John Bosco was born at the Becchi on 16 August 1815 to a peasant family. The Becchi was a handful of farm houses halfway between Capriglio and Castelnuovo d'Asti. John's father was Francis and his mother Margaret Occhiena. Francis had married Margaret after his wife died and he was left with one child: little Anthony. The couple had two children: Joseph and John. When he was just two years old John lost his father who died of pneumonia. Don Bosco would tell us that his first memory was his father's death: everyone left the room where Francis had just died but John did not want to move. His mother said to him:

“Come with me, John”

But he answered:

“If papa is not coming, nor am I”.

Margaret replied:

“My poor child, you no longer have a father!”

And they both cried.

Mama Margaret was left alone as the head of the family. She was twenty nine. She had to look after Francis' elderly mother and Anthony, as well as young Joseph and John. She was not discouraged however, and rolled up her sleeves to get to work.

Life at the Becchi was difficult: early in the mornings she had to go out into the fields to work, cut the grass, plough the field, sow and reap the corn. The vineyard too needed plenty of looking after, especially at harvest time. But these were not the only things she had to do! She had to think about the house, the cooking, washing, going to the well to draw water, amongst other things, and look after the animals and the stable. This was how John grew up, helping his mother where he could: he would gather wood, draw water, shell the peas, clean the stable… and while he was not yet big enough to work the land like Anthony, he went with Joseph to lead the sheep to pasture and between one trip and another he would play in the fields or do other small jobs.

When John was alone he would carry a little bag with a slice of wheaten bread: that was his snack. A friend would await him out in the pastures, but he had a slice of black bread made of polenta, and not as nice as John's.

One day John offered him his slice of white bread and said:

“Take it, it's yours”.

“And you?”

“I much prefer black bread like yours”.

They often got together with the boys from nearby farms; they were not always the best boys; some used swear and were very cheeky. They used play a game called "lippa" a bit like today's baseball. After one of the games John came back home, his face dripping in blood: he had been hit in the face by the wooden projectile. Mama Margaret was worried, and while she bandaged him up she said:

“One day or other you'll come back home with your eye out. Why do you hang around with those boys? You know that some of them are a bit rough”.

“If it makes you happy, I won't go there any more. But see, when I'm there, they are much better behaved”.

Mama Margaret sighed, and let him go.

During summer evenings, Margaret and her children would be outside telling stories, and she used say:

“God created the world and look at the stars he created up there. If the night sky is so beautiful, imagine how beautiful heaven must be!”

When they were out walking and they came across a field all in flower, she would say:

“What beautiful things the Lord has made for us!”

If a thunderstorm broke out and everyone was scared, Margaret would calm them down by saying:

“How powerful the Lord is! Who can resist Him? Let's not commit sin!”

John listened and learned respect for the Lord from his mother's lips. Every day at noon work would stop at home while they said the Angelus; three times a day in fact they would greet the Mother of God together. They said their prayers in the morning and evening and before meals. Whenever the boys headed out to the fields to play, their mother always reminded them:

“Remember that God sees you and can also read your thoughts!”

John remembered this even when occasionally he got up to some mischief, but he never forget to give thanks to the Lord. When he was Don Bosco he told people: “When I was just a small boy my mother taught me my first prayers. And as soon as I was able to join in with my brothers she got me to kneel down with them in the morning and the evening. I recall that it was she who prepared me for my first Confession”.

Young John's life went on calmly amidst work, a little bit of school, and prayer. One night, different from other nights, he had a very strange dream. Some years later he told us about it:

“When I was nine I had a dream that left a profound impression on me for the rest of my life. In the dream I seemed to be near the house in a large playground where there were lots of boys playing. Some were laughing and not a few were swearing. Hearing these curses I launched in amongst them using my fists and yelling at them to stop.

Just at that moment a nobly dressed dignified-looking man came up to me. His face was so bright I could not look at him. He called me by name and said:

'Not with blows but with kindness and patience will you win over these friends of yours. Explain to these boys how ugly sin is and how wonderful it is to live in friendship with God'.

Confused and afraid I replied that I was a poor and ignorant lad. Just then the boys stopped all their wild behaviour and gathered around the man who was speaking. Almost without realising what I was saying, I asked him:

'Who are you to order me to do the impossible?'

'I am the Son of the Woman whom your mother has taught you to greet three times a day. Ask her what my name is'.

Just then a majestic woman appeared beside him. She was dressed in a mantle that shone like the sun. Seeing me so confused, she beckoned to me, took me kindly by the hand and told me:

'Look!'

Looking around I saw that the boys had all disappeared; in their place was a large number of goats, dogs, cats, bears and other animals.

'Here is your field, here is where you must work. Make yourself humble, strong and energetic: and what you see happening to these animals right now you will do for my children'.

I looked around, and there, instead of wild animals were lots of gentle lambs, bleating and gambolling like it was a celebration around the Man and the Woman.

At that point, still dreaming, I began to cry, and I asked the Woman to tell me clearly what was happening because I did not understand. So she put her hand on my head and said:

'In time you will understand everything'.

She had hardly uttered these when when a noise woke me up and everything disappeared. I was totally bewildered. My hands seemed to be sore from the blows I had given, and my face hurt from those I had received from the boys.

As soon as he awoke John jumped out of bed, said a quick prayer and ran to the kitchen where he found his mother, his grandmother and his two brothers Anthony and Joseph. He couldn't help but tell them all about the dream in all its detail.. His brothers, naturally, burst out laughing:

“You will become a shepherd”, said Joseph.

“Or head of a band of brigands”, said Anthony, to make him angry.

Mama Margaret, instead, was serious. She looked at her intelligent and generous child and said:

“Who knows, but one day you may become a priest”.

But his grandmother, thumping her stick on the floor impatiently, grumbled at these words:

“Dreams are dreams, take no notice of them. And now let's have our breakfast”.

John wanted to let it go but it was not all that simple. His mother's words kept coming back to him, and one way or another the things she said usually came true.

He also would ask himself how it was that whenever he saw a priest, the man would never come up to him and speak with him.

It's not right, he thought to himself. I would speak to young people if I were a priest.

After thinking a lot about it he made a decision: I want to study to become a priest!

Between one job and another John began to pick up a book. He had only completed his second grade as was customary in those parts, and because Anthony did not want him to go on any further:

“There's no need. He only needs to know how to read and count”.

At various times his older brother, seeing him take a break to read his book, would shout at him and even occasionally use his hands if words were not enough. For his part John would sometimes answer back and sometimes would keep on doing what he was doling but trying not to be discovered. Margaret did her best to mediate and convince Anthony to let him study but it was by no means easy since he was the one bringing the money home.

Amidst all of these difficulties John thought back to the dream every now and again and this gave him the energy to keep going. He knew a lot of boys like himself who lived in the nearby houses and farms around the countryside. Some were good lads but some were wild, ignorant and used swear like troopers while playing lippa… a few were his good friends, but John wanted to do more. He just had to! The idea came to him during the feast of the patron saint of the village. He decided to study the tricks performed by travelling magicians and the stunts done by the jugglers. He paid his two cents so he could have a front seat in the tent. He had asked his mother for the money, but she had told him:

“Do as you wish but don't ask me for money - we have very little!”

John obeyed as always; he caught birds and sold them, made baskets and cages and made arrangements with hawkers and pedlars, picked medicinal herbs and brought them to the apothecary in Castelnuovo, until he had raised the sum he needed.

Then he came back home and tried tight-rope walking, or getting a live hen to escape from a pot he was boiling on the fire... it took some months of practice, constant effort, a few tumbles off the rope, lots of laughter from his brothers, but in the end the show was ready!

