815–1831).
2. His time as a student in Chieri at the public school then the
seminary: this was the period of John Bosco’s mid-to-late teenage
years and early adulthood, during which he made his basic choices
for later life (1831–1841).
3. His first eight years as a priest. As a young priest he completed his
pastoral formation at the Pastoral Institute (Convitto Ecclesiastico)
and amidst a range of difficulties and problems began his apostolate
amongst the young (1841–1849).
4. His mature years with Valdocco at their heart: nearly forty years
of prodigious activity on Don Bosco’s part, beginning with its
local impact but then taking on global dimensions. The Oratory at
Valdocco becomes the seed-bed of the Saint's general educational,
specific scholastic, and broad-ranging publishing activity. This is
where his religious families and lay associations were founded to take
up social and apostolic involvement; it was from here that his great
missionary venture on behalf of the Church and human society
went out (1850–1888).
Each section or part is structured in the same way:
• First of all it presents the significance of places and times within
the overall context of Don Bosco’s life and highlights the teachings,
spiritual and pedagogical reminders which remain particularly
fruitful even today: some details and their significance.
• These are followed by some general historical, geographical and
biographical notes regarding Don Bosco’s life which provide a useful
framework for visits to the various spots. Then a timeline which
sums up the most salient events and dates. This is followed by some
suggestions for different visits, depending on the group making the
visit and the aims they are pursuing: suggestions for visits and tours.
• Then comes the guide properly so-called for visiting one or other
place, accompanied by useful excerpts: tours to the various places.
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Don Bosco Lived Here
Because of geographical similarity and his spiritual affinity with Don
Bosco, the guidebook also offers material on places which pertain to St
Dominic Savio.
As one can easily appreciate, this book does not substitute for a good
life of the Saint. Indeed it presumes that you have read one. This work
merely complements such reading.
It is our hope that it will be useful for you and help you in your
visits to the various places which gave birth and growth to the Salesian
charism while at the same time providing a basis for understanding just
how many people are involved in the educational and pastoral service
that follows in Don Bosco’s footsteps. We offer this in a spirit of fraternal
service.
Translator’s notes:
1. References
References to the Memoirs of the Oratory, the Life of Dominic Savio and
the Biographical Memoirs are to the English editions. References to the
MO and Life of Dominic Savio have been simplified to chapters rather
than pages, since there are various editions available. Where readers have
access to the printed English editions of these references (not all items
exist in English print editions) they can check them out, and in many
instances can find them online. The Biographical Memoirs references are
to the American print edition (online scanned versions are not reliable).
2. Proper names
Although it is a descriptive, not prescriptive science, translation science
dictates inner consistency in translation choices throughout a text.
There is no clear descriptive or prescriptive rule concerning “name”
translation, but the modern tendency is not to translate modern names
of people or places – always with exceptions, however, and there are
many of these! Salesian readers in English are by now accustomed to
“John” rather than “Giovanni”, (and so on for other names which
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Presentation
have direct English counterparts) for our major figures, so expect John,
Joseph, Anthony Bosco, Michael Rua etc., but Secondo or Evaristo, etc.,
will remain as such. Where the figures are less known to the Salesian
reader, the original names will be retained in most instances. “Don” has
mostly been replaced by “Father” – except for Don Bosco.
3. Current developments
Given that more than thirty years have passed since the first edition,
and that major developments have occurred regarding the various sites
described in this text (e.g. the Casa Don Bosco Museum, but not
only this) it is understandable that some elements of the description
contained in the text refer to how things were rather than how things
are today (2022), though in the case of the Casa Don Bosco Museum,
we now have an updated section thanks to the efforts of the Museum’s
Vice-Director, Fr Michael Pace.
The original Giraudo-Biancardi text has been retained (and translated
here with their permission). Where there have been new developments,
based on the considerations of GC27 “that the historical and charismatic
importance of the Salesian places which are the inheritance of the entire
Congregation be preserved, promoted and valued” and that there was a
“need for a project that can utilize fully the places of Salesian origins in
pastoral and vocational terms for the young and for the Salesian Family,
especially in view of the bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco”, these
developments have been added as a brief set of notes at relevant points in
the text, under the heading of “Recent developments”. In general terms,
these developments concern the internal restructuring of community
and pastoral areas at Valdocco, e.g. the Basilica, and changes affecting
Colle Don Bosco.
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Abbreviations
BM
DS
MB
MO
ODB
OE
The Biographical Memoirs of St John Bosco. An American
edition translated from the original Italian. All 19 volumes.
Salesiana Publishers, Inc., New Rochelle, New York 1965.
Cf. MB below.
G. Bosco, Vita del giovanetto Savio Domenico allievo
dell’Oratorio di san Francesco di Sales, Torino, Tip . G.B.
Paravia e Comp. 1859. (Note: there are both print and
online editions of this in English)
G.B. Lemoyne, Memorie biografiche di Don Giovanni
Bosco, and: Memorie biografiche del Venerabile Servo di
Dio Don Giovanni Bosco, vols. 1–9, S. Benigno Canavese -
Torino 1898–1917; G.B. Lemoyne - A. Amadei, Memorie
biografiche di San Giovanni Bosco, vol. 10, Torino 1939; E.
Ceria, Memorie biografiche del Beato Giovanni Bosco, vols.
11–15, Torino 1930–1934; Id., Memorie biografiche di San
Giovanni Bosco, vols. 16–19, Torino 1935–1939.
G. Bosco, Memorie dell'Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales
dal 1815 al 1855. Introduction, notes and critical text by A.
da Silva Ferriera, Roma, LAS 1991. (Note: Print and online
editions of the MO exist in English. Quotations are taken
from the Salesiana Publishers New Rochelle edition 2010.).
F. Giraudi, L'Oratorio di Don Bosco. Inizio e progressivo
sviluppo edilizio della casa madre dei Salesiani in Torino,
Torino, SEI 19352.
G. Bosco, Opere edite, reprints vol. 37, Roma, LAS
1976–1977.
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Abbreviations
RSS
“Ricerche Storiche Salesiane”. A twice yearly Journal of
religious and civil history produced by the Istituto Storico
Salesiano in Rome. Published by LAS since 1982.
SM
G.B. Lemoyne, Scene morali di famiglia esposte nella vita
di Margherita Bosco. Racconto ameno ed edificante, Torino,
Libreria Salesiana 1886.
A number of other works are occasionally quoted.
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Bibliography
Note that none of the items indicated here is to be found in English.
P. Baricco, Torino descritta, Torino, G.B. Paravia 1869.
G. Bracco (Ed.), Torino e don Bosco, Torino, Archivio Storico della
Città 1989.
P. Braido, Don Bosco prete dei giovani nel secolo delle libertà, voll. 2,
Roma, LAS 20032.
G. Casalis, Dizionario geografico storico-statistico-commerciale degli
Stati di S. M. il Re di Sardegna, voll. 21, Torino, G. Maspero
– G. Marzorati 1851.
S. Caselle, Cascinali e contadini in Monferrato. I Bosco di Chieri nel
secolo XVIII, Roma, LAS 1975.
Id., Giovanni Bosco a Chieri. 1831-41: dieci anni che valgono una vita,
Torino, Acclaim 1988.
F. Giraudi, Il Santuario di Maria Ausiliatrice. Chiesa madre dei
Salesiani di Don Bosco in Torino, Torino, SEI 1948.
A. Giraudo, Clero, seminario e società. Aspetti della Restaurazione
religiosa a Torino, Roma, LAS 1993.
M. Molineris, Don Bosco inedito. Quello che le biografie di San
Giovanni Bosco non dicono, Colle Don Bosco 1974.
Id., Nuova vita di Domenico Savio, Colle Don Bosco 1974.
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Bibliography
E. Pederzani – R. Roccia, Don Bosco a Valsalice. Produced for the
Centenary, by Liceo Valsalice, Torino 1987.
P. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia della religiosità cattolica, vols. 3,
Roma, LAS 1979, 1981, 1988.
Id., Don Bosco nella storia economica e sociale, Roma, LAS 1980.
A. Viriglio, Torino e i torinesi. Minuzie e memorie, Torino, A.
Viglongo and C. Ed. 19803.
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Part One
THE BECCHI, CASTELNUOVO
AND SURROUNDS
(1815–1831)
Childhood and early teenage years

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Some details and their significance
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY TEENAGE YEARS
John Bosco spent his early childhood and first few years as a teenager
around the region of Castelnuovo, between the Becchi, Morialdo,
Capriglio and Moncucco. The native and human stuff of which he was
formed, so rich in potential, was further moulded under the influence of
family and the intense religious spirit that were part of the environment
and events, as well as the peasant farmer mentality and its culture,
seasonal rhythms, demands of work but also the warm human contacts
and tendency to see that values and ideals were put into practice.
From the biographical reconstruction evident in the Memoirs of
the Oratory (written between 1873 and 1875) we note how Don
Bosco gave decisive importance to these first fifteen years of his life.
Here he locates the basis for his human and Christian personality, as
well as his fundamental choices and his spirituality. But there were
other encounters and experiences, in his opinion, that would have an
important influence on his vocation and mission. There would be other
decisive influences in his youth and his early maturing – where he
begins to glimpse, whether in terms of his spiritual or his educational
development, the providential beginnings of an adventure willed by
God and constantly accompanied by Him until it is fully accomplished.
So it becomes very interesting to analyse his early steps in life, discover
values, principles of educational method or of relationships which,
in the Saint’s own interpretation, worked together in building his
personality.
The years of John’s early childhood were undeniably tough ones,
marked by difficulties and toil, but not unhappy ones just the same. In
fact, a certain serenity and capacity to confront difficulties positively and
with a fighting spirit but also with joy, dominated the situation.
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Don Bosco Lived Here
His mother, Margaret Occhiena (1788–1856) had an undeniably
determining role in forming his mentality and attitudes. On the death
of her husband Francis, at just 29 years of age she found herself alone
in charge of the family; there were share-farming commitments already
undertaken which had to be completed at a most critical time due to
the great famine afflicting all of Piedmont; there was the problem of
supporting her children and, for her the most important of all, that of
providing for their education and general formation.
The evidence left us in the Memoirs of the Oratory, and from
Don Bosco’s own lips as compiled by Fr Lemoyne, present us with a
strong woman with clear ideas, determined in the choices she made
and with a philosophy of life that was unpretentious but of substance,
and religiously focused. In her relationships with her children she was
both demanding and kind, concerned about providing motivation for
each value and behaviour, so that their behaviour would be guided by
personal judgement. She found herself needing to help three children
with quite different temperaments, as they grew up. Of these three,
Anthony and John in particular demonstrated contrasting and marked
personal characteristics. She succeeded in not treating them all at the
same level or making one or the other suffer. The immediate economic
demands, the present and future of her children, were all tackled in a
most balanced fashion. At times she was forced to make dramatic and
risky choices, like, for example, when she sent John away from home
when things were particularly difficult, and the decision that followed
to send him to school at Castelnuovo, notwithstanding the complete
lack of even the most minimal financial guarantees. With wisdom
comprised of a mixture of faith and firm courage, she was supportive
of her children’s needs, helped them to be responsible, without ever
abandoning them.
It was under her guidance that John learned, little by little, to
overcome the negative aspects of his character, channel his energies,
discover his resources and develop his sense of vitality. As he tells us,
from his earliest years he was educated to be moderate, responsible in
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Some details and their significance
life, and to be formed through hard work. Hard, constant work is one
of life’s necessities, but it is also a value through which one can express
and build one’s individuality.
One characteristic of farming activity is the constant, daily care
and the way they patiently awaited the harvest: this was one of the
best factors for forming someone like John who would be called to the
mission of educator, formator and promoter of initiatives that needed
both constancy and due time. Famine and climatic disasters, epidemics
that destroyed crops and livestock, became challenges and a motivating
force. Mamma Margaret faced up to them and overcame them together
with her children, in the certainty that with nature nothing is entirely
lost; one can start out again and the results will come sooner or later,
thanks above all to the providential action of God who never fails to
bless human effort.
The religious meaning of life, the certainty of the continual and
active presence of God in our lives and of his demanding love
which makes us responsible for things: these perhaps are the most
precious values that young John learned from his mother. If the Lord
accompanies us and speaks to us, then it is necessary to understand his
presence and to discern where it is he calls on us. Margaret initiated her
children into prayer, prayer that touched each daily action from waking
up until retiring to bed, and prayer that, together with community
worship and the sacraments, had its place throughout each year and
through all of life. The Mother of God was there from the outset of young
John’s life, presented by Margaret as a helper, a consolation, a strength
along the Christian journey of life led in view of Paradise.
His mother, who was illiterate, encouraged a thirst for culture and
learning in her children, and she put up with sacrifices of every kind
when she noticed its requirements, or a keen desire, or the consistency
of a calling that resisted every obstacle, even the most serious ones. After
the difficulties involving the Moglia farm period, and faced with the
precocious nature of this young teenager, she had no further hesitation
and offered him her complete trust and support.
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Don Bosco Lived Here
It is interesting to point out further elements of education imparted
by his mother. Although she demanded much from her children in
terms of work and this in turn required much from her by way
of assistance for their needs, she respected the requirements of their
very young age: she approved of the pastimes and cheerful gatherings
organised by young John and allowed him to busy himself in the search
for the necessary pocket money to support his simple magic tricks. Then
she educated him to a careful choice of friends, to good manners in
dealing with others, to an active sensitivity and sense of duty towards
the poor. John learned balance from her, but courage in making choices
as well, along with tenacity and perseverance.
The spirit of solidarity that binds farming families together and that
shows up in times of need, had much to do with the formation of
Don Bosco’s mentality. The long winter evenings, too, played a part
in creating an inclination in him towards human contacts, savouring
friendly acceptance, mutual confidence. These occasions nurtured the
fascinating art of story-telling in him and his taste for dramatisation.
Going back over these first years of life as depicted in Don Bosco’s
memory of them, we can note the positive and active approach that
transforms adverse situations and difficulties into occasions for growth.
Poverty and the generally precarious circumstances, working for a boss,
difficulties in attending school and finding time for study all helped
forge his personality, stimulate his creativity, consolidate and help him
to come to love the goals he had dreamed of. Even the hostility of his
older step-brother, Anthony, understandable to some extent, helped
him develop his capacity for dialogue and adaptation; it made him
attentive to the other’s point of view and led him to adopt an intelligent
approach to obstacles by looking for alternatives and regulating available
time. It made him cleverer at getting the best out of occasions where
there were only limited choices.
The human and spiritual outcome was considerable, even if results
from a scholastic and cultural point of view could be little other than
fragmentary.
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Some details and their significance
Towards the conclusion of these early years, just as he was approaching
adolescence, the meeting and friendship struck up with the elderly Fr
Calosso offered John an excellent circumstance for cultural consolidation,
but above all for an awakening to a more conscious spiritual life. His
horizons were widened under the guidance of this wise priest, and his
vocational yearnings became more real. Mamma Margaret, by this stage,
faced with her own experience and the advice from Fr Calosso, was able
to confirm that her son’s hopes and aspirations were more than just wild
fantasies and human ambition. She courageously decided on dividing
her modest family patrimony amongst the three sons: a decisive and
rather unusual step given the patriarchal nature of those times. Anthony
was then able to follow his own path; Joseph, barely eighteen, became a
share-farmer at Sussambrino; John was free to decide more peacefully to
pursue his studies. For Mamma Margaret, however, between the Becchi
and Sussambrino, the workload had now doubled, along with financial
worries.
While he was attending classes in Castelnuovo (1830–1831), the
young Bosco had a chance to gain new experiences including those
beyond the ambit of studies. Free time became a treasure for him, where
he learned from the head of the house the art of cutting and sewing
garments. He became familiar with the tools used by the smithy at the
forge run by Evasio Savio. He learned singing, how to play the cymbals
and the violin. His ability to observe, along with the greater critical
awareness he now had, enabled him to become aware of – so we see
from the Memoirs of the Oratory – elements of teaching and educational
method, whether it was through the successful approach employed by
his teacher Fr Emanuele Virano, or the lack of expertise of his successor,
Fr Moglia. Little by little, then, the first items in that treasure-trove of
experience, values and methods that make up the educational system of
Piedmont’s saintly priest, were built up.
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EMERGING EDUCATIONAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES
The family, social and religious environment in which young John grew
up and built his identity, the significant persons who guided his first
steps, his positive and receptive attitude – all these things suggest to us a
series of spiritual and educational pointers that even today can stimulate
reflection and inspire action.
Here is a list, for example, of some of the values and attitudes that
can be elicited through visiting the places and recalling the facts.
– Duties regarding education carried out by Mamma Margaret despite
serious financial problems.
– Attention to and respect for the personal originality of each
of her sons, but also clear-mindedness in noting failures and a
determination to correct them.
– Ability to develop in her children a correct moral conscience and a
sense of personal responsibility and honesty.
– Ability to create a climate of confidence, sincerity, transparency in
relationships between parent and child through dialogue, kindness,
patience, attention.
– Formation to a sense of work, the need to be useful at home from
the earliest years, with little tasks adapted to their age.
– Beginning to be consistent in doing one’s duty, gradually becoming
methodical; the instilling of the need to complete tasks once begun.
– Becoming used to moderation in life, to a certain austerity without
indulging in too much comfort, laziness, whims.
– Appreciating the value of school and culture in formation, encouraging
and helping it along.
– Providing appropriate room for play, cheerfulness, to what children
like to do, but in conjunction with doing one’s duties.
– Encouraging being with others and friendships carefully chosen and
weighed up.
– Forming a heart that is welcoming, hospitable, generous.
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Some details and their significance
– Sensitising the youngsters to the needs of their neighbour, the
sufferings of the poorest, and getting them to engage in acts of
practical charity.
– Educating to a sense of God the Creator, to contemplating his
greatness in the wonders of creation, and to trust in His Providence.
– Looking after their growth in faith and hope.
– Introduction to personal and community prayer through example
and the involvement of the whole family.
– Introduction to the regular celebration of the Sacrament of Penance,
forming moral conscience through frequent revision of life or daily
examination of conscience.
– The personal involvement of the parents in catechesis, preparing
their children for sacraments and Christian formation, together
with priests and teachers.
– In early adolescence the facilitation of friendly and trusting contacts
with a priest.
– Appreciation of the value of youthful spiritual direction.
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and biographical notes
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
John Bosco was born on 16 August 1815. Just two months previously
(9 June) the Congress of Vienna had taken place. This put in place a
reorganised Europe after the experiences of revolution and the days
of Napoleon. We are at the dawn of an historical period called the
Restoration, given the desire of governments to re-institute social and
political institutions from the ancien régime. King Victor Emmanuel I
had returned from Sardinia to his home states of Piedmont, Savoy, Nice,
to which the Congress of Vienna had also annexed Liguria. On 21 May
1814, he abrogated by edict all the laws, decrees and general orders of
the French government and restored the juridical force of the Charles
Emmanuel III Constitution of 1770, and the legislation formulated up
to 23 June 1880. This attempt, carried out by strengthening the nobility
to the detriment of the middle class which had been compromised by
the previous government, was doomed to early failure and gave rise to
division, resentment and discontent.
The social and political climate was made worse by a huge economic
crisis, partly brought on by the previous years of war, which peaked in
1816–17 following a terrible famine that struck Piedmont. The rural
population of Monferrato had to put up with sacrifices and suffering
especially because of the agricultural crisis. They were less affected by
the political and social change; in fact they gained some advantage from
it with the suppression of the levy to which all had been obligated,
and with some minor financial relief. The life of the farming family
continued to be regulated by the seasonal rhythms and the hard physical
labour of farming, tied to traditional subsistence requirements.
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The phenomenon of mass migration had not taken on the massive
form that it would assume in decades to come, at least not yet. The
Piedmontese rural population showed itself to be firmly anchored to
traditional Christian, social and family values. It continued to be a
reservoir of healthy human resources for both State and Church.
In the capital and in provincial cities meanwhile, the middle class,
intellectuals, young officials and the more open of the heirs of the
nobility projected a future with a careful eye to ideas, yearnings and
experiences from other European countries. Circulars, cultural journals
and secret societies, all with a new national conscience, prepared the
ground for a substantial change that, in the course of thirty or so
years, would lead, via the Risorgimento or Restoration, to the Statute
proclaimed by Charles Albert, and the wars of independence.
In the ecclesiastical field we should mention the appointment
(1818) of the Camaldolese monk Columbano Chiaveroti (1754–1831)
as Archbishop of Turin. A well qualified man culturally and spiritually,
he committed himself to his pastoral task notwithstanding his age and
poor health. He reorganised the diocese with clear and methodical
actions, put in place an extensive re-Christianisation of the people
by giving an impetus to catechesis and supporting, especially, the
preaching of “missions” for the moral renewal of the people. His major
efforts he put towards reorganising clerical discipline and the pastoral,
cultural and spiritual preparation of his clerics. This he did by means of
careful selection of young candidates and a more demanding seminary
formation. He was responsible for the new management of the Turin
seminary, the re-opening of the seminary at Bra and the founding of the
seminary in Chieri (1829). In a short time the vocational crisis that had
afflicted the diocese was overcome. In the latter years of the Napoleonic
government, in fact, priestly ordinations were down to single numbers;
by the end of Archbishop Chiaveroti’s episcopate they had risen to
more than 50 a year. In particular, the Archbishop supported and
encouraged the work of Luigi Guala (1775–1848), who founded the
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Convitto Ecclesiastico or Pastoral Institute for the pastoral preparation of
young priests.
A thirst for education had grown amongst the working class over this
period, and a desire to overcome the barriers of illiteracy, in awareness
of the new demands and opportunities for social and economic growth
that had opened up. The return to obsolete pre-Napoleonic school
regulations had thrown primary education into confusion to the point
where it was often abandoned. This situation was corrected with the
scholastic reform put in place by Charles Felix in 1822. He obliged
shire administrations to open one or more primary schools. Every local
school was divided into two classes whereby the children had to be
taught reading, scripture, Christian doctrine (first year) and the basics of
Italian language and arithmetic (second year). Lessons commenced on
3 November and finished the following September, but in agricultural
areas in fact, the greater part of the student body came to school only
over the winter period when farm work wasn’t so demanding. The
organisation of the teaching – entrusted mostly to ecclesiastics for
reasons pertaining both to ideals and to economics – underwent minor
retouching and modification over the course of years until the more
systematic legislation (the Boncompagni legislation) of 1848. This led
to the definitive reform brought about by the Casati legislation (1859)
which determined the shape of Italian schooling into the first decades
of the 20th Century.
Young John Bosco grew up in this context and was part of
the desires, hopes and efforts of his people in a period of rapid
socio-political, cultural and scientific change were the base of a modern
Europe. As an adult he also would contribute especially in giving a
Christian soul, and a spirituality soaked in new as well as old values to
generations of young people who – especially at lower and middle class
levels – would be the backbone of the new Europe.
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SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITS AND TOURS
Colle Don Bosco is at the heart of any visit to the area where St John Bosco
spent his childhood and early adolescence. Here it is important to give
time and attention to specifics. Other places depend on the type and
interests of the group or the reasons and arrangements of the pilgrimage
and the time available. Of all the places, it seems to us that Mondonio is
the most meaningful and also the most convenient for those travelling by
coach. Cascina Moglia (the Moglia Farm) has particular symbolic value
and evokes many a memory but it is advisable only for small, well-knit
groups. Also advisable is a previous understanding with the Rector
of the Basilica at the Becchi and a phone call to the owners (possibly
different now that the Past Pupils have taken over responsibility for this
property).
Here we limit ourselves to suggesting a standard tour and some ideas
about particular visits.
standard tour (a day or half day)
For any group, highlighting whatever aspect particularly interests people.
A. Visit the historical centre: begin with the Casetta, (page 39), making
use of the display materials and possibly the audiovisuals. From there
to the Farming Life Museum (page 49 ) → and Joseph’s House, with
time for a short prayer in the Rosary Chapel (page 46) → Then visit the
farmyard with stable, portico hay loft, the monument to Young John the
Juggler (page 51) and the pillar of the dream (page 52 ) → then back
up to the small sanctuary of Mary Help of Christians (page 50) a good
place for reflection and prayer → finish by visiting the old water pump
used by Mamma Margaret (page 54) and the monument dedicated to
her (page 54).
B. Visit to the Basilica and nearby areas: begin in the lower Church
with a brief historical note about the Biglione farmstead (page 37), the
reasons for building the church and the message it offers (page 55) →
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Then tour both the lower and upper church: you will find the materials
in the church or in the entrance hall helpful. → Finish by noting the
history of the Salesian Bernardi-Semeria Institute: boarding school,
vocational training centre, hospitality for visitors (page 63); speak about
the novitiate (the “Boy of the Dream” house, Scaiota) and visit the
Missionary museum of ethnology (page 64).
C. If time allows and the group is interested, you can finish with a
short trip to Morialdo (page 67), Mondonio (page 88), Castelnuovo
(page 81).
Particular visits (time to be determined by your schedule).
For groups with particular aims of an educational, spiritual or vocational
kind.
Here are two suggestions:
A. Leaving from Turin with a day at your disposal: S. Giovanni di Riva
(page 101) → to Buttigliera (page 93) → Sussambrino (page 74) and
Renenta fountain (page 77) → Colle (page 36) → Morialdo (page 67)
→ Mondonio (page 88 ) → Castelnuovo (page 81 ) → Moglia Farm
(page 98).
B. Leaving from Colle you could organise some “walks” along the lines
of Don Bosco’s Autumn Walks, possibly on foot or bike, to surrounding
towns: Capriglio (page 77); Morialdo (page 67); Mondonio (page 88);
Castelnuovo (page 81); Buttigliera (page 93).
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TIMELINE
Dates
16.08.1815
17.08.1815
08.02.1817
11.05.1817
13.11.1817
1823
1824–1827
Easter 1826
Feb. 1828 to
Nov. 1829
5–9 Nov.
1829
Nov.
1829–Nov.
1830
21.11.1830
Places
People
Becchi: Biglione
farmstead
John Bosco
Castelnuovo: parish John Bosco
Becchi: Casetta Francis Bosco
Becchi: Biglione
farmstead
Francis Bosco
Becchi: Casetta
Margaret and
children
Becchi: Casetta John Bosco
Capriglio
John Bosco
Castelnuovo: parish John Bosco
Moncucco: Moglia John Bosco
farm
Buttigliera
John Bosco
Morialdo
Morialdo
John Bosco and
Fr Calosso
Fr Calosso
Events
Birth
Baptism
Acquired
Death
Moved
Dream at 9
years of age
Attends
school run by
Fr Giuseppe
Lacqua
First
Communion
Farmhand
Meets Fr
Giovanni
Calosso after
Missions
sermon
Latin class
and
formation
Death
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Dates
Dec.
1830–Aug.
1831
1831
04.08.1833
25.10.1835
10.06.1841
02.04.1842
1843-1853
08.04.1849
Feb. 1853
13.04.1853
02.10.1854
09.03.1857
Places
People
Events
Castelnuovo
Roberto Sarto Hospitality
Fr Virano and Fr Teachers
Moglia
Sussambrino
Joseph, Margaret, Share farmers
John
Buttigliera
John Bosco
Confirmation
Castelnuovo: parish John Bosco
Clerical
clothing
Castelnuovo: parish Fr John Bosco First Mass
S. Giovanni di Riva Dominic Savio Birth
Morialdo
Dominic Savio Lived
Morialdo
Dominic Savio First
Communion
Mondonio
Dominic Savio Family moved
Castelnuovo: parish Dominic Savio Confirmation
Becchi
Dominic Savio Met Don
Bosco
Mondonio
Dominic Savio Death
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COLLE DON BOSCO AND THE BECCHI
John Bosco was born on 16 August 1815 in the Becchi hamlet, part of
the village of Morialdo, belonging to the town of Castelnuovo d’Asti
(today Castenuovo Don Bosco), province of Asti, diocese of Turin.
The small group of houses is built on a hill universally known as Colle
Don Bosco, 259 metres above sea-level. It nestles amongst the towns of
Castelnuovo, Buttigliera and Capriglio.
We find ourselves here in the heart of Piedmont, in the vast hill area
called Monferrato that extends through the provinces of Turin, Asti
and Alexandria. The inhabited centres, usually small, are mostly built
on hilltops, grouped around the parish church and often the remains of
ancient fortifications.
The area, essentially agricultural, is cultivated with vineyards, wheat,
maize and feed crops, or covered with green woodlands of acacias
and poplar plantations. Along the creeks and the tracks you also find
mulberry trees, testifying to the once-flourishing silk-worm trade, now
completely vanished. Amongst the typical products of the region are
famous wines like Frèisa, Malvasìa, Grignolino and Moscato (Muscat),
as well as the more common Barbera.
Four small villages make up the township of Castelnuovo: Bardella,
Nevissano, Ranello (Savio’s father’s hometown) and Morialdo. This
last-named, amongst its clusters of hamlets, includes the Becchi, a name
derived from the Bechis family who then lived and still today live in that
area.
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Biglione farmstead (where Don Bosco was actually born)
Don Bosco’s paternal grandfather, Filippo Antonio (1735–1802),
originally of Chieri, moved to The Becchi in 1793, as a share farmer
at the Biglione farm. This building no longer exists: it was torn down
between 1957–8 and was replaced by the huge Basilica. It was only
in 1972 that archival research by Secondo Caselle revealed that it was
actually here in this house that young John was born.
The building, initially followed a straight line (two floors), and was
extended northwards with a three-storied extension for the owners as a
holiday house. The entire construction then became L-shaped and the
oldest section turned over to the living quarters for the share-farmers.
There were just a few poor rooms: on the ground floor a kitchen and
pantry, a dining room of sorts and stairs going up to two upstairs
bedrooms. Filippo Antonio lived here with his children, amongst whom
Francesco Luigi (1784–1817). They farmed more than 12 hectares of
the owner’s land.
Francesco Luigi Bosco married Margherita Cagliero at age 21 (1805)
and had two children by her: Antonio Giuseppe (1808–1849) and
Teresa Maria (16–18 February 1810). Widowed in 1811 he remarried
on 6 June 1812 – Margaret Occhiena (1788–1856). Thus were born
Joseph Louis (1813–1862) and John Melchior, the future Don Bosco
(1815–1888).
Young John’s father died in this house on 11 May 1817, struck down
by pneumonia caused by going into the cold cellar while hot and sweaty.
He was almost 34 years of age.
This was young John’s first unforgettable memory:
I was not yet two years old when the merciful Lord hit us with a
sad bereavement. My dearly beloved father died unexpectedly. He was
strong and healthy, still young and actively interested in promoting a
good Christian upbringing for his offspring. One day he came home
from work covered in sweat and imprudently went down into a cold
cellar That night he developed a high temperature, the first sign of a
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serious illness. Every effort to cure him proved vain. Within a few days
he was at death's door. Strengthened by all the comforts of religion,
he recommended to my mother confidence in God, then died, aged
only thirty-four, on 12 May 1817 [note: in fact it was the 11th, as we
see from archival documents].
I do not know how I reacted on that sad occasion. One thing only
do I remember, and it is my earliest memory. We were all going out
from the room where he had died, and I insisted on staying behind.
My grieving mother addressed me, “Come, John, come with me.”
“If papa’s not coming, I don’t want to come,” I answered. “My poor
son,” my mother replied, “come with me; you no longer have a father.”
Having said this she broke down and started crying as she took me by
the hand and led me away. I began crying too because she was crying.
At that age I could not really understand what a tragedy had fallen on
us in our father’s death (MO Ch. 1).
To this serious loss we can add the difficulties stemming from an
especially critical moment for the Piedmontese economy, given that the
years 1816–17 were years of famine and hunger:
This event threw the whole family into difficulty. Five people had to
be supported [note: Mamma Margaret, her mother-in-law and three
children]; The crops failed that year because of a drought[and that
was our only source of income; the prices of foodstuffs soared ... Some
people who lived at that time have assured me that beggars hesitated
to ask for even a little bran to put in broth of chickpeas or beans
for nourishment. People were found dead in the fields, their mouths
stuffed with grass, with which they had tried to quell their ravenous
hunger.
My mother often used to tell me that she fed the family until she
exhausted all her food. She then gave money to a neighbour, Bernardo
Cavallo, to go looking for food to buy. This friend went round to
various markets but was unable to buy anything, even at exorbitant
prices .... My mother, not allowing herself to be discouraged, went
round to the neighbours to try to borrow some food. She did not
find anyone able to help. “My dying husband,” she told us, “said I
must have confidence in God. Let’s kneel then and pray.” After a brief
prayer she got up and said, “Drastic circumstances demand drastic
means.” Then she went to the stable and, helped by Mr Cavallo, she
killed a calf. Part of that calf was immediately cooked and the worst of
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the family’s hunger satisfied. In the days that followed, cereals bought
at a very high price from more distant places enabled us to survive
(MO Ch. 1).
The Casetta
On the same hillside as the Becchi, about 200 metres below the Biglione
farmstead, is a small cluster of houses which were occupied by four
families (Graviglia, Cavallo, Bechis and Ronco) and formed the Cavallo
Canton. Francis Louis Bosco , on 8 February 1817, just three months
before he died, bought a very poor little house with a northerly aspect,
for 100 lire (the price of an ox). This house comprised “a stable and croft,
hayloft above, extending to the ground”, “tiled but in a bad state, with
wheat stored in front of about ten tables”, as described in the purchasing
deed (8 February 1817) and the inventory of goods as listed in Francis
Bosco’s Last Will and Testament (18 May 1817). The building measured
12 metres long by 3 wide and 4.5 metres high. There was a dividing wall
separating it from the Cavallo family. Nearby, a few metres to the west,
was where the Graglias lived (demolished in order to build the staircase
that now allows one to visit the upper floor).
The purchase was motivated by the fact that Francis came to know
that the Biglione family intended to sell the farmstead (the workshop,
we learn from the property register documents, was given to the Chiardi
family in 1818, from there in 1846 it passed on to the Damevino family
who would sell it to the Salesians in 1929) and, furthermore, from his
desire to set up a patrimony in immovable goods. This is already, note,
a time of strong economic crisis, along with the famine that struck the
area in 1816–17.
After her husband’s death, Mamma Margaret continued to live in
the Biglione farmstead with her children, the old mother-in-law and two
farmhands from the Biglione farm, until halfway through November,
the time when the share-farming contract finished. In the meantime she
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reorganised the simple dwelling bought by Francis and transferred the
family there on 13 November 1817.
The Boscos at the Casetta
After this re-organisation, the small dwelling comprised the following
rooms (from left to right standing in front of the building): a shed for
use as a storeroom, stable, kitchen and verandah on the ground floor;
on the upper floor a bedroom shared by Mamma Margaret and her
mother-in-law Margaret Zucca, a small bedroom for the two children
(the room of the “dream”, gained access to by a staircase from the
kitchen), and the hayloft. On the outside was a wooden staircase leading
to Mamma Margaret’s room. At the bottom of this a brick alcove
beneath the stairs which served as a hen-house.
They lived together here until 1831, the year that Anthony married.
Mamma Margaret gave her room over to the couple, and moved to
the children’s room. Joseph, meanwhile, after the dividing of the
family goods that took place the previous year (1830) had taken on
share-farming at Sussambrino, on the hill between the Becchi and
Castlenuovo towards Buttigliera, and moved across there. Mamma
Margaret and Joseph’s brother John followed him there, since John was
attending school in Castelnuovo. They remained there for nine years.
As for the reasons that made Mamma Margaret decide to divide up
the family heritage, Don Bosco writes:
My mother, seeing how upset I was because of the obstacles in the
way of my studies, and not having any hope of getting the consent
of Anthony, who was now over twenty, thought about dividing our
inheritance. There were serious difficulties, however, since Joseph and
I were minors. There were serious difficulties, however, since Joseph
and I were minors. Nevertheless she went ahead. My grandmother had
died some years previously, so our family now consisted of my mother,
and Joseph who did not want to be separated from me (MO Ch. 6).
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Some years later, Anthony built a place better suited for his growing
family on the land in front of the Casetta.
This was pulled down in 1915 to construct the Sanctuary to Mary
Help of Christians. Joseph too, in 1839, built near the Casetta. The
old paternal cottage then became a stable and store shed for agricultural
implements.
At various stages Don Bosco’s nephews sold the Casetta, some of the
surrounding land and Anthony’s and Joseph’s houses to the Salesians.
In 1901, Fr Michael Rua, Don Bosco’s first successor, ordered the first
restoration of the Casetta, consisting of the division of the verandah
next to the kitchen into two rooms, and closed up the hayloft to give
the building a consistent look. Following the purchase of the Cavallo
house (1919) and that of the Graglia family (1920) for the Beatification
of Don Bosco (1929) there was a second and more radical restoration of
the Casetta, now open to visitors.
Family life scenes
These poor rooms are witness to the wisdom of Margaret Occhiena’s
education of her children. Scarce financial resources and her relatively
young age would have justified a second marriage. The occasion did
arise in fact, and most conveniently. But she absolutely did not want to
detach herself from her children (who would have been provided with a
good tutor), and she was generously ready to put up with any sacrifice,
trusting in Divine Providence (cf. MO Ch. 1).
She placed religious formation at the basis of everything, as Don
Bosco indicates:
Her greatest care was given to instructing her sons in their religion,
making them value obedience, and keeping them busy with tasks
suited to their age. When I was still very small, she herself taught
me to pray. As soon as I was old enough to join my brothers, she
made me kneel with them morning and evening. We would all recite
our prayers together, including the rosary. I remember well how she
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herself prepared me for my first confession. She took me to church,
made her own confession first, then presented me to the confessor.
Afterwards, she helped me to make my thanksgiving (MO Ch. 1).
She instilled in her children a lively sense of the presence of God the
provident Creator and Lord:
“Remember that God sees you and also sees your innermost thoughts”
she often told them. “It is God who created the world and put so
many stars up there. If the firmament is so beautiful what will heaven
be like?”; and again: “How grateful we should be to the Lord who
provides us with everything we need; God really is our father. Our
father who art in heaven!” (SM, 28–30).
From their earliest years she prepared them for work:
She could not bear to see her sons idle. Even as very young children
she entrusted them with simple chores. At four, John was already
stripping hemp canes that his mother would give him. With his work
done he would busy himself making playthings (BM I, 38).
She formed them to obedience motivated by love and to a sense
of responsibility and reflection before acting or speaking. She was
consistent in correction, mixing it with kindness and moral strength.
She did not avoid punishment, if needed, a symbol of which was “a stick
placed in one corner of the room. She never used it however, never gave
it to her children, not the slightest whack” (SM 36). Instead she used
her own particular way, prudently, that bore results. And her children
learned to be accountable for their actions.
We recall, for example, a small episode involving John at just 4 years
of age:
One day, when John was only four, he came home from a walk
with his brother Joseph. It was summer and both were very thirsty.
Margaret went to draw water and gave it first to Joseph, who was older.
John was a bit piqued at this act of preference and when it was his
turn he refused to drink. Margaret put the water away without a word.
John stood there for a moment then timidly said:
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“Mom!”
“Yes…?”
“Are you going to give me some water too?”
“I thought you weren't thirsty!”
“I’m sorry, Mom!”
“Now, that’s a good boy!” She went back to the water and gave it to
him, smiling (BM I, 44–45).
One day – John was eight years old – while his mother was out on
business in a neighboring village, he tried to get at something that she
had stored away on a high shelf. Since he could not reach it he took a
chair and while climbing on it, he overturned an oil jar and it fell to
the ground in pieces. Little John anxiously tried to clean up the mess
by mopping up the spilt oil, but upon realizing that he would not be
able to get rid of its stain and the smell, he figured out how best he
could avoid displeasing his mother. Breaking off a rod from a hedge,
he stripped the green bark in several places, and tried to make it look
as pretty as he could. When it was time for his mother to return, he
ran to meet her down in the valley. As soon as he came up to her he
asked: “How are you, Mamma? Did you have a nice walk?”
“Yes John dear! How are you? Is everything all right? Have you been
a good boy?”
“Oh Mamma! Look!” So saying, John handed her the rod.
“Ah, that means you have been a naughty boy.”
“Yes I have. This time I really deserve a whipping.”
“What did you do?”
“I was climbing up to the high shelf and accidentally broke the oil jar.
I know I deserve a whipping, and so I brought you this stick to hit me
with and save you the trouble of fetching one.”
Meanwhile, John handed her the nicely decorated rod and looked up
into her face with an expression at once shy, cunning and mischievous.
Margaret looked from her son to the rod and broke into laughter,
amused by his childish wiles. Finally she said: “It’s too bad about the
oil jar, but I’ll forgive you because your behavior shows you didn’t
do it on purpose. But always remember this: before you do anything,
always think of the possible consequences” (BM I, 55–56).
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The Bosco family’s poverty did not prevent Margaret from exercising
charity towards those who were very poor: “Neighbours would come
to borrow live coals, water or wood. If a sick person needed wine,
she was bountiful with it, refusing any compensation. Margaret would
graciously give oil, bread, wheat or cornflour to neighbors without any
annoyance” (BM I, 113). Passing beggars, lost travellers, business folk,
even fugitives and bandits and the police looking for them were made
welcome and were given refreshments. Practical, cheerful and prompt
charity from their mother was the school for the future priest of poor
and abandoned youngsters.
Young John soon began to imitate her:
A boy named Secundus Matta was another of John’s cowherding
companions in the pasture. John’s own age, he was a young farmhand
on one of the surrounding estates. Matta would come down every
morning with his master’s cow; he carried along his breakfast,a piece
of coarse bread. John would be munching on a piece of tasty white
bread that Mamma Margaret always took great pains to keep in the
house.
One fine day John asked Matta: “Want to do me a favor?”
“Sure,” Matta replied.
“How about swapping bread with me?”
“Why?”
“Because your bread must taste better than mine and I like it better.”
In his simplicity, Matta really believed that John preferred coarse
bread. Since he liked his friend’s white bread better, he eagerly
agreed to the exchange. From that day onward for two successive
spring seasons, they exchanged bread every morning in the meadow.
Later on, a grown man, Matta often thought about this. He would
often discuss it with his nephew, Fr Secundus Marchisio, a Salesian,
observing that John’s motive for the exchange could only have been
to practice self-denial (BM I, 67–68).
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A visit to the Casetta
The Casetta was restored and reinforced for the centenary of Don
Bosco’s death. It was returned to its original size, based on photographs
from the end of the 19th Century. The “hayloft above extending to
the ground” where the access staircase to the first floor rooms had been
added in 1929, was re-opened; the old barn where young John Bosco
entertained his friends was restored. The stable and kitchen remained as
they were (ground floor) as did the rooms on the upper floor (Mamma
Margaret’s room and the room where the dream took place).
The adjoining house (Cavallo) was turned into an entrance area for
visits to the Casetta, with information panels on Don Bosco’s and his
family’s life. There is also a bronze statue here, the work of sculptor
Enrico Manfrini, dedicated to Mamma Margaret as educator of her
children; she is smiling, hands around young John who is offering her
the stick spoken of above in punishment for some prank.
A view of the surrounds is made possible by windows let into the
western wall of the Cavallo house. There is no direct access from that
point because it would affect the overall stability of the building.
His brother Joseph’s house
John Bosco’s brother Joseph Louis married Maria Calosso at age 21
(1833), by whom he had ten children, most of whom died at an early
age. Over the nine years of work (1830–1839) as a share-farmer at
Sussambrino he succeeded in scraping the necessary means together to
buy some land on The Becchi hill and to build a poor but dignified
home, adequate for his large family. He moved there in 1839 and
remained until his death in 1862.
The building, situated more or less in front of the Casetta, beside
the Sanctuary to Mary Help of Christians, has two floors. At the front,
next to the stone recording the building’s importance, is a sundial
(Meridiana Astronomica Geografica Universale) made by specialist
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builders Giorgio Mesturini and Mario Tebenghi, with an inscription
taken from the famous sundial in the seminary at Chieri, the one which
measured the cleric Bosco’s study time with the words: Afflictis lentae –
celeres gaudentibus horae, or, “Time passes slowly for the those who are
sad – quickly for those who are joyful”.
Ground floor
On the ground floor, connected to the Farming Life Museum, two areas
separated by a staircase show us, respectively, the rebuilding of the Bosco
family’s kitchen (shown as Sala T) and bedroom (shown as Sala S).
Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel
Still at ground floor level, at the western corner of the building, Joseph
had adapted a small room for use as a chapel, and Don Bosco dedicated
it to Our Lady of the Rosary. He inaugurated this little chapel on 8
October 1848. Up till 1869, the Saint celebrated the Feast of Our Lady
of the Rosary there each year, giving it solemnity with the presence
of the boys’ band and choir from Valdocco. This was Don Bosco’s
first site for encouraging devotion to Mary and a privileged spot also
for the beginnings of the Salesian Congregation. It was here, in fact,
on 3 October 1852, that Michael Rua and Joseph Rocchietti received
the clerical habit. Dominic Savio certainly prayed at this spot too on 2
October 1854 when he first met Don Bosco, and subsequently during
Autumn walks to The Becchi.
This is how Don Bosco describes his first meeting with Dominic
Savio:
Early on the first Monday in October I saw lad accompanied by his
father coming to speak with me. His cheerful but respectful nature
attracted my gaze.
“Who are you?” I asked him, “Where do you come from?”
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“I am Dominic Savio,” he replied, “whom Fr Cugliero, my teacher,
has spoken about, and we come from Mondonio.”
I called him aside to find out what studies he had done, how he had
lived up till then, and we soon began to trust one other.
I could see in him a soul that was animated by the Lord’s spirit, and I
was not a little surprised to see what divine grace had already achieved
in such a tender heart.
After talking a little longer, before I called his father, he said these exact
words to me: “So what do you think? Will you take me to Turin to
study?”
“Well! It seems to me there is good material here.”
“What could you use this material for?”
“To make a nice garment to give the Lord.”
“So I am the material: you are the tailor; so take me with you and let’s
make a good garment for the Lord.”
“I am not sure you are strong enough for study.”
“Have no fear of that; the Lord has given me health and grace up till
now, and will help me in the future.”
“But when you finish studying Latin, what will you do?”
“If the Lord will give me the grace I would like to embrace the
ecclesiastical state.”
“Okay. Now I want to see if you have what it takes to study: Take this
little book (it was an edition of the Catholic Readings) and study this
page for today, and tomorrow you can recite it back to me.” Having
said that I left him free to go and play with the other boys, and I went
to speak with his father. No more than eight minutes went by before
Dominic came back to me smiling and told me: “If you want I can
give you that page now.” I took the book and to my surprise I saw that
he had not only studied the page, but understood the meaning of the
contents.
“Well done,” I told him, “You anticipated your study of this lesson so
I will anticipate my reply. Yes; I will take you to Turin and from now
on you are enrolled as one of my dear boys” (DS Ch. 7).
First restored by Fr Rua, the chapel witnessed some minor work in
2002, thanks to benefactors and others belonging to the Salesian Family.
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A small plaque commemorates their effort; it can be found in the area
behind the altar.
A glass case (also behind the altar) contains some vestments and
sacred vessels from the first days of the chapel.
Upper floor
Joseph kept a room especially for Don Bosco on the upper level, and
Don Bosco used this each time he stayed at the Becchi especially during
Autumn holiday time. This room is found at the south west corner of
the building (Sala Z) and items used by the Saint are preserved there.
You pass two other rooms before getting there: (Sala V), smaller, and
used as a little study room by the Saint, and (Sala U), larger, where the
Bosco family furniture is kept.
Stable and hayloft
On the eastern side of the house you find the stable (Sala R) and hayloft
(today rebuilt) where the boys from Turin would sleep during the
“autumn walks”. They were also accommodated in the granary (room
at the top of the stairs) and attic, large enough and well-ventilated by
two dormer windows which were built with a contribution from Don
Bosco (and removed during the restoration of the building at that time
in 1929).
Michael Magone, too, was a guest at the Becchi (1858). Don Bosco
tells us a nice little episode that happened in this part of the building:
One evening while our boys were all asleep, I heard someone crying
and sighing. I crept up to the window and saw Magone in one corner
of the hay shed looking at the moon and crying. “What’s up, Magone,
are you ill?” I asked him.
He had thought he was alone and nobody could see him so he was
upset and didn’t know how to answer; but then he said:
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“I am crying because I am looking at the moon that has for so many
centuries appeared each evening to dispel the darkness of the night
without every disobeying its Creator, while I am so young, have
reason, and should have been faithful to my God’s law, but I have
disobeyed him so often and offended him in a thousand ways.” And
saying that he began crying again. I consoled him with a few words
and he calmed down and went back to sleep again.
(G. Bosco, Cenno biografico sul giovanetto Magone Michele allievo
dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales, Torino. Tip. G.B. Paravia e
Comp. 1861, pp. 64–65. Or Ch. 12 in English editions).
Museum of 19th Century Farming Life
Between the Graglia house and Joseph’s house, beneath ground level, a
hall has been built with wide arches overlooking the valley. It is modelled
on the large rural wine-cellars.
This is where the Farming Life Museum is situated. It shows
what life was like for farming families on these Piedmontese hills in
the 19th Century. There are some six hundred antique items housed
here: furniture, work tools, items in daily use, all collected patiently
and preserved by Salesian Brother Teresio Chiesa. The items testify
to customs, life and working techniques (vines and wines, wheat and
bread, milk and cheese, wood…) in use by the families around the Asti,
Cuneo and Turinese regions in the 19th Century. Linking this with
Joseph’s house highlights the value of the reconstruction in its recalling
of earlier times.
A visit to the Museum is of particular historical and cultural interest.
With help from illustrated panels and photographs, we can make
ourselves more aware of the real environment, the lifestyle and working
style that families like the Boscos led in the Piedmont of yesteryear.
The materials on display are grouped under various themes:
Farmers’ customs (Zone A), items recovered from bedrooms (Zone B),
the family hearth (Zone C), kitchen (Zone D), ploughing implements
(Zone E), grain cultivation (Zone F), hay making and animal yokes
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(Zone G), weights and tools for working hemp and wood (Zone H),
animal harness (Zone I), lighting equipment (Zone L), washing, laundry
materials (Zone M), grape-growing and wine-making (Zone N), Bottling
(Zone O), equipment for poultry, bee-keeping (Zone Q). Joseph Bosco’s
wine cellar contains items typical of any such cellar in that region in the
19th Century (Zone P).
During the excavation work to build the museum the ancient
dome-shaped oven came to light, used for baking bread. Joseph had built
it. In fact the hamlet’s bake-house, located at the Biglione’s, was never
big enough for when Don Bosco came to Colle with his boys. That
could be found down beyond the house on the western side of the hill,
and was discovered during rebuilding in the Twenties. It has been rebuilt
near the Museum entrance.
Small sanctuary to Mary Help of Christians
Filippo Crispolti, a Salesian Cooperator, had suggested the construction
of this building to Fr Paul Albera, Don Bosco’s second successor.
Building commenced on 16 August 1915, and Anthony’s house was
pulled down to make way for it. The Church was consecrated on 2
August 1918. There were three reasons for the construction: to celebrate
the birth centenary of the Saint; to commemorate the centenary of the
institution of the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, set for 24 May
by Pius VII who had returned from imprisonment by Napoleon; and
finally to pray for peace for a world so affected by the First World War.
For this third purpose, children around the world were invited to send
in their symbolic small offerings. The national emblems painted beneath
the eaves, leading to behind where the statue of Our Lady is placed, are
a record of this gesture of youthful hope.
The building, in neo-Gothic style, is the work of the architect
Giulio Valotti, a Salesian Brother. The Church is built in the shape of
a Greek Cross (10 metres by 15). Large windows either side allow a
chance to pilgrims to take part in functions even if standing outside
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the building. The statue of Mary Help of Christians comes from the
sculpture workshops of the Salesian School at Sarrià, Barcelona. Off to
the side, below, are two statues which are the work of sculptor Riccardo
Cordero and show Don Bosco and Mary Domenica Mazzarello.
The contemporary set-up of the sanctuary area is the work of the
architect Graziano Romaldi. Replacing the previous neo-Gothic altar
there is now a brick facade, tent-like in shape, surrounding the large
crucifix and the tabernacle.
From 1918, a small Salesian community lived in some of the
adjacent rooms and saw to religious services and looking after pilgrims.
The Mary of Nazareth Contemplative Fraternity arrived here in
1991 from Uruguay. This was at the wish of Fr Viganó. As well as
developing the apostolate that is proper to this Group of the Salesian
Family, they look after the smooth running of the Shrine (pilgrims,
masses, adoration).
Monument to John the Juggler
In the south-east corner between the old Graglia house and the farming
museum, we find the juggler monument, first constructed 1929, the year
of the Beatification, and then revamped by Crida. Nowadays it has been
replaced by a bronze version, the work of Ennio Tesei: it recalls young
John Bosco who used show off his skills in front of the youngsters from
the hamlet, after some prayer and catechetics.
When the weather was fine, especially on Sundays and feast days, a few
strangers would come along to swell the ranks. Things were getting
a bit more serious now. The entertainment now extended to tricks
I had picked up from acrobats and magicians I had watched in the
marketplaces and at fairs I used to watch them closely to get the hang
of the tricks, then go home and practise till I had mastered the skill.
You can imagine all the falls and tumbles and bumps and crashes I was
always having! But would you believe that by the time I was eleven I
could juggle, do midair somersaults and the swallow trick, and walk
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on my hands. I could walk, jump, and even dance on the tightrope
like a professional acrobat. From the programme of one holiday in
particular you can get an idea of our general routine.
At Becchi there was a field in which grew several trees. One of them, a
pear tree that is still there, was very helpful to me then. I used to sling
a rope from it to another tree some distance away. I had a table with a
haversack on it, and on the ground a mat for the jumps. When I had
everything set up and everyone was eager to marvel at my latest feats, I
would invite them to recite the rosary and sing a hymn. Then standing
on the chair, I preached to them or, better, repeated as much as I could
remember from the explanation of the gospel I had heard in church
that morning; or sometimes I recalled episodes from something I had
heard or read. After the sermon there was a short prayer, and then
the show began. At that point you would have seen, just as I am
telling you, the preacher transformed into a professional acrobat. I
did the swallow trick and somersaults, walked on my hands, tied the
pouch around my waist, swallowed coins and then produced them
from someone’s nose. I multiplied balls and eggs, changed water into
wine, killed and chopped up a chicken and then brought it back to
life again so that it crowed better than before. These were part of my
stock in trade. I walked the tightrope like an ordinary path, jumped
and danced on it. and hung by one foot or one hand, sometimes by
two. At the end of it I was tired. A short prayer brought proceedings
to a close, and everyone went about his business (MO Ch. 3).
The Dream Post or Pillar
Built in 1929, this is on the western slope of the hillside about 20 metres
from the Casetta. It is a reminder of the famous dream at nine years
of age, and features the work of artist Pietro Favaro, copied from the
original kept in the Church of the Salesian Institute at Alassio.
This is how Don Bosco describes the dream:
It was at that age that I had a dream. All my life this remained deeply
impressed on my mind. In this dream I seemed to be near my home in
a fairly large yard. A crowd of children were playing there. Some were
laughing, some were playing games, and quite a few were swearing.
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When I heard these evil words, I jumped immediately amongst them
and tried to stop them by using my words and my fists.
At that moment a dignified man appeared, a nobly dressed adult.
He wore a white cloak, and his face shone so that I could not look
directly at him. He called me by name, told me to take charge of these
children, and added these words: "You will have to win these friends
of yours not by blows but by gentleness and love. Start right away to
teach them the ugliness of sin and the value of virtue." Confused and
frightened, I replied that I was a poor, ignorant child. I was unable
to talk to those youngsters about religion. At that moment the kids
stopped their fighting, shouting, and swearing; they gathered round
the man who was speaking.
Hardly knowing what I was saying, I asked, “Who are you, ordering
me to do the impossible?”
“Precisely because it seems impossible to you, you must make it
possible through obedience and the acquisition of knowledge.”
“Where, by what means, can I acquire knowledge?”
“I will give you a teacher. Under her guidance you can become wise.
Without her, all wisdom is foolishness.”
“But who are you that speak so?”
“I am the son of the woman whom your mother has taught you to
greet three times a day.”
“My mother tells me not to mix with people I don’t know unless I
have her permission. So tell me your name.”
“Ask my mother what my name is.”
At that moment, I saw a lady of stately appearance standing beside
him. She was wearing a mantle that sparkled all over as though covered
with bright stars. Seeing from my questions and answers that I was
more confused than ever, she beckoned me to approach her. She took
me kindly by the hand and said, “Look.” Glancing round, I realised
that the youngsters had all apparently run away. A large number of
goats, dogs, cats, bears, and other animals had taken their place.
“This is the field of your work. Make yourself humble, strong, and
energetic. And what you will see happening to these animals in a
moment is what you must do for my children.”
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I looked round again, and where before I had seen wild animals, I now
saw gentle lambs. They were all jumping and bleating as if to welcome
that man and lady.
At that point, still dreaming, I began crying. I begged the lady to speak
so that I could understand her, because I did not know what all this
could mean. She then placed her hand on my head and said, “In good
time you will understand everything.”
With that, a noise woke me up and everything disappeared (MO Ch.
2).
The old Becchi water fountain
In front of the Cavallo house, not far from the Dream Post, was the well
used for the hamlet. It was re-discovered during the work of widening
the square in front of the large Church, at the beginning of the Sixties.
Now it has been rebuilt. You get there by walking down from the Dream
Post and turning left below the square. This is where Mamma Margaret
would draw water for daily needs. It was while doing just this that Don
Bosco saw her in a dream on 1 March 1886 (cf. BM XVIII, 12–13). This
dream is also considered to be a prophecy of the future Bernardi Semeria
Institute.
Monument to Mamma Margaret
Walking back up towards the square in front of the church (Basilica)
you find the monument honouring Mamma Margaret, completed
in 1992 by Enrico Manfrini. This large bronze statue depicts Don
Bosco’s mother in working attire, intent on her housework, bucket in
hand, standing in front of the domestic animals. At shoulder height,
some panels fixed to a rustic little fence-enclosure tell about the most
important moments in her life: the death of her husband, John’s dream
at nine years of age, her charity towards the needy, and her arrival at
Valdocco with her son the priest.
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The monument is meant as a sign of gratitude of the Salesian
Family to the one who provided the essential formation for the young
people’s Saint. The first panel puts it thus: “A peasant woman of
enormous courage and lively faith in Providence, she brought her
children up according to the Gospel and with reason, religion and
love. Understanding John’s vocation, from his telling his mysterious
dreams, she formed his heart to a charity towards God and the poorest
of the young. A volunteer and helper at the Oratory, she was “Mamma
Margaret” to everyone, and remains thus for so many youngsters from
Europe, America, Asia and Africa.
Church (Basilica) in honour of Don Bosco
During the Second World War the Salesian superiors agreed to build a
large church in honour of the Saint, near his birthplace, to obtain Divine
protection on Salesian works throughout the world. But the project
didn’t begin to be realised until the end of the Fifties, when Fr Renato
Ziggiotti, fifth successor of Don Bosco, was Rector Major. To prepare
the ground, the Biglione-Damevino house was pulled down without
realising what its historical significance was.
The building, designed by Enea Ronca and then re-interpreted by
architect Giovanni Rubatto, a Salesian Brother, was built between June
1961 and March 1966.
It offers two floors: the lower Church and the upper church.
Internally, the whole complex is 70 metres long by 37 wide. Externally
it is 110 metres, including the steps. Above is a cupola 16 metres in
diameter and 80 reaching to a height of 80 metres.
The cupola is framed by two bell-towers where, since the Jubilee
Year 2000, 12 bells have been installed, the work of a firm called
Capanni from Castelnuovo ne’ Monti (Regio Emilia). The bells have
been named after the Salesian Family Saints who “sing the Lord God's
glory throughout time and history”. The largest of the bells, in memory
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of the Jubilee, has a diameter or 1.55 metres and weighs 2,300 kg. The
designs on it are the work of Salesian Brother Luigi Zonta.
Three huge mosaics constructed by the Bernasconi firm from
Como, based on drawings by Mario Bogani, adorn the external walls of
the church.
On the western side we find a large welcoming Don Bosco traced
out in the background. He visibly translates the love of Christ the Good
Shepherd, welcoming all who climb up this hill where he was born.
On the wall facing east towards Capriglio instead, we see John with
his friends playing and teaching under Mamma Margaret’s watchful eye.
Finally, the mosaic on the southern side overlooking the courtyard
belonging to the Bernardi Semeria Institute, takes us to the Valdocco
field where the youngsters met up with and played with Don Bosco.
Here too we find a sundial which is a reminder of the Saint’s spirituality
of joy in reference to when he first entered the seminary in Chieri. Above
is the Virgin Mary, the “teacher” who would inspire and guide all of Don
Bosco’s and his sons’ activity.
Lower church
This was solemnly opened by Fr Louis Ricceri the sixth successor of Don
Bosco, on 15 August 1965, on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the
Saint’s birth.
The inside, 7 metres high, offers us a ceiling made of rhomboid-shaped
tiles and is adorned with marble and also windows which create an
atmosphere of recollection.
As one enters, one’s gaze is naturally attracted by the main altar
and the wall behind it. This was painted by Mario Càffaro Rore
(1910–2001) on the theme of Don Bosco and his Autumn walks.
Behind the sanctuary there is a relic of Don Bosco placed approximately
at the spot where the house where the Saint was born had stood. Two
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large paintings by Mario Bogani form the corners of the reliquary.
On the left the artist has drawn three scenes: the wedding of Francis
Bosco and Margaret Occhiena, celebrated in front of the civil authority
according to the Napoleonic law of the day; John’s baptism; the old
house where he was born. On the right hand side the painting depicts the
difficult and frequent efforts of farming life and Francis Bosco’s death.
Built before the period of liturgical reform, the church has a number
of side chapels, with windows depicting various saints dear to the
Salesian tradition.
Moving from the sanctuary towards the back of the church we
find on the left: a picture of St Aloysius Gonzaga (whom Don Bosco
offered to his boys as a model) with St Ignatius and the Virgin Mary;
the Blessed Sacrament altar with its painting by Càffaro Rore depicting
St Francis de Sales (patron of the Salesian Family), and side windows
with St Joseph Cafasso (friend and spiritual guide of our Saint) and
St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (founder of the Little Home of Divine
Providence, near the Oratory in Valdocco). The other altars: St John the
Baptist (celebrated at the Oratory as Don Bosco’s name day); Saint Mary
Domenica Mazzarello (co-founder of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians); St Cecilia (patron of music, an important element in the
Salesian educational system).
Down the right hand side, coming away from the sanctuary: Saint
Dominic Savio (the best result of Salesian pedagogy); the choir chapel
with its organ built by the Tamburini firm from Crema (2,500 pipes)
with two windows at the side depicting St John the Evangelist (dear to
Don Bosco because he was young and a special favourite of the Lord’s);
Don Bosco with the young; the crucified Jesus with the patrons of Italy,
Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena.
The back wall is completely taken up by a photographic colour
reproduction of the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, the same size
as the original to be found in St Mary of Graces (Milan). It was a gift
(1965) from ILFORD in Saronno (Varese).
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Upper church
The upper church was only completed internally in 1984, almost twenty
years after the lower church, according to the plan produced by the
engineer Augusto Agostino, and decorated with paintings by Luigi
Zonta. Its consecration took place on 1 May 1984 by Cardinal Anastasio
Ballestrero, Archbishop of Turin.
The first church, however, left a number of problems unresolved
including acoustics and heating. It meant further work needed to be
done. This was made possible thanks to the generosity of a man from
Castelnuovo who had emigrated to America, John Filipello. Deeply
connected to his place of origin, he offered part of his inheritance to
completely rebuild the sacred building. The work came to an end at
the conclusion of the Holy Year 2000 and the upper church, completely
renovated and known as the Jubilee Church, was able to be solemnly
opened on 3 January 2000 by the Rector Major, Fr Juan Edmund
Vecchi, the eighth successor of Don Bosco.
On 12 April 2010, Pope Benedict XVI raised the church to the
dignity of a Minor Basilica with a decree signed by the Prefect of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
(Cardinal Antonio Cañizares). On 23 May 2010, the solemnity of
Pentecost, this decree was made official with a solemn ceremony led by
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a Salesian and Secretary of State of the Holy
See. There were many other Salesian bishops and cardinals present.
One approaches the church via a broad set of steps dominated by a
statue of Don Bosco. Donated in 1920 by the Italian Catholic Teachers
Association in honour of the great educator of children and young
people, it used to be located between Joseph’s and the Graglia House.
To highlight its value it was relocated to where it is now in 1986 on the
vigil of the centenary celebrations for the birth of the Saint.
Above the entrances to the Church, a fresco by Mario Bogani
depicts the faces of various tribes, emphasising the universality of Don
Bosco’s work. Flanking the right hand doorway a stone recalls the visit by
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John Paul II, who came up to Colle on 3 September 1988 to honour the
Saint for young people in the centenary of his birth and to beatify Laura
Vicuña. The stone bears the words used on that occasion by the Pope to
describe Don Bosco’s birthplace: “the hill of youthful beatitudes”.
Inside
Designed by Stefano Trucco from Turin, the upper church can hold
1,500 people or thereabouts and has been completely decked out in
beech wood. Overall it has a warm and yet restrained feeling, together
with the diffusion of light and all this makes it an inviting environment
well adapted to prayer and recollection. The curved wooden panelling
held in place by twenty six vertical beams suggest to the faithful the
image of the Church as the Ark of Salvation.
The pilgrim’s gaze is immediately caught by the wall behind the
sanctuary featuring a statue of Christ the Redeemer in the glory of the
Resurrection, arms flung wide embracing all of humanity. This gigantic
sculpture, weighing 30 quintals (a quintal is 100 kg), is 8 metres high,
and 6 metres across from finger-tip to finger-tip. It was sculptured from
wood from a linden tree by Corrado Piazza from Demetz di Ortisei
(Val Gardena). It central position reminds everyone that Don Bosco’s
mission was to lead young people to Christ, the “nobly-dressed man”
he saw in his dream when he was nine years old.
Going down the Church towards the altar, on the right side of the
entrance one admires a reproduction of the Madonna Consolata (Our
Lady of Consolation), patroness of the archdiocese of Turin, at whose
Shrine Don Bosco often used to spend time in prayer. He also went
to the Consolata the morning that Mamma Margaret died, to entrust
himself and his boys to their heavenly Mother. The painting is the work
of Piero Ribezzo of Alba (Cuneo).
On the right hand wall near the entrance we see some wooden reliefs,
the Stations of the Via Lucis (from the 8th to the 14th Station), based
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on the mysteries of the Resurrection. Just as the traditional Stations
of the Cross lead us to meditate on the Passion and Death of Christ,
these wooden panels help the believer to meditate on Easter and its
fruits. They depict events which are basic to Christian faith from the
Resurrection to the Easter appearances, to Pentecost. They are a good
accompaniment to the Risen Christ towering over the nave; they are the
work of Ortisei (Bolzano) based on drawings by Giovanni Dragoni of
Rome.
Approaching the altar, in the right transept we see three of the
Bogani canvases. The central one shows the dream at nine years of age,
while in the same painting, lower down in the foreground we see the first
realisations of that dream.The artist has depicted the celebrated episode
which occurred on 8 December 1841, the Feast of the Immaculate
Conception, in the sacristy of St Francis Assisi Church in Turin:
Don Bosco, a young priest getting ready to say Mass, defends young
Bartholomew Garelli from the sacristan who was chasing him away. To
the right we get a glimpse of the Pinardi house where, at Easter 1846, the
Oratory began to be set up.
