By Leon Bent –
God, it is said, sends the world saints when they are most needed – not men and women of “general holiness,” – but specialized experts who fit into the pattern of the times and are capable of giving God’s tone to their century.
And so it was that on August 16, I8I5, when one era was closing in Europe with the exile of Napoleon, and the Industrial Revolution was about to open, “a man was sent by God whose name was John.”
His mother was a woman of character and tenderness. All who knew her called her Mama Margaret. At her knee John first heard the voice of the Master calling him to a special assignment. It was a low insistent voice, an urge that once in a while manifested itself in a sudden outburst, like the time Margaret and John were walking along the countryside and met one of the local priests.
“Hello, Father,” cried the boy, to be acknowledged only by a curt bow of the head. Deeply hurt, he complained that the priest had hurt his feelings. “When I grow up,” he told his astonished mother, “I’m going to be a priest, and I’ll talk to children all the time, and I’ll do everything for them!”
Throughout his school work John did not lose sight of his vocation which was now, more than ever, an actual conviction. “I’m going to be a priest,” he told his friends, “and I’m going to give my life to caring for boys!”
By 1835, when John was 20, he was ready for the seminary, taking with him an enviable record for excellence in studies, a reputation for solid piety, and the friendship of countless people in many walks of life. On June 5, 1841, John was ordained to the priesthood in Turin. He celebrated his first Mass the next day in the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. With Ordination came the release of a powerful spiritual energy, which, joined to his rare human gifts, was calculated to exert a lasting influence on modern youth.
The beautiful Lady (Mary Help of Christians) of his dreams, was not slow in showing Don Bosco (Don was the title given to priests in Italy) just what she expected him to do. On the feast of Mary Immaculate, December 8, 1841, the first sign came. While vesting for Mass, the sensitive priest heard the sacristan shrieking at a poor young boy who had sneaked into the Church to get warm. “Here, call the boy back,” cried Don Bosco, “he’s my friend!”
The young priest asked, “What is your Name?” “Bartholomew Garelli,” the boy answered. “How old are you Bartholomew?” “Sixteen,” answered the boy. “Can you serve Mass?” “No.” “What do you do?” “I’m a bricklayer,” he responded, head lowered. “Your mother and father…” Don Bosco continued. “I’m alone,” the boy responded sadly. “Can you whistle?” Don Bosco broke in. “Of course I can whistle!” exclaimed Bartholomew laughing.
And that friendship, struck up on the spur of the moment, began Don Bosco’s worldwide ministry to bring young people to God. He told Bartholomew to stay for Mass. With his heart full of trust in his Lady and his pockets empty, Don Bosco courageously took up his favourite apostolate. From then on, it was only “Give me souls–the souls of young people.”
The holy Italian once said: “It is the primary duty of the educator to discover the sensitive gold spot in the heart and draw out the best in a child or youth.” “It is not enough to love the young. They must feel loved,” asserted Don Bosco.
Don Bosco’s times were unsuited to the founding of a new religious Congregation. Those already in existence were being torn down by a diabolical campaign of political radicals, self-styled free-thinkers. Yet, providentially, it was precisely a liberal-minded politician who had closed convent doors, who first suggested the idea of a new religious Community to Don Bosco.
“Start a new order and have you suppress it in its cradle?” smiled the saint. “No, your case is different. You work for the poor. Your schools really belong to the working classes. No one will resent what you do. Make sure your religious keep their status as citizens, and we won’t touch you.”
And so, still under his Lady’s guidance, Don Bosco set about the task. His own boys were the best material. Little Michael Rua, who idolized him, tough Johnny Cagliero, hardworking Johnny Francesia, self-willed Paul Albera, and several others. They would be the pioneers in this experiment of a new religious Congregation.
“Would you like to stay with Don Bosco?” he asked them. “I’ll do the work of four!” was Cagliero’s stalwart answer. The others agreed. On the night of December 18, 1859, a new branch of the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales was formed (popularly known today as the “Salesians of Don Bosco” and officially titled the “Society of St. Francis de Sales”).
The painstaking work of organization, based on experiment and experience, and of drawing up rules for the Holy See to approve, had begun. It required a genius in the delicate art of human relations. The ‘Chosen One’ was equal to the test, for in 1869 the Congregation was approved, and five years later, so were his Constitutions. Besides 34,000 Priests, Brothers and Sisters located in more than 130 countries around the world, there are over 400,000 lay people working as Salesian Co-operators. The Salesians of Don Bosco has become the second largest Order in the Catholic Church.
The Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit overflowed to such an extent that Pope Pius XI said, “In Don Bosco the extraordinary becomes ordinary.” They were given to him in partial reward for his exceptional self-sacrifice and as a seal of divine approval of his work.
Don Bosco often told his young people that being a saint was easy. His holiness was attractive because it was rooted in charity and exceptional purity that drew people to him. Though he sometimes did extraordinary penances, he would never impose them on his boys. “Sanctity is easy!” he would say. St. Dominic Savio, one of his students who died at the age of 14, is Don Bosco’s proof to the world that holiness is not a monopoly of the monastery or the desert. Sanctity belongs to everyone, the young and the old, alike.
Now, this gold nugget! Don Bosco left a rich legacy of hope to millions of youth around the world. His ideals, his spirit, his relentless ministry, are still with us in his Salesian priests, brothers, and sisters and lay faithful, who strive to perpetuate his work on earth. On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934, Pope Pius XI declared Don Bosco a saint; the Pope styled him “a giant of sanctity.” In 1988, Pope John Paul II called him “Father and Teacher of Youth.”
The last frontier! He wished his followers to be filled with the spirit of Francis de Sales – a kindness that was all-embracing, a gentleness that was strong, a love that was humble and a faith that was steadfast.
And the final flourish! Don Bosco often told his admirers, “I have been an instrument in the hands of “Mary…Help of Christians”!
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.