He called all his friends but asked for no money to watch the show; he simply wanted them to pray with him during the interval and listen to the Sunday sermon that he had learned off by heart from the priest at church. He often told an edifying story that he had read in one of his books. Not every show went off so well… one day Anthony turned up halfway through, coming from the fields. He threw his hoe to the ground and exploded in anger:

“Look at the clown! Lazy good-for-nothing! I'm breaking my back out in the paddock and here you are carrying on like a fraudster!”

John swallowed hard and moved a couple of hundred metres away.

Things with Anthony were getting worse: John would get a cuff around the ears just for having a book on the table. Things couldn't go on like this. One morning in February Mama Margaret took the hard decision, the hardest of her life:

“It would be better if you left home. One day or other Anthony is going to do you harm”.

She gave him the name of a few farms where he might be able to get a job as a farmhand and making up a swag for him, she sadly saw him off. He arrived at the Moglia farm. He stayed there a moment in silence to pluck up courage, then went in. The Moglia family were at the hay shed and were getting the baskets ready to put food in. At the beginning Mr Moglia did not want to take anyone on but his wife Dorothy softened:

“Take him, Luigi. Let's give him a few days trial”.

John worked hard so he wouldn't be put off. He worked from dawn till dusk. Then, when the others were going off to bed he lit a candle and continued reading the books his primary teacher, Fr Lacqua, had lent him. Even when he was leading the oxen to the ploughing he was still able to have a book in hand. Old Joseph, Luigi's uncle, returning all sweaty from the fields, would see John kneeling at midday to say the Angelus:”

“Oh! So here we are all working and slaving away and here's the farmhand praying in blissful peace”.

“But when there's work to be done you know I don't hold back. My mother taught me that when we pray, you get four shoots from two seeds; if you don't pray instead you get only two shoots from four seeds. So it might be better if you all said a few prayers”.

In November 1829 his uncle Michael, his mother's brother, came to see him:

“So John, are you happy?”

“No. They treat me very well but I want to study, and I am already 14”.

Uncle Michael brought him back home. Anthony was not happy about it, but after a lively discussion he accepted that John could study just so long as he did not have to pay as well.

Meanwhile in September 1829 Fr John Calosso had settled in as chaplain at Morialdo. He was 70 years of age, but kind and fatherly. As soon as John had come back home, that same November a mission was organised at Buttigliera. John went along so he could learn some more things to tell his friends, and on his return to his great surprise he came face to face with the elderly priest who came up to him and spoke to him:

“Where are you from, my child?”

“From the Becchi. I went to hear the mission being preached”.

“Who knows if you were able to understand anything from all those Latin quotations! Maybe your mother could have preached better for you”.

“That's true that my mother often gives me good sermons. But I think I also understood the mission priests”.

“Well done! So, let's see: if you can give me four words that were said in today's sermon I'll give you four coins”.

John began recounting the entire sermon, as if he were reading it out of a book. Fr Calosso was amazed and he asked him:

“What's your name?”

“John Bosco. My father died when I was still a baby”.

“What schooling have you done?”

“I have learned to read and write from Fr Lacqua, in Capriglio. I wouldl ike to do some more study but my older brother doesn't want to hear about it and the parish priests at Castelnuovo and Buttigliera have no time to help me”.

“And why do you want to study?”

“To become a priest”.

“Tell your mother to come and see me at Morialdo. Maybe I can give you a hand, old though I am”.

Margaret lost no time and went to see Fr Calosso. They decided that John could go and live in the presbytery during the day, where they could easily do some lessons, do whatever jobs had to be done, and John could study. Don Bosco would later tell us: “I immediately put myself in Fr Calosso's hands. I told him everything about myself, every word, every thought. I learned then what it was to have a steady guide, a faithful soul friend which up until that time I did not have. He encouraged me to go to Communion and Confession and he taught me how to make a brief meditation every day. No-one can imagine how happy I was. I loved Fr Calosso as a father, and I willingly helped him in everything. That man of God truly loved me”.

John was happy because now he was able to do what he had always wanted to do and he had also found the father he had not had, even if Mama Margaret saw that he lacked nothing. But one day the elderly priest sent him off to do something for a group of his relatives. As soon as he got home he saw a person arrive who said to him anxiously:

“Hurry John! Go straight back to Fr Calosso! He has taken ill and he wants to see you immediately”.

John hurried back to the presbytery where he found Fr Calosso on his bed, dying. He was able to smile at him just once more and then after a few hours of agony, died.

Fr Calosso's death was a severe blow for John to overcome and he cried and cried. Nobody could console him. Everything seemed to speak of him and even at night he still bore a deep sadness. Mama Margaret decided to send him on a holiday with his grandparents for a while but once he returned he had to get to work. Anthony was very clear about that. John later told us he had another dream at that time: “I saw someone who was telling me off severely for having put too much faith in man instead of God”.

On his return, once again Margaret understood what was the best thing to do. She decided to divide the goods they owned between Anthony and the rest of the family. This meant there were some lengthy matters to attend to but it was worth it and John finally felt that he was now free to study. At Christmas 1830 he enrolled at the public school in Castelnuovo. By now he was no longer a small boy; he was 15! He had worked and suffered and he now was ready to get down to business in his teenage years.

For John, study was not just a chore, a path laid down which he simply needed to follow. He really had to work hard at it, partly because of his brother but not only. After the family patrimony was divided up, John made the decision with his mother to attend the local public schools at Castelnuovo 5 km away. There was no transport available every day, so he had to do it on foot: 10 km or even 20 if he needed to come home for lunch. John had been the idol of the boys at Morialdo and Moncucco, but now he found himself in a classroom with boys of 10 or 11 years of age who would laugh at him because of his age and the way he was poorly dressed. Luckily he had Fr Virano as a teacher. One day after reading one of his essays, Fr Virano said:

“Anybody who writes like this has every right to wear a cowherd's shoes. Because what matters in life is not your shoes, (or maybe today we'd say designer shoes!) but your head”.

During a Piedmontese winter, however, he could not so easily go back and forth in the snow and cold, so Margaret asked Mr John Roberto, a tailor, if John could board with him: a plate of soup and somewhere under the stairs to sleep!

In his first year there John had to deal with a few classmates who were not so good: they wanted him to play gambling games during school time. He said he had no money but one of them told him:

“It's about time you woke up to yourself and learned how to survive in this world! If you need money steal it from the tailor or your mother”.

But John certainly was not the kind who let his thinking get confused like this when he had to do the right thing and he certainly was not going to let a few bad companions make his decisions for him! He was constant and even obstinate when it came to doing the right thing. John's attitude was an example to everyone and there too his classmates began to admire him.

John was soon admired for what he was and not for the clothes he wore.. Mr John Roberto was not only of the tailors in Castelnuovo; he was also a good chorister - both sacred and secular. He had a spinet at home, an old musical instrument something like a harpsichord, and under his tutelage, John learned to play it. In his free time John also practised sewing on buttons, cutting cloth and produced some excellent results. To pay for his books and studies he also went to learn some smithing from Evasio Savio, the blacksmith. Fifteen or so years later, as Don Bosco, he was able to use all the talents the Lord gave him and the new skills he was now picking up: he would teach poor boys to read and write, sing hymns and then he would open workshops where he would be the first trade teacher.

But not everything went his way. Good Fr Virano was appointed parish priest at Mondonio and left the school in April. His seventy five year old successor, Fr Moglia, made John suffer somewhat. Without knowing John's brilliance and without even wanting to know it, and being so poor at discipline was well, his classroom was like bedlam:

“What do you want to study Latin for? Only big donkeys grow up in the Becchi!”

