John Bosco was a man for hard times. He was born in northern Italy at a time of famine caused by a long war and poor harvests. His family was poor in a society where only the rich had access to education. In his childhood he was a shepherd, left home at 12, struggled, but then was sponsored in a seminary for boys who wanted to be priests.
After he was ordained, he was appointed chaplain in a girls school before being assigned to Turin. Now the home of Ferrari and the motor industry, it was then becoming an industrial town to which poor people poured from the countryside seeking work. The streets were full of homeless boys, the jails of unemployed young men living chaotic lives without hope.
John Bosco realised that the church structure of a small rural city did not touch the young people who most needed its support. They would not come to church; the church needed to go to them. He went into the streets where young people gathered and found shelter for those who were homeless, and work for the unemployed. He also and fought for conditions which respected their dignity.
As he became better known and influential his work faced criticism and opposition from those who saw only rudeness and antisocial behaviour in the disadvantaged young people whom he served. This was a time of bitter political disputes between church and state and fear of revolution. Bosco, whose life was threatened, was suspected of being a revolutionary.
He persevered, however, and ensured that his work would continue after he had gone. He founded religious congregations both for men and women. They were called Salesians after St Francis of Sales, the 17th-century Bishop of Geneva who was a hero for Bosco. At a time of bitter religious conflict Francis de Sales had built close personal relationships with the Protestant minority, and in his spiritual writing also emphasised the central importance of love over penance in his spiritual writing. He was the perfect model of what he called the preventative spirit of Salesian ministry, in contrast to the repressive tenor of the day.
John Bosco’s schools and homes for young people spread quickly, and he sought to establish them in the urban centres of missionary lands. Apart from his work for youth he was a prolific writer, both in the Salesian Bulletin which is published around the world for almost 150 years and in historical studies.
John Bosco’s life and his accompaniment of disadvantaged young people continue to inspire people. The need for generous and accepting places where young people can learn is as important now as it was in his own times. His courage in the face of opposition and his gift for bringing people together remain an inspiration.
Bio
St John Bosco
1815-1888
Feast Day: 31 January
Image: St John Bosco statue, Malaga, Spain. Wiki Commons