From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.
Saint John Bosco.
Confessor.
Feast Day 31 January.
Double.
White Vestments.
English: Portrait of Saint John Bosco.
Română: Don Bosco la Torino în 1880 (fotografie originală).
Date: 1880.
Source: Unknown.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint John Bosco was born on 16 August 1815 at Becchi, Piedmont, Italy. Even in early youth he had a great influence on children; and, while still a young shepherd, his future mission was revealed to him in a vision of thousands of lambs and sheep gathered round him.
He was brought up by a Saintly mother, Margaret Bosco, and, later, under the care of the Parish Priest of Castelnuovo, near Asti. He afterwards entered the Seminary of Chieri. After his Ordination, he settled down in Turin, where he was "all to all" (Breviary) and "through his confidence in God" (Breviary) achieved great works in spite of the most fierce opposition.
His wish to help young boys and girls, especially of the poorer classes, led him to Found, in 1852, The Congregation of The Salesian Fathers, and, in 1872, that of The Daughters of Our Lady, Help of Christians (Collect).
Date: 1865-1868.
Source: Turin.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Full of zeal for Souls and for the Propagation of The Faith (Martyrology), he established the foreign missions. Comparing him to Abraham, The Church sings: "Against hope, he believed in hope, that he may be made father of many Nations, according to that which was said to him" (Communion).
Dom Bosco guided young people as their "father and master" (Collect) with such wisdom and prudence that The Church compares him to Solomon: "His heart was as large as the sand that is on the sea-shore" (Introit), "a golden heart like that of a mother, for the poorest among the poor" (Pope Pius XI).
Like Saint Francis of Sales, whose name Saint John Bosco gave to his Order [Editor: The Salesians], he did everything in a Spirit of Divine Charity, forgetting himself and working for The Glory of God and the salvation of Souls (Introit, Collect, Alleluia, Offertory, Secret).
In the same way as this great Doctor of The Church [Editor: Saint Francis de Sales], Saint John Bosco was inspired by the doctrine of Saint Paul (Epistle) and by the example of Christ, Who was meek and humble of heart; he practised and preached Holy Joy, kindness, thanksgiving (Epistle, Postcommunion), goodness, meekness, and humility (Gospel).
In difficult circumstances, he defended the interests of The Church and often "helped the Roman Pontiff" (Breviary) by his influence on sectarian statesmen. Thanks to him, the effects of anti-religious laws in Italy were often mitigated.
This Holy Man died in 1888, when 73 years of age. He was Canonised by Pope Pius XI on Easter Sunday 1934, and his Feast extended to the Universal Church in 1936.
His Religious Family is carrying on his work, so that, on 3 December 1933, Pope Pius XI could describe it as numbering: 19,000 Religious; 1,430 Houses of Education; eighty Religious Provinces; Thousands of Churches, Chapels, Boarding Schools and Boys' Clubs; seventeen Territories in The Mission Field; hundreds of thousands of pupils, and about a million Old Pupils; about as many Co-operators, who, after his own expression, "lengthen his arm".
In Heaven, Saint John Bosco Prays for them and for those who have recourse to his intercession (Postcommunion).
Mass: Dedit illi.
The following Text and Illustrations are from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
John Bosco (Italian: Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; 1815 – 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco, was an Italian Roman Catholic Priest of The Latin Church, educator and writer of the 19th-Century. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the effects of industrialisation and urbanisation, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth.
He developed teaching methods based on love, rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System. A follower of the Spirituality and Philosophy of Saint Francis de Sales, John Bosco dedicated his works to him, when he founded The Salesians of Don Bosco, based in Turin.
Saint John Bosco Parish Church,
Makati City, Philippines[1].
Photo: 18 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello, he founded The Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, a Religious Congregation of Nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls.
In 1876, John Bosco founded a movement of Laity, The Association of Salesian Co-operators, with the same Educational Mission to the Poor. In 1875, he began to publish The Salesian Bulletin. The Bulletin has remained in continuous publication, and is currently published in fifty different editions and thirty languages.
Saint John Bosco established a network of Organisations and Centres to carry on his work. Following his posthumous Beatification, in 1929, he was Canonised as a Saint in The Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1934.