Hearing this the other boys began to lose the respect they had and some very difficult days lay ahead for John. As Don Bosco, when he was writing his Memoirs later, he made just brief reference to Fr Moglia in order not to blame him too much. Time passed and there was no sign that things were going to get much better, so John and Margaret decided to try to enrol him in the rather more complicated school at Chieri.

To get ready for this stage, during summer he studied very hard. Joseph and Margaret moved to a house in Sussambrino where they helped work Mr Febraro's farm. John too helped out and like old times, while he led the animals out to graze he went back over his Latin.

To go to Chieri though he needed to buy clothes, shoes and books. He was a good athlete, so he managed to earn 20 lire by climbing the greasy pole during one of the feast days, and here too his earlier feats with tightrope walking which he had used to entertain friends and get them to pray, came in use again! But this wasn't enough. He had to face the humiliation of begging for money around the homes:

“I am Margaret Bosco's son. I am going to Chieri to study to become a priest. If you can, please help me”.

Margaret always had some polenta or soup ready for poor people in the neighbourhood, and everyone knew that they could count on her even if her own children had to go without a meal. Now it was she who was in difficulties. The help came and also the parish priest at Castelnuovo, Fr Dassano, hearing of the need, collected a small amount and sent it to Margaret. Besides, he introduced her to Mrs Lucia Matta who was moving to Chieri so her own boy could study: they agreed that John could stay there for 21 lire a month. They could not pay it all so John agreed to help with the housework. Afterwards Mrs Matta trusted him so much that she asked him to take her lazy son in hand and after six months, with John's help, he began to satisfy his teachers and returned to the sacraments. She was so happy that she would not take any more money for board.

He was placed in sixth grade in Chieri, more or less the first year of secondary in Italy now. He had already turned 16. He did so well that after two months, given his good marks, he was allowed to sit for the exam for the next level up. He passed brilliantly and went into fifth class (at the time the classes were listed in the reverse order). He had Fr Valimberti as a teacher, who became his friend and counsellor. After just another two months he sat for the exam for fourth class and got full marks. That class was taught by Vincenzo Cima, a severe but competent teacher, and seeing the newcomer arrive halfway through the year he said:

“If you have good will then you are in good hands. I will not let you waste time. If you have any problems, I will help”.

And that's how it was. John lost no time and during the year picked up just about everything he was behind in.

During this year at school John found himself dealing with various categories of boys. As usual the less recommendable type, some who were indifferent and others who were very good. as was his habit he spent his time with the better ones, and refused suggestions from the others. The less recommendable types ones were the ones who did little study and little by little started coming to John to get him to do their work for them. At first he agreed then, advised by his teacher, he got them to understand what was just a case of copying and that they could also learn of their own accord and deal with their own problems. His reputation grew and boys who at first seemed to be hopeless became much better when they were with him. They began to meet not just to study but also to enjoy themselves and listen to some of his stories. They founded a group with a set of rules and called it The Happy Company:

1. Do nothing that would not be worthy of a good Christian.

2. Do your school and religious duties well.

Meanwhile John met up with a good priest called Canon Meloria, who invited him to make frequent use of the sacraments, which was extraordinary at that time. He did so and would say later:

“If I found the strength not to be led astray by some of the wilder types I owe it to my frequent encounter with the Lord”.

In a short time he had become the captain of a small 'army'. One Sunday a juggler, acrobat turned up and his idea was to perform just before Sunday Mass outside the Church. The boys were obviously much more interested in him than the services in Church. John challenged him in several skills that the man was sure he would win, but he hadn't taken John's mettle into account. After being soundly beaten John gave him his money back so long as he kept far away from the church, and no longer diverted the boys' attention from their duties.

John was finally admitted to second class, then called humanities class. Lucia's son had finished school so John had to find somewhere else to board. A family friend, John Pianta, had just opened a cafe in Chieri and invited him to stay with him. Naturally he had to work in exchange and John also learned how to be barman. After the humanities year he then went into first class, known as rhetoric year, which would be akin more or less to Year 5 of high school today. Here he met Luigi Comollo, nephew of the parish priest at Cinzano. Luigi was a very good young lad and had shown more than once in front of some of the wilder boys, that he could stay on the right track. He was not easily up for sale. He wasn't just a nerd but someone the boys could talk about as: “a really good kid”!

But there were no end of pranks and suspect behaviour that John, more than once, had to defend Luigi from, not only with words but occasionally with fists and he was well accustomed to doing it too. It was after one such occasion that a deep friendship resulted:

“John”, Luigi said to him, “your strength frightens me. God did not give it to you to hurt your classmates with. He wants us to forgive and then answer bad with good”.

John ended up taking note of this and following his advice. The years that followed at the seminary only reinforced this friendship.

At the end of the Rhetoric year, John had to make a serious decision. What would he do with his life? Today we would say that in the final year of secondary school you need to have some clear ideas about going on to further study, or out to work. What study? Which work?.

John decided to become a priest but he was afraid. Not every priest of the time lived in a gospel-inspired way, so mixed up in ordinary daily affairs that they would forget the spiritual and care of souls, especially of the young. And for further studies he needed money that he did not have. So he considered resolving the problem by living in a convent far from the world since the Franciscans had already given him a positive reply. Fr Dassano, the parish priest, when he came to know about it discouraged him from making this choice and as soon as he could spoke with Margaret telling her amongst other things that if John became a friar he would have no money to support her in the future. Although getting older by now, she put on her shawl and set off resolutely for Chieri to speak with her son. If John could still remember what she told him when he was 70, it means her words struck home:

“Listen here, John. I want you to think this out calmly. When you have made your decision then go ahead and answer to no-one. Keep in mind that the most important thing is that you do the Lord's will. The parish priest wants you to change your mind because I might need you in the future. But remember that in things like this your mother doesn't count. God comes first, before me. There is nothing I need from you, or expect, since I was born poor and I wish to die poor. In fact let me be clear: if you become a priest and by some misfortune a rich priest, know that I will never set foot in your house. Remember that well”!

John was still confused; the prophetic (maybe) dream he had had when he was nine helped him understand that he would not find peace in a convent. But so he might not just be beholden to a dream, he asked Luigi Comollo's uncle for advice when Luigi suggested writing to him (his uncle was a priest). He advised John to calmly enter the seminary. Evasio Savio suggested John speak with Fr Cafasso, a young priest, 23 years old, who was finishing his studies at the Ecclesiastical College (called the Convitto Ecclesiastico, in Italian) in Turin. The studies he did there might be compared to a specialist degree in subjects needed to become a good priest. After his ordination Don Bosco would also take up these courses. John was very impressed by the depth and even-balanced approach of this young priest to the point that when he got older he chose him as his spiritual director. Fr Cafasso was able to steady Don Bosco's fiery temperament and guide him to make good choices. But John's best quality was his ability to ask advice, let himself be guided and not just act alone; it was the winning card and produced many a good result.

Once he had made his decision John donned the clerical habit. He received it at a solemn Mass celebrated by the parish priest at Castelnuovo, Fr Cinzano. From then on he changed completely, since putting on the habit also meant changing his life: he took off the clothes and attitudes of the young man he had been up until that moment and put on the clothes and thinking of a new man instead.

John prepared himself well and took things very seriously, but soon after his clothing day the parish priest invited him to go with him to one of the patronal feasts, including as a way of celebrating this particular 'rite of passage' he had made. So, after weeks of recollection to prepare himself for his clothing day, John found himself right in the midst of a celebration where everyone was drinking and the talk was only about fun, balls and politics. He felt like a puppet in a new suit who was there to be clapped and admired.

“What can all this have in common with someone who just a short while ago had put on the clothing of holiness to give himself totally to the Lord?”

He told the parish priest about this on return home, who told him to get used to it because:

“This is how the world is. You have to accept it as it is. You need to see evil in order to avoid it”.

