“Father and Teacher of Youth”

Today marks the feast of St. John Bosco (1819-1888), founder of the Salesians. Born Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco in Piedmont, he was ordained a priest in 1841 and assigned to Turin, where he began a ministry to city’s disadvantaged youth. He started by forming youth clubs and expanded the work into a religious order that is now one of the largest in the Catholic Church. Don Bosco named the community for St. Francis de Sales, whose kindness he wanted to be a key characteristic of his followers. At his canonization in 1934, he was given the title “Father and teacher of Youth.” This year the Salesians celebrate their 150th anniversary. The Salesian educational philosophy is summed up in the words reason, religion, and kindness. Today the Salesian family includes the Salesian Sisters, lay associates known as the Salesian Cooperators, Don Bosco Alumni, and Don Bosco Volunteers. Altogether they number some 40,000 people working in 120 countries.