On the left, the painter has shown us Don Bosco the Founder of two
Religious Congregations dedicated to the education of the young. In
the foreground we see Don Bosco surrounded by youngsters and, in the
background, those who continue the educational mission: the Salesians
and the Salesian Sisters. St Dominic Savio, Blessed Laura Vicuña and
Ceferino Namancurà above remind us of the fruits of educational
activity inspired by the Salesian charism.
On the right a third painting recalls the strict bonds of affection
that existed between Don Bosco and his boys. They are carrying him in
triumph because he has completely given over his life for all of them,
especially the poorest of them: those left to themselves, imprisoned,
workers... Don Bosco reached out to them all, moved by his apostolic
concern, but also thanks to the help of so many friends and benefactors
who have rightly been portrayed in the painting: St Joseph Cafasso his
spiritual director, St Joseph Cottolengo, a fine model of charity towards
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the poor, Fr John Borel who was his right arm during those first years at
the Oratory.
This painted triptych is completed by a group in bronze which sums
up one of the cardinal aspects of the Saint’s educational system: loving
kindness. Mamma Margaret is reaching out to her priest son who in turn
has his arms around one of the youngsters entrusted to him. This is the
work of sculptor Riccardo Cordero.
These works pick up light from the windows, made by the Alesso
Bravo firm and designed essentially in symbolic style, in soft colours, by
Luigi Zonta. The dominant motif is the acacia leaves which abound in
the woods around Colle. But each of these ornaments has its own special
significance.
On the right of the dream painting the Eucharist is recalled (grapes,
vines, hosts); on the left, devotion to Mary Immaculate and Help of
Christians (lily, crown, sun, moon and stars). Beside the sanctuary, still
looking to the right, a small side chapel is where the Blessed Sacrament
is kept and invites us to prayer and adoration.
On the other side of the huge marble altar is a bronze statue of
Our Lady in natural dimensions. The work of Cordero, it expresses the
Virgin’s motherly kindness and her powerful intercession with her Son
whom she holds to herself and who is looking and listening.
In the left transept we admire another two of Bogani’s paintings.
To the right of the organ one of the Saint’s many activities: builder of
churches, trusting in the help of Divine Providence. We recognise the
facades of the two Basilicas – Mary Help of Christians in Turin and
Sacred Heart in Rome; the church of St Francis de Sales and St John the
Evangelist in Turin. Mary Help of Christians Basilica stands over them
all, the one which Don Bosco considered to be the real masterpiece of all
his works. Finally, high on the right, the cupola of St Peter’s, indicating
faithfulness to the Holy Father and Don Bosco’s strong sense of ecclesial
communion.
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On the left we find depicted Don Bosco’s commitment to the
missions. A large boat in the centre of the painting recalls the missionary
expeditions he sent off in 1875, while on the top, a few basic details recall
the peoples and cultures that Salesian missionary activity took place
amongst. In the foreground, some well known Salesian missionaries:
Bishop John Cagliero on horseback, leading the first missionary
expedition in 1875 to Argentina and first Cardinal of the Congregation;
at his side Bishop Louis Versiglia and Fr Callistus Caravario martyred
in China in 1930; in front of them with the white beard, Monsignor
Vincent Cimatti who headed up the first Salesian missions in Japan.
On the window to the right are some stylised depictions of young
people, those to whom the Salesian mission is addressed.; the one on the
left is the dream at nine years of age but expressed through symbols – sun
(God’s intervention), the hand (Mary as guide) transforming the wolves
into lambs.
The central part of the transept is taken up by the organ. Built by
the Pinchi Firm from Foligno (Perugia) it is a project of Maestro Arturo
Sacchetti, and was inaugurated in the Jubilee Year 2000. It is mechanical
and has three keyboards and 3,332 pipes.
Turning back towards the entrance we meet the Via Lucis panels
again (from 1 to 7) and a painting of Our Lady of Czestochowa. This
is the work of a Polish Salesian, Father Henryk Kaszcycki. It was a gift
of Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his visit to Colle in September
1988.
On the back wall, above the entrance, is the final one of Bogani’s
paintings depicting the gospel episode of the Disciples of Emmaus. In
one frame we see the various moments of that event: above, to the left,
normal daily life, while the events of the death and resurrection of Christ
came in to determine all of history; in the foreground the two disciples
meeting the risen Christ; the supper during which the Lord reveals
himself in the breaking of the bread; the witness of the two disciples to
Peter and the first group of believers. Peter’s clothes are the same colour
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as those of the mysterious traveller: a sign that Christ has given his power
to the first of the Apostles to guide the Church with the same authority.
The location of the painting at the exit to the Temple has a precise
intent: it is an invitation to the pilgrim to give witness in life to the risen
Christ encountered in the Church and especially in the Eucharist, as the
disciples of Emmaus came to understand.
Above the painting is a rose window representing the four Evangelists,
and the Salesian coat of arms with the motto Don Bosco chose for his
apostolic work: Da mihi animas cetera tolle: “(O Lord) give me souls and
take away the rest”. Brightly lit colours dominate, especially red, symbol
of charity.
Bernardi Semeria Salesian Institute
When the small Shrine of Mary Help of Christians was being built
(1918) the first group of Salesians and aspirants to Salesian life came to
live nearby.
On the eve of Don Bosco’s Beatification (2 June 1929), Fr Philip
Rinaldi, third successor of the Saint, thought about building a centre
for education and technical education of young people at Colle. With
this in mind, and also thinking of future pilgrimages, he bought (24
January 1929) the Biglione-Damevino farmstead with all its land but
not including the portion to the north of the Casetta as he would
have liked to have done. Here, in 1938-1943, through the efforts of Fr
Peter Ricaldone, fourth successor of Don Bosco, they built the large
institute donated by lawyer Pietro Bernardi, an Uncle to Father Semeria,
a Barnabite, well known writer and preacher.
For decades this institute took in boys, many of them poor or
orphaned, who wanted to become Salesians. After they had learned
a trade (agriculture, mechanics, graphics, woodwork) hundreds of
missionaries and apostles to the young left from here. It became a
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famous centre for technical formation of Salesians coming from all over
the world.
These days the Salesian Community at Colle uses the institute to
accommodate pilgrims, tourists, youth groups. Until recently there was
a Technical Centre specialising in graphic arts, very much at the service
of the Centro Catechistico Salesiano and the Elledici Publishing House.
The community also provides support for many of the surrounding
parishes.
The ethnological and missionary museum
Nearby the Salesian Institute we find the Ethnological and Missionary
Museum. The material kept there was gathered by Salesian missionaries
and originally exhibited in Rome in 1925 on the occasion of the
fiftieth anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition. When
the Roman exhibition was over most of the items were used in smaller
exhibitions in Turin (1926), Barcelona (1930), Naples (1934), Bari
(1935) and then Bologna, Padua, and Milan. Unfortunately in the
course of these various exhibitions, some pieces were lost trace of.
In 1941 the remaining material (perhaps only about half of that
exhibited in Rome in 1925) was brought to Colle to be put on
permanent display. For the centenary of Don Bosco’s death, the old
museum was replaced by a more appropriate modern building. The
most recent re-arrangement of materials was in 2000.
Items on exhibit
The pieces preserved in the museum number 6,810, but only around
2,500 of these are on show.
The first group of items, from Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and
Paraguay, go back to 1901–10 and were donated to the Salesian Institute
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in Valsalice (Turin) where from 1887 to 1925 there was a Salesian
seminary for Foreign Missions.
Most of the collection was gathered between 1923–24 from various
missionary areas. The items from the Far East were added in 1930.
The succession of display boxes shows the historical development
of the Salesian missions, especially the part relating to Latin America.
Going around you see displays dedicated to: Argentina (Patagonia and
Tierra del Fuega with the Onas, Alakaluffi, Yanages tribes); Paraguay
(especially the Moros tribe); and Bolivia; Ecuador (the Shuar); Brasil
(Bororo, Chavantes and Karaja); Venezuela (Rio Negro and Yanomani).
There are showcases for Africa (Kenya especially), Oceania, China,
Japan, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Assam/India, Australia.
Two displays in particular are set apart – half way along, the one
showing the larger fauna of various nations and continents, and towards
the exit, one showing the smaller fauna: especially insects. The visit
is accompanied by texts, graphics and photographs which help give a
Salesian and missionary interpretation
Recent developments
The museum
In view of the Centenary of St John Bosco’s death, substantial
renovations took place and in 2016, multimedia content was added
to the displays. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Salesian
missionary expeditions (1875–2025), an additional small ethnographical
museum, connected with this one at Colle, has been opened at Valdocco
in rooms associated with Missioni Don Bosco .
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The novitiate
An important recent development at Colle Don Bosco has been
the establishment of the novitiate in the Cascina Scaiota, or Scaiota
farmstead, located to the southeast of the main institute. The original
building was demolished in 1950 and replaced with two buildings in
1956 enclosing a courtyard. All the agricultural activity of the estate
then moved to this area. This then allowed for the demolition of the
Cascina Biglione-Damevino (at the time they were unaware that John
Bosco was born there!) to make way for construction of the new church,
now Basilica.
In 2019 the interprovincial novitiate dedicated to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus moved from Pinerolo to this Scaiota area. Since 2022 it is the
only novitiate in Italy, the interprovincial novitiate at Genzano di Roma
having been suspended.
Via biblica walking track
Starting out from the Casetta, it is now possible to take a walking track
that eventually arrives at Dominic Savio’s house in Morialdo. There are
fourteen “stations” along the way that help the walker to reflect on the
lives of young people mentioned in the Bible.
The cross atop the Hill of Beatitudes
The hill of youthful beatitudes is so named after the address given by
Pope St John Paul II during his visit to Colle Don Bosco on 3 September
1988. The cross that now stands atop this hill recalls Don Bosco’s final
missionary dream in Barcelona in April 1886, and was blessed by the
then Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chávez, on Pentecost Sunday, 23 May
2010.
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MORIALDO
To the north of the Sanctuary of Mary Help of Christians and Joseph’s
house there is a road that heads up to the top of the hill and around 2
kms further on reaches a group of houses that make up the small hamlet
of Morialdo.
St Dominic Savio’s House
Coming from Colle, on the right you will come across a building with a
plaque from 1910 which recalls the fact that the Savio family lived here.
At that time the house belonged to the Viale family. St Dominic Savio
lived here from November 1843 to February 1853 (you will note that
the dates on the plaque are not precise: 1842–1857). His father Carlo,
an ironmonger, and his mother Brigida, a seamstress, had moved there
from S. Giovanni di Riva presso Chieri when Dominic was only one year
old. Following this they moved to Mondonio as a permanent residence.
These moves were all the result of needing to find work, since the family
had no fixed assets.
The building you see is testimony to Dominic’s relatively peaceful
childhood and the solid upbringing he had from his parents and the
local priest.
Don Bosco, when he tells the story of his pupil, offers us a series
of episodes to do with this house. For example we recall the gestures
of affection Dominic showed his father coming home after work and
the time he refused to sit at table with a guest who did not say his
grace before meals. But the most meaningful recollection is certainly
Dominic’s First Communion which probably took place at the little
church at Morialdo (8 April 1849), while the young Saint was living
there:
It was a wonderful and never-to-be-forgotten day for him; it was a
renewal of his life for God, a life that can be taken as an example by
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anyone. If one got him to talk about his First Communion several
years later, his face lit up with joy and happiness as he said:
“That was the happiest and most wonderful day of my life.”
He made some promises on that day which he preserved carefully in a
little book, and often re-read them. He let me have this little book to
look at and I give them here just as he wrote them.
Promises made by me, Dominic Savio, when I made my First
Communion in 1849 at seven years of age:
I will go often to Confession and I will go to Holy Communion as
often as I am allowed.
I will try to give the Sundays and holy days completely to God.
My best friends will be Jesus and Mary. Death, but not sin.
These promises were the guiding light of his life until he died (DS Ch.
3).
There are other recollections concerning Dominic’s stay at Morialdo
found in a letter that Fr John Zucca, the priest and teacher there, wrote
to Don Bosco:
Murialdo, 5 May 1857
Dear Don Bosco,
You wanted me to write something about the recently deceased Savio,
referring to the fact that he lived nearby and attended the school and
St Peter’s village church.
I am happy to do this. In the early days when I came to Murialdo I
often saw a child maybe five years old or so walking with his mother
and they would kneel and pray at the entrance to the little church. I
noted the boy’s rare attitude of recollection. Coming and going we
would often meet and he greeted me respectfully each time, and I was
so struck by this that I wanted to find out who he was and they told
me he was the child of Savio, the blacksmith and was known as Minot.
The following year he began attending school. He was regular,
obedient and diligent; and since he seemed clever enough, he soon
made good progress. His piety, which I had already seen at the
entrance to the church when he was praying with his mother, grew
with the years and this also helped him quickly pick up how to serve
at Mass, and I could say he came almost daily for this. His love for
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religious functions then led him to also come to serve at Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament and help with the singing – he would come
with a school mate and alternate at times with his father. He would
practise the hymns at home and in the stable.
He would come to confession a number of times a year, and as soon as
he was able to distinguish Bread from bread, he was admitted to Holy
Communion, which he received with a devotion that was admirable
for such a young lad. He often had to mix with wilder boys but I don’t
recall him every having serious problems with them and even less was
he ever drawn to follow their example and engage in less savoury or
indecent amusements; he wasn’t into stealing the neighbours’ fruit
like other would often do, or cause damage, or annoy the elderly or
very young.
Seeing him I often said to myself: Here is a boy that offers good hope
for the future, as long as he has a chance to get away from here because
few of the kids here, boys or girls, do well due to their parents’ laziness,
etc. etc. Unfortunately there are too many of these, and experience has
given me first-hand examples. It seems the Marquis Breme was right
when he said: Parental love, like other love, goes round with its eyes
shut and often without realising it causes more harm than good...
Your dear and devoted friend Fr Zucca.
(From M. Molineris, Nuova vita di Domenico Savio, Colle Don Bosco
1974, pp. 63–64).
It is possible to visit the building or even use it for retreats and prayer
with small groups, so long as there are prior arrangements with the office
at the Basilica at Colle.
St Peter’s church and the little presbytery
Continuing on a bit further we reach the little chapel dedicated to St
Peter.
It was the church that families from the Becchi usually attended,
since they were too far from the parish at Castelnuovo. In the houses
attached to it on the eastern wall lived the chaplain who was paid by
the families from the area. He operated under the parish priest and had
responsibility for the pastoral care of the immediate area.
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It was here to that young John, when he was eleven or twelve years of
age, had tried to get the people to break off their fun and games and come
to the evening service during the village patronal festivities (cf. BM I,
110–111). But the place is especially connected with the memory of two
people who played a decisive role in Don Bosco’s life: Fr John Calosso
and St Joseph Cafasso.
Fr Calosso and young John Bosco
In the summer of 1829 Fr John Melchior Calosso (Chieri 1760–Morialdo
1830) came to Morialdo as chaplain with responsibility for the pastoral
care of that area. He had been parish priest at Bruino (1791–1813), then,
due to a series of calumnies and misunderstandings, he had lost that
appointment and then went and helped his brother Carlo Vincenzo first
of all, who was parish priest at Berzano di San Pietro (Asti), and then
helped the parish priest at Carignano. He lived in the little presbytery
that we can still see.
He played an important role in John’s life as a young teenager when
he returned from the Moglia farm and found getting on with Anthony
very difficult.
They first met coming down the road from Buttigliera to Morialdo,
between 5 and 9 November 1829, coming home after being at the
mission that was being preached as part of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year
announced by Pius VIII. In their discussions Fr Calosso discovered that
John was a bright and good lad and offered to help him with his studies.
This was the beginning of a deep and constructive friendship. The
elderly priest, even more than teaching John the rudiments of Latin, also
taught this fourteen year old farming lad the early steps for a genuinely
spiritual life.
Don Bosco recalls this with special emotion:
I put myself completely into Fr Calosso’s hands. He had become
chaplain at Murialdo only a few months before. I bared my soul to
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him. Every word, thought, and act I revealed to him promptly. This
pleased him because it made it possible for him to have an influence
on both my spiritual and temporal welfare.
It was then that I came to realise what it was to have a regular spiritual
director. a faithful friend of one’s soul. I had not had one up till
then. Amongst other things he forbade a penance I used to practise:
he deemed it unsuited to my age and circumstances. He encouraged
frequent confession and communion. He taught me how to make a
short daily meditation, or more accurately, a spiritual reading. I spent
all the time I could with him; I stayed with him on feast days. I went to
serve his Mass during the week when I could. From then on 1 began to
savour the spiritual life; up to then I had acted in a purely mechanical
way, not knowing the reasons. In mid-September, I began a regular
study of Italian grammar, and soon I was able to write fairly good
compositions, At Christmas I went on to study Latin. By Easter I was
attempting Italian-Latin and Latin-Italian translations. All this time I
persevered with my usual acrobatics in the field, or in the barn during
the winter; everything my teacher said or did – his every word, I could
say – provided edifying material for my audiences (MO Ch. 4).
After moving between home and presbytery for a while, dividing his
time between work in the fields and study, John went and lived with the
chaplain, offering his services in exchange. Thus he spent some months
in peace and study while continuing to help at home (cf. MO Ch. 5).
Unfortunately, on 21 November 1830 Fr Calosso was struck down
by a heart attack. John gave the key to the small safe to the priest’s
relatives. The dying man had given it to him. There was something like
6000 lire in the safe (cf. BM I, 162), a considerable amount when one
considers that the annual salary of a public school teacher at the time
was around 600-700 lire.
He found himself on his own again dealing with his studies and the
growth in his idea of his vocation, even though his ideas were now clearer
and his spirit stronger and more mature:
Fr Calosso’s death was a great loss to me. I wept inconsolably over my
dead benefactor. I thought of him in my waking hours and dreamt of
him when I was asleep. It affected me so badly that my mother feared
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for my health. She sent me for a while to my grandfather in Capriglio.
At this time I had another dream. In it I was sorely reproached for
having put my hope in men and not in our good heavenly Father (MO
Ch. 6).
The encounter between the cleric Cafasso and John Bosco as a boy
At Morialdo, during one of the religious feasts (maybe in 1830?), in
front of the church door, John first got to know Joseph Cafasso who
was then a young cleric and this foreshadowed another very fruitful
friendship:
It was the second Sunday of October, 1827, and the people of
Murialdo were celebrating their patronal feast, the Motherhood of
Mary. There was a great air of activity about the place; some were
preparing the church, others engaged in family chores; some were
playing games, others looking on.
One person I noticed was taking no part in the festivities. He was a
slightly-built, bright-eyed cleric, kindly and pure in appearance. He
was leaning against the church door. Though I was only twelve years
old, I was struck by his appearance and felt I would like to meet him.
I went over and spoke to him.
“Father,” I said, “would you care to see what’s going on at our feast?
I’d like to act as your guide.”
He kindly beckoned me closer. He asked me how old I was, what
studies I had done, if I had made my first communion, how often
I went to confession, where I went to catechism, and so on. I was
spellbound by his manner of speaking and answered all his questions
without hesitation. To show my gratitude for his friendliness, I once
more offered to show him round the various entertainments and
novelties.
“My dear friend,” he replied, “the entertainments of a priest are
church ceremonies. The more devoutly they are celebrated, the more
pleasurable do they turn out for us. The new attractions are the
practices of religion. These are ever new and therefore should be
diligently attended. I’m only waiting for the church to open so I can
go in.”
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I plucked up my courage to add to the discussion. “But Father,” I
suggested, “though what you say is true, there’s a time for everything, a
time to pray and a time to play.” He smiled. But I have never forgotten
his parting words, which were his plan of action for his whole life: "A
cleric gives himself to the Lord. Nothing in the world must be more
important to him than the greater glory of God and the salvation of
souls (MO Ch. 6).
St Joseph Cafasso (1811–1860) would end up being his teacher of
pastoral theology, confessor and spiritual director for the first twenty
years of Don Bosco’s priesthood. In 1841, after his priestly ordination,
when John Bosco was deciding on what pastoral activity to choose –
which included the possibility of the chaplaincy at Morialdo – Cafasso
convinced him to go to the Pastoral Institute in Turin to round of
his pastoral and cultural studies. In fact he had understood the special
mission the Lord was reserving for the young priest from the Becchi.
At the end of the holidays, I had three situations to choose from. I
could have taken a post as tutor in the house of a Genoese gentleman
with a salary of a thousand francs a year. The good people of Murialdo
were so anxious to have me as their chaplain that they were prepared
to double the salary paid to chaplains up to then. Last, I could have
become a curate in my native parish. Before I made a final choice,
I sought out Fr Caffasso [note: Don Bosco always spelt it this way
instead of “Cafasso”]. For several years now he had been my guide
in matters both spiritual and temporal. That holy priest listened to
everything, the good money offers, the pressures from relatives and
friends, my own goodwill to work. Without a moment’s hesitation,
this is what he said: “You need to study moral theology and homiletics.
For the present, forget all these offers and come to the Convitto.”
I willingly followed his wise advice; on 3 November 1841, I enrolled
at the Convitto (MO Ch. 27).
St Peter’s church and Dominic Savio
Some years later this little village church was also a place of prayer
and fervour for Dominic Savio as a child. In the ten or so years he
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lived at Morialdo he learned to served the chaplain’s, Fr Zucca’s Mass
(1818–1878) there. In his Life of Dominic Savio Don Bosco has this
little scene:
He was only five years old when he learned to serve Mass and he always
did so with great attention. He tried to be at Mass every day, and if
there was someone else serving he would hear Mass from the benches.
As he was rather small, he could not reach the missal when it was on
the altar. It brought a smile to one’s lips to see him anxiously coming
up to the altar, standing on tip-toe and reaching as far as he could
in the effort to get hold of the missal-stand. If the priest saying Mass
wanted to please him, on no account should he change the missal over
himself, but pull the stand right to the edge where Dominic could get
hold of it and carry it triumphantly to the other side (DS Ch. 2).
Fr Zucca was also the primary school teacher for the children in the
village. The school – opened in 1847-1848 after legislation based on
the Boncompagni Law 1848 – was in a room on the first floor of the
presbytery. The entrance to this was from inside the church to the right
of the church entrance. Dominic attended there from 1848 to 1850.
When his age and health allowed him, he continued his upper primary
schooling at Castelnuovo (1852–1853).
From 1838 to 1852, the family of Giuseppe Bergoglio and Maria
Arma Giachino, the great-great-grandparents of Pope Francis, lived on
the Amaud farm near St Peter’s Church. During this period they had five
children. They then moved a few kilometres away from Porto Comaro.
These dates coincide with the presence of the Savio family in
Morialdo (1843–1853). Therefore, they knew and dealt with each
other. Moreover, the children were of Dominic's age. And, we can
venture to say – without being certain of it – that Don Bosco himself
could have met both the Savio and Bergoglio families.
The Sussambrino hillside
Along the main road, on the right as you go from the Becchi to
Castelnuovo, and just in front of the turnoff to Buttigliera, there is a
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hillside covered in flourishing vineyards and on that hill is the house at
Sussambrino.
The farm house
In 1830 Joseph Bosco, just turned 18, rented this property along with
Joseph Febbraro and moved to the house there, bringing his mother
Margaret and brother John with him. So peace and quiet returned to the
family scene, and a little more financial security, although the workload
had doubled. The mother and her younger son, in fact, would alternate
between here and the Becchi, depending on the needs of both farms.
Following Fr Calosso’s death John had enrolled in the school
at Castelnuovo and began attending there from halfway through
December 1830. It was slightly less far from Sussambrino. Just the same,
by foot and four times a day, it was a difficult road to travel, especially in
the snow and ice of winter. To help him, Margaret found him a place to
stay in Castelnuovo.
The Boscos were here for nine years. Meanwhile Joseph married
Maria Calosso (9 May 1833). They gave birth to Marghereta (1834, who
only lived two and a half months), Filomena (1835–1926) and Rosa
Domenica (1838–1878). Another seven children were born at the new
house at the Becchi, between 1841 and 1856.
John transferred to Chieri in 1831 to attend school there and after
went to the seminary. He would return to Sussambrino for summer and
autumn holidays. By now he was a strong young man who could lend a
hand on the farm, though he would also find some time for study. There
is a bronze bust on the wall of the old house recalling these happy and
busy years.
Don Bosco tells us about his holidays while he was at the seminary:
Holidays were dangerous times for clerical students. In those days our
summer break ran to four and a half months. I spent my time reading
and writing; but not having as yet learnt how to use my days profitably,
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I wasted many of them in fruitless activity. I tried to kill time by sheer
manual labor. On the lathe I turned spindles, pegs, spinning tops, and
wooden balls. I made clothes and shoes and I worked wood and iron.
To this very day there are in my house at Murialdo a writing desk,
a dinner table, and some chairs, masterpieces to remind me of my
summer holiday activities. I worked in the fields, too, harvesting hay
and wheat. I trimmed the vines, harvested the grapes, and made the
wine, and so on. I also found time for my youngsters, as I used to, but
this was possible only on feast days. It was a great consolation for me to
catechise many of my companions who were sixteen or seventeen years
old but were deprived of the truths of the faith. I also taught some
of them quite successfully to read and write. They were so anxious
to learn that many youngsters of a variety of ages surrounded me.
I charged no tuition, but I insisted on diligence, concentration, and
monthly confession. At first some were not inclined to accept these
conditions. They went their own way, but their departure served to
inspire and spur on those who stayed.
I also began to preach and to lecture with the permission of my parish
priest, and with his help (MO Ch. 20).
It is also worth recalling his discussion with his mother at Sussambrino
the day before he entered the seminary:
On the evening before my departure she called me to her and spoke to
me these unforgettable words:
“My dear John, you have put on the priestly habit. I feel all the
happiness that any mother could feel in her son’s good fortune. Do
remember this, however: it’s not the habit that honours your state,
but the practice of virtue. If you should ever begin to doubt your
vocation, then – for heaven’s sake! – do not dishonor this habit. Put it
aside immediately. I would much rather have a poor farmer for a son,
than a priest who neglects his duties.
“When you came into the world, I consecrated you to the Blessed
Virgin. When you began your studies, I recommended to you
devotion to this Mother of ours. Now I say to you, be completely hers;
love those of your companions who have devotion to Mary; and if you
become a priest, always preach and promote devotion to Mary.”
My mother was deeply moved as she finished these words, and I cried.
“Mother,” I replied, “I thank you for all you have said and done for
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me. These words of yours will not prove vain; I will treasure them all
my life” (MO Ch. 18).
The vineyards and water-fountain at Renenta
On the sunny side of the hill there were – and something of them still
remains – thriving vineyards. There was the one that belonged to his
old friend Joseph Turco. While looking after the grapes at harvest time,
John had revealed to him why he was studying: to become a priest for
poor and abandoned boys. He also told him about a dream he had at
Sussambrino. He saw the valley changed into a large city with crowds of
boys squabbling in the streets and squares. Like in the dream when he
was nine, a noble man and a woman appeared and told him how to turn
them into good Christians (cf. BM I, 315–317).
At the foot of the hill, right on the road, there is a brick arch covering
an old basin which collected waters from a nearby spring. This is the
so-called Renenta fountain, named after the hillside that runs from
Sussambrino in the direction of the Becchi. The road there now is higher
than the original track and a little removed from it. During drought
times this was the only place the local farmers could find water. We can
imagine how John Bosco had drunk from here more than once, and also
taken water from there for the animals.
Joseph Turco’s vineyard, so dear to Don Bosco, was very close by
and later he would say: “I pursued my studies in Joseph Turco’s vineyard
at Renenta” (BM I, 315).
CAPRIGLIO
House where Mamma Margaret was born
Two kilometres from the Becchi we find Capriglio (230 metres above
sea-level), a small village made up of hamlets spread around those
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hills. At Cecca (on the right for someone coming from the Becchi
towards Capriglio), we can still find the house where Don Bosco’s
mother Margaret was born on 1 April 1788, the sixth child of Melchior
Occhiena and Domenica Bossone.
It is a simple rural home, well-restored today and with new owners.
There is a plaque visible on the wall recalling the event. There is a well
in the garden, still visible, where they got water for daily needs.
Margaret lived here until the day she was married, and probably her
brother, Uncle Michael (1795–1867), continued living there. He was a
good help at difficult moments. It was Michael who brought John back
from the Moglia farm, helping him to find a school and a place to live in
Chieri.
It is interesting to note that Don Bosco’s maternal grandfather,
Melchiorre, died on 11 January 1844 at 92; so he had the joy of seeing
his grandson ordained.
Parish church and Fr Joseph Lacqua’s presbytery
About a kilometre from the Occhiena house is the parish square at
Capriglio. Margaret, baptised there the day she was born, attended this
church all the time she lived in the area and this is where she married
Francis Bosco on 6 June 1812.
Next to the square beside the church is the house where Fr Joseph
Lacqua lived. He was also the village teacher. These days you can find
the Mamma Margaret Museum in this area. The teacher taught all the
children from the surrounding area. John was one of his little pupils
for two winters. Although he belonged to another shire, he attended
there thanks to his Aunt Marianna Occhiena (1785–1857), who was
Fr Lacqua’s housekeeper. We are not sure of the dates, but it was
probably between 1824 and 1827. This was the future Don Bosco’s
first experience of school. He lived with his grandparents and uncles and
aunts at Cecca during this time.
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Don Bosco writes in his Memoirs:
I had reached my ninth year. My mother wanted to send me to school,
but she felt very uneasy because of the distance. The distance to
Castelnuovo from where we lived was more than three miles; my
brother Anthony was opposed to my boarding there. A compromise
was eventually agreed upon. During the winter season I would attend
school at the nearby village of Capriglio. In this way I was able to learn
the basic elements of reading and writing. My teacher was a devout
priest called Joseph Delacqua. He was very attentive to my needs,
seeing to my instruction and even more to my Christian education.
During the summer months I went along with what my brother
wanted by working in the fields (MO Ch. 1).
He was always very fond of his first teacher. In 1841, as a new priest,
he went and visited him at Ponzano, where Fr Lacqua had transferred
as a teacher. He died at Godio (hamlet belonging to Castelletto Merli
in Alessandria), on 3 January 1847, at 83 years of age. Aunt Marianna,
at Don Bosco’s invitation, spent her last years at Valdocco, helping
Mamma Margaret, and died there on 21 June 1857.
During the holidays, while studying theology at Chieri, the cleric
Bosco was invited to Capriglio to give the homily on the feast of Mary’s
birthday:
In Alfiano I preached on the Holy Rosary in the holidays after my
year of physics. In Castelnuovo d’Asti, at the end of my first year
of theology, I spoke on St Bartholomew the Apostle. In Capriglio
I preached about the nativity of Mary. But I do not know how
much fruit this bore. Everywhere I got high praise. In fact vainglory
somewhat carried me away, till I was brought down to earth as follows:
One day, after my sermon on the birth of Mary, I asked someone who
seemed to be one of the more intelligent what he thought of it. He
was full of praise for it but spoiled it by saying, “Your sermon was on
the souls in purgatory.” And I had preached the glories of Mary! (MO
Ch. 20).
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Recent developments
The old school building was transformed in 2006 into the Mamma
Margaret Civic Museum. Although the museum is dedicated to Don
Bosco’s mother, the different rooms of the museum describe, above all,
what rural life was like in Capriglio two hundred years ago; and it allows
us to contemplate the traditions of the area, the plaster ceilings and the
use of herbs to cure small daily ailments. The museum covers several
floors. The visit begins in the entrance hall, with souvenirs of the school
that John attended as a small boy, documents regarding his mother,
historical photos of the house where he was born and genealogical
records.
From here we can access the basement where there is a reconstruction
of the cellar belonging to Melchiorre Occhiena, Margaret’s father, while
in an adjoining cellar there are posters and photographs describing
local viniculture. A series of tunnels dug into the rock, now no longer
passable, and that once connected houses and land in the district, lead
from these rooms. In another room at ground floor level you can see
paintings with votive scenes by Massimo Braceo, souvenirs and religious
furnishings.
On the stairs leading to the next floor there are photographs of
the votive pillars found in the area. Three of the four rooms on this
floor contain a photographic collection on the families and peasant
traditions of Capriglio and mannequins with costumes from the late
nineteenth century. The aim is to highlight the use of plaster in the Asti
area, the development of ceilings made of this material with the help
of carved wooden matrices. The fourth room preserves the memories
of Sister Vera Occhiena and Don Mario Caustico, Salesian martyrs. The
staircase leading to this floor contains photographs of the Capriglio area,
trails, green ways, fountains and mills, while the two rooms that can be
accessed contain panels on medicinal herbs and a number of displays
with fossils from the area.
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There is a statue of Mamma Margaret placed on a stone pedestal
in front of the museum, the work of artist Riccardo Cordero. It was
blessed on Sunday 3 April 2006. The statue is made of bronze. It is
175 centimetres high and weighs 172 kilograms. It is a gift of Sister
Margherita Occhiena, a distant relative of Don Bosco’s mother and, like
her, from Serra de Capriglio.
CASTELNUOVO DON BOSCO
This fertile agricultural centre in Asti Province, well-known for its
viticulture and associated products, stands on a hill in the lower
Monferrato, at 240 metres above sea level and is fed by the Traversola
stream. It is 30 km from Asti but leans towards Turin by preference,
only 20 kms away or thereabouts. Today it has some 2,800 inhabitants,
while in Don Bosco’s time it would have been closer to 3,000. It includes
four other largish villages: Bardella, Nevissano, Ranello (where Dominic
Savio’s grandparents lived) and Morialdo. It was the chief town in the
local district with jurisdiction over Albugnano, Berzano, Buttigliera,
Moncucco, Mondonio, Pino and Primeglio.
In the nineteenth century there was a market there every Thursday
and two fairs a year, one on the first Tuesday after Easter and the other
on the last Monday of November. These were especially for beef sales,
but also for haberdashery – cloth, canvas etc.
This was Don Bosco’s home town, now named after him, but it
was also the birthplace of other famous people in the 19th century. We
can remember: St Joseph Cafasso (1811–1860), confessor and friend
of Don Bosco’s, and a great spiritual director and formator for priests;
Blessed Joseph Allamano (1851–1926), nephew of Cafasso’s, pupil of
Don Bosco’s and founder of the Consolata missionaries; Cardinal John
Cagliero (1838–1926), one of Don Bosco’s first disciples and who began
the Salesian work in South America; Bishop John Baptist Bertagna
(1828–1905), the first cleric to live in at the Oratory, then became
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professor of moral theology and Rector of the Pastoral Institute and
finally auxiliary bishop and rector of the seminary in Turin.
While living at Morialdo (1844–1853), Dominic Savio went to the
upper primary school at Castelnuovo (from 21 June 1852 to February
1853 when he moved to Mondonio with his parents).
Don Bosco’s grandfather, Filippo Antonio, who came from Chieri,
lived in Castelnuovo for some time before finally moving to the Becchi
(1793).
In the square (Piazza Don Bosco) at the bottom of the road leading
up to the town hall and parish church there is a marble statue showing
Don Bosco amongst his boys: one a European the other a South
American native boy. It is the work of Giovanni Antonio Stuardi
(sculptor from Poirino), and was erected by the people of Castelnuovo
in 1898, ten years after the Saint’s death, the first monument built in his
honour.
St Andrew’s parish church
The parish church is built above the town near the ruins of the
Rivalba castle and other ancient buildings. It was originally a Gothic
building but was altered to the Baroque in the early 17th century
and rebuilt. Inside it has 17th century paintings by Guglielmo Caccia
known as Moncalvo (1568–1625), while the oval icon on the main altar,
representing the Patron Saint Andrew, is attributed to Rassoso (Vittorio
Amedeo Rapous?).
This church, too, is a reminder of some of Don Bosco’s important
religious stages.
He was baptised there on 17 August 1815. His godparents were
his maternal grandfather Melchiorre Occhiena and his paternal Aunt
Maddalena Bosco. The baptismal font in the first chapel on the right
as you enter the church was replaced in 1873. Only a fragment remains
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of the old one – fixed to the wall. Saint Joseph Cafasso and the other
famous individuals from Castelnuovo were also baptised here.
At Easter 1826, when he was eleven, John Bosco made his
First Communion here after being carefully prepared by his mother
Margaret.
This was one of Don Bosco’s clearest memories:
I was eleven years old when I made my first holy communion. I knew
my catechism well. The minimum age for first communion was twelve
years. Because we lived far from the parish church, the parish priest
did not know us, and my mother had to do almost all the religious
instruction. She did not want me to get any older before my admission
to that great act of our religion, so she took upon herself the task of
preparing me as best she could. She sent me to catechism class every
day of Lent. I passed my examination, and the date was fixed. It was
the day on which all the children were to make their Easter duty.
In the big crowd, it was impossible to avoid distractions. My mother
coached me for days and brought me to confession three times during
that Lent.
“My dear John,” she would say, “God is going to give you a wonderful
gift. Make sure you prepare well for it. Go to confession and don’t
keep anything back. Tell all your sins to the priest, be sorry for them
all, and promise God to do better in the future.” I promised all that.
God alone knows whether I have been faithful to my resolution.
At home, she saw to it that I said my prayers and read good books; and
she always came up with the advice which a diligent mother knows
how to give her children.
On the morning of my first communion, my mother did not permit
me to speak to anyone. She accompanied me to the altar and together
we made our preparation and thanksgiving. These were led by Father
Sismondi, the vicar forane, in a loud voice, alternating responses with
everyone.
It was my mother’s wish for that day that I should refrain from manual
work. Instead, she kept me occupied reading and praying. Amongst
the many things that my mother repeated to me many times was this:
"My dear son, this is a great day for you. I am convinced that God has
really taken possession of your heart. Now promise him to be good
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as long as you live. Go to communion frequently in the future, but
beware of sacrilege. Always be frank in confession, be obedient always,
go willingly to catechism and sermons. But for the love of God, avoid
like the plague those who indulge in bad talk. (MO Ch. 4).
On 25 October 1835, a few days before he entered the seminary,
when Bosco was twenty, the parish priest, Fr Anthony Cinzano, gave
him the cassock. “Many young boys and young men had come from
neighboring villages to witness the ceremony” (BM I, 369).
On this occasion John Bosco wrote down the following Rule of life:
For the future I will never take part in public shows during fairs or at
markets. Nor will I attend dances or the theatre, and as far as possible
I will not partake of the dinners usual on such occasions.
I will no longer play games of dice or do conjuring tricks, acrobatics,
sleight of hand, tightrope walking. I will give up my violin-playing and
hunting. These things I hold totally contrary to ecclesiastical dignity
and spirit.
I will love and practice a retiring life, temperance in eating and
drinking. I will allow myself only those hours of rest strictly necessary
for health.
In the past I have served the world by reading secular literature.
Henceforth I will try to serve God by devoting myself to religious
reading.
I will combat with all my strength everything, all reading, thoughts,
conversations, words, and deeds contrary to the virtue of chastity. On
the contrary, I will practice all those things, even the smallest, which
contribute to preserving this virtue.
Besides the ordinary practices of piety, I will never neglect to make a
little meditation daily and a little spiritual reading.
Every day I will relate some story or some maxim advantageous to the
souls of others. I will do this with my companions, friends, relatives,
and when I cannot do it with others, I will speak with my mother (MO
Ch. 17).
On Thursday 10 June 1841, the Feast of Corpus Christi, Don Bosco
sang his first Solemn Mass in this church. This was the fifth Mass he
celebrated after his ordination on 5 June.
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Here too he served as assistant priest for five months, until he
entered the Pastoral Institute the following November:
I found the work a great pleasure. I preached every Sunday. I
visited the sick and administered the holy sacraments to them, except
penance since I had not yet taken the exam. I buried the dead, kept the
parish records, wrote out certificates of poverty, and so on. My delight
was to make contact with the children and teach them catechism.
They used to come from Murialdo to see me, and on my visits home
they crowded round me. I was also beginning to make companions
and friends in town. Whenever I left the presbytery there was a group
of boys, and everywhere I went my little friends gave me a warm
welcome (MO Ch. 26).
Dominic Savio, too, was confirmed in this church on 13 April 1853,
his family already at Mondonio. He was confirmed with another 800(!)
from around neighbouring towns. The Bishop was Luigi Moreno,
Bishop of Ivrea.
The Baroque pulpit, sculptured from walnut, reminds us of Don
Bosco’s first experiences as a preacher. And as a young cantor he would
have learned to sing at the organ under the guidance of tailor John
Roberto (cf. MO Ch. 6.
The presbytery
The presbytery is on the left after leaving the square and heading down
towards the town. According to information collected by Fr Lemoyne,
John went there in the holidays in 1832, after his first year at school in
Chieri, because the parish priest, Fr Bartolomeo Dassano – having seen
him study while he was looking after the animals – admired him for
this and offered him some extra work in Latin, with the help also of the
assistant priest. The young student paid him back by looking after his
horse, and that also gave him a chance to learn a bit of horsemanship
(BM I, 205).
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The next parish priest, Fr Anthony Cinzano, whom he was very
fond of, took him in for the five months after his ordination and would
have liked him to stay on as assistant priest. But following Fr Cafasso’s
advice, he decided to go to Turin and finish off his studies. Their
relationship however remained strong and Don Bosco considered the
presbytery as his second home. During the famous “autumn walks”, the
presbytery at Castelnuovo was always the first stop. Fr Lemoyne tells us
that Fr Cinzano, invited to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Rosary at the
Becchi, demanded that Don Bosco and his boys make a return visit, and
inviting his helpers and setting up a stove in one corner of the courtyard,
he would prepare a huge pot of polenta. While they were waiting, the
choir boys would keep the good priest happy. He was always keen to hear
good classical music, so they would perform pieces especially reserved for
that occasion (BM V, 225).
The baptismal register is kept in the parish archives, including
reference to John Bosco’s baptism.
The public school
A few metres further down the hill we find the Castelnuovo school
on the right, built exactly in the same place as the old school building
attended by Joseph Cafasso and John Bosco. The latter went there in
1830–1831.
At the time, since the local council had few financial resources, there
were only two teachers: the teacher at the council school (meaning the two
primary years) and the teacher at the public school (in Castelnuovo they
had the so-called “lower grammar (Latinitas)”: Sixth, Fifth and Fourth
class (note how the classes were named in reverse order to what we are
used to). He would have had as many as seventy pupils all doing different
things according to the course they were attending.
Fr Emanuele Virano was John’s teacher. He was a young and very
capable and energetic priest and teacher and got on very well with
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his oldest pupil (older than the other boys anyway) and encouraged
him. But he was made parish priest of Mondonio in April and the
seventy-year-old Fr Nicola Moglia took his place, an uncle of Luigi
Moglia who had taken John in as a farmhand at the farm in Moncucco.
The new teacher was unable to control such a large class and may have
been biased against the young Bosco who was in Sixth Class. John made
little progress and “whatever was learned in the earlier months was
blown away” (MO Ch. 6).
After the first days of attending school, seeing how difficult it was
to make the walk every day, Mamma Margaret solved the situation with
the assistance of a tailor at Castelnuovo, John Roberto. He began by
offering John lunch, then full board. This way as a student he could use
his time better, and during free moments learned how to cut and stitch.
The tailor was also an organist and choirmaster. John had a good voice
and was also quick to pick up music, so he learned to play the cymbals
and violin and sang at parish functions.
Don Bosco tells us about his time with John Roberto:
I found lodgings with an upright man, a tailor, John Roberto; he had
a taste for singing, especially plain chant. I Since I had a good voice,
I took up music wholeheartedly. In a few months, I could go up to
the choir loft and sing the solo parts. Eager to use my free time, I took
up tailoring. Before long I was able to make buttonholes and hems
and sew simple and double seams. Later I learned how to cut out
underwear, waistcoats, trousers, and coats. I fancied myself already a
master tailor (MO Ch. 6).
When he was free of homework young Bosco also helped Evasio
Savio the blacksmith (+ 1868). In 1834 he would play a decisive role in
seeing that John did not become a Franciscan, encouraging him to ask Fr
Cafasso for advice and insisting with the new parish priest, Fr Cinzano
that he help him go to the seminary (cf. BM V, 227–228).
John Roberto’s house and blacksmith Evasio Savio’s forge are
located on the slope leading to the church, before the school.
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St Bartholomew’s chapel
In front of the school a street leads down to the town square. In 1834
the Mayor was Cavaliere John Pescarmona. Together with Mr Sartoris
and Fr Cinzano, they gave John Bosco the financial help he needed to
complete his schooling at Chieri and the following year helped him as
he moved to the seminary (cf. BM I, 227).
On the left there is a ramp leading up to St Bartholomew’s church.
There is some evidence that this is where the young cleric Bosco
preached some of his early sermons, one which had great success: on 24
August 1840, the preacher who was supposed to be preaching on the
Saint’s feast day was not able to be there, and John took his place at the
last moment, with brilliant results (cf. BM I, 363-364).
The church of Our Lady of the Castle
In the highest part of the town where the medieval castle of Rivalba
stood, there is a small church to Our Lady: Madonna del castello or
della cintura, a feast celebrated on 15 August. John often went up there,
especially for Feasts of Our Lady.
MONDONIO
Dominic Savio’s house
Two kilometres from Castelnuovo, on the road to Gallareto and
Montechiaro (4 kms from Morialdo if you take the road across the
hill), we come across Mondonio, the village where, on 9 March 1857,
Dominic Savio died. Charles Savio (1815–1891) and Brigid Gajato
(1820–1871), married on 1 March 1840, moved here with their children
in February 1853, and lived in the first house you see on the left as you
climb up the steep little road into the village. The house was rented
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out by the Bertello brothers, and the Savios lived there until 1879. The
Salesians bought it in 1917, paying 2,000 lire for it.
On the ground floor, we find the kitchen (you can see the fireplace
in the wall) which leads to the room where Dominic died on 9 March
1857.
Don Bosco describes Dominic’s death in these words:
He said some prayers with the boy and then as he was about to go
Dominic said to him:
“Father, before going, leave me a parting thought to keep with me.”
“Really I don’t know what to suggest.”
“Something that will strengthen and comfort me.”
“All right; try to keep in mind the Passion of Our Saviour.”
“Deo gratias,” replied Dominic, “May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus
Christ be always in my mind and heart and on my lips. Jesus, Mary
and Joseph help me now when I am dying; Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
may I die at peace with you.”
After that he fell asleep for half an hour. When he woke up he looked
round him and said:
“Dad, are you there?”
“Here I am son, what do you want?”
“Dad, it is time; get my The Companion of Youth. He was indicating
a book addressed entirely to young people, with the title: The
Companion of Youth in fulfilling their duties, for the exercises of
Christian piety, for reciting the Office of the Blessed Virgin, Vespers
throughout the year, etc. and read me the prayers for the Exercise of a
Happy Death.”
At these words his mother burst into tears and hurried from the room.
His father’s eyes filled with tears, but choking back his sobs, he got
the book and read the prayers. As he went through them Dominic
answered clearly. “Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me .... .”
When his father reached the final part which runs: “When for the first
time my soul will see the wonderful majesty of God, do not drive it
away, but take it to heaven to sing your praises for all eternity . . .” he
said:
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“Yes, Dad - that is what I want so much, to sing the praises of Jesus for
all eternity.”
He dropped off to sleep again, but it was like he was reflecting on
things of great importance. He awoke after a short while. Then in a
clear voice he said:
“Goodbye, Dad, goodbye . . . what was it the parish priest suggested
to me ... I don’t seem to remember . . . Oh, what wonderful things I
see ....”
And so saying, with a beautiful smile on his face, and his hands joined
on his breast he gave up his soul to God without any struggle (DS
Ch.24)
From this room where Dominic died (it was probably where his
mother Brigida worked as a seamstress), a wooden staircase led to the
upper floor. It is no longer there but you can guess where it was from a
door that was located on the north wall and opened into an area used at
the time as a storage area.
Today we reach the upper floor by a more recently built staircase
which is part of the neighbouring house. The external balcony you see
did not exist then either.
On the upper floor, the parents’ bedroom was above the kitchen
and the children’s bedroom next to it. The area above the storage space
mentioned earlier and which could also be reached directly from the
road behind the house, was used by his father Charles as a workshop for
his father’s work as a smithy.
The Savios had ten children. Six died as children or at a very
young age: Domenico Giuseppe Carlo (3–18 November 1840), (Saint)
Dominic Joseph (1842–1857), Carlo (15–16 February 1844), M. Teresa
Adelaide (1847–1859), Giuseppe Guglielmo (1853–1865), Maria Luigia
(1863–1864).
After his wife Brigida died (1871), Carlo went to Valdocco with
Don Bosco after seeing that his daughters were successfully married
off: Maria Caterina Raimonda (1845–1912), Maria Caterina Elisabetta
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(1856–1915?) and Maria Firmina Teresa (1859–1933), in 1878, leaving
just Giovanni Pietro, the remaining son (1850–1894). Carlo died at
Valdocco on 16 December 1891 at 76 years of age.
In front of the house we find the first monument ever erected
to Dominic Savio. It was blessed in 1920 by Cardinal John Cagliero
who had been Dominic’s assistant and music teacher at the Oratory in
Valdocco.
Parish church and school
If we climb up the road hugging the Savio house we reach the parish
church of St James. Until he left for Valdocco Dominic attended Mass
here each day and also during his holidays. He liked to pray before
the statue to Our Lady of the Rosary, in a niche at the back of the
church on the right as you enter. The statue is no longer there today:
in 1863 it was taken to the little church of Saint Maria di Rasetto, near
Castelnuovo, where Dominic’s grandfather lived. The village celebrated
its feast day on Our Lady of the Rosary feast which was then the first
Sunday in October, as Don Bosco had begun to do at the Becchi from
1848 onwards 1848. On Monday 2 October 1854, the day after the feast,
Dominic and his father – through the intercession of Fr Cugliero, the
school teacher in the village – went over to the Becchi to meet Don
Bosco.
The parish priest at Mondonio, Fr Dominic Grassi (1804–1860),
attended the Savio family during Dominic’s final illness, heard his
confession, brought him Viaticum and on the morning of 9 March
1857 gave him the Final Anointing and the Papal blessing. That same
evening towards half past eight, he visited Dominic for the last time
and after having said some prayers and asked him for a little thought to
remember him by, he suggested to the dying boy that he think of Our
Lord’s passion.
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A little further on from the church facade there is a small lane
running up on the left that leads to a building that since the 19th
century and until fairly recent times was used as the village primary
school. Dominic Savio went there from February 1853 to June 1854,
taught by Fr Joseph Cugliero.
This is where the event that Don Bosco recalls took place. Unjustly
accused of playing up, he put up with the blame and punishment from
his teacher without a word, to ensure that those really to blame would
not be expelled. There is a plaque on the wall of this little building, put
there in 1952, recalling the event (but the date on the stone is wrong:
not 1852, but 1853).
Cemetery chapel
Below the Savio house, near the main road, we still find the old chapel
that was part of the village cemetery and this is where Dominic was
buried, as also his mother and the other children. The cemetery was
dismantled in 1942. Dominic’s remains stayed there until 1914 when
they were transferred to the Basilica in Turin for the opening of his
Cause of Beatification.
Dominic had been buried in a simple grave. Two years later, a pious
gentleman from Genoa who had read Don Bosco’s Life of Dominic
(1859), and admired his virtue had a marble slab placed on the grave
with the inscription: “Dominic Savio – model of virtue – for youth –
died – 9 March – MDCCCLVII – at 15 years of age”. In 1866 the
body was exhumed and placed in a new casket which was then brought
into the chapel and placed at the same level as the base of the altar. The
stone given by the man from Genoa was fixed to the outside wall of
the chapel. Today you can find it in the little garden behind the chapel
where the original grave site was. In 1907, on the fiftieth anniversary of
his death, the boy’s remains were placed in a white marble sarcophagus
still visible in the chapel. The Latin inscription, provided by Fr John
Baptist Francesia (1838-1930), his old teacher, runs this way: “Hic - in
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pace Christi quiescit - Dominicus Savio - Joannis Bosco sac. - alumnus
piissimus - anno MCMVII - ad ejus excessu L”, or: “Here in the peace
of Christ lies Dominic Savio, pious pupil of St John Bosco. 1907,
fiftieth anniversary of his death”. and below is a verse from Ecclesiasticus
(51:35): “Modicum laboravi et inveni mihi multam requiem” (How
slight my efforts have been to win so much peace).
The transferral of the body to Turin in 1914 was an adventurous
one! On 19 October, when religious and civic authorities came to
Mondonio to take the body away, they found all the village people lined
up around the chapel to stop them, and somewhat threateningly: they
did not want to lose their young protector. So the formal recognition
part of the ceremony was carried out but not the transferral. Fr Caesar
Albisetti, a future great missionary who was almost due to leave for
Brazil, was given the task of recovering the body! He came from the
Salesian house at Castelnuovo, arriving at Mondonio on foot (27
October); he found the chapel open so picked up the small casket that
had already been taken out of the sarcophagus for the recognition,
and brought it to Turin with the help of a pre-arranged driver and
vehicle. The inhabitants of Mondonio quickly became aware of what
was happening but were not in time to stop him.
BUTTIGLIERA D’ASTI
Agricultural centre located on the edge of the fertile Chieri plain,
299 metres above sea level, had around 1,600 inhabitants in the 19th
century (today closer to 2,000). It is on the road from Riva di Chieri to
Castelnuovo, 4 km from the Becchi.
Parish church
The parish church of St Blaise, still showing vestiges of its earlier Gothic
construction on its outer walls, was rebuilt in Baroque style, designed by
Guarini, in 1686. The choir and sacristy were extended in 1785 designed
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by Mario Ludovico Quarini from Chieri. He also designed the splendid
belltower, completed in 1790. The facade is more recent (1960–64).
The 1829 Jubilee Year and the meeting between Fr Calosso and the
young John Bosco
In 1829, from 5 to 9 November, a triduum was preached at Buttigliera to
gain the indulgences granted by Pius VIII for the extraordinary Jubilee
year. People from nearby villages attended, amongst them Fr Calosso,
the new chaplain at Morialdo, and John Bosco, who had just returned
from his time at the Moglia farm. On the way back the priest had an
opportunity to see some of the boy’s gifts and he offered him help. It was
an encounter between the old man’s wisdom and spiritual experience
and the fresh receptivity of the teenager, and it would be a fruitful and
providential meeting.
Don Bosco tells us about it in all its detail:
That year (1826) there was a solemn mission in Buttigliera. It gave me
a chance to hear several sermons, The preachers were well known and
drew people from everywhere. I went with many others. We had an
instruction and a meditation in the evening, after which we were free
to return home. On one of these April evenings [note: although we
know now that it was actually in November], as I was making my way
home amid the crowd, one of those who walked along with us was Fr
Calosso of Chieri, a very devout priest. Although he was old and bent,
he made the long walk to hear the missioners. He was the chaplain of
Murialdo. He noticed a capless, curly-headed lad amidst the others
but walking in complete silence. He looked me over and then began
to talk with me:
“Where are you from, my son? I gather you were at the mission?”
“Yes, Father, I went to hear the missioners’ sermons.”
“Now, what could you understand of it? I’m sure your mother could
give you a better sermon, couldn't she?”
“Yes, my mother does give me fine instructions. But I like to hear the
missioners as well. And I think I understand them.”
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“If you can remember anything from this evening’s sermons, I’ll give
you two pence.”
“Just tell me whether you wish to hear the first sermon, or the second.”
“Just as you wish,” he said, “as long as you tell me anything from it.
Do you remember what the first sermon was about?”
“It was about the necessity of giving oneself to God in good time and
not putting off one’s conversion.”
“And what was in the sermon?” the venerable old man asked,
somewhat surprised,
“Oh, I remember quite well. If you wish I will recite it all.” Without
further ado, I launched into the preamble and went on to the three
points. The preacher stressed that it was risky to put off conversion
because one could run out of time, or one might lack the grace or the
will to make the change. There, amidst the crowd, he let me rattle on
for half an hour.
Then came a flurry of questions from Father Calosso: “What’s your
name? Who are your family? How much schooling have you had?”
“My name is John Bosco. My father died when I was very young. My
mother is a widow with a family of five to support. I’ve learned to read,
and to write a little.”
“You haven’t studied Donato or grammar, have you?”
“I don’t know what they are, Father.”
“Would you like to study?”
“Oh, indeed I would.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“My brother Anthony.”
“And why doesn’t Anthony want you to study?”
“Because he never liked school himself. He says he doesn’t want
anyone else to waste time on books the way he did. But if I could only
get to school, I would certainly study and not waste time.”
“Why do you want to study?”
“I’d like to become a priest.”
“And why do you want to become a priest?”
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“I’d like to attract my companions, talk to them, and teach them our
religion. They’re not bad, but they become bad because they have no
one to guide them.”
These bold words impressed the holy priest. He never took his eyes off
me while I was speaking. When our ways parted, he left me with these
words: “Cheer up now. I’ll provide for you and your education. Come
to see me on Sunday with your mother. We’ll arrange something.”
The following Sunday my mother and I went along to see him. He
undertook to take me for one lesson a day (MO Ch. 4).
John Bosco’s Confirmation
The parish church also witnessed another basic step in John’s Christian
life. He was 18 when he was confirmed (Sunday 4 August 1833),
along with 1335 others, by Archbishop Giovanni Antonio Gianotti
(1784–1863), from Sassari and later Saluzzo. The sponsors for all
those being confirmed were the mayor, Giuseppe Marzano and a noble
woman called Giuseppina Melyna Countess of Capriglio.
There is a description of the event in an extended item by Fr
Giuseppe Vaccarino (1805–1891) who was parish priest at Buttigliera
for 59 years (1832–1891). This document, published by Prof. Elso
Gramaglia for the early celebrations of the Centenary of Don Bosco’s
death, has the following to say amongst other things:
After Mass he and another priest ... went (Archbishop Gianotti, that
is) to the presbytery to have a coffee; then he came back to the church
vested in a surplice – it was so hot – with mitre and crozier, and they
sang the Veni Creator then said a few prayers for those about to be
confirmed, and the ceremony began.
There were two groups: the first made up of people from Buttigliera,
lasted from 8 until 11 or longer; the second session began at 11.30
after the Archbishop had taken a short break at the noble woman’s
home (note.: Countess Melyna), and finished at 2 in the afternoon.
The number confirmed was 1335, of whom 618 are from Buttigliera,
467 from Castelnuovo, 184 from Moriondo and the rest from other
villages and towns.
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(From E. Gramaglia [ed.], La Cresima di Don Bosco a Buttigliera, in
Grandangolo 4 [1987] 3, p. 3)
Buttigliera’s connection with Don Bosco and the Salesian Family
Don Bosco was always fond of Buttigliera and its people because of
his friendship with the parish priest, Fr Vaccarino and with Countess
Melyna, who would become one of his benefactors. Walking from Turin
to Becchi or the other way around, he would visit them always. When
they came back from the Autumn walks each year the Countess and
the Parish Priest would always welcome the boys from Valdocco and
offer them refreshments. Don Bosco was a good friend of Fr Vaccarino,
a zealous priest who was close to his people: not only did he introduce a
homespun textile industry to the people but he founded a small hospital
and an oratory, inspired by the one at Valdocco, and also a kindergarten.
Buttigliera also reminds us of one of the first Salesian Sisters, Blessed
Madeleine Morano (Chieri 1847 – Catania 1908). Her family moved
here when Madeleine was just two. Her father died in 1855, when she
was working and also studying to be a teacher. Fr Vaccarino had opened
a kindergarten and took her on as the teacher there when she was 14.
After getting her teacher’s certificate she looked after the girls schools at
Montaldo Torinese until the time when the Jesuit priest Fr Francesco
Pellico, Silvio’s brother, advised her to join Don Bosco’s Sisters. Then
as the first Superior in Sicily and later, from 1886, as the Provincial, she
founded a number of works for young girls.
The Càmpora farm
Some 2 kms from there, along the ridge of the hill, we find the Càmpora
farm which is part of the Serra hamlet. Mamma Margaret knew the
owner, a certain Turco from Castelnuovo. In Autumn 1827, when
finances were not good and there was all the tension with Anthony,
John’s mother sent him here for a while as a farmhand. He was only there
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for a few weeks because it was late in the season and work and food were
scarce including for the owners.
Crivelle
Not far from Buttigliera lies Crivelle, which Don Bosco calls Croveglia.
A maternal Uncle of John’s lived here. One year, during the summer
holidays, the young cleric Bosco was invited to festivities. This is where
the famous violin incident took place, during lunch:
It was the feast of St Bartholomew. I was invited by another uncle to
assist at the church services, to sing, and even to play the violin, which
I had given up, though it was my favourite instrument. The church
services went very well. My uncle was in charge of the celebrations, and
the dinner was at his house. So far, so good. Dinner over, the guests
asked me to play something of a light nature for them. I refused. “At
least,” one of the musicians said, “play along with me. I’ll take the lead,
and you play the accompaniment.”
The wretch that I was! I did not have it in me to say no. Taking up
the violin, I played for a while. Then I heard the murmur of voices
and the sound of a lot of dancing feet. I went to the window, and
out in the courtyard was a crowd dancing happily to the sound of my
violin. Words could not describe the anger that welled up in me at that
moment. Turning on the dinner guests, I addressed them vehemently:
“How is it, after I have so often spoken against public shows, that I
should have become their promoter? It will never happen again.” I
smashed the violin into a thousand pieces. I never wanted to use it
again, though opportunities for doing so were not lacking at sacred
ceremonies (MO Ch. 21).
MONCUCCO AND THE MOGLIAS
Along the road from Castelnuovo to Chieri, shortly after Moriondo,
there is a turn off to the right leading to Moncucco and Cinzano. About
a kilometre before the village you turn left for the Moglia hamlet named
after the family who lived there.
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The Moglia homestead
In February 1828, one of the most critical times in financial terms
but also because the problems with Anthony (as the older brother he
felt responsibility for managing the family’s affairs), Mamma Margaret
thought it best to send John away from home for a while. Given the
failed effort to do this at the Càmpora farm in Buttigliera, she sent him
off again in the direction of Mondonio and Moncucco to find work.
Perhaps the Moglias, since they knew him and had good fertile land,
would accept him. The hamlet was well located between Moncucco and
Mombello. Louis, who was the head of the family, had married Dorothy
Filippello from Castelnuovo and they had two children: Catherine, five
and George, three. The uncles, John and Joseph, lived with them and
their sisters Anna and Teresa, who were 18 and 15 respectively.
The boy had knocked at various doors along the way but without
luck, and arrived towards evening, where he spoke to Louis Moglia. He
told him there was little work in the winter months, even for family
members, and wanted to send him away. But through his wife Dorothy’s
insistence and also his sister’s Teresa, who wanted him to look after
the animals, he was convinced to give him a trial run. John soon won
everyone over. A few days later Dorothy asked him to lead the Rosary
and night prayers, which they said in front of a statue to Our Lady
now kept at the Becchi in Joseph’s house. The following week Louis
contacted Mamma Margaret to work out a wage, which was established
as fifteen lire a year plus upkeep. A couple of years later when John came
back to the home (at the beginning of November 1829) he was accepted
as a member of the family.
In autumn, the village teacher, Fr Nicola, also came to the Moglias.
He too was an uncle. In his free moments he would help John go back
over things he had picked up at school in Capriglio. Three years later he
would come across him again at the school in Castelnuovo, but he was
less encouraging in John’s regard at that stage.
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George, the owner’s son, liked John and followed him around
everywhere. Don Bosco continued this friendship in later years; he often
invited him to lunch at the Oratory, and would bring the boys to see him
in autumn, and perform for him. He died in Turin in 1923 at almost a
hundred years of age. He was the one who has given us so many details
about that period and about Don Bosco’s friendship with the Moglias.
Mary, George’s daughter, married Ottavio Casalegno. Charles, their
son, was father to John Casalegno, the last of the original owners at the
Moglia home.
The ancient stable, hayloft and vineyard behind the house have been
preserved. this is where John had worked so hard. The large kitchen of
those days is much smaller today, but the room in which he slept with
little George has been kept as it was. Outside there is a hundred-year-old
mulberry tree: it is thought to be the one in whose shade John would
teach the local kids their catechism and tell them stories. The well and
cellar are also the same.
In the early days of November 1829 his uncle Michael Occhiena
visited. He saw his nephew and also noted how keen he was to continue
with studies, so he encouraged him to come back to the Becchi and said
he would help ease any tensions with Anthony, and help him. That’s
how John came to leave the Moglia farm. This providential invitation
from his uncle was what led to the encounter, a few days, later, with Fr
Calosso on the road from Buttigliera.
The church at Moncucco
Half an hour’s walk from the Moglias along little local lanes, you can
reach Moncucco. Every Saturday evening John would ask permission
to go to the parish church of St John the Baptist so he could be ready
for the early morning Mass on Sunday. They could never understand
why he wanted to go so early, seeing he would also be at the main Mass
later and all the afternoon functions. So one Sunday Dorothy went up
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there early and stayed at a friend’s place. She saw him go into the church
and followed him: John had gone to the confession to the priest, Fr
Francesco Cottino (1768–1840), and then received Communion which
in those days was also distributed before Mass. From that day onwards
they gave him full freedom to go where he wanted.
Seeing how committed he was and how good he was at attracting the
children, Fr Cottino gave him encouragement. He gave him the village
schoolroom on wet and cold days and this became an early pattern for
the oratory.
SAN GIOVANNI DI RIVA
Dominic Savio’s birthplace
Two kms from Riva di Chieri, in a tiny hamlet belonging to S. Giovanni,
lies the house where Dominic Savio was born (2 April 1842). It has been
carefully restored in recent years by young Salesian Cooperators and Past
Pupils from Turin. They have restored some parts but also transformed
other parts into something entirely different, a spirituality centre and
camp site for youth groups.
Once upon a time the house which Carlo Savio rented from
Gaetano Gastaldi was like this: on the ground floor there was the kitchen
and behind it an area used as a cellar or storage area from which you
could go through a door (still there) into a portico which has now
been torn down; on the upper floor above the kitchen was the parents’
bedroom (where, on 2 April 1842 Dominic was born) and behind it the
childrens’ bedroom. You reached the upper floor by a wooden staircase
from outside the house, just like it was at the cottage at the Becchi.
Carlo’s blacksmith shop was presumably in the area behind the
house, between the kitchen and the portico. Today’s staircase was built
in 1930 by the then owner Giuseppe Gastaldi (1891–1964), grandson
of Gaetano who had first rented the property to Carlo Savio. That was
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when they restored the place generally including the roof which sloped
across the nearby house as well. They created four separate parts to the
roof and gave it all new trusses. Giuseppe Gastaldi then, in 1954, gave
the land to the Salesians including where the statue to Dominic stands.
The Savios only lived there a couple of years, until November 1843,
when they moved to Morialdo.
The youth centre
The house and nearby farm area, bought in 1978 from the relatives
of Joseph Gastaldi to be used by the then Salesian Central Province,
was then entrusted in 1981 to lay members of the Salesian family,
Cooperators and Past Pupils, to look after it and to use it for youth
events.
The work took place in two stages. In 1983, the part where
the Gastaldi’s lived was completely renovated: kitchen, dining area,
some bedrooms, toilets and heating, and was fitted out to be able to
accommodate 22 people. In 1985, work began on re-stumping the house
and rebuilding other nearby buildings. This provided three large areas
for overnight stay, three meeting halls, sleeping areas and other services.
This brought the sleeping capacity up to 50. It was opened in May 1987.
The work has three aims: 1) to preserve the place where Don Bosco’s
young pupil once lived; 2) to preserve his memory by using the place
for youth activities; 3) to give lay members of the Salesian Family an
opportunity to carry out an effective educational and pastoral activity
for young people.
