HISTORY OF DON BOSCO

 Giovanni Melchior Bosco was born in a small hamlet in Castelnuovo D'Asti, in Piedmont, popularly called "I Becchi" on August 16, 1815.

He was an Italian priest, educator, and writer of the 19th century.

When he was still a child, his father's death made him experience the pain of so many poor orphans, of whom he would later become a father.

But he found in his mother Margaret an example of Christian living.

At the age of nine he had a dream: he seemed to be in the midst of a crowd of boys playing, But some of them fought.

Juanito quickly threw himself on them, with his fists and kicks to silence them; but behold, a man comes to him and says to him, "Not by blows, but by meekness and charity you must win these your friends. Begin right now to instruct them about the ugliness of sin and the beauty of virtue.

I will give you the Teacher under whose discipline you will become wise; and without which, all wisdom becomes foolishness."

Then he understood that the man was Jesus and the teacher was Mary, who enlightened him all his life and honored her with the title of "Help of Christians."

This is how John wanted to learn to be a scoundrel, a conjurer, a singer, a puppeteer, in order to attract his companions and keep them away from sin.

 Wanting to become a priest in order to devote himself entirely to the salvation of children, while working during the day, he spent his nights over books. Until he was able to enter the Seminary of Chieri and be ordained a priest in Turin in 1841, at the age of 26.

In those days, Turin was full of poor boys in search of work, orphans or abandoned, exposed to many dangers to soul and body.

Don Bosco began to gather them on Sundays, in a church, in a square, to make them play and instruct them in the Catechism, until, after five years of enormous difficulties, he managed to establish himself in the suburb of Valdocco and open his first Oratory.

In it, boys found food and lodging, studied or learned a trade; but, above all, they learned to love Jesus and to be like him.

Don Bosco was much loved by his "rascals" and with them he became a saint.

For them he founded the Salesian Congregation in 1842, made up of priests and laity who want to continue their work by forming "honest citizens and good Christians".

Wanting to extend her apostolate to girls as well, she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians with St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello in 1872.

The Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians spread throughout the world at the service of the young, the poor and the suffering, with schools and colleges of all kinds and grades, technical and professional institutes, hospitals, dispensaries, oratories and parishes.

Exhausted in his strength by incessant work, he became seriously ill.

"What I have done, I have done for the Lord. More could have been done, but my children will. Our Congregation is led by God and protected by Mary Help of Christians."

On January 31, 1888, he died in his poor room in Valdocco, at the age of 72.

On April 1, 1934, he was proclaimed a saint for the many miracles he performed in the hearts of the kids.