Technically Fr Cinzano was not wrong, but nor was he right, since there is no need to go looking for evil!

Out of that experience John decided to follow a rule. Not a whole heap of rules that he would never follow, but just a couple of clear ones suited to his circumstances. That way he could find it easier to stick to his choice. He thought of writing out a kind of plan for himself, and made a simple one like this:

1. I will do my very best to avoid banquets and things of the kind.

2. I will no longer be a juggler and acrobat performing in front of everyone (he was now dressed as a priest).

3. I will make every effort to find time for reflection. I will not over-sleep or over-eat.

4. I will begin to read religious books so I can get to know God better.

5. I will try to fight thoughts, conversations and images which go against the chastity I have chosen.

6. I will find time for prayer every day.

7. I will talk about ideas and deeds that do good for the soul of people I meet.

This plan of life was very useful for John during his seminary years because every time he thought he was making a mistake he could go back to these resolutions and renew them. He certainly did not follow them perfectly without ever making a mistake but he was faithful. When he became Don Bosco he offered the same approach to Dominic Savio, and the result? Holiness!

When John came home for a few days before entering the seminary, Mama Margaret seemed pensive, and often looked at him as if sizing up the right moment to tell him something. The evening before his departure she called him aside, and looking at him squarely, told him:

“John, you have put on this priestly clothing. I am as happy as a mother can be at her son's success. However, remember that it is not the habit you are wearing now that will bring you honour, but the seriousness with which you live up to the commitment you have made. If you come to doubt your calling one day, I ask you not to dishonour that habit but to take it off immediately. I would prefer a poor peasant as a son than a failed priest. When you were born I entrusted you to Our Lady; love friends of yours who honour her, and when you are a priest, spread devotion to her”.

She was deeply moved as she finished speaking. He was moved too and said:

“Mama, thank you for everything you have done for me. I will never forget these words. I will treasure them for the rest of my life”.

When the Bible says: 'Honour your father and your mother', it refers to this. Honouring our parents for everything they have done means listening to their advice and becoming good people. John succeeded in doing that.

Every day at the seminary was more or less the same. The superiors were kind but John was not completely satisfied; he would have liked to have felt that they were closer, to be able to spend time with them, ask for explanations. But that's how things were at the time and nothing much more could be done about it. As an older person he would seek to change that.

He went to the sacraments frequently in the seminary since these were his energy for doing well. He was however quite happy with his studies and his friends. His best friend Luigi Comollo entered the seminary in his second year there. Luigi was a constant example who encouraged him to pray and do everything well.

During the holidays, since he was already a cleric and student of theology, John was invited to nearby towns to give the homily. He got a well-deserved lesson one day. He gave a wonderful, very erudite homily at Alfiano for Our Lady's Birthday. But the homily was so good that only the parish priest and he understood it! He asked the parish priest what he thought about it.

“Very good! Well structured. But only you and I understood it! You need to let go of the classic language and speak in dialect or, if you want in Italian but simple Italian and ideas! Instead of all kinds of logic it would be better to give examples, simple comparisons and practices. The people can't follow too many ideas”.

That was advice that served him for the rest of his life.

On another couple of occasions he was invited to attend a banquet or play the violin at the meals but despite the fact that he was aware of his commitment and was careful about his behaviour, he couldn't control how the others behaved. So he decided he wouldn't accept those kinds of invitation ever again.

Luigi Comollo died that year leaving John very sad. Soon afterwards he wrote the life of his friend and then got his boys to read it, thus doing them a lot of good.

In order to pay his seminary fees he studied hard so he could win the yearly prize of 60 lire for the best students, something he managed to do every time. He earned another 60 by looking after the sacristy. What was still left over to pay came from Fr Cafasso.

John did many things, as usual, but he still made time for learning other useful things that would help him be a good priest: Church history, books on spirituality, Greek, Hebrew and French.

Amongst the other good formators there he also got to know Fr Borel who would soon become his close collaborator.

In the second last year at the seminary, he also got permission to tackle the final year so long as he could do the first part of the exams by November. Fr Cafasso encouraged him, and this time once again he was successful.

John trembled at the thought of saying 'yes' for the rest of his life. But Fr Cafasso told him to go ahead without fear and do what he had advised him to do. He shut himself away for a ten day retreat. He was ordained first a sub deacon then a deacon. On the 5th June 1941, on the vigil of the Holy Trinity he was ordained priest. He celebrated his first Mass at St Francis of Assisi church assisted by Fr Cafasso. On the following days he celebrated at Chieri and Castelnuovo thanking the people who had helped him When he got home and looked back at the places where he had suffered and where he had his dream when he was 9, he was much moved and thought: how great are the ways of the Lord. He has raised up a poor boy from the soil to give him such an important role.

At the end of summer 1841 Don Bosco had to decide what to do, and he was given three options. A family in Genoa had offered a place for a private teacher at 1,00 lire per year. His fellow citizens from Morialdo, who lhad a lot of time for John, had offered him the chaplaincy there promising to double the stipend. And finally, he had been offered assistant priest at Castelnuovo. Certainly a thousand lire a year was not small and he could also have had a lot of free time, and staying fairly close to home might also be attractive. He immediately discarded any reasons tied to money, since neither he nor his mother would have been happy about that. So what was he to choose? The best solution seemed to be to ask advice from the wise Fr Cafasso. After listened carefully to him, Fr Cafasso said without hesitation:

“Accept none of these. Come here to the Ecclesiastical College. You need to complete your formation by studying moral theology and preaching”.

Don Bosco willingly agreed and on 3 November he entered the College. There were two important subjects he had to study: practical moral theology would help him guide young people and reconcile them with the Lord, and preaching could help inflame their hearts with love of God.

He learned to be a priest at the College. The moral theology followed the lines of St Alphonsus Maria Liguori. This Saint was more flexible and benevolent in judging matters tied to conscience, and in practice he did not see evil everywhere but focused on love of God. Frequenting the sacraments regularly would help the faithful to live in the Lord's love.

The day's timetable included meditation in the morning, prayer, classes and in the afternoon practical apostolate around the city: hospitals, prisons, charitable institutions, preaching in the churches, catechism and being with the sick and elderly. One of these experiences was of the greatest importance for Don Bosco.

Fr Cafasso began taking Don Bosco to visit the prisons. These were dramatic visits and he began to see that most of the boys were between 12 and 18. How could healthy and intelligent boys be left there doing nothing except being lice and disease-infested? Who was looking after them? Who would wait for them outside? Many of them, as soon as they came out, were of a mind to change their lives but once outside they had nowhere to go and were forced to steal and then be taken in again. Just seeing them so frightened, looking at the world with angry eyes, Don Bosco thought:

“These boys should find a friend outside to take care of them, be with them, instruct them, bring them to church on Sundays. Then maybe they would not go back to ruining their lives or at least very few of them would end up in prison again”.

At the general marketplace in town another thing had given him the shivers: it was really a “boys market”. Near Porta Palazzo the place was full of young vendors, shoe-shine boys, chimney-sweeps, kids distributing pamphlets, servants of businessmen; they were boys from the countryside looking for work to survive. They climbed scaffolding and if they happened to fall nobody was particularly concerned since there were ten more ready to take their place. They roamed like wolves amongst the sheep in the streets, gambled and stole in the market place, and showed mistrust and spite when anyone tried to approach them. Don Bosco only read fear, not spite, in their eyes, however. He would have to do something, and soon the Lord helped him understand what.

In the first month spent at the College, Don Bosco began to befriend some boys who then started follow him; they came from various places. He had no room to gather them in and he did not understand what he could really do with them. As usual the Lord was active in the midst of coincidences. Providence saw that during December a strange event would help him be clear about what he needed to do.