The former kitchen in the now restored home of Dominic Savio has
been fitted out as a small chapel. Beside it is a small museum showing his
father’s work as a blacksmith and also something of the farming culture
at the time. The two rooms on the upper floor have reminders of the
young Saint’s life, objects that would have been in use at the time, and
some devotional items especially those which are to do with Dominic
Savio’s interest in mothers giving birth (the so-called scapular many
pregnant mothers ask for when they pray to Dominic to help them.
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Part Two
JOHN BOSCO AT CHIERI
(1831–1841)
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Some details and their significance
THE TEN YEARS AT CHIERI IN DON BOSCO'S LIFE
John Bosco lived in Chieri from November 1831 to May 1841: they were
the decisive years as a teenager and young adult for his personality.
He had turned 16, was a country lad full of good will when he
arrived there. He left there as a twenty-six-year-old priest, on a firm
spiritual footing, culturally prepared and ready to plunge into pastoral
ministry especially for youth.
A tour in two stages: the public school (1831–1835) and the seminary
(1835–1841).
His years at the public school were difficult but lively ones. Difficult
because he had little money, plenty of work and sacrifice, long nights
studying and reading, but there was also the spiritual tension of finding
out what his true vocation was. But they were also lively years filled
with interests, an explosion of human and spiritual gifts, exuberance,
warmth and happy times. The calm city setting was ideal for him to
grow up in. Students were followed up throughout the day in a fairly
demanding but also a humane and friendly way by their teachers, the
Prefect of Studies (responsible for discipline) and the Spiritual Director.
The influence of this school setting was complemented by the interest
shown by the students’ families or the families they were boarding with,
and the deep friendships formed, with all the noise and friendly banter
of these groups and their time together (the Society for a Good Time is
one such).
During his seminary days, gradually leaving behind the lively and
happy rhythm of the earlier years, the cleric Bosco focused on cultural
improvement and his spiritual duties so he could be a priest according
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Some details and their significance
to the model that was offered him there, but without losing any of his
human warmth.
His starting point was to be faithful to his daily duties as laid
down by the strict seminary regime. To the scholastic tasks implied by
the courses he was taking he added his voracious reading of all kinds:
historical, biblical, theological, ascetic, using up every spare moment
of time. At the same time he was becoming more refined in human
and spiritual terms. He was obedient to and fond of his superiors, was
available for all the demands of community life and struck up deep
friendships with the very best of his fellow seminarians. He shared
recreation, study prayer and ascetic ideals with them. As the years passed,
his spiritual energy increased and he broadened his cultural interests. He
immersed himself in increasingly more demanding reading, even using
the autumn break for this.
His efforts, intense work, the ascetic tenor of his life weakened his
health and more than once he was at the point of falling seriously ill; but
John’s robust mettle did not give in. His friend Louis Comollo, instead,
could not handle it and died even before he turned twenty-two.
On 5 June 1841 when Don Bosco was ordained priest in Turin, his
cultural and spiritual formation was well-established. Fr Cafasso invited
him to the Pastoral Institute to round off his pastoral formation, but
the solid basis already in the ten years at Chieri and the gifts he had
developed over these hidden and intense years proved their worth for the
rest of his years as an educator and pastor of the young.
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EMERGING PEDAGOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES
Don Bosco’s teenage and early adult years in Chieri offer us excellent
pedagogical and spiritual pointers. Here are some:
– Study and culture are an essential ascetic process in building up
one’s personality, especially when pursued with constant and daily
fidelity.
– Manual work and personal initiative in actively cooperating with
parents’ concerns.
– Sport, play, active life – with a wise dose of duty – for physical
development and spiritual and psychological harmony.
– Friendships that are well-chosen and enriching; being part of a
group, shared interests; mutual help, making one’s gifts available to
others.
– Friendly relationships with significant adults who can be teachers
and models of life and values.
– Choice of a regular confessor with whom we have frequent and
confident encounters.
– The humility to question oneself and ask advice on important
questions regarding one’s future.
– A solid life of prayer with established times for prayer and personal
meditation each day.
– Weekly and even daily Mass.
– Devotion to Our Lady, mother, help and model of life.
– The energy to discern God’s will and one’s vocation in life, the
mission God wants to entrust to us.
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Historical, geographical
and biographical notes
JOHN BOSCO COMES TO CHIERI
After the division of the family’s assets (1830), the move to Sussambrino
and Anthony’s marriage (1831), the Bosco family situation had improved.
Mamma Margaret, supported by her brother Michael, makes the
courageous decision to enrol John in the public schools in Chieri.
This choice brings new problems, especially financial ones. Although
the expenses were reasonable they were a serious imposition on the
family finances. Thought had to be given to food and lodging, school
fees, buying books, stationery and clothing.
Margaret was not discouraged: “she gave him this joyful news with
her usual smile and immediately set to work to pack the things he would
need. But John, understanding the difficulties she faced owing to the
family’s straitened circumstances, frankly suggested: ‘If you don’t mind,
mother, let me take two sacks with me and make the rounds of every
family in our hamlet. This way I’ll make a collection.’ Margaret gave her
consent. This was to be a difficult test for John’s pride. But he overcame
his reluctance to go begging and faced its humiliation” (BM I, 183).
The farmers’ sense of solidarity and the spirit of Christian charity
of the people, the parish priest, Fr Dassano and some gentlemen from
Castelnuovo meant he could have what he needed for clothing and
the early expenses. John Bechis, having nothing he could give, said he
would see to transporting the trunk and two sacks of wheat (two emine
or 46 litres) and half a miglio (= 11.5 litres) in his cart. These could
be part-payment for board. On 3 November 1831 the young student
went off to Chieri and found lodging in piazza san Guglielmo at the
Marchisio house.
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TIMELINE
School
year
Class
Teacher
Stayed with Events
1831–1832 Sixth
Fifth
Fourth
Dr Pugnetti Lucy Matta Society for a
Fr Valimberti
Good Time
Mr Cima
Paul Braja dies
1832-1833 Grammar G. Giusiana Lucy Matta
1833-1834 Humanities Fr Banaudi
Cafe Pianta
Friendship
with Jonah
Contest with
acrobat
Admitted to
the Franciscans
1834-1835 Rhetoric G.F. Bosco Cumino
Meets L.
Comollo
Decides on
vocation
Clothing exam
1835-1836 1st Philos. I. Arduino Seminary
Holidays: extra
Greek study at
Montaldo
1836-1837 2nd Philos. I. Arduino Seminary
L. Comollo in
Seminary
1837-1838 1st Theol. L. Prialis Seminary
I. Arduini
1838-1839 2nd Theol. Seminary
L. Prialis
G.B.
Appendini
Sacristan
02.04.1839:
Comollo dies
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School
year
Class
Teacher
1839-1840 3rd Theol. Seminary
1840-1841 5th Theol. Seminary
Stayed with Events
L. Prialis
G.B.
Appendini
L. Prialis
G.B.
Appendini
25.04.1840:
Tonsure and
Minor Orders
autumn:
exams, 4th
Theology
Dormitory
Prefect
19.09.1840:
Subdiaconate
29.03.1841:
Diaconate
05.06.1841:
Priesthood
SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITS AND TOURS
Very keen research by Secondo Caselle (+ 1992) has thrown light on
names and places tied to the ten years John Bosco spent in Chieri. It is
thanks to him that we can follow the traces of his presence in the city.
For practical reasons we would suggest visiting the places where
John Bosco was a student and seminarian at Chieri by beginning from
the Salesian community of S. Luigi (St Aloysius).
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Long tour (ca. 3 hours).
Small, well-prepared group of adults or young adults.
San Luigi’s and the Church of St Margaret (page 112) → M.
Maddalena Morano’s house (page 114) → Church and convent of
St Dominic (page 114) → Via della Pace (page 115: old Ghetto:
Elijah’s bookshop and Jonah’s house; convent of Peace) → Seminary
and St Philip’s church (S. Filippo) (page 118) → St William's (S.
Guglielmo) church (page 130) → Fr Maloria’s house (page 131) →
Marchisio house where Lucy Matta lived (page 131) → old City Hall
(page 133) → Barzochino cabinetmaker’s shop (page 134) → Public
school (page 134) → piazza Cavour and adjacent areas (page 141:
St Anthony’s church; Muletto tavern; cafe Pianta; Tailor Cumino’s
house; baker M. Cavallo’s place) → Cathedral (Duomo) (page 146) →
Bertinetti house and St Teresa Institute (page 149) → the old viale di
Porta Torino (page 150: only to walk along, either coming to or leaving
from Chieri).
Shorter tour (ca. 2 hours).
For relatively small groups of adults or young people.
San Luigi Salesian Institute and St Margaret’s church (page 112) →
church and convent of St Dominic’s (page 114) → Seminary and
St Philip’s church (page 118) → St William’s (page 130) → Fr
Maloria’s house (page 131) → Marchisio house where Lucy Matta
lived (page 131) → Public schools (page 134) → piazza Cavour and
adjacent areas (page 141 : St Anthony’s church; Muletto tavern; Cafe
Pianta) → Cathedral (Duomo) (page 146).
Good spots for reflection, prayer or Mass: Salesian Institute - St Philip’s –
Cathedral.
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SAN LUIGI SALESIAN INSTITUTE
AND ST MARGARET’S CHURCH
(via Vittorio Emanuele, no. 80)
School
The Salesian work opened in 1891 when Fr Michael Rua, Don
Bosco’s first successor, wanted to open an oratory for young people in
Chieri, named after St Aloysius Gonzaga. The church, buildings, and
a paddock were all part of the former Dominic Sisters’ convent which
was suppressed by Napoleon in 1802, and then became the property
of Count Balbiano. In 1891 Fr Rua, having received the Gamennone
farmstead as a legacy from Canon Angelo Giuseppe Caselle (who had
been a classmate of Don Bosco’s at the public schools in Chieri), made a
swap with Count Balbiano’s property. The other property was between
Chieri and Andezeno. He set up a festive oratory and boarding house
for senior students here. Thus he was able to do what Don Bosco had
wanted to do earlier but couldn’t because of opposition from the parish
priest of the cathedral, Canon Andrea Oddenino (1829–1890).
Then the Salesian theologate was attached to the oratory (1926–1938)
and when this moved elsewhere, it became an aspirantate and today is a
Middle school for day students only.
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St Margaret’s church
A beautiful Baroque building, the church was completed in 1671
following the plans drawn up by Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527–1596), then
restored in 1851, the only remaining part of the old Dominican convent.
The inside is in the shape of a Greek cross and decorated with fine
stuccoes by Giovanni Battista Barberini (1666) who is also responsible
for the statues in the four corners representing David, Solomon, Esther
and Judith. The frescoes on the cupola are by Gianpaolo Recchi (1670),
while the altar front, representing the coronation of Our Lady amongst
the angels and saints, is by Guglielmo Caccia known as Moncalvo
(1568–1625).
On the side altars there are two paintings by Mario Càffaro Rore,
one of the Sacred Heart with St Francis de Sales and St Aloysius
Gonzaga; the other of Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco, Dominic
Savio and Don Rua.
In a small chapel at the back of the church, on the left as you enter,
is a wooden statue of the Immaculate Conception, by Ignazio Perrucca
(1750), which was located in the Seminary chapel at one stage. For six
years the young cleric Bosco had nurtured his devotion to Mary before
this statue.
Over the door is a stone recalling Mamma Margaret, given that she
bore the same name as the one whom the church was named after.
Salesian Oratory
The oratory is between the church of St Margaret’s and some other
buildings which go back to the 18th century. These include the ruins of
St Leonard’s chapel and the small chapel belonging to the Holy Cross
hospital attached to the Templars’ preceptory, with early 15th century
frescoes in bad condition.
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BIRTHPLACE OF MOTHER MADELEINE MORANO
(Via Vittorio Emanuele, no. 101)
On the main road, opposite the oratory, is the house where, on 15
November 1847 the now Blessed Madeleine Morano was born. She was
one of the first Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and founded
many of their works in Sicily. Her father was a cloth merchant and in
1849, moved with his family to Buttigliera d’Asti. Madeleine studied to
be a teacher and taught at Montaldo. She wanted to consecrate herself
to God in religious life but could not find a congregation to accept her
since she was no longer young. On the advice of Fr Francesco Pellico
S.J., Silvio’s brother, she entrusted herself to Don Bosco who accepted
her into the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, just starting (1879).
In 1886 she was appointed as Provincial in Sicily. She died at Catania on
26 March 1908. Because of her virtues, pastoral zeal and charity and her
strong spiritual quality she was beatified in 1994 by Pope John Paul II.
CHURCH AND CONVENT OF ST DOMINIC
(on the corner of via Vittorio Emanuele and via san Domenico)
The church, perhaps completed around 1317 and consecrated in 1388,
underwent a number of alterations. The bell tower and spire, with
mullioned windows, was finished in 1381, while the current facade
was built in the 15th century, as also the great wooden Gothic portal.
Inside there are three naves with cruciform pillars whose capitals (the
load-bearing top part of the pillar) carries the date 1317.
The sanctuary and choir were rebuilt at the beginning of the 1600s
by Archbishop Carlo Broglia (+ 1617), who belonged to a powerful
family in Chieri. They shifted to France halfway through the century
and altered their name to de Broglie. The paintings on the side and the
frescoes above are scenes from the Gospel and the life of St Dominic.
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These are by Moncalvo (1606). The elegantly carved choir stalls are from
1613.
On the left as you look at the sanctuary is the chapel to St Thomas
Aquinas where a Gothic style reliquary (1892) still holds the chastity
belt which, according to tradition, the angels gave the Saint after he had
overcome temptation.
On the right, towards the centre, is the Our Lady of the Rosary
chapel, where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. The splendid wooden
Baroque altar comes from a confraternity from Riva di Chieri. The
central painting is by Moncalvo (1606–1608).
On 8 June 1841 Don Bosco celebrated his third Mass after his
ordination at this altar, having been invited by Fr Giacinto Giusiana
O.P. who had been his teacher when he was in his Grammar year
(1832–1833). “He became emotional and cried,” Don Bosco writes. “I
spent that entire day with him, a day that I can describe as heavenly”
(MO Ch. 25).
VIA DELLA PACE
Leaving St Dominic’s we turn left into via Vittorio Emanule. A little
further ahead on the right we meet via della Pace. The buildings here
were part of the Jewish Ghetto.
Elijah’s Bookshop
Halfway along this lane on the right (no. 10) we find the house and
bookshop that belonged to Foa Elijah, a friend of John Bosco’s who was
a student of humanities and rhetoric. Paying just one soldo each, here
he borrowed books from the Biblioteca Popolare Pomba, reading them
voraciously, one per day. Later he wrote:
In Year Four Secondary I began reading Italian authors. In my
Rhetoric year I began studying the Latin classics and began reading
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Cornelius Nipote, Cicero, Salustio (sic), Quinto Curzio, Livid,
Tacitus, Ovid, Virgil, Horace and others. I was reading these books
for enjoyment and felt that I had fully understood them. It was only
later I became aware that this was not true, because when I became a
priest and began explaining these famous classics to other I began to
see that only with so much study and preparation could we begin to
understand their meaning and beauty (MO Ch. 15).
Jonah’s house
On the same side, in the building further down the street on the corner
with via di Albussano (enter from no. 14 via della Pace), Jacob Levi or
Jonah lived. His friendship with John led to him embracing Christianity
and he was baptised in 1834, changing his name to Luigi Bolmida (cf.
MO Ch. 12).
Franciscan monastery and the church of Peace
The street leads to the convento della Pace. While John Bosco was living
in Chieri there was a Franciscan community here with a large novitiate.
In his humanities year, when he was 19, he found himself at a critical
moment of decision regarding his vocation. He felt the Lord was calling
him to the priesthood but family finances gave him no hope of pursuing
his studies: he still had a year of public school ahead of him, two of
philosophy and another five of theology. So he was asking himself what
god was really calling him to. His contact with the Franciscans suggested
the thought of embracing religious life in that Order. He made his
request in March 1834 and successfully sat the exam for entrance to the
novitiate at the convent of Mary of the Angels in Turin, on the 18th of
that month.
He sat this exam with another school friend, Eugenio Nicco da
Poirino, who subsequently went to the novitiate.
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Two events led him to put a hold on his entry into the Franciscan
novitiate: one was a strange dream that left him confused and the other
was his meeting Evasio Savio. Don Bosco recalls this difficult moment
of vocational discernment in all its detail:
So the end of the rhetoric year I approached, the time when students
usually think about their vocations. The dream I had had in Murialdo
was deeply imprinted on my mind; in fact it had recurred several times
more in ever clearer terms, so that if I wanted to put faith in it I
would have to choose the priesthood towards which I actually felt
inclined. But I did not want to believe dreams, and my own manner
of life, certain habits of my heart, and the absolute: lack of the virtues
necessary to that state, filled me with doubts and made the decision
very difficult.
Oh, if only I had had a guide to care for my vocation! What a great
treasure he would have been for me; but I lacked that treasure. I had
a good confessor who sought to make me a good Christian, but who
never chose to get involved in the question of my vocation.
Thinking things over myself, after reading some books which dealt
with the choice of a state in life, I decided to enter the Franciscan
Order. “If I become a secular priest,” I told myself, “my vocation runs
a great risk of shipwreck. I will embrace the priesthood, renounce the
world, enter the cloister, and dedicate myself to study and meditation;
thus in solitude I will be able to combat my passions, especially my
pride,” which had put down deep roots in my heart. So I applied to
enter the Reformed Conventuals. I took the examination and was
accepted. All was ready for my entry into Chieri’s Monastery of Peace.
A few days before I was due to enter, I had a very strange dream. I
seemed to see a multitude of these friars, clad in threadbare habits, all
dashing about helter-skelter. One of them came up to me and said:
“You’re looking for peace, but you won’t find it here. See what goes
on! God’s preparing another place, another harvest for you.” I wanted
to question this religious but a noise awakened me and I saw nothing
more (MO Ch. 16).
He went back to Castelnuovo to ask the parish priest for the
documents he needed and not finding them, he met up with the
blacksmith, Evasio Savio, who was his friend and whom he admired.
Knowing the reason why he was there, he advised him not to go ahead
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and set about finding what was necessary for John to continue his studies
(cf. BM I, 301–307).
Then Fr Giuseppe Comollo, Louis’ uncle, gave him the same advice
as Fr Cafasso, which was to go to the Seminary.
The old Franciscan monastery is now owned by the Vincentians or
priests of the Mission.
SEMINARY AND ST PHILIP NERI'S CHURCH
(via Vittorio Emanuele, no. 63)
The Seminary
This building, which had once belonged to the Oratorians of St Philip
Neri, was where the third major seminary for the Turin archdiocese
was opened in 1829 (the others were in Turin and Bra). Archbishop
Colombano Chiaveroti had done this so that the increasing number of
students of philosophy and theology would be better taken care of. St
Joseph Cafasso did all of his studies here. Don Bosco lived there for
six years (1835–1841). Later on Blessed Joseph Allamano, canon and
founder of the Consolata Missionaries, would also be there.
The building
Most of the building goes back to the 17th century. It belonged to the
Broglia family who donated it to the Oratorian Fathers who extended
it and set up a community there also building the beautiful church of
St Philip Neri (1664–1673). The work was encouraged and supported
by Blessed Sebastian Valfrè (1629–1710), one of the founders of the
Oratorian Fathers’ Oratory in Turin and a model, along with St Francis
de Sales, for Piedmontese priests.
The Oratory Fathers lived here until the community was suppressed
by Napoleon in 1802. During the Restoration they tried in vain to
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rebuild the community. Until 1828 the building was used by the city
administration as a school, for civic archives and also as a police station.
It then was given to the diocese.
In 1949 the seminary was moved to Rivoli and the building was
given over to the Salvatorians who turned it into a boarding school. It
was then bought by the Chieri city council who restored it and turned
it into a school.
The building is in a U-shape around a large internal courtyard where
the sundial had attracted the attention of cleric Bosco and his friend
Garigliano when they first entered. They saw the inscription: Afflictis
lentae – celeres gaudentibus horae, meaning “The hours drag for the sad,
fly for the happy”. The two of them chose this as a motto for their time
there: “That's it,” I said to my friend, “that’s our programme; let’s always
be cheerful, and the time will pass quickly.” (MO Ch. 18).
The reception and parlour are on the ground floor, as well as the
kitchen, refectory, chapel and some classrooms. Upstairs there are study
rooms, two dormitories, the rector’s living quarters and the library. The
top floor had the superiors’ rooms, infirmary and other dormitories.
The large area where Don Bosco and his friends slept when Louis
Comollo died is on the first floor looking out on the sundial. A plaque
in the corridor recalls that loud “manifestation” one night. Don Bosco
recalls the whole event:
Given our friendship and the unlimited trust between Comollo and
me, we often spoke about the separation that death could possibly
bring upon us at any time. One day, after we had read a long passage
from the lives of the saints, we talked, half in jest and half in earnest,
of what a consolation it would be if the one of us who died first were
to return with news about his condition. We talked of this so often
that we drew up this contract: “Whichever of us is the first to die will,
if God permits it, bring back word of his salvation to his surviving
companion” ...
Comollo died on 2 April 1839. Next evening he was solemnly buried
in Saint Filippo’s Church. ... That night, after I went to bed in the
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big dormitory which I shared with some twenty other seminarians, I
was restless. I was convinced that this was to be the night when our
promise would be fulfilled. About 11:30 a deep rumble was heard in
the corridor. It sounded as if a heavy wagon drawn by many horses
were coming up to the dormitory door. It got louder and louder,
like thunder, and the whole dormitory shook. The clerics tumbled
out of bed in terror and huddled together for comfort. Then, above
the violent and thundering noise, the voice of Comollo was heard
clearly. Three times he repeated very distinctly: Bosco, I am saved. All
heard the noise; some recognised the voice without understanding
the meaning; others understood it as well as I did, as is proved by the
length of time the event was talked about in the seminary. It was the
first time in my life I remember being afraid. The fear and terror were
so bad that I fell ill and was at death’s door (MO Ch. 22).
How the seminary was organised
In November 1835, when the cleric Bosco entered the seminary the
rector was Canon Sebastiano Mottura (1795–1876), an able and good
administrator, severe but balanced as a superior; he ran the seminary for
31 years, from when it was founded (1829–1830) until the summer of
1860. Four other superiors helped him: the spiritual director, professor
of philosophy and theology, and the rector of the church of St Philip. In
1835 the superiors were Fr Giuseppe Mottura (26, spiritual director),
Fr Lorenzo Prialis (32, professor of theology), Fr Innocente Arduino
(30, professor of philosophy, who took over from Fr Ternavasio at the
beginning of the school year) and Fr Matteo Testa (48, rector of St
Philip’s). In 1837–1838 Fr Arduino became the Prefect and Tutor in
theology; the chair of philosophy was given to Fr Giovanni Battista
Appendini (30).
There were a number of minor roles, like assistance in the dormitories
and study halls, leading prayers in the chapel, choir practice (Gregorian
chant). Assistance for the sick and sacristan were given to the senior
seminarians to look after. In exchange for these services fees were
reduced for up to 30 lire a month. John Bosco looked after the sacristy
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for a time and in 1840–1841 was appointed dormitory prefect, or
assistant.
Important stages in the seminary year were the triduum at the
beginning of the year (a special retreat for entering into the atmosphere
of formation in the seminary), the autumn exams, conferring of minor
and major orders which took place in the spring (the Saturday before
Palm Sunday) and in summer (Saturday after Pentecost), the retreat
from Wednesday of Holy Week until Holy Saturday and the final exams.
The rhythm of life and work at the seminary was controlled by
a detailed and demanding set of rules. Study, prayer, obedience and
discipline were the pillars of seminary formation.
A student’s day was laid down in every minute detail. In the
morning, rising was at 5:30 in winter (from 1st November till 15
March), then a quarter of an hour earlier every fortnight, and at 4:30
a.m. during summer(from 1 May to 30 June). Seminarians would go
down to the chapel for morning prayers, half an hour’s meditation and
Mass. An hour of study followed. Breakfast (a bread roll) was around
8:15 then after a short recreation, three hours of school (8:45–11:45).
Lunch (12:00) was after the Angelus was said in the chapel, which was
followed by a quarter of an hour’s visit to the Blessed Sacrament before
the afternoon recreation which lasted for an hour.
There was a similar schedule in the afternoon: half an hour of
personal study and half an hour together, known as the circolo or
study group (1:45–2:45), two hours of school followed by Rosary
in the chapel; another two hours of study plus an hour of tutorial
work(5:00–8:00); supper; three quarters of an hour of recreation then
night prayers. At 9:30 p.m. they went to bed and by 10:00 p.m. all lights
had to be out.
Seminarians were in silence for most of lunch and supper, listening
to a reading by one of their fellow seminarians. From the first week of
Advent until the end of Lent the Saturday evening reading was replaced
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by a brief sermonette on the Sunday Gospel which subdeacons and
deacons took turns to present as a way of practising homiletics.
On Thursdays, philosophy and theology classes were replaced by an
hour of Gregorian chant, another hour of sacred ceremonies and an
hour of moral instruction; in place of the afternoon lessons there was a
walk in groups around the city and relatives or friends of the seminarians
were allowed to visit.
During study on a Saturday evening six or seven priests from around
the city would be in the chapel to hear the seminarians’ confessions. The
rule was they had to go to confession at least once a fortnight. Following
the custom of the time, Communion was not distributed during
weekday Masses. Those who had permission from their confessor and
wanted to receive it could go to St Philip’s church from 8:15 to 8:45, in
other words during breakfast.
There were some changes to this timetable during summer months;
because rising was at 4:30, they could take a rest for three quarters of an
hour in the afternoon.
The weekend timetable was less demanding, but still full: rising
half an hour later; morning office and the office of the Blessed Virgin
Mary and Mass with communion. an hour and a half of study followed
breakfast then they all went to the cathedral for the sung Mass. Study in
the afternoon was given to the New Testament and Roman Catechism;
meanwhile seminarians in their final year went to the cathedral to teach
catechism to the youngsters. Then the community would celebrate sung
Vespers, listen to a religious instruction and say the Rosary. An hour and
a half’s study followed, an hour of tutorials, supper, recreation, prayer
then bed.
How studies were arranged
There were two years of philosophy and five of theology. Classes were
run by the appointed teacher assisted by the tutor. There were no text
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books: the treatises, in Latin, were dictated and explained by the teacher
while students took notes; in the evening tutorials the tutor went back
over the morning lessons so students could check their notes and ask
questions or clarification.
The school year began on 1 November with an introductory
triduum and finished at the end of June.
John Bosco as a cleric at the seminary
For John Bosco, accustomed to a very lively existence, it would have cost
not a little effort to settle into the highly regulated and more withdrawn
seminary life. He accepted this with good will, and in the light of his
priestly goal, study, and his spiritual sense of self-discipline. He wanted
to make maximum use of opportunities offered by the seminary for
study and reading, so he would use any little moment he could find after
getting up or at other times. He also gave up recreation activities that
might distract him too much from his formation:
The game known as Bara rotta was the most popular game we played. I
used to play it in the beginning, but since this game was very similar to
those acrobatics which I had absolutely given up, I wanted to give this
up too. There was another game called tarots which was permitted
on certain days, and for a while I also played this game. Even here
sweetness and bitterness intermingled... I should add that my mind
would become so fixed during a game that afterwards I could neither
pray nor study. The troubling images of the King of Clubs and the
Jack of Spades, the 13 or 15 of tarots filled my imagination. So I
resolved to give up this game as I had given up the others. This was in
1836, mid-way through my second year of philosophy.
In the longer recreation periods, the seminarians went for walks to
the many delightful places round Chieri. These walks were useful
for learning too. We tried to improve our academic knowledge by
quizzing one another as we walked...
During the long recreations, we often gathered in the refectory for
what we called the “study circle.” At this session, one could ask
questions about things he did not know or had not grasped in our
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lectures or lessons. I liked this exercise and found it very helpful for
study, piety, and health...
Comollo often interrupted my recreation time, l leading me by the
sleeve of my cassock and telling me to come along with him to the
chapel. There we would make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for the
dying, saying the rosary or the Little Office of Our Lady for the souls
in purgatory (MO Ch. 19).
The results of this constant effort were good, but it did little for
Bosco’s health and on a couple of occasions he found himself in serious
trouble healthwise. His friend Louis Comollo was less robust and
during the first year of theology he became seriously ill and died.
Although seminary discipline and the daily tasks of the cleric were
tackled with good will and a spirit of adaptation, some aspects of
seminary life did not leave him fully satisfied: there was a certain barrier
between staff and students that made him want “even more,” he wrote,
“to quickly become a priest and be in the midst of young people,
help them, satisfy all their needs” (MO Ch. 19); secondly there was
a superficiality and lack of signs of a vocation in some of his fellow
seminarians. Right from the outset he chose the best amongst them
and struck up firm friendships with them (amongst whom Garigliano,
Giacomelli and Comollo), and treated the rest with a courteous but
reserved approach (cf. MO Ch. 19). But his conciliatory, kind and
available approach won over the affection of his fellow seminarians and
the superiors: “I was very fortunate at the seminary and always enjoyed
the affection of friends and all the superiors” (MO Ch. 23).
We recall some events from those years that were important in Don
Bosco’s life.
During the holidays in his first year at the seminary (1835–1836)
he spent three months at the castle at Montaldo Torinese where the
Jesuits had relocated their students from Turin, the boarders at the
Royal Carmel College, due to the outbreak of cholera. Through the
good offices of Fr Cafasso, John was invited to be a tutor in Greek and
also dormitory assistant (cf. MO Ch. 24). This put him in touch with
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a number of boys who belonged to well-known and noble Piedmontese
families and he kept up these friendships which would then become very
important in his future ministry.
At the beginning of the second year of philosophy (1836–1837),
John discovered the worth of the Imitation of Christ, and this marked
the beginning of a fruitful period when he read more ascetic, religious
and historical works which rounded off his cultural education and also
helped shape his way of thinking.
In the second year of theology (1838–1839) Louis Comollo died. It
was a dramatic event (2 April 1839, Easter Tuesday); he was just 22 years
old.
John was given the sacristy job this year, at the time of the retreat,
and this is when he first met Fr John Borel (1801–1873), who would
support him in the initial stages of the Oratory:
In the second year of theology I was made sacristan. It was not a post
that carried much weight, but it showed one was appreciated by the
superiors and it did carry with it another sixty francs [note: discount
on seminary fees]. All this meant that I could provide for half my fees,
while good Fr Caffasso provided the rest...
This was the year in which I had the good fortune of making
the acquaintance of a man who was really zealous in the sacred
ministry. He had come to preach our seminary retreat. He appeared
in the sacristy with a smiling face and a joking manner of speaking,
but always seasoned with moral thoughts. When I saw the way he
celebrated Mass, his bearing, his preparation, and his thanksgiving,
I realized at once that here was a worthy priest. He turned out to
be Fr John Borrelli [note: Don Bosco always wrote the name of his
great friend and collaborator this way] from Turin. When he began
to preach, I noted the simplicity, liveliness, clarity, and fire of charity
that filled all his words; we were unanimous in rating him a man of
real holiness.
In fact we all raced to go to confession to him in order to speak of our
vocations and receive some advice. I too wanted to discuss the affairs
of my soul with him. When, at the end, I asked him for some advice
on how best to preserve the spirit of my vocation during the year and
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particularly during the holidays, he left these memorable words with
me: “A vocation is perfected and preserved, and a real priestly spirit
is formed, by a climate of recollection and by frequent communion.”
(MO Ch. 23).
After his third year of theology (1839–1840) Bosco went directly
into the fifth year by sitting for the fourth year exams at the end of
summer:
With this in mind and without telling anyone, I presented myself
to Archbishop Fransoni to ask permission to study the fourth-year
texts during the holidays. In the following school year (1840–1) I
would complete the quinquennium. I quoted my advanced age – I
was 24 – as the reason for my request. The holy Bishop... granted the
favour I was asking on condition that I take all the treatises in the
course I wanted to take. Fr Cinzano, my vicar forane, was charged with
carrying out the wishes of our superior. After two months of study,
I finished the prescribed treatises, and for the autumn ordinations I
was admitted to the subdiaconate. (MO Ch. 25).
Don Bosco’s overall judgement on the time spent at the seminary –
despite highlighting the standoffish approach of the superiors and the
poor example given by some seminarians – is not a negative one. He
enjoyed the six years. Later he would write:
I found the day I had to leave the seminary for the last time very
difficult. My superiors loved me and showed continual marks of
benevolence. My companions were very affectionate towards me. You
could say that I lived for them and they lived for me. If anyone wanted
a shave or his tonsure renewed, he ran to Bosco. If he wanted someone
to make a biretta for him, to sew or patch his clothes, Bosco was the
man he turned to. So you can imagine how sad was the parting from
that place where I had lived for six years, where I received education,
knowledge, an ecclesiastical spirit, and all the tokens of kindness and
affection one could desire (MO Ch. 25).
It was here that he absorbed the most important elements of the
spirituality offered to seminarians: a profound and substantial piety,
a priestly mentality gained through the discipline of the place and
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self-discipline, a solid commitment to study and duty in the light of the
future ministry, response to the Lord’s call in wanting to spend one’s
entire life for the salvation and sanctification of one’s neighbour.
S. Filippo (St Philip's) church
This Baroque structure was begun in 1664, completed in 1673 and
consecrated in 1681. The inside is the work of architect Antonio Bettino
from Ticino (who worked in Turin in the second half of the 1600s),
but the facade which fronts onto via Vittorio Emanuele was built later
following the design of architect and engraver Mario Ludovico Quarini
(1736–1800).
The first altar on the right used to have a beautiful painting by
Claudio Francesco Beaumont (1694–1766) of St Francis de Sales before
the Virgin and Child; it was linked with a Confraternity dedicated to the
Saint, and which was very active in the 18th and 19th centuries. They
used this church for their religious practices. Today this painting is in the
sacristy at the cathedral. The second altar is dedicated to St Philip Neri,
with a painting by Stefano Maria Legnani known as Il Legnanino, from
Milan (1660–1715). There is a splendid altar-piece on the main altar
of the Immaculate Conception (and the church is actually dedicated
to her), by Daniel Seyter (1649–1705). The sacristy is furnished with
precious 17th century items which have been carved by artists from
Chieri.
Under the sanctuary, on the left near the communion rails and in
a small burial crypt we find the body of Louis Comollo. In Autumn
1986, with the help of Cav. Secondo Caselle and the parish priest
at the cathedral, Mons. Gianni Carrù, the place of burial was finally
discovered. There is now a glass panel in the floor which enables you to
see the seminarian’s remains.
In the 19th century there was a passageway between the seminary
and the church. That was where every morning during breakfasts,
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John Bosco and some other seminarians would go through to receive
communion from the church’s Rector. In those days they could go
to Communion only with permission from their confessor, since the
normal custom was for seminarians to receive Communion only at the
first Mass on Sunday (cf. MO 93).
Seminarians usually prayed and attended liturgy at another chapel
inside, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, located beside St
Philip’s. John Bosco was the sacristan. John Bosco and Louis Comollo
prayed daily before her beautiful wooden statue by Ignazio Perrucca
(1750) on the altar. The present parish priest of the collegiate church
has entrusted the statue to the Salesians of Chieri. This chapel still exists,
though the apse was extended towards the end of last century. Since the
Salvatorians left it has been used for conferences and exhibitions and is in
poor condition. You can gain access to it from the passageway that links
the building with the portal looking out on corso Vittorio Emanuele (no.
63).
Don Bosco Visitors Centre
Here we find a museum space dedicated to the figure of St John Bosco,
recalling the ten years he lived in the city of Chieri. It is located inside
the former seminary of St Philip, which represented a fundamental step
in the young Bosco’ faith journey.
In the place where the Saint received an important scholastic
formation, it is possible to retrace some moments of his life, such as
his deep friendship with Louis Comollo, who died prematurely and
revealed to him, shortly after his death, that he had been saved.
The tour begins with a first stop in the reception room, where a
video dedicated to the city of Chieri and its territory is projected; it
then continues along the corridor, where a plaque commemorates the
miraculous episode that happened between the Saint and his friend
Comollo.
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It continues in the room of the dream, which was the seminary’s
dormitory, where four thematic spaces with panels and video projections
are presented:
• Chieri in the 19th century: description of the urban context in which
the young Bosco lived, from a historical, socio-political, economic,
cultural and religious point of view.
• School and work: description of the context in which John Bosco
studied, was spiritually formed and worked to support his studies,
in a setting where a corner of a nineteenth-century classroom is
reproduced; the theme of work is represented by tools from a small
carpentry workshop and objects of tailoring.
• em Friendship and the Society for a Good Time, founded by John
Bosco together with the young people of Chieri with the aim of
creating an opportunity to gather, study and moral formation.
• The seminary: the last room is entirely dedicated to the years John
Bosco spent in the seminary between discipline, study and prayer.
PIAZZA MAZZINI AND ADJACENT BUILDINGS
Going up via san Filippo, on the left of the church, you see the
beautiful 16th century terracotta facade (modified in 1780) of the
former Oratorian Father’s residence before arriving at piazza Mazzini,
earlier known as piazza san Guglielmo.
This used be the city centre in the early 1800s. The city hall was here
and there was a busy weekly market and two annual fairs held on the days
of Sts Basilissa and Julian and St Leonard.
There are a number of buildings around this square which recall
Bosco’s time in Chieri: St William’s church, Fr Maloria’s house, Lucia
Matta’s place where he lived for some time, City Hall, cabinetmaker
Barzochino’s shop.
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S. Guglielmo (St William’s) church
The church from which the square took its name has very early origins
and has been rebuilt a number of times, most recently in 1837. It used
be the headquarters of the Confraternity of Disciples of the Holy Spirit
who included looking after Jewish converts to the faith amongst their
tasks.
In 1833–1834 John Bosco, then living at Cafe Pianta, made friends
with a young Jew called Jonah, or Jacob Levi, and helped him convert.
The Jesuits at St Anthony’s prepared him for Baptism. On 10 August
1834 Jonah went in procession to the cathedral with members of
the Confraternity and many other people, and was baptised as Luigi
(Aloysius) and took Bolmida as his surname in honour of Giacinto
(Hyacinth) Bolmida, a banker, who was his godfather. His godmother
was Mrs Ottavia Maria Bertinetti. according to custom and its statutes,
the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit enrolled the newly converted
members and gave them 400 lire as soon as the Jewish community
expelled them from their ranks.
The Rector of St William’s was Fr Placid Valimberti (Don Bosco
calls him Eustachio in the MO), the first priest whom John met when
he arrived in Chieri. He wrote: “He gave me a lot of good advice on how
to keep out of trouble. He invited me to serve his Mass and thus he could
always advise me well. He brought me to see the headmaster in Chieri
and introduced me to my other teachers.” (MO Ch. 7). He used live in
the house beside the church at no. 4.
Fr Valimberti was also the teacher of Fifth Class. John had him as his
teacher when he was promoted to that class two months after the school
year began. Two years later the priest asked him to tutor his younger
brother Louis, who was a student in Latinitas (Grammar). The results
here were as good as on other occasions, and the Valimberti family were
so grateful that they regarded him as a member of the family, inviting
him to lunch every Sunday (cf. BM I, 268–269).
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Fr Maloria's house
(piazza Mazzini, no. 8)
Fr Giuseppe Maria Maloria (1802–1857), a learned cleric, canon at the
cathedral, lived at casa Gozio, opposite the church. In 1835 he was only
29 when John Bosco chose him as his confessor. The young student
would continue to go regularly to Fr Maloria for confession all the time
he was in Chieri, including during his seminary years.
John had great respect for him. We read in the Memoirs of the
Oratory:
I had the great good fortune of choosing as my regular confessor
Doctor Maloria, canon of the chapter in Chieri. He always had a
warm welcome for me. Indeed, he encouraged me to go to confession
and communion more often, advice not too commonly given in those
days, I do not remember that any of my teachers ever advised me
along these lines. Those who went to confession and communion
more than once a month were considered very virtuous; and many
confessors would not permit it. Consequently, I have to thank my
confessor if I was not led by companions into certain unfortunate
pitfalls that inexperienced boys in large schools have to regret (MO
Ch 9).
Nevertheless, for reasons that escaped Don Bosco and also us, Fr
Maloria was of no help to him when it came to deciding on his vocation
(cf. MO Ch 16).
Casa Marchisio where Lucy Matta lived
(piazza Mazzini, no. 1)
Note: the entrance was off the former via Mercanti, today via Carlo Alberto.
This was where a friend of Mamma Margaret lived during the school
year, Lucia Pianta also known as the widow Matta, originally from
Morialdo. When her older daughter married, she moved to Chieri so she
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could follow up her son, John Baptist (1809–1878) a school student,
and rented a house belonging to James Marchisio. She also took in a
few other boys to help balance the family budget. In 1831–1832 and
1832–1833 she gave John board and lodging for 21 lire a month. This
amount could also be paid in kind, but it was still a fair amount given
the Bosco family’s meagre resources. So John did what he could to find
the money by taking on any little domestic chores he could.
He won Lucy over quickly because of his excellent behaviour, and
she asked him to tutor her son who was already 21 but was a bit wayward
(We note here that it was not unusual for someone of this age to still be
at school). The result was so satisfactory that John no longer needed to
pay board.
John Baptist Matta became a chemist, and was a long-time Mayor
of Castelnuovo. He had great regard for Don Bosco; in 1867 he sent his
son, Edward Henry, to school at Valdocco.
It was probably in his first year at Chieri that John founded the
Society for a Good Time:
All this time I had to use my own initiative to learn how to deal with
my companions. I put them in three groups: the good, the indifferent,
and the bad. As soon as I spotted the bad ones, I avoided them
absolutely and always. The indifferent I associated with only when
necessary, but I was always courteous with them. I made friends with
the good ones, and then only when I was sure of them. As I knew few
people in the town, I made it a rule to keep to myself. I sometimes
had to discourage people I did not know too well. Some wanted to
get me to a show, others into some gambling, and still others to go
swimming. And there were suggestions that I should steal fruit from
the town gardens or country orchards...
Since the companions who tried to coax me into their escapades were
the most careless about everything, they began to come to me with the
request that I do them the kindness of lending them my homework or
dictating it to them. The teachers frowned on this. They said that it
was a false kindness that only encouraged laziness, and they strictly
forbade me to do it. I then resorted to less obvious ways of helping
them, such as explaining problems to them and lending a helping
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hand to those who needed it. Thus I made everyone happy and won
the goodwill and affection of my companions. At first they came to
play, then to listen to stories or to do their homework, and finally for
no reason at all, just as the boys at Murialdo and Castelnuovo used to
do. That these gatherings might have a name, we called ourselves the
Society for a Good Time. There was a reason for the name, because
everyone was obliged to look for such books, discuss such subjects,
or play such games as would contribute to the happiness of the
members. Whatever would induce sadness was forbidden, especially
things contrary to God’s law. Those who swore, used God’s name in
vain, or indulged in bad talk were turned away from the club at once.
So it was that I found myself the leader of a crowd of companions.
Two basic rules were adopted:
(1) Each member of the Society for a Good Time should avoid
language and actions unbecoming a good Christian;
(2) Exactness in the performance of scholastic and religious duties...
During the week, the Society for a Good Time used to meet at the
home of one of the members to talk about religious matters. Anyone
was welcome to come to these gatherings. Garigliano and Braje were
amongst the most conscientious. We entertained ourselves with some
pleasant recreation, with discussions on religious topics, spiritual
reading, and prayer. We exchanged good advice, and if there were
any personal corrections we felt we should hand out to each other,
whether these were our own personal observations or criticisms we
had heard others make, we did that” (MO Ch 8,9).
The former City Hall
(via Giacomo Nel, no. 2)
On the left of St William’s, and fronting the square – the classic facade
by architect Mario Ludovico Quarini on via Giacomo Nel. The Council
met here. It was such until 1842 when it transferred to the former St
Francis convent where it still is today.
This is probably where the two literary academies took place in
honour of Chieri’s Mayor, recorded by Fr Lemoyne as involving John
Bosco reciting a number of classic poems (cf. BM I, 233).
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Cabinetmaker Barzochino’s shop
(via san Giorgio, no. 2)
From piazza Mazzini, going past the City Hall, we come to via
san Giorgio. The first building on the right showing traces of Gothic
architecture, is palazzo Valfrè, formerly palazzo Ferreri. On the ground
floor, where you can see large wooden doors was Bernard Barzochino’s
workshop. This belonged to a famous family of wood craftsmen and
artists in Chieri.
It was probably here that John Bosco came to offer his services in free
moments and also to learn how to make furniture. In fact Fr Lemoyne,
who says he learned this directly from Don Bosco says: “Near his lodging
there was a cabinetmaker’s shop, and there he learned to use the plane,
the square, the saw and other tools. Soon he was able to make articles of
furniture...” (BM I, 193).
PUBLIC SCHOOL, CHIERI
(via Vittorio Emanuele, no. 45/inside)
From piazza Mazzini we go down vicolo Romano back to via Vittorio
Emanuele. On the right, a few steps along, at no. 45, there is a laneway
leading to the buildings that were used for the Chieri public school.
The laneway leads to a courtyard known as the cortile civile; on the left,
beyond an architrave and entrance with panelled ceiling, there is another
courtyard known as the cortile rustico. All this area has now been rebuilt
as private dwellings.
The Chieri City Council had acquired this area – though in truth it
was barely appropriate for classrooms – in 1829, and only later shifted
to the former Oratorian Father’s building used as the seminary. The
renovations of the area continued until autumn 1831. Meanwhile, the
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Council were able to use some parts of the seminary for the schools,
separated from the rest of the building and accessed off via san Filippo.
When John Bosco came to Chieri in November 1831, the new
public school buildings were ready and remained there until the
1838–1839 school year when in November 1839 they moved to the
palazzo Tana.
How this area was arranged
In the cortile civile, the two ground floor rooms were for Sixth and Fifth
Class, while the upper floor was for Fourth and Grammar Classes. In
the cortile rustico, the ground floor area was the school chapel (called
the Student Congregation), where every morning, including weekends,
pupils said their prayers and attended Mass. On the first floor were
Humanities and Rhetoric year classrooms taken by just one teacher.
How the schools were set up
Secondary schooling in the State of Savoy, until the Minister Boncompagni
reform (1848), were divided into six classes of Latinitas (Sixth,
Fifth, Fourth, Grammar, Humanities and Rhetoric) plus two years
philosophy. They were known as the Royal schools (the city schools
were more important and were under royal financing), or Public Schools
(those in smaller towns and under local financing). Each class had one
teacher. Seventy was the maximum number of students in a class. When
the number exceeded this, they could split into two classes – but still
under the same teacher.
The school year began on 3 November and finished at end of June
for philosophy, and 15 August for Rhetoric and end of August for the
others.
Timetable: Mass was obligatory each morning, celebrated by the
Spiritual Director, then three hours of school followed and a further two
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and a half in the afternoon. In the two years of philosophy there was one
and a half hours class in the morning and similarly in the afternoon.
Exams: were run by a teacher other than the normal one. The first exam
was catechism and unless you passed that you couldn’t do the others.
Examinable subjects were:
For Sixth, Fifth and Fourth:
1. One item in Italian to be translated into Latin
2. One item in Latin to be translated into Italian
3. An oral exam.
In the Grammar year:
1. 1 as above
2. 2 as above
3. Some Latin prose which had to be put into a particular Latin poetic
metre
4. Write a letter in Italian
5. Oral exam on what had been learned by rote during the year.
Humanities:
1. 1 as above
2. 2 as above
3. composition of a letter or an essay on some topic
4. as above for Latin prose into Latin poetry
5. Same but this time Italian prose to poetry in free verse from
6. Oral exam as above.
Rhetoric:
As above, except for no. 3: “a speech which could be written as
the examinee wanted in Latin or Italian” on an assigned topic, but
respecting the rules and rhetorical features.
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Marks were given in Latin: male, nescit, medie, fere bene, fere optime,
optime, egregie Students who failed nescit twice were expelled from
school.
Disciplinary aspects
Discipline was given special attention both in school and outside the
school timetable. The Prefect of Studies was in charge of discipline, and
while John Bosco was at school, this post was held by the Dominican,
Pio Eusebio Sibilla. Any student misbehaviour was referred to the
Prefect of Studies. Disobedience or lack of respect for teachers were
given a three day suspension and a public apology to the whole class. The
regulations strictly forbade students to go swimming, or to the theatre or
take part in “tricks” (sleight of hand), wear masks, go dancing, frequent
cafes or eat and drink in inns and restaurants, or play any games in the
streets around town. Any absence in excess of a fortnight that was not
for reasons of health meant automatic exclusion from school. Books too
came under the Prefect’s control: students could only keep or read books
that he knew about and had given permission for.
It was also up to the Prefect of Studies to approve arrangements for
students to stay with private families.
Religious formation
Religious formation was entrusted to the Spiritual Director. Other than
daily Mass students had to front up for Confession once a month and at
least once a year for Communion, and had to actually hand in a “ticket”
to that effect (“Confession and Communion tickets”) to the Prefect of
Studies, otherwise they could not sit for the exams.
Every Saturday each teacher would question the students on the
catechism lesson that had been given them by the Spiritual Director the
previous Sunday. Then during Lent there was a Catechism lesson every
day before classes began.
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On Sundays and feast days, students would come with their prayer
book to the Congregation, meaning they would assemble in the school
chapel. The Congregation was run as follows:
Morning:
– spiritual reading for the first quarter of an hour
– the Veni Creator was sung
– “Nocturn” and reading, then the “Ambrosian hymn” (the Te Deum)
from the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
– Mass
– Litany of Our Lady (sung)
– religious instruction
– the psalm Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, with chorus and “prayer
for his Majesty”.
Afternoon:
– spiritual reading for the first quarter of an hour
– “usual prayers with acts of faith, hope and charity and contrition”
– catechism for three quarters of an hour.
In preparation for Christmas there was a triduum with two sermons
per day.
Each school year there was also a retreat, from Friday evening before
Palm Sunday to the morning of Wednesday in Holy Week, following this
structure:
– introduction (Friday evening)
– four talks a day (two “meditations” and two “instructions”)
– daily Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
– conclusion on Wednesday with the Easter Communion.
In the light of these arrangements, we can understand how Don
Bosco had written:
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This strict discipline produced wonderful results. Even years could
pass without you hearing a blasphemy or bad talk. Pupils were
obedient and respectful both during school time and at home with
their families. And it often happened that in the large classes everyone
was promoted to the next grade at the end of the year. In third,
Humanities and Rhetoric, all my class mates were promoted....
I want to note one thing here that will certainly enable us to
understand how the spirit of piety was nurtured in the college in
Chieri. Over the four years that I attended these schools I never
recall hearing a conversation or even a word out of place or against
religion. When the Rhetoric year was over, out of 25 pupils in that
group, 21 embraced the ecclesiastical state; three became doctors, one
a businessman (MO Ch. 16).
John Bosco as a student
In the 1831–1832 school year John went into Sixth Class (taught by
Fr Valeriano Pugnetti), because his schooling at Castelnuovo was rather
poor. However, two months later he was promoted to Fifth (taught
by his friend Fr Placido Valimberti) and in the same year was again
promoted to Fourth (the teacher was Vincenzo Cima). In fact it was
common practice that id a student showed a grasp of the subjects in a
particular class, he could go on to a higher one even during the school
year. It was in Cima’s class where the famous episode took place when
John had his grammar book in hand, and read out a passage from a Latin
author he had just heard as if he was reading it from the book, but in fact
he had left it at home (cf. MO Ch. 7).
Over the next three years he was in, and largely successfully at
Grammar (1832–1833; the teacher was Giacinto Giusiana, a Dominican);
Humanities (1833–1834; the teacher was Fr Pietro Banaudi); Rhetoric
(1834–1835; the teacher was Fr Giovanni Francesco Bosco).
He was on good terms with the teachers, especially Fr Giusiana, who
was also a good influence on his formation; Don Bosco, grateful for
this, would celebrate one of his first Masses in the monastery where his
former teacher lived. We can recall amongst other things the important
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role Giusiana played in the final exams that year (1833) when John risked
failing because he had lent his homework to some classmates.
Fr Peter Banaudi would be remembered as “a true model of the
teacher. He never used any punishment, Don Bosco recalls: "He was
feared and loved by all his pupils. He loved them as if they were his
own sons and loved them as a tender father” (MO Ch. 11). The end
of the year with Fr Banaudi was highlighted by a cheerful walk the
students had in the countryside. Unfortunately towards the evening one
of them, Filippo Camandona, who had secretly wanted to go swimming
at the Fontana Rossa (along the road between Chieri and Pino Torinese),
was a victim of his disobedience (cf. MO Ch. 11). The following year
(1834–1835) Fr Banaudi was transferred to Barge (Cuneo) and during
the Easter holidays John – a sign of the affection between them – spent
two days with him; there is a moving account of this which John wrote
up later (cf. BM I, 262-265). John also had a very good relationship
with his rhetoric teacher who bore the same surname. Fr John Francis
Bosco, “as soon as he had finished the course in rhetoric... asked him
to be his friend and to be addressed informally” (BM I, 273). Later he
would tell the Salesians that he admired “young Bosco busily hoeing in
the vineyard of his landlord Cumino. On a branch in front of him he
had placed a book from which he was studying his lessons” (BM I, 268).
The four years of public schooling were full of good friendships
with his class mates. Probably already in 1831–1832 he had begun to set
up the Society for a Good Time, copying the enthusiasm that was around
at the time for similar kinds of groups everywhere: there were patriotic
secret societies, but also literary and religious ones.
Amongst his friends in his first year at school Don Bosco had chosen
Guglielmo Garigliano (1818–1902), who would be with him in the
seminary and at the Pastoral Institute, and Paolo Braja (1819–1832),
who died in July that same year, “a true model of piety, resignation, and
living faith” (MO Ch. 10).
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But the most outstanding friendship was with Louis Comollo who
attended the Public Schools in Chieri in 1834–1835. Physically weak he
had great spiritual strength and played an important role in young Bosco
as he grew to maturity, to the point where the latter said: “... he became
my close friend and I can say that from him I began to learn how to live
as a Christian. I trusted him completely and he trusted me” (MO Ch.
10). For his part John defended him against his school mates, on one
occasions even by manhandling them (cf. MO Ch. 10). Thanks to this
friendship he began to clarify his vocation and took on a life style that
was more in line with such. He wrote: “My life in the past had not been
wicked, but I had been proud and dissipated,given over to amusements,
games, acrobatics and other such things. These pursuits gave passing joy
but did not satisfy the heart” (MO Ch. 17).
John’s leaning to friendship and personal contact made him
available to everyone. He was even asked to help tutor students in higher
classes (cf. BM I, 206). His patience, his “teacher’s” instinct and his
warm nature brought good results, and not only in the scholastic field.
We can recall once again his influence on Giovanni Battista Matta, the
son of the lady whose place he was staying at, and on the brother of Fr
Valimberti, his teacher. For two years John helped Carlo Palazzolo, the
thirty-five-year-old sacristan at the cathedral, who was privately sitting
for his Rhetoric Year so he could receive the clerical habit (cassock) (cf.
BM I, 219).
PIAZZA CAVOUR AND SURROUNDING AREA
If we continue along via Vittorio Emanuele towards Turin we come
to piazza Cavour, then known as piazza d’Arme. On the right, on the
higher part, is the church of San Bernardino, built in the early 17th
century. Architect Bernardo Antonio Vittone also helped with some
renovation and totally rebuilt the original cupola (1740–1744). The
facade with its two low bell towers with statues on top was completed
in 1792. This was the work of Mario Ludovico Quarini. Inside are two
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wonderful canvases by Moncalvo, one at the main altar and the other on
the right-hand side altar.
Church of Sant’Antonio Abate (St Anthony Abbot)
On the corner of the piazza, and facing onto via Vittorio Emanuele. It
was rebuilt following the design of Filippo Juvarra (1767) over an earlier
building of Gothic design – only the bell tower of that remains (1445).
Worthy of interest inside: carved wooden pulpit from 1470; ceiling
fresco by Vittorio Blanseri (1735–1775), the apotheosis of St Anthony;
the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) in bas-relief, by Giovanni Battista
Bernero (1736–1796). In 1628 the church and attached buildings were
given to the Jesuits by Cardinal Maurizio di Savoia. This was the Jesuit
Scholasticate.
This also holds memories of John Bosco in Chieri: “On feast days,
after the practices of piety in common, at the college, we used to go along
to St Anthony’s church, where the Jesuits gave marvellous catechetical
instructions with plenty of stories that I still recall” (MO Ch. 9).
A plaque on the side of the church looking over the piazza, recalls
this and when John attended with members of the Society for a Good
Time.
Muletto inn
On the southern end of piazza Cavour, on the corner with via Vittorio
Emanuele and via Palazzo di Città, where today you find the Caffè
Nazionale, there was a tavern known as the Muletto. It reminds us of the
happy conclusion to the epic challenge between the young Bosco and
an acrobatic performer. the contest, urged on by his friends, took place
along the Porta Torinese and involved four activities: a race, acrobatics,
magic and climbing a tree. John beat the performer in all four and won
the considerable amount of 240 lire. So he wouldn’t ruin the poor fellow
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who could see all his earnings going up in smoke, he gave him back the
money on condition that he treat all the members of the Society for a
Good Time to a meal. The performer willingly accepted this and invited
John and his friends (twenty two of them in all) to the Muletto (cf. MO
Ch. 14).
Cafe Pianta
Just a short few steps from piazza Cavour, in the casa Vergnano, we
would have found caffè Pianta [Cafe Pianta in English]. Giovanni
Pianta, brother of Lucia the widow Matta, originally from Morialdo,
came to Chieri in the autumn of 1833 and opened a cafe with attached
billiards room. Since he was just beginning, he insisted with Mamma
Margaret that John stay with him and help him in the many things that
were needed for running a public place.
The cafe opened shortly after the beginning of the school year. John
meanwhile had left casa Marchisio and had stayed briefly with the baker,
Michele Cavallo, at the casa Ricci next to tailor Cumino’s place.
The Cafe Pianta had two rooms, one which opened out to the
public, and the other was used for billiards and a piano, located towards
the inner courtyard. There was a long passageway between them (3.50
metres), from under the staircase where there was also a small brick stove
for preparing sweets and coffee. There was a small area under the stairs
where John could stay.
At free moments during the school year he helped Mr Pianta with
his work and learned how to prepare coffee, sweets and liqueurs. He was
also a waiter in the billiards room and this helped raise the tone a little
and lesson the language problem!
It was here that John Bosco developed his friendship with Jonah the
Jewish lad, whom he had already got to know from Elijah’s bookshop.
The two would often sing, play the piano, and chat: and it was here the
the young Jewish lad’s journey of faith began.
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John got no wage at the Cafe Pianta but only a place to stay, a plate
of soup and some time to study. His mother, as was customary at the
time, gave him bread and something else to eat, but her finances did not
allow her to give him money. For clothing and anything else he needed,
also to supplement his diet, John earned what he could from tutoring.
In his Humanities year (1833–1834) things were very tough.
The Blanchard family lived in the same house on the first floor.
Their place looked over the inner courtyard, and even today you can still
see the wooden balcony. Joseph, one of their children, and a friend of
John’s (13 years old), would often bring him so fruit to ease his hunger,
at the mother’s insistence. Don Bosco would never forget this act of
charity and friendship (cf. BM I, 223-225).
To financial limitations we need to add that this was the year when
his vocational decision was at its most crucial and difficult stage: in
March John decides to enter the Franciscans and was admitted, but then
puts it on hold so he could discern things more clearly.
Despite all these things his life was calm, active and of service, as
Joseph Blanchard and Clotilde Vergnano tells us. She was the daughter
of the house’s owner. Other than study and working at the cafe, his
generosity meant he was ready to be useful to anyone: he would bring
water from the well each day (now bricked over but still visible under the
corridor that goes into the courtyard). He brought the water to elderly
Fr Carlo Arnaud who lived on the upper floor; he also mixed with a
group of six or seven boys who he would spend time with or help with
their homework; they were boarding with veterinarian Torta in a nearby
house (cf. BM I, 218-219).
The cafe, however, was not the best place to be benefiting from
studies. Domenico Pogliano, the bell-ringer at the cathedral, and who
admired John for his devotion and apostolate amongst his peers invited
him to stay with him so he could study more. But he saw the need for
different arrangements for the following year (cf. BM I, 220).
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Recent developments
The Salesian Family eventually took over these rooms and now, as well as
reminding us of some significant moments of John Bosco’s life in Chieri,
they have been placed at the service of Chieri’s youth ministry.
Tommaso Cumino’s house
(via Vittorio Emanuele, no. 24)
The next year (1834–1835) John was in Rhetoric. The decision to
enter the Franciscans was on hold, with the help of the parish priest
at Castelnuovo, Fr Cinzano, who had agreed to help out financially,
and also because of Fr Cafasso’s advice. Cafasso found him a place at
tailor Tommaso Cumino’s home, near where he himself was staying; Fr
Cinzano for his part paid the board, 8 lire a month (cf. BM I, 248).
John spent some months in an underground section that had earlier
been used as a stable. He could get there through an entrance off the
courtyard at Cumino’s place; this has been completely rebuilt today.
With Fr Cafasso’s help, he was later offered a room on the first floor.
During Rhetoric year his teach was the young Fr Giovanni
Francesco Bosco, a good friend, and it was here that he met Louis
Comollo from Cinzano for the first time. Comollo was in the year below
(Humanities), but in the same classroom. In fact the two classes were
together at Chieri, under the one teacher.
Cumino the tailor (who died in 1840 at 74 years of age) was a
cheerful person, loved a joke, but a bit naive and John used enjoy playing
his magic tricks on him. “Good Tommaso never knew what to say,” Don
Bosco tells us. “Men,” he would say to himself, “can’t possibly do these
kinds of things; God would not waste time on silly things like this so
it has to be the devil who is doing it.” So feeling scrupulous he raised
the matter with Fr Bertinetti, and he took it to the archpriest Canon
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Burzio, Prefect of the schools. This latter questioned John who gave him
an example of his skills. “The good canon had a hearty laugh. He asked
me to give him a demonstration of sleight of hand, and how to make
things appear and disappear. He enjoyed it all and gave me a little gift.
Finally he told me, ‘go and tell all your friends that wonder is the result
of ignorance.’” (MO Ch. 13).
Baker Michele Cavallo’s stable
(vicolo B. Valimberti)
Coming out of the courtyard of Cumino’s place, back towards piazza
Cavour, on the right we find vicolo B. Valimberti and, after a shop
(household products), towards the end of the building is an old brick
wall around a tiny courtyard. This gave entrance to Michele Cavallo’s
stable. John lived there for several years before going to Cafe Pianta
(autumn 1833). He paid in kind by looking after the vineyard and the
horses.
A farrier is currently working at this location.
DUOMO, COLLEGIATE CHURCH
From via Palazzo di Città, turn left at the first road into via Cottolengo,
and there is the house where Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo died (30
April 1842), where his brother Luigi, Canon at the Chieri collegiate
church, lived. Continuing we reach the piazza where the collegiate
church is, the principal church in Chieri. It is one of the best-known
examples of Gothic architecture in Piedmont. It is dedicated to Santa
Maria della Scala.
It was built between 1405 and 1436, taking the place of an 11th
century church built over Roman ruins. The bell tower is on the right
(built between 1329 and 1492) and the baptistery, renovated in the
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15th century but built over an early Christian baptistery. Inside we find
splendid artwork from many centuries. Here we just mention – because
it concerns Don Bosco – the fourth chapel on the left dedicated to Our
Lady of Graces.
The chapel was built because of a vow made by the City Council
on 2 August 1630 during a terrible plague. It is by Bernardo Antonio
Vittone (1757–1759), embellished in 1780 for the 150th celebrations
of the vow. The wooden statue (1642) is by Pietro Botto da Savigliano
(1603–1662); the four panels, with scenes from the plague, are by
Giuseppe Sariga from Ticino (+ 1782). Each year at the time of the vow
the municipal authorities pay homage to the Virgin on her feast day by
singing the Salve Regina.
John Bosco, a student at the public school, came here morning and
evenings to pray before this statue, mindful of what his mother had told
him: “be devoted to the Madonna!” (BM I, 201). He prayed here along
with Comollo asking for enlightenment about his vocation. He tells us:
Since the obstacles were many and difficult, I decided to reveal it all to
my friend Comollo. He advised me to make a novena. Meanwhile he
would write to his uncle the provost. On the last day of my novena I
went to Confession and Communion with this incomparable friend.
I attended one Mass and served another at the altar of Our Lady of
Grace in the Cathedral. Then we went home and found a letter from
Fr Comollo which went something like this: “Having given careful
consideration to what you wrote me, I advise your friend not to enter
a monastery at this time. Let him don the clerical habit. As he goes
on with his studies he will better understand what God wants him to
do. He must not fear to lose his vocation because aloofness from the
world and earnest piety will help him overcome every obstacle (MO
Ch. 16).
In the area near the sacristy John helped the sacristan Carlo Palazzolo
with his exams for Rhetoric. He also got to know the bell-ringer,
Domenico Pogliano, who invited him to come to his house and study.
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As a seminarian, every Sunday he would come to this church for the
main Mass with the others and in his final year of theology (1840–1841),
helped out with teaching catechism there.
On 9 June 1841, at the altar of Our Lady of Grace, he celebrated his
fourth Mass as a new priest. We can also recall that in this church on 18
September 1735, Filippo Antonio Bosco was baptised, John’s paternal
grandfather.
Recent developments
On the left wall of the last chapel on the Gospel side, there is a modern
triptych measuring 3.50 x 5.50 metre, which commemorates the visit of
Pope St John Paul II to Chieri on September 3, 1988, on the occasion of
the centenary of the death of St John Bosco. It is a painting with acrylic
colours on metal support, painted by Luigi Benedicenti in 1989.
In the background we see the Duomo, with its facade, baptistery and
bell tower; in the foreground (with a bold but significant approach, and
in a dynamic attitude that recalls the attitude of the Piedmontese saints
in the painting by Mario Càffaro-Rore, visible three chapels further on),
Pope St John Paul II and St John Bosco, with the Archbishop of Turin,
Cardinal Anastasio Ballestrero, and the then parish priest of the Duomo,
Gianni Carrù, behind them. On the sides, boys and girls are crowded
together bringing gifts.
On the right side, in the background, the artist can be recognised in
the act of observing the scene before reproducing it on the table in his
hands. This is not the only autobiographical element: in the characters
surrounding the Pope, he wanted to portray his daughter and his many
grandchildren. Luigi Benedicenti, born in Chieri on April 2, 1948, was
first a student of Mario Càffaro Rore. Starting from the realism of his
master, he gradually arrived at Hyperrealism (or Photorealism), as we
can see in this work. He passed away on 4 March 2015.
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CASA BERTINETTI AND SANTA TERESA INSTITUTE
(via Palazzo di Città, no. 5)
The Salesian Sisters work in this building, where they have had an
oratory and school for girls since 1878, sent there by Don Bosco
and Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello. Carlo and Ottavia Bertinetti,
this latter who was Jonah’s godmother, in 1868 had left the building
to Don Bosco along with the land around it, to open a work for
youngsters in Chieri. But a number of problems, particularly opposition
from Fr Andrea Oddenino, the parish priest at the cathedral, held this
foundation up for a while.
