200th Anniversary of the Dream of San Giovanni Bosco

Don (Saint) John Bosco 200th Anniversary of the Dream of San Giovanni Bosco Date Issued: March 8, 2024 Scott #1848 Value €1.30 The Vatican stamp commemorating the “200th Anniversary of the Dream of San Giovanni Bosco” relates to a dream young John Bosco had at 9 years old. The dream was about a group of boys who were swearing and roughhousing. The dream had young John enter into a melee. Then he saw a vision of Jesus and the Blessed Mother instructing him that the way to deal with this situation was by teaching virtