St. John Bosco
Posted on January 30, 2021 by admin No comments
Born: 16 August 1815 Castelnuovo d’Asti, Piedmont, Kingdom of Sardinia
Died: 31 January 1888 (aged 72) Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Venerated: in Catholic Church, Anglican Community
Beatified: 2 June 1929, Rome by Pius XI
Canonized: 1 April 1934, Rome by Pius XI Major shrine Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, Italy
Feast: 31 January
Patronage: Christian, apprentices, editors, publishers, school, children, young people, magicians, juvenile delinquents, students
John Bosco, also known as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco and Don Bosco, was born in Becchi, Italy, on August 16, 1815. His birth came just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars which ravaged the area. Compounding the problems on his birthday, there was also a drought and a famine at the time of his birth.
At the age of two, John lost his father, leaving him and his two older brothers to be raised by his mother, Margherita. His “Mama Margherita Occhiena” would herself be declared venerable by the Church in 2006.
Raised primarily by his mother, John attended church and became very devout. When he was not in church, he helped his family grow food and raise sheep. They were very poor, but despite their poverty his mother also found enough to share with the homeless who sometimes came to the door seeking food, shelter or clothing.
When John was nine years old, he had the first of several vivid dreams that would influence his life. In his dream, he encountered a multitude of boys who swore as they played. Among these boys, he encountered a great, majestic man and woman. The man told him that in meekness and charity, he would “conquer these your friends.” Then a lady, also majestic said, “Be strong, humble and robust. When the time comes, you will understand everything.” This dream influenced John the rest of his life.
Not long afterwards, John witnessed a traveling troupe of circus performers. He was enthralled by their magic tricks and acrobatics. He realized if he learned their tricks, he could use them to attract others and hold their attention. He studied their tricks and learned how to perform some himself.
One Sunday evening, John staged a show for the kids he played with and was heartily applauded. At the end of the show, he recited the homily he heard earlier in the day. He ended by inviting his neighbors to pray with him. His shows and games were repeated and during this time, John discerned the call to become a priest.
To be a priest, John required an education, something he lacked because of poverty. However, he found a priest willing to provide him with some teaching and a few books. John’s older brother became angry at this apparent disloyalty, and he reportedly whipped John saying he’s “a farmer like us!”
John was undeterred, and as soon as he could he left home to look for work as a hired farm laborer. He was only 12 when he departed, a decision hastened by his brother’s hostility.
John had difficulty finding work, but managed to find a job at a vineyard. He labored for two more years before he met Jospeh Cafasso, a priest who was willing to help him. Cafasso himself would later be recognized as a saint for his work, particularly ministering to prisoners and the condemned.
In 1835, John entered the seminary and following six years of study and preparation, he was ordained a priest in 1841.
His first assignment was to the city of Turin. The city was in the throes of industrialization so it had slums and widespread poverty. It was into these poor neighborhoods that John, now known as Fr. Bosco, went to work with the children of the poor.
While visiting the prisons, Fr. Bosco noticed a large number of boys, between the ages of 12 and 18, inside. The conditions were deplorable, and he felt moved to do more to help other boys from ending up there.
He went into the streets and started to meet young men and boys where they worked and played. He used his talents as a performer, doing tricks to capture attention, then sharing with the children his message for the day.
When he was not preaching, Fr. Bosco worked tirelessly seeking work for boys who needed it, and searching for lodgings for others. His mother began to help him, and she became known as “Mamma Margherita.” By the 1860s, Fr. Bosco and his mother were responsible for lodging 800 boys.
Fr. Bosco also negotiated new rights for boys who were employed as apprentices. A common problem was the abuse of apprentices, with their employers using them to perform manual labor and menial work unrelated to their apprenticeship. Fr. Bosco negotiated contracts which forbade such abuse, a sweeping reform for that time. The boys he hired out were also given feast days off and could no longer be beaten.