The boys’ oratory was set up in the San Giorgio parish, under the
direction of Frs Matteo Sona and Domenico Cumino, both priests
from Chieri. Later, Carlotta Braja, sister of his old friend Paolo Braja
(who died on 10 July 1832), with the help of her friends Rosa Ciceri,
Maddalena Avataneo, set up a small girls’ oratory on the last Sunday
in October 1876 in casa Bertinetti. Don Bosco sent a Salesian to open
the place on the 8th December that year, and he blessed a statue of
Mary Help of Christians still kept at Santa Teresa’s. The statue was Don
Bosco’s gift and when he offered it he said: “For now I’m sending the
Mother; later I will send the Daughters.” It was two years later when
the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians took possession of the house,
where they included the oratory then later opened a boarding school.
Over the years it became a house of formation and at various times has
been an FMA aspiranate, postulancy, novitiate and juniorate. Many of
the early Sisters were formed here, and then went out to spread Salesian
work throughout the world.
Don Bosco often came here: a desk and chair he used have been
preserved.
But even while he was younger 1835, John had entered this house
at least twice. Once was when he was called by Canon Massimo Burzio
(who lived in the house next door, bought by Carlo Bertinetti in 1848)
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to explain the “secrets” of his magic tricks. Then when he had completed
his Rhetoric Year, this was where he sat the exam to be admitted to his
clerical clothing. This was usually done in Turin at the Archbishop’s
palace. But that year because of cholera they had advised young men
not to come to the city from around the archdiocese and Canon Burzio
was given the task of examining candidates from Chieri, amongst whom
John.
Today, only some parts of casa Bertinetti remain – the rest has been
incorporated into newer constructions. The only part left is a large hall
from the 15th century with panelled ceiling decorated with the coats of
arms (maybe) of Piedmontese crusaders.
It used to be connected to the former palazzo Tana, and St Aloysius
Gonzaga’s mother came from this family. This noble Saint, according
to one tradition, lived for a time in Chieri with his grandparents. The
room where he slept at palazzo Tana has been preserved, and this is
also where he would have scourged himself. St Aloysius has always been
venerated in Chieri with special devotion: in Don Bosco’s time there he
was presented as a model of Christian living and virtue for young people.
The public schools had a novena of preparation for his feast day, with
solemn functions and an academy of literature and music. Don Bosco
kept this devotion going by fostering it amongst his boys.
Palazzo Tana, which belonged to Gustavo and Camillo Cavour at
one stage, also became a boarding school for the public school and a
student hostel, from 1839.
In very recent times, a careful restoration of the oldest part of the
palazzo, especially its roofs, has been carried out.
FORMER VIALE PORTA TORINO
If we continue along via Vittorio Emanuele towards Turin, once we
leave the old city we see a line of linden and plane trees: this is all that
remains of the old viale di Porta Torino, which in Don Bosco’s time
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would have been shaded by large elm trees. It was here, during the
1833–1834 school year, that the challenge to the performer took place
when John was in his Humanities year (cf. MO Ch. 14).
A plaque at the beginning of the promenade recalls this event.
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Part Three
THE BECCHI, CASTELNUOVO
AND SURROUNDS
(1841–1849)
His early years of pastoral experience

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FURTHER STUDIES AND PASTORAL CHOICE
After ordination and five months of pastoral experience at Castelnuovo,
Fr John Bosco entered the St Francis of Assisi Pastoral Institute to round
off his studies of moral theology, which he needed to do the Confessions
exam.
Fr Luigi Guala (1775–1848) and Fr Giuseppe Cafasso had given the
Institute a serious approach to study, discipline and the spiritual care
of young priests, but one that was also open to a variety of pastoral
options. The school followed St Alphonsus’ line of thinking, other
appropriate spiritual masters, and community and personal reading,
spiritual direction and the daily rhythm were all aimed at producing
a priest who was spiritually well-based, zealous and tireless for his
apostolic work, and open to the religious and material needs of the
people.
Instructions and meditations prepared by Cafasso for the clergy
retreat throw considerable light on the ascetic and priestly model in place
for priestly formation: the spiritual and pastoral aspect were so much
part of this school that it would seem there was no other way for the
priest to achieve holiness than an indefatigable concern for the souls
entrusted to him, a concern inflamed with charity and affection.
In the three years he was at the Pastoral Institute, Don Bosco was
shaped by this model which had at its core frequent Confession, the
Eucharist, union with God, intense prayer spread throughout the day
through simple devout practices (and also daily, weekly, monthly and
annually), and also with a strong Marian emphasis.
From the early days he spent in the city, Don Bosco was able to
see the complex socio-religious situation in Turin, very different from
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the quiet, traditional setting he had been used to until then. The
Institute helped him to interpret this situation. In fact it was an excellent
training ground for apostolic activities, including the frontier type, and
an observatory for pastoral issues, experiences and attempts at solutions
around the city. Traditional priestly roles such as confessions, catechism
and preaching now took on new approaches in an ecclesial setting that
was different because of the new cultural atmosphere and emerging
social classes within the Christian population.
Don Bosco was guided by Cafasso and Dr Borel, who also
introduced him to the very lively world of “charity” in Turin.
There were many welfare and charitable initiatives – amongst which
very new types such as those by Cottolengo and the Marchioness Barolo
who were exploring a kind of “Christian charity” which had already
begun the previous century, where religious welfare was built on an
orderly social base. It was a question of providing immediate response
to material and social needs in order to overcome casual responses and
arrive at stable solutions. The aim then was to take the very poor, most
needy and also the wayward away from the socio-religious fringes and
help them to integrate themselves by enlightening them through values
and goals (preventive education) and then giving them the tools which
would enable them to achieve these.
“Good Christians and upright, hard-working citizens”, is the expression
Don Bosco would use to sum up the purpose of his work. In the
first nine years of pastoral work he was gradually clarifying this aim
and the method that followed it. Faced with orphans who had been
neglected, marginalised, and who had primary needs to satisfy as well as
religious and moral gaps to be filled, he immediately offered responses
that human sensitivity, his priestly role, his culture and the means he had
available suggested and allowed him to employ. Then gradually, through
imagination and good intuition, he articulated his activity, developed
initiatives, invented and created.
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But right from the outset in the sacristy at St Francis of Assisi’s,
he put his most characteristic approach into motion: heartfelt and
demonstrated affection as a response to the thirst for love; the consideration
he showed neglected young people immediately resulted in a positive
response, the desire to start afresh, get involved and show responsibility.
It was a case not only of giving poor youth a means of survival but
to encourage their energy and potential, make them independent and
active players in their own right. This aim, Don Bosco had understood,
could only be achieved by looking after the individual in all his
dimensions: civil and professional, cultural and relational, moral and
spiritual. So as well as Confession, catechetics, religious instruction and
prayer he included early literacy, work preparation, singing, music and
festivity; and this is why he built up a lively community of young people
where everyone was involved and helping to run it.
His preferred choice of marginalised young people at risk was
something all priests who ran oratories shared (Fr Cocchi, Fr Borel, Don
Bosco, Fr Càrpano, Fr Trivero, Fr Vola, Fr Ponte, the Murialdo cousins
and so many others) though they did not always agree on the methods.
Don Bosco, who in these early years of his ministry was still shaping
clear ideas, soon became aware of this and immediately focused on form
collaborators who were imbued with his spirit, and on administrative
and organisational independence for his three oratories: St Francis de
Sales at Valdocco (1846), St Aloysius at Porta Nuova (1847) and the
Guardian Angel at Vanchiglia, which he took over from Fr Cocchi in
1849.
Archbishop Luigi Fransoni understood him and supported him.
The 1848–1849 crisis contributed decisively to clarifying the various
positions. Don Bosco – and others with him – made an exclusive choice
for education and ministry and withdrew his work from the vagaries of
political interests and enthusiasm; he set about defining his objectives,
content, and to developing an approach that would give his oratory both
stability and flexibility. This gave it life, an ability to adapt and made it
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Some details and their significance
effective in tackling the problems of youth then, and that subsequently
became a feature of all Salesian work.
EMERGING PEDAGOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES
These early years of Don Bosco’s pastoral activity are characteristic ones
because they show us the young priest refining his formation along with
the pastor and educator already benefiting from the insight, pedagogical
and spiritual experiences he had had.
The values that emerged from how he understood this period
encouraged people who were focused on their growth as human beings
and Christians and those ready to dedicate themselves to a mission of
ministry and education.
The list below is just an example of the fruitful suggestions
and teachings we can pick out by comparing Don Bosco’s historical
experience with today’s variegated life contexts.
– Constantly seeking and discerning God’s will in our life and in the
mission he entrusts us with.
– Unflagging concern for personal growth as relational, cultural,
spiritual, professional human beings.
– Frequent confession and spiritual direction as opportunities for
advice, reviewing our life, discernment and restoring spiritual
energies.
– Awareness of the radical nature of the choice we have made and the
unconditional dedication that follows from this.
– Being anchored in history and faithful to our time; able to read the
"signs of the times" and focus on the appeals that come from events
and people.
– Giving timely, practical responses to the needs of the moment along
with intelligently seeking aims and long-term strategies.
– The central place of the youngster taken as a whole and the focus on
the individual in formation.
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– Taking a preventive approach to the world of young people.
– “Loving-kindness”: willingness to develop friendship, familiarity
and sympathetic understanding between the educator and those
being educated.
– The important role of religion in forming personality: a simple,
rationally motivated, freely accepted and gradually internalised kind
of religion.
– Ability to involve young people and adults in educational and
pastoral activity, in the belief that education and formation are the
work of a community.
– Belief in the decisive role of cultural formation and ideas for
personal growth to maturity with a view to seeing the individual
engaged in both society and Church.
– Cheerfulness, play, festivity as essential elements for building a
personality and in an educational and formation setting.
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SOCIAL AND PASTORAL PROBLEMS IN TURIN IN THE 1840S
The decade from 1840–1850 was marked by two sets of problems in
Turin: one was of a political nature, the other socio-economic, but both
had important pastoral implications.
Liberal moves towards a new notion of the State and a yearning
for national unity developed a situation that saw the various parties
taking clear sides. Supporters of new political approaches opposed the
conservatives and reactionaries tied up with the ancien régime.
After the 1848 incidents the neo-Guelphian myth collapsed and
with it the hopes of those who longed for a confederal, statutory
solution to the Italian problem which would harmonise patriotic
yearnings and hoped for political and social reform with ideal Christian
values. Turin’s clergy were also in disagreement over ideas and choices.
Because of the different idea of the State and society being
propagated by the emerging political class, with its liberal inspiration,
there was an increasing gap between opposing sides (the liberal and the
Catholic, and each of these had a range a views within them) and all
was in readiness for a face-off between Church and State. This clash –
initially showing up in some opposition from laity and certain clergy for
example to Archbishop Luigi Fransoni, regarding issues that touched on
were really to do with the freedom allowed by Charles Albert’s Statute
– would soon harden irreversibly through laws affecting the Church
(1850 and 1855).
The huge economic crisis affecting all of Europe since 1815 was
gradually being overcome towards the end of the 1830s and by 1840
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there were signs of a recovery. In Turin the middle and more open
aristocratic classes were engaging in entrepreneurial, commercial and
financial activities set up on new foundations from which emerged the
future industrial development of the city.
Consequently, urban society was changing in economic terms also.
There was a growing urbanisation of the rural masses, something that
had begun with the crisis in agriculture, and this was becoming more
pronounced. At first it was a mainly seasonal phenomenon, then, towards
the end of the decade, it became a decisive migration leading to rapid
demographic development. The traditional civil and parochial structures
were unprepared for this and were not able to successfully integrate the
first waves of migration. There was concern about the falling numbers
of those attending Sunday Mass or fulfilling their Easter duty, people
abandoning parish catechism, the increase in blasphemy, spread of
alcoholism, and increased number of illegitimate children.
Over these years the city saw the growth of outer suburbs, the setting
up of small industries and the first industrial factories, the development
of commercial enterprises of various kinds.
There was a growth in the number below the poverty line and in the
population of unskilled workers, most of them seeking work on a daily
basis, to be found in the poorer areas of Borgo Vanchiglia and Borgo
Dora, in very poor housing. These people were living a life of real poverty.
Working hours, according to the season and the kind of manufacturing
activity, went from 11 to 14 hours a day and even more at certain
moments; pay was miserable and meant that children were often pressed
into work prematurely that was often brutal work and consequently
physically and morally damaging.
Nutrition was poor and inadequate; hygiene was non-existent,
with sad consequences: there were many epidemics and a high infant
mortality rate. The only relief was to be found in pubs and low dives,
wine, betting, and sexual licence.
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Youth gangs, manual labourers or apprentices, flooded the squares and
streets at weekends, or gathered in the fields out in the suburbs. They
were filthy, completely neglected, illiterate, given to alcohol, theft and
immoral behaviour, and heading for a sad future.
People in government, the clergy, and the middle and upper classes
more attentive to the social problem watched this with alarm. Some
were concerned by the social consequences, others the political ones,
and others still the religious and moral ones. They reflected, put up
proposals and sought both immediate and long-term solutions. Private
and public charities, literacy, instruction of the masses, professional
qualification, religious attention, social initiatives and the first cooperatives
marked the interventions by many, prevalently but not only in the
Catholic arena, who tried concrete responses, though nothing was yet
moving at a legislative level.
In this context, the problem of instruction of the masses took on
special importance. Two things converged: on the one hand the belief
of many that schooling was the most effective remedy for the social
ills listed earlier, on the other hand there was a popular yearning
for social improvement through education. From here on initiatives
intensified, both private and public, with roots in the Enlightenment
and revolutionary period and that had already shown some results in
earlier decades. From 1835 to 1847 for example there was a considerable
increase in advertising for public education; there were associations
spreading the idea of kindergartens and literacy for the rural classes;
in 1844 Fr Aporti gave his famous lessons on Teaching Method at the
University; in 1845 the l’Educatore primario, was first published, run
by a lively group of Turin’s pedagogues; at the same time we saw the
beginning of Sunday and evening classes for workers.
Faced with this ferment, State authorities began to take more direct
interest in the problem. The various presidents of the Magistrato della
Riforma (the body in charge of public education), ordered a series
of surveys and censuses so they could get an accurate picture of the
school situation. There were various decrees resulting and Instructions
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for teachers, especially primary teachers. Finally, on 30 November
1847 a Secretariat of State for Public Education was put in place, and
the Minister in charge, Carlo Boncompagni, gained approval for an
important reform of state schools (4 October 1848).
Don Bosco came to Turin in 1841, just as the political, social and
religious problems indicated above were emerging. He interpreted them
through his practical mindset, and his innate sensitivity as an educator,
pastoral concern and the huge affection that marked him out. He felt
he needed to act immediately, provide real responses and invent ways to
redeem and prevent; and this offered youngsters the chance – as was the
case with him as a teenager – to emerge, build a worthy future and one
which was in line with their own aspirations.
TIMELINE
Dates
Places
26.05.1841 Church of the Visitation
05.06.1841 Archbishop’s church
06.06.1841 Church of St Francis of
Assisi
07.06.1841 The Consolata
03.11.1841 St Francis of Assisi
08.12.1841 Sacristy at St Francis of
Assisi
Dec.
St Francis of Assisi
1841–Oct.
1844
People and events
Don Bosco begins
ordination retreat
Arch. Fransoni ordains
Don Bosco priest
Don Bosco’s first Mass
Don Bosco’s second Mass
Fr Guala and Fr Cafasso
accept Don Bosco for
Moral Theology
(1841-1844)
Don Bosco meets
Bartholomew Garelli
Don Bosco gathers
youngsters
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Dates
Places
People and events
20.10.1844 Barolo Refuge
Don Bosco lives there and
brings the oratory
08.12.1844 Ospedaletto Little hospital Borel and Don Bosco bless
of St Philomena
the chapel of the Oratory of
St Francis de Sales
Dec.
Little hospital of St
1844–May Philomena
1845
Festive oratory
25.05.1845 St Peter in Chains
Don Bosco, the Oratory
boys and Fr Tesio’s
housekeeper
June-early Ospedaletto and other
July 1845 churches
Wandering Oratory
13.07.–Dec. St Martins at the Molassi Don Bosco and Borel
1845
(Mills)
gather the boys in the
afternoon
Churches around city and Mass and Confession in
beyond
mornings
Nov.
Casa Moretta
1845–Feb.
1846
Don Bosco offers weekend
and evening school and
catechism
Churches around city and Mass and Confession in
beyond
mornings
Feb.
Prato Filippi Filippi field Don Bosco and Borel
5.04.1846
gather the boys in the
afternoons
Churches around city and Mass and Confession in the
beyond
mornings
08.03.1846 Prato Filippi Filippi field Don Bosco meets Pancrazio
Soave
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Dates
Places
Between 4 Pinardi shed
and
13.03.1846
Mar.-Apr. Pinardi shed
1846
12.04.1846 Pinardi chapel and land
05.06.1846 casa Pinardi
End May Palazzo Barolo
1846
July 1846 Ospedaletto
Begin.
August
1846
casa Pinardi
Aug.–Oct. the Becchi
1846
03.11.1846 casa Pinardi
01.12.1846 casa Pinardi
May 1847 casa Pinardi
20.06.1847 Pinardi chapel
08.12.1847 St Aloysius Oratory
19.02.1851 casa Pinardi
People and events
Borel and Don Bosco rent
the shed at casa Pinardi
(contract postdated on 1st
Apr.)
Adjustments made
Oratory begins at casa
Pinardi
Borel and Don Bosco rent 3
rooms
Barolo “sacks” Don Bosco
at end of August
Don Bosco seriously ill
Rents one more room
Don Bosco convalesces
Don Bosco and Mamma
Margaret move in
Whole house rented
Orphan from Valsesia taken
in by Don Bosco
Arch. Fransoni administers
Confirmation
Opened at Porta Nuova
Don Bosco buys house and
land
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SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITS AND TOURS
Other than the rebuilt Pinardi chapel, the most meaningful place of all
those offered in this third part is, of course, the church of St Francis
of Assisi. It is worth spending time and detail on this. The three
suggested routes (the first beginning from the church of the Visitation)
are especially good if done on foot.
Longest route (from 3 to 4 hours)
Small well-prepared adult of youth groups.
Church of the Visitation (page 171) → via Arcivescovado - right to via
Arsenale → Church of the Arcivescovado (page 172) → via Arsenale
- left to via santa Teresa - right to via san Francesco → Church of
St Francis of Assisi and Convitto Ecclesiastico (page 176) → right to
via san Francesco - via Milano - left to via Corte d’Appello - right to
via delle Orfane → Palazzo Barolo (page 188) → via delle Orfane
- left to vicolo della Consolata → Consolata (page 240) → via delle
Orfane - right to via Giulio → piazza della Repubblica (Porta Palazzo)
→ cross heading north-east → piazza Albera (where Dora Mills were
and St Martins: page 199) → left via Noè - via Borgo Dora - left via
Andreis - right via san Pietro in Vincoli → cemetery of St Peter in
Chains (page 197) → left via Robassomero - left via Cigna - left via
Cottolengo → Rifugio (page 191) and Ospedaletto (page 193) → right
via Cottolengo - via Maria Ausiliatrice → where the Filippi field was
(page 204) and casa Moretta (page 201) → via Maria Ausiliatrice -
piazza Maria Ausiliatrice → Pinardi chapel (page 208).
Good places for reflection, prayer, Mass: Church of the Visitation - St
Francis of Assisi - Consolata - Pinardi chapel.
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Average route (2 to 3 hours)
For a slightly larger group of adults, youth.
Pinardi chapel (page 208) → left via Maria Ausiliatrice → casa
Moretta (page 201) and Filippi field (page 204) → via Cottolengo →
Barolo work (outside: page 191) → right via Ariosto - cross corso Regina
- via della Consolata → The Consolata (page 240) → left then right
via delle Orfane → Palazzo Barolo (outside: page 188) → left via Corte
d’Appello - right via Milano - via san Francesco → Church of St Francis
of Assisi (francis).
Best places for reflection, prayer or Mass: Pinardi chapel - Consolata - St
Francis of Assisi.
Short route (1 to 1½ hours)
Large or smaller group.
Pinardi chapel (page 208) → corso Regina - right via della Consolata →
The Consolata (page 240) → via della Consolata - piazza Savoia - left
via Corte d’Appello - right via Milano - via san Francesco → Church of
St Francis of Assisi (page 175).
Best places for reflection, prayer or Mass: Pinardi chapel - Consolata - St
Francis of Assisi.
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CHURCH OF THE VISITATION
(corner via XX Settembre – via Arcivescovado)
As a cleric John Bosco made his ordination retreat in Turin. The task
of preparing clerics for orders through a retreat was entrusted to the
Vincentians in Turin, founded by St Vincent de Paul. Also known as
the Priests of the Mission.
Priests of the Mission house
(via XX Settembre, no. 23)
The house we see today was rebuilt after the War on the ruins of the
former Visitation monastery (St Francis de Sales), founded in 1638 by St
Jane Frances Chantal who spent seven months in Turin for the occasion.
The Visitandines lived here until religious orders were suppressed by
the French Government in 1802. Their being in Turin contributed to
the spread of devotion to and the spirituality of St Francis de Sales, one
of the most loved saints in the State of Savoy. During the Restoration the
Sisters moved to the Santa Chiara (St Clare) monastery and this building
was then given to the Vincentians (1830).
Under the leadership of Fr Marcantonio Durando, the Vincentians
built a new wing (on via XX Settembre) to host clergy and laity for
retreats. Works finished in 1832. Archbisop Colombano Chiaveroti,
Archbishop of Turin (1818–1831), had in fact already asked the
Vincentians some years earlier to look after formation of clerics in
the city who did not live in the seminary and to preach retreats to
anyone preparing for orders. It was a good choice since the Vincentians
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had considerable positive influence on the clergy in Turin, and were
a channel for some of the more vital elements of Italian and French
priestly spirituality (especially that coming out of the French Bèrulle
Oratory and from St Francis de Sales) and they promoted a model of
priestly zeal in ministry and a holy personal life.
St John Bosco made a retreat here on 3 occasions: preparing
for his subdiaconate (September 1840), diaconate (March 1841) and
priesthood (from 26 may to 5 June 1841).
He wrote about the subdiaconate retreat:
For the autumn ordinations [note: 19 September 1840] I was admitted
to the subdiaconate. When I think now of the virtues required for
that most important step, I am convinced that I was not sufficiently
prepared for it. But since I had no one to care directly for my vocation,
I turned to Fr Caffasso. He advised me to go forward and trust in his
advice. I made a ten-day retreat at the House of the Mission in Turin.
During it I made a general confession so that my confessor would have
a clear picture of my conscience and would be able to give me suitable
advice (MO Ch 25)
The resolutions he made during his retreat for priesthood reflect the
spiritual and priestly model offered by the Vincentians and also by Fr
Cafasso, and they also reflect the pastoral approach of St Francis de Sales:
I began the retreat at the House of the Mission on 26 May, the Feast
of St Philip Neri 1841 .… Conclusion I drew at the end of the retreat
in preparation for my first Mass was: The priest does not go either to
heaven or hell alone. If he does well he goes to heaven with the souls
he has saved through his good example; if he does badly, gives scandal
he goes to perdition with the souls damned through his scandal.
Resolutions:
1. Never go for walks unless seriously necessary: visit the sick etc.
2. Use time well.
3. Suffer, act and accept humiliations in everything and always if it is
a case of saving souls.
4. The charity and kindness of St Francis de Sales will guide me in
everything.
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5. I will always be happy with the food that is put in front of me unless
it is harmful to my health.
6. I will water down my wine and drink it only as a remedy: meaning
only when and as much as is needed for my health.
7. Work is a powerful weapon against the soul’s enemies, therefore
I will not give my body more than five hours of sleep every night.
During the day, especially after lunch, I will not take a rest. I will make
some exception if ill.
8. Every day I will give some time to meditation and spiritual reading.
During the day I will make a brief visit or at least a prayer to the Blessed
Sacrament. I will give at least a quarter of an hour to preparation and
another quarter of an hour of thanksgiving to Holy Mass.
9. I will not engage in conversations with women outside of
confession or some other spiritual need.
(F. Motto [Ed.], Memorie dal 1841 al 1884-5-6 pel Sac. Gio. Bosco a’
suoi figliuoli Salesiani, in RSS 4 [1985] 88-90).
In today’s House of the Mission, on the ground floor there is a
room with a number of reminders of St Vincent de Paul: relics, writings,
clothing and other personal items. Of particular importance are some
letters he sent to missionaries sent to Turin in 1655, and kept in the
house archives.
Vincentian priest Blessed Marcantonio Durando (1801–1880) superior
of the house until 1831 and Visitor of the Vincentian Province of
Upper Italy from 1837, was one of the most significant and influential
characters in the Church in Turin in the 19th century. He belonged to
a middle class Piedmontese family. His two brothers were well-known
liberals and played an active part in Italian unification: Giovanni
(1804–1869) was the first General in the Papal Army (1847–1848), then
the Piedmontese Army, then became a Senator in the new Kingdom
of Italy (1860); Giacomo (1807–1894) was a general, parliamentarian,
Minister for War and Foreign Minister (1862), and finally President of
the Senate (1884).
Father Durando was actively engaged on many fronts: formation of
young clergy; preaching retreats and missions to the people; direction
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and organisation of the Daughters of Charity (under his guidance they
increased from two to forty between 1831 and 1848); founding the
Dames of Charity (1836); He gave great impulse to the Foreign Missions
in North America, Ethiopia, Middle East and China; he spread the
work of Propaganda Fide in Piedmont and Italy; he collaborated with
Marchioness Barolo in founding the Maddalene (1839); he supported
the founding of the Poor Clare-Cappuccine Sisters (1856); he founded
the Nazarene Sisters with the help of Sister Luisa Borgiotti (1865); he
encouraged and collaborated in many charitable works, amongst which
the Misericordie and the Conferences of St Vincent de Paul. He was also
adviser to Archbishop Fransoni, intervening actively, but in a balanced
and prudent way, in defence of the Archbishop and the Church's rights
at moments of tension with the civil authorities; also when the laws of
suppression were passed (1855 and 1866), he helped reopen dialogue
between the bishops and the liberal government.
Father Durando had warm relationships with Don Bosco and in
1864, asked by the diocesan authority, he examined the early drafts of
the Constitutions of the Salesian Society, giving important support by
clarifying problems of a legal nature and how religious life was set up
(cf. BM VI, 421-422). He then also examined the Constitutions of the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
He was beatified by John Paul II on 20 October 2002.
Church of the Visitation
A small but attractive Baroque building in the shape of a Greek cross,
on the corner of via XX Settembre and via Arcivescovado. According
to Cibrario, it would have been built in 1661 following the design by
Francesco Lanfranchi; others date it to 1667 and say the architect was
Count Amedeo di Castellamonte. Originally the cupola had frescoes
by Luigi Vannier, from Chambéry. The beautiful pulpit is by sculptor
Giovanni Valle (1688). The central icon of Mary’s Visitation to St
Elizabeth is by Ignazio Nepote; The painting on the altar at left, of St
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Francis de Sales offering the Constitutions to Chantal, is the work of
Alessandro Trono; the one on the altar on the right, of St Vincent de
Paul, is by Andrea Miglio from Novara. The smaller decorations on the
columns are scenes from the life of St Francis de Sales.
Between 1860 and 1861 Father Durando had the church restored.
The paintings on the cupola were redone by Morgari; the former
Visitandine choir was turned into a chapel to the Lord’s passion,
decorated by Morgari (1866); even before that the choir had been a
chapel for those making retreats.
This was the setting where Don Bosco spent hours in prayer
and adoration during the days immediately preceding his priestly
ordination.
CHURCH AT THE VESCOVADO ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE
(via Arsenale, no. 16; Palazzo: via Arcivescovado, no. 12)
It was in this Church of the Immaculate Conception that John
Bosco received the tonsure and minor orders (29 March 1840), his
subdiaconate (19 September 1840), diaconate (29 March 1841) and
priesthood (5 June 1841) from Luigi Fransoni, Archbishop of Turin.
His priestly ordination was the end of the first long and difficult stage
on the journey Don Bosco followed while seeking God’s will and in
preparing for the mission entrusted to him.
The church, attached to the archbishop’s palace, was built by the
Vincentians who had been sent to Turin by St Vincent de Paul on
10 November 1655. The house was built between 1663 and 1667;
the church, begun in 1675, was designed by Guarino Guarini, and
completed in 1697. The facade was finished in 1730, the year Vincent
de Paul was beatified.
The main altar, made of marble from Lugano, was completed in
1709, and has a beautiful oval icon of the Immaculate with Child.
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There are some precious paintings in this building. On the right:
on the first altar, St Peter freed from prison, in the Caravaggio school
of painting; on the second altar, death of St Joseph, by Alessandro
Mari (1650–1707). On the left: on the first altar, St Vincent de Paul
preaching, by Alessandro Trono (1738) and on the ceiling, frescoes by
Venetian Giovanni Battista Crosato (1685–1758); on the second altar,
Ananias and St Paul, by Sebastiano Taricco (1641–1710).
The Vincentians were invited to leave this first residence of theirs in
1776, to take the place of the Jesuits, suppressed by Pope Clement XIV,
in the nearby church of the Holy Martyrs in what is now via Garibaldi.
The house, now empty, was then given to the Archbishop of Turin
(1777) who had not had a stable residence for two hundred years.
Don Bosco and his archbishops
Archbishop Luigi Fransoni (1789–1862) lived in the palace from 1832
to 1850, the year he was forced into exile (he would die in Lyons). Don
Bosco held him in esteem, and always sought his advice and approval
from his most important decisions.
While still a cleric in the summer of 1840, John went to see the
archbishop, “to ask permission to study the fourth-year texts during
the holidays. In the following school year (1840–1) I would complete
the quinquennium.” The welcome he received would remain indelibly
impressed on his mind: “That holy bishop made me very welcome,
and after verifying the results of the exams I had taken till then in the
seminary, granted the favour I was asking...” (MO Ch. 25).
In the years to come he would often go to the archbishop’s palace,
either for advice or to present his plans to Archbishop Fransoni for the
Oratory, or to console him when he was being persecuted. Even during
the time he was an exile in Lyons he kept in touch by letter. From
the outset the archbishop encouraged Don Bosco’s work, knowing
that he was a balanced and zealous priest, including some of the most
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difficult times when he was being criticised by others, blocked by the
authorities and abandoned by those working with him. In the Memoirs
of the Oratory he notes a number of favourable interventions of the
archbishop, some of which determined the future of the Oratory.
His support was especially important when Marquis Michele Cavour
(Camillo’s father), the City Vicar, who was also a friend of Fr Borel’s
and Don Bosco’s, had decided to shut down the Oratory. They were
difficult times, with lots of popular uprisings and he looked askance at
the noisy public Sunday gatherings of so many poor kids. Don Bosco
tells us of one discussion that took place in the archbishop’s palace:
Knowing that I had always proceeded with the consent of the
archbishop, he [note: Marquis Cavour] called a city council meeting
at the archbishop’s residence because that prelate was rather ill just
then...
When I saw all those dignitaries assembled in that hall, I thought I
was at the last judgement. There was much discussion for and against,
but in the end they decided that these meetings absolutely should be
blocked and dispersed because they threatened public order...
Count Cottolengo had listened in silence to the whole lively debate.
When he observed that they were resolved on the banning order and
final break-up, he got to his feet and requested the floor. He conveyed
the sovereign’s wishes and let them know that the king meant to
protect this tiny work.
These words silenced the vicar and silenced the city council (MO Ch.
41).
During Fransoni’s exile, his Vicar General, Canon Giuseppe Zappata,
continued to be good to Don Bosco. Of course, Don Bosco was
providing good service to the archdiocese because when the seminary
was closed he took a number in at Valdocco and looked after their
formation; but also because many vocations for the archdiocese came
from there.
But relationships between Don Bosco and his archbishops non were
not always so good. There were some especially sad tensions that arose
when Lorenzo Gastaldi was archbishop (1873–1883). The two had
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actually been good friends, but through a series of misunderstandings
which were exaggerated by others around them, they both suffered. The
situation was resolved thanks to the direct intervention of Leo XIII and
Don Bosco’s great humility.
In the final years of the saint’s life, Cardinal Gaetano Alimonda
(1883–1891) was archbishop of Turin and relationships were excellent.
The Cardinal, who had great veneration for him, visited him often,
especially during his final illness.
ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
(via san Francesco d’Assisi, no. 11)
On 6 June 1841, Holy Trinity Sunday, Don Bosco celebrated his first
Mass in this church as a new priest at the Guardian Angel altar. His
spiritual director, St Joseph Cafasso was with him. He and Fr Luigi
Guala were involved in the running of the Pastoral Institute in the
nearby building. Don Bosco lived there from the following November
until summer 1844.
Church and convent of St Francis
The original building goes back to the 13th century and it is said that
it was founded by St Francis himself, when he visited France (1215), or
at least by members of his first group. The Conventuals (Friars Minor)
lived there and gained importance in the city to the point where in the
13th and 14th centuries this place was also used for the city archives and
treasury. The City Council often met in the large refectory and it was
also where the public law exams were held.
Over the centuries the church and convent have undergone various
restorations and renovations. From 1602 to 1610 there was an overall
reconstruction that meant the loss of the original Gothic style. There
was another major restoration in 1761: the facade and cupola were built
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at this time following a design by architect Bernardo Vittone. The most
recent changes go back to 1863–1865.
Amongst the art works we can indicate: the marble altar from
1673, frescoes (17th century) retouched by Morgari, and the stained
glass window of Francis receiving the stigmata, by Bertini di Milano
brothers (19th century); in the first chapel on the right, two canvases
(Annunciation and Visitation) by Giovanni Antonio Molineri (1577–1645);
in the second chapel on the right, a beautiful crucifixion by Carlo
Giuseppe Plura (1655–1737) from Lugano; in the last chapel on the left,
the painting of the Guardian Angel by Pietro Ayres (1794–1878).
The first confessional in the nave on the left is where St Joseph
Cafasso spent many hours a day. It was through the sacrament of
Penance that he gave spiritual direction to so many priests, influential
citizens, and many others. He had a special insight into consciences and
converted many a hard heart. Desperate cases would come his way; he
was entrusted with the care of those condemned to death, especially
those who most resisted conversion.
The Convitto ecclesiastico or Pastoral Institute
The Franciscans were forced out of the convent next to the church
during the French occupation and much of the place was sold to private
owners. The part adjacent to the church was used as a military barracks
and also the residence for the rector of the church.
Fr Guala and the beginnings of the Institute
In 1808 Fr Luigi Guala (1775–1848) was appointed to begin this work.
He was a member of the Amicizie Cattoliche, an association founded by
former Jesuit Nicolao de Diessbach (1732–1798) in the final decades
of the 18th century and then reorganised by Fr Pio Brunone Lanteri
(1759–1830 founder of the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin). One of its
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aims was the formation of young clergy and spreading good books
among the people.
Guala, seeing the lacuna in formation of newly-ordained priests,
especially due to historical difficulties, began teaching moral theology
there as soon as he was appointed rector. During the Restoration this
initiative gained strength and he was given the use of the unsold parts
of the former convent. At Lanteri’s suggestion he opened a Pastoral
Institute (1817) with a view to improving the cultural, pastoral and
spiritual formation of men finishing their basic seminary studies.
How the institute was set up
Courses lasted for two years and included lessons in speculative and
practical moral theology, tackling ethical issues and how to hear
confessions and give spiritual direction to a wide range of people. There
was also homiletics.
The theological school that Lanteri and Guala adopted was Ignatian
and Alphonsian, a more positive and benign one compared with
the traditional rigorist line taught at the faculty of Theology at the
University and pursued by most of the clergy in Turin.
Students were also given pastoral opportunities through a range of
experiences in city parishes. Their spiritual life and life of prayer were
given special attention. In view of this they made their retreat each year
at the sanctuary of St Ignatius at Lanzo, which Guala had had restored.
he had also been rector there.
The student priests’ day followed a timetable thus:
Morning: 5:30 rising, prayer and meditation in common; from 6:45
to 9:00 was for study, during which each priest celebrated Mass and said
his office; at 9.00 everyone attended a common mass; from 9:30 to 11:00
there was study again, followed by some work with the Tutor; at 12:00,
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after the Angelus and midday prayer, lunch with reading, followed by
recreation.
Afternoon: 2:00 brief visit to the Blessed Sacrament and a walk; 2:45
a public conference, open to priests from the city on moral theology;
14:15 walk; 5:00 Rosary in common and study; 7:00 moral conference
and confession practice; 8:00 community spiritual reading (ascetic
texts); 8:30 supper and recreation; 9:45 silence, prayer in common,
examen of conscience, bed.
Fr Cafasso at the Convitto
Fr Joseph Cafasso, who entered the Convitto as a student in 1834,
remained there as Guala’s collaborator, then succeeded him first as a
Tutor (1836), then as the main professor (1843), and finally, when
he died (1848), as rector of the church and director of the Convitto.
Archbishop Fransoni had such faith in the two priests that he gave them
the job of choosing the assistant parish priests.
Under Cafasso’s leadership (1848–1860) the Convitto had its golden
period. He was an extremely balanced and wise man, a much sought-out
spiritual director, a teacher of spiritual life for the clergy and he
contributed in a decisive way to the flourishing of priestly holiness
characteristic of 19th century Turin.
Some highlights of later events
After Cafasso’s death the Convitto continued along the direction the
Saint had taken it. However, in 1877 Archbishop Gastaldi – who did
not share the overly benign approach followed by the then director Fr
Giovanni Battista Bertagna – intervened rather heavy-handedly, first by
appointing another director, then, given the students’ reactions, closing
the Convitto (1878).
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It was reopened in 1882, under the same archbishop, and led by
Canon Blessed Joseph Allamano (a nephew of Cafasso’s and Founder
of the Consolata Missionaries), in a building adjacent to the Consolata.
Don Bosco as a student at the Convitto
On 3 November 1841 Don Bosco, followed Cafasso’s advice: “You need
to study moral theology and homiletics. For the present, forget all these
offers and come to the Convitto” (MO Ch. 27) – so he moved to Turin.
Don Bosco has this simple summary description of the place:
The Convitto Ecclesiastico completed, you might say, the study
of theology. In the seminary we studied only dogma, and that
speculative; and in moral theology only controversial issues. Here one
learned to be a priest. Meditation, spiritual reading, two conferences a
day, lessons in preaching, a secluded life, every convenience for study,
reading good authors – these were the areas of learning to which we
had to apply ourselves (MO Ch. 27).
Fr Guala took him in free of charge; Don Bosco had a fine
impression of him:
An unselfish man, rich in knowledge, prudent, and fearless, he was
everyone’s friend in the days of the regime of Napoleon I... Amongst
other topics the most controversial was the question of Probabilism
and Probabiliorism [note: two schools of moral interpretation, one
less the other more rigorous]. ... Dr Guala took a strong stance
between the two parties; starting from the principle that the charity of
O.L.J.C. should be the inspiration of all systems, he was able to bring
the two extremes together. Things came together so well that, thanks
to Doctor Guala, St Alphonsus become our theological patron. This
was a salutary step, long desired, and now we are reaping its benefit
(MO Ch. 27).
Fr Cafasso as Don Bosco's spiritual director
Fr Cafasso though was the true spiritual director for the young priest
who abandoned himself into his hands with complete trust.
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With this formator as his teacher Don Bosco grew in both an
ecclesiastical and pastoral culture; he was initiated into a robust priestly
spirituality; he was gradually introduced to an understanding, and
analysis leading to tackling pastoral issues in completely different ways
from the provincial settings he had come out of.
Fr Cafasso taught him to unite personal holiness, apostolic zeal
and pastoral skill. In particular he set him on the path to looking after
those categories of people always found on the fringes of parish pastoral
activity. Knowing his prevalent tendency to work amongst the young,
he put him in contact with the poorest and most neglected categories
of young people in the city. He involved him in teaching catechism to
your bricklayers and chimney sweeps; he got him to offer spiritual help
to some of the new charitable institutes that were springing up in the
capital (Cottolengo, Opera Pia Barolo, the Royal schools and Opera
della Mendicità Istruita or work for educating the poor run by the
Brothers of the Christians Schools (De La Salle); he took him with him
to the prisons; he introduced Fr Cocchi and other priests to him, who
at the time were beginning the oratory idea. Don Bosco has this to say
about him:
Fr Caffasso, who for six years had been my guide, was especially my
spiritual director. If I have been able to do any good, I owe it to this
worthy priest in whose hands I placed every decision I made, all my
study, and every activity of my life (MO Ch. 27).
Thanks to Cafasso and the pastoral experiences he involved him
in, Don Bosco already began to understand the importance of an
educational and pastoral approach which was “preventive”, especially
for certain categories of young people most at risk:
The first thing he did was to begin to take me to the prisons where
I soon learned how great was the malice and misery of mankind. I
saw large numbers of young lads aged from 12 to 18, fine healthy
youngsters, alert of mind, but seeing them idle there, infested with
lice, lacking food for body and soul, horrified me... . What shocked
me most was to see that many of them were released full of good
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resolutions to go straight, and yet in a short time they landed back in
prison, within a few days of their release.
On such occasions I found out how quite a few were brought back
to that place; it was because they were abandoned to their own
resources. “Who knows?" I thought to myself, “if these youngsters
had a friend outside who would take care of them, help them, teach
them religion on feast days ... Who knows but they could be steered
away from ruin, or at least the number of those who return to prison
could be lessened?” I talked this idea over with Fr Caffasso. With
his encouragement and inspiration I began to work out in my mind
how to put the idea into practice, leaving to the Lord’s grace what
the outcome would be. Without God’s grace, all human effort is vain
(MO Ch. 27).
The oratory comes into being
The fascination the youngsters had for the young priest became obvious
from the first days he was in Turin: he saw this as a sign from the Lord
to do something concrete for them:
Hardly had I registered at the Convitto of St Francis, when I met at
once a crowd of boys who followed me in the streets and the squares
and even into the sacristy of the church attached to the institute. But
I could not take direct care of them since I had no premises (MO Ch.
28).
But the opportunity to begin was offered by a providential
encounter with Bartholomew Garelli in the sacristy at St Francis, just
a few months after he came to the Convitto, on 8 December 1841, the
Feast of the Immaculate Conception:
On the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (8
December 1841), I was vesting to celebrate holy Mass at the appointed
time. Joseph Comotti, the sacristan, seeing a boy in a corner, asked
him to come and serve my Mass. “I don’t know how,” he answered,
completely embarrassed. “Come on,” repeated the sacristan, “I want
you to serve Mass.”
“I don’t know how,” the boy repeated. “I’ve never served Mass.”
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“You big blockhead,” said the sacristan, quite furious, “if you don’t
know how to serve Mass, what are you doing in the sacristy?”
With that he grabbed a feather duster and hit the poor boy about the
head and shoulders. As the boy beat a hasty retreat, I cried loudly,
“What are you doing? Why are you beating him like that? What’s he
done?”
“Why is he hanging round the sacristy if he doesn’t know how to serve
Mass?”
“But you’ve done wrong.”
“What does it matter to you?”
“It matters plenty. He’s a friend of mine. Call him back at once. I need
to speak with him.”
“Tuder, tuder,” he began to shout, as he ran after him. Promising him
better treatment, he brought the lad back to me.
He came over trembling and tearful because of the blows he had
received. “Have you attended Mass yet?” I asked him with as much
loving kindness as I could.
“No,” he answered.
“Well, come to Mass now. Afterwards I’d like to talk to you about
something that will please you.” He promised to do as I said. I wanted
to calm down the poor fellow’s spirit and not leave him with that sad
impression towards the people in charge of that sacristy. Once I had
celebrated my Mass and made due thanksgiving, I took my candidate
into a side chapel. Trying to allay any fear he might have of another
beating, I started questioning him cheerfully:
“My good friend, what’s your name?”
“My name’s Bartholomew Garelli.”
“Where are you from?”
“Asti.”
“Is your father alive?”
“No, my father’s dead.”
“And your mother?”
“My mother’s dead too.”
“How old are you?”
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“I’m sixteen.”
“Can you read and write?”
“I don’t know anything.”
“Have you made your first communion?”
“Not yet.”
“Have you ever been to confession?”
“Yes, when I was small.”
“Are you going to catechism classes now?”
“I don’t dare.”
“Why?”
“Because the other boys are smaller than I am, and they know their
catechism. As big as I am, I don’t know anything, so I’m ashamed to
go.”
“If I were to teach you catechism on your own, would you come?”
“I’d come very willingly.”
“Would you come willingly to this little room?”
“I’d come willingly enough, provided they don’t beat me.”
“Relax. No one will harm you. On the contrary, you’ll be my friend
and you’ll be dealing with me and no one else. When would you like
us to begin our catechism?”
“Whenever you wish.”
“This evening?”
“Okay.”
“Are you willing right now?”
“Yes, right now, with great pleasure.”
I stood up and made the sign of the cross to begin; but my pupil
made no response because he did not know how to do it. In that first
catechism lesson I taught him to make the sign of the cross. I also
taught him to know God the Creator and why he created us (MO Ch.
28).
One detail which Don Bosco doesn’t talk about here, he did much
later in 1885 when speaking to the Salesians. After the sign of the
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cross, together they said a Hail Mary: “All the blessings that had been
showered upon them were thanks to Our Lady and were the outcome
of that first Ave Maria that had been recited together with the young
Bartholomew Garelli there in the church of St Francis of Assisi with true
fervor and the right intention” (BM XVII, 471).
Following this first meeting, every Sunday a small group of boys
would meet at the Convitto, and it kept growing: by the following
February there were twenty of them; thirty by the end of March; almost
a hundred by the Feast of St Anne (26 July), patron saint of bricklayers.
The boys who were turning up at the oratory in these early days were
mostly workers, labourers who were only in Turin for some months
of the year when they didn’t have to work on the farms (from late
autumn until end of June). They were “Boys from Savoy, Switzerland,
the Val d’Aosta, Biella, Novara, Lombardy” (MO Ch. 35). “As a rule the
Oratory boys included stonecutters, bricklayers, stuccoers, road pavers,
plasterers, and others who came from distant villages. They were not
church-goers, and had few friends; so they were exposed to the dangers
of perversion, especially on feast days” (MO Ch. 29).
These kinds of boys, seasonal workers, would continue to be the
majority on Don Bosco’s oratory until halfway through the 1850s, when
immigration into Turin settled down.
Don Bosco talks about these weekly meetings at the Convitto:
Our Oratory programme ran along these lines. On every feast day, the
boys were given a chance to receive the holy sacraments of confession
and communion. But one Saturday and Sunday each month was set
aside for fulfilling this religious duty. We came together in the evening
at a fixed time, sang a hymn, had a catechism lesson followed by a story,
and then the distribution of something, sometimes to all, sometimes
by lot...
Good Doctor Guala and Fr Caffasso enjoyed these assemblies of
the children. They gladly supplied me with holy pictures, leaflets,
pamphlets, medals, small crucifixes to give as gifts. At times they
provided me with the means to clothe some of those in greater
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need, and to feed others for weeks at a time until they were able to
support themselves by their work. Moreover, as the boys’ numbers
grew they sometimes gave me permission to gather my little army in
the adjoining courtyard for recreation. If space had allowed, we would
have been a hundred; but we had to restrict ourselves to about eighty.
When the boys were preparing for the holy sacraments, Dr Guala and
Fr Caffasso would always come along for a visit and tell some edifying
story (MO Ch. 29).
During the week and while they were free, Don Bosco kept contact
with the boys:
I went to visit them at work in their workshops, in the factories. Not
only the youngsters were happy to see a friend taking care of them;
their employers were pleased, gladly retaining youngsters who were
helped during the week, and even more on feast days, when they are
in greater danger.
On Saturdays, my pockets stuffed sometimes with tobacco, sometimes
with fruit, sometimes with rolls, I used to go to the prisons. with the
object always to give special attention to the youngsters who had the
misfortune to find themselves behind bars, help them, make friends
with them, and thus encourage them to come to the Oratory when
they had the good fortune of leaving that place of punishment (MO
Ch. 29).
Friendship, help and personal attention earned unexpected results
even for some of the most difficult boys and this convinced Don Bosco
of the importance of developing a preventive pedagogical and pastoral
approach based on “loving kindness, religion and reason”:
I was beginning to learn from experience that if young lads just
released from their place of punishment could find someone to
befriend them, to look after them, to assist them on feast days, to help
them get work with good employers, to visit them occasionally during
the week, these young men soon forgot the past and began to mend
their ways. They became good Christians and honest citizens (MO
Ch. 28).
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At the end of his three years at the Convitto, Don Bosco, who felt
the call to be a pastor for the young even more strongly now, was still
uncertain of the real direction the Lord was calling him to:
One day Don Caffasso took me aside and said, “Now that you’ve
finished your studies, you must get to work. These days the harvest is
abundant enough. What is your particular bent?”
“Whatever you would like to point me towards.”
“There are three posts open: curate at Buttigliera d’Asti, tutor in moral
theology here at the Convitto, and director at the little hospital beside
the Refuge. Which would you choose?”
“Whatever you judge best.”
“Don’t you feel any preference for one thing rather than for another?”
“My inclination is to work for young people. So do with me whatever
you want: I shall know the Lord’s will in whatever you advise.”
“At the moment what’s the wish nearest your heart? What’s on your
mind?”
“At this moment I see myself in the midst of a multitude of boys
appealing to me for help.”
“Then go away for a few weeks’ holiday. When you come back I’ll tell
you your destination.”
I came back from the holiday, but for several weeks Fr never said a
word. And I asked him nothing. One day he said to me,
“Why don’t you ask me about your destination?”
“Because I want to see the will of God in your choice, and I don’t want
my desires in it at all.”
“Pack your bag and go with Dr Borrelli [note: Fr Borel]; You’ll be
director at the Little Hospital of St Philomena; and you will also work
at the Refuge. Meanwhile God will show you what you have to do for
the young (MO Ch. 30).
DON BOSCO AND THE MARCHIONESS BAROLO'S WORKS
After three years at the Pastoral Institute, Don Bosco was taken on by
Marchioness Barolo as a chaplain for her Ospedaletto or Little Hospital
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of St Philomena’s which was just beginning, and as a helper for Fr John
Borel with his spiritual assistance to her several works.
Don Bosco already knew Borel: he met him first at the Seminary
during a triduum for the opening of the school year, then at the Convitto
he got a chance to know him better. Fr John Borel (1801–1873) was
completely dedicated as a priest to his pastoral activities, tireless and
completely unconcerned for his own interests. He had been a court
chaplain and had got to know much of Piedmont’s nobility. He had
given this up so he could be full-time with young people, especially the
most needy: he was the spiritual director for the public schools of St
Francis da Paola first, then chaplain at the Refuge and then involved in
several other educational institutions and also the prisons.
Like Cafasso he was a teacher of spiritual life for Don Bosco, a guide
and excellent support to him in practical ministry and in setting up the
Oratory on a stable and more organised basis:
From the first moment that I met Dr Borrelli, I always judged him to
be a holy priest, a model worthy of admiration and imitation. Every
time I was able to be with him, he always gave me lessons in priestly
zeal, always good advice, encouraging me in doing good. During my
three years at the Convitto, he often invited me to help at the sacred
ceremonies, hear confessions, or preach for him. Thus I already knew
and was somewhat familiar with my field of work.
We often had long discussions about procedures to be followed in
order to help each other in visiting the prisons, fulfilling the duties
entrusted to us, and at the same time helping the youngsters whose
moral condition and neglect made increasing demands on priests
(MO Ch. 30).
We need to note that from then on, for the four years to follow, it
would be Fr Borel who would take responsibility for the Oratory when
dealing with religious and civic authorities. Requests for help, rental
and purchase contracts always bore his signature but not always Don
Bosco’s.
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Fr Cafasso, who knew Don Bosco well and was convinced of his
calling to do something special and new, saw it essential to put him with
Fr Borel and be part of Marchioness Barolo’s work: it was a real pastoral
“workshop” offering real assistance and offered unique possibilities to
the apostle of the young. He asked Borel to present Don Bosco to
the Marchioness. She accepted him as spiritual director at the Little
Hospital that was still under construction, and immediately took him
on, with Borel’s advice, in order not to miss out on such a good offer
(cf. BM II, 177).
Palazzo Barolo
(via delle Orfane, no. 7)
It was here in autumn 1844 that Don Bosco, accompanied by Fr Borel,
met Marchioness Giulia di Barolo.
The building, with its splendid Barque facade, was begun toward
1635, and completed in 1692, by Gian Francesco Baroncelli then
decorated in 1743 under the direction of Benedetto Alfieri (1700–1767).
The poor priest from the Becchi entered the elegant atrium of the
palazzo on other occasions too and climbed the grand staircase to the
sumptuous first floor area where the Marchioness had her study and
reception rooms.
It was here that Don Bosco began his friendship with Silvio Pellico.
From 1834 having got ten years of his prison term at Spielberg, he
had become librarian and personal secretary of the Marchioness. The
well-known patriot and writer wrote the words of some hymns for the
Oratory boys, of which Angioletto del mio Dio (My God’s Little Angel)
is the best known. He died in this palazzo on 31 January 1854.
Giulia Vittorina Colbert di Maulévrier, the widow Barolo (1785–1864),
was born in Vandea and was a descendent of the great Colbert, a minister
for Louis XIV. In 1807 she married Marquis Tancredi Falletti di Barolo,
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whom she got to know in Paris at Napoleon I’s court . They were
a very rich couple, more than the Savoys and very prominent figures
amongst Turin’s nobility. Their parlour was frequented by the most
important people of the time: nobles, politicians (Cavour amongst
them), diplomats, high officials and artists.
They were very religious (and both have had their Cause of
Beatification introduced), but not having children they decided to put
their wealth to the advantage of social and charitable works. With this
in mind they founded an institution, the Opera Pia Barolo, which still
exists today and is located in this palazzo.
The Marchioness found Turin in sorry state. Poverty was on the
increase; there were no hospitals for the sick, places for the elderly,
kindergartens or schools for those who could not pay.
Since 1832, she and her husband had set up a free school and the
possibility of offering food for the poor: they served 250 bowls of soup
a day; on Sundays they added a plate of meat and legumes and on
Mondays, the Marchioness herself served twelve poor people at table.
Then in winter people were given a supply of wood for the week. This
noble woman personally took care of the sick, providing medicines,
looking after them as a nurse and visiting the worst cases at home.
When her husband died in 1838, she spent most of her time
founding and maintaining institutions on behalf of poor girls – sick,
orphaned, imprisoned or caught up in prostitution. Her interest in these
categories of people began in 1819 when she made a visit to the city
prisons. It left her very much disturbed. From that day on she took direct
interest in the prisons, spending long hours in the cells, teaching them
hygiene, sewing, embroidery, catechism. because of her interest in Turin
she had a female prison built, saw that an overall prison reform was set
in place and introduced chaplains into the prisons.
A broad range of initiatives grew out of this, new social and
charitable ones that Turin had never witnessed.
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In 1821 she called the Sisters of St Joseph from Chambery to educate
girls, thus setting up the first ordinary girls schools in Turin.
The same year at Valdocco she built the Refuge, a centre that took
in 250 wayward girls and offered them a proper place for education,
finding work, religious formation and the possibility of rehabilitation
and fitting into society in an honourable way.
In 1825, with the agreement of King Charles Felix, she invited the
Dames of the Sacred Heart to Turin for the education of upper class girls.
In 1832, to encourage girls at the Refuge who wanted to consecrate
themselves to God through religious profession and pursue Christian
perfection through prayer, penance and work, she founded the Monastery
of St Mary Magdalene next to the Refuge, whence the name Magdalene
Sisters. She also built a place there for under-age girls (under 12), and
they were taught by the Magdalenes. They girls were known commonly
as the Maddalenine.
Also in 1832 she set up the basics of new order of Sisters: the St
Anne Sisters for middle class girls (corner of via Consolata, corso Regina
Margherita). Next to the St Anne Sisters she built a house for thirty
orphans, the Giuliette who were given 500 francs when they completed
their education.
She was also interested in girls who might opt for the contemplative
life: she contributed to building the monastery of Adorers of the Blessed
Sacrament and promised them a regular annual sum. Turin is the city
of the Blessed Sacrament, and she founded the Association of Perpetual
Adoration.
For girls at the Refuge who stood out for their piety, but did not feel
called to religious life, she founded the Tertiaries of St Mary Magdalene
(1844). By their example they were to encourage others at the Refuge to
be good and they also engaged in various charitable works.
In 1845 she built the Little Hospital of St Philomena, with 160 places
for crippled and sick girls aged 3-12, run by the Sisters of St Joseph and
helped by the Tertiaries of St Mary Magdalene.
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Another of the Marchioness’s intelligent insights was the institution
of the Families of Mary, St Joseph and St Anne, which anticipated the
“family house” idea. Each of the families was led by a Mother, given a
place to live and each month tasked with looking after a group of girls
who wanted to learn a profession (generally seamstresses, or something
to do with fashion). The girls would come to the workshops in the
morning and work alongside upright tradeswomen. The Mother of the
Family had the role of coaching the Daughters in catechism, reading,
writing, accounting and household tasks. They would all go to Sunday
Mass together and even daily if they could. When the girls turned 21,
had learned a trade and had enough money, the Daughters were then
free to get married.
She took an interest in the pastoral and social situation of one of the
poorest suburbs around, Borgo Vanchiglia, and planned then supported
the parish of St Julia’s. The work began in 1862 but did not finish until
1875after her death. The remains of the Barolo couple are kept in this
church.
Finally, amongst other social initiatives, we should recall the special
schools which she opened at her own expense, for Catholic girls who
came from the Waldensian valleys and the Collegio Barolo for poor boys,
set up in the old Barolo castle (Cuneo).
The Opera Pia Barolo has continued to administer these institutions,
many of them still supported today.
Don Bosco’s oratory at the Refuge
(via Cottolengo, no. 26)
When Don Bosco was presented by Fr Borel to Marchioness Barolo, she
immediately recognised the gifts this young priest had. To encourage
him to accept the role as spiritual director at the Little Hospital, she not
only left him free to deal with all the boys who would seek him out for
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catechism, but she agreed he could gather his weekend Oratory in the
new building not yet finished (the Little Hospital of St Philomena).
On the days immediately preceding 20 October 1844, Don Bosco
shifted abode to the Refuge. The room he had is over the vestibule of
the first entrance to the Refuge, next to Fr Borel’s and Fr Sebastian
Pacchiotti’s (1806–1884), the other chaplains of the Barolo work, and
they would also help him with the oratory.
“For the time being you can bring the boys who are coming to
St Francis of Assisi to the room set aside for you. When we move to
the building provided for the priests beside the little hospital, we can
scout around for a better place” (MO Ch. 30), Fr Borel told him. Thus
on Sunday 20 October, the Oratory transferred to the Refuge. Don
Bosco describes this in his Memoirs, also describing the problems on the
Sundays that followed:
A little after noon a mob of youngsters of all ages and conditions
descended on Valdocco looking for the new Oratory.
“Where’s the Oratory? Where’s Don Bosco?” they shouted to all and
sundry. No one knew what they were talking about. No one in that
neighbourhood had heard of either Don Bosco or the Oratory. The
questioners, believing that they were being teased, raised their voices
more insistently. The locals, believing that they were being insulted,
shouted indignant threats. Matters were getting serious when Dr
Borrelli and I heard the commotion and came out of the house. At
sight of us, the noise died down and calm was restored. The boys
crowded round us asking where the Oratory was.
We had to tell them that the real Oratory was not ready yet, but
meantime they could come to my room. It was quite big and would
serve us well enough. In fact things went quite well that Sunday. But
on the following Sunday, so many pupils from the locality came in
addition to the old ones that I no longer knew where to gather them.
My room, the corridor, the stairs were all thronged with children. On
the Feast of All Saints Dr Borrelli and I prepared to hear confessions
but everybody wanted to go. What could we do? There were more
than two hundred children but only two confessors. One boy was
trying to light the fire; another decided to put it out. The one brought
wood, the other water. Buckets, tongs, shovel, jug, basin, chairs, shoes,
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books – everything was turned topsy-turvy while they were trying to
tidy things up! “We can’t go on like this,” said the dear Doctor. “We
really must find a more suitable place.” Yet we spent six feast days in
that restricted space, which was the room above the main entrance hall
of the Refuge (MO Ch. 32).
But this was the scene for all of November: of a morning the boys
attended Mass at St Francis of Assisi and in the afternoon they came
to Don Bosco’s room for catechism, confession and whatever else was
possible to do.
But they needed more room if they were to continue their activities.
Archbishop Fransoni, when he was asked about it, asked if perhaps the
boys couldn’t go to their parishes. “Most of them are foreigners,” replied
Don Bosco and Fr Borel. “They are only in Turin part of the year. They
don’t even know what parish they belong to. Many of them are badly off,
speaking dialects hard to understand, so that they understand little and
are little understood by others. Some are already grown up and don’t
like associating in classes with little boys.” “That means,” continued the
archbishop, “they need a place of their own, adapted to their own needs”
(MO Ch 32). He approved of encouraged and continued to bless the
initiative, saying he was ready to help. And we know that he kept this
promise.
Marchioness Barolo, understanding the urgency, allowed him two
large rooms at the Little Hospital being built next to the Refuge, and
these temporarily became the chapel.
Don Bosco's oratory at St Philomena’s
(via Cottolengo, no. 24)
The part the Marchioness gave them was found in the section of the
Little Hospital already completed, on the third floor, where she was
intending to keep a small community of priests who were providing
spiritual help for the various works. This building is halfway along
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the lane running from the entrance off via Cottolengo no. 22 to the
Magdalene monastery. A small entrance, now bricked over but still
visible served as an independent access to the staircase going up to the
third floor.
That was the site Divine Providence chose for the first Oratory
church. We began to call it after St Francis de Sales for two reasons: 1.
because Marchioness Barolo had in mind to found a congregation of
priests under his patronage, and with this intention she had a painting
of this saint done, which can still be seen at the entrance to this area,
and 2. because we had put our own ministry, which called for great
calm and meekness, under the protection of this saint in the hope
that he might obtain for us from God the grace of being able to
imitate him in his extraordinary meekness and in winning souls. We
had a further reason for placing ourselves under the protection of this
saint: that from heaven he might help us to imitate him in combating
errors against religion, especially Protestantism, which was beginning
to gain ground in our provinces, and more especially in the city of
Turin (MO Ch. 32).
The little chapel was blessed on the Feast of the Immaculate
Conception, 8 December 1844. It was a bitterly cold day and there
was plenty of snow, Don Bosco recalls, “many youngsters went to
Confession and Communion. I finished that sacred liturgy with a few
tears, tears of joy, because in a certain way I saw that the work of the
Oratory was now established, with the object of entertaining the more
abandoned and endangered youths after they had fulfilled their religious
duties in church” (MO Ch. 32).
At the Little Hospital, still being completed, the Sunday Oratory
got off to a good start in winter then in spring. They followed the
same arrangements as before at the Convitto, with some improvements:
Confessions and Communions early morning; then Mass with a brief
explanation of the Gospel adapted to the boy’s understanding and
language; in the afternoon catechism, hymns, brief instruction, Litany
of Our Lady and Benediction. The rest of the time they played in the
little alleyway below. Don Bosco and Fr Borel worked together in this,
helped by Fr Pacchiotti.
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This went on for seven months. Towards the end of May 1845
Marchioness Barolo, “though she cast a kindly eye on every charitable
work”, began to urge them to find other arrangements,since she was
about to open the Little Hospital (cf. MO Ch. 33). The opening
took place on 10 August and probably then Barolo’s chaplains were
to transfer to the rooms readied for them on the 3rd floor, where the
temporary oratory chapel was.
Today the Little Hospital is a clinic and rest home for elderly
women. In the chapel on the first floor we can still find the chalice Don
Bosco used for daily Mass and the kneeler he used for his thanksgiving.
The third floor area that was the chapel of St Francis de Sales and
where Don Bosco lived has now been turned into rooms for the Sisters
at the Little Hospital.
THE WANDERING ORATORY
(25 May 1845–12 April 1846)
Fr Borel and Don Bosco decided to continue the Sunday activities.
So with the Marchioness urging them on they set about looking for,
another area nearby, possibly a chapel, where the could move the Sunday
Oratory to. “It is true that the area we had been using had no internal
communication with what was to be the chapel, the school, or the
recreation center [note: in the Little Hospital]. Even the shutters were
fixed in place and turned upwards. None the less we had to obey,” (MO
Ch. 33). The number of boys coming had increased by many. They were
mainly street kids, or at least ones at risk, and the Marchioness did not
think it a good idea for them to keep coming to the Refuge where the
wayward girls were, or to the Little Hospital or the Magdalene convent.
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St Peter in Chains
(via san Pietro in Vincoli)
Not far from the Refuge we find the small cemetery of St Peter
in Chains, built in 1777 by Count Francesco Dellala di Beinasco
(1731–1803). It is a square building, with wide porticoes on three sides
internally and a chapel on the fourth; opposite the entrance, then as
today, there was a courtyard. This was right on the edge of the city and
for reasons of hygiene, already since 1829 they had ceased to hold burials
there; until 1860–1870 it was still used for certain family burials in the
underground section. The cemetery belonged to the city council who
paid a priest to look after the chapel and the few families who lived
around there.
It seemed a good spot for the Oratory to gather: the chapel was good
for religious functions and catechism; the courtyard was big enough for
games. After an understanding with the city authorities and with the
approval of the chaplain Fr Tesio, on Sunday 25 May 1845, Don Bosco
and Fr Borel brought the Oratory boys along.
...It was an easy matter for us, especially since we had the backing of
the archbishop, to get permission to hold our meetings in the church
and courtyard of the Cemetery of Christ Crucified, popularly known
as St Peter in Chains...
The long portico, the spacious yard, and the church for our sacred
functions all so aroused the youngsters’ enthusiasm that they were
overcome with joy.
But in that place we came up against a formidable and unexpected
arrival. This was not the ghost of one of the great numbers of the dead
who slept peacefully in the nearby tombs. This was a living person, the
chaplain’s housekeeper. No sooner had she heard the pupils singing
and talking, and, let us admit, their shouting too, than she rushed out
of the house. In a furious rage, with her bonnet askew and her arms
akimbo, she launched into tongue lashing the crowd of merrymakers.
Joining in her assault upon us were a small girl, a dog, a cat, all the
hens, so that it seemed that a European war was about to break out. I
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tried to approach her to calm her down, pointing out to her that the
kids meant no harm, that they were just playing innocently. Then she
turned and gave it to me.
At that point I decided to end the recreation. I gave a short catechism
lesson, and after we recited the rosary in church, we broke up
hoping to come back the next Sunday to a better reception. Quite
the contrary! When the chaplain came home that evening the good
housekeeper went to work on him, denounced Don Bosco and his
sons as revolutionaries and desecrators of holy places. All of them
rascals of the worst kind, she said. She prevailed upon the good priest
to write a letter to the civil authorities.
He wrote while the servant dictated, but with so much venom that a
warrant was issued immediately for the arrest of any of us who should
return there. Sad to say, that was the last letter written by Fr Tesio, the
chaplain. He wrote it on Monday, and within a few hours he suffered
a stroke from which he died very soon afterwards. Two days later a
similar fate befell the housekeeper (MO Ch. 34).
Because he wrongly interpreted a document found in the archives,
Fr Lemoyne adds to this version the information that already during the
preceding Lent some catechism classes had been held at the cemetery.
Research has enabled us to clarify what really happened: there were
meetings of catechists at St Peter in Chains, but not from the Oratory.
They were from the Congregation of Catechists of St Pelagius; and they
took place in May, not during Lent. But the City Council, on 23 May,
also forbade those meetings for reasons that are not clear. On the 25th,
when Don Bosco went to the cemetery with his boys, this prohibition
had not yet been published. But the following Sunday the decree was
affixed to the entrance and the police were asked to enforce it. Don
Bosco, not knowing about this, thought it was because of his boys and
after the incident the previous Sunday.
