CrucisSt. John Bosco
St. John Bosco was born on 16 August 1815 to a poor farming family near Castelnuovo in Piedmont, Italy, and died on 31 January 1888 at Turin. Fatherless from the age of two, he knew hardship and hard work in his youth, and a dream at the age of nine set him on the path of guiding wayward boys through gentleness rather than force. Ordained a priest, he devoted his life to the countless poor and abandoned youths drawn to the rapidly industrializing city of Turin.
Affectionately called Don Bosco, he gathered these boys into oratories offering shelter, schooling, trades, and faith, and developed his celebrated 'Preventive System' of education built on reason, religion, and loving-kindness rather than punishment. To carry on this work he founded the Salesians (named for St. Francis de Sales) and, with St. Mary Mazzarello, the Salesian Sisters, orders that spread across the world. He was canonized in 1934 and is honored as patron of youth and of Catholic editors.
Selected quotes
“God provides for those who trust Him; I have proved it ten thousand times.”
“Be patient with the difficult, attentive to the weak, and endlessly hopeful in the power of grace.”
“Saints were once sinners who did not give up.”