It was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Don Bosco was vesting to celebrate Mass. The sacristan, seeing a boy in the corner, invited him to serve the Mass. Since the boy kept refusing, saying he didn't know how, the sacristan got angry:

“If you don't know how to serve Mass, why are you here in the sacristy?”

He grabbed the candle lighter, a long stick, and began to hit the boy who immediately took to his heels. When Don Bosco saw this happening he intervened:

“What are you doing? Why are you hitting the boy? What has he done wrong?”

“He came to the sacristy but he doesn't know how to serve Mass!”

“And this is why you are hitting him? Leave him alone - he is a friend of mine. So call him back immediately. I need to speak with him”.

The sacristan ran after the boy shouting: "Eh, boy, come here!". He found him, calmed him down a bit then brought him back to Don Bosco who gently asked him:

“Hi, have you been to Mass already?”

“No”.

“Come and hear my Mass. Afterwards I'd like to tell you something that I am sure you will like”.

As soon as he had finished Mass Don Bosco took him to the side chapel, calmed him down and changed his opinion about the kind of priest he thought was at that church.

“So my friend, what's your name?”

“Bartholomew Garelli”.

“Where are you from?”

“Asti”.

“Are your parents still alive?”

“No, they are both dead”.

“How old are you?”

“Sixteen”.

Bartholomew knew neither how to read nor write and had not even made his first Communion; he did not go to catechism class because he was afraid the other boys who were younger would laugh at him. Don Bosco then on instinct made this proposal:

“If I were to teach you catechism on your own, would you come?”

“Willingly”.

“Would you come here?”

“So long as they don't hit me!”

Don Bosco reassured him in fatherly manner that any friend of his would not be beaten! He began by teaching him the sign of the cross. Bartholomew did not know how to do it. He told him about God's love and why he had been created. Now that he had found a friend who was interested in him, he was able to explain more clearly to him how Jesus too wanted to be his friend. They said a Hail Mary together and Don Bosco always said that the Oratory really began with that prayer.

The following week Bartholomew was no longer alone; he had followed Don Bosco's advice: “Next week bring a friend with you” That what all Salesians say! Thus the catechism classes continued and little by little they became the Oratory. At the beginning Don Bosco invited boys coming out of prison and who seemed most at risk, but to help him establish some order and also to be able to propose higher goals he also invited some boys who were better educated and behaved. This group, though they had some problems, soon worked in well with the others and he was able to get them singing, telling stories for amusement and giving some life to the meetings. In March 1842 the group was around 30 boys, and amongst other things they were able to lead the Feast of the Annunciation with some good singing. That spring, one of the first boys at the Oratory, Charles Buzzetti, brought along his younger brother Joseph, ten years old. Joseph really loved Don Bosco like a father and followed him everywhere.

Many of the boys were bricklayers, or plasterers and came from far away villages. The number grew and the chapel became too small. Fr Guala, the Rector at the College, and Fr Cafasso gave them permission to meet in the courtyard. They gave out medals and also loaves of bread to feed these poor kids who would stay behind after Mass to play with Don Bosco. When there were confessions the two good priests would remain in the courtyard and help by telling amusing stories. This permission remained in place for three years! The group now grew to 80, as many as could fit in the courtyard, but there were still others who wanted to join in. For three years, until 1844, the Oratory stayed at the College.

Fr Joseph Comollo, Luigi's uncle, was by now elderly and needed someone to help him look after the Parish at Cinzano. He thought of asking the Archbishop to send Fr John Bosco. Fr Cafasso called him to his office and told him:

“You have finished your studies. Now you have to go out and work. There are many possibilities in the Lord's harvest, so what do you feel like doing?”

Don Bosco answered:

“Whatever you tell me to do”.

Fr Cafasso told him that other than Cinzano there were another three possibilities: assistant priest at Buttigliera d’Asti, teaching moral theology at the College, and director of the Little Hospital for sick girls founded by the Marchionness Barolo.

Since Don Bosco had put himself fully into the hands of his spiritual director, he took his advice to take a few weeks holiday first. On his return Fr Cafasso called him:

“Pack your bags and go to Fr Borel at the Refuge, and work there. You will also be the director at the Little Hospital”.

The Marchioness Barolo had founded the Refuge in the Valdocco area near Cottolengo. This work looked after street girls who wanted to change their lives, and next to it was the Little Hospital for sick girls which Don Bosco had to look after. In his three years at the College Fr Borel had invited him several times to preach a retreat there. He was on very good terms with him. He admired this good priest who gave everything to saving as many souls as possible. As soon as he arrived he was assured that he could continue with his weekend oratory in the small room he would have as soon as it was completed for the priests to use.

On 13 October 1844 Don Bosco had to tell the boys that the Oratory was going to move from the College to St Philomena's Little Hospital. He was very worried: how would they react? Would they come just the same? Was he going to waste three years of effort? He went to be with these thoughts, but that night he had another dream.

He was no longer nine years old, but the scene was very similar. A whole pack of wild wolves was making a terrible racket. Don Bosco, afraid, wanted to run off but a shepherdess appeared who invited him to lead the pack behind her. The odd group stopped three times and at each pause many of the wild animals turned into meek lambs. At the end they arrived in a field where all the lambs were gambolling around or quietly grazing. The shepherdess invited Don Bosco not to stop there and together they reached a large playground, where several of the lambs turned into shepherds allowing the flock to grow even bigger. Don Bosco looked carefully and saw a grand Basilica with an orchestra ready to play and a choir getting ready to lead the Mass. Inside the church was a white banner on which was written: "This is my house. My glory will go out from here". The dream concluded with a final word from the shepherdess who said:

“You will understand everything when you see with your own eyes what you have seen in the dream”.

It was a detailed description of what would happen, which we will talk about in the following pages. Perhaps this was why Don Bosco, just when he thought his adventures with the boys might be about to end, and when his closest helpers were beginning to think he was crazy, insisted against every opposition:

“Things cannot finish like this! I see a huge church, an oratory full of boys and lots of helpers giving me a hand! I am absolutely certain!”

On the Sunday Don Bosco told his boys the news with his usual typical enthusiasm. He promised them lots of space just to keep them interested!

The following week the boys went looking for their friend in Valdocco's streets:

“Where is the oratory? Where is Don Bosco?”

Naturally, nobody knew anything. Fr Borel and Don Bosco heard the noise and went out to welcome the boys. During those weeks around two hundred urchins met in the rooms, on the stairway and in the small courtyard belonging to the two good priests! I imagine that everyone can imagine what it meant having such a huge group of boys in such a small area. Don Bosco was not discouraged; he borrowed a small room and began teaching the oldest ones to read and write. But he needed money for books, clothes for the poorest ones, and to buy some games, and of course something to give them as a snack. Once again a proud character like his had to lower himself to go begging, this time around some of the well-to-do homes. It was one of the things that cost him the most, but he could no less, so with a great effort, he humbled himself.

Everything seemed to be improving, but suddenly a conflict emerged between two holy people. The Marchioness considered Don Bosco's work with the boys to be just a temporary thing. She wanted him available for her work. But Don Bosco thought exactly the opposite. They could not continue like this so they decided to part ways. The Marchioness, however, continued to help Don Bosco, but asked him to find other arrangements: after seven months of paradise he found himself out on the street.

Over that period Don Bosco had seen how much patience was needed to work with the boys, and that was when he decided to put himself under the protection of the Saint of kindness and patience: from that time on the Oratory would be called the St Francis de Sales Oratory.

As soon as he had been tossed out, Don Bosco found a place at St Peter in Chains, dedicated to the Crucifix. In Lent he began to bring the older boys there for catechism classes. The chaplain, Fr Tesio, was duly impressed and accepted the idea that the whole Oratory could come there into the courtyard outside his church. The poor man got a shock to see a whole army of boys arrive, running and shouting as loud as they could. The house-keeper, who took fright, began screaming and verbally attacked Don Bosco who unfortunately was then asked by the chaplain not to return.

The ultimatum from the Marchioness and the official opening of the Little Hospital were about to fall due and Don Bosco was forced to ask the Turin City Council for help. The Archbishop supported the request, fortunately, and the Oratory was allowed to transfer to St Martin's church.

So one Sunday in July 1845, a band of rowdy boys threaded through Turin's streets carrying benches, seats, games, candlesticks, heading for the church near the city mills. The permission was from midday until three in the afternoon, and the rest of the time they had to fill in with walks. The boys were beginning to lose heart from all the setbacks, but good Fr Borel gave them a sermon which made them all laugh. He told them they were like cabbages. Don Bosco told us about it in more or less these words:

“Cabbages, dear boys, need to be transplanted in order to have a full head, and so it is the same with our Oratory. It has been transplanted from one place to another, but it has grown every time. The boys who come are greater in number but also happier. In the first courtyard it was like a train making a stop at the station. Everyone experienced help in those weeks: games, catechism, explanations of the Gospel. And we played happily in the fields around. Will we stay here for longer? We have no idea. However we believe that what happens to our Oratory will be like what happens to the cabbages: it will grow in the number of boys who want to become good boys, and our desire to sing and play will grow too. If our conduct improves today as we come to the Oratory, God will help us to grow in doing good for the rest of our lives”.

The sermon did wonders and at the end they all sang a hymn to the Lord.

One of those Sundays, Don Bosco gave out some medals of Our Lady. The kids gathered around and soon there were none left. While he was giving them out, Don Bosco saw young Michael standing a little way off; he didn't want to crowd around because he was sad - his father had died two months ago. The good priest came up to him and with a big smile pretended to cut something in half and gave him one of the pieces:

“Take it, Michael, take it”.

“Take what? I can't see anything”.

“We two are going to go halves!”

The small boy was Michael Rua, first Salesian, first successor of Don Bosco.

Unfortunately even the Mills became a setback. Too much noise! The local tenants just couldn't take it any more. They couldn't even have some peace and quiet on a Sunday afternoon! They wrote a letter to the Council , and the Mayor, sorry though he was had to ask the Oratory to move again.

On the Sundays that followed Don Bosco seemed happy, he never let the boys see how worried he was, so we can imagine how he made them enthusiastic:

“Dear boys, I have some good news for you! Today we are going up to the church at the Superga! If anyone thinks they can't make it, put up your hand!”

Naturally nobody thought they couldn't do it! They would have climbed mountains to follow him. And so, bringing them to the Superga one Sunday, then to the Madonna del Pilone on another and the Monte dei Cappuccini on yet another, Don Bosco took his time and waited for Providence to tell him what to do. In November (1845), however, it was cold, and along with Fr Borel he took the decision to rent three rooms at the house belonging to Fr Moretta. He could bring the boys there teach catechism and at least hear their confessions. It was during that winter that the first night schools began, an incredible novelty at the time! Don Bosco was thinking: I cannot leave the boys in their ignorance. Some are really very bright and who knows if one day some might become good priests.

He spoke about this choice a lot: some were for some against. There were some strange rumours going around about Don Bosco, saying more or less the following:

“Don't you think Don Bosco might be going overboard with these poor boys?”

“Yes, he says he can help all of them! He thinks he can see churches and buildings where he can keep them all”.

“According to me he's gone crazy”.

“Yes, maybe he should get some treatment or at least take a rest”.

Don Bosco knew of this and suffered from it, but he pretended he had heard nothing and went ahead. If he didn't think about his boys, who else would? Maybe at the worst moments his mother's words came back to him:

“John, remember that beginning to celebrate Mass means beginning to suffer”.

Meanwhile the parish priests in Turin, unable to do something about it themselves, gave him permission to keep working with these boys who had no parish. Good news finally!

His contentment did not last long since in 1846, once again, the tenants forced Fr Moretta to tell the Oratory to move away.

Don Bosco rented a field from the Filippi brothers. The Oratory might not have had a roof but fortunately it was springtime and he knew how to act! He no longer used a kneeler and comfortable chair like at the Moretta house but sat on the bank of a ditch! They had Mass in a nearby church and the rest of the time they could run and jump around. Despite the difficulties, these were wonderful months that everyone remembered and spoke about for years to come.

Problems were not yet at an end: Marquis Michael Cavour, head of the police, tried to convince Don Bosco to let the Oratory go since voices in the corridors, so to speak, had convinced him of the social danger posed by hundreds of boys blindly obeying the priest. Don Bosco held firm, but on arriving home found the letter from the Filippi brothers telling him it was all over.

The Marchioness Barolo was pressing him to choose either her girls or the Oratory, Fr Borel advised him just to hang on to the smaller boys so he would not run into major problems with the law, and Fr Cafasso was advising him to wait. So the final day at the Filippi field came and he had no idea what he should do! He drew aside and quietly began to weep, when right at that moment a certain Pancrazio Soave arrived, who stammered and said:

“Is it true that you are looking for somewhere for a laboratory?”

Don Bosco could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was a smallish shed next to a Mr Pinardi's house, but it was too low for his needs! The good man agreed to modify it for the Oratory's needs and agreed to lease the nearby paddock; he was just happy to have a chapel at home!

“Agreed”. The contract was drawn up.

“Come on Sunday: everything will be ready”.

Don Bosco was beside himself. He ran to his boys, gathered them around and enthusiastically as he could, told them:

“Be happy boys! We have found an Oratory that nobody can send us away from! We have a church, school and a playground to play in. We go there next Sunday”.

They boys were so happy they went mad: they ran and jumped and nobody could stop them! They began to pray the Rosary to thank Our Lady. She had guided and supported Don Bosco over years of suffering and wandering, and finally she had found a home.

Don Bosco's week was very tiring, since as well as working at the Cottolengo hospital and the Refuge, he was up till late at night writing books for his boys. Whenever he could he would go to the prison to find them or at their workplace, in other words, all his free time was taken up. Too much work was threatening to ruin his health. Fr Borel sent him to rest a while with a priest friend of his near the Superga, but the boys came looking for him there too.

“After I returned from Sassi”, Don Bosco tells us “I was overcome by exhaustion. I had to go to bed. I was seriously ill”. For eight days he hung between life and death.

As soon as news got around, hundreds of boys arrived to ask about his health. They were crying and nobody could send them away. Many made sacrifices, started fasting, made promises to Our Lady. And She heard them.

It was in 1846 that he was struck down by this illness, when he was still living at the Refuge. He soon moved to Valdocco, but first he went and spent some time convalescing with his family at the Becchi.

Mamma Margaret and the new family

In a short space of time Mama Margaret had returned him to as good as new. The youngsters continued coming to find him at the Becchi and now that he was feeling better he needed to return. Two rooms had come free in the Pinardi house and he wanted to rent them. Plucking up courage he asked his mother:

“Mother, I have to go back and live at Valdocco. I need to take someone to help me. But there are people living there that a priest cannot trust. Do you want to come?”

“If you believe this is the Lord's will I am ready to come”.

Margaret was making a huge sacrifice. At home she was queen and the grandchildren surrounded her with much affection. She made a heroic choice. She put her few belongings in a basket and they set off for Valdocco. Margaret even sacrificed her dowry to make altar cloths and liturgical vestments. With her son she began to mend the torn clothes of the young bricklayers who asked Don Bosco for help and to look after them. Sunday was the best day at the Oratory, since now the boys also had a mother!