Fr Tesio obviously was not around to clarify things, having died
on Wednesday 28th, as we see from the documents. We know that the
chaplain’s housekeeper, Margherita Sussolino, stayed a few days to pick
up her things – and his; then there is no further information about her.
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Immediately following the chaplain’s death, as the documents tell
us, Fr Borel, Fr Pacchiotti and Don Bosco made a joint request to take
over the vacant chaplaincy. But the request was not accepted and it was
given to someone else (18 June). At the end of the month the three sent
in a written request to at least have permission to gather the boys on
Sunday at St Peter in Chains. This too was rejected (3 July).
Then because of the urgency of finding a place for the Oratory,
between 4 and 9 July they came back with a new request: to use, for
some hours at least, the chapel at Mulini Dora (The Dora Mills). This
time (10 July) the request was accepted (cf. F. Motto, L’“oratorio” di Don
Bosco presso il cimitero di S. Pietro in Vincoli in Torino. Una documentata
ricostruzione del noto episodio, in RSS 5 [1986] 199–220).
Until then the Sunday gatherings kept taking place at the Little
Hospital and some churches outside the city: Sassi, Madonna del Pilone,
Madonna di Campagna, Monte dei Cappuccini and Superga.
St Martin’s chapel at the Molassi
(where we find piazza Albera today)
When they received permission to make use of the Mulini Dora, on
Sunday 13 July 1845 the Oratory moved there.
The Mulini Dora or Molassi, are not to be found there today. It was
a group of buildings where they ground wheat, but also pressed olives
but also prepared hemp. There were also communal ovens for bread
making. The mill wheels were driven by a wide canal, (the Canale dei
Mulini) which drew on the Dora some kilometres away. Other small
industries also used this water. These industries had sprung up around
Valdocco and Borgo Dora.
The St Martin’s chapel was used by workers at the Mills, all the local
workers and their families. The Council let Borel and Don Bosco use the
church only from 12 to 3 p.m. for catechism classes; it forbade the boys
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to “go near the Mill precincts” or disturb religious ceremonies celebrated
“for Mill personnel”.
The move and the memorable speech given by Fr Borel have been
given us in all their detail:
Imagine us then, on a July Sunday in 1845, making our way laden
with benches, kneelers, candlesticks, some chairs, crucifixes, and
pictures large and small. Everyone carried some object suited to his
strength. We must have looked like emigrants on the move; with din,
laughter—and regret we marched out to establish our headquarters
in the place just indicated. Fr Borrelli gave an appropriate talk before
we set out and another when we arrived at our new church.
That worthy minister of the sanctuary, in that common-folk style
of his that could be said to be more unique than rare, spoke these
thoughts: “My dear boys, cabbages never form a big, beautiful head
unless they are transplanted. The same is true of our Oratory. So far
it has been moved from one place to another many times, but in the
different places where it has stopped it has always grown bigger, with
no little advantage to the boys involved...”
“How long will we stay here? We don’t know. We hope we’ll be here a
long time; but however long our stay, we believe that like transplanted
cabbages, our Oratory will grow in the number of boys who love
virtue, will increase their desire for music, singing, evening classes, and
even day courses...” An immense crowd of youngsters attended that
solemn ceremony, and a Te Deum of thanksgiving was sung with the
greatest emotion.
We carried out our religious devotions as we had at the Refuge,
though we could not celebrate Mass or give benediction in the
evening. This meant that the boys could not receive communion,
which is the fundamental element to our institution. Even our
recreations were often disturbed, broken up because the lads were
forced to play in the street and in the little square in front of the
church where a constant stream of people on foot, carts, horses, and
carriages passed by. Since we had nothing better, we thanked heaven
for what we had been given and hoped for some better spot (MO Ch.
33).
Don Bosco and his boys came here every Sunday until the end of
December 1845, but only for the afternoon catechism classes. For Mass
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and Confessions they had to move around various churches in the city
and beyond.
This is when the first meeting between Don Bosco and Michael Rua
took place. He was just eight years old. It happened in September, at the
portico that now links piazza della Repubblica with piazza Albera.
Following protests from workers at the Mills who couldn’t put up
with the “jumping, singing and occasional squabbling” of the boys, the
Council, sitting on 18 November 1845, said they would have to leave the
premises by 1st January 1846.
Casa Moretta
(piazza Maria Ausiliatrice, no. 15/A)
Where the auxiliary church is today
With two months still left, Fr Borel and Don Bosco immediately began
looking for a new place. St Martin’s church at the Molassi was not good
enough for their catechism classes; they were also thinking of beginning
evening and Sunday classes for young working boys: so they needed
better premises and ones that could be heated.
In Valdocco (just about where we find the parish church, in piazza
Maria Ausiliatrice no. 15/A) Fr Giovanni Battista Antonio Moretta
(+ 1847) had a two storey building part of which he was renting out.
He happily met the two priests’ needs by renting out three rooms in
November 1845.
Casa Moretta had a cellar and a stable, nine rooms on the ground
floor and another nine above, reached by a long balcony.
In the meantime, we had moved into November (1845), not a very
practical season for outings or walks to places outside the city. In
agreement with Fr Borrelli we rented three rooms in the house
belonging to Fr Moretta, which is the one near, almost in front of, the
Church of Mary Help [of Christians] today... We spent four months
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there, confined in that restricted space, yet happy at least to be able
to collect our pupils in those rooms and give them instructions and
especially an opportunity to go to confession. That same winter we
began evening classes. It was the first time that this kind of school
was spoken of in our area. Consequently it was much discussed: some
favoured it; others were against it (MO Ch. 35).
The evening classes are a development of the Sunday school which
had already started at the Refuge; they would continue throughout
the following year, when the Oratory would finally find a stable home.
Meanwhile the three rooms at casa Moretta were packed with around
200 pupils.
Don Bosco and Fr Borel were helped in this by Frs Felice Paolo
Chiaves and Giacinto Carpano and also Fr Luigi Musso. But since the
classes were expanding, Don Bosco sought help from a group of young
students whom he tutored in exchange for their help: “These young
teachers of mine, at first numbering eight or ten, continued to increase”
(MO Ch. 42). He also had recourse to some willing adults, tradesmen or
small businessman around town, whom we con consider to be his first
“cooperators”.
The approach he took for the Sunday schools and then developed for
the evening classes meant
...just one subject at a time. For example, one or two Sundays were
devoted to going over and over the alphabet and the structure of
syllables. Then we started right off on the small catechism and, syllable
by syllable, pupils were taught to read one or two of the first catechism
questions. That served as a lesson for the week. The following Sunday
that work was reviewed and a few more questions and answers were
added. In this way in about eight weeks I could succeed in getting
some to read and study on their own a whole page of catechism (MO
Ch. 42).
The results were positive: “The night courses brought two good
results. They inspired the youngsters to come to learn to read, which
they realised was very important. At the same time, these classes gave
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us an excellent opportunity to instruct them in religion, which was the
object of our concern.” (MO Ch. 42).
But these consoling developments or the Oratory were accompanied
by a number of accusations and misunderstanding: “Some called Don
Bosco a revolutionary, others called him a madman, or even a heretic.
This was their reasoning: "This Oratory alienates youngsters from their
parishes... . Don Bosco should send the children to their own parishes
and stop gathering them in other places.” (MO Ch. 35). This last
accusation was taken up with two parish priests from the city: they
noted how the Oratory boys were “seasonal” and not part of any
parish structure; the parish priests then understood and encouraged
Don Bosco to continue. But other rumours and misunderstandings
continued.
They stayed about four months in the three rooms at casa Moretta,
until at the end of February, when Fr Moretta was forced to send the
Oratory away because of protests from other people in the building.
Some years later (9 March 1848), following Fr Moretta’s death, Don
Bosco bought the place as well as the surrounding land, with a view to
using it for the Oratory and his boarding house. He had to give this idea
up due to the poor condition of the building so he resold it (spring
1849). In 1875, however he bought the casa Moretta and land back
again, and set up the first girls’ oratory there, giving it to the Daughters
of Mary help of Christians.
Filippi field
(corner of via Cigna and via Maria Ausiliatrice)
Probably in February 1846 Don Bosco and Fr Borel rented a nearby field
belonging to the Filippi brothers, to gather the growing number of boys
but also to avoid further eviction from public land or because they were
disturbing private dwellers.
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The field was to the east of casa Moretta, had a hedge around it
and an old shed where they could keep items used for games (cf. fig.8
page 226).
Thanks to spring weather it was well-grassed and good for games
and gymnastics but they could also use it for music, singing, prayer,
confessions and preaching.
Doing the best we could, we held catechism classes, sang hymns, sang
vespers. Then Dr Borrelli or I would stand on a hillock or on a chair
and give a short sermon to the youths, who came up close to hear it.
For confessions, this is how we managed: I would be in the field early
on feast day mornings, where many would already be waiting for me.
I would sit on a hillock hearing one’s confession while others were
preparing or making their thanksgiving. Afterwards many went back
to their games. At a fixed time of the morning, all the boys assembled
in answer to a bugle call. A second blast on the bugle brought them
to silence, giving me a chance to speak and tell them where we were
going for Mass and holy communion.
Sometimes, as I said, we went to Our Lady of the Fields, to the Church
of Our Lady of Consolation, to Stupinigi, or to the places mentioned
earlier (MO Ch. 36).
These noisy assemblies, however, began to worry Marquis Michael
Cavour, Vicar of the City, who was afraid of revolution and disorder.
He called Don Bosco to find out exactly what was happening and how
these Sunday gatherings were being held. Not satisfied he spoke to the
archbishop about them and for a while he had the Oratory gatherings
under the eye of the civic guards. This continued for a number of
months.
Making the situation worse was an eviction order from the Filippi
brother because, they said, they boys “with their continuous trampling
in our field have killed the grass down to the very roots. We are prepared
to forgo the rent owing if you are out of the field in two weeks” (MO
Ch. 37).
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Faced with all these problems some of Don Bosco’s friends and
helpers tried to dissuade him and get him to “abandon this useless
enterprise”; some, seeing him worried and always surrounded by boys,
began to suspect his mental balance. Even Fr Borel had his moment
of doubt and suggested temporarily reducing the activities to a simple
catechism class for about twenty of the smallest ones (cf. MO Ch. 37).
This is probably the time when two priest friends of Don Bosco’s,
worried about his state of mind, tried in vain to get him into care (cf.
MO Ch. 38).
It was in these desperate circumstances that on one of the last
Sundays they were at the Filippi field, perhaps 8 March 1846, an
unexpected and decisive glimmer of hope shone through:
On that evening as I ran my eyes over the crowd of children playing,
I thought of the rich harvest awaiting my priestly ministry. With no
one to help me my energy gone, my health undermined, with no idea
where I could gather my boys in the future, I was very disturbed.
I withdrew to one side, and as I walked alone I began to cry, perhaps
for the first time. As I walked I looked up to heaven and cried out,
“My God, why don’t you show me where you want me to gather these
children? Oh, let me know! Oh, show me what I must do!”
When I had finished saying this, a man called Pancrazio Soave came
up. He stammered as he asked me, “Is it true that you’re looking for a
site for a laboratory?”
“Not a laboratory, but an oratory.”
“I don’t know the difference between an oratory and a laboratory, but
there’s a site available. Come and have a look at it. Mr Joseph Pinardi,
the owner, [note: change this to Francis] is an honest man. Come and
you’ll get a real bargain” (MO Ch. 39).
The dates given for this in the Memoirs of the Oratory and from
independent texts, leave us in some doubt. On the basis of recently
discovered documents we can indicate the following sequence of events:
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– Filippi field rented in February 1846
– The Filippi brothers terminate this agreement at the beginning of
March, giving him a fortnight
– Comes across Pancrazio Soave on Sunday 8 March
– Rental contract for a shed signed by Fr Borel and Francesco Pinardi
in the days immediately following (dated however as 1st April 1846)
– Between the drawing up of the contract and Sunday 12 April work
was done to the shed to make it suitable to use as a chapel
– Meanwhile they continued to use the Filippi field, probably until
Sunday 5 April
– 12 April, Easter Sunday, the Oratory moves officially to the Pinardi
chapel.
We have a recently found letter which confirms that sequence of
events, written to the Vicar of the City on 13 March 1846, where Don
Bosco writes amongst other things:
During winter we carried out part of this (note.: catechism classes)
in our house and part in various rooms we had rented. Finally this
week we are in negotiations with a Mr Pinardi whom we have paid
two hundred and eighty francs for a large room that could be the
Oratory, plus two other rooms on the adjacent site. This place seems
convenient both because it is very close to the Refuge and because
it is some way distant from any church, but near to some homes; it
just needs you to say that it is okay in terms of civil society and other
external arrangements.
(G. Bosco, Epistolario . Introduction critical text and notes by F.
Motto, vol. 1: [1835–1863], Roma, LAS 1991, pp. 66–67).
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THE ORATORY AT CASA PINARDI
(from 12 April onwards 1846)
When Don Bosco, accompanied by Pancrazio Soave and Francesco
Pinardi visited the shed for the first time that was attached to the north
side of the Pinardi house, he was almost speechless and ready to reject the
idea: “I can’t use it... it’s too low.” But Pinardi insisted he could adjust
the place and lower the floor by about a metre and a half to make it
suitable. Then Don Bosco agreed. They agreed on a rental of 320 lire a
year for the use of the shed and the strip of land in front and to the side
(cf. MO Ch. 39).
The adjustments were made between March and the first 10 days of
April so that it could be ready for Easter (12 April 1846). The shed, now
a chapel, was now the Oratory for the boys. It was blessed by Fr Borel
the following day.
It is worth noting that over this period Don Bosco continued to live
with Fr Borel at the Barolo place and continued his chaplaincy work
there.
Pinardi chapel
The shed rented to the Oratory was of recent construction. In fact on 14
July 1845, when Francesco Pinardi had arranged with the three brothers
Giovanni, Antonio and Carlo Filippi to buy the house and land (for
14,000 lire), the shed wasn’t there. He built it the following November
either for storage purposes or to use it as a craft shop.
Six months later when Borel, in Don Bosco’s name, signed the rental
contract, it was probably not in use by anyone.
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The surrounds
After Pinardi had made his adjustments, the shed was divided into three
areas: the chapel properly so-called, a long and narrow room (about 15
metres long); two other rooms, one for the sacristy and the other as a
little choir area and storage (cf. fig. 5 page 202).
The entrance was on the west end, going down two steps, meaning
that “in winter and when it was raining we were flooded out. In summer
the heat and the bad odours suffocated us. (MO Ch. 55). The room was
lit by seven small windows opening out onto the courtyard, but there
was no connection between it and the house it was attached to. Next to
the altar was a door leading to the sacristy.
The beams holding up the sloping roof were covered by a wooden
ceiling; this meant there was no more than two metres height left in the
building. So at the small pulpit located halfway down the chapel against
the north wall, there was just enough room for Fr Borel and Don Bosco
who were both smallish. When, on 29 June 1847, Archbishop Fransoni
came to the chapel the first time to administer Confirmation, he had to
remove his mitre or it would have bumped into the ceiling (cf. MO Ch.
45).
Don Bosco gradually furnished the chapel with statues and pictures
expressing the spirituality and devotions that became traditional at the
Oratory.
The wooden altar was the one they had used at the Little Hospital
and was at the eastern end. A picture of St Francis de Sales, brought from
the Refuge, hung on it. The Oratory and the chapel continued to be
dedicated to him.
In a niche in the wall on the right as one entered there was a
small statue of St Aloysius Gonzaga. To encourage devotion to this
model of youthful holiness amongst his boys, Don Bosco introduced
the practice of the six Sundays and a novena in his honour, getting these
prayers printed in a small booklet. On 21 May 1847 he founded the St
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Aloysius Sodality (the regulations were approved in April by Archbishop
Fransoni), and the best boys were invited to join. From autumn 1847
almost until the end of 1848, every first Sunday of the month there
was a small procession around the Oratory, where the carried the saint’s
statue.
For Feasts and processions for Our Lady, they had a statue of Our
Lady of Consolation, bought on 2 September 1847 for 27 lire and placed
in a niche almost in front of the small pulpit. Today this little statue is
the only item that remains of the original chapel.
On the walls were the 14 pictures of the Stations of the Cross, bought
for 12 lire and blessed on 1st April 1847, Holy Thursday. That was when
they held the Stations of the Cross, for the first time in a version Don
Bosco had adapted for the boys and published in The Companion of
Youth, the little prayer book he had published a few months earlier.
From the days when they met on Sundays at St Francis of Assisi,
hymn singing had taken on a special role in the Oratory. So Don Bosco,
as soon as the opportunity presented itself, bought a small organ to help
them with their singing; he paid 35 lire for it on 5 November 1847.
A few other small items completed the furnishings: 24 small pews
and two kneelers, red curtains for the windows, some vases and a lamp
near the altar (cf. ODB 67-75).
To mark it out as a chapel and also to be used for the timetable at
the Oratory, he built a rudimentary bell tower and placed a bell there
weighing 22 kg. which Fr Ignazio Vola gave him in November 1846
(ODB 96).
The two small rooms behind the chapel had a window each, a door
which opened onto the courtyard and a chimney with a wooden hood.
Later Don Bosco took over one of these and made it part of the chapel
since it was already too small, shifting the sacristy to the second room.
The Pinardi shed was used as a chapel for six years, that is until 20
June 1852, the date of the opening of the St Francis de Sales church.
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Then it became a study hall and recreation area and also a dormitory
until 1856, when it was pulled down along with the Pinardi house.
Events
The Oratory had finally become stable, poor as it was: the number
of boys, attracted by the solemn functions, music and games, kept on
increasing; a few priest helpers who had pulled out a few months before,
came back to help Don Bosco.
Life at the Oratory took on a more regular rhythm around the chapel
that soon became the heart of the Oratory:
This is how we arranged our functions. The church was opened early
in the morning on Sundays, and we heard confessions until it was time
for Mass, which was scheduled for eight o’clock. Often, because there
were so many for confession, Mass had to be put off till nine or even
later. One of the priests, when they were present, assisted, and the
prayers were recited in alternating choirs. Those who were prepared
went to holy communion during Mass. When Mass was over and the
vestments put away, I stood up on a low rostrum to explain the gospel.
Then this was changed in order to begin a regular presentation of
Bible history. These narratives were presented in simple and popular
language, vividly portraying the customs of the times, the places, the
[ancient] geographical names with their [modern] counterparts. This
pleased very much the youngest, the adults, and even the priests who
were present. After the instruction, there were classes till noon.
At one o’clock in the afternoon recreation began, with bocce, stilts,
rifles, wooden swords, and our first gymnastics equipment. At
two-thirty we started catechism. On the whole, ignorance abounded.
Many times I began to sing the Ave Maria, but not one of the
approximately four hundred youngsters present could continue if I
stopped.
After catechism was over, since we were not yet able to sing vespers,
we said the rosary. Later we began to sing Ave Maris Stella, then the
Magnificat, then the Dixit [note: Psalm 109], then other psalms; and
finally an antiphon. In the space of a year, we had become capable of
singing the whole vespers of our Lady.
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These practices were followed by a short sermon, usually a story in
which some virtue or vice was personified. It all concluded with the
singing of the litanies and with benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
When we came out of church, there was a period of free time for
each to do as he pleased. Some continued their catechism class, some
practised their singing, some worked at their reading. Most of them,
however, jumped about, ran, and enjoyed themselves in various games
and pastimes...
As night fell, we all returned to church when the bell rang, here we
said a few prayers or recited the rosary and the Angelus, and everything
ended with the singing of the Praised be forever etc.
As they left the church, I went in their midst and accompanied them
while they sang and shouted. As they left the church, I went in their
midst and accompanied them while they sang and shouted. When we
reached the Rondò, we would sing a verse from some hymn. Then
I would invite them back for the following Sunday, and with a loud
chorus of “good nights” all round, each went his way (MO Ch. 40).
What was happening around this chapel drew attention from
various sides. Many people visited the oratory in these early days.
Marchioness Barolo was following things sympathetically but with
increasing concern for Don Bosco and his activities. She was amongst
the first to go there in summer 1846: seeing the poverty and the
inconvenience of it all she once again tried to convince him to give all his
time to the Refuge and the Little Hospital. She was worried about his
health.
In 1848–1849, when Don Bosco once again felt abandoned by
most of his helpers (this time for political reasons), he was visited by
two priests who were unknown to him, one of whom was the famous
Antonio Rosmini. It was interesting how this meeting took place:
At the beginning of the catechism period, I was totally occupied
with arranging my classes when two clergymen arrived. They were
coming with a humble, respectful bearing to commend me and seek
information about the origin and system of the Oratory. As my only
answer, I said, “Would you be good enough to help me?" One I asked,
"Would you come to the apse and take the big boys?” To the taller
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one I said, “I entrust to you this class, which is the wildest.” Realising
that they were excellent catechists, I asked one of them to give a short
sermon to our boys, and the other to give benediction of the Blessed
Sacrament. Both accepted graciously.
The shorter priest was Father Antonio Rosmini, founder of the
Institute of Charity.The other was Canon Archpriest De Gaudenzi,
the present bishop of Vigevano. From that time, both of them
were always kindly disposed towards our house; in fact they were
benefactors (MO Ch. 53).
But there was no lack of visits of a less courteous nature: Marquis
Cavour was still sending along his guards.
Every Sunday he sent some agents or policemen to spend the whole
day with us, watching all that was said or done in church or outside
it.
“Well,” Marquis Cavour said to one of these guards, “what did you
see and hear in the midst of that rabble?”
“Lord Marquis,we saw a huge crowd of boys enjoying themselves in a
thousand ways. In church we heard some hair-raising sermons. They
said so many things about hell and devils that it made me want to go
to confession.”
“And what about politics?”
“Politics weren’t even mentioned. Those boys wouldn’t understand
anything about politics.” (MO Ch. 41).
Fr lemoyne tells us that “the Marquis’ order... brought great
spiritual benefit to all the guards. They ... had never heard such a sermon
and had not been to confession for years, and would come to him right
after and, fearful and repentant, ask him to hear their confession” (MB
2, 347).
Very soon what was going on at the Pinardi chapel produced
positive results. Don Bosco was able to pick out some of his boys in
view of eventually sharing the apostolate with them. with this in mind,
in 1848, the retreats began:
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I adopted every means to pursue also my own particular objective,
which was to observe, get to know, and chose some individuals who
had a suitable inclination to the common life, and to take them with
me into my house.
With this same purpose, in that year (1848) I put it to a test with a
little spiritual retreat (MO Ch. 48).
The Lord blessed the Oratory work through some miraculous signs
which Fr Lemoyne tells us about, like the multiplication of hosts during
one of Our Lady’s Feast Days in 1848 (cf. BM III, 311-312) or the
chestnuts in November 1849 at the door of the Pinardi chapel (cf. BM
III, 404-406).
The chapel today
The Pinardi house and chapel were pulled down in 1856 to build a
more sturdy and roomy building. Where the old chapel was he put a
dining room for himself and the first Salesians. A number of friends and
benefactors sat at his poor table, including Giuseppe Sarto and Achille
Ratti who became respectively Pius X and Pius XI (cf. ODB 80). The
Major Superiors of the Congregation used this dining room until 1927.
That year Fr Philip Rinaldi, third successor of Don Bosco’s, wanted it
returned to being a chapel in memory of the first chapel for the Oratory.
The chapel, opened on 31 January 1928, has been called the Pinardi
chapel until today, even if not quite correctly.
On the wall behind the altar is a painting by Paolo Giovanni Crida of
the Resurrection, recalling Easter 1846, the day Don Bosco opened the
original Pinardi chapel. It is an image of the model of youthful holiness
offered at Valdocco: a life free from sin and regenerated by the grace of
the Risen Lord, full of joy and light.
The altar, designed by Valotti, is supported by four onyx columns.
The mosaic beneath is the sacrificial Lamb redeeming mankind by his
blood. He is the Vine with the branches being the Apostles, pictured
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there by the symbols of their martyrdom. Jesus words, the mandate to go
out and preach to all people, recalls the origin and scope of the oratory:
“Euntes docete omnes gentes, praedicate evangelium universo mundo” (Go
and preach to all people, preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth). The
tabernacle, in beaten and then enamelled copper, following the school
of Blessed Angelico from Milan, has symbols of fish and the words
Emmanuel adorabilis, alluding to the Eucharistic presence of the “God
with us.”
On the ceiling above the altar, dominated by the Eucharistic
emblem, we read: “Haec dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur
in ea” (This is the day the Lord made: let us exalt and rejoice in him),
recalling the joy of the Resurrection and Easter 1846. The symbols of
grapes and wheat also in beaten iron on the balustrade – images of “the
food for eternal life” joining human work with the Eucharistic sacrifice
– recall the spirituality of daily work and Don Bosco’s encouragement
for daily Communion.
On the arch above the altar we can read the Victimae paschali, with
reminders of the seven sacraments below the arch. The sacrament of
Penance which Don Bosco considered to be a key element of spiritual
life, is at the centre where we read Claves Regni Cœlorum (keys to the
kingdom of heaven).
The second arch in the centre of the chapel, has the Easter antiphon
Regina Cœli, symbolising Mary as a model of virtue. There are symbols
of Mary’s virginity: her burning love, intimacy with God and custody of
heart; sin could not enter, and she was available for the call. Her virginity
was fruitful. The lily amongst thorns in the centre of the ceiling recalls
the importance Don Bosco gave to chastity, a virtue under siege but not
impossible with Mary’s help.
Near the altar on the right is the statue of the Consolata a copy of the
original which was there in 1847 and now kept in the museum in Don
Bosco’s rooms: it is the only reminder of the original chapel. In 1856,
when the Pinardi house was pulled down, Fr Francesco Giacomelli, one
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of his fellow seminarians, was given the statue by Don Bosco as a gift.
He had it with him at the Little Hospital where he was chaplain; then
in 1882 he took it to Avigliana, where he was born. It stayed there for 46
years until in 1929 it was given back to the Salesians.
On the ceiling there are monograms of Christ and Mary surrounded
by wild roses and passion fruit flowers, recalling the fruitfulness of
suffering accepted in love.
A band of small crosses beginning from the altar goes around the
entire church: these are our daily crosses united with Jesus’ cross, for our
personal purification and to transform our setting in a Christian way.
On the back wall where there would have been the entrance to
the original chapel there is a plaque summing up the period of the
wandering oratory. Another on the wall on the left recalls the hospitality
Don Bosco showed Achille Ratti,the future Pope Pius XI, who had the
good fortune of beatifying him in 1929 then canonising him in 1934.
A third plaque finally, commemorates Don Bosco who “prayed and
celebrated here - dispensing the divine mysteries to his boys - and then
for some thirty years - within these walls - shared with his sons - the bread
given by Providence - while he let them taste - his kindly fatherliness”.
Recent developments
In keeping the project planned for the Salesian places at the Mother
House, after the opening of the Casa Don Bosco Museum, the Pinardi
chapel was converted to a place of perpetual adoration.
It is open from 8:30 a.m to 8:30 p.m. for anyone looking for a quiet
and silent place to pray. This new stage in its long history began on 24
October 2020.
Where the sacristy and choir used be, there are now some tools and
other items recalling the first workshops at the Oratory.
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Don Bosco at the Pinardi house
On 5 June 1846 Don Bosco rented three rooms in a row from Pancrazio
Soave on the upper floor of the Pinardi house, on the east side. The
contract established a rent of 5 lire a month for each room, from 1st
July 1846 to 1st January 1849. Don Bosco came to this decision when
he decided finally to separate completely from the Barolo work. The two
roles were in fact incompatible, now that the Oratory had become more
developed and more demanding than just a Sunday gathering.
Events during spring-summer 1846
With the opening of the chapel Don Bosco gave most of his energies to
consolidating the Oratory but without neglecting his work at the Little
Hospital and the many pastoral activities he was invited to take on in
various places. His health was suffering and Marchioness Barolo, really
worried about him, intervened. She met Don Bosco and invited him to
moderate his frenetic activity. She wrote a long letter to Fr Borel (18 May
1846) to explain her thinking: she did not want the Oratory to close but
she feared for Don Bosco0s life. She wrote, amongst other things:
A few weeks after it was set up with your help, V. Rev. Fr, both the
Superior at the Refuge and I saw that he was exhausted. You will recall
how often I have asked him to take care of himself and give himself
time to sleep etc. etc. He took no notice; he said that priests have to
work, etc.
Don Bosco’s health got worse up till the time I left for Rome;
meanwhile he was working, but ill, spitting blood. It was then that I
received a letter from you, Father where you told me that Don Bosco
was no longer able to do everything he had to. I immediately replied
that I was ready to continue Don Bosco’s stipend if he would agree to
do nothing else, and I am ready to keep my word. You, father, know
that hearing confessions, encouraging hundreds of boys is not “doing
nothing”; I believe it is harming Don Bosco, and I think he needs to
go away from Turin so he can give his lungs a rest...
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You are so kind, father and I probably deserve your poor opinion
of me by letting me know clearly that I want to block this Sunday
teaching for the boys and whatever else he is doing for them during
the week. I believe the work in itself is very good and worthy of those
who have undertaken it; but I also believe that Don Bosco’s health
absolutely does not allow him to continue, and on the other hand I
believe that gathering these boys who used wait for their Director at
the door to the Refuge, and are now waiting for him at the door to
the Little Hospital, is not convenient...
To sum up, [1.] I approve of and praise this work of teaching the
boys, but given the people in my own work, I think these gatherings
outside my doors are risky. 2. And since in conscience I believe that
Don Bosco’s chest needs complete rest, I will not continue the small
stipend I am giving him except on condition that he go some distance
away from Turin so that he won’t be tempted to harm his health. I
have so much time for him and I am worried about him.
I know, Rev. Father, that we do not agree on these things. If it was not
my conscience speaking I would as usual submit to your judgement.
(From: Archivio Salesiano Centrale – Roma, Fondo Don Bosco,
microf. 541.B5–8).
Towards the end of May, the Marchioness, seeing that her earlier
efforts were useless, confronted Don Bosco with a choice: if he wanted
his stipend he had to reduce the rhythm of work, in her view excessive,
at the Oratory. The young priest who was by now certain of his mission,
replied: “I’ve thought it over already, M Lady Marchioness. My life
is consecrated to the good of young peopl. I thank you for the offers
you’re making me, but I can’t turn back from the path which Divine
Providence has traced out for me” (MO Ch. 38). They fixed the date for
the termination of his role as Director at the Little Hospital for end of
August 1846.
Meanwhile, as the Marchioness had foreseen, Don Bosco’s health
reached a worrying state:
My many commitments in the prisons, the Cottolengo Hospital, the
Refuge, the Oratory, and the schools meant I had to work at night
to compile the booklets that I absolutely needed. On account of that,
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my already frail health deteriorated to such a degree that the doctors
advised me to stop all my activities. Doctor Borrelli, who loved me
dearly, for my own good sent me to spend some time with the parish
priest of Sassi. I rested during the week and went back to work at the
Oratory on Sunday. But that was not enough. The youngsters came in
crowds to see me; the boys from the village came too. So I was busier
than in Turin, while I was causing a great deal of inconvenience to my
little friends (MO Ch. 43).
On day at the beginning of July, a crowd of boys came to Sassi
(around 400 of them!) all De La Salle Brothers’ pupils, to go to
confession because they had finished their retreat. Don Bosco, with
other priests from the place, tackled this ministry, but the effort was the
last straw for him:
Back home again, I was exhausted and took to my bed. I had
bronchitis, combined with coughing and violent inflammation. A
week later, I was judged to be at death’s door. I had received Holy
Viaticum and the Anointing of the sick. I think that just then I was
ready to die. I was sorry to abandon my youngsters, but I was happy
that before I departed I had given a solid foundation to the Oratory
(MO Ch. 43).
The boys at the Oratory, finding out that Don Bosco was at the end
of his tether, and moved by the great love they had for their friend, got
into little groups and prayed:
Without prompting they prayed, fasted, went to Masses, and received
holy communions. In turns they prayed all night and day for me
before the image of Our Lady of Consolation. In the morning they lit
special candles for me, and until the late evening large numbers were
always praying and imploring the august Mother of God to preserve
their poor Don Bosco.
Some made vows to recite the whole rosary for a month, others for
a year, some for their whole lives. There were some who promised to
fast on bread and water for months, years, and even their whole lives.
I know that some bricklayer apprentices fasted on bread and water for
entire weeks, without lessening from morning to evening their heavy
work. In fact, when they had any bit of free time they rushed to spend
it before the Most Blessed Sacrament.
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God heard their prayers! It was a Saturday evening, and it was believed
that it would be the last night of my life. So said the doctors who came
to see me, and so was I convinced myself. I had no strength left because
of a continuous loss of blood. Late in the night I grew drowsy and
slept. When I woke I was out of danger (MO Ch. 43).
To recover his strength he was advised to spend at least three months
in the Becchi, and that’s what he did. Before leaving, at the beginning
of August, he rented a fourth room at the Pinardi house on the upper
floor from Pietro Clapié, who was working for Soave (cf. BM II, 388). Fr
Borel looked after repairs and cleaning so that Don Bosco could move
in there.
Meanwhile the Sunday Oratory and classes continued under Fr
Borel’s direction, helped by Frs Vola and Càrpano, and Fr Trivero and
Pacchiotti.
Moving into the Pinardi house
On 3 November 1846, after his convalescence at the Becchi, Don Bosco
moved into the four rooms at the Pinardi house. His mother Margaret
came with him. She had decided to follow her son who no longer had
work or income, and support him in his apostolic work. Her presence
at Valdocco, also for reasons of prudence given the kind of people who
lived in the area, was a decisive one once her son decided to begin to take
in orphans.
These four rooms were poor and the situation was precarious.
Rental costs for the chapel and the rooms was now 600 lire a year; then
there were normal living costs, Sunday activities, snacks and helping
the poorest Oratory boys. They entrusted it all to Providence and help
came from many places. From a notebook of Fr Borel’s we know that Fr
Cafasso paid the rent and that financial contributions came from priests
and all kinds of people. Marchioness Barolo too continued to help, but
anonymously through Fr Cafasso.
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These financial difficulties did not scare Don Bosco off and he kept
broadening his activities. With this in mind on 1st December 1846 he
rented the entire house and surrounding land. Pancrazio Soave was still
using the ground floor for his work until 1st March 1847. When the
contract with Soave ran out, Fr Borel took out a new one directly with
the owner, Mr Pinardi, from 1st April 1849 to 31 March 1852. Pinardi
agreed on a rent of just 1150 lire to support the work which had begun in
his house. Nevertheless on 19 February 1851, a year before this contract
ran out, Francesco Pinardi sold it all for 28,500 lire “to Frs G. Bosco, Fr
Giov. Borel, Fr Roberto Murialdo, Giuseppe Cafasso, the grounds and
buildings also held with the Filippi brothers to the east and south, the
Giardineria road to the north, and Mrs Bellezza to the west” (ODB 99).
How the house was
The front looks towards the south, and windows and doors were only
on this side. The living area was a ground floor and an upper floor
but very low, and it took up the area near the portico where St Francis
de Sales church is now. It was about 20 metres long and 6 wide. The
height of the entire building was no more than seven metres.
About halfway along near the staircase, was a narrow entrance near
which, outside, on the eastern part, was a stone basin and pump with
plenty of fresh water. The house had about a dozen rooms. On the
ground floor, behind the pump, there was a small door to an oblong
room with just one window, and this later became a dining room for
Don Bosco and his first helpers.
There was a wooden set of steps built by Pinardi which Don Bosco
then rebuilt in stone, going upstairs, and there from the landing you
entered on the left into a room above the dining room; there was a
balcony running the length of the building, and off this the doors to
the four rooms, each of which had a window. There were another four
rooms like this below. There was a skylight or dormer providing light
from the roof, and a small cellar in the middle of the building. Behind
this was the lean-to which we know as the chapel more or less the same
length and width as the house.
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Next to the Pinardi house, where the entrance to the second courtyard
is now, was a low-slung shed that went almost the length of the entire
building.
Made up of two equal parts, the southern end with door and window,
had once been a stable but was now turned into a room; the northern
end was used for stacking wood. Above was room for hay...
In the rental contract that Don Bosco renewed in April 1849 to March
1852, reference was made to a shed that connected the house with a
fence on the north. It was the first and only extension (if we could call
it that) of the Oratory prior to the building of the St Francis de Sales
church, and was done so they could have a covered area to play under.
In summer 1849 Don Bosco renovated the building on the eastern
side of the house, making the woodshed, stable and new shed into one
large room which he could use for academies and theatre, especially in
winter when the open-air stage could not be used in the little yard next
to the chapel (ODB 100–102).
Surrounding land
The land around Pinardi house was 3697 square metres and was covered
in grass and some trees. The northern strip (cf. fig. 7, no. 1 page 209),
behind the chapel, was about 70 metres in length but only 8 wide. It was
the Oratory’s first playground.
To the west where the entrance to the chapel was, where the church
of St Francis de Sales is now, there was an irregular field (cf. fig. 7, no. 2
page 209) about 31 by 20 metres which Don Bosco used for recreation,
setting it up with a see-saw and some gym equipment.
The eastern side of the land, between the stable and the Filippi
property (cf. fig. 7, no. 3 page 209), was kept for some rabbits.
Finally, in front of Pinardi house (cf. fig. 7, no. 4 page 209), much of
the land was a garden (cf. ODB 102-104). This was known as Mamma
Margaret’s garden: a providential resource for the good woman who
took good care of it. It would be got rid of alter to give more space to
the boys for their games. At the height of their games they would often
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trample on the garden. We recall the “devastation” caused by the boys
when Brosio the Sharpshooter, was organising battles at the height of the
popular and patriotic movement in 1848 and 1849 (cf. BM III, 310).
Don Bosco’s room in the Pinardi house
We do not know which of the four rented upstairs rooms Don Bosco
had in November 1846. But we know for sure that after that time, to
get away from the mysterious nocturnal rumblings in the ceiling, he
moved to the first room on the eastern end, and remained there till the
new building was built (1853). The night disturbances continued even
under the new arrangements, until Don Bosco put a statue of Our Lady
there. This area also served as a study and reception area. On the outside
architrave of the door he had written Praised be Jesus Christ.
This was the room where he had the famous pergola of roses dream.
Don Bosco glimpsed his mission and his helpers working for the young
in the long term. It was only apparently easy but in fact difficult (the
thorns hidden under the roses along the way). But guided by Mary and
urged on by pastoral charity (the roses), Don Bosco and those with the
courage to follow him completed the mission entrusted to them (cf. BM
III, 19–24).
Mamma Margaret occupied the room next to her son.
Organisation and development of the Oratory at the Pinardi house
The fact that he now had a stable place for the Oratory, allowed Don
Bosco to reflect on the experience thus far and establish the platform for
organising, keeping discipline, forming people and running the work:
When we got firmly settled at Valdocco, I gave my full attention to
promoting the things that could work to preserve our unity of spirit,
discipline, and administration. In the first place, I drew up a set of
regulations in which I simply set down what was being done at the
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Oratory, and the standard way in which things ought to be done...
This little Rule brought this notable advantage: everybody knew what
was expected of him, and since I used to let each one be responsible for
his own charge, each took care to know and to perform his appointed
duties (MO Ch. 45).
At the beginning of 1847 Don Bosco began drawing up the
Regulations for the Oratory, which he worked on and improved over
a number of years and finally published in 1877 (OE 29, 31-94). He
documented this: he got hold of earlier Oratory regulations like those of
St Philip Neri and St Charles Borromeo and some other contemporary
cases. In particular he studied the Rule for the Oratory of St Aloysius
opened in Milan in 1842 and the Rule for the children of the Oratory
under the patronage of the Holy Family. But the way these oratories
were set up did not satisfy him: for the kind of boys he had he needed
something new. So he eliminated outdated items and anything that
smacked of coercion where religion was concerned, for example the
Confession and Communion tickets, going to Communion by row,
Confession by class groups and giving out breakfast only when someone
had received Communion.
The document is in three parts. In the first part he presents the
purpose of the Oratory and the role played by various ones who helped
the Director. The second part is about religious practices the boys should
fulfil and their behaviour in church and outside. The third part, drawn
up later, talks about the day and evening schools and a range of general
advice.
A special regulation drawn up at this time, regarded one group of
boys in particular. These were the Rules for the St Aloysius Sodality,
mentioned earlier, approved by Archbishop Fransoni on 12 April 1847
and later included in the general regulations for the Oratory (you can
read them in BM III, 148-150).
Don Bosco took especial care to organise the prayer life for which
he wrote a new and easy-to-use manual for his boys: The Companion of
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Youth (Paravia 1847), which reached 122 editions in his lifetime and was
published in Salesian works until 1961.
Amongst the important items in 1847, the Exercise for a happy death
deserves special mention because it was a common feature for the boys
in Salesian houses until recent times. It was usually held on the first
Sunday of the month and meant going to Confession and Communion
as if they were the last occasion of your life and a community prayer
asking for the grace of not dying a sudden and unprepared death. So this
Sunday would stand out from the others, there was a special breakfast
after Mass (cf. MB 3, 14-15).
Feast days too gave a certain rhythm to the Oratory and its religious
aspect (novena in preparation, Confession and Communion well made,
good resolutions).special recreation always went with them: games in
the afternoon, lighting, balloons, fireworks, music and theatre, special
guests, raffles. It was all meant to highlight how God’s grace leads
to full happiness. As well as the usual monthly celebrations there
were particular ones: St Francis de Sales, St Aloysius Gonzaga, the
Guardian Angel Our Lady (Annunciation, Assumption, Birthday,
Rosary, Immaculate Conception).
As well as prayers in common the boys were also given a range of
prayerful activities they could choose freely to encourage their growth
in spiritual life. For example there was the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament,
a decade of the Rosary, prayers of consecration, other prayers. Don Bosco
suggested to the best boys that they make a retreat: the first time (1847)
this was preached by the young Fr Federico Albert (1820-1876), future
parish priest of Lanzo Torinese, and today beatified.
The Sunday and the evening school experiment continued and was
growing. Don Bosco added in arithmetic, drawing, oratory, singing and
music.
The approach he took was a novelty. There were many authorities,
pedagogues and people interested in education for the ordinary folk
who came to see and noted how effective he was. Don Bosco, for his
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part, did his best to make these schools known, convinced of their
importance for young working boys. So already in the early months of
1847 he was offering displays of the results gained by his pupils, inviting
famous pedagogues and school people from around town: Fr Ferrante
Aporti (1791–1858), Carlo Boncompagni (1804–1880), Prof. Gian
Antonio Rayneri (1809–1867), Dr Pietro Baricco (1819–1877), Fratel
Michele, superior of the De La Salle Brothers, and others. It was a great
success and the following year (1848) both the Council and the Royal
Work for education of the Poor opened evening schools which followed
the Valdocco method. A Council Commission, seeing the results and
success, gave an annual 300 lire subsidy to the Oratory, which continued
until 1878 (cf. BM III, 21–21).
Don Bosco also prepared a number of texts which did well: Church
History for use in the schools (1845), The Metric decimal System made
Simple... for use by tradesmen and country dwellers (1846), Bible History
for use in the schools (1847) and later, The History of Italy told to young
people (1855).
Another successful initiative along these lines was his singing classes.
After beginning by teaching a few hymns, Don Bosco soon went on to
teaching them how to read music, and developed some teaching aids:
“Since it was the first time (1845) that public music lessons were offered,
the first time that music was taught in class to many pupils at the same
time, there was a huge crowd. The renowned musicians Louis Rossi,
Joseph Blanchi, Cerutti, and Canon Louis Nasi came and attended my
classes [as observers] eagerly every evening.... They came to see how the
new method was applied, the same method which is practised today in
our houses” (MO Ch. 46).
For these Sunday and evening classes Don Bosco also got help from
young students, as indicated earlier. He opened the oratory on Thursday
afternoons for them and made himself available to tutor them, offering
them some time for recreation and formation. The number of students
coming to the Pinardi house that day kept growing and in fact became
a new category of oratory boy. Many were catechists or worked in other
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supporting roles. Towards evening Don Bosco would gather these first
“leaders” and work with them to prepare the catechism classes and
Sunday activities (cf. BM III, 1719-120).
New guests at the Pinardi house
The social situation in Turin was so dramatic that many of the young
seasonal workers and orphans had nowhere to stay even at night time.
Stables at inns, any old shed or workplace building, under eaves, were all
places these lads sought for a place to sleep at night. It is easy to imagine
the consequences for hygiene and morality.
While he was looking at how to respond to this emergency situation,
Don Bosco had set up some straw mattresses in the hayloft and bought
some sheets and blankets. But his guests did not repay his kindness well:
“some of them repeatedly made off with the sheets, others with the
blankets, and in the end even the straw itself was stolen and sold” (MO
Ch. 46).
He had to think of a better solution. This time, as for the case
of Bartholomew Garelli, it was an apparently marginal event which
started an initiative that would become a stable one and one that would
characterise Salesian work:
Now it happened that late one rainy evening in May [1847] a lad of
fifteen showed up soaked to the skin. He asked for bread and shelter.
My mother took him into the kitchen and put him near the fire. While
he warmed himself and dried his clothes, she fed him a bowl of soup
and some bread. As he ate, I asked him whether he had gone to school,
whether he had family, and what kind of work he did. “I’m a poor
orphan,” he answered me. “I’ve come from the Sesia valley to look for
work. I had three francs with me, but I spent them all before I could
earn anything. Now I have nothing left and no one to turn to.”
“Have you been admitted to first communion?”
“I haven’t been admitted yet.”
“And confirmation?”
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“I haven’t received it yet.”
“Have you been to confession?”
“I’ve gone a few times.”
“Now where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. For charity’s sake, let me stay in some corner of your
house tonight.”
At this point he broke down and cried. My mother cried with him. I
was moved.
“If I could be sure you weren’t a thief, I would try to put you up. But
other boys stole some of the blankets, and you might take the rest of
them.”
“Oh no, Sir. You needn’t worry about that. I’m poor, but I’ve never
stolen anything.”
“If you wish,” replied my mother, “I will put him up for tonight, and
tomorrow God will provide.”
“Where?” I asked.
“Here in the kitchen.”
“You’re risking even your pots.”
“I’ll see that it doesn’t happen.”
“Go ahead, then.”
The good woman, helped by the little orphan, went out and collected
some bricks. With these she built four little pillars in the kitchen. On
them she laid some boards and and threw a straw mattress on top,
thereby making the first bed in the Oratory. My good mother gave
the boy a little talk on the necessity of work, of trustworthiness, and
of religion. Finally she invited him to say his prayers. “I don’t know
any,” he answered. “You can say them with us,” she told him. And so
he did.
That all might be secure, the kitchen was locked, and opened only in
the morning.
This was the first youngster at our hospice... It was 1847 (MO Ch.
46).
The same year another boy was taken in: the two stayed at
the Pinardi house until it was time for seasonal work back in the
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countryside. From the end of the year, when Don Bosco was able to
use all the house and land, the number of young guests grew gradually.
But Don Bosco also took in some paying boarders: the son of Cav.
Pescarmona from Castelnuovo, a student with Prof. Bonzanino, and
two of his priest friends, Fr Carlo Palazzolo (the former sacristan whom
Don Bosco helped as a student in Chieri) and Fr Pietro Ponte. During
the week the two priests carried out their pastoral duties and on Sundays
helped him at the Oratory, but they only lasted a year with the rigorous
life at Pinardi house (cf. BM III, 175–176).
When the seminary was closed and taken over by the military (1848)
he also took in some clerics. Thus the three main categories at Valdocco
were taking shape: working boys, mostly without parents, students and
clerics.
Amongst the early group of boys he took in were Felice Reviglio and
Carlo Gastini (cf. BM III, 243–244).
Seeing the value of this initiative Don Bosco decided to develop the
room he had for this purpose. So began the Hospice or Home attached to
the Oratory.
Pastoral strategy
The number of boys coming to the Oratory at Pinardi continued to
grow, partly because of its spontaneous attraction and partly through
Don Bosco’s efforts. His main concern was to look for poor and
neglected boys to get them off the street and prevent greater problems.
He used a variety of techniques for this, all based however on personal
contact and friendship which wins over hearts. Sometimes he would
walk past the work places at lunch time, mix with the apprentices and
talk to them, showing he was interested in their problems; at other times
when he met a group of teenagers playing cards or drafts, he would sit
with them; he had fruits and sweets for the youngest urchins; he would
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go into cafe’s barber shops, talk to their employers and the apprentices,
inviting the latter to come to the Oratory.
The best place for this was piazza Emanuele Filiberto (today piazza
della Repubblica) already known then as Porta Palazzo. It was the
market square so there were crowds of kids there every day, teenagers
and older, all very poor: they sold things, matches or newspapers, shone
shoes, or they were chimney sweeps, stable hands, porters... and so many
other poor boys who lived from day to day. They were almost all part
of the Cocche or gangs in Borgo Vanchiglia, real little hoodlums in fact.
Until 1856 every morning Don Bosco would cross this piazza and found
whatever pretext to catch up with many of them. Little by little he got
to know them by name and brought them to the Oratory.
The area around the Pinardi house
The Pinardi property lies beyond and slightly below the Rondò della
forca which then slopes on down towards the Dora. There were fields,
gardens, occasional little cottages at least until the early Seventies,
fanning out east, west and north around it. Here on these outskirts,
with plenty of room, canals and irrigation channels, and where the first
factories had sprung up in earlier decades, there were still chickens and
cows belonging to farms on the other side of the river.
The small block of land where the Pinardi house was bordered on
the south by via della Giardiniera, which separated it from a large area
belonging to the seminary; and the Bellezza property to the west; north
and east was the Filippi property.
Via della Giardiniera and Casa Bellezza
Access to the Pinardi place was off via della Giardiniera, a lane that ran
diagonally across to what was then called via Cottolengo but today via
Maria Ausiliatrice, and connected with the casa Bellezza.
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This place, belonging to Mrs Teresa Caterina was to the west of the
Oratory, about 20 metres from the door of the Pinardi chapel, where the
mechanics and electromechanics workshops are today. The house ran
a dive called La Giardiniera, and at evenings and weekends especially
some of the less recommended categories of humanity would gather
there: cursing, squabbling and fights would disturb Oratory activities.
Don Bosco did what he could to stop all that and keep the moral
danger it represented away from his boys. For a whole year his efforts
were to no avail; they did not want to sell the house, and the inn did not
want to miss out on its earnings. Only in January 1854 did Don Bosco
succeed in getting the place from its owner but it cost him a packet (MO
205–206).
Later he was able to get the entire property, clean it and put new and
more trustworthy residents in it.
Mrs Teresa Caterina Novo owned the building, and while she was
a friend and benefactor of the Oratory, she constantly declined the
invitation to sell the house. When she died (1883) her children decided
to sell the house and land to Don Bosco, since he really needed the land
to expand his Oratory; the contract was drawn up on 8 March 1884. An
exorbitant price was being asked (more than 100 thousand lire!), and
this was paid by Count Colle di Tolone.
The building was only pulled down in 1922 (cf. ODB 234–236).
Filippi brothers property
The land on the north and east of Pinardi’s property belonged to three
brothers: Giovanni, Antonio and Carlo Filippi. To the east, almost in
a straight line with the Pinardi house, was a 35 metre long two-storey
building in a U-shape used as a silk factory. Opposite, along via della
Giardiniera, on the corner with the Pinardi land, was a large shed. A
certain contractor, Mr Visca had rented it from the Filippi brothers and
was keeping horses and carriages there for the Council. Of an evening,
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as well as the carriage drivers all kinds of poor people would seek refuge
– drunks among them (cf. MB 3, 79).
The seminary field
Opposite Pinardi house beyond via della Giardiniera, where the
Basilica of Mary Help of Christians is now, was a large field cultivated
by the seminary. In Salesian tradition it is often referred to as the field
of dreams, because Our Lady pointed it out in a dream to Don Bosco as
the place where her church would stand and as the place where Solutor,
Adventor and Octavius were martyred.
On 20 June 1850 Don Bosco bought this too as he was looking for
more and more room for his boys. A few years later, when finances were
very low, he resold it to Fr Antonio Rosmini (10 April 1854). Rosmini
wanted to build a place there for his Congregation, including helping
Don Bosco in his Oratory ministry. The plan never came to fruition, so
Don Bosco, who was already thinking of building the church to Mary
Help of Christians, bought it back again on 11 February 1863.
DON BOSCO'S OTHER ORATORIES
The situation in Turin in the 1840s with a massive influx of people and
especially young people, brought many pastoral and religious problems
with it. Fr Cocchi’s and Don Bosco’s efforts had shown themselves to
be effective, and gained the support of people interested in the social
and religious welfare of the population. The earlier fears of parish priests
having been overcome, the need was seen for other oratories to be set up
on the fringes of this rapidly expanding population.
Don Bosco had hundreds of boys from all over the city at the Pinardi
house and saw the need to decrease the congestion at Valdocco so he
could be more pastorally effective.
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St Aloysius Oratory
(corso Vittorio Emanuele II, no. 13)
One Sunday in August 1847, seeing the huge number of boys coming
to Valdocco, Don Bosco put the idea to Fr Borel of opening a second
Oratory. A good number of boys were coming from piazza Castello,
piazza san Carlo, Borgo Nuovo and san Salvario, and had to come a
considerable distance: it seemed to be a good idea to choose one of those
areas for the new project.
The Archbishop approved when asked and suggested the southern
outskirts of the city. The Parish priest at Santa Maria degli Angeli parish
was also enthusiastic about it.
So one day Don Bosco and Fr Borel went looking around Porta
Nuova, along the so-called viale del Re, today corso Vittorio Emanuele II,
in the direction of the Po. It was outside city limits, open, and used by
lots of young people looking for places to play. They found a little house
with a shed and courtyard belonging to a certain Mrs Vaglienti who was
ready to rent it out for 450 lire a year. The building and courtyard were
where the church of St John the Evangelist stands today.
To secure that house we had to engage in a very fierce battle with
the inhabitants. It was occupied by a group of washerwomen who
believed that abandoning their ancient abode would cause the end
of the world. But we used a gentle approach and offered some
compensation, and so a deal was struck before the belligerents reached
a state of war (MO Ch. 47).
The Oratory was opened on 8 December 1847 and called St
Aloysius. Fr Giacinto Càrpano (1821–1894) looked after it. he used the
same regulations as for Valdocco. He was helped by cousins Roberto
(1815–1883) and Saint Leonardo Murialdo (1828–1900). Càrpano,
who ran the Oratory for some years, was succeeded by Fr Pietro Ponte
(1821–-1892), young chaplain for Marchioness Barolo and then Fr
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Paolo Francesco Rossi (1828–1856), a zealous man whom the boys
loved, but who died at only 28 years of age from cancer.
The Oratory remained without a priest as director for some time;
Don Bosco gave the task to a young lawyer Gaetano Bellingeri who
gave all his free time to the work for a whole year (1856–1857). A
number of clergy helped out but none of them was able to take on
responsibility for the Oratory, given the amount of time and money
that would have been involved. after several attempts and long reflection
Don Bosco offered the role to young Fr Leonardo Murialdo who had
been teaching catechetics at the Guardian Angel Oratory and also
Valdocco since he had finished at the seminary. The choice turned out
to be an excellent one since Murialdo, working beside Don Bosco, had
absorbed his method and spirit. He took over St Aloysius in 1857 and
Don Bosco helped him with his early catechists and assistants and his
best clerics: Michael Rua, Celestin Durando, Joseph Lazzero, Francis
Cerutti, Francis Dalmazzo, John Cagliero, Angelo Savio and other great
Salesians. Many good lay people were involved running the Oratory,
such as lawyer Gaetano Bellingeri, already mentioned, Count Francis
Viancino, Marquis Scarampi di Pruney, Count Pensa, lawyer Ernest
Murialdo, Leonard’s brother, Prof. Mosca and Engineer John Baptist
Ferrante.
The Porta Nuova Oratory, like the one at Valdocco, was very poor.
The chapel was poor, the other buildings very narrow and not very
strong. Fr Murialdo put in a considerable sum of money from his own
pocket: he had a marble tabernacle built and the altar steps; he paid for
the feast day prizes and raffles bought clothing for the poorest boys. Like
Don Bosco, he set up a night school for singing and followed the Solfa
approach of Master Luigi Rossi (1823–1903). Later on this school was
taken up by Master Elzeario Scala. He also started a band but soon had to
give it away because of disciplinary problems. He put up a small building
which could be divided into two with a wooden divider (which could be
removed to make it a theatre) so he could have two primary classes for
about a hundred poor boys who were rejected by other schools.
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The Oratory soon found itself having to confront Waldensian
propaganda given that the new Statute (Charles Albert) of 1848 had
given them full freedom to promote themselves. They were not far from
St Aloysius, where they had a headquarters, and a little later built a
church, hospital and other social works.
Murialdo ran the Oratory until 1865 when to satisfy his felt need
for further pastoral and spiritual qualification he went to the Sulpician
seminary in Paris. The Oratory then came under the direction, for a long
period, of zealous Fr Teodoro Scolari di Maggiate (1837–1893). After
this the Oratory was run exclusively by Salesians.
Today, as we have already indicated, the church of St John the
Evangelist stands where the former Oratory was, built by Don Bosco
between 1878 and 1882, and designed by Edoardo Arborio Mella
(1808–1884).
St Aloysius Oratory today is in a building entered from via Ormea
no. 4.
The Guardian Angel Oratory
(was on the corner of via santa Giulia and via Tarino)
Fr John Cocchi founded the first Oratory in Turin in 1840 (1813–1895),
for abandoned boys who loitered in the streets and squares around the
church of the Annunciation, where he was parish priest. It was in the
Moschino area on the left bank of the Po, near what is now piazza
Vittorio Veneto. “More like a collection of wild animal haunts than
human habitation. It sheltered the worst kind of people, was a nest of
feared gangs, especially young criminals. It was a dangerous place during
the day and inaccessible by night, even for the police who rarely went
there and only if fully armed. The main street was called, interestingly
enough, Contrà dle Pùles [note: flea street]” (from: A. Viriglio, Torino
e i torinesi. Minuzie e memorie, Torino, A. Viglongo e C. Ed. 19803, p.
149).
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In 1841 Fr Cocchi shifted the Oratory closer to the centre of
Vanchiglia under a shed in a garden belonging to casa Bronzino, where
he built a little chapel and theatre. But he called it the Guardian Angel,
after a society of young priests in Turin who were interested in looking
after abandoned children.
The idea of the Oratory was to keep children busy before and after
catechism classes. But very soon a good number of young workers and
day workers came along. Amongst the games and activities, Fr Cocchi
included gymnastics which was a novelty especially for the ordinary
people.
Given the patriotic fervour of the first war of independence, a group
of youths from the Vanchiglia Oratory decided to enlist in the army
as volunteers. Fr Cocchi was also keen on the national ideal and not
wanting to abandon them, followed them as they marched on Novara
(March 1849). They were not accepted and they had to sneak back
home.
But it caused a sensation and Archbishop Fransoni decided to close
the Oratory temporarily. After pressure from Cafasso, Borel and Don
Bosco who were concerned about the lot of youngsters from that area,
the Archbishop allowed it to open the following October entrusting it
to Don Bosco. With Fr Borel’s help, they rented buildings out and asked
Fr Càrpano to ruin it, then Fr John Vola. But they found the place and
the boys too challenging and soon left it. In October 1851, still under
Don Bosco, Fr Robert Murialdo, helped by his cousin Leonard took it
up until 1856.
The Guardian Angel Oratory stayed there until 1871. That year
Don Bosco gave it to St Julia's parish. They moved it to a more suitable
place near the recently built church (1866).
When Fr Cocchi left the Guardian angel Oratory in 1849, he took
up other social and pastoral initiatives. Amongst these was a work for
very poor youngsters who had nowhere to live or survive. He had already
taken some in at the theatre in his Oratory, then kept some in rooms
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at Moncalvo, Vanchiglia and called them Artigianelli, since they were
all young apprentices and workers. To support this work he founded a
charitable association made up of clergy and laity. The statutes of the
association, dated 11 March 1850, were signed in a room at the parish
of the Annunciation by Fr Cocchi and Frs Giacinto Tasca, Roberto
Murialdo and Antonio Bosio. The institute moved several times until
1863 when it found its own building in corso Palestro and still existing
today.
Fr Cocchi did not direct this for long; at the end of 1852 he was
already involved founding a farming commune near Cavoretto. The
Artigianelli was given to Tasca and Fr Pietro Berizzi, who gradually
established the work by setting up internal workshops which eventually
became trade schools. In 1866 Saint Leonard Murialdo took over the
work “temporarily” but in fact ran it for 34 years. This was where he
founded the Giuseppini.
CHURCHES USED DURING THE
WANDERING ORATORY STAGE
From summer 1845 to spring 1846 Don Bosco, with no place suitable or
large enough for his Oratory’s religious functions, brought the boys to
different churches around the city and surrounds. This would generally
be in the morning, for Mass and Confessions, while the afternoons
were spent at a temporary facility (the Little Hospital, Molassi, Moretta
house, Filippi field). At other times when the weather was better Don
Bosco would organise a full day walk and offer the boys a substantial
snack.
We recall here some of the better known churches in Salesian
tradition that Don Bosco used.
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The Consolata
This is the Marian Sanctuary closest to the heart of Turin’s people and
was frequently visited by Don Bosco and his boys in the early days of the
Oratory.
It goes back as far as the 4th century and is bound up with the
discovery of an early image of Our Lady. Today’s building is actually
three connected churches: oval-shaped St Andrew’s, the Sanctuary
properly so-called which is hexagonal in shape, and the underground
(or at least lower) chapel of Our Lady of Graces. The Baroque structure
we see was built in 1679 and designed by Guarino Guarini, replacing an
earlier Roman building from the 10th–11th century. We can still see its
magnificent bell tower.
The cupola, built in 1703, was given its frescoes by G.B. Crosato in
1740. The current marble and plaster lining is the work of C. Ceppi in
1904.
St Joseph Cafasso’s remains are preserved in St Andrew’s chapel on
the right, brought from the general cemetery by his nephew Can. Joseph
Allamano, who had been rector of the Sanctuary. Nearby there is a
staircase leading down the crypt or chapel of Our Lady of Graces which
may have been the primitive church going back to the 4th century.
From St Andrew’s church there is a fine set of steps and beaten
iron gate, gift from Marquis Tancredi Falletti di Barolo, leading into the
Sanctuary of the Consolata. On the central altar, work of Filippo Juvarra
(1729), is an image of the Virgin and Child. Tradition identifies this as
to do with the earliest icon from the 4th century but in fact it is painted
on wood and comes from the 15th century, a copy of one to be found
in Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome (14th century).
There is a piazza to the side of the building with a Corinthian
column topped by a statue of Our Lady: the City of Turin erected this
in thanksgiving for being freed from the cholera epidemic in 1835.
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Don Bosco prayed in this church even as a seminarian whenever he
visited Turin. There is a monastery to one side, which used to belong
to the Cistercians prior to the French Revolution, but in Don Bosco
times the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, founded by Fr Pio Brunone
Lanteri, lived there. One of his school companions and friends entered
this group – Joseph Burzio. After the law of suppression, (1855), the
monastery went to the diocese and from 1882 became the Pastoral
Institute (Convitto) under the new arrangements given it by Canon
Joseph Allamano.
Don Bosco celebrated his second Mass here (Monday following the
Feast of the Trinity, 7 June 1841), “to thank the great Virgin Mary for
the innumerable graces she had obtained for me from her divine Son
Jesus” (MO Ch. 25).
During his serious illness in July 1846, that brought him near to
death’s door, the Oratory boys thronged here to the Consolata and it
was their prayers and tears that gained the unexpected grace of recovery:
During his time at the Convitto and for a good many years
afterwards, health and other duties permitting, Don Bosco often made
himself available for Confession at the church.
In the early years of the Oratory the boys choir at Valdocco was often
invited to sing at the various functions at the Consolata. Especially on
20 June, Feast of the Consolata, the Oratory boys would always be part
of the procession.
Don Bosco often knelt before the feet of Our Lady of Consolation
in some of the most difficult situations in his life. We recall one sorrowful
occasion on 25 November 1856, when Mamma Margaret died at 3:00
a.m. Joseph Buzzetti went with him to the Consolata. Broken-hearted,
he celebrated Mass in the lower chapel then knelt tearfully in front of
the image of Our Lady: “My sons and I are without a mother! Please be
our mother from now on!” (BM V, 374).
Archbishop Lorenzo Gastaldi, Archbishop of Turin, on the evening
of 24 March 1883 came to the Consolata: “Let us go and find our dear
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mother and put ourselves under her mantle. It is consoling to live and die
and Mary’s mantle.” The witness to these words was Tommaso Chiuso,
his secretary. The archbishop died suddenly on the following morning,
25 March, Easter Sunday.
The Superga Basilica
The Basilica known as the Superga was a fascinating goal and especially
appropriate for an all-day walk. It stands above the city on a hill (669
metres) about ten kilometres from the centre of Turin. This majestic
Basilica dedicated to Mary’s nativity, was built between 1717 and 1731
and designed by Filippo Juvarra, to fulfil a vow made by Vittorio
Amedeo II during the French and Spanish siege of Turin (1706).
It is a circular building which anticipates certain neo-classic features,
and is flanked by two elegant Baroque bell towers which are amongst the
best-known such in Piedmont. The cupola is very large and is more than
65 metres high.
There are three staircases leading up to a spacious porticoed area
supported by eight huge pillars, at the entrance to the building.
Inside we see: St Maurice, first chapel on the right, by Sebastiano
Ricci from Belluno (1659-1734); in the second, the Nativity of Mary,
by Agostino Cornacchini from Pescia (1685-1740); in the third, Blessed
Margaret of Savoy, by Claudio F. Beaumont from Turin (1694-1766).
Standing over the main altar is a marble high relief by Bernardino
Cametti from Gattinara (1682-1736) showing the Virgin, Blessed
Amedeo of Savoy and the Battle of Turin in 1706.
A door on the left of the sanctuary leads into the chapel of Our Lady
of Graces, or the chapel of the vow, of similar dimensions to a small church
that existed there in 1715. Kept there is the statue of Our Lady before
which Vittorio Amedeo II made his vow to build the Basilica.
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Back in the church, on the third chapel on the left we see a painting
by Beaumont of St Charles; then the Annunciation, a high relief by
Cametti; and in the third, St Aloysius of France by S. Ricci.
The very large building behind the church was built by Juvarra for
the Congregation of Regulars whom Vittorio Amedeo II (1730) had
chosen to form the upper clergy. From 1835 to 1855 an Ecclesiastical
Academy was based here, supported by Charles Albert. It followed
up scientific research and further cultural qualification for the best
students who had theology degrees from the University of Turin. The
Academy’s huge library has now been moved to the Royal Library in
Turin. Paintings of the Popes, from St peter to John Paul II, are found
in a hall on the ground floor.
Stairs lead down to an underground area built in 1777 to hold the
Savoy Family tombs. Kings from Vittorio Amedeo II to Carlo Alberto
are buried there.
Today the Servites look after the church and building behind.
At the back of it all, still on the hill, there is a stone recalling the
tragic plane crash on 4 May 1949 when 31 people died, amongst whom
the entire Turin football team.
The first walk to the Superga, which Don Bosco organised with boys
from the Oratory, is written up in considerable detail:
Soon after 9:00 we set out for Superga. Some carried baskets of bread,
some cheese, salami, fruit, or other provisions for the day. They kept
quiet till we were outside the populated parts of the city, but from
then on they began yelling, singing, and shouting, though they kept
ranks.