Fr. Bosco also identified boys he thought would make good priests and encouraged them to consider a vocation to the priesthood. Then, he helped to prepare those who responded favorably in their path to ordination.
Fr. Bosco was not without some controversy. Some parish priests accused him of stealing boys from their parishes. The Chief of Police of Turin was opposed to his catechizing of boys in the streets, which he claimed was political subversion.
In 1859, Fr. Bosco established the Society of St. Francis de Sales. He organized 15 seminarians and one teenage boy into the group. Their purpose was to carry on his charitable work, helping boys with their faith formation and to stay out of trouble. The organization still exists today and continues to help people, especially children around the world.
In the years that followed, Fr. Bosco expanded his mission, which had, and still has, much work to do.
Fr. Bosco died on January 31, 1888. The call for his canonization was immediate. Pope Pius XI knew Fr. Bosco personally and agreed, declaring him blessed in 1929. St. John Bosco was canonized on Easter Sunday, 1934 and he was given the title, “Father and Teacher of Youth.”
In 2002, Pope John Paul II was petitioned to declare St. John Bosco the Patron of Stage Magicians. St. Bosco had pioneered the art of what is today called “Gospel Magic,” using magic and other feats to attract attention and engage the youth.
Saint John Bosco is the patron saint of apprentices, editors and publishers, schoolchildren, magicians, and juvenile delinquents. His feast day is on January 31.
Prayer to St. John Bosco
O glorious Saint John Bosco, who in order to lead young people to the feet of the divine Master and to mould them in the light of faith and Christian morality didst heroically sacrifice thyself to the very end of thy life and didst set up a proper religious Institute destined to endure and to bring to the farthest boundaries of the earth thy glorious work, obtain also for us from Our Lord a holy love for young people who are exposed to so many
seductions in order that we may generously spend ourselves in supporting them against the snares of the devil, in keeping them safe from the dangers of the world, and in guiding them, pure and holy, in the path that leads to God. Amen.
A teacher’s Prayer to St. John Bosco
St. John Bosco, Friend of the young, Teacher in the ways of God, Your dedication to empowering the needy inspires us still. Help me to work for a better world, where the young are given the chance to flourish, where the poor’s dream for justice can come true, and where God’s compassion is shown to be real. Intercede for me as I bring my needs to you and to our heavenly Mother, the Help of Christians. Amen.
Prayer to St. John Bosco to obtain graces
Oh glorious Saint, you who see the evils which afflict and oppress us, the more uncertain today and the uncertain morning, and the pain that is the inseparable companion of our existence, move to pity for our poor condition. You also suffered discomfort, misery, abandonment, slander, persecution and the pain experience was that you comforted and assisted those who came to you. Since you’re in Heaven, next to the Eternal Source of Charity, You feel alive, compassion for our misfortunes, I turn to you confident for the grace … (intention).
Oh glorious holy to you the Lord will not deny anything because you worked a lot on earth for your honor and glory, intercede for me, get me the implored grace if it is useful for my soul and obtain for the conformity of the divine will and perseverance in all right. I also hope it arrived a day to praise and thank, next to you, the Lord in paradise. So be it.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory.
St. John Bosco’s Prayer to Mother Mary
Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, how sweet it is to come to your feet imploring your perpetual help. If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children, how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me? Grant then to me, I implore you, your perpetual help in all my necessities, in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations. I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering. Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners. Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life. Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians, that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven. Amen.
Novena to St. John Bosco
(Please recite this novena for 9 consecutive days)
God, come to our assistance. O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Day 1 Love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
O Saint John Bosco, you loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and zealously promoted this devotion by encouraging participation in the Holy Eucharist,
reception of Holy Communion and daily Visits. Pray for us that, inspired by your example, we may grow in this love, so that we may end our days strengthened and comforted by the Heavenly Food of the Most Holy Eucharist. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace… [pause]… so that together with others I may assist in bringing young people to the love of Christ in the Eucharist. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 2 Devotion to Our Blessed Mother
O Saint John Bosco, you loved the Blessed Virgin, Mary Immaculate Help of Christians, taking her as your Mother and Guide, and becoming her apostle.