One very wet evening in May a fifteen year old boy knocked at the door:

“I am a poor orphan. I come from Valsesia looking for work. I have nothing left”.

“And where are you going to go now?” Don Bosco asked him.

“I don't know. Please let me spend the night in a corner somewhere”.

The poor lad began to cry, and the good mother was moved too. Don Bosco, after making sure he wouldn't steal anything, as had already happened with some others, said:

“Mother, if you agree he can sleep here”.

“Here where?”

“In the kitchen”.

“And if he makes off with the pots and pans?”

“I will see that he does not succeed!”

“Ok then, agreed”.

Mama Margaret made a bed with some straw for the poor lad, and before tucking him in, taught him some prayers. That was the beginning of a family that would grow beyond measure, and today it has grown into what we call the Salesian Family.

As with Bartholomew, Don Bosco was not just satisfied with one poor boy without home or parents. The number of boys he took in grew, people's charity helped to rent more rooms and build new rooms too so the family could grow.

The Oratory grows

The Oratory grew like a swarm of bees. In agreement with Fr Borel, Don Bosco rented a small house near Porta Nuova at founded the St Aloysius Oratory which adopted the same approach and rule as Valdocco. Fr Hyacinth Carpano was appointed to look after it.

Thanks be to God helpers became ever more numerous, including some outstanding musicians like Fr Nasi and Fr Chiatellino who joined the Oratory and gave life to a highly appreciated choir with sopranos who sang in Turin's parishes. The Turin City Council and various benefactors began to award money prizes to the boys including the boarders, which helped them to have food and board.

People tried many times to convince Don Bosco to get involved in politics, bring the boys along to civil demonstrations, but he refused every time saying:

“Our politics are the politics of the Our Father!”

Some boys stayed with him: Rua and Joseph Buzzetti were the first who stayed with him and helped as best they could.

People have often asked: in all of these activities when did Don Bosco find time to look after his spiritual life? When did he pray?

The answer given in his own time including by Pope Pius XI was: “When di Don Bosco not pray?” Don Bosco was forever praying. He was united with the Lord in everything he did, and he taught his boys to pray before, during and after every important activity of the day. In cold or heat, rested or tired, staying on a playground full of youngsters were the kinds of mortifications he recommended that his helpers accept:

“No need for big mortifications! Doing your daily duty well is already a big sacrifice. That is where the Lord awaits you every day”.

In the afternoon he found at least an hour for adoration of the Lord, and that hour was for nobody else! When he was walking or on a journey, he prayed to Our Lady. In the evening, after giving the Good Night to the boys he would not speak until after Mass next morning, since this was his time for dialogue with the Lord. Don Bosco was never alone!

This is why he was granted so many extraordinary graces. Many witnesses, his boys and adult helpers amongst them, saw him multiply chestnuts and bread rolls as well as perform miraculous healings through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians.

There are certain things that someone who does not pray cannot achieve. Don Bosco was a contemplative in action and wanted his Salesians to be the same.

New places

The orphans were increasing in number and the rooms were just not enough. One weekend, while Fr Borel was preaching, Don Bosco came across Mr Pinardi:

“Stop, Don Bosco, or you'll end up buying my whole house!”

“But you are asking too much money for it”.

“Make me a good offer yourself then”.

“I got a friend we have in common to value the house, and he says it's worth around 26 to 28 thousand lire. I'll give you 30 thousand”.

“Ok if you can pay in cash, signed and sealed”.

“In cash?”

“Well, payment in 15 days, and a hundred thousand in fines if either fall behind in the deal!”

“OK!”

Thirty thousand was a lot. But Providence saw that he had it within a few days.

“How did you know?”

“I didn't know!”

He simply trusted in God.

He still needed room - the church was too small. Don Bosco organised a big lottery, mobilised the Turin nobility, asked help from the bishops of the dioceses where the boys came from and, in 1851, the foundation stone of the Church of St Francis de Sales was blessed. It was built in eleven months; the opening was a huge celebration, Newspapers spoke about it for days, and the Oratory was now a reality with benefactors continuing to support it.

The boys who were boarding increased in number and Don Bosco looked after them; some had to work outside as apprentices with professional craftsmen. He was one of the first people in Italy to go and speak with the employers to ask them to treat the boys well, and ask for safety provisions, not to overwork them, and allow them proper breaks. He signed the contracts, and if they were not respected he withdrew the apprentices. He soon became aware that the boys, when they left the house, ran any number of moral risks: it was ruining all the good work he had patiently done when they were with him at the Oratory. What could he do? He had worked too as a boy; it was time to get started again.

Workshops

Other places, other benefactors, more humiliations, but all for the good of his boys. In autumn 1853 Don Bosco set up shoe making and tailoring workshops. He was the first teacher: he sat at the workbench and hammered a sole while four boys watched. A few days later he handed over the master tradesman's job to one of his helpers. The first master tailors were Don Bosco and, this time, Mama Margaret. In 1854 he opened a book-binding workshop, in 1856 carpentry, then later a printing press. In time some proper master tradesmen came to the Oratory, and they taught their trades and produced with the help of the boys.

By now there were 65 boarders, so he set down the rule that he would take in only orphans and the very poor. The Oratory in fact was not intended to be just a 'work house' but a real place for education. Along with the working boys there were students who would no longer attend night classes but also during the day, and many of these eventually became Salesians.

Catholic Readings

It was at this time that state legislation had emancipated Jews and Protestants and given them freedom to speak and write as they wished. Don Bosco found it necessary to put some some arguments for Catholic belief into the hands of the people. The Protestants were publishing three newspapers and the ordinary folk were getting confused in their thinking; the Protestants had a lot of money and they readily helped people who gave them donations or came to their churches. Urged by necessity, Don Bosco began writing some thoughtful pages on the Catholic Church and printed some pamphlets in his own workshops bearing the title Reminders for Catholics. After the success of the first ones Don Bosco began the Catholic Readings that did so much good for the people.

Some people tried to kill Don Bosco. He was often attacked on the street and had to save himself. One evening he was called out to hear the confession of someone who was seriously ill but he was accompanied, as usual, by Joseph Buzzetti and some of the other older boys. They found themselves needing to intervene at times to save him from attack, as was the case on that occasion.

A mysterious dog that Don Bosco called Grigio (the grey one) also appeared. The dog saved him from evil-intentioned types on more than one occasion. Grigio appeared and disappeared at will and nobody knew where he came from. Later Don Bosco would say:

“To call him an angel would be laughable but nor could you say he was just an ordinary dog”.

The Salesians come into existence

In 1852, Don Bosco began holding a series of secret conferences for the best of his boys. Michael Rua was 15 at the time. He was not so frightened by what Don Bosco was telling them, like some of the others. He was saying that the Oratory, in the coming years would have thousands of boys, that it would spring up throughout Italy, and beyond the Alps and even overseas. In Autumn 1853 Don Bosco told him:

“I need you to give me a hand. Come with me to the chapel at the Becchi for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The parish priest of Castelnuovo will come and he will clothe you in the clerical habit. So, at the beginning of the school year 1853-54, you will be assistant and teacher for some of your companions. Do you agree?”

“Agreed”.

One of those evenings Michael, rather pensive, called Don Bosco:

“Do you remember the first time we met? You were giving out medals but there wasn't one left for me. Then you made that strange gesture as if you wanted to give me half of something in your hand. What did that mean?”

“Really? You haven't understood yet? I wanted to say that we have divided all of our responsibilities, right down to the debts! But heaven as well”.