On reaching the foot of the hill, where the path climbs to the basilica,
I found a lovely little pony, already saddled up, which Fr Anselmetti,
Anselmetti, pastor of the church, had put at my disposal. There was
also a note from Dr Borrelli who had gone on ahead: It read: “Come
along with our dear boys, and don’t worry. The soup, the dinner, and
the wine are ready.” I mounted the horse and read the letter aloud.
They all crowded round the horse, and after hearing the message,
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broke into applause and cheers, shouting and singing... . Amid that
uproar the music struck up, provided by a tambourine, a bugle, and a
guitar. It was absolute discord, but it served as a backing for the noisy
voices of the boys. The result was wonderfully harmonious.
Worn out with all the laughing, joking, singing, and I would say,
the yelling, we reached our destination. The perspiring youngsters
gathered in the courtyard of the shrine and were soon given food
enough to satisfy their voracious appetites. When they had a while to
rest, I called them all round me and told them all the details of the
wonderful history of the basilica, with its royal tombs in the crypt,
and the Ecclesiastical Academy which Charles Albert had established
there and the bishops of the Kingdom of Sardinia supported.
Dr William Audisio, the president, generously provided the soup and
main course for all the guests. The parish priest donated the wine
and the fruit. We took a couple of hours for a tour of the area and
later assembled in the church, where many people had already taken
their places. At 3:00 p.m. I gave a short discourse from the pulpit,
after which some of the best choir boys sang a Tantum ergo. Their
clear voices and the novelty of it won everyone’s admiration. At six
we sent up some balloons to signal our departure. With renewed and
lively thanks to our benefactors we struck out again for Turin, singing,
laughing, running, and sometimes praying on our way. When we got
to the city, the boys dropped out of our procession a few at a time
at points along the route closest to their homes and returned to their
families. When I got back to the Refuge, I still had with me 7 or 8
of the strongest lads, who had carried the equipment used during the
day (MO Ch. 36).
Monte dei Cappuccini
On a tree-covered rise jutting out from a hill towards the Po, called
Monte dei Cappuccini, there is a beautiful church dedicated to Our
Lady of the Mount, built in 1683 by Ascanio Vittozzi from Orvieto
(1539–1615). The building, in the form of a Greek cross, is surmounted
by a cupola above an octagonal base, was opened for worship in 1611.
Of note are the four altars inside by Benedetto Alfieri in 1746, with
wooden statues by Stefano Maria Clemente (1719–1794) representing
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four Capuchin Saints. St Francis with Madonna and Child on the right
altar is a copy of a canvas by G.B. Crespi known as Cerano (1575–1632),
exhibited in the Savoy Gallery; the St Maurice on the alter on the left is
by Moncalvo.
The Capuchin monastery is next to the church, and was built by
Vittozzi but has been largely rebuilt over a number of occasions. One
part of the monastery holds the Museo Nazionale della Montagna
(National Museum of the Mountain).
From the balcony in front of the church you get a splendid
panorama of the city. Because of its strategic position and height,
fortifications were built there at the end of the 13th century, and these
are connected with some of the most important battles in Turin’s
history.
Because it was so close to the city and such a beautiful spot, Don
Bosco often brought the boys here, and the Capuchins were always
welcoming.
One of these outings, while the Oratory was at the Filippi field
(March 1846), is described for us by a boy from that time:
We had finished only one game when everybody suddenly quieted
down at the sound of a trumpet. Leaving whatever they were doing,
they all crowded around the priest whom I later came to know as
Don Bosco: “Dear boys,” he said in a loud voice, “it’s time for Mass.
This morning we’re going to the Monte dei Cappuceini. After Mass
we’ll have breakfast. Those who haven’t had time for confession can
go some other Sunday. As you know, confessions are heard every
Sunday.”
When he had finished speaking, the trumpet sounded another blast
and everyone started walking in an orderly manner. One of the older
boys began the rosary and all joined in. We walked for nearly two
miles. I didn’t dare to join the boys, but out of curiosity I followed
them at a short distance and responded to the prayers with the others.
As we began to climb the slope leading to the monastery, we recited
the litany of Our Lady. I thoroughly enjoyed the climb; the trees, the
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dirt road, and the clumps of woods covering the hillside echoed to our
singing and made the walk very enchanting.
During Mass, a number of boys received Communion. After a brief
sermon and thanksgiving, we all went into the courtyard of the
monastery for breakfast, but since I felt I had no right to eat with
them, I held back, waiting to join them on the way home (BM II,
302–303).
Madonna del Pilone
The church, dedicated to the Annunciation, was built in the 17th
century on the place where there was an ancient column or pillar with
a representation of the Annunciation on it (1587), now incorporated
into the main altar. It became a parish church in 1807 for people in the
surrounding suburb.
At the time of the early Oratory one would have need to cross
the river on a boat to get there. This occasional outing became quite
spectacular when led by Don Bosco, as happened in 1843 when the
Oratory was still gathering at the Convitto:
One day Don Bosco took the boys to Madonna del Pilone (Our Lady
of Anchorage). There they boarded three large boats and when they
were in midstream on the Po River, they intoned a sacred hymn.
People on the river bank stood still, listening; then, captivated by the
melody, they followed the course of the boats, walking along the shore
road. As some trumpet players happened to be among them, they took
up the easy rhythm and improvised an accompaniment to the boys’
singing, with magic effect. All the people came out of their houses,
so that by the time the boys, about a thousand persons were there to
welcome the young choristers (MB 2, 106).
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Madonna di Campagna
(via Massaia, no. 98)
This church, too, is dedicated to the Annunciation. It goes back to the
14th century. It was destroyed during the aerial bombardment in the
Second World War and rebuilt in the 1950s. The tomb of Marshall
Ferdinando de Marsin is kept inside. He was captain of the French army
during the siege of Turin 1706.
The Capuchins looked after the church in the 19th century. They
had occupied the nearby monastery since 1567.
Don Bosco often brought the Oratory boys here, and at his time
it was surrounded by green fields and linked to the road to Lanzo by a
majestic lane flanked by three rows of centennial elms.
In March 1846 when the Filippi brothers reneged on the contract
for their field, Don Bosco took his boys to Madonna di Campagna,
about two kilometres from Valdocco, to ask the Mother of God the
grace of finding a stable location for the Oratory. It was probably Sunday
morning, 8 March. As in similar circumstances they said the rosary on
the way and sang hymns.
When they entered the tree-lined lane leading from the main road to
the monastery, they were all amazed to hear the church bells loudly
pealing. I say “they were all amazed” because, although they had been
there several times before, their arrival had never been greeted by the
festive sound of bells. This was so unusual that word got around that
the bells had begun ringing of their own accord. Be this as it may, one
thing is certain: Father Fulgenzio, the superior of the monastery, who
was then father confessor to King Charles Albert, assured them that
neither he nor any other member of the community had ordered the
bells to be rung, and that, notwithstanding his efforts, he was not able
to find out who had rung them.
The boys went into the church for Mass... Don Bosco gave them an
appropriate little talk. He compared them to birds whose nest has
been knocked to the ground, and urged them to ask Our Lady to
prepare for them a better and more permanent home. So they prayed
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to Her with all their hearts, confident that She would grant their
request. After breakfast, they returned to town for their last afternoon
gathering in their meadow (MB 2, 327–328).
It was that day in the late afternoon that Pancrazio Soave approached
Don Bosco to suggest renting the Pinardi shed.
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Part Four
DON BOSCO DEVELOPS
THE ORATORY
(1850–1888)
Mature years

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MATURE CHOICES
This part of our guide covers the last 38 years of Don Bosco’s life: the
most fruitful period. These are mature years, full of events, initiatives
and results.
The young priest who was known in Turin for his activities
on behalf of poor and abandoned boys and for his effective and
personal educational approach involving “religion, reason and loving
kindness”, gradually becomes someone who catches the attention of an
ever-expanding circle of people. The educational interests he led, the
objectives he sought to achieve, the religious and civil values he offered
took on universal dimensions thanks to a basic attitude of a religious
nature combined with intelligence and socio-cultural sensitivity.
His focus on and complete availability for God’s will and the
inspirations of the Spirit, aware of the pastoral mission he had received,
also gave him flexibility and an ability to discern historical events. Thus
he succeeds in joining effective religious and formative activity with a
successful pedagogical formula and clear, well-chosen practical choices.
The Oratory as it was at the beginning developed in forms and
activities that were more and more spelt out and responded to the
expectations and needs of the young. They were also new in social
responses. To religious activity and catechesis he added evening and
weekend literacy classes; he had a hostel for abandoned boys set up on
a family model; he drew up contracts for trade preparation firstly, then
developed his own workshops internally; he had a boarding house for
high school students aimed at helping children from ordinary families
who were clever enough but had no hope of attending public schools,
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Some details and their significance
etc. It all came from faith, civic sense, imagination and real affection for
young people.
He summed up the aim of all his efforts in a well-chosen formula:
forming good and upright Christians, useful citizens. This urgent goal
of preventing and shoring up against irreparable evil allows him to
go beyond the conservative mindset he had grown up in, one that
would have had him locked into and paralysed by rigid and inflexible
models. Instead Don Bosco drew his practical inspiration from a model
of society and the human being which was replete with Christian
values and solid civil virtues while at the same time open to historical
development: it was a harmonious arrangement of old and new or, as he
himself said, “the old man renewed according to the needs of the times.”
While attentive to the real needs of the young (affection, friendship,
cheerfulness, being active, community, mixing with others in groups,
getting involved, strong ideals, cultural and professional development...),
he wasted no opportunity to follow up social and political events. His
many initiatives show us this:
– The laws of suppression of orders and religious bodies (1855)
pointed him towards a more malleable model of a religious congregation
or society.
– School reform legislation (1848 and 1859) encouraged him to seek
solutions which would respond to his plans for education and which
would also fit in with the more liberal idea of society.
– The development and gradual articulation of cooperative activity
in its various forms offered him pointers for conceiving a broad
movement of Cooperators who would serve the Church and civil
society.
– The spread of interest in the missions on the one hand and the
massive flow of migration towards the New World on the other,
inspired a missionary project involving evangelisation, civilisation,
educational activity alongside classic missionary and socio-religious
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activity for Italian migrants, similar to what was happening in
Valdocco.
– A growing thirst for culture amongst ordinary people, the desire
to read and be informed, the spread of anti-Catholic thinking,
encouraged him to dream up very agile and economic ways of
communicating and spreading Christian values and ways of thinking;
his books spread these ideas with the help of a wide network
of fellow-sympathisers and had notable success for their simple
language, style (narrative, examples), and for their popular sentiment.
– Lack of understanding and serious tensions between state authorities
and the Church hierarchy meant that many sees were without a
bishop, and this had consequences for the people. He was prudently
conservative but concerned mostly for pastoral care, so became a
mediator, convinced as he was for the need for reconciliation based
on a renewed concept of Church-State relationships.
– The urgent need to find funds to build his works and the Sacred
Heart Basilica obliged him to make many trips around Italy, to
France and Spain, and this was an opportunity for pastoral ministry,
preaching, invitation to conversion and doing good and serving
the poor; he made this an opportunity to bring Catholics together
and encouraged them to action and unity; it became an effective
way of passing on his educational approach, his anxiety to save and
safeguard young people; for his characteristic devotion to Our Lady
which united both a way to perfection and historical and social
activity of the highest order.
Fatigue and suffering, faith and unconditional self-giving, availability,
service of the Church and the Pope meant that in the final years of his
life he became an imposing figure at the highest levels: he was a point of
reference for Catholics of his time but continued to be a priest for the
young; he was seen as a prophet for new times, a 19th century marvel,
but his message remained very simple:
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– Give yourself completely to God from your youth.
– Work tirelessly and in every way to do good and avoid evil.
– Be charitable and treat your neighbour with loving kindness.
– The sacraments of Eucharist and Penance are the secret to holiness.
– Venerate the Virgin Mary as a model and help for Christian living.
– Love and serve the Church and the Pope.
– “If we do good, things will go well in this life and the next.”
– “A piece of paradise fixes everything!”
EMERGING PEDAGOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES
There are many values that can be highlighted over these 38 years. We
limit ourselves to a few in reference to those areas he visited, especially
ones that interest young people and those who serve them in educational
and pastoral activity.
Naturally, and also for Valdocco, many of the values suggested earlier
in this book remain valid. We can go back to these in reference to
things like the family spirit Don Bosco created at Valdocco between
educators and boys, or their professional and cultural preparation, and
their journey of Christian life and spiritual development. Don Bosco
put before his boys the values that had been important for him as a
young man and which were the basis of his personality as a human being
and Christian.
The church of St Francis de Sales reminds us that:
– Young people have a “native” feeling for absolute values, want
robust spiritual invitations and know how to respond fully if they
are helped, encouraged and followed up.
– A young person’s prayer must not be limited to form or emotions
or odd moments here and there: it has to animate life, inspire and
support choices, be part of one’s whole day.
– Grace, sacramental relationship with Christ, work marvels in young
hearts and can lead them to the heights of contemplation.
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– The sacrament of Penance is an essential tool along the Christian
journey; it is medicine, prevention, strength, evaluation, and a way
of facing up to issues.
– Concrete models of Christian living which are close to a youthful
mindset and the situation they are in, are powerful and effective
channels for values.
– Christian truths, liturgy and sacraments, devotion to Mary, the
Bible... need to be presented and experienced in their totality, but in
ways that young people can follow: youth ministry is not a minor
or piecemeal pastoral activity despite it using youthful language and
forms.
The home attached to the Oratory of St Francis de Sales, with its
community life, activities and rhythms, teach us that:
– The young person has a compelling need for understanding, friendship,
being loved in his (or her) own right, for confidence but also needs
successful adult models, spiritual fatherliness (not paternalism!).
– A positive, calm youthful community filled with values and actively
involved, is one of the most effective means of formation;
– the best apostles of the young are young people themselves.
– To educate like Don Bosco did there is a need for a well-knit group
enlivened by charity, generosity and self-denial, inspired by religious
motivation, an optimistic outlook on mankind and history (which
is the history of salvation!).
– Today’s young person is tomorrow’s adult: every choice, every
activity, including play, contributes to our formation; the educator
has to be far-sighted, respectful, intuitive, qualified; his or hers is an
historic mission.
– Youth ministry and educational activity will be impaired and
ineffective unless they focus on vocation and professional formation.
– A plan is essential, one which is shared and carried out by an
educative community where activities, choices, times, duties, lighter
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moments. catechesis, formation, prayer, culture are coordinated and
given purpose...
– Prevention is building up positive values and attitudes before
keeping evil in check.
– Formation of thinking and beliefs filtered through the critical use of
reason is not manipulation nor does it produce fanatics. It produces
free, malleable and balanced people.
– The educator’s task includes discovering and encouraging talents
and offering opportunities for their expression and development.
– Cultural and professional preparation cannot be delegated uncritically:
it is not just a question of technical skills being passed on but of
forming ways of thinking, a worldview, values.
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Historical, geographical
and biographical notes
SOCIAL AND PASTORAL ACTIVITY IN THE
SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY
After the fall of neo-Guelphianism after 1848–1849, the gap between
liberal classes who were in government and the Catholic world,
widened. The latter did not approve of the anti-Roman national
unification model and took refuge behind conservative positions. Given
legislation affecting the Church, suppression of religious congregations,
school reform, tensions were on the increase, aggravated by waves of
anticlericalism on the one hand and rigid intransigence on the other. It
came to the point of complete breakdown in dialogue when the papal
states were occupied and Rome was taken (1870). One of the saddest
and most obvious consequences was that when their Ordinaries died,
many sees remained vacant. The financial situation for local Churches
worsened given the new fiscal burdens imposed due to the expropriation
of ecclesiastical goods. There was a strong vocational crisis that was only
overcome in the 1880s.
Any efforts at reconciliation by the more open exponents of either
party were in vain.
In 1861 Fr Giacomo Margotti launched the motto in L’Armonia,
a Turin newspaper: “neither elected, nor electors”, inviting Catholics
to pull back from any participation in political life as a protest against
liberal positions. In 1868 the Sacred Penitentiary made a theory of this
position in the principle of non expedit, taken up and confirmed in 1874
by Pope Pius IX. With regard to the more or less intransigent position of
the non expedit, Catholics held different positions until the Holy Office,
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in 1886, interpreted it officially as forbidding Catholics from any direct
kind of involvement in political life.
But in fact, from the 1850s Catholics, having withdrawn from
any compromise with power, devoted their efforts more carefully to
the religious, educational field, and to welfare and then more general
social activity later on. Clergy and laity set in motion a range of
activities, from popular missions, renewing the older confraternities,
setting up new religious associations, to founding schools and colleges
(understood more as boarding schools), kindergartens, rest homes,
hospitals, rural banks, worker and mutual aid societies. So the warp
and woof of initiatives and understandings was taking shape that would
come together in the Opera dei Congressi (1874–1904) and a Catholic
mass movement with strong social connotations.
Hierarchy and clergy focused their attention and efforts on more
properly religious and pastoral aspects of Church life. We also saw a
general recovery in the Catholic world in Europe and Italy that led, for
example, to renewal in the study of theology (neo-Thomism), bible and
liturgy (biblical and liturgical movement), catechesis (birth of various
catechetical movements), missionary involvement, etc.
We also saw a renewal of spiritual life and a heightened interest
in the supernatural and the miraculous in Catholic settings in the last
decade of the century, helped along by extraordinary apparitions (the
best-known being Lourdes and La Salette) and by the attractive power
of charismatic figures like Don Bosco himself.
One sector that underwent enormous development was consecrated
life. The crisis of the great religious orders on the one hand, and on
the other the impelling need for pastoral workers, people to work in
education and welfare, led to the flourishing of small and moderately
large congregations of women especially, but also men. These were
mostly locally based ones that responded effectively to local needs.
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All these choices meant a welding of Catholic hierarchy to popular
settings, clergy to laity and were prelude to a model of Church that
would become more explicit in the century to follow.
Don Bosco’s activity, along with others in the area of “Christian
charity” urged on by the serious needs of young and ordinary people,
opened the way to the Christian socialism of the end of the century.
Don Bosco was fundamentally a pragmatic individual who sought to
tackle the situation by getting around obstacles and moving in places
of agreed manoeuverability. He adapted to the laws and arrangements
of liberal society which had allowed free competition, pluralism, and a
secular understanding of the State.
Thus his works had a certain energy and adaptability about them
and the beneficiaries of his work, “poor and abandoned and at-risk
youth”, were developing into more complex categories: from seasonal
workers in the 1840s and 50s, to the children of working-class families in
the suburbs, to young students from the middle class in the new Italian
State who would be the future clergy, to emigrants to the Americas,
and he also included the “savages” of Tierra del Fuego submerged in the
darkness of paganism.
Don Bosco, starting from his Valdocco experience, shows up as the
true saint: faithful to God, but also a special witness for his times, able
to give rise to real responses to the expectations of the future.
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Historical, geographical and biographical notes
TIMELINE – BUILDINGS (1851–1888)
Dates
1851–1852
1852–1853
1856
1859
1859–1860
1860
1861
1862
1863-1864
1863
1863–1868
1870
1873
1874–1875
1876–1877
Acquiring and building
Church of St Francis de Sales
Don Bosco’s house and the first part of the new wing
(the Camerette)
Pulling down and rebuilding the Pinardi house
Two wings for day school primary classes on the via
Giardiniera and the small reception office
A large area with 3 rooms for senior classes in the
courtyard to the north
A larger reception area
Bought the house and Filippi land
New sacristy for the Church of St Francis de Sales
Extension and other adjustments to the casa Filippi
First extension of the Camerette wing
Portico and terrazzo in front of the Camerette
Two-storey building along the via Giardiniera for
the printing press, dormitories and new
entrance-reception area
Three-storey building for use as classrooms adjacent
to the east wall (casa Audisio)
Reacquires the “field of the dreams” sold to the
Rosminians
Church of Mary Help of Christians
Buys back the large garden area to the north, from
Modesto Rua. It has once been part of the Filippi
property
Buys then demolishes the casa Coriasco
Builds what is today’s reception area
Further extension of the Camerette wing
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Don Bosco Lived Here
Dates
1880
1881
1881–1883
1883–1884
1884
Acquiring and building
Buys the casa Nelva and grounds for the festive
oratory
Extends the garden area to the north
Builds a new location for the printing press
Builds new mechanics workshop
Buys the casa Bellezza and land
(Cf. F. Giraudi, L’Oratorio di don Bosco. Inizio e progressivo sviluppo
edilizio della Casa Madre dei Salesiani in Torino, Torino, SEI 19352).
TIMELINE–EVENTS (1850–1888)
Dates
1850
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
Events
Don Bosco founds the workers or mutual aid society
Archbishop Fransoni appoints Don Bosco as Director of the
Oratories
Begins publication of the Letture Cattoliche (Catholic
Readings)
Internal workshops for shoemakers and tailors
First nucleus of the Salesian Society: called “Salesians”
Book-binding workshop
Dominic Savio comes to Valdocco
First internal class (3rd form secondary) given to cleric
Francesia
Carpentry workshop
Another two internal classes (1st and 2nd secondary)
Sets up the Immaculate Conception Sodality
Sets up the Blessed Sacrament Sodality and a St Vincent de
Paul Youth Conference
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Historical, geographical and biographical notes
Dates
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1867
1868
1869
1870
Events
Don Bosco makes his first trip to Rome and presents Pius IX
with his plans for a religious society and the first draft of the
Constitutions
Founds the Altar Boys group
Secondary school complete (5 classes)
Sets up the St Joseph’s Sodality The Salesian Society becomes
official
First lay members (= coadjutors) in the Salesian Society
Founds the Printing Press
Metalwork workshop
First place outside Turin, at Mirabello Monferrato (AL),
directed by M. Rua
Founds the College at Lanzo Torinese (TO)
Decretum laudis for the Salesian Society
First meeting with Mary Domenica Mazzarello
The Library of Latin Authors
Second trip to Rome
Consecration of the Church of Mary Help of Christians
Pontifical approval of the Salesian Society
Opening of school at Cherasco (CN)
Begins work on the Library of Italian Youth
Third trip to Rome
Founds the school and boarding section at Alassio (SV)
Fourth trip to Rome
Transfers the school at Mirabello to Borgo S. Martino (AL)
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Don Bosco Lived Here
Dates
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
Events
Founds the trade school at Marassi (GE) which moves to
Sampierdarena the following year
Foundation of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
Two trips to Rome (in June and September)
Arch. Gastaldi becomes archbishop of Turin
Opening of the house at Varazze (SV)
Accepts the college at Valsalice in Turin
First tensions with Gastaldi
Seventh and eighth trip to Rome
Final approval of the Constitutions of the Salesian Society
First General Chapter of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians, where Mazzarello is elected Superior General
Ninth trip to Rome
First missionary expedition to Argentina
Tenth and eleventh trip to Rome
Pontifical approval of the Salesian Cooperators
Contacts in France regarding possible foundations
Three trips to Rome
Opening of the Patronage de St Pierre in Nice (France)
First General Chapter of the Salesian Society
Founds the Salesian Bulletin
Death of Pius IX and election of Leo XIII, while Don Bosco
is in Rome for his fourteenth visit
First audience with Leo XIII
Blessing of the foundation stone of the church of St John the
Evangelist in Turin
Fifteenth trip to Rome
Opening of the novitiate at San Benigno Canavese (TO)
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Historical, geographical and biographical notes
Dates
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
Events
Sixteenth trip to Rome
Don Bosco agrees to complete the building of the Basilica of
the Sacred Heart in Rome
First foundation in Spain: Utrera (Seville)
Seventeenth trip to Rome
Death of Mary Mazzarello
Trip to France and again to Rome
Consecration of the church of St John the Evangelist
Cardinal Alimonda becomes Archbishop of Turin
Fr Achille Ratti, future Pius XI, visits the Oratory
Fr Cagliero made Vicar Apostolic of Patagonia
Important trip to France, despite worsening health
Nineteenth trip to a Rome
The Letter from Rome on the state of the Oratory
Don Bosco’s schools take part in the National Industrial
Exhibition in Turin, where they have their own pavilion
Episcopal consecration of Cagliero
Despite his health, Don Bosco make a new journey to France
Fr Rua appointed as his Vicar, with right of succession
Journey to Spain
Final trip to Rome for the consecration of the Sacred Heart
Basilica
Don Bosco celebrates his last Mass on 11 December
31 January: Don Bosco’s death
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SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITS AND TOURS
Your visit to Valdocco can be tailored to the needs of your groups.
Accessibility
Casa Don Bosco Museum is an accessibility-friendly venue, certified as
such by Turismabile, Region of Piedmont. The elevator is accessible
from the courtyard behind the large bronze statue of Don Bosco,
beneath the portico in front of the ticket office.
Reservations
Valdocco has a number of larger rooms available which you can reserve
for your group by emailing <accoglienza@valdocco.it>.
Guided visits of Casa Don Bosco Museum can be requested at
<info@museocasadonbosco.it>.
If you prefer to visit on your own, we recommend beginning at
Pinardi chapel (page 215), then proceeding to the church of St Francis
de Sales (page 266), Casa Don Bosco Museum including the Camerette
(Don Bosco’s rooms) (page 293) and the Basilica of Mary Help of
Christians (page 323).
The newest point of interest in Valdocco is Casa Don Bosco
Museum, the historic centre of the Salesian citadel of Valdocco, a radical
restoration of the original structures built by Don Bosco, including his
Camerette. Particularly noteworthy is the rediscovery of the rooms in
the basement, the oldest in Valdocco. The entire first and second floors
have been transformed, including the rooms where Don Bosco lived and
died. Visitors can easily spend up to two hours enjoying these sacred
Salesian spaces.
Good spots for reflection, prayer or Mass: Pinardi chapel – church of St
Francis de Sales – the Camerette chapel in Casa Don Bosco Museum
– Basilica. Use of these worship spaces is possible in agreement with
the Rector of the Basilica. You can make reservations at Rector of the
Basilica. You can make reservations at <segreteria@basilicamariaausiliatrice.it>.
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Tours of the various places
This guidebook presents the buildings of the Salesian citadel in
Valdocco in chronological order:
1. The historical centre made up of buildings constructed by Don
Bosco between 1851 and 1856 (which he subsequently expanded
or renovated): the church of St Francis de Sales and the adjacent
building (1853, 1856) including the Camerette wing
2. Church of Mary Help of Christians (built between 1863 and
1868, with extensions carried out after Don Bosco’s death from
1935–1938);
3. Other buildings built by Don Bosco and still existing: reception area
(1874–1875) the printing press (1881–1883);
4. Places Don Bosco built but which were then rebuilt: former Filippi
house (adapted and extended in 1861, then completely rebuilt in
1952), former Audisio house (built between 1863 and 1864, then
pulled down and rebuilt in 1954);
5. Places built after Don Bosco’s death: the house of the Superior
Chapter of the Congregation; the trade school complex; middle
school and theatre in the second large courtyard; kitchen, laundry
room, refectory (1927); the (new) oratory;
6. Buildings facing piazza Maria Ausiliatrice.
To this list we can add the church of St John the Evangelist near Porta
Nuova train station, and Valsalice on the other side of the River Po.
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THE HISTORICAL CENTRE
(built between 1851 and 1856)
The consolidation and evolution of activities at the early Oratory, along
with the exponential increase in the numbers of boys attending on
weekdays and on weekends, convinced Don Bosco of the absolute
necessity of moving to a second stage of development: building new
areas he had only dreamt of till then. His faith in divine Providence and
his bold entrepreneurial spirit prompted him to undertake courageous
projects, especially in the light of his meagre financial resources. He
relied entirely on lotteries and private and public donations as his main
source of income.
The most pressing need was to build a bigger and more dignified
church to replace the shabby Pinardi Chapel; then, he needed to extend
the home attached to the Oratory by building a large hospice for his
many young apprentices and students, mostly orphaned and completely
abandoned boys.
Church of St Francis de Sales (1851–1852)
In order to lengthen the Pinardi chapel, Don Bosco relocated its original
sacristy, attached to the chapel, to a tiny room inside the Pinardi house.
But even after this modest expansion the place remained uncomfortable.
Don Bosco offers this description: The Pinardi chapel was inadequate
on account of its capacity and its lack of height. To enter one had to
go down two steps; as a result in winter and when it rained we were
flooded out. In summer the heat and the bad odours suffocated us.
Few feast days passed without some pupil fainting and being carried
out limp. So it was necessary to start a building more proportionate to
the number of youngsters, better ventilated, and more healthy (MO
Ch. 55).
The plans for the new church, facing onto via della Giardiniera
(which cut diagonally across what is today’s main courtyard), were
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Tours of the various places
drawn by Federico Blachier and the construction was entrusted to
Federico Bocca, a faithful benefactor of the Oratory since 1847. The
City Building Council approved the project on 24 June 1851, even
though work had in fact already begun a month earlier, namely,
demolishing the wall that separated the two courtyards (one in front
and one on the west side of the Pinardi house) on which the church was
built) as well as the excavation for the foundations.
On 20 July 1851, with the excavations completed, the corner stone
was laid. It was a grand ceremony. Representing Archbishop Fransoni
(exiled in Lyon) the blessing was given by Canon Ottavio Moreno, the
royal almoner; the corner stone was laid by Giuseppe Cotta, a banker
and generous benefactor of Don Bosco and many other charitable works
in the city. In the presence of 600 oratory boys and many distinguished
guests, the enthusiastic Fr Barrera improvised a splendid address where
he likened the corner stone of the future church to a mustard seed and
added: “it symbolizes [...] that these Oratories, founded on Christian
faith and charity, will be unshakeable rocks against which the enemies
of the Church and the spirits of darkness will hurl themselves in vain”
(BM IV, 193).
Work advanced quickly. By August the walls were already several
metres high. To finance his project Don Bosco sold small plots of land,
which he had bought from the seminary in 1850, to Giovanni Battista
Coriasco and Giovanni Emanuel, but the 4,000 lire he gained were
barely enough to pay for part of the excavations. So he printed public
circulars and petitions, thanks to which he collected 35 thousand lire
from small and large donors; a further 1,000 came from King Victor
Emanuel and Bishop Losana of Biella; the Royal Apostolic Treasury gave
him 10,000 lire which could be drawn on for completed work. But
even this was not enough. So in December 1851 Don Bosco organised a
grand lottery – the first of many – from which he unexpectedly earned
26,000 lire, which he wanted to share with the neighbouring hospital,
Cottolengo’s Little House of Divine Providence.
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Don Bosco Lived Here
The financial need that urged Don Bosco to seek funds from public
bodies and private benefactors from every walk of life served as great
publicity and awareness raising for his work. Respect for him grew.
The St Francis de Sales church was quickly completed and on 20
June 1852, when Turin was celebrating the Feast of the Consolata,
the parish priest of Borgo Dora, Fr Agostino Gattino, solemnly blessed
this new building. The morning ceremony flowed into the afternoon.
It attracted throngs of youngsters, ordinary folks and important social
personalities and benefactors (cf. BM IV, 298–304).
As it was for construction costs, so too for the furnishings. Many
benefactors came forth, for whom Don Bosco was most grateful:
The church was built but needed all kinds of furnishings. Civic
charity did not let us down. Comm. Joseph Dupré undertook to
decorate a chapel dedicated to St Aloysius, and buy a marble altar
which still adorns the church. Another benefactor undertook to fit
out the choir loft, where a small organ was set up for the day boys. Mr
Michael Scannagatti bought a complete set of candlesticks; Marquis
Fassati undertook to supply Our Lady’s altar and provided a set of
bronze candlesticks, and later the statue of Our Lady. Fr Caffasso paid
all the expenses incurred for the pulpit. The high altar was provided
by Doctor Francis Vallauri and completed by his son, Fr Peter (MO
Ch. 56).
The bell tower of St Francis de Sales church was completed between
December 1852 and February 1853. On 22 May 1853, next to the little
bell tower of the first church, a larger one was built as a gift from
Count Carlo Cays (1813–1882), a friend of Don Bosco, one of the most
active Catholics in Turin. When his wife died in 1876, Cays entered the
Salesian Society and became a priest. In 1929, in honour of Don Bosco’s
beatification, both bells were completely recast to restore their pitch.
Visiting the Church of St Francis de Sales
The Church of St Francis de Sales offers key insights on the essential
elements of the spirituality Don Bosco lived with his boys:
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• In the small choir behind the altar Don Bosco heard confessions for
three hours a day, offering a kind of essential but substantial spiritual
direction.
• The Eucharist celebrated on the altar, received at the communion
rail and adored here was the driving force of the Oratory.
• The Virgin Mary was loved and venerated here as a mother, a helper,
and a model of Christian perfection.
• St Francis de Sales, St Aloysius Gonzaga and St Joseph were also
shining examples of virtue to be emulated.
• Throughout the year, many feasts and personal and community
practices of piety found in The Companion of Youth were celebrated
here.
• Singing was an integral component of shared prayer, always
prepared attentively and adapted to the boys.
• The daily example of Don Bosco, Mamma Margaret, the first
Salesians and so many exceptional boys reinforced the spiritual
journey of this growing community.
All of this nurtured the interior life of the Oratory community
members.
The Interior Decoration of 1959
The church, in the shape of a Latin cross, is 28 m. long and 11 m. wide.
Don Bosco wanted it to be functional and dignified, but essential in its
decoration.
Today’s interior was a subsequent embellishment project. Fr Fedele
Giraudi, Economer General of the Congregation, undertook a major
Valdocco rebuilding project which included an upgraded interior design
for the Church of St Francis de Sales: the old floor was replaced; the walls
were lined with marble; the paintings were restored.
Entrance to the church is usually through the side door on the east
side near the portico, connecting the church to the main courtyard.
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Upon entering the Church, on the east wall is a painting of Fr
Michael Rua’s first Mass (Crida 1960) which was celebrated on the
altar of this church on 30 July 1860. Don Bosco is assisting him and
John Cagliero and John Baptist Francesia are the two assisting deacons.
Cagliero and Francesia would celebrate their first Mass at this same altar
on 15 June 1862.
Above the entrance we see Count and Countess Federico and
Carlotta Callori from Vignale (Crida, 1960), amongst the first and most
generous benefactors and friends of Don Bosco.
Our Lady’s altar was donated by Marquis and Marchioness Dominic
and Maria Fassati and has remained more or less unchanged, even
though the two plaster pillars and the wooden altar rail have been
replaced with marble ones. The statue of Mary Immaculate we see today
is not original. The original statue – Our Lady of the Rosary, with the
Child Jesus, which had come from the Consolata – was a gift from
Marquis Fassati. Alas, during the 1959 renovations, this statue was lost.
The two paintings on the side walls of the Marian chapel are by
Càffaro Rore. They depict events from Dominic Savio’s life which
occurred in this Church. On the right, Dominic’s vision of Pius IX
with torch in hand in reference to the conversion of England; on the
left, Dominic with some friends reading the rules of the Immaculate
Conception Sodality which he founded. This second sodality at the
Oratory was founded on 8 June 1856 in front of the Marian altar, where
Dominic would often pray alone or with his friends. The Sodality’s
members promised to carry out their duties, try to be holy and to be
apostles amongst their peers (cf. DS 75-83).
Two years prior to this, on 8 December 1854, when Pius IX
had proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Dominic
consecrated himself to Our Lady at this side altar:
On the evening of that day, 8 December, when the church functions
were over, and after consulting his confessor, Dominic went before
Our Lady’s altar, renewed the promises he had made at his First
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Communion, then said the following repeatedly: Mary, I give you my
heart; may it always be yours. Jesus and Mary always be my friends;
but please may I die rather than have the misfortune to commit even
a single sin (DS Ch. 8).
On the pillar between Our Lady’s chapel and the sanctuary is Don
Bosco’s original pulpit, a gift from Fr Cafasso. From this pulpit Don
Bosco preached his daily sermon to the boys, including the one that
convinced Dominic to make a new spiritual commitment:
Savio had been living at the Oratory for six months when there was
a sermon given on how easy it was to become a saint. The preacher
develop three ideas in particular that made a great impression on
Dominic, and they were: it is God’s will that we all become saints;
it is very easy to succeed; there is a great reward ready in heaven for
whoever becomes a saint. For Dominic that sermon was a spark that
kindled God’s love in his heart. He said nothing for some days, but
was less cheerful than usual and this was noted by his companions
and also by myself. Thinking it might be because he had some new
health problem I asked him if he was feeling ill. “On the contrary,”
he answered, “I feel rather good.” “What are you telling me?” “I am
saying that I feel the desire and need to become a saint; I didn’t think
it was so easy to become a saint but now I have understand that we can
do so and also remain cheerful, I absolutely want and need to become
a saint. So tell me what I have to do to begin.”
I praised his resolve, but encouraged him not to be concerned, because
the Lord’s voice is not heard among such feelings of disquiet; I
told him that first of all I wanted to see a constant and balanced
cheerfulness, and advising him to persevere with his duties of study
and piety I recommend that he never fail to take part in recreation
with his companions (DS Ch. 10).
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The high altar, a gift of the Vallauri family, with its tabernacle and candle
ledges (originally there were three ledges; today there are two) is original.
The base of the altar was modified by Fr Giraudi to accommodate Fr
Michael Rua’s casket on the occasion of his beatification.
This tabernacle was blessed by Don Bosco on 7 April 1852. It
was the focal point of the church and the spirituality at the Oratory.
Don Bosco often told his boys that the pillars of the spiritual life
are the sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance, well and frequently
celebrated. These were the two means he used to transform so many
poor boys on their journey of faith. Living the sacraments helped them
to become spiritual giants.
At the communion rail, Mamma Margaret, Dominic Savio, and the
first generation of boys and Salesians received Communion. The marble
rail was added during the 1956 renovations; it replaced the original
wooden rail which is now on display in the Casa Don Bosco Museum,
on the second floor Gallery entitled Salesian Holiness in Valdocco.
On the wall to the right of the altar we see Dominic’s famous ecstasy
after Communion (Càffaro Rore), which occurred in the small choir
behind the main altar. It was his favourite place to offer his prayer of
thanksgiving. Don Bosco leaves us this account in his biography of the
young saint:
It often happened that going to church, especially on the days
Dominic Savio went to Communion, or when the Blessed Sacrament
was exposed, he would be beyond himself, spend far too long there
unless called on to do his various duties. It happened one day that he
was not there for breakfast, school, or lunch and no one knew where
he was; he was not in study nor in bed. When the Director was told, he
guessed what it might really be, that he would be in church, since this
had happened other times. He went to the church, went to the choir
and saw him there like a rock. He had one foot on the other, one hand
balanced on the edge of the lectern, the other placed on his breast with
his face turned to the altar. His lips were not moving. I called him but
he did not answer. I struck him lightly then he turned and said: “Oh, is
Mass already over?” “Look,” the Director said showing him the watch,
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“It’s two o'clock.” He humbly asked forgiveness for breaking the rules
of the house, and the director sent him off to lunch, telling him: “If
someone asks you where you are coming from tell them you were
doing something for me” (DS Ch. 19).
Sacristy
From 1846 to 1851, the Oratory sacristy was inside the Pinardi Chapel.
In 1851 Don Bosco relocated it to a room inside the Pinardi House. In
1860, a new sacristy was added to the Church of St Francis de Sales, to
the left side of the altar. This sacristy was built by businessman Charles
Buzzetti. He and his brother Joseph, a Salesian Brother, were among
the first boys welcomed by Don Bosco in 1841 after the meeting with
Bartholomew Garelli.
Above the sacristy door we see St Joseph Cafasso at prayer (Favaro,
1960).
The St Aloysius Gonzaga chapel is the most original part of the
church; only the balustrade has been replaced. The altar, donated by
banker Joseph Dupré, the tabernacle, the niche and statue of St Aloysius
are all original.
The simple plaster statue, likely purchased by Don Bosco when they
were was still praying in the Pinardi chapel, was carried in procession
on St Aloysius’ feast day to impress upon the hearts of the boys of this
model of gospel charity and youthful chastity. These were fundamental
values of the Oratory’s youth spirituality.
On the side walls of the St Aloysius chapel are two canvases by
Favaro: on the right (1961) we see Dominic Savio, Michael Magone and
Francis Besucco, three exemplars of Salesian youth spirituality whose
biographies Don Bosco wrote; on the left (1959) is Pancrazio Soave
accompanying Don Bosco to the Pinardi house on Palm Sunday, 5 April
1846.
On the west wall towards the centre of the church, we find two
large paintings by Dalle Ceste (1960). The painting on the left depicts
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St Francis de Sales preaching to the people in his efforts to reconvert
Catholics who had passed to Calvinism back to the Church. On the
right, the dream of 1844 (The Field of Dreams; cf. BM II, 318), in
which Mary reveals to Don Bosco his future Oratory: the church of
St Francis de Sales (visible in the background), and with her foot,
indicating the place where the Basilica would one day rise, on the spot
where three Roman soldiers, Ottavio, Solutore, and Avventore, converts
to Christianity, had been martyred.
The large area at the back of the church was for the choir begun by
Don Bosco himself and developed by John Cagliero (1838–1926), one
of the first Salesians, an accomplished musician and future Cardinal.
This area was eventually enhanced with a small organ, later replaced by
better instruments; the organ in the loft today is by Tamburini, Crema
(1959).
From 1852 to 1856, Mamma Margaret was often in this church.
Tradition holds that she prayed her rosary sitting in the last pew on the
left.
Once the Church of St Francis de Sales was built Don Bosco
could lead more dignified liturgical and religious functions. Every day
and especially on feast days, he sought devotion, precision, decorum
and solemnity at worship. Cleric Joseph Bongiovanni (1836–1868)
founded the Blessed Sacrament Sodality in 1857, “aimed at promoting
the frequent and regular reception of the sacraments and the worship of
the Holy Eucharist” (BM V, 499). The following year he organised the
boys with more leadership potential into a group of Altar Servers:
Besides promoting the decorum of God’s house, its primary purpose
was to foster priestly vocations, especially among the more devout
students of the upper grades. After adequate training, the Knights
of the Altar were allowed to serve Sunday Mass in cassock and
surplice and to assist in a body inside the sanctuary at the sacred
services on the principal feasts of the year. They were also trained
to be torchbearers, acolytes, thurifers, cross-bearers, and masters of
ceremonies at solemn high Mass, Vespers, Benediction of the Blessed
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Sacrament, processions, Holy Week services, and funerals (BM V,
517).
Many original artefacts which originally embellished this church can
be admired throughout Casa Don Bosco Museum:
• a statue of St Joseph that once stood on the left side of the
presbytery (opposite the pulpit), is now in the Large Dining Room
in the basement of the Museum, beneath this church. Don Bosco
chose St Joseph as the second patron of the oratory, especially to
inspire the boys who were learning to be artisans. Among them was
cleric John Bonetti (1838–1891). In 1859 he founded the St Joseph’s
Sodality with the purpose of “promoting the glory of God and the
practice of Christian virtues” (MB VI, 654).
• an oval painting of Saint Francis de Sales, most likely a gift
from the Marchioness Barolo, which originally hung in the apse
behind the altar (visible in the painting of Rua’s first mass); today
it is displayed in the Gallery of Paintings on the first floor of the
Museum.
• a statue of St Francis de Sales that replaced the oval painting in this
church is now in the Museum chapel, on the second floor near the
camerette.
• the original wooden communion rail from the high altar, where
Mamma Margaret, Dominic Savio, and the first generation of boys
and Salesians received Communion, is now on the second floor of
the Museum, in the Gallery of Salesian Holiness Lived in Valdocco.
• The original door to the tabernacle where Dominic had his
ecstasy is on display in the same Gallery.
Leaving the Church: the plaque of the multiplication of the
loaves
As you leave the Church from the east entrance, turn right and
notice the small plaque on the outside wall beside the doorway. This
plaque recalls the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves of bread.
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For breakfast, it was customary for Don Bosco to offer a bread roll to his
resident students as they came out of the church after daily Mass. One
morning in November 1860 the baker, Mr Magra, had not brought any
bread because Don Bosco had not paid him for some time. Don Bosco
had what little bread remained brought to him in a basket. There were
about twenty rolls. He personally began to give them out while Francis
Dalmazzo, a fifteen-year-old boy at the Oratory, looked on. He offers this
testimony:
the boys kept filing past [don Bosco] to get their piece of bread from
him and kiss his hand as he smiled and said a kind word to each of
them. Each lad – some four hundred – received a bun. When the
distribution was over I again peered into the basket. To my great
astonishment I saw as many buns in it as there had been before,
though no other bread and no other basket had been brought up (MB
VI, 455).
The 1853 building (Don Bosco’s house)
Facing the long portico, the original “Don Bosco House” (1853), is the
part of today’s structure to the right of the two passage ways.
When the Church of St Francis de Sales was completed, Don Bosco,
steeped in debt, decided to proceed immediately with the second stage
of his plan: the construction of a building large enough for the Oratory’s
ever developing activities, including a hospice to house the abandoned
boys he met or who had been recommended to him. By early 1852, there
were over thirty young boarders living in the small, crammed Pinardi
rooms. They would take their paltry meal and eat in the courtyard
or anywhere they could around the house. Don Bosco needed larger
dormitories, a study hall, a dining room.
A thirteen year old John Cagliero came to the Valdocco Oratory
in 1851, after the death of his father. He describes the poverty of the
early Oratory and the welcoming, family spirit he experienced with Don
Bosco and Mamma Margaret:
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I shall always fondly remember the moment I arrived at the Oratory
on the evening of November 2 [1851]. Don Bosco introduced me to
his mother, saying, “Mamma, here is a small boy from Castelnuovo.
He wants to become really good and go to school.”
Mamma Margaret replied, “You’re always bringing in boys when you
know very well that we have no more room.”
“Oh, you’ll find a little corner for him,” replied Don Bosco, smiling.
“In your own room, perhaps,” she replied.
“That won’t be necessary,” continued Don Bosco. “He’s so small he
can sleep in the grissini basket. We could hoist it to a beam just like a
birdcage.” Laughing at the remark, Mamma Margaret left the room
to find a place for me. That night another boy and I slept at the foot
of Don Bosco’s bed.
The next morning I saw how poor this dwelling was. Don Bosco’s
room was quite small with a low ceiling, and our dormitories on
the main floor were narrow and paved with cobblestones. Straw
mattresses, sheets, and blankets were the only furnishings. The
kitchen was miserably equipped. For china and silverware we had only
a few tin bowls and spoons. Forks, knives, and napkins made their
appearance only many years later when some benefactor provided
them for us. Our dining room was a shed; Don Bosco’s was in a little
room near the well. It also doubled as a classroom and recreation hall.
All this helped to keep us in the poor and humble station into which
we had been born.
Don Bosco’s example was an education in itself. He actually enjoyed
waiting on us, tidying up our dormitory, mending and cleaning our
clothes, and performing other services for our benefit. He shared our
life and made us feel that this was not just a boarding school but truly
a family cared for by a tender, loving father whose only concern was
our spiritual and material well-being (BM IV, 202–203).
On 26 April 1852 Valdocco was shaken by a deadly explosion in the
nearby royal ammunitions factory in Borgo Dora. The powerful blast
damaged the fragile Pinardi house. This made the construction of a new,
safer home all the more pressing.
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Construction
In the summer of 1852 excavations began for the new Don Bosco
House, stretching east of the Pinardi house to the wall that separated
it from the Filippi property (today’s coffee shop in the corner of the
courtyard), along which was a wing that would extend southward,
parallel to the Church of St Francis de Sales. This extension became
affectionately known as “Don Bosco’s camerette” because his personal
rooms where in this wing. By November, the second floor walls were
already completed.
Then, calamity struck. On 20 November one of the upper walls
of the new camerette structure facing the courtyard collapsed, seriously
injuring three workers (cf. BM IV, 352). Don Bosco was shaken but not
deterred. Work resumed quickly because it was urgent to complete the
dormitories for the working boys who came to the Oratory for night
school.
A dozen or so days after the collapse the walls were rebuilt and Don
Bosco was eager to complete the roof. But calamity struck yet again. On
the night of 1 December 1852, towards 11:00 p.m. this new building
collapsed:
Only the roof now remained to be completed. Girders and lintels
were in place and tiles were neatly piled near at hand when all work
was halted by a violent rainstorm that lasted several days and nights.
The downpour lashed the girders and lintels and softened and washed
away the fresh and perhaps poor-quality mortar; as a result the walls
remained standing like naked piles of bricks and stones (BM IV, 353).
Providentially, Don Bosco and the boys were all asleep and no one
was injured. The following day, all eyes were on a huge solitary beam on
one side of the house where Don Bosco’s room and the boys’ dormitory
were, still miraculously in place. The collapse was a financial disaster,
but Don Bosco forged ahead.
While waiting for work to resume in the spring, Don Bosco
upgraded and transformed the Pinardi chapel into a dormitory, and held
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weekday morning classes in the church of St Francis de Sales, which
remained a worship space for weekday morning and evening prayers and
for religious functions on Sundays. After lunch and in the late afternoon
it became a huge study hall. There were classes in the choir, around the
altar, in the two side chapels, at the back and in the nave of the church.
One can imagine the noise, but everyone easily adapted (cf. BM IV, 360).
When the good weather arrived, construction resumed. So did Don
Bosco’s fundraising efforts. By October 1853 the house was ready,
including the first half of the covered portico, so necessary as a gathering
space in bad weather. By the end of October classes were being held
under the portico, as well as in the new dormitories and basement
refectory, while the original Pinardi chapel was transformed into a study
hall. More boys could now be welcomed to the Oratory; their number
grew to 65 and by the end of summer 1854 they numbered 76.
The camerette wing, built parallel to the church of St Francis de Sales
in the basement of the new building, was expanded over time: what we
see today is double its original length and width.
The ground floor of the camerette wing was a storage area for wood
used in the carpentry shop.
On the first floor there was a dormitory for the trade school boys,
which was later converted into a study hall. After that, it became the
shipping office for the Salesian Bulletin (until 1988). Today, this room
hosts the Casa Don Bosco Museum’s exhibit entitled Architectural
Development of Valdocco, tracing the evolution of the Oratory buildings
from the time of don Bosco’s arrival in 1846 to the elaborate complex it
is today.
On the second floor of the camerette wing were three rooms.
The first room, located at the juncture of this wing with the main
building, was assigned to two or three boys who were to be at Don
Bosco’s beck and call; the second room served a double function as
library and secretary’s office—at that time the cleric Rua fulfilled this
duty. (BM IV, 458)
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Later it would become the office of Fr Joachim Berto, Don Bosco’s
secretary; then, from 1865 to 1888, it became the room of the Prefect
General (Don Bosco’s vicar): first, Fr Rua (until 1888) then Fr Dominic
Belmonte (1888 - 1901) and finally Fr Philip Rinaldi (1901-1914).
The third room was Don Bosco’s first bedroom (1853–1861).
Furniture was simple and essential:
The furniture, which was never replaced or refurbished, consisted of
a small iron bed, odds and ends donated by benefactors, several very
plain chairs, a small bare desk without drawers, an old dilapidated sofa,
a wobbly shelf. A simple kneeler for hearing confessions, a crucifix,
and a few holy pictures. For a long time [1853 to 1861] this one room
served as bedroom, reception room, and office (BM IV, 458).
On 15 May 1861, Don Bosco’s bedroom was struck by lightning
which wreaked havoc in the attic dormitory and did serious damage to
the building. Everyone was scared, but no one was hurt.
When this wing was completed a few months later, Don Bosco
chose 8 December as the day to place a statue of Our Lady at the centre
of the roof as a “lightning rod” to protect the Oratory from future
misfortune. To this day, the statue of Mary, Help of Christians on
the 1876 façade of the camerette conveys Don Bosco’s trust in Mary’s
motherly protection.
New activities
With a new, larger building at his disposal, Don Bosco launched new
pastoral activities. From the earliest days of the Oratory he had wanted
to give the working boys a suitable place for their professional formation
and human development. He looked for upright employers, went to
visit the boys at work during the work week and in November 1851
began to draw up agreements for their apprenticeship. These soon
became signed and legally binding contracts. Despite his vigilance and
care, however, the boys would still face serious challenges. So he decided
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to build workshops in Valdocco, with the intention of developing his
own trade school.
By the end of 1853 he had set up his first two workshops:
shoemaking and tailoring. The first, run by Domenico Goffi, was in a
small corridor in the Pinardi house near the bell tower; the second, led
by by Papino the tailor, was in the old kitchen.
Always practical, he drew up a set of Regulations for Trade
teachers, laying down their duties and professional and educational
responsibilities towards the apprentices (cf. BM IV, 459ff plus Appendix
21). Within a year, this early draft became a more complete and
systematic set of Regulations for the Workshops (1862) (cf. BM VII, 72).
The first workshops had the aim of guaranteeing a good professional
education for young apprentices while removing them from the risk of
anticlerical, obscene or scandalous conversations that were common in
the shops outside of the Oratory.
At the same time, Don Bosco had to manage the basic needs of a
house full of boys who needed shoes, clothing, food and school supplies.
And he was constantly needing to build new buildings. Luckily, the
labour done by the boys for outside clients provided a small income for
the Valdocco household.
Fr Antonio Rosmini, a friend of Don Bosco, came up with a
brilliant suggestion: Don Bosco needs to set up a printing press! Don
Bosco was already publishing the Letture Cattoliche (Catholic Readings)
and appreciated this suggestion. But he had to find room and the
considerable capital for such an undertaking (he would manage to
do so only in 1861). In the meantime, he contented himself with a
book-binding workshop begun in 1854. He put this in the second room
on the ground floor of the new building, next to the staircase, (today, the
reception area of Casa Don Bosco Museum), with a small commercial
bookshop next to it. Don Bosco himself became the bookbinding
teacher; his first pupil was called Bedino (cf. MB 5, 22ff).
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When this building was finished, Don Bosco set new goals. He
wanted to demolish the Pinardi house and replace it with a new, bigger
structure attached to the church. But between the end of 1853 and the
beginning of 1854, Piedmont suffered a financial crisis and the cost of
food and building materials skyrocketed. He shelved this project for a
while since the more urgent need was to find money to feed his boys.
He would eventually demolish the Pinardi house and start construction
on the new building in 1856.
The 1856 building (former Pinardi house)
The original Pinardi house once occupied the space at the west end
of the portico; the first five arches starting from the Pinardi Chapel
entrance indicate its length. In 1856 Don Bosco demolished the Pinardi
house to start his new building.
The water fountain attached to the second column is the only
original external piece of the house that remains. In the early years, water
had to be pumped from the well (the opening of which is visible on
the ground to the right of the fountain). Public utilities only reached
Valdocco after September 1863 (cf. BM VII, 441).
At the beginning of 1856, Don Bosco tried to negotiate a loan with
the Ministry for the Interior but was refused because of the ongoing
financial crisis. Unphased, Don Bosco got on with the new building just
the same!
He therefore sent for a man named Juvenal Delponte, who was an
architect and contractor of sorts, and asked him whether he had
enough funds to meet initial expenses.
“No,” the contractor replied, “I don’t.”
“Neither do I,” Don Bosco said.
“Then what are we going to do?”
“Let’s begin all the same,” Don Bosco said decisively. “By the time we
have to pay the men, the Lord will send us something.”
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This phrase became routine with Don Bosco whenever he started
new construction. He would tell the contractors: “I need this new
building. I have no money, but let’s start anyway, and quickly!” The
estimate for the wing ran to forty thousand lire. Several times John
Villa heard Don Bosco say: “Don Bosco is poor, but with God’s help
we can do anything” (BM V, 296).
Trusting in divine Providence, Don Bosco sent out letters and
appeals to friends, benefactors and public bodies. Work began in March.
After the Pinardi house was demolished, new foundations were laid.
Within five months even the roof of the new Pinardi building was
completed!
Yet again, however, there was an incident that caused a fright and
drove up the construction cost. Windows, doors and glass had already
been installed when on 22 August around 10:00 a.m., while a worker
was taking down scaffolding from the top floor, a beam fell through
the ceiling. The ceiling collapsed, and so did the ones below. Only the
surrounding walls were left standing.
Don Bosco’s faith in God and enthusiasm for his mission allowed
him to overcome any discouragement. He immediately pushed the
project to completion. By the beginning of October 1856 the new
Pinardi House was finished.
Finally, the two buildings (Don Bosco’s House, 1853 and the
Pinardi Building, 1856) were connected to form one continuous
structure, typical of Turinese architecture.
It was just as Don Bosco had wanted it to be – extremely simply, with
no space wasted for wide staircases or corridors. The passageways were
so narrow that only one person at a time could walk through them...
Don Bosco himself determined the use to which the rooms were to be
put (BM V, 355).
Every available space was utilised. The gabled roof allowed for small
bedrooms in the attic. The long balconies meant the rooms on both the
first and second floors [second and third floors in the usage of some other
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cultures], could be accessed without the need for any inside corridors.
For Don Bosco, space was too precious to be wasted on hallways and
staircases! There was only one internal staircase at the west entrance
of the Don Bosco House (visible today through the Museum’s first glass
door to the right of the passage way). This staircase went down to the
basement and up only to the first floor balcony. To access the upstairs
rooms, one had to climb the stairs to the first floor, exit onto the balcony
and walk outside to the entrance of each room. The second floor balcony
was accessed via a small ladder from the first floor balcony.
Don Bosco House as it was originally arranged (cf. BM V, 355-356)
In the basement there was a kitchen and two dining rooms; this was
the only kitchen and dining area in Valdocco, underground, for seventy
years, until 1927!
On the ground floor, the current Pinardi Chapel had been divided
into two sections. The part closest to the Church of St Francis de Sales
(from the west wall to the Chapel’s second window) was the sacristy.
The rest was used for prayers and the Good Night with the boys on
winter evenings; later, this section became the dining room for Don
Bosco and his first helpers.
On the right of the staircase in the 1853 building (Don Bosco’s
house) there were three adjacent workshops for shoemaking, bookbinding
and carpentry. Next to the carpentry shop there was a wide area below
the library and Don Bosco’s room for storing wood.
On the first floor (starting from St Francis de Sales church) there
were: two rows of rooms used for the tailoring workshop; classrooms,
the office of the prefect, Fr Alasonatti, the reception area for visitors and
day students, a large study hall and right beneath Don Bosco’s room a
dormitory for the working boys.
On the second floor, in a room under Our Lady’s chapel, was
the choir room, directed by John Cagliero. At the front of the house
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(from the left) the music room, dispensary, infirmary, the bedrooms of
Mamma Margaret and her helpers and the community laundry room.
On the north side there were more dormitories.
In the attic,the windowed gables, provided light and fresh air to the
dormitories on the north side, and to a row of small cells for teachers
and older clerics (Cagliero among them) on the south side.
Along the entire length of the long portico Don Bosco commissioned
Peter Enria to paint a series of biblical passages in Latin with Italian
translation. The phrases placed beneath the arches were essentially a
catechesis on the sacrament of Penance; the ones posted on the pillars
quoted the ten commandments. This was an early example of the
Salesian “educative environment”.
The marble plaques we see today are reproductions and only
partially reproduce the original texts (cf. BM V, 356–357 and F.
Perrenchio, :L’utilizzazione della Bibbia da parte di don Bosco nell’educazione
dei giovani alla fede, in “Bollettino di collegamento dell’Associazione
Biblica salesiana”, n. 10 [1993] 159–165).
The Good-Night Pulpit
With the recent renovations for Casa Don Bosco Museum, a
delightful new addition appeared under the portico: a bronze replica
of Don Bosco’s good-night pulpit from which the pastor-educator
delivered his famous talks to the boys after evening prayer. The original
wooden pulpit is preserved in the camerette Chapel on the second floor
of Casa Don Bosco Museum.
In a small niche in the wall at the west end of the portico by the
Pinardi Chapel entrance is a statue of Our Lady (not original). When
the weather was good, the boys gathered in front of the statue for
evening prayers. During the month of May and on feasts of Our Lady
the boys would decorate the statue. On a small picture hung nearby
there they would attach slips of paper on which they had written their
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fioretti (small acts of sacrifice they promised to make) and the brief
prayer suggested for each day.
The students’ section
After the completion of the new Pinardi building, Don Bosco concentrated
on the formative needs of his resident students. Already in 1851 he had
drawn up some disciplinary rules, and in light of the experience acquired
over the years, he went on to elaborate a proper set of Regulations for the
Home attached to the Oratory of St Francis de Sales, which he completed
in 1854.
During the 1851–1852 school year there were more than twelve
boarding students in Valdocco. Don Bosco and Fr Pietro Merla (1815–1855)
had been their teachers but as enrolment increased Don Bosco began
sending his boys into the city for private lessons offered by Prof.
Giuseppe Bonzanino (lower secondary) and Fr Matteo Picco (Humanities
and Rhetoric). Both were excellent teachers who willingly welcomed
Don Bosco’s poor boys at no cost. The Oratory boys were exemplary
students and the two teachers added them to their regular classes with
other pupils who came from distinguished and even noble families.
On 22 October 1854 Dominic Savio joined the Oratory, becoming
one of around eighty boarding students. Half of these were trade school
students and the other half were academic students. That year, Dominic
attended classes in the city, with Prof. Bonzanino.
In the 1855–1856 school year, Don Bosco opened his first internal
secondary school, entrusting the third level, which included Dominic
Savio, to cleric John Baptist Francesia, who was all of seventeen years old.
These classes were held in the old Pinardi Chapel. The first and second
levels and Humanities and Rhetoric students continued going into the
city for classes with Prof. Bonzanino and Picco (cf. BM V, 232).
The following year (1856–1857), since the number of resident
students had reached 85 (70 of them trade students), Prof. Francesco
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Blanch was called to the Oratory. He taught first and second levels
together (cf. BM V, 362). That year, just a few months before his death,
Dominic Savio studied Humanities at Fr Picco’s school.
In 1857–1858, with 121 academic students and 78 trade school
boys, the Oratory ran three classes: first level secondary (Cleric John
Baptist Francesia), second level (Cleric John Turchi), third level (Fr
Joseph Ramello).
On 7 November 1857 the Turin Catholic paper L'Armonia
published Don Bosco’s conditions for accepting students at the Oratory:
1. Boys must be at least twelve and not over eighteen.
2. They must be orphaned of both father and mother and have no
relatives able to care for them.
3. They must be completely destitute and homeless. If a boy fulfills
the first two conditions but still has some goods of his own, he must
bring them along for his own use, since it would be unfair in this
case. to live off the charity of others.
4. A boy must be in good health and not physically deformed.
5. Priority will be given to totally destitute and homeless boys who
already frequent the festive oratories of St Aloysius, of the Guardian
Angel, or of St Francis de Sales, because this hospice has been opened
especially for them (BM V, 496).
Finally, when the 1859–1860 school year began, Don Bosco
launched a program he had been planning for some time – having
an entire secondary school at the Oratory, and using his own boys as
young teachers: cleric Celestine Durando (1st class, with 96 pupils!),
cleric Secondo Pettiva (2nd class), cleric John Turchi (3rd class), cleric
John Baptist Francesia (4th and 5th classes). From here on the academic
student section took on greater importance, and had higher enrolment
than the trade schools. Don Bosco’s aim was to continue helping
the poorest boys while offering the more academically inclined the
possibility of pursuing higher studies with the hope of nurturing
upright citizens and vocations to the priesthood.
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From statistics that Don Bosco sent to the Superintendent of studies
for the year 1861–1862, we know that there were 318 boarders and 14
day students: 96 in first class, 68 in second, 87 in third, 38 in fourth and
39 in fifth.
Other buildings (between 1856–1859)
While setting up and furnishing the new buildings, Don Bosco decided
to tackle other areas so he could open a completely free primary school
for boys in the area who could not attend city schools or who had been
denied admission to them. Thus between October and November 1856,
against the wall along the via della Giardiniera, Don Bosco built a
triangular one floor building with two classrooms (this no longer exists):
a larger one for primary classes during the day and a smaller one for
evening classes with a small reception area (cf. fig. 9, no. 4 page 272).
The primary day classes began in early 1857, taught by Master James
Rossi from Foglizzo who was also a good singer and trombone player
(cf. BM V, 365). In 1861 these classes were moved to the Filippi house
(today's coffee shop). In the two rooms on via della Giardiniera Don
Bosco set up the first printing press, run by Master Andrew Giardino.
Later, from 1862 to 1869, this space became the metalwork shop.
Next to this newest building, on the right of the entrance, between
1859 and 1860, Don Bosco built, with financial assistance from Fr
Cafasso, a more dignified reception area with a room for the doorkeeper,
parlour for the boys’ relatives and a covered entrance (cf. ODB 131).
But after he had bought and fixed up the Filippi house, in 1863 a new
reception areas was built in the southern corner of the property bought
from the Filippi brothers. The old reception area was transformed into
two workshops for shoemaking and tailoring (cf. BM VII, 330).
In order to have all his secondary classes at Valdocco with in-house
teachers, Don Bosco had to build yet more classrooms. In summer 1859
he asked businessman Giovenale Delponte to build three large rooms
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against the boundary wall of the courtyard behind the main building. At
the same time, he pulled down the shed to the right of this new structure
which had been used as a washing area and built a new laundry room
with an abutting woodshed (cf. BM VI, 143). These two buildings were
demolished in 1873.
Further extensions to the camerette (1861, 1862, 1876)
On 16 July 1860 Don Bosco completed the first major extensions to the
Oratory in terms of land and workshops, by buying the Filippi property
for 65 thousand lire.
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1861 extension
The following year, having relocated the tenants of the Filippi house,
Don Bosco modified the Filippi house to serve the needs of the Oratory.
Amongst other things he planned to link the Filippi house to the Don
Bosco House (1853) thereby doubling the width of the wing where his
room was. Thus, the camerette wing underwent these changes:
• on the ground floor the portico (behind the large bronze Don Bosco
statue) was added. For decades (from the 1880s onwards) students
gathered here for night prayers;
• on the first floor was a student dormitory (today, the Gallery of the
Architectural Evolution of Valdocco)
• on the second floor was a library (the new Museum chapel) and,
adjacent to it, to the south, Don Bosco’s new bedroom.
• the attic became another dormitory.
Don Bosco’s new room, with windows on the east and south walls,
would be his personal space for 26 years, until mid-December 1887. It
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was connected with the first room he had lived in since 1853, which is
often referred to now as the “antechamber” (cf. fig. 14, no. 3 page 294).
Having moved to his new room, the antechamber became a waiting
room for visitors who came in ever greater number seeking counsel from
the Saint.
During the 1870’s Don Bosco’s health began to deteriorate and
he could not always go down to the Basilica to celebrate mass. So he
placed an “altar concealed in a wooden wardrobe” in the antechamber,
so that whenever he could not go down to the church, he could celebrate
Mass there (cf. BM XVIII, 9). This “wardrobe-altar” is on display in
the Chapel near the camerette on the second floor of Casa Don Bosco
Museum.
1862 extension
Under the camerette, at the front of the house, there was a storage
shed. Don Bosco converted the shed into a large portico, 14 metres long
(the length of the house), 6.75 m. wide by 4 m. high (cf. fig. 15, no. 5
page 294). The area between the pillars was enclosed and windowed to
create a large room where he temporarily relocated the printing press.
Some months later, the printing press was moved yet again to a new
facility that had been specifically built for that purpose along via della
Giardiniera, and the enclosed portico became the foundry for making
lead typesetting characters (cf. MB VII, 116. These construction details
are omitted in the English BM).
Above the portico was a lovely open air terrazzo with brick
columns bounded in steel. Don Bosco added some large gardening
pots in which he planted muscatel vines from his hometown of
Castelnuovo. The vines climbed up the front of the house as far as
the windows to Don Bosco’s room, produced shade, and much fun at
harvest time.
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1876 extension
After the Church of Mary Help of Christians was consecrated (1868)
and the reception building fronting via Cottolengo was completed
(1874-1875), Don Bosco began his final expansion of the the camerette
wing. Above the 1862 portico he added two storeys plus an attic.
Since then, the façade of the house has remained unchanged. On the
tympanum of the new façade he placed the statue of Our Lady which
he first placed on the roof as a “lightning rod” on 8 December 1861. She
has been there ever since.
This extension added three smaller areas to the camerette.
The first area was an enclosed balcony on the second floor, facing
south. (cf. fig. 16, no. 7 page 294). Enclosed with floor-to-ceiling glass
doors, the gallery provided Don Bosco a bright and sheltered place to
walk when the pain in his legs made it impossible for him to leave his
room (cf. MB 7, 375). The boys would come here so he could still
accompany them through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
The second area, which connected to the waiting room (the
antechamber) became Don Bosco’s private chapel.
The third area, to the south of Don Bosco’s bedroom, was his
secretary’s bedroom. It is in this room that Don Bosco died (cf. fig. 16,
no. 6 page 294).
More will be said about each of these venerable spaces as we proceed
through Casa Don Bosco Museum where the legacy of Don Bosco’s life
and spirit and mission is kept alive.
The 1929 Camerette Staircase
When Don Bosco was beatified in 1929, the camerette staircase (across
from the main entrance to the Museum) was built to accommodate
the many pilgrims who flocked to Valdocco to venerate the Saint in the
rooms where he lived from 1853 to December 1887 and where he passed
away on 31 January 1888.
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Don Bosco’s House today:
CASA DON BOSCO MUSEUM
including THE CAMERETTE
The 27th Salesian General Chapter (2014) asked the Rector Major to
revitalise the “Salesian places” in and around Turin to render them
a more eloquent expression of the history, spirituality and mission
they carry. This mandate inspired a courageous rethinking of Valdocco,
creatively faithful to its origins. With much effort, sacrifice, teamwork
and justified satisfaction, the new Casa Don Bosco Museum was
inaugurated by Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, 10th successor of Don
Bosco, on 4 October 2020.
Casa Don Bosco Museum covers 4,000 square metres over four
floor, encompassing all of the original Don Bosco House (1853)
including the camerette, and the Pinardi Building (1856). Indeed, the
camerette remain the charismatic heart of the Don Bosco’s Valdocco and
the historical nucleus of the Museum, but the same camerette are better
appreciated today as an integral part of the wider reality to which they
belonged.
Our tour begins on the ground floor of Casa Don Bosco. Then
we’ll explore the basement where Valdocco’s oldest rooms are found
and where Salesian family spirit was lived and shared. On the first floor
[second floor in the usage of some other cultures] we’ll consider the
evolution of Don Bosco’s Salesian spirituality and youth ministry. On
the second floor, beginning with the camerette, we’ll reflect on Don
Bosco the man: where he lived, where he founded the Congregation,
where he wrote, where he slept, and where he passed from time into
eternity. Our visit then focuses on Don Bosco the saint, and Don
Bosco the founder of a vast international Salesian Family and school
of holiness. We’ll meet exemplars of Salesian holiness who lived in
Valdocco and beyond, the spiritual progeny of a holy founder. Finally,
we’ll see how the Oratory which began in Valdocco has spread to 134
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countries thanks to the intrepid missionary dedication of Don Bosco’s
many sons and daughters: religious, priests and lay people.
The Ground Floor
The ticket office and reception area of Casa Don Bosco Museum were
originally the Oratory’s book binding shop. The large room behind the
reception area was added by Fr Michael Rua. Today it is a venue for
temporary art exhibitions.
Champions of the Educative and Pastoral Community
In the reception area we are greeted by four Salesian heroes who lived
in Valdocco and shaped the Oratory from the beginning: Mamma
Margaret (marble medallion by Gaetano Cellino) and Fr John Borel
(bronze medallions by Gaetano Cellini), Cardinal John Cagliero
(bronze bust, Arturo Tomagnini) and Fr Michael Rua (bronze bust,
Ennio Ferrari). They invite us to appreciate the educative-pastoral
community as a charismatic and not just a functional approach to
building and living the Oratory experience in our various and varied
works and presences today.
The Basement
The basement was closed and essentially forgotten after the “new”
kitchens and dining rooms were built on Via Sassari (at the back of
the second courtyard) in 1927. Today, the basement is one of Casa
Don Bosco’s most endearing features. It extends the entire length of the
portico, from the Church of St Francis de Sales to the camerette.
Proceeding through the Museum reception area we literally walk in
the footsteps of Don Bosco and the first Salesians, arriving at the original
(1853) staircase to the basement. Where preferable, the elevator under
the portico guarantees easy access for everyone.
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The Basement's five main rooms
Built in five phases, the basement was where everyday family life
at the Oratory was lived. These rooms are presented in chronological
order:
1. The Boys’ First Dining Room (1853)
Until 1853, the Valdocco residents ate meals where they could…
anywhere in the Pinardi house or out in the fields and courtyard around
it. In 1853, Don Bosco builds the first refectory for the boys.
The refectory’s stone wall keeps alive the practical creativity
displayed by Don Bosco in the construction phase of his house. To avoid
buying bricks with money he did not have, he invited the boys, during
their recreation, to bring the biggest rocks they could carry from the
nearby Dora and Stura Rivers. In this way, he not only saved money but
he also made the boys protagonists in building the very house in which
they and so many others would live.
The lithograph of the Last Supper dates back to the 1850’s and
was discovered in the basement. We can easily imagine Dominic Savio,
the count Carlo Cays as a novice and all the first Salesians gazing upon
it during meals.
2. The Oratory Kitchen (1856)
The “first” kitchen, used by Mamma Margaret, was in the Pinardi house.
After Don Bosco purchased and demolished the Pinardi House in 1856,
he created this basement kitchen, equipped with a pantry, a well, and one
oven. For 70 years, this was the Oratory’s only kitchen, producing meals
for hundreds of residents.
Because of their voracious appetites, Don Bosco had a clear, simple
rule: the boys were not allowed in the kitchen. But they were expected
to share in “family chores” by serving the meals. To facilitate this, a small
service area beside the kitchen is where the boys would pick up the
platters which they took to the dining rooms.
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3. The Large Dining Room (1858)
As more boys joined the Oratory, Don Bosco built a second, larger
dining hall (1858) beneath the Church of St Francis de Sales (1852).
This was the main Oratory dining hall until 1866. This space also served
as the first Salesian theatre, where John Cagliero’s music was interpreted
for the first time.
As part of Casa Don Bosco Museum, this dining hall is now home
to four permanent exhibitions:
• Marian iconography, including treasures collected by Fr. Paul
Albera beginning in 1914 and after him by Fr Piero Ceresa. A vast
part of the collection was acquired by Giuseppe and Ottavio Gallo,
siblings and salesian priests of happy memory. Their acquisitions
include an alabaster statue of Mary Immaculate, icons, paintings
and frescoes, one of which dates back to Benedictine school of the
fourteenth century.
• Gifts to the Museum (originally received as gifts to the Basilica),
such as an ivory crucifix, Pope Pius VII’s tobacco box, and a copper,
Langobard cover to a book of the gospels from the eight century.
• Popular piety and devotion linked to the Basilica such as ex
voto offerings and procession banners for the feast of Mary Help of
Christians.
• Liturgy, including the chalice used by Don Bosco for the consecration
Mass of the “Church” of Mary Help of Christians (it was elevated
to a minor basilica on June 28, 1911), a monstrance gifted to
Don Bosco by the alumni of the Valdocco Oratory (1875), the
Guglielminetti chalice (1930) and sacred vessels received from St
John Paul II (1988).
4. Don Bosco’s Wine Cellar (1861)
Added to the east end of basement during the 1860-61 renovation, the
cantina is beneath Don Bosco’s camerette. Here, Don Bosco made and
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stored wine, and kept his wine-making equipment. Today, it houses a
collection of Marian statures and images, honouring Mary’s role in the
foundation of the Oratory and Don Bosco’s youth spirituality.
5. The Crypto-portico (1868)
This was the last section added by Don Bosco to the basement. It
connected the main hallway to the newly built bread oven beneath the
Basilica. It was blessed by Don Bosco in November, 1868. Each day,
some 3000 loaves of bread were baked here, to the delight of the boys
and Salesians alike. The passage remains, but the oven is gone.
The First floor
The first floor of Casa Don Bosco has 10 exhibition spaces. Beginning
at the top of the camerette staircase and turning right, the exhibits are as
follows:
1. Valdocco’s architectural development
Five models display the evolution of Salesian Valdocco. The first is a
stand alone of the Pinardi house and chapel (1846). The second places
the Pinardi house in an empty field flanked by its only neighbours,
Casa Bellezza and Casa Filippi (1846). The third shows the architectural
developments up to 1861, including the church of St Francis de Sales
and new Don Bosco House. The forth shows the progress made by
1868, including the Basilica, the annexed Filippi house and the printing
press along the via della Giardiniera. Finally, we see Valdocco as it is
today, including the oratory, professional schools and highschool.
2. Urban development of Valdocco around the Oratory
Photos, maps and an interactive screen draw visitors into the urban
growth of Valdocco as a neighbourhood around the expanding Salesian
citadel.
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3. The Gallery of Paintings
Art figured significantly in Don Bosco’s educative project in Valdocco.
Pieces commissioned by him or his successors were intentionally
designed for catechetical or devotional purposes. The jewel in the crown
of this collection is Enrico Reffo’s 1896 painting of St Francis de Sales at
prayer, commissioned for the Basilica (in what has subsequently become
the Dominic Savio chapel) by Michael Rua. A second painting of the
Savoyard bishop is the “oval frame” which originally hung behind the
altar of St Francis de Sales Church, most likely a gift of the Marchioness
Barolo.
In the adjacent room is a collection of original paintings of Don
Bosco, including Giuseppe Rollini’s Don Bosco in prayer (1880).
4. Youth Ministry Room
Three dreams of Don Bosco are the focus of this space: The dream
at nine years of age (1824), the Field of dreams (1844) and the
Missionary Dream (Barcelona, 1886). Interpreted by the Spanish artist
Javier Carabaño (2020), the paintings convey the Good Shepherd and
Mary the Shepherdess as the guiding force to Don Bosco’s entire youth
project, focused on needy youth, using reason, religion and kindness,
and extending from Becchi, to Valdocco, to as far away as Valparaiso,
Calcutta and Beijing.
The paintings are supported by three foundational Salesian documents:
Don Bosco’s first three handwritten notebooks that become the
Memoirs of the Oratory (1873-1875); a first edition (1847) copy of
the Companion of Youth; and a copy of the Letter from Rome (1884).
Finally, facing the dreams, is a portrait of Francesco Besucco,
commissioned by Don Bosco. Besucco represents the countless thousands
who have thrived in Salesian youth projects the world over.
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5. The Cafasso, Borel, Barberis and Lemoyne Room
This room honours Don Bosco’s lifelong friends and principal collaborators.
St Joseph Cafasso (1811–1860) was Don Bosco’s spiritual guide
at the Convitto Ecclesiastico for three years, his weekly confessor for
22 years, and generous benefactor throughout his life. On display is
a monstrance he gave Don Bosco, underlying their deep eucharistic
spirituality.
Fr John Borel (1801–1873) was one of Don Bosco’s beloved
seminary professors and personal mentor. Although Borel was chaplain
to the royal house of Savoy, he was instrumental in the Oratory’s early
days, happy to play “second fiddle” to more charismatic personalities
like the Marchioness Barolo and Don Bosco. He give up his role as
royal chaplain to dedicate himself fully to the Oratory and other social
outreach projects. On February 1851, he “co-signs” with Don Bosco and
personally pays for the purchase of the Pinardi chapel. When Don Bosco
falls sick and has to return to Becchi (summer 1846), it was Borel who
managed the fledgling Oratory.
On display is one of Borel’s handwritten homilies. He was a gifted
preacher to Turin’s nobility and paupers alike, adjusting his style and
language to suit his audience.
Fr Julio Barberis (1847–1927) was renowned for his simplicity of
heart and spirit of obedience. He fully assimilated Don Bosco’s spirit
and passed it on to new generations, serving as director of novices for
forty years. He delighted in saying he was a “formator of saints”, most
notably, Venerable Andrea Beltrami and Blessed August Czartoryski. A
prolific writer, many of his books are on display.
Fr John Baptist Lemoyne (1839–1916) was a masterful spiritual
director and preacher. Endowed with a brilliant intellect, he published
many works, from the historical to the dramatic genre, for which he
was respected both within the Congregation and in secular circles. Don
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Bosco appointed him secretary of the Superior Council and editor of
the Salesian Bulletin, thus giving him the opportunity to follow closely
the last years of the activity of Father, of whom he was the principal
and most authoritative biographer. He began the publication of the
Biographical Memoirs of Don Bosco, an extensive documentation in
nineteen volumes. He gathered many of Don Bosco’s thoughts and
writings into thematically organised texts. Many of his writings are on
display.
Completing this exhibition of Don Bosco’s early collaborators is the
first table used by the General Council (originally for the Pinardi house
library), and a glass-doored bookcase which belonged to Fr Michael
Rua. When Rua became Don Bosco’s first successor, he moved this
cabinet into Don Bosco’s bedroom which he now occupied. Today it
holds items used by Don Bosco such as candlesticks, cups, glasses,
cutlery and books.
Other items of interest are: nails taken from beams in the old
Pinardi house and a wooden skull (common in nineteenth century
spirituality), used in the early days of the Oratory as part of the monthly
Exercise for a Happy Death. According to one tradition, the hazelnuts
date back to 3 January 1886 when Don Bosco distributed them to more
than a hundred boys, taking them out of a small bag (cf. BM XVIII,
2-3), just one example of the many “multiplication” miracles he worked
on behalf of poor young people.
Rooms 6,7,8: The Albera, Cagliero and Rua Rooms
In these three rooms, the Museum recalls Don Bosco’s first two
successors, Frs Michael Rua and Paul Albera, as well as Cardinal John
Cagliero, leader of the first Salesian missionary expedition to Patagonia,
first Salesian bishop and cardinal.
Of note are the coloured walls in these rooms; they are the only
coloured walls in the Museum, to convey that Rua, Albera and Cagliera
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each add their own “colour” the “pencil sketch” of the Congregation
entrusted to them by Don Bosco.
These rooms display portraits and personal possessions of these
great Salesian leaders, and furniture used by them. In the Cagliero room
we see the only stained glass window, installed in the basilica in 1939, to
survive a 1942 bombardment.
9. Don Bosco, Publisher
This exhibition presents Don Bosco’s intense publishing activity. As an
educator and pastor, Don Bosco dedicated himself to the “apostolate
of the good press”, publishing or editing some 300 books and smaller
works on various topics of religion, education, and history. He started
the Letture cattoliche [Catholic Readings], a monthly series written in
a popular style for young people and ordinary Catholics. He set up
printing presses and publishing houses. His aim was to reach out to
an ever greater number of people so he could extend the effectiveness
of his pastoral activity. On display are some of his books, a set of brass
typesetting letters and stamps used for embellishing book covers, a list
of all of his publications organized thematically, and the desk used by his
secretary and archivist, Fr. Gioachino Berto.
10. The Library
This area is reserved for research and is accessible with special permission.
In addition to the collection of books on Salesianity, of note are the
finely worked book cases from the offices of the SEI [Società Editrice
Internazionale], the Salesian Congregation’s publishing house from
1908–2018.
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The Second floor with the camerette
The second floor is dedicated to Don Bosco the man, the saint, and
the patriarch of an international spiritual family. The narrative unfolds
across ten rooms. We begin in the camerette.
The camerette
The camerette – five rooms – are the spiritual heart of Valdocco and
the historical centre of Casa Don Bosco Museum. In these rooms Don
Bosco lived from 1853 until he passed into eternity on 31 January 1888.
1. Don Bosco’s first bedroom
We enter the camerette through Don Bosco’s first bedroom, which he
occupied for eight years (1853-1861). It also served as his office and
reception room.
Da mihi animas, caetera tolle
Preserved in the glass enclosure in the corner of this room is a small
section of the original terra cotta tile floor. Suspended above it is
a reproduction of the Da mihi animas, caetera tolle sign which hung
above the east wall bedroom window (now the doorway to Don Bosco’s
second bedroom) which caught the attention of Dominic Savio upon
his arrival at the Oratory on 22 October 1854. Don Bosco leaves this
account of the event:
... having come to the Oratory, came to my room to put himself, as
he said, entirely into his superiors’ hands. His glance immediately fell
on the poster above where in large letters were written the words St
Francis de Sales used say: da mihi animas, caetera tolle. He read them
carefully; I wanted him to understand what they meant so I invited
him, in fact helped him translate the meaning: Oh Lord, give me souls,
and take away everything else. He thought for a moment and then
added: I understand: here we do not do business in money but in
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souls: I understand; I hope my soul will also be part of this business
(DS Ch. 8).
Da mihi animas, caetera tolle summarises the deep spirituality
behind the Salesian mission: ardent charity, absolute availability to the
Lord, radical asceticism in thought, affect and action.
Charismatic and juridical foundation of the Congregation
This first bedroom is also the “womb” of the Salesian Congregation,
to which the two prized documents in the central display case attest.
The first document, one page from a tiny notebook handwritten by
a sixteen year old Michael Rua, records the minutes of Don Bosco’s first
invitation to a group of four boys from 16 to 18 years of age, gathered
in this room in view of establishing the Salesian Congregation:
On the evening of 26 January 1854 we gathered in Don Bosco’s room.
Present were Don Bosco, Rocchietti, Artiglia, Cagliero and Rua; Don
Bosco suggested that with the help of the Lord and St Francis de Sales
we should engage in an exercise of practical charity toward neighbour.
This would be in view of making a promise of it, and later, if possible
and convenient, a vow to the Lord. From that evening those who
committed or would in the future commit themselves to this exercise
were called Salesians.
The mutual pledge taken by Don Bosco and these four young
collaborators to exercise practical charity towards their neighbour
effectively summarises the entire Salesian mission and spirituality. It
unites in a single movement of charity the pastoral drive of the Founder
with the zeal of his disciples.
In this room, on 25 March 1855, Michael Rua made his first
profession of vows to Don Bosco, thus becoming the first Salesian. He
would soon be followed by Fr Alasonatti and cleric John B. Francesia.
The second document is the minutes of the juridical foundation of
the Salesian Society which took place on the evening of 18 December
1859. The participants are named: Don Bosco, Fr Alasonatti, deacon
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Angelo Savio, subdeacon Michael Rua, clerics Cagliero, Francesia,
Provera, Ghivarello, Loggero, Bonetti, Anfossi, Marcellino, Cerruti,
Durando, Pettiva, Rovetto, Bongiovanni and layman Louis Chiapale
were “all united in one and the same spirit with the sole purpose of
preserving and promoting the spirit of true charity needed for the work
of the oratories on behalf of neglected young people at risk. For in these
disastrous times of ours such young people are liable to being corrupted
and plunged into godlessness and irreligion.” They decided “to form a
society or congregation with the aim of promoting the glory of God and
the salvation of souls, especially of those most in need of instruction and
education, while providing the members with mutual help toward their
own sanctification.”
Fr Lemoyne describes the events that preceded this meeting:
On December 8, the Oratory solemnly celebrated the feast of the
Immaculate Conception. That evening Don Bosco announced at the
“Good Night” that the next, day he would hold a special conference in
his room after the boys had retired to bed. Those concerned — priests,
clerics, and laymen who shared Don Bosco’s work at the Oratory and
enjoyed his intimacy understood that they were invited to attend and
sensed that this meeting was to be an important one. Accordingly,
they met the following night, Friday, December 9, 1859.
The meeting opened with the usual invocation to the Holy Spirit
and a prayer to Mary Most Holy for enlightenment and assistance.
Then Don Bosco, after summing up what he had said in previous
conferences, proceeded to describe the nature and loftiness of a
religious congregation, the everlasting honor accruing to a person
entirely consecrated to God, the ease with which he could save his
soul, the inestimable store of merits he could gain through obedience,
and the imperishable glory and the twofold crown awaiting him in
paradise. Then, visibly moved, he declared that the time had come
to start that congregation which he had long been planning and for
which he had been mainly working...
He concluded by saying that the moment had come for all who had
heard his conferences to state whether or not they wished to join
this pious Society which would be named — or would continue
to be named — after St Francis de Sales. Those who did not want
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to belong to it should make it clear by no longer attending the
conferences. He was giving them all a week’s time to reflect and
meditate on this important decision with God. ... The cleric [John]
Cagliero, undecided, paced up and down the portico for a long time,
various thoughts crossing his mind. Finally, turning to a companion,
he exclaimed: “I am determined and always have been — never to leave
Don Bosco. Monk or not, it’s all the same to me!” Later he wrote a
note to Don Bosco declaring that he deferred completely to his advice
and decision.
Don Bosco, meeting him afterward, smilingly said to him, “Come.
This is your life!”
The conference to express their belonging to the Pious Society was
held on 18 December 1859. Only two did not present themselves.”
(BM VI, 180–181).
Don Bosco’s first personal chapel
In the 1870s, when Don Bosco’s health began to fail seriously, this room
also served as his personal chapel. He added an “altar concealed in a
chest that looked like a closet” so that whenever he could not go down
to the church, Don Bosco celebrated Mass here (cf. BM XVIII, 9). This
wardrobe-altar is on display in the new Museum chapel on the same
floor (cf. page 317).
2. Don Bosco’s second bedroom 1861–December 1887
Having completed the 1861 expansion, Don Bosco moved into this new
bedroom which he occupied for nearly 27 years, until mid-December
1887.
This room was the forge of intense pastoral creativity, the headquarters
of organisation, animation and government of Don Bosco’s religious
congregations, the Salesian Cooperators and an educational and apostolic
movement of ever-widening reach. The secret of Don Bosco’s tireless
evangelical work, effective communication, fruitful initiatives of charity
flows from his burning interior life.
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The humble desk is where Don Bosco wrote thousands of letters to
Popes, people of influence, Salesians, boys and benefactors. It is where
he wrote most of his works for young people and ordinary folks; where
he collected and organised his educational and pastoral experiences and
inspirations into spiritual and pedagogical writings; where he wrote the
Constitutions of the Salesian Congregation, the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians, and the Association of Salesian Cooperators; where
he planned the first missionary expeditions to South America.
On the desk are objects used by Don Bosco, like his inkwell and
pen. He maintained that his desk work was as apostolic and just as
important as his work in church, in the playground and in the streets of
Turin. He was successful in his pastoral and educational activity because
he knew how to think, study, plan, communicate ideas, sensitise and
involve ever-expanding circles of people.
On 19 December 1887, Don Bosco sat at his desk for the last time
and laboriously wrote a few sentences on holy pictures he wanted to
send to benefactors:
“Perform good deeds as soon as possible, for there might not be
time and thus you would be cheated... Blessed are those who give
themselves entirely to God in the days of their youth... He who delays
giving himself to God is in great danger of losing his soul… He who
sows good deeds will reap a great harvest... If we do good, we will find
good in this world and in the next... At the end of our life, we shall
reap the fruit of our good deeds... "In paradise one enjoys all blessings
and for ever” (cf. BM XVIII, 408–409).
The modest shelves above the desk were always crammed with
correspondence waiting for a reply, drafts of regulations to refine,
manuscripts to be published, books from which he drew inspiration.
The bed is the one in which Don Bosco dreamt so many of his
dreams. It is also the bed in which he died, although not in this room
(which will be explained below). Above his bed, images of St Francis
de Sales and St Joseph, his crucifix, and a framed message which reads,
“Only one thing is necessary: to save one’s soul”.
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On the night table is the acetylene lamp by which he worked late
into the night, his water bottle, rosary, and relics of St Francis de Sales
and St Jane Francis de Chantal.
Other original furnishings on display are the kneeler on which
Don Bosco prayed morning and evening prayers, and his large breviary
resting upon it. He drew strength and guidance for his very active
life from his constant union with God, nourished regularly through
moments of intimacy with the Lord.
There are so many chairs in his bedroom because this room was
also Don Bosco’s only office where he received the many visitors from
every social class who came to seek his counsel. Lawyer Carlo Bianchetti
recalls:
Don Bosco’s room breathed forth heavenly peace. I cannot tell
whether, like flowers, we opened ourselves to the dew of consolation
or whether we shut tightly upon the heavenly breath which flooded
our souls. Don Bosco sat at a plain desk which had drawers and
small pigeonholes. Letters and papers were bundled in heaps before
him, increasing with each new mail delivery. But Don Bosco was not
concerned with that; he pushed the piles aside...
He carried on with each caller as if he had no one else to listen to
that morning. Like St Francis de Sales he held that haste makes waste.
Never the first to end a conversation, he would not even hint at
shortening it. Rather, if a visitor feared he had been indiscreet and
wanted to leave, Don Bosco would graciously beg him to stay a bit
longer...
His conversation was most delightful, generously interspersed with
timely, humorous anecdotes and incidents. To make them more
effective he would say they were his personal experiences or that he
had heard them from Father [Joseph] Cafasso or Father [Louis] s or
Father [John] Borel or Guala someone else. His pleasantries made an
incisive, vivid impression and were always appropriate. So gracious
was his manner that no one could reproach him for being less than
gentlemanly and discreet... There was in Don Bosco a respectful,
good-natured, warm-hearted approach which in no way impaired his
skill—metaphorically—in pulling a tooth or catching a big fish” (BM
VII, 14–15).
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The couch was a concession to an elderly Don Bosco who could no
longer sit in a chair due to the severe pain in his swollen legs. Michael
Rua recounts that he often saw Don Bosco in total darkness at night,
praying his rosary on that couch, straining beneath the pain of frequent
migraines.
From the many writings which Don Bosco produced in this room,
we offer this exceptional passages from his Spiritual Testament,
written between September 1884 and May 1886:
My dear and beloved sons in J. C.
Before leaving this world for eternity, I wish to fulfil a duty towards
you and so satisfy an ardent desire of my heart. First of all, I thank
you with the most ardent affection of my soul for the obedience you
have given me and for all you have done to sustain and propagate our
Congregation.
I leave you here on earth, but only for a short time. I hope the infinite
mercy of God will enable us all to meet one day in Heaven. There I
await you.
Do not grieve over my death. his is a debt we must all pay; but
afterwards, every fatigue sustained for the love of our Master, the good
Jesus, will be greatly rewarded. Instead of weeping, make firm and
efficacious resolutions to remain staunch in your vocation until death.
Watch, so that neither the love of the world, nor the affection of
parents, nor the desire of a more agreeable life induce you to make
the great mistake of profaning the sacred vows, and so transgress the
religious profession by which you are consecrated to God. Let none
take back that which we have given to God.
If you have loved me in the past, continue to love me in the future by
the exact observance of our Constitutions.
Your first Rector is dead. But our true Superior, Jesus Christ, will
never die. He will always be our Master, our guide, our model. But
remember that he, in his own time, will also be our judge and the one
who rewards our faithfulness in His service.
Your Rector is dead. But there will be another elected, who will have
care of you and of your eternal salvation. Listen to him, love him, obey
him, pray for him as you have done for me.
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Adieu, dear children, adieu. I wait for you in Heaven. There we shall
speak of God, of Mary, the Mother and support of our Congregation;
there we shall bless eternally this our Congregation, the observance of
whose rules will have powerfully and efficaciously contributed to our
salvation.
Sit nomen Domini benedictum ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. In te
Domine speravi, non confundar in aeternum” (RSS 4 [1985] 98–100).
The bedroom of his first and second successors until 1914
After Don Bosco’s death, this room became the office and bedroom for
his first two successors: Blessed Michael Rua (1888–1910) and Fr Paul
Albera (1910-1921).
Blessed Michael Rua, accustomed to an ascetic lifestyle, spent most
nights sleeping on the uncomfortable couch. Only in his final illness, in
obedience to his doctor, did he accept replacing it with a bed.
Fr Paul Albera occupied this room until 1914, the year in which he
built a new wing for the Superior Council, at which point he moved out
of this room and the camerette became a sacred space dedicated to the
veneration of the eventual saint, the historical heart of Casa don Bosco
Museum.
3. Don Bosco’s private chapel (1886)
The third room, added in 1876, became the chapel where Don Bosco
celebrated Mass in his final years. The chapel recalls the centrality of the
Eucharist in Don Bosco’s spiritual life, in his role as pastor and educator,
in his relationship with Christ the Redeemer, priest and victim who
offers himself for the salvation of the world.
Etched into the south wall and ceiling are the contours of Don
Bosco’s altar, a gift to him from Turin’s Cardinal Alimonda in 1886, to
replace the poor “wardrobe altar” previously used by Don Bosco. The
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Alimonda altar is now on display in the new Chapel facing the modern
altar (cf. page 317).
The Eucharist, celebrated “digne, attente ac devote” (worthily,
attentively and devoutly), as Fr Cafasso used to say, remains one of
the central pillars of Salesian spirituality, the sacrament of unfettered
self-giving to God who wishes to take possession of the human heart in
an exclusive and sanctifying relationship. For good reason, Don Bosco
strictly linked the Eucharist to chastity (the “beautiful virtue”) and
devotion to Mary. The Eucharist remains the source of the charity which
imbues the entire Salesian approach to education and ministry and
distinguishes it as an invitation to ongoing personal formation.
This room’s central display is the black armchair used by Don
Bosco in his old age when he was vesting for Mass in this chapel. After his
death, he was dressed in his priestly vestments (cf picture on west wall)
and placed in this chair so the Salesians, Oratory boys and endless friends
and benefactors could pay their respects. From this chair he worked his
first miracle from heaven: reconnecting the severed finger to the hand of
nineteen year old Luigi Orioni.
4. The gallery
The gallery (1865) is the fourth room of the camerette. It was originally
an open terrace above the printing press. Don Bosco enjoyed walking
in the open air, contemplating the Basilica and gazing upon his beloved
boys at recreation in the courtyard below.
In 1876, the gallery was enclosed to allow Don Bosco in his final
years to take short walks protected from the elements. The two kneelers
at the end of the gallery were the only furnishings. They allowed Don
Bosco, when he could no longer leave his room, to hear the boys’
confessions until the very end.
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Moscato vines
From the gallery windows one sees that Don Bosco never forgot his
agricultural roots in Asti’s wine country. In 1852 he had a variety of
muscatel vines from Castelnuovo planted beneath his rooms. These
vines climb up the façade of the house from the courtyard below,
reminding us of Don Bosco’s playful and joyful spirit. He asked for these
vines to be planted partly for the shade they provided but mostly for the
pleasure they gave at harvest time. He would personally pick the grapes
and give them to his dearest benefactors.
The Biographical Memoirs offer this account:
...some stout vines in the playground had climbed up the walls to
shade the spacious windows on the balcony. One Saturday evening
while the saint was in his room hearing the confessions of the pupils of
the upper classes [note: probably autumn 1884], a pupil of the fourth
high school grade, named Paul Falla, noticed a bunch of grapes that
was hiding amid the leafy branches as he was on his knees waiting
for his turn. He therefore picked it from the twig and calmly began
to munch on the grapes. Absorbed in what he was doing, he forgot
everything else and noticed it when the penitent between him and the
confessor had gotten up and left. After giving the absolution to the
boy on the other side of him, Don Bosco turned to young Falla to
hear his confession. With the bunch of grapes in his hand, the boy
flushed and stammered an excuse. Don Bosco told him gently: “Do
not get upset, finish eating your grapes and then you can make your
confession.” So saying, he turned to the other side and continued with
the confessions (BM XVII, 143).
Letter from Rome (1884)
In his Letter from Rome (1884) Don Bosco recounts a dream in which
he was standing at the window of his bedroom balcony in Valdocco…
this balcony… from which he sees the sad state of affairs in his beloved
oratory below. He exhorts his Salesians to restore the joyful spirit of
Valdocco by returning to the young, by living the “sacrament of Salesian
presence” among them, as he taught them to do. Today, from this
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gallery, Don Bosco invites us to examine how fervently we are living
the sacrament of Salesian presence in our work of accompaniment and
evangelisation.
5. The room where Don Bosco died
This final room of the camerette is where Don Bosco passed from time
into eternity.
The room, added in 1876, was the office of Don Bosco’s secretary.
In December 1887, a bedridden Don Bosco was transferred here because
the room was wide enough for a second bed to be placed parallel to his
own, enabling him to be moved regularly from one bed to the next to
avoid painful bed sores.
It was furnished with second-hand donations from benefactors.
The small desk is where Don Bosco, until 19 December, wrote
inspirational messages to benefactors on the back of Mary Help of
Christians prayer cards. The chair with wheels made it easier to move
him around. The three-stepped wooden ladder helped him climb into
bed.
Marking the spot where Don Bosco died is a precious display of
relics of his life and mission: his rabat (clerical collar); overcoat; fur
hat used on so many trips; and his worn out beretta, a symbol of his
priestly identity; his two walking sticks; a change purse; a personal note
book (1852); a worn out pair of cotton gloves; and a black scarf most
likely the handiwork of Mamma Margaret.
Above these relics, natural light flows in from a round window: the
Eternal Light who sent Don Bosco to bring hope and joy to the darkness
of Valdocco has called him home… but his legacy remains with us.
Hung on the wall is a small bell tied to a chord that was attached to
Don Bosco’s bed… Towards the end of his life, he could do nothing for
himself and was completely dependent on the assistance of others for
every basic need.
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Finally, beneath the bell, the words spoken by a dying Don Bosco
to the hundreds of boys gathered in his room and on the second floor,
crying and praying for the beloved father: “I’ll be waiting for you all
in paradise.”
This sober but powerful display invites visitors to reflect on the
elderly Don Bosco’s physical and moral efforts, the fruitfulness of his
suffering and physical inactivity. But we are also reminded of the serious
recommendations in his spiritual testament, the encouragement and
warnings of a Founder by now far from the happy, noisy gatherings
of boys, and from the spectacular feats of the young acrobat. His gaze
now keenly extends to concern for the situation of young people in
the world, the future of the Congregation, the risks and temptations of
worldliness and “comfort” which risk corroding the ideals and spiritual
and apostolic fervour of his sons.
In his final days Don Bosco could no longer get out of bed. He died
on the morning of 31 January 1888, at 4:30 a.m. His final agony has
been recorded as follows:
On the night of the 30th Don Bosco turned his head slightly towards
Enria, who was then constantly in attendance as night male nurse, and
said, “Say... but... but... goodbye!” Then very, very softly, he began to
recite the Act of Contrition. Now and then he exclaimed, “Miserere
nostri, Domine”. [“Have mercy, 0 Lord.”] In the dead of night, he
would raise his arms heavenward now and again, clasp his hands and
repeat, “Your holy will be done!” Later, as his whole right side became
slowly paralyzed, he let his right arm lie motionless on the bed. But he
did not stop raising his left arm, nor repeating, now and then, “Your
holy will be done!” After that he spoke no more; but the whole day
on the 30th and the following night, he continued to lift his left hand
in the same way, probably intending to signify his renewed offer of his
life to God. ...
The doctors said that Don Bosco would not live beyond the evening
or before sunrise. The news spread in a flash all over the Oratory,
causing great anguish. The confreres begged that they might look on
him once more, so Father Michael Rua permitted them all to go in and
kiss his hand. They gathered in small, silent groups in the ,chapel and
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then filed past his deathbed, one by one. He lay there on his humble
bed, his head slightly raised, but inclined somewhat toward his right
shoulder, propped up on three pillows. His face was not drawn, but
calm; his eyes half-closed; his right hand spread out on the quilt. On
his chest there was the crucifix, and he was clasping another one in his
left hand. At the foot of the bed there was his purple stole, the symbol
of his priesthood. ...
At twelve forty-five when, for a brief instant, only his secretary and
Joseph Buzzetti were standing near his bed, Don Bosco opened his
eyes wide, he stared twice, at length, at Father Charles Viglietti, he
lifted his left hand which was free, and rested it on his head. As
Buzzetti saw that gesture, he burst into tears, exclaiming, “That is
his last farewell.” Then he relapsed into his previous immobility.
The secretary continued repeating ejaculatory prayers. Then Bishop
Cagliero and Bishop Leto took turns in continuing these prayers.
Father Francis Dalmazzo gave him the blessing for the dying, saying
the accompanying prayers.
Around four o’clock in the afternoon, Count Radicati, a great
benefactor of the Oratory, went to see him. An old schoolmate of Don
Bosco at Chieri, Father Eugene Francesco, remained in a corner of the
room weeping for an hour. At six o’clock Father Francis Giacomelli
appeared, put on his stole, and said some ritual prayers. Since it was
late that night and Don Bosco did not seem about to die immediately,
several of the superiors went to bed, though Father Rua and others
did not move. The dying man lay motionless, breathing heavily. He
remained like this the whole night long....
He entered into his death agony at one-forty five in the morning on
January 31st. When Father Rua saw that he was failing rapidly, he
put on his stole and resumed the prayers for the dying, which he had
already begun to say some two hours earlier. The other superiors were
hastily summoned. Some thirty people between priests, clerics and
laymen filled the room and knelt praying.
When Bishop Cagliero entered the room, Father Rua passed the stole
to him, and moved over to Don Bosco’s right hand side: he bent
down to whisper into the beloved Father’s ear, and with a voice
choked by grief said, “Don Bosco, we, your sons, are here.” “We beg
you to forgive us for all that we have caused you to suffer and to
give us your blessing once again as a token of your forgiveness and
your paternal benevolence. I will guide your hand and pronounce the
blessing formula.” All bowed their heads. Doing violence to his own
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heart, Father Rua lifted his paralyzed hand, pronounced the blessing
formula over the Salesians present and absent, and especially over
those who were the farthest away.
At three o’clock a telegram came with the apostolic blessing sent
by Cardinal Rampolla. Bishop Cagliero had already read the final
prayers, “Proficiscere” [move on!]. At four-thirty the bells of Mary
Help of Christians rang out for the Angelus, which everyone recited
softly. Father Bonetti whispered his Viva Maria once again into Don
Bosco’s ear as he had done the day before. The death rattle, which
was heard for about an hour and a half, stopped. His breath suddenly
became free, calm, but it was a matter of only a few seconds. Then he
stopped breathing. “Don Bosco is dying!” Father Dominic Belmonte
exclaimed. The people, who in their weariness had been sitting down,
leapt to their feet and got closer to his bed. He breathed then three
times, with short intervals. Don Bosco truly was dying. Staring at him,
Bishop Cagliero said, “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart
and my soul. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph, may my soul breathe forth in peace with you.”
Standing in a circle around him, Father Rua and the others lived out
their own painful anguish together with their Father. Don Bosco was
dead! (BM XVIII, 455-458).
6. The New Chapel
What was once the Oratory student library is the new Casa Don Bosco
Chapel.
The historical altar at the back of the chapel was a gift to Don
Bosco from Turin’s Cardinal Alimonda in 1886, an “upgrade” from the
poor “wardrobe altar” previously used by Don Bosco (see description
on p. 318). Cardinal Alimonda blessed this altar on 29 January 1886;
Don Bosco celebrated his last Mass on this altar, in his private chapel,
on 11 December 1887. After that, from his bed, he “attended” the Mass
celebrated by one of his Salesians and Communion was brought to him.
The painting of Mary Help of Christians (Rollini) above the altar
as well as the statue of the Sacred Heart are Don Bosco’s.
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The statue of St Francis de Sales behind the new altar once
adorned the Church that bears his name in Valdocco.
Behind the worship space are three precious relics of Don Bosco’s
life and mission:
The humble wardrobe-altar is where Don Bosco celebrated Mass
when he was too weak to go to the Basilica. From 1872–1886, it was in
Don Bosco’s first bedroom, then it was transferred to the sacristy of the
Church of Mary Help of Christians; in 1887 it was taken to the convent
of the Salesian Sisters in Moncrivello, where Sr. Eulalia, Don Bosco’s
niece, was superior. It remained there until 1930 when it was brought
back to Valdocco (cf. ODB 145).
Humble as it is, this wardrobe-altar is nonetheless the altar of
Don Bosco’s ecstasy because in December 1878, Don Bosco was
caught up in a mystic rapture while celebrating Mass upon it. This was
witnessed by Fr Evasio Garrone, who at the time was an altar boy serving
Don Bosco’s mass. He recounts that along with a companion named
Franchini he was serving Don Bosco’s Mass in the little chapel next to
his room:
At the elevation of the Host he noticed that Don Bosco was in ecstasy,
his face suffused with a heavenly expression which seemed to flood
the whole chapel with light. By degrees Don Bosco’s feet left the
altar platform, so that he remained suspended in air for some ten
minutes. The two altar boys could not reach up to his chasuble.
In utter bewilderment Garrone dashed out to call Father Berto but
could not find him. On coming back he saw that Don Bosco was
just descending, so that his feet once more touched the floor, but
a heavenly aura still seemed to hover about the altar (BM XIII,
701-702).
Also displayed are Don Bosco’s original wooden Good-Night
Pulpit, and his confessional from the Church of St Francis de Sales
where he would hear the boys’ confessions for three hours at a time.
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7. Don Bosco the Saint
This room was originally a large dormitory for the boys, in which
such notables as Dominic Savio, Micky Magone and Francesco Besucco
slept. Today it celebrates Don Bosco’s beatification (June 2, 1929) and
canonisation (April 1, 1934, Easter Sunday).
Dominating the room is the gilded wood and glass casket used to
translocate Don Bosco’s remains from his first tomb in Valsalice to the
Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco. It held Don Bosco’s
human remains in the Basilica, in the chapel now dedicated to St Mary
Mazzarello, until his definitive altar was completed in 1939, originally
the altar of St Peter. The casket was made at the professional school of
San Benigno Canavese and designed by Salesian Brother Giulio Valotti.
On the wall by the windows are two paintings. The smaller one is the
official painting for the beatification (Angelo Enrie, 1828) in which,
for the first time, Don Bosco is depicted with a halo, surrounded by a
choir of angels. The larger one was painted for his canonisation (1934).
The gold-embroidered silk liturgical vestments were a labour of
love from the Salesian Sisters produced for Don Bosco’s beatification
mass. They were created under the leadership of Sr. Luisa Vaschetti,
third Superior General of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians
(1924-1943).
The gold embroidered silk frontal which reads “SANCTE JOANNES
ORA PRO NOBIS” adorned the temporary altar in the Basilica where
Don Bosco’s remains where enshrined until 1939.
Above it is the altar cloth gifted to the Basilica by Elena, Queen
of Italy, on the occasion of her visit on 13 April 1935. The acronym
“FERT”, embroidered into it, was the motto of the House of Savoy. The
cloth was draped over the frontal.
At the bottom of the showcase is a simple ceramic pitcher,
testimony to the miracle of Don Bosco’s bilocation in Saint-Rambert
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d’Albon in October 1878. It was a gift from the Clé ment family to the
Marian museum in 1959.
Playing on the wall mounted monitor is video of the procession
through the streets of Turin with the ceremonial urn bearing St
John Bosco’s remains on Sunday 8 April 1934, one week after his
canonisation in Rome on Easter Sunday.
8. Salesian Holiness in Valdocco
Valdocco was not only a prolific trade school; it was also a school of
holiness. Fourteen people who lived at the Valdocco Oratory are now
saints, blesseds, venerables or martyrs.
Twelve of them are honoured in this room (St John Bosco and
Blessed Michael Rua are recognized elsewhere): St Dominic Savio,
Blessed Louis Variara, Venerable Andrea Beltrami, Blessed Joseph
Allamano, Venerable Margaret Occhiena Bosco, St Louis Orione, St
Leonard Murialdo, Blessed Philip Rinaldi, St Louis Guanella, Blessed
Augustus Czartoryski, Protomartyrs Louis Versiglia and Callistus
Caravario.
The room also contains precious items from the early days of the
Church of St Francis de Sales: the first wooden communion rail
where Mamma Margaret, Dominic Savio and others received Holy
Communion, and the original tabernacle door in front of which
Dominic Savio had his eucharistic ecstasy (1856).
At the centre of this room is a fabric enclosure, reconstructing the
location and perimeter of Mamma Margaret’s tiny bedroom (1853 –
1856). Inside is the upper part of a cabinet in which she kept her sewing
kit for mending the boys’ clothing. Displayed upon it are the holy medal
she gave to John Bosco on his first communion and the crocheting hook
of Maria Giovanna Rua (Michael Rua’s mother).
A crystal-like display at the far end of this room honours exemplars
of Salesian holiness from Italy and around the world: St Mary Domenica
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Mazzarello, the five Polish martyrs of Poznam, St Artemides Zatti,
Blessed Alessandrina Da Costa, Blessed Alberto Marvelli, Blessed
Ceferino Namuncura, Blessed Joseph Calasanz and his 31 Spanish
Companions, Blessed Enrique Saiz Aparicio and his 62 Companions.
9. The Salesian Family
The large room north of the “Salesian Holiness in Valdocco” exhibition
is dedicated to the thirty-two branches of the worldwide Salesian Family.
We contemplate here Don Bosco’s rich spiritual progeny.
A colourful, stylised tree on the east wall represents the various
branches of the Salesian Family that grow from the trunk, the Salesian
Congregation, founded by Don Bosco. On the perpendicular wall, each
branch is identified by its name, as well as the year, place and language
of its founding.
The exhibits create a tapestry of “first fruits” of Salesian holiness
from the branches of the Salesian Family tree: women and men, lay
and religious, priests and bishops, able bodied and physically challenged,
locals and missionaries. A detailed listing of all the items on display
exceeds the scope of this book, but this summary listing of Salesian
family saints honoured here already suggests the wealth of spiritual
inspiration available to visitors.
Blessed Eusebia Palomino Yenes
Blessed Bronislaus Markiewicz
Blessed Blanco Marquez
Blessed Stefan Sàndor
Servant of God Titus Zeman
Blessed Maddalena Morano
Blessed Maria Romero Meneses
Blessed Maria Troncatti
FMA, Italy
Diocesan Priest, Poland; Founder,
Congregation of St, Michael the Archangel
Salesian Cooperator, Spain
SDB brother, Hungary
SDB priest, Slovakia
FMA, Italy
FMA, Italy
FMA, Italy
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Venerable Vincent Cimatti
SDB priest, Italy. Missionary in Japan
Venerable Dorotea De Chopitea
Salesian Cooperator, Spain
Venerable Simaan Srugi
SDB brother, Palestine
Venerable Luigi Olivares
Diocesan priest. Becomes SDB. Bishop,
Italy
Venerable Attilio Giordani
Salesian Cooperator, Italy
Servant of God Stephen Ferrando SDB Bishop, Italy. Missionary in India
Servant of God Francis Convertini SDB priest, Italy. Missionary in India
Venerable Ignaz Stuchly
SDB priest, Poland
Servant of God Andrea Majcen
SDB priest, Slovenia. Missionary China,
Vietnam
Servant of God Rosetta Marchese FMA, Italy
Venerable Laura Meozzi
FMA, Italy. Missionary, Poland
Venerable Teresa Valsè Pantellini
FMA, Italy
Fr. Rodolfo Lunkenbein Simao Bororo SDB priest, Germany. Missionary in Brazil
Simao Bororo
Layman in Brazil
Servant of God Luigi Bolla
SDB priest, Italy. Missionary in Ecuador,
Peru
Servant of God Giuseppe Cognata
SDB Bishop, Italy, Founder, Salesian
Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart
Servant of God Silvio Galli
SDB priest, Italy
Servant of God Antonino Baglieri Volunteer with Don Bosco, Italy
The exhibition of Salesian Family saints is a proverbial “work in
progress”.
10. Salesian Mission Activity
The final room is dedicated to Salesian Missionary Activity. Don
Bosco’s missionary dreams, nurtured by his reading the Annals of
Propagation of the Faith, matured into a concrete plan. Today, the
Salesian Congregation is the largest missionary presence in the world.
On display in the Missionary exhibition are:
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• Bishop Louis Versiglia’s alb
• Don Bosco’s globe which once rested his desk, reminding us of his
tireless zeal to evangelise the world.
• the original photo of the first Salesian missionary expedition to
Patagonia in 1875, headed by Fr John Cagliero.
• the register of names of every Salesian missionary who has left from
the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians to the far flung corners of
the earth, ever since 1875.
• a brief description of the expansion of the Salesian mission around
the world.
• the Salesian missionary cross, marked by the image of the Good
Shepherd and the Holy Spirit, the Salesian motto da mihi animas
caetera tolle, and Jesus’ exhortation (Mt 28:19) to go to all peoples,
baptising in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
THE BASILICA OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS
The idea of building a majestic church in Mary’s honour, able to hold
the large youthful population at Valdocco more comfortably, came to
Don Bosco one evening in December 1862, as Fr Paul Albera tells us:
One Saturday night in December, possibly the 6th, Don Bosco
finished hearing confessions around eleven and went to the dining
room for his long overdue supper. He looked very pensive. Only
Albera was with him. “There were a lot of confessions tonight,” he
suddenly remarked, “but truthfully I hardly know what I said or
did, because all the time I had something on my mind which totally
absorbed me. I kept thinking: Our church is too small. We have to
pack in our boys like sardines. We must build a larger, more imposing
one under the title of Mary, Help of Christians. I don’t have a penny,
nor do I know where to find the money, but that’s not important. If
God so wills, it will be done. I'll try. If I fail, I am willing to take the
blame. I won’t mind if people say: This man began to build and was
not able to finish.” (BM VII, 196–197).
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But already in 1844, at the very beginning when he was gathering
his boys and had neither a place nor a clear formula for his Oratory, in a
prophetic dream complementing the one he had when he was nine, he
was accompanied by a Lady through the various stages of development
of his work, to “a field sown with maize, potatoes, cabbages, beetroot,
lettuce and many other vegetables”:
“Look again,” she said to me. I looked again and saw a wondrously big
church. An orchestra and music, both instrumental and vocal, were
inviting me to sing Mass. Inside the church hung a white banner on
which was written in huge letters: Hic domus mea, inde gloria mea”
(MO Ch. 31).
The dream was repeated the following year with one extra detail:
the church would be in the “place where the glorious martyrs of Turin,
Adventor and Octavius suffered martyrdom” (MB 2, 233). Don Bosco
only understood the dreams later, seeing the development of his work, a
tangible sign of divine assistance and Mary’s active maternal presence. It
was not so much the desire to do something at all costs about his dream,
but the real needs of his boys and the people, along with his devotion to
the Virgin, that would press him to build “a larger church”.
Historical origins of the title Help of Christians
The title Help of Christians, already found in the 16th century in the
Loretto Litany (Litany of Our Lady), and was also venerated in Turin
where there was a Confraternity by that name at the church of St Francis
da Paola. It gained prominence from Pius VII in 1815. He had just
returned from imprisonment by Napoleon and wanted to thank Mary
the Help of the Church and of Christians, instituting the Feast day on
24 May.
In 1862 there was a further event that rapidly spread devotion to
the Help of Christians: in March of that year Our Lady had spoken
from a picture in a ruined church in Fratta near Spoleto – it was to a
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five-year-old child. Mary began to grant favours and particular graces.
News spread like wildfire and great enthusiasm ensued. Within a few
days pilgrims were pouring in. Archbishop John Baptist Arnaldi of
Spoleto, impressed by the numbers who kept coming and the piety that
had been aroused, decreed that the sacred image could be given the title
of Auxilium Christianorum and became an enthusiastic promoter of
what had happened and of the cult of the Help of Christians.
The Spoleto events took place at a time of high tension between
State and Church; the temporal power of the Pope seemed to have
reached its nadir, much of the Papal States were already under the
control of the new Kingdom of Italy and the Roman Pontiff himself
became a target of criticism and contempt by liberals and anticlericals.
Spoleto had been Pius IX’s diocese as a bishop and the apparitions
encouraged Italian Catholics: the Lord had not abandoned his Church
and through his Blessed Mother was working portents and wonders.
The Help of Christians, as Archbishop Arnaldi put it, was “the
bright star that shines in dark times, protectress of the Catholic Church,
comforter of the Roman Pontiff who is scorned and opposed in every
way by the enemies of the faith; she is the strong warrior, the terror of
hell, salvation of the faithful, refuge of the afflicted, hopeful reminder
of triumph for the Church and its August Head. ” Mary was crushing
the serpent’s head and marking God’s victory over the enemies of good.
In Catholic newspapers and homilies the name Ausiliatrice and
the Spoleto events resounded throughout Italy, arousing fervour and
enthusiasm amongst Catholics, but likewise criticism and ridicule
amongst their adversaries. In Turin L’Armonia gave considerable
prominence to the events up until May 1862, publishing Archbishop
Arnaldi’s report, and it aroused considerable interest.
Don Bosco‘s inspiring motives
Don Bosco had already used the title Auxilium Christianorum in his
Month of May (1858) publication to indicate Mary’s effective activity
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as a protector, during life but especially at death (where “she will be
a fearful captain and in the guise of an orderly army will restrain the
attacks of the infernal enemy”). On 24 May 1862, in his “Good Night”,
he “very joyfully told us of some miraculous events connected with a
painting of Mary near Spoleto” (BM VII, 105).
The plan to dedicate the new church to Mary Help of Christians
came about then in a context of hope and expectation, where Marian
spirituality was drawing a notable impulse from Spoleto in an ecclesial,
social and eschatological sense. Don Bosco, for his part, was fully aware
of the climate and occasion.
Behind his desire to name the longed-for church after the Help of
Christians, there was firstly an ecclesiological motivation accentuated by
the bitter recognition of the “sadness of the times.” So much is evident
from many things Don Bosco said: the dream of the “two columns”,
which he told his boys on 30 May 1862 (cf. BM VII, 107–109), the
introduction to a book in 1868 entitled The Marvels of the Mother of
God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians:
The universally heartfelt need today to call on Mary is not something
particular but general; it is not that there are more lukewarm people to
inspire, sinners to convert, innocents to preserve. Things like this are
useful everywhere, and for anyone. It is the Catholic Church itself that
is under attack. It is attacked in its functions, its sacred institutions, its
Head, its teaching, its discipline; it is attacked as the Catholic Church,
as the centre of truth, as the teacher of all the faithful.
It is to win the special protection of Heaven that it turns to Mary our
common Mother as special Helper of the King, the Catholic people,
Catholics throughout the world.”
(G. Bosco, Maraviglie della Madre di Dio invocata sotto il titolo di
Maria Ausiliatrice, Torino, Tip. dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales
1868, pp. 6–7).
But it was not historical contingencies alone that determined Don
Bosco’s choice. He felt that this title was the best one for expressing
his gratitude to the Virgin for the many “helps” received, and also to
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invoke her protection over the newly emerging Congregation. Cardinal
John Cagliero tells us:
In 1862, Don Bosco told me that he was thinking of building a
magnificent church worthy of the Blessed Virgin. “Up to now,” he
said, “we have celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception
with pomp and solemnity. Indeed, it was on this day that our work of
the festive oratory began. But the Madonna wishes us to honor Her
under the title of Mary, Help of Christians. The times are so bad that
we sadly need Her help to preserve and safeguard our faith. But there
is another reason. Can you guess it?”
“I believe,” I replied, “that this church will be the mother church of
our Congregation, the source of all our undertakings for youth.”
“Right!” he exclaimed. “The Blessed Virgin is our foundress. She will
also be our support.” (BM VII, 197).
For Don Bosco, then, the title of Help [of Christians] found
immediate resonance. Personal experience and reflection had led him
to devotion to Mary and a mariology with positive and historical
underpinning. Mary was not just the Mother of God to be venerated and
loved, someone who aroused tender affection and spiritual enthusiasm:
she had been directly involved in the history of salvation at a personal,
ecclesial and social level; hers was an historical and eschatological
mission; it was she who had guided Don Bosco from his childhood and
sustained him through so many difficulties; development of the Oratory
was due to her; it was she who was guiding the first steps of the emerging
Salesian Congregation.
For Don Bosco there was also a strong pastoral and pedagogical
emphasis: Mary is a help as we journey through life in overcoming the
assaults of sin, being freed from every kind of evil (spiritual, moral and
physical) and especially for doing good.
Within the Oratory’s walls, amongst all the people who came to
Valdocco, and amongst Don Bosco’s benefactors, devotion to the Help
of Christians took on a more intimate significance, one less determined
by political and social factors. He pointed out to his boys how she can
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arouse greater religious fervour and commitment to life and spiritual
growth. He presented Mary to his Salesians as inspiration, strength, and
model for the educational mission and their journey to holiness, while
he demonstrated the powerful and miraculous activity and protection
of the Mother of God to the faithful , in order to encourage them to
conversion and a life inspired by Christianity.
The project and works
Don Bosco had no financial basis for this work, but convinced that “The
Madonna Herself wants the church. She will provide the means” (BM
VII, 223), at the beginning of 1863 he negotiated with the Rosminians
to buy back the seminary field that he had sold to Rosmini in April
1854. Dealings concluded on 11 February. He relied on the charity of
his benefactors and the support of the authorities, sending out a large
number of circulars providing his reason for the construction of the new
church – for pastoral purposes only: to give more space to the young
people within and outside the Oratory and provide the new suburb
springing up around Valdocco with a church, since the area now had
"a population of over twenty thousand with neither church nor chapel,
no public school, where, with the exception of ours, services could be
held, or religious education imparted” (MB VII, 379 – this detail is not
included in BM, hence the MB reference).
The project
Don Bosco firstly gave the project to a commission of architects, then
seeing that each one wanted his own design and that discussion was
going on for months without any agreement, he gave everything to
Engineer Antonio Spezia, the one who had estimated the costs of the
Pinardi house when he had bought it. Spezia drew up a plan in the form
of a Latin cross covering some 1200 square metres:
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Two low belfries flanked a jutting facade. The main entrance was
through an atrium supporting the choir loft. A majestic dome
with sixteen large windows capped the nearly two hundred and
thirty-foot-high structure [note.: it turned out to be 45 metres]. The
main altar, behind which ran a narrow passageway, was flanked on
both sides by a sacristy opening on a spacious, imposing sanctuary.
Each arm of the cross ended in a large altar; two other altars were
located in small chapels midway in the lower stem of the cross.
Don Bosco was delighted with the design. “Without my telling the
architect my particular wishes,” he remarked, “he designed a chapel in
the exact spot which the Blessed Virgin had pointed out to me.” This
particular altar, in fact, was dedicated to the holy martyrs of Turin
[Adventor, Octavius, and Solutor] (MB 7, 276–277).
The plan, after a few problems were resolved concerning the naming
of the church as that of Mary Help of Christians, was approved by the
City Building Commission.
Building works
Construction was given to Carlo Buzzetti, one of the first Oratory boys.
To buy the land and put a wooden fence around it, it had cost 4,000
lire in May 1863. Excavations took place in summer and autumn. An
enormous amount of earth had to be carried away given that there
was a large underground area under the church, as well as the deep
foundations. Thus, in 1863 only part of the work could be completed.
It began again in March 1864. They became aware that the ground
was alluvial, so “deeper excavations had to be made and piles sunk
along the perimeter of the church. Though the additional expense was
considerable, work went on steadily.” (BM VII, 393).
In winter they bought 200 thousand miriagrams of rock [note: 100
miriagrams = tonne, more or less], transported to Turin by rail for free,
thanks to the Director General of Railways, Bartholomew Bona. On 5
April, Don Bosco sent out another request for public charity and had
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it put in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 12 April 1864 and other Catholic
papers.
The church’s plans had to be submitted to the then Canon Lorenzo
Gastaldi, future archbishop, who approved them and suggested some
functional alterations which were mostly accepted. When the plans were
complete, Don Bosco sent out other circulars to the faithful asking
them to subscribe, and these went out through northern and central
Italy. There was no lack of response; by talking about the new church
construction, Don Bosco was also spreading devotion to the Help of
Christians and this meant multiplication of favours and graces received
through Mary’s intercession. This confirmed Don Bosco in his belief
that if the Blessed Virgin wanted this church, she had already worked
out how finances were going to be found.
By the end of April excavations were complete and Buzzetti invited
Don Bosco to lay the foundation stone. At the end of the function he
turned to the builder and said:
“I want to advance you something on this big job,” he said. “It
may not be much but it’s all I have.” Then he took out a small
purse and emptied it into Buzzetti’s hands. The latter—like the
rest of the bystanders—was expecting a generous handful of gold
coins. Imagine their bewilderment on seeing just eight miserable soldi.
“Don’t worry,” Don Bosco smilingly added. “The Madonna Herself
will provide the funds. I am only Her instrument, Her treasurer.”
Then, turning to the bystanders, he concluded, “You will see!” (MB
7, 393).
The Italian State was going through a serious economic crisis, and
only a Saint or someone terribly reckless could have tackled a risk
like that. The excavations and foundations alone cost more than 35
thousand lire and to bring the project to its conclusion Don Bosco had
to find around a million, having only predicted about 200 thousand lire.
The state of Italian finances got even worse from autumn 1864. The
country generally was feeling the pinch and Don Bosco’s benefactors
too. When the capital was moved to Florence (1865) the number of
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benefactors diminished. The already serious situation became tragic for
Don Bosco: he had to tackle serious food shortage for his more than
seven hundred boys now at Valdocco, and every fortnight he had to
find a salary for Buzzetti’s workers and bricklayers as well as money
for building materials, the prices for which were going through the
roof. But Don Bosco considered he could not delay construction so he
redoubled his efforts, his trips, as well as the humiliations, and of course
his prayers.
On 27 April 1865 there was a solemn celebration of the laying of
the cornerstone: blessed by Bishop Odone, Bishop of Susa who replaced
Bishop Nazari of Calabiana, Bishop of Casale who was ill. The stone
was placed by Duke Amedeo d’Aosta son of Victor Emanuel II, and
there was also the Mayor, Prefect and other important personages from
Turin. Don Bosco publicised the fact with a commemorative pamphlet
and launched a grand lottery.
The financial situation was no better in 1865 and 1866, and Don
Bosco had to extend his efforts to find new funds. In December 1865
he went to Florence, where he was a guest of Countess Uguccioni, and
in spring of 1866 he sent Cavaliere Federico Oreglia di Santo Stefano to
Rome. He was a Salesian Brother. His task was to encourage charitable
giving by stressing devotion to Our Lady and the miracles wrought
under the title of Help of Christians, more than the needs of Valdocco
and philanthropic motives.
In July 1866 they were working on the cupola, but only slowly due
to lack of money. On Sunday 23 September the cupola was completed
with a ceremony laying the final brick, which was done by Don Bosco
and Marquis Emanuele Fassati.
The church had not been finished by December as had been hoped.
Don Bosco decided to go to Florence and Rome again (December
1866–January 1867), looking for further help.
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His time in Florence and Rome also allowed him to offer help in
reconciling the Italian State with the Holy See, and he was appreciated
by both sides for his balance and moderation.
During these journeys Don Bosco, who presented himself always as
a priest concerned especially with the salvation of the people he met,
gave renewed impetus to Christian life and conversion. It was during
this time that his fame as a miracle-worker began to increase.
Between proceeds from the lotteries and continual smaller amounts
from friends and benefactors old and new he survived through
1867, but building stopped during a very cold winter when food
costs skyrocketed. On 21 May 1867, the new Archbishop of Turin,
Alessandro Riccardi di Netro blessed the statue of Our Lady on the
cupola. It stood 4 metres high, and was made by sculptor Filippo Boggio.
In spring 1868 donations began flowing again and work inside the
church could continue. By May that year, while final touches were being
added, pilgrims began to come spontaneously to the new church from
the rural parishes of Monferrato and Langhe.
Consecration of the church
On 21 May 1868 Bishop Balma blessed the five bells and finally, on 9
June, at a solemn function, Archbishop Riccardi consecrated the new
church and the altars. The consecration began at 5:30 a.m. and finished
at 10:30, after which the archbishop celebrated the first Mass in the new
church. In the evening, for Vespers the antiphon Sancta Maria, succurre
miseris, composed by Cagliero, was sung. It had a marvellous effect:
there were three large choirs in different places, as Don Bosco wrote in
a commemorative article called Recollections of a Solemnity in honour of
Mary Help of Christians:
One on the sanctuary of about 150 tenors and basses representing
the Church militant; the other in the cupola of about 200 sopranos
and contraltos representing the angels or the Church triumphant; the
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third choir was made up of other 100 tenors and bases and was in the
orchestra and symbolised the Church suffering.
(G. Bosco, Rimembranza di una solennità in onore di Maria
Ausiliatrice, Torino, Tip. dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales 1868,
p. 27).
The three choirs were conducted at the same time by Cagliero using
an electrical device.
Festivities and religious functions went on for eight days and
different prelates presided. Thousands of pilgrims took part. During
the octave the people’s great faith obtained many graces and some
notable healings through Mary’s intercession, all of which contributed
to spreading the church’s fame as well as Don Bosco’s.
What did Don Bosco’s church look like?
There were five altars:
– The high altar with the large picture of the Help of Christians by
Tommaso Lorenzone (1824-1902).
– St Peter’s altar, on the right, with a painting by Filippo Carcano
(1840-1914) of Milan; today this altar is below in the crypt and Don
Bosco’s altar has taken its place.
– St Joseph’s altar, on the left, with a painting by Lorenzone (the only
one remaining intact today).
– St Anne’s altar, in the chapel on the right of the central nave: this was
the most beautiful one and had plenty of marble; it had been made
in Rome by sculptor Luigi Medici, and had a painting by Giovanni
Battista Fino (1820-1898): it is now found in the women’s section
to the right of the main altar, and the altar itself is dedicated to Saint
Mary Mazzarello.
– The altar of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, in the chapel on
the left, with a painting by Giovanni Bonetti from Turin (today to
be found in Caserta in the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Mary;
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the altar was later dedicated by Fr Rua to St Francis de Sales; today
it is St Dominic Savio’s altar).
Don Bosco describes the church thus in his commemorative
pamphlet:
If the reader observes this church from the outside, he sees a modern
style facade proportionately wide and high. The main door is a
masterpiece by Ottone Torinese, designed by Cav. Spezia.
Two bell towers which will soon be surmounted by an angel two
metres high in beaten copper, the exquisite work of the Brogi brothers
from Milan, stand in front of the cupola. Above one of them is a
concerto of five bells in E Flat with which we can play music for
singing and also military marches...
The cupola plated with copper and covered with white lead, stands
above the bell towers; this will prevent oxidation, and protect it from
strong winds, heat, cold and other inclement weather according to
season. Above the cupola is a majestic statue of gilded beaten copper
standing about four metres high and the work of Cav. Boggio. It is
a gift from a good lady from Turin. The Blessed Virgin is in the act
of blessing her devotees who are saying: Nos cum prole pia benedicat
Virgo Maria.
If you enter the church by the main door you see two marble columns
supporting the orchestra and supported by two pedestals worked in
such a way that they also served as holy water fonts. We should not
forget the orchestra which is the gift and work of master carpenter
Giuseppe Gabotti from Locarno and who lives in Turin.
It has two floors, an orchestra and contra-orchestra with echo or
double flooring. It can hold around three hundred musicians.
The flooring is Venetian style. The sanctuaries for each altar are
likewise mosaics. The one at the main altar needs no carpet. It is
worthy of all the most beautiful solemnities. The balustrades and
altars are of marble, and made by Cav. Gussone from Turin except
the first on the right as you enter. This was made in Rome by Luigi
Medici and paid for by a nobleman from Bologna. The marble here is
better than for all the other altars.
If you pause at the centre of the church and turn your gaze to the
right of the main altar, you see the pulpit in front of you. It is one of
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the most splendid items in the church. It is a gift from a noblewoman
of Turin who wants to remain unnamed but wants everyone to know
that it is an offering made for a grace received, so we find it written in
gold letters: To Mary help of Christians for a grace received.