Pray for us that, inspired by your example, we may grow in true and enduring love for this sweetest of mothers, and may thus win her powerful protection in life and especially at the hour of our death. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace… [pause]… so that together with others I may assist in bringing young people to the love of Mary Our Help. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 3 Loyalty to the Church and to the Pope
O Saint John Bosco, you nurtured a filial love for the Church and the Pope, and you courageously spoke and wrote in their defense. Pray for us that,
inspired by your example, we may be faithful sons and daughters of Holy Mother Church, and may likewise love and honor the Holy Father as the
Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace.. [pause]… so that together with others I may assist in bringing young people to the love of the Church. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 4 For Young People
O Saint John Bosco, you became father, teacher, and friend to young people by the great love and personal sacrifice with which you worked for their
salvation. Pray for us that, inspired by your example, we also may love this chosen portion of God’s flock with Christ’s own pastoral charity, and receive every child as we would the Lord Jesus himself. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace… [pause]… so that together with
others I may assist and help young people in today’s society. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 5 For Salesian Brothers, Sisters, and Priests
O Saint John Bosco, you founded the Salesian Society and the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians for the continuation and extension of the work on behalf of young people. Pray for all your sons and daughters, the members of these two religious families that, inspired by your example and imbued with your spirit they may be faithful to their religious consecration and steadfast in the Salesian mission. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace… [pause]… so that together with the sons and daughters of your religious families I may assist and help young people. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 6 For Salesian
Cooperators and the Salesian Family O Saint John Bosco, you founded the Association of Salesian Cooperators, the seed of the worldwide Salesian Family, in order to ensure the widest possible participation in the charitable work on behalf of young people. Pray for all the members of the Salesian Family that, inspired by your example and bonded in one spirit, they may share in the Salesian mission and model in their life and work pastoral educative charity. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace… [pause]… so that together with the Salesian Family I may assist and help young people in today’s society. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 7 For Missionaries
O Saint John Bosco, in your love and concern for all the scattered children of God, you sent your sons and daughters to the farthest part of the world
to bring the knowledge of the loving God and the Light of the Gospel. Pray for all missionaries, and pray for us, that, inspired by your example and in
your spirit, we may be united in work and prayer to win souls for Christ.
Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace [pause]… so that together with Salesian missionaries all over the world I may assist in bringing young people to the love of Christ. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 8 For Purity
O Saint John Bosco, you prized the virtue of purity highly and strove with all your might to foster it in the hearts of young and old. Pray for us that, inspired by your example, we may nurture it in our hearts and minds and may act effectively to defend our young people against a culture pervaded by sex and violence. Through your intercession may God grant me the
following grace… [pause]… so that together with others I may assist in bringing young people to the love of Christ. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Day 9 For Family, Friends, and those in Need
O Saint John Bosco, you were full of compassion toward all people, especially the young, who suffered from illness, poverty, hunger, injustice, and alienation. Pray for all in need, and for us too, that the blessings of God and protection of Mary Help of Christians may be on us all, to heal us, strengthen us, and comfort us. Pray for our families, especially for our young people, that they may be kept safely in God’s grace. Intercede for us in life and in death so that we may eternally sing the Divine mercies in heaven. Through your intercession may God grant me the following grace… [pause]… so that together with others I may bring young people to the love of Christ. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
Let us pray
O Saint John Bosco, Father, Teacher, and Friend of Youth, you have labored so much for the salvation of souls: teach me to be patient and gentle as I seek the good of my own soul and the souls of my neighbor. Three great loves gave purpose and meaning to your earthly life: help me deepen my own reverence to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Mary Help of Christians, and loyalty to our Holy Father the Pope. Together with the grace for which I now pray…[pause]… pray for me to obtain final perseverance
and grace of a happy death. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.