On 26 January 1854 in Don Bosco's room four young men who had taken part in the secret conferences came together to take on the serious commitment to serve their companions. In his notebook that evening Michael Rua wrote:

“Gathered in Don Bosco's room were Rocchetti, Artiglia, Cagliero and Rua. It was proposed that with the Lord's help and the help too of St Francis de Sales we make a trial exercise of charity towards our neighbour. Following that we would make a promise, and then if possible, a vow to the Lord”.

The name 'Salesians' was to be given to those making this promise then and in the future.

On 25 March 1855 Michael Rua made the vow of poverty, chastity and obedience into Don Bosco's hands; he was the first Salesian.

Don Bosco began to write up the Rule for this new Congregation and in February 1858, on the advice of the Archbishop of Turin, he went to Rome where he was received by Pope Pius IX. The Pope blessed his initiative and gave him much valuable advice. On 18 December 1859 in Don Bosco's room a further 18 of his closest collaborators came together. He had prepared them well with conferences on poverty, chastity and obedience. That evening they made their vows before the crucifix and the Salesian Congregation began.

Our Lady's gift of diamonds

Mary Help of Christians began to bless Don Bosco's work more intensely. She gave some other special gifts which we could compare with real diamonds. Amongst the boys taken in to the Oratory and educated with the approach that Don Bosco called the Preventive System, some distinguished themselves not just for uncommon goodness, but for extraordinary holiness. First among them was Dominic Savio, who entrusted himself to Don Bosco as though he were a piece of material in the hands of a tailor and the result was a beautiful suit to give the Lord. Don Bosco wrote up his life, and whenever he reread it was moved to tears.

After him came Michael Magone, a little 'earthquake' he had met at the station at Carmagnola. Michael was the 'general' of the Black Hand Gang, but he wasn't general of his own life. Don Bosco brought him to the Oratory and a surprising conversion followed. A 150 years from his death we still speak about him; he is loved because so many wild boys recognise themselves in his story and see that they too, if they follow Don Bosco's teaching, can achieve great things.

Other very good boys went to the Oratory. Many of them, as they grew up, became true and propìer Saints.

Don Bosco did not only think of boys. He had already worked for neglected girls at the Marchioness Barolo's Refuge and he wanted to take care of girls too. Besides, Pius IX had explicitly asked him to give some thought to this. He was hoping to find some good women to help him so he could set up a similar project for the females.

Sometimes Providence leaves us almost speechless.

Let's tell this briefly and simplify the whole event.

At the same period in Mornese, a town in the hills of Monferrato, Mary Mazzarello and her friend Petronilla were doing something that was similar to what Don Bosco had done. They had opened a seamstress workshop for poor girls and on Sundays they brought them together for games and catechism. One day a man brought two little girls to Maria and Petronilla, since he was alone and could no longer look after them. The two fine women took the girls in. For some time they had already been following, guided by their parish priest Fr Pestarino, a demanding spiritual road that along with some other girls had led them to make some radical choices: they had founded a group called the Daughters of the Immaculate.

When Don Bosco met them he understood that he had found what he was looking for and in agreement with Fr Pestarino, who then became a Salesian, with Mary Mazzarello he founded the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in 1872. Mary became the first Superior of the Congregation, and died in 1881. Her Sisters too would go beyond Italy, the Alps, and Europe.

In 1863 Don Bosco opened the first Salesian House outside Turin. He had been given a minor seminary at Mirabello Monferrato. Unable to go himself he sent Fr Rua. He wrote down some confidential reminders for him that would help him to do the job well. Meanwhile the number of boys was still growing and the church of St Francis de Sales was no longer big enough. Don Bosco had to mobilise benefactors again, organise lotteries and ask the rich for alms, not only in Turin, but in many other places that by now had got to know and appreciate his work. In March 1864 he laid the foundation stone for Mary Help of Christians church in Valdocco, which was consecrated on 9 June 1868.

On 1st March 1869 the "Pious Salesian Society" was approved by the Holy See.

The mysterious dreams had finally come true.

Ever since he was at the seminary in Chieri, Don Bosco had been attracted to the missions. He wanted to bring the Gospel and his preventive system to the ends of the world. So taken up with the many responsibilities he had and with founding the Oratory he had to let this idea go for the time being. Between 1871 and 1872 he had another very important dream, a missionary dream. He saw many people in need of help living on a vast plain, many missionaries trying to help the indigenous tribes but they were being fiercely killed. In the dream the Salesians were the only ones who succeeded in educating the people and their children.

Don Bosco had begun to receive many requests for help from bishops in other continents but once he consulted some maps he accepted only Patagonia which he recognised as the one he had dreamed about.

On 11 November 1875 the Salesian missions came into being, and then extended throughout the world. In the Sanctuary of Mary Help of Christians, in front of a huge crowd of people, Don Bosco gave the crucifix to the first ten Salesian missionaries about to leave for South America. They were led by Fr John Cagliero, one of the first boys at the Oratory.

Don Bosco wanted his educational system to be part of secular society, and wanted his Salesians to be able to go into public schools and anywhere where there were young people outside his own work. Initially he had thought of the Salesian Brother in these terms, but then he understood that he also needed to develop another kind of calling: Salesian Cooperators whom he would call Extern Salesians. These were people who would choose to live a rule of apostolic life without taking vows, but thus becoming true and proper Salesians in the world.

On 9 May 1876, Pope Pius IX approved the Salesian Cooperators. They are friends of his undertakings who work for the salvation of souls and help with financing his work. Before he died, Don Bosco told them: “Without your help I could have done little or nothing”.

In 1877 in order to keep contact with his Cooperators, by now thousands of them, Don Bosco founded the Salesian Bulletin. It is an illustrated monthly magazine that carries news of the Congregation, letters from missionaries working anywhere in the world, and a word from Don Bosco himself. It would have an enormous development.

The more Salesian work extended around the world the more money was needed. The missions in South America needed support as well as thousands of needy youngsters. Don Bosco was by now known and loved throughout much of Europe and word of his holiness had spread. Many people sought him out to ask him for graces and he entrusted them all to Mary Help of Christians. Very many of these requests were heard.

In the last years of his life he had to journey through Italy, France and Spain in search of funds. An exhausting effort. Mary also blessed these trips he made: Don Bosco's hands gave back sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, health to the sick. He was by now known throughout Europe as the “miracle priest”.

In May 1887 Don Bosco undertook his final trip to Spain to beg for money. The Pope had asked him to build a church dedicated to the Sacred Heart in Rome. By now he was very tired and his strength could no longer hold up.

In May 1887 the Church to the Sacred Heart in Rome was finally completed and Don Bosco had to face the final effort. He was received by Pope Leo XIII who thanked him for the sacrifices he had made to achieve what he had asked of him.

The consecration was on the 14th. The following day Don Bosco went up to the altar to celebrate Mass. As soon as he began Fr Viglietti, who was assisting him, saw him break down in tears. He could not stop weeping throughout Mass. At the end he almost had to be carried back into the sacristy. Fr Viglietti who was very worried, asked him:

“Don Bosco, what's happening? Are you feeling ill?”

Don Bosco shook his head and replied:

“I saw, live before my eyes, my first dream when I was just nine. I heard and saw what my mother and brothers were saying about what I had dreamed of”.

In that dream so long ago Our Lady had told him: in time you will understand everything. Now, looking back on his life, he seemed to understand everything.

Towards the end of the year Don Bosco became ever more tired. Fr Rua, concerned about the situation, sent a telegram to John Cagliero, now bishop and missionary in Patagonia, asking him to hurry back to Turin.

Don Bosco died at dawn on 31 January 1888. For the Salesians around his bedside, of the few words that he was able to mumble, they heard him say:

“Tell my boys that I am waiting for them in heaven”.