Saint John Bosco
Feast day: January 31
Saint John Bosco, the joyful priest, father and teacher of young people (31/01)
Who is he?
Saint John Bosco, fondly called Don Bosco (“Don” is how Italians address a priest), was an Italian priest who lived in the 19th century. He gave his whole life to poor boys and founded the Salesians to care for young people. The Church calls him the father and teacher of young people.
Life story
John was born on 16 August 1815 into a poor farming family in northern Italy. His father died when he was only two, and his mother, Margaret, raised her children alone and taught them to love God. He later told how, at the age of nine, he had a dream: God showed him that he must help young people with gentleness, not with beatings. From then on, he longed to become a priest.
Young John learned magic tricks, tightrope walking and juggling to attract the other children in the village. When they gathered to watch, he repeated the homily he had heard in church and invited everyone to pray. His family was poor, so he had to work and study at the same time, but he kept going. In 1841, he was ordained a priest.
In the city of Turin, he met many poor boys with no home and no work; some had even been put in prison. He opened an “oratory,” where they could play, learn to read and write, learn a trade, study the catechism and pray. He played with them in the courtyard and listened to each one. He also wrote and printed many simple religious books that everyone could read easily.
So that his work would go on, he founded the Salesians, and then, with Saint Mary Mazzarello, founded the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to care for girls. He died on 31 January 1888 and was canonized in 1934.
Why is he a saint?
Don Bosco loved young people with the heart of Jesus. He believed in teaching with gentleness, not beatings, and used kindness, patience and joy to lead young people to God. He worked tirelessly, always trusting in God and in Mary Help of Christians.
A lesson for you
- Be cheerful: joy is a sign of someone who loves God.
- Study hard and do your duties well every day, both at home and at school.
- Invite a friend to come to Mass and catechism with you, and be kind to those who are left out.
Identifying marks
- A priest’s black cassock and a smiling face: Don Bosco was an Italian priest who was always cheerful with young people.
- A book and a Rosary: he taught catechism to young people and taught them to love Mary.
- Young people gathered around him (*): the best-known picture of him, the father of young people.
(*) Only in some pictures and statues.
The text on this page is the saint card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.
Collect this card and read more about the saints in the app