To the Mayor of Turin, Giovanni Battista Notta

E I, 213

He asks for help to feed the cholera orphans he has taken in, despite a previous commitment not to ask for any municipal grants for the current year.

Turin, 25 January 1855

Your Excellency the Mayor,

Given the serious expenses that the municipality of Turin had to face during the fatal emergency of the cholera morbus, it was decided not to submit any requests for grants this year; however, my current needs compel me to do so.

In addition to the many expenses I had to incur to bring the premises up to the standards required at the time, I now find myself with about ninety-five children to feed, clothe and put to bed. I wanted to reduce their number, but the orphans caused by cholera increased it: so, among those sent to me by the public charity committee for cholera victims and those I myself encountered in the squares and streets, I took in about forty of these unfortunate souls.

I am not asking for financial assistance to pay the rent, for classes, or for the work carried out there: I am only asking for financial assistance to be able to feed my poor children until the winter season is over; after that, I trust in the Lord that some provision will be made and that I will be able to find them at least some work elsewhere.

For this matter, I commend myself to Your Excellency’s proven kindness, with a request that you assist me in this exceptional need, confident that you will not lack either the means or the will to help these people, who are the poorest, most abandoned and most vulnerable members of the community.

With the sincerest gratitude, I am

Your Excellency’s

most obliged servant,

Fr John Bosco