The design and its execution were found worthy of praise. But what
makes it especially commendable is that it stands out from the wall,
thanks to which the preacher can be seen from any part of the church.
It is also worth noting with regard to the preachers, that the shape
of the church echoes the voice, so words need to be pronounced
distinctly to avoid confusion when speaking.
The two cross-vaults have a door each so that the faithful can easily
enter and leave. The cornices of the church and cupola are equipped
with iron railing to protect whoever needs to work up there, and also
to hold singers and others during major solemnities as we have done
during the octave which we are about to talk about.
(G. Bosco, Rimembranza di una solennità in onore di Maria
Ausiliatrice, Torino, Tip. dell’Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales 1868,
pp. 14–17).
Restoration and extensions
First extensions (Don Bosco 1869–1870)
As soon as Don Bosco had paid his remaining debts he began building
a choir behind the main altar and two side sacristies extending those
flanking the sanctuary. It had been suggested by Canon Gastaldi when
work began, to avoid people passing from one sacristy to the other via
the sanctuary (cf. BM VII, 394).
This made more room for singers and boys from the festive Oratory.
They could use the sacristy on the left that opened directly onto the
sanctuary.
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Second extensions (Fr Rua 1889–1891)
Between 1889 and 1891, Blessed Michael Rua, first successor of Don
Bosco, undertook improvements and restoration of the sanctuary. He
made a vow to this effect on the evening of Don Bosco’s death, when he
was seeking permission to bury him either in this church or at least at
Valsalice, as in fact happened.
Working on the restoration and decoration of the church of Mary
Help of Christians were artist Giuseppe Rollini from Intra, a
past pupil of Don Bosco’s, Prof. Carlo Conte from Vercelli for
the decorations which are most valuable, engineer and architect
Crescentino Carelli from Fubine, especially for the main altar where
he enclosed the painting of Mary Help of Christians in a magnificent
marble frame.
The gables on the facade were raised somewhat and the top of the bell
towers modified (ODB 283).
Third extensions (Fr Ricaldone 1935–1938)
Over time the church of Mary Help of Christians gained importance
and stature worldwide, while the church at Spoleto remained a local
sanctuary, and in July 1911 St Pius X conferred on it the title of Minor
Basilica.
The church, also by now a parish church, could no longer hold
the seven hundred boys, local people and the regular flow of pilgrims,
especially on feast days. Fr Philip Rinaldi then decided to increase the
area without affecting Don Bosco’s work and asked architect Mario
Ceradini, president of the Fine Arts Academy in Turin, to study
possibilities. He planned an extension obtained by transforming the
Latin cross into a Greek cross and building four large chapels in
the corners formed by the intersecting naves. Fr Rinaldi’s death (5
December 1931) saw the project suspended, and it was taken up by Fr
Peter Ricaldone.
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The design by architect Mario Ceradini required pulling down
buildings adjacent to the Basilica, and would have meant colossal
expenditure. They then decided to ask the Economer General, Fr Fedele
Giraudi, and Salesian architect, Giulio Valotti, to study the question.
The plan approved in 1934, the year of Don Bosco’s canonisation,
and implemented from 1935–1938, involved the following:
– lengthening of the sanctuary over which a second cupola was built,
and consequent relocation of the main altar and the painting of
Mary Help of Christians.
– construction of two large chapels either side of the sanctuary, with
balconies above.
– a long gallery with six altars behind the main altar, connecting with
the two side chapels.
– construction of a spacious sacristy behind and towards the former
Pinardi house
– a walkway with two doors behind the facade.
Today, the dimensions of the church are: 70 metres long; 36 to 40
metres wide; height including the top of the statue on the cupola, 45
metres.
The work also included almost complete redoing of decorations,
altars and abundant addition of marble, sculptures and furniture.
The restorations were opened on 9 June 1938.
Visiting the Basilica
Facade
(cf. fig. 19 page 341)
Architect Spezia drew his inspiration for the facade from St George the
Great Church in Venice, designed by Palladio.
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Looking at the church from the entrance to the piazza off corso
Regina Margherita, the gilded statues stand out: Our Lady on the
cupola (4 metres high, by Boggio) the angels on the two lower bell
towers: the Archangel Gabriel (on the right) offers a crown to Mary, the
Archangel Michael (on the left) holding a flag with Lepanto written on
it, recalling the victory over the Turks (1571).
On the gables above the facade are the statues of the three martyrs
Solutor, Adventor and Octavius, martyred at this spot according to
tradition and Don Bosco’s dream.
The two statues above the clocks are St Massimo, a Church Father
and first bishop of Turin, and St Francis de Sales.
In the niches above are statues of St Aloysius Gonzaga and St Joseph.
Higher still, in the triangular part of the gable, is the coat of arms of
the Salesian Society, held by two angels, and underneath are the words
Maria Auxilium Christianorum, ora pro nobis.
In the niche under the rose window is a marble group of figures
representing Jesus the Teacher welcoming and blessing the children.
Between the side columns are two bas-reliefs representing St Pius V
proclaiming the victory at Lepanto (on the left), and Pius VII crowning
Mary in the Sanctuary at Savona (on the right). Under the bas-reliefs are
two angels holding a placard with the two dates: 1571 and 1814.
Two scenes from the Gospel are engraved into the base of the
columns: the raising up of the son of the widow of Naim and the healing
of the deaf-mute.
Inner facade
Entering from the centre door and taking a few steps inside, if you
look back you can admire the multicoloured rose window up above
representing Mary’s monogram with symbols of her Queenship (Our
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Lady Help, Queen of Peace, Morning Star) above the sun shining over
the waters of Lepanto.
The grand orchestra which Don Bosco built is no longer there
today: it was removed to provide light for the central nave. The place for
the organ and singers is now on the left of the main altar above the large
side chapel.
On the entrance door there is a Latin epigraph recalling the two
dreams which are pictured either side, work of Mario Barberis. The one
on the left is the dream of the two columns (May 1862: the Church is
a ship, piloted by the Pope and in the hostile stormy world it is saved
by anchoring itself to the columns of the Eucharist and the Help of
Christians; cf. MB 7, 107ff); the one on the right is the dream of the raft
(January 1866): it represents the saving mission of the Salesian Society
amongst the young.
The band running the length of the church, between the heads
of the pillars and the cornice above which is the roof, has the Marian
antiphon written in large letters: “Sancta Maria succurre miseris –
iuva pusillanimes – refove flebiles – ora pro populo – interveni pro clero
– intercede pro devoto femineo sexu – sentiant omnes peccatores tuum
iuvamen – quicumque tuum sanctum implorant auxilium” (Holy Mary,
succour the poor, help the fearful, restore the weak, pray for the people,
intervene on behalf of the clergy, intercede for women, show your
support for all sinners and all who implore your holy assistance).
Chapel of St Mary Domenica Mazzarello (cf. fig. 19 no. 16 page 341)
On the right, near the main entrance, a door leads to the stairs that goes
down to the Chapel of the Relics (cf. page 354). It was through this
door, until 1937, that the choir went up to the orchestra. In the niche
above is a statue of Saint Cecilia, patroness of music.
Then comes the chapel, with a bronze casket under the altar
with the remains of Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello (1837-1881)
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co-foundress and first Mother General of the Institute of the Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians. Her body was brought from Nizza
Monferrato to the Basilica in 1938, the year of her beatification, and
placed in the Chapel of the Relics; it was placed under the altar the
following year.
Mother Mazzarello was canonised on 24 June 1951.
The altar is the work of Valotti, while the painting of the Saint is by
Crida. The two items on the wall are also by Crida: the one on the left,
Mother Mazzarello’s election as Superior (15 June 1874); the one on
the right, when Pius IX gave her and the first missionaries an audience
(9 November 1877).
We recall that Mary Mazzarello is the cornerstone for the living
building that Don Bosco wanted to raise up to Mary Help of Christians
after consecrating this church to her. On 5 August 1872 at Mornese,
for Mary Mazzarello and companions’ first profession, Don Bosco spoke
these words:
Among the smallest plants but one of the ones with the best perfume,
is the nard often spoken of in Holy Scripture. In the Office of the
Blessed Virgin it says: Nardus mea dedit odorem suavitatis, my nard
gives out a sweet perfume! But do you know what needs to be done for
nard to give out its perfume? It needs to be well-crushed. So do not be
sorry if you have to suffer. Whoever suffers for Jesus Christ will reign
with him in eternity.
You now belong to a Religious Family that belongs completely to
Our Lady; you are few, you have little and you do not have human
approval. But do not worry. Things will soon change...
Yes, I can assure you the Institute will have a great future if you remain
simple, poor, humble.
So observe all the duties of your new circumstances as religious, and
supported by our tender mother Mary Help of Christians you will
pass undamaged through the shoals of life and will do great good for
your souls and those of your neighbour.
Your glory will be your beautiful title of Daughters of the Help of
Christians, and often consider that your Institute should be the living
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monument of Don Bosco’s gratitude to the Great Mother of God,
invoked under the title of help of Christians.”
(From: G. Capetti [ed.], Cronistoria, vol. I: La preparazione e la
fondazione, Roma, FMA 1974, pp. 305-306).
The statues of the angels in the side niches are the work of sculptor
Giacomo Mussner from Ortisei.
This chapel was originally dedicated to St Anne. In 1890 Fr Rua
replaced the original painting with one of the holy martyrs Solutor,
Adventor and Octavius, since this was the spot on which they were
martyred according to Don Bosco’s vision . After this chapel, from the
door that leads into the passageway on the right, is a statue of St Agnes,
one of the patronesses of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
St John Bosco chapel (cf. fig. 19 nos. 13 and 14 page 341)
In the right transept, where the chapel of St Peter used be, is the altar
dedicated to St John Bosco, work of architect Mario Ceradini (1938).
Above, under the painting by Crida, is the bronze and glass casket
containing the Saint’s remains, designed by Prof. Giulio Casanova of the
Albertin Academy, and framed by the marble architecture of the altar.
Don Bosco’s body, dressed in vestments donated by Pope Benedict XV,
was transferred here from Valsalice in 1929. The face and hands are wax
masks by Cellini and painted by Carlo Cussetti.
The altar has marble of various colours, onyx, malachite and oriental
jewels. The tabernacle, decorated with lapis lazuli, has a silver chiselled
door with a small dome of ancient onyx over it, and bronze decoration.
Architect Mario Ceradini (1864–1940) separated the altar from the
wall at the back and gained a small and richly decorated area of which
allows pilgrims to approach the casket. Two statues at the side of the
altar, the work of sculptor Nori from Verona, represent Faith holding
up the chalice and host and Charity, with the burning heart.
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In the side niches are two saints for young people who inspired
Don Bosco’s pedagogy: on the right St John Baptist de La Salle
(1651–1719), founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (work
of Cellini, 1942); on the left St Philip Neri (1515–1595) founder of the
Congregation of the Priests of the Oratory.
Two stained glass windows on the side of the altar illustrate scenes
from the Saint’s life: on the right his meeting with Bartholomew Garelli
in the sacristy of St Francis of Assisi (8 December 1841); on the left Don
Bosco’s and Mamma Margaret’s arrival at Pinardi house (3 November
1846).
Proceeding towards the main altar, we find the pulpit in walnut,
designed by Spezia, from which Don Bosco preached on many an
occasion especially on feast days. There are many testimonies preserved
of his heartfelt sermons. Here for example is a passage from one he gave
on the occasion of the first missionary expedition in 1875:
I only say that even though in this moment my soul is saddened
at the thought of your departure, my heart is greatly consoled in
seeing our Congregation strengthened; in realizing how we, in our
insignificance, are yet able at this moment to contribute our little
pebble to the mighty edifice of the Church. Yes, go forth bravely, but
remember that there is but one Church that is spread over Europe,
America, and the whole world and welcomes men of all nations who
seek refuge at her maternal bosom...
Wherever you will be, beloved sons, always remember that you are
Catholic priests, that you are Salesians...
The Sacraments and the Gospel preached by our Savior, by His
Apostles and by St. Peter’s successors down to the present clay,
those Sacraments and that same religion jealously love, profess and
exclusively preach wherever you will be, whether among savages or
civilized people...
As Salesians, no matter in what remote part of the world you may be,
never forget that here in Italy you have a father who loves you in the
Lord and a Congregation that thinks of you in every circumstance,
provides for your needs and will always welcome you as brothers. Go,
then. You will have to face all kinds of trials, hardships, and dangers.
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Do not be afraid; God is with you; He will give you such grace that you
will be able to say with St. Paul: By myself I can do nothing, but with
Divine help, I am all powerful. Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat...
Farewell! Perhaps some of us shall not meet again on this earth. For a
while we shall be physically separated, but one day we shall be reunited
forever (BM XI, 361–362).
Major cupola
At the centre of the building is the grand cupola built by Don Bosco
but decorated by his successor Fr Rua (1890–1891). The huge fresco is
the work of Giuseppe Rollini (1842–1904) past pupil of Don Bosco’s.
Rollini’s sketch of this is found today in the museum attached to the
Camerette.
In the upper part we see the triumph and glory of the Help of
Christians in heaven: Our Lady is seated on the throne and is holding
her Child upright on her knees; above her the majestic figure of the
Father and the dove symbolising the Spirit; angels and archangels fly
around and the throng of blessed ones; near Mary’s throne is St Joseph
and, a little off to the right, Sts Francis de Sales, Charles Borromeo,
Aloysius Gonzaga, Philip Neri and others. In the lower part of the
cupola is Don Bosco amidst his sons: on the right, Bishop Cagliero with
a group of Patagonians, the Salesians and Salesian Sisters missionaries
teaching catechism; on Don Bosco’s left the Salesians and their work
with students and trade school boys.
Further to the left are the religious orders of Trinitarians and
Mercedarians.
In the part of the cupola in front of Mary’s throne a group of angels
is holding a tapestry representing the battle of Lepanto (7 October
1571), next to which on the right are Pius V and the captains of the
Christian armies; on the left the Pole, John Sobieski, who liberated
Vienna from the Turkish siege (1683). The final group completing the
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decoration and closing the circle is Pius VII with the Bull instituting the
Feast of Mary Help of Christians (1815).
In the four rib vaults of the cupola Rollini has painted the Doctors
of the Church, St Ambrose and St Augustine (Latin Church), St
Athanasius and St John Chrysostom (Oriental Church).
High altar (cf. fig. 19 no. 1 page 341)
The old high altar built by Don Bosco was where the balustrade is today.
On the pillars holding up the arch that divides the nave from the
sanctuary, in the two niches above the side entrances, are statues of St
Anne (on the right) and St Joachim (on the left), Mary’s parents, who
are looking towards the huge painting of Mary Help of Christians. The
statues are the work of sculptor Nori.
The wide sanctuary, result of the extensions in 1935–1938, extend
beyond the limits of the former apse, also covering the area formerly
occupied the choir, built by Don Bosco between 1869 and 1870.
The high altar, work of Salesian architect Giulio Valotti (1938), is
like a huge frame for the grand painting by Lorenzone. The architectural
lines are faintly reminiscent of the Renaissance, covered in decoration
and coloured marble.
On the two pillars flanking the painting are twelve niches, six per side
and two by two, holding statues of saints well known for their devotion
to Our Lady.
On the right hand pillar, from the bottom up, Saints: Cyril of
Alexandria and Stephen of Hungary (first level); John Bosco and
Bernard of Chiaravalle (second level); Mary Domenica Mazzarello and
Bernadette Soubirous (third level).
On the left pillar, in the same order, Saints: John Damascene and
Dominic Guzman (bottom); Ephrem and Bonaventure (middle); Rose
of Lima and Catherine of Siena (top). In the triangle is a mosaic by Reffo
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that was part of the old main altar, of the eternal Father (1891). In the
triangles on the iconic arch are two angels in mosaic, by the same artist.
The frieze in between the main triangle of the tympanum and the
painting, on two gilded bronze plaques, is the greeting Ave Maria.
A range of boxes with fourteen round heads of angels in Carrara
marble, work of Luisoni, frames the altar.
The tabernacle is framed by pilasters with small stones and white
stalks of lapis lazuli. In the small tympanum there is a bas-relief of
Jesus offering bread. Standing out from it is an artistic crucifix in gilded
bronze with two symbolic deer. All this serves as the base of a throne
for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament surrounded by two angels
holding a crown.
The picture of Mary Help of Christians
Don Bosco commissioned this work in 1865 asking artist Tommaso
Lorenzone to do it. He wanted a grand scene: The Virgin above amongst
the choirs of angels; around her the Apostles and Martyrs, the prophets,
virgins and confessors; at Mary’s feet the symbols of her victories and the
people in the world, in an attitude of prayer and supplication (cf. BM
VIII, 2ff). But given the artist’s comment that he could hardly achieve
such a grand project as that, Don Bosco was content with a summary of
it, but just as grandiose; in fact the painting measures 7 by 4 metres.
One of the upper large halls in Palazzo Madama was rented out for
the work to be done and it took the artist three years.
Our Lady stands out above, on the clouds, in regal pose, sceptre in
her right hand and the child in her left. One her head, surrounded by a
bright crown of twelve stars, is a dove, symbol of the Spirit, and above
that the eye of the Father from which extend rays that illumine the scene.
Next to the Virgin, a little lower down, under the clouds and angels,
stand some Apostles with the instruments of their martyrdom. At Our
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Lady’s feet are the Apostles Peter and Paul and the four Evangelists with
their traditional symbols. On the left, near St Peter holding the keys, is
John the Evangelist with the chalice from the Last Supper and the eagle
which symbolises his sublime Gospel; next to him is Mark seated on a
lion. To the right, behind St Paul, is the white figure of St Matthew with
an angel and St Luke with an ox. Below, between Peter and Paul is the
Basilica and the Oratory buildings; on the horizon the Superga on the
hill, with the Church of Our Lady.
Don Bosco’s love for Our Lady and the Eucharist was contagious.
His sons, the Salesians and the boys, made it an important part of their
spiritual life even achieving the heights of contemplation. It was not only
the case for Dominic Savio, but for many others as Don Bosco pointed
out:
One day I entered the main door of the Church of Mary, Help of
Christians. It was nearly dusk. When I got to the middle of the church
I looked up at the painting and noticed that [something like] a dark
drape covered the Madonna. I instantly wondered, Why on earth
would the sacristan cover Our Lady’s picture? I stepped closer to the
sanctuary and saw that the drape was moving. Shortly afterward, it
slowly dropped until it touched the floor, genuflected to the Blessed
Sacrament, made the sign of the cross and walked out of the church
through the sacristy. What I thought was a drape was rather one of
my sons who, in an ecstasy of love, had been raised the better to see
the picture of the Virgin Mary and lovingly contemplate Her and
kiss Her immaculate feet. On another occasion I walked into the
church from the sacristy and saw a boy kneeling, high in the air, on
a level with the tabernacle door facing the apse, 5 as he was adoring
the Blessed Sacrament, his head bowed, resting against the tabernacle
door in a tender ecstasy of love like a seraphim. I called him by name.
He aroused himself and came down, abashed, begging me not to tell
anyone (BM XIV, 380).
The minor cupola
The sanctuary is lit by a second cupola, built between 1935 and 1938,
with sixteen coloured windows with figures of angels, painted by Prof.
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Mario Barberis from Rome. The angelic figures carry symbols of Marian
titles: Star of the Sea – Mother of God – Ever Virgin – Gate of Heaven
– Full of grace – Blessed among women – Queen of heaven – Queen of
angels – Queen of the world – Excellent Virgin – Mystic Rose – Help
of Christians – Source of our joy – Holy Mary – Protectress against our
enemies – Help at the moment of our death. At the centre of the cupola,
around the symbolic dove, are written the words Hic domus mea, inde
gloria mea.
In the four rib-vaults are angels in bas-relief, work of Vignali, with
symbols of four items from the Loreto Litany: Tower of David – Tower
of ivory – Ark of gold – Ark of the covenant.
The two side chapels off the sanctuary (cf. fig. 19 nos. 3 and 4
page 341)
These were built for the boys and pilgrims to use during solemnities.
The one on the right is dedicated to the Crucifix, and the one on
the left to St Pius V. Columns in green marble separate them from the
wide corridor running around the side and linking them from behind
the main altar.
The decoration of the chapels is the work of Carlo Cussetti.
Balconies above the side chapels
Above the Crucifix chapel (right) is a large area that can hold the faithful
when numbers are huge. It is lit by a beautiful window representing
Mary Assumed into Heaven.
In front, over the St Pius V chapel is the organ and choir loft which
can hold more than 200 people. The organ was built by G. Tamburini
of Crema (1941), and has 68 sound registers and 23 mechanical ones,
65 combinations and 20 pedals. It has 5,100 pipes.
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This reminds us of the rich liturgical music tradition at Valdocco
and its various masters: Cagliero, Dogliani, Scarzanella, Pagella, Lasagna,
Lamberto and others.
The white Carrara marble pillars that support the central arches of
the two areas each have, in front, three cherubs in high relief by Nori, as
if they are singers and musicians.
Gallery behind the main altar
Six altars are arranged along the gallery behind the main altar. From right
to left they are: Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, with painting by Dalle
Ceste (1938); the Crucifix, with wooden figure by Giacomo Mussner
from Ortisei; St Joseph Cafasso, painting by Dalle Ceste (1938); Turin’s
Martyrs, with a precious painting by Reffo (1896; Fr Rua replaced St
Anne with this in what is now Mary Mazzarello’s altar); St Pius V, with
canvas by Barberis (1938); Guardian Angel, with canvas by Giambattista
Galizzi from Bergamo.
The sacristy (cf. fig. 19, no. 11 page 341)
Behind the gallery which is behind the main altar. It has six paintings by
Crida (1938), with scenes from Don Bosco’s life: Don Bosco defended
by Grigio (on the door on the courtyard side that goes into the Basilica);
meeting Bartholomew Garelli; Don Bosco amongst the boys at the
Oratory; arriving at Valdocco with Mamma Margaret (and below an
excellent view of the Pinardi house); Don Bosco hearing confessions; the
young Bosco at the Becchi teaching catechism in the hay shed.
Statue of Mary Help of Christians
Returning from the St Pius V to the central nave, in front of the pulpit is
a niche where you can see the statue of Mary Help of Christians carried
in procession every 24 May.
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It is interesting to note that on 27 April 1865, the corner stone of
the church was placed tight at this spot. This explains why Don Bosco
wanted the niche for the Help of Christians here, since she is the real
cornerstone of all his work.
St Joseph’s altar (cf. fig. 19, no. 15 page 341)
In the transept on the left, opposite Don Bosco’s altar, is the only one
that has remained just as Don Bosco wanted it.
The great painting by Lorenzone was put here six years after the
opening of the Basilica, on 26 April 1874, Feast of St Joseph’s Patronage.
As Don Bosco wanted it, St Joseph is standing, the Child in his arms,
while he is taking roses from him and letting them fall on the Church
of Mary Help of Christians; Our Lady is nearby in a devout pose. An
angel carries a lily symbol of chastity; another two the invitation “Ite
ad Joseph”, that is “Go to Joseph.” On the tympanum is the biblical
verse “Constituit eum dominum domus suae” (He made him master of
his house), recalling that Don Bosco chose him as one of the principal
patrons of the Oratory.
In the niches on the side walls are two statues by Nori: King David
on the right and the Prophet Isaiah on the left.
St Dominic Savio’s altar (cf. fig. 19, nos. 17 and 18 page 341)
From St Joseph’s altar, going toward the back of the Basilica, before St
Dominic Savio’s altar, on the door leading into the passage on the left,
we see a statue of St Francis Xavier, apostle of the missions, work of
sculptor Gaetano Cellini.
Where we find St Dominic Savio’s altar today was dedicated by Don
Bosco to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In the work Fr Rua had
done (1889–1891), the chapel was dedicated to St Francis de Sales and
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the altar remodelled as we see it today. The central painting, by Reffo
(1893), representing the Saint of Savoy is now stored elsewhere.
In 1954, year of Dominic Savio’s canonisation, the chapel which
since 1914 had kept his remains, was dedicated to Don Bosco’s young
pupil. A modest painting by Crida, put there that year and showing
Dominic kneeling before Our Lady, was replaced by the precious work
of Mario Càffaro Rore (1984).
Today Dominic Savio’s remains are kept in a gilded casket beneath
the altar. They were earlier kept in a small burial casket to the right of
the altar.
The chapel vault, representing the triumph of the Eucharist and
the struggle between the Archangel Michael and Lucifer, was painted
by Rollini in 1874. The two side frescos are also by him (1894) and
show the life of St Francis de Sales: on the right the Saint, still a priest,
preaching to the Calvinists; on the left he is now a bishop and is in a
print shop reading a draft ready for publishing. The reference is to his
activity as a writer is evident. he is patron saint of journalists. One item of
curiosity: the printer with the long beard next to the Saint is a portrait of
Carlo Gastini. He went to the Oratory until 1848, learned bookbinding
there and always remained a close friend of Don Bosco’s. He was one
of the founders of the Past Pupils, and because he was a poet and singer,
was considered to be Don Bosco’s minstrel . He was at the Oratory until
he died in 1902.
Sacred Heart chapel (cf. fig. 19, no. 19 page 341)
At the back of the Basilica on the left, close to St Dominic Savio’s chapel.
Fr Rua wanted this when he transformed the nearby chapel of the Sacred
Hearts into the St Francis de Sales chapel (1894).
The centre triptych, showing the Sacred Heart of Jesus and two
adoring angels, is the work of Carlo Morgari (1888–1970), who also did
the walls and vault.
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On the right we note the statue of St Anthony of Padua held up by
two elegant bronze columns.
In the niche above the chapel entrance, towards the central nave,
is Vignali’s statue of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Visitandine
Sister to whom we owe the devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Beneath the Basilica
In the spacious area below the Basilica Don Bosco had a number of items
used for the Oratory, like the oven for their daily bread.
In the 1935–1938 extensions two chapels were added: one for the
relics and one for St Peter, this latter under the sacristy. In the remaining
areas was the Salesian Centre for historical documentation and Marian
devotion with its museum and library (from 1978 until 2017). It had its
origins in the idea of Fr Maggiorino Borgatello, who wanted to organize
a “Museum to the cult of Mary Help of Christians in the world”. This
first modest museum was opened in 1918. But, with the works of the
enlargement of the Basilica (1934–1938), the material was dispersed.
In 1978, Fr Pietro Ceresa transported his rich collection of Marian
documentation from the Salesian Institute in Bologna and placed it in
the basement beneath the Basilica.
Following the festivities of the Bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth,
this lower area of the Basilica was recovered and a large multipurpose
room created. As a result, the large Marian collection was moved to
storage elsewhere. A part of it can now be found in the new Casa Don
Bosco Museum.
Chapel of the relics
Access is from the Basilica, down the stairs on the right near the
entrance.
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It was opened in 1934 to hold the notable collection of relics
donated by Commendatore Michele Bert from Turin.
It is a single nave in a Latin cross form, with ribbed vaults and
reminds one of the catacombs.
At the bottom of the stairs you see the altar of the Apparition that
recalls Don Bosco’s vision in 1845 when the Virgin pointed out the
place of martyrdom of the three Roman soldiers, Solutor, Adventor and
Octavius. A metal cross on the floor, on the left, and a painting by Dalle
Ceste mark the precise place the Virgin pointed to.
Don Bosco tells it this way:
I seemed to be in a vast meadow with a huge crowd of boys... They
were all abandoned boys, devoid of moral principles. I was about to
turn away when I saw a Lady beside me. ...
“In this place,” She added, “where the glorious martyrs of Turin,
Adventor and Octavius, suffered martyrdom, on these clods soaked
and sanctified by their blood, I wish that God be honored in a very
special manner.” So saying, She put out Her foot and pointed to the
exact spot where the martyrs had fallen. I wanted to leave a marker
there so as to find the place again when I returned, but I could not see
a single stick or stone. Nevertheless, I kept the place clearly in mind
(BM II, 232–233).
On the left of the painting is the burial casket of Blessed Michael
Rua, first successor of Don Bosco (1837–1910).
Continuing, we then see the altar of the holy widows, and opposite,
the altar of the virgins and martyrs; the altar of the holy bishops
and confessors (near which is buried the Venerable Fr Philip Rinaldi,
third successor of Don Bosco) and opposite is the altar of the holy
martyrs; then comes the altar of the founders of religious orders and
congregations and then the holy doctors of the Church; finally there is
the main altar, with a relic of wood from the true cross.
The decorations on the altar are by Prof. Mario Barberis.
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Along the walls in reliquaries, and under the altars are hundreds of
relics.
The Salesian pantheon
Fr Pascual Chávez, as Rector Major, decided that the mortal remains
of the Rectors Major should rest in this Basilica in Turin. Therefore,
after appropriate studies, it was considered that the “Salesian pantheon”
should be in the area of the chapel of the relics because it is a special
place, evocative of Salesian holiness. It is a sacred place that reminds us
of the beginnings of Don Bosco’s Oratory, the Filippi field, the visions
through which Our Lady pointed to Don Bosco’s apostolic mission
to him. There are numerous relics in the chapel of Saints and Blesseds
that recall the whole history of the Church with its many testimonies of
holiness.
Seeing the Rectors Major who have followed him over time and
through history, brings us back to the origins of the Salesian charism and
shows us how, over time and generations, there is a common thread of
fidelity and creativity. The alternation of faces, names and dates is also
a strong encouragement to recall a history that is almost two centuries
old. It is a sign of affection, gratitude and awareness for the work done by
the deceased Rectors Major. Our prayer of suffrage, before these tombs,
becomes a commitment to cultivate the sense of belonging and unity
to the charismatic heritage that they have witnessed in their ministry as
Successors of Don Bosco.
Our founder, St John Bosco, has been in Valdocco since 1929, the
year he was beatified. Then, in 1938, he was transferred to the altar he
occupies in the transept of the basilica, a privilege he has because he is
a Saint. In the chapel of relics, each in his own altar, we find Michael
Rua (the first successor of Don Bosco) and Philip Rinaldi (the third),
because of their status as Blessed.
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All this was blessed by Fr Ángel Fernández Artime on 21 May 2017.
the mortal remains of the Rectors Major arrived over the months that
followed. There is room for future occupants of this space.
St Peter’s chapel
St Peter’s chapel is under the sacristy. Access is gained from stairs behind
the church. It has St Peter’s altar offered by Roman benefactors. It used
be in the basilica where today we find Don Bosco’s altar and remains.
Don Bosco wanted it to be a sign of his devotion to St Peter’s successor.
The chapel is a worthy place for the valuable painting Don Bosco
commissioned Filippo Carcano to paint – Christ handing the keys to
Peter.
Bell tower museum
After the celebrations of the Bicentenary of Don Bosco, work continued
on the restoration of some of the rooms of the Basilica of Mary Help of
Christians. For example, access to the bell tower.
Anyone capable of climbing the stairs can visit the bell tower
accompanied by a guide.
This tour allows the visitor to discover hidden treasures in the service
rooms of the church built by Don Bosco in 1868. Thus, for example, you
can visit some of the rooms that were used for storage or where some of
the first Salesians lived, and those who were in charge of the operation
and maintenance of the Basilica (usually Brothers).
The museum presents some significant objects from the Basilica’s
sacristy, a testimony to the passage of history and the wonder of the art
over these more than one hundred and fifty years. Particularly significant
is the photographic presentation of the two domes of the Basilica.
At the heart of the tour is the original clock purchased by Don
Bosco, with the offerings of the people of the neighbourhood, and
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the collection of original dials, related to the historical clocks that
overlooked the courtyards and square of the first Oratory.
OTHER BUILDINGS BY DON BOSCO
In the entire building complex at Valdocco, of those going back to Don
Bosco, other than what has been presented so far, only two remain either
side of the Basilica: the reception area (on the right) and the printing
works (on the left), planned by Engineer Spezia to finish off his work on
the church.
The Reception (1874–1875)
When Don Bosco was able to make use of the entire Pinardi house,
he immediately set about restoring, or building where it did not exist
the boundary fence for the Oratory. And he had a strong wooden door
on the via della Giardiniera. When religious functions and catechism
classes began, the door was closed to avoid intrusion and disturbances.
In October 1853 Don Bosco opened the first workshops in the
Pinardi house and entrusted to master shoemaker Domenico Goffi
also the task of doorkeeper. Three years later, when the Hostel was
taking shape and he was drawing up regulations, Don Bosco chose a
doorkeeper and he had his own spot near the entrance to the day primary
schools (1856; cf. further on, no. 3.1.3 ).
“The choice of a good doorkeeper is a treasure for a house of
education”: Don Bosco was convinced of this and also wrote it in his
Little Treatise on the Preventive System (cf. Ch. II, par. 5 in RSS 6 [1985]
248). He also entrusted this person with educational responsibilities,
as can be seen in the first Draft Regulations for the Home Attached to
the Oratory of St Francis de Sales, where he dedicates 12 articles to the
doorkeeper. Here are several of them:
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1. The doorkeeper’s most important duty is to be always at his post
and courteously receive all callers. Whenever he has to absent himself
for his religious duties, meals, or other legitimate reasons, he should
have a substitute appointed by the director.
2. He shall not admit anyone into the premises without informing
his superiors. He shall direct business callers or those who need to
discuss matters pertaining to the boys to the prefect. He shall refer to
the director only those people who explicitly ask for him.
3. He shall not allow any boy to leave the premises without a pass
unless he has been instructed otherwise by the superior. In that case he
should keep the matter confidential and record the time of departure
and return. ...
9. He shall maintain order and strive to prevent any misconduct in the
playground or inside the house. He shall not permit shouting or any
loud noise during sacred services, school hours, or study periods. ...
12. The doorkeeper shall endeavor to keep busy at all times either
with his routine duties or with others that shall be entrusted to him.
He shall always be courteous and affable in accepting and delivering
messages.. Courteousness and affability should be his outstanding
traits (BM IV, 548–549).
Between 1859 and 1860, with Fr Cafasso’s help, Don Bosco built
a larger reception area near the earlier one, with a room for the
doorkeeper, a parlour for the boys’ relatives and a covered entrance for
vehicles. Two years later he shifted the reception further to the right (still
on via della Giardiniera) on the corner with the new printing works and
the wall that was the boundary with the Filippi property. The reception
remained here till 1874.
When the Church of Mary Help of Christians was completed, in
1873 Don Bosco reacquired the land on the right of the Basilica from
carpenter John B. Coriasco, whom he had sold it to in 1851; he had the
house pulled down and the workshop that had been built there, and
between 1874 and 1875 he erected the first two buildings planned by
Spezia.
In this beautiful three-storey building he put the reception, some
offices and two guest rooms. In the smaller building next to it (the next
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to be completed) was the bookshop, a storage/dispensary and on the first
floor the bookbinding.
Printing works (1881–1883)
This flanks the Basilica on the left, symmetrical to the building holding
the reception. It was planned by Spezia at the beginning of the 1870s,
but was built only after he was able to buy (1880) the Nelva house with
its long strip of land to the west of the Sanctuary.
The Nelva house and part of the land alongside the church of
St Francis de Sales were meant for the festive Oratory, and then in
the remaining space he gradually built the printing works building
(1881–1883) the mechanics workshop (1883–1884; this was pulled
down in 1893 to build the first theatre at the Oratory).
In this building, the small oratory printing press could gradually
develop and become one of the most modern and effective in its day.
In 1884 Don Bosco bought a suitable pavilion 55 metres long by 20
wide, for the grand National Exhibition of Turin. The workshop heads
and boys worked under the gaze of visitors who could follow the whole
process of producing a book (they printed the Fabiola and the Little
Catechism): making the paper, setting up the press, printing, binding
and packaging the goods for sale.
The great Salesian tradition of graphics came out of this, thanks to
Salesian Brothers who were formed here, and spread around the world
contributing in important ways to technical and artistic development
in this field. It was here that the Salesian Bulletin and thousands of
publications of every kind made Don Bosco known, propagated the
missionary and Marian spirit and served the Church especially in the
area of catechesis and religious formation of young people.
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FORMER BUILDINGS THAT HAVE BEEN REBUILT
Other building built or adapted by Don Bosco were gradually pulled
down and rebuilt. We record two of them: Filippi and Audisio houses.
casa Filippi (Filippi house 1861, rebuilt in 1952)
The Filippi brothers, on the right of the Pinardi house and opposite
the famous field which was the last one used by the Wandering Oratory,
had land with a house and a large shed along via della Giardiniera. The
house was in an inverted U-shape, had two floors, and was used for silk
production. It was 35 metres long and about 8 wide.
The shed was being rented by an undertaker, Visca, who kept
carriages and horses there belonging to the Council. The coming and
going of workers and the racket from the cart and carriage drivers, the
stable boys and many vagabonds who found shelter under the shed
disturbed the prayer, study and work rhythms at the Oratory.
Don Bosco, with the help of Comm. Giuseppe Cotta, bought the
house and land on 16 July 1860, for 65 thousand lire. It took over a year
however to get rid of all the residents who continued to use the shed and
ground floor of the house.
Don Bosco only used the upper floor as a large bedroom. To gain
access he built a wooden bridge that connected the building with the
Camerette wing (cf. fig. 12, no. 4 page ??). There was about seven metres
between the two buildings, like a strait, so the boys used call Filippi
house Sicily.
In summer 1861, once the place was empty, the entire Filippi
property was annexed to the Oratory and new building constructed to
link the two areas: the small plot between the two wings of the Filippi
house was incorporated into the one storey building. The Camerette
wing was extended and joined to the Filippi house. A wide staircase was
placed at the junction of the two buildings (cf. fig. 20, no. 1 page 362).
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On the ground floor of the Filippi house thus enlarged he put a
storage area and workshop for painters and milliners (cf. MB 7 116); on
the first floor there were classrooms; on the second floor a large study for
500 pupils and during festive occasions this could be a theatre.
Fr Lemoyne, who was already a priest when he came to Valdocco in
1863, describes the study thus:
It was always looked upon as a sacred place. From the very first days
of the Oratory it was a room of solemn, sacred silence. Even in winter,
when Don Bosco allowed the boys to have breakfast in the study
hall because of the severe cold, silence was always observed out of
respect to the place. The youngsters doffed their caps and tiptoed
in, we might say. Then they said a Hail Mary with the invocation
“Seat of Wisdom,” which later was replaced by “Mary, Help of
Christians, pray for us.” Occasionally Don Bosco himself would sit in
the common study hall to give good example. Amazingly, no matter
who walked in—even important people—no one would stir, look up,
or show curiosity (BM VII, 337).
At the sight of the students at the Oratory in perfect silence
immersed in their work, two English gentlemen, “one of them a Cabinet
Minister of Queen Victoria”, were amazed when visiting the Oratory
one day. To their question “How are such silence and self-restraint
possible?” Don Bosco replied: “Frequent confession and Communion
and devout, daily attendance at Mass.” “You are quite right. ... . Quite
true! Its either religion or the stick! I will tell this in London” (BM VII,
337).
Under the portico (it was known as the “portico of prayer”) you can
see a statue of Our Lady that Don Bosco had put in the first sacristy in
the Basilica.
casa Audisio (Audisio house 1864, rebuilt in 1954)
After the Casati law (1859) school reform and other norms, Don Bosco
saw that he had to do something about the secondary classes – which
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were still private – to bring them into line with the new rules and find
qualified teachers.
In 1862 and 1863 the Oratory Secondary school ran great risk of
being closed, but Don Bosco instead of being discouraged, improved
and expanded it.
While his young teachers were doing their teacher training, he got
F. Serra to plan a new three storey building for the school; it went
up between summer 1863 and spring 1864. It included the Filippi
house and went down towards the reception area. It was a long, narrow
building, with a portico on the ground floor, classrooms on the two
upper floors and bedrooms for the Salesians under the roof.
Later on the building was called Audisio house in homage to the
good Salesian Brother who had an office there.
Audisio house was pulled down and rebuilt in 1954. Currently
under this portico is a large hall for pilgrims.
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CURRENT WORK AT VALDOCCO
For completeness sake here is a quick summary of Salesian work
currently part of Valdocco.
Vocational Training Centre (CFP)
This is to the left of the Basilica as a continuation of the printing works
and mechanics workshop Don Bosco had built.
Fr Rua, between 1892 and 1904, had new workshops built on
the corner of what is now via Maria Ausiliatrice and via Salerno.
These buildings held the mechanics, carpentry, bookbinding, tailoring
workshops and classrooms and dormitories for the trade school boys.
That way there was a strict division between academic and trade school
boys and communities, which Don Bosco had begun and suggested.
With the development of the vocational (technical) sector, between
1925 and 1927, Fr Rinaldi had a new and larger complex built behind
the former Pinardi house, used as carpentry, tailoring and shoemaking
workshops, with classrooms and infirmary on the upper floor.
After the Second World War the old building were restored
and completed under Fr Fedele Giraudi who built a large building
(1952–1955) for mechanics and electrotechnical work, classrooms for
the vocational school and the School of Applied Photography (SAF).
Over the decades the technical and vocational sector evolved; it
shifted from a craft phase to more technical and industrial one. The
shoemaking, tailoring and carpentry workshops have gone.
Today, Valdocco’s CNOS-FAP has adapted to society’s new needs.
There, students can be trained in the following specialisations: hotel
management, catering, bar service, gardening and agriculture, food
production, electricity, electromechanics, design, marketing and graphics.
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The St Dominic Savio Middle School
There is nothing that remains of the old secondary school area that
Don Bosco built. In the large garden that extended behind Don Bosco’s
house and the Filippi house the building complex we see today grew up
around the second Valdocco courtyard.
Fr Rua, along the same direction as the extension to the Audisio
house, put up a building (1908–1909) for classrooms and a new study
that could hold 400 pupils. Some of the Saelsian Society General
Chapters were held in this room.
Fr Paul Albera continued the construction by adding a hall that
could be used as a covered recreation area and along piazza Sassari put
up a second building with classrooms and dormitories. On the corner
of via Sassari and via Salerno he also built a laundry and cloakroom
(1920–1921), with a place for the Sisters who looked after it to stay.
Fr Philip Rinaldi completed this with a large kitchen and new dining
rooms (1925–1927). During the Second World War a bombardment
completely destroyed the building on piazza Sassari. Fr Giraudi rebuilt
it in 1951 and built a large theatre, still in use, and dormitories.
Today the old “students section” at Valdocco continues its activities
as the St Dominic Savio Middle School, but with a strong emphasis on
vocational subjects.
The Daily and Festive Oratory
The Festive Oratory, out of which all of Don Bosco’s work developed
was, for a good number of years, part of the Home attached. While
the Basilica was being built, both because of lack of available space
and the large number of boarders, but also because of the changing
socio-economic nature of the suburb, there was a considerable decrease
in the number of boys coming to the Oratory from outside.
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Don Bosco sought to remedy this by reserving the land beside and
behind the Basilica for the Festive Oratory and using the sacristy on the
west side of the Basilica as a chapel. The situation was precarious for a
decade, until 1880, when the Nelva house and land was bought for the
daily Oratory.
The Festive Oratory had a new springtime and decisive relaunching
under Fr Rua, who reserved an area towards via Salerno for it (1899;
land belonged to Carosso), built a theatre and in the Carosso house put
classrooms for catechsim and evening classes.
Under the leadership of Fr Joseph Pavia (1852–1915) the oratory
grew and consolidated to the point where Fr Albera, having pulled
down Carosso house, widened the courtyard and along via Salerno, as
an extension to the theatre, had a large area built with classrooms on
the upper floor. Finally, when Fr Peter Ricaldone was Rector Major, the
poor buildings on via Salerno were pulled down and today’s Oratory
(1934–1935), designed by Valotti, was built.
From Don Bosco to today Valdocco, always with a youthful
population, has ensured and continues to ensure an influx of young
people to keep Don Bosco’s first work alive and relevant.
Reception area
This are used to house the community of the Salesian Marian Centre,
which served the Basilica and other pastoral services, and used the
premises located in the first large courtyard to the right of the Basilica:
The purpose of the Salesian Centre was to animate liturgies in the
Basilica, spread devotion to the Help of Christians (especially through
the Maria Ausiliatrice magazine and the Mary Help of Christians
Association [ADMA]), receiving pilgrims and keeping an eye on
memorabilia regarding Don Bosco.
Formerly, this area contained:
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• The porter's lodge, built by Don Bosco, where there was a transport
and travel office at the service of the missions
• In the lower building that extended the porter’s lodge on via Maria
Ausiliatrice there was the Elledici Bookstore (LDC), management
offices and the Salesian Bulletin
• The House of the Superior Chapter (parallel to the Basilica, built
by Fr Paul Albera from 1912 to 1914), the former residence of
the major superiors of the Salesian Congregation, was used for
pilgrims (first floor, with meeting rooms and self-service), to provide
hospitality to Salesians and missionaries passing through, and for
the offices of the various activities of the Marian Centre.
Today we find:
• Missioni Don Bosco with its Ethnographic Museum.
• The offices of the community that serves pilgrims. The entire lower
area (built by Fr Albera) in front of the Basilica has been changed
with the creation of meeting rooms dedicated to the Rectors Major.
• The rest of the building is used as rooms for the confreres from the
communities at Valdocco and as a residence for elderly Salesians. It
also has rooms to accommodate pilgrims on request.
The Salesian Circumscription of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta
The first floor of the former Pinardi and Don Bosco houses was the
headquarters of Salesian works in Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta: it held
the Superior’s office and his team, as well as the regional CNOS-FAP,
the centre which coordinates schools, technical education, recreational
and cultural activities of Salesian work throughout Italy.
With the creation of the Casa Don Bosco Museum, they have been
moved to areas in the second courtyard behind the Pinardi chapel.
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The Missioni Don Bosco Museum
This museum was established to celebrate the 150th Salesian Missionary
Expedition. It aims to make the knowledge of the missionary world
more accessible to pilgrims who come to Valdocco.
On display are tools, furniture, clothing and ornaments, the result
of the creativity with which various groups of human beings have been
able to adapt to their environment, transforming the resources available
for the needs of daily life and for their cultural practices and rituals.
The museum is organised by geographical areas; but one can also
choose tours by theme, available in the audio guides.
Far from being an exhaustive presentation about the spread of the
Salesian missions across the world, this museum is a showcase of the
most significant Salesian presences among indigenous peoples and to
protect the different cultural traditions.
The tour begins with Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, the destinations
of the first Salesian missionary expedition in 1875. The exhibits are an
important testimony of cultures and populations by now extinct. The
items collected by Fr Maggiorino Borgatello in 1911 and Fr Alberto
Maria De Agostini in 1932 can be considered unique pieces today.
It continues with the Shuar in Ecuador, with the particularly
significant work of Fr Luis Bolla, whose cause for beatification and
canonisation is in process. The material brought from the “Yanomami”
of Venezuela, a precious work of Fr Luigi Cocco. The material from the
populations of Rio Negro, with the Bororos, Xavantes and Carajás of
Brazil.
It continues with the Nagas of northeastern India. One showcase is
dedicated to China, another to Japan and another to Oceania. The tour
ends with two showcases dedicated to the African continent.
The museum opens up to the contemporary world thanks to the
documentation contained in the large display that testifies to the current
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commitment of Salesian missionaries around the world on behalf of the
most disadvantaged and needy populations.
The visitor can explore some of the Salesian presences across five
continents through a monitor, also told through short videos and
photographs.
The courtyard
When the pilgrim or visitor enters Valdocco, the first thing they see is
the courtyard.
The courtyard or playground occupies a very important place in
Salesian history. There was one from the outset next to the sacristy of
the first Oratory at the Convitto, then at the Barolo “Refuge”. But them
for Don Bosco, the Filippi field and many other places around the city’s
outskirts, became an open playground where Don Bosco gathered his
youngsters during the time of the Wandering Oratory.
This first courtyard is now squeezed between buildings. But we are
fond of it because that is where it all began: a courtyard and a shed
converted into a chapel.
The boys felt at ease with Don Bosco: “He was always the first in the
games, the soul of the playground. I don’t know how he did it, but he
was in every corner of the playground, among all the groups of young
people. Peronally and with his eyes he followed us all. We were rowdy,
sometimes dirty, importunate, capricious. And he liked to be among the
poorest. He had a motherly affection for the little ones.” So says Stefano
Castagno, one of the boys who had a great time at the first Oratory.
We should stop in the current courtyard, take a walk around the
outside of the buildings and recall:
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• The water fountain: it is still there from the beginning; how many
stories it must have heard; how many mouths it has refreshed.
• The staircase: it was the only one; it was the only way to get to the
bedrooms and the kitchen; one day the famous Grigio that did not
want to allow Don Bosco to leave planted himself there; hundreds
of times the “parents” of our Salesian Family, including Mamma
Margaret, have gone up and down it.
• The attics with their garrets: we can see Cagliero opening the
window and washing his hands and face with the snow.
• The portico with its stand for the “Good Nights”, that brilliant
educational intuition of Mamma Margaret and Don Bosco.
• The facade, the balconies, the vine, the Madonna lightning rod,
the monument to Don Bosco and thousands upon thousands of
pilgrims who have spent a small but important part of their lives
enjoying the sacred “noise” of this Salesian courtyard.
• Mamma Margaret’s vegetable garden: full of beautiful vegetables
and crushed by a horde of barbarians who wanted to play soldiers.
On 7 March 2020, a statue of this woman who we can call the
co-founder of the Salesian Family was placed here. Margaret is
opening the door and welcoming the first of the thousands of people
welcomed into this holy house. She seeks to be a sign of gratitude to
the thousands of today’s parents of Salesians and those of all times
(the statue is the work of Mauro Baldessari).
• The statue of Don Bosco and the thousands of pilgrims who have
had their photo taken there.
• The plaques that recall the visits of recent Popes.
• The plaques that recall the many endearing stories of the Oratory.
Finally, we can recall the long list of the good people who are part of
our lives and who walked or run around these playgrounds:
• Young people like Dominic Savio, Michael Magone, Francis Besucco,
Camillo Gavio, Carlo Gastini…
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• Holy adults like those we find in the Casa Don Bosco Museum, and
many others: Joseph Cafasso, Mary Domenica Mazzarello, Vincent
Cimatti, Titus Zeman, Maria Romero, Albert Marvelli, Bronislaw
Markiewicz, Artemides Zatti, Francis Convertini…
There are statues of some of them in the external niches of the
Basilica at courtyard level: Saints Louis Versiglia and Callistus Caravario;
Blessed Michael Rua and Philip Rinaldi (work of Mauro Baldessari).
PIAZZA MARIA AUSILIATRICE
In 1868 and 1869 Don Bosco bought a number of blocks of land in
front of the Sanctuary, completing the exercise by buying the Moretta
(1875) and Audagnotto houses (1878). The first girls Oratory for the
Daughters of Mary help of Christians was opened in the Moretta house
(1876), directed by Sr Elisa Roncallo, while the Audagnotto house was
assigned to hospitality.
From 1870 Don Bosco was considering a project of new constructions
that would be a worthy completion to the church of Mary Help of
Christians. Engineer Spezia was asked to study the project, which was
approved by the City Council, but because of a number of difficulties
he only built two buildings, one either side of the Basilica (reception and
printing works).
The buildings around the piazza today were built between the end
of the 19th century and 1935: on the left, as you leave the Basilica, is the
parish and Youth Ministry Centre which coordinates the educational
and pastoral activity of the Salesians in the region; there is the parish
church built by Fr Rua for the former girls Oratory; and the buildings
formerly belonging to the Società Editrice Internazionale (SEI). On the
right hand side is the former General House of the FMA Sisters and their
various works.
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Monument to Don Bosco
This was erected on 10 September 1911, during the Past Pupils
International Congress and in view of the first centenary of Don Bosco’s
birth.
Sculptor Gaetano Cellini from Bologna was chosen from amongst
the 59 contestants for the task.
The outbreak of the First World War slowed the opening for the
project, which took place with great solemnity only on 3 March 1920.
Built atop a base of porphyry stone is the bronze statue of Don
Bosco with a group of boys around him. The veiled woman at the Saint’s
feet represents, Faith, and is offering a cross for veneration to a bent
person symbolising humanity.
In the high-relief on the right is a mother sending her child to kiss
Don Bosco’s hand, symbolising a familiar style of education; on the left
is a leper calling on the holy founder of the Salesian missions.
Either side is a group of figures representing Don Bosco’s two great
devotions: Eucharist and the Help of Christians. On the right a strong
worker is tipping his hat to the Blessed Sacrament, before which a
woman is praying and a mother is kissing her child. On the left is a
proud native South American converted by the Salesian missionaries,
and prostrate before the help of Christians to whom two virgins are
offering flowers.
At the back of the monument are three bas-reliefs alluding to
Salesian assistance for migrants, and their work in technical and
agricultural schools.
OTHER WORKS DON BOSCO BEGAN IN TURIN
Two other institutions in Turin are direct testimony of Don Bosco’s
tireless work for the education of young people and his ever-widening
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horizons: the church of St John the Evangelist and the building attached
to it, familiarly known as san Giovannino, and Valsalice which from
1888 to 1929 had the good fortune to be looking after the tomb of the
holy educator. So at the conclusion of this overview of places in Don
Bosco’s life and work, it would be good to mention both of these.
The Church and Institute of St John the Evangelist
(corso Vittorio Emanuele II, no. 13 - via Madama Cristina, no. 1)
Next to the St Aloysius Oratory, described in earlier pages, and as its
natural development, Don Bosco wanted to build a church and hostel
with a school for “poor and abandoned” boys to make his work of
education more effective.
There were a number of reasons for the Saint to tackle this. In the
San Salvario area the city had begun to expand, already foreseen in urban
planning since 1847 and then accelerated when the nearby Porta Nuova
railway station was built. It became a demographic centre especially
for ordinary and very poor people. And already since 1853, since the
Waldensians had been emancipated in 1848 they had begun building a
church there, a hospital and a school, and this latter was also open to
Catholics who found it difficult to go to other city schools. The Jewish
synagogue was also built later in this area. Proselytism and Protestant
activity were another reason for Don Bosco to develop his work here,
which began in 1847.
The construction
Between 1870 and 1875, gradually buying up land, Don Bosco
succeeded in extending the property of the St Aloysius Oratory until he
had a 4,000 square metre area at his disposal. Another strip of land, 300
metres belonging to Enrico Morglia, a Protestant, he only obtained in
1876 after having recourse to the Council of State.
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The design for the new complex was given to Count Edoardo
Arborio Mella (1808–1884) of Vercelli whose inspiration was the
Roman-Lombard style of the 11th and 12th centuries.
Work on the building began quickly in 1877. On 14 August the
following year he had laid the corner stone and in December 1879
the external structure was already complete. Internal decorations were
finished in three years and on 28 October 1882 the church was solemnly
consecrated.
The building is like a basilica with three naves, the central one double
the size of the side ones. The building is 60 metres by 22 and can hold
2500 people.
Dedicated to St John the Evangelist, Don Bosco wanted it to also
be a monument to Pius IX for the kindness he had shown him. This
brought him no end of difficulties in dealing with Archbishop Gastaldi,
who was also building a church in memory of Pius IX, St Secondo’s.
Don Bosco completed his project just the same, and a large statue of
the Pope at the entrance to the church still today recalls the strict bonds
between the priest of Valdocco and Pius IX.
Visiting the church
The facade is set back from the nearby buildings which run along
corso Vittorio Emanuele II. This creates a small courtyard enclosed by
architectural elements that serve as links between the church and the
buildings adjacent to it.
The bell tower reaches a height of 45 metres. It has three floors,
topped by an octagonal pyramid, above which arises a globe, a star with
twelve rays of gilded copper. The first two floors which are square have
mullioned windows. The third floor, which is octagonal, has a lancet
windows and eight stone columns six metres high. The bells are on top,
inaugurated on 8 December 1881.
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On the door at the entrance is written “Ianua coeli” (door of
heaven), while the lunette above shows the Redeemer seated, with the
words Ego sum via, veritas et vita (I am the Way the Truth and the Life).
Higher up above the mullioned window is a mosaic of the glory of
St John.
Inside, on the right as you enter, is the large statue of Pius IX in
Carrara marble, by Francesco Confalonieri of Milan (1830–1925). The
Pope is in the act of imparting a blessing, and in his left hand he has the
decree of approval of the Salesian Congregation.
An imposing organ of 3600 pipes, work of Cav. Giuseppe Bernasconi
from Bergamo is in the orchestra. Don Bosco opened it in July 1882
with a series of concerts over four days which attracted as many as 50,000
people to the church all with their entry ticket. The instrument was
restored for the church’s centenary, and locate behind the main altar.
Light comes through to the nave through ten high rectangular and
six circular windows.
The central nave ends in a semicircular apse. The painting on the
half-dome is of Jesus on the Cross pointing out the Apostle John to
Mary as her son. The painting, along the lines of a Byzantine mosaic, is
by Enrico Reffo. The portraits along the arches of the central nave are by
the same artist. These are the seven bishops of Asia Minor described in
the Apocalypse (by St John). In the broad circular windows under the
cap over the apse we find: St John the Evangelist, St James, St Andrew,
St Peter and St Paul. The work is by Pompeo Bertini from Milan.
The side naves extend around the apse and provide a majestic
passageway.
The main altar, in oriental style, has a double table. The sanctuary
was bounded by a balustrade made of (white) stone from Saltrio, of
which only a part has been preserved. It had iron gates. The magnificent
floor is of Pompeian style mosaic.
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The side altars are dedicated to St Dominic Savio (painting by
Càffaro Rore, 1974), St Joseph (Reffo, 1882) and St Francis de Sales
(Bonelli),along the right hand nave; to Blessed Michael Rua, St John
Bosco (Crida, 1934) and the Sacred Heart (Crida again), along the left
hand nave.
The icon of Don Bosco with the Help of Christians which was hung
at St Peters on the day of the canonisation (1 April 1934), has replaced an
earlier painting of the Immaculate Conception. Also those of Dominic
Savio and Fr Rua replaced ones of St Mary Magdalene and St Anthony
the Abbot.
The Institute
As had happened at Valdocco, next to the new church Don Bosco
immediately wanted to build “a hospice for poor and abandoned boys.”
Between the church and via Madama Cristina, he soon had a place
that could hold 350 pupils built in the same architectural style as the
church. It came into use in autumn 1884 and for the first ten years it
was a place for adults who aspired to Salesian life. Blessed Philip Rinaldi
was the Rector, future third successor of Don Bosco.
In 1894 the institute was converted into a boarding school with
primary and secondary classes, recognised in 1905 as a State recognised
secondary school. Today the building is a university hostel and an
oratory (entrance off via Ormea) and a centre of pastoral activity for
Filipino immigrants.
Over its long history the Giovannino has seen important Salesians
come through such as the musicians Fr John Pagella (1872–1944) and Fr
Virgil Bellone (1907–1981), historian Fr Albert Caviglia (1868–1943),
Latin scholars Fr John Baptist Francesia (1838–1930) and Fr Sisto
Colombo (1878–1938). Amongst its pupils we recall St Callistus
Caravario, martyred in China (1903–1930).
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Valsalice and Don Bosco’s tomb
Origins
Between 1857 and 1861, the De La Salle Brothers in Turin had built
a large place in the “Valle dei Salici”, on the slopes of Turin’s hills. It
was a boarding place for noble students from their San Primitivo school.
In 1863, following the laws on religious suppression, the brothers
had to abandon the school and the Valsalice building was run by a
society of priests from Turin who in October that year opened a school
there called “Collegio Valsalice”, “for bringing up young upper class
students in religion, sciences and preparing them for civil, military,
and commercial careers” (cf. P. Baricco, Torino descritta, Torino, G.B.
Paravia 1869, p. 705). There were primary, technical, junior secondary,
senior school classes and a technical institute which was preparatory to
entering the Military Academy. But due to a low student turnover and
financial problems the school had run down so Archbishop Lorenzo
Gastaldi had pressured Don Bosco to take it over.
The Salesians at Valsalice
Don Bosco and his first collaborators, given the archbishop’s insistence,
but with considerable concern, accepted the college in March 1872
and rented the building for five years. The situation did not improve
immediately under the Salesians. But Don Bosco, hoping this school
would provide priestly vocations, decided to buy the building in 1879.
The same year he set up an ornithological museum with the very
complete collection of Canon Giambattista Giordano (1817–1871).
The house soon gained a prominent place amongst Salesian works.
Because of its beautiful location amongst the greenery of the hills, just
outside the city, Don Bosco chose it as a place for rest and recuperation
for the elderly and sick confreres and also for the confreres’ retreats.
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Some of the early General Chapters of the young Congregation were also
held there.
In 1887, by his explicit wish, the work underwent a radical
transformation: instead of a senior high school it became a formation
house for clerics, and was called the Seminary for the Foreign Missions.
Any number of first generation Salesians were formed here, and
they brought the world their own particular stamp of culture and
educational and pastoral approach. Amongst these we recall the martyrs
Sts Louis Versilia (1873–1930) and Callistus Caravario (1903–1930),
missionaries in China, Blessed Fr Louis Variara (1875–1923), apostle
amongst the lepers in Colombia, Fr Augustus Czartoryski (1858–1893),
Fr Andrew Beltrami (1870–1897), Fr Vincent Cimatti (1879–1965),
founder of the Salesian work in Japan.
Don Bosco buried at Valsalice
In 1888 Valsalice was where Don Bosco’s body was laid. According
to one testimony he himself had foreseen this after a meeting of the
Superior Chapter, at Valsalice on 13 September 1887:
It had been decided that the institute of Valsalice was now to be used
for another purpose: the well-off boarders were going to be replaced
by clerics studying philosophy. At the end of the council meeting,
Father Barberis remained alone with him. The Novice Master asked
him with all confidence, why, after he had always opposed such
a change of purpose, had he now changed his mind. Don Bosco
answered, “From now on, I will be here to safeguard this house.”
As he said this, he kept looking steadily toward the big staircase
which led from the upper-level garden to the portico of the big lower
playground. After a moment he added, “Get the draft plan ready.”
Since the school had not been entirely finished, Father Julius Barberis
thought that he wanted to see the building completed. So he said,
“Good, I’ll draw it up. I’ll submit it to you this winter.” “Not this
winter, but next spring,” Don Bosco answered. “You will not submit
the plan to me, but to the council.” Meanwhile, he kept looking
at the staircase. Only five months later did Father Barberis begin to
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understand what the Saint had meant, when he saw him buried at
Valsalice in the very center of those grand stairs. He finally understood
everything when the design for the monument to be erected over Don
Bosco’s tomb was presented in the spring, although Father Barberis
had not spoken a word about the September conversation to anyone
(MB 18, 328).
When Don Bosco died, a worthy burial place became a matter of
urgency. The Salesians did not yet have a proper place in the communal
cemetery and since they did not have permission to bury the Founder
at the church of Mary Help of Christians the body seemed destined
for common burial. But at the suggestion of the civil authority (the
President of the Council of Ministers, Francis Crispi), the idea was
mooted of burial at Valsalice, outside the urban area therefore outside
the jurisdiction of the city burial regulations. Following the solemn
funeral on 2 February, the bier was brought to Valsalice on the 4th,
and on the 6th was able to be placed in the hurriedly prepared tomb.
Some months later a mausoleum-cum-chapel was built there, designed
by Carlo Maurizio Vigna.
It was at the centre of the portico which divides the two courtyards
on different levels, in front of the main college building. Making use of
this arrangement of courtyards, the tomb and chapel had two floors.
A broad set of stairs from the portico in the lower courtyard led to
a niche that held the tomb. A bas-relief shows Don Bosco in priestly
vestments as he was when placed in the coffin. We read the epigraph
as follows: “ Hic compositus est in pace Christi - Joannes Bosco Sacerdos
- orphanorum pater - natus Castrinovi apud Astenses XVIII kal. sept.
MDCCCXV - obiit Aug. Taurin. pridie kal. febr. - MDCCCLXXXVIII”
(Here, in the peace of Christ, lies Fr John Bosco, father to orphans,
born at Castelnuovo near Asti on 16 August 1815. Died in Turin on 31
January 1888).
Either side of the tomb, two sets of stairs lead to the terrazzo at the
front of the upper courtyard. Here we find a chapel along Gothic lines
which is above the tomb. The fresco in the apse over the marble altar is
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a Pietà on a gilded background; it is by Rollini. Ten years after his death
Don Bosco’s spiritual sons built a church nearby this complex to St
Francis de Sales, patron of Catholic journalists and Salesians, built with
donations by Cooperators and the Provinces of Europe and America.
Planned by Salesian architect Fr Ernest Vespignani (1861–1925), it was
dedicated to the cult of Cardinal Augustine Richelmy on 12 April 1901.
Further work was done on the tomb in 1907, when the Cause of
beatification and canonisation was introduced. The idea was to add
decoration to the crypt and chapel for this occasion. This is how we see
it today.
On the pediment [note: a triangular part at the top of the front of
a building that supports the roof] of the chapel, a by now tatty-looking
fresco was replaced by a mosaic saying: “Ave Crux, spes unica” (Hail to
the Cross, our only hope). The terrazzo on the upper courtyard was also
redone and given a new balustrade. In the crypt, on gilded backgrounds,
are geometric motifs fashioned with hot molten wax, interwoven with
vines and other religious symbols in vivid colours. It was done on the
basis of a design by Francesco Chiapasco.
Special care has been given to embellishing the portico where the
staircase provides access to the tomb. This is the work of Engineer
Stefano Molli (1858–1917). Vaults, arches and walls have been ornamented
by fine etchings, the work of Prof. Francesco Barberis. The eight lunettes
show buildings recalling important stage of Don Bosco’s life: the cottage
at the Becchi; the facade of the church of St Francis of Assisi, where on 8
December 1841 the work of the Oratory began; the Pinardi house, first
stable location of Salesian work; the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians,
consecrated in 1868; the Mornese house recalling the foundation of the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in 1872; St Philip Neri College at
Lanzo Torinese, where Don Bosco first set up the Salesian Cooperators
Association; the Viedma institute, founded on 24 May 1879, recalling
the beginnings of the Salesian missions; and finally the Camerette at
Valdocco where Don Bosco died on the morning of 31 January 1888.
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A door and beaten iron gate were placed to indicate the stairs that
lead down to the tomb and the rest of the portico. This whole complex
has been an object of constant pilgrimage. Don Bosco’s body lay here
until the end of 1929, the year of his beatification. For the occasion,
on 9 June the body was laid out as we see it today, and led in a solemn
cortege to the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, to strains of Giù dai
colli, music written for the occasion by Salesian Fr Michael Gregorio.
The lyrics were by Fr Secondo Rastello.
Fr Rua and Fr Albera were also buried at Valsalice before their bodies
were transferred to Turin.
Valsalice today
The Salesians still look after the place that was the Founder’s resting
place for forty years or more. The mausoleum, especially the ornamental
part, and church were restored in 1986–1987. The house, which has
been gradually extended (a third floor was added in 1898–1901; a new
wing on the west in 1930–1931 and further added to in 1956), has
again returned to its earliest function as a school, following the transfer
of the Philosophy students to Foglizzo (1925–1926). So this place has
played an important role in the city and local area, preparing thousands
of students for university (in 1905 it was given State recognition
for Liceo Classico and in 1952–1957 gained legal recognition also
for the Liceo Scientifico, the two senior secondary – matriculation –
branches in the Italian university preparation scheme of things). In
line with this tradition, today it offers lower and upper secondary
courses (“classic” and “scientific”, as indicated earlier) and the valuable
Don Bosco Museum of Natural History, developed on the basis of
the ornithological collection which Don Bosco acquired in 1879; The
mineralogical and petrographic collection of about 5000 pieces, is one
of the largest in Piedmont.
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