Use the links below to jump to different sections of our page dedicated to St. John Bosco.
- Overview
- Early Life
- Father and Teacher of Youth
- Prayers
- Quotes
- Patronage
- Related Saints
- Related Prayers
Overview
- Birth: August 16, 1815
- Location: Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Italy
- Death: January 31, 1888
- Beatification: June 2, 1929 by Pope Pius XI
- Canonized: April 1, 1934 by Pope Pius XI
- Feast Day: January 31
- Patron Saint of: editors, publishers, youth, apprentices, and magicians
Early Life
St. John Bosco was born into a poor Italian household in 1815. His father died when he was 2, so he and his brothers were raised solely by their mother, Margaret, who has been declared Venerable in the Church.
Margaret cultivated in her sons the disciplines of faithful prayer and diligent study. She also raised them to tend the fields and give generously to the poor. When John was 9, God called him in a dream to mentor young children with goodness and kindness, and Mary showed him his particular calling to the priesthood.
Father and Teacher of Youth
As a priest, moved by witnessing the awful conditions of children working in sweatshops and confined in city prisons, John opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales so that children could simply be, receive love, and grow in virtue.
St. John Bosco formed his boys, with tireless charity and joy, through gentle instruction in the faith. He is fondly remembered as the “Father and Teacher of Youth.”
St. John Bosco Prayers
Saint John Bosco was most popularly known for his dedication to serving underprivileged youth. For an increase in the virtue of charity, say these prayers below:
O glorious Saint John Bosco, who in order to lead young people to the feet of the divine Master and to mould them in the light of faith and Christian Morality didst heroically sacrifice thyself to the very end of thy life and didst set up a proper religious Institute destined to endure and to bring to the farthest boundaries of the earth thy glorious work, obtain also for us from Our Lord a holy love for young people who are exposed to so many seductions in order that we may generously spend ourselves in supporting them against the snares of the devil, in keeping them safe from the dangers of the world, and in guiding them, pure and holy, in the path that leads to God. Amen.
(Source)
Saint John Bosco, pray for us!
Saint John Bosco, father and teacher of the young, in need of special help, I appeal with confidence to you, for I require not only spiritual graces, but also temporal ones, and particularly….
(Mention intentions here)
May you, who on earth had such great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians, and who always had compassion for those who were suffering, obtain from Jesus and His Heavenly Mother the grace I now request, and also a sincere resignation to the Will of God.
(Source)
St. John Bosco Quotes
- “Not with violence, but with words.”
- “The school was not the end; it was rather the instrumental means for improving the way of life.”
- “Act today in such a way that you need not blush tomorrow.”
- “Do not put off till tomorrow the good you can do today. You may not have a tomorrow”
Patronage
- St. John Bosco Catholic Church – Lakewood, Wash.
- Saint John Bosco Catholic Church – Miami, Fla.
- St. John Bosco High School – Bellflower, Calif.
- St. John Bosco Clinic – Miami, Fla.
- St John Bosco Catholic Primary – Manchester, U.K.
- Salesians of Don Bosco – New Rochelle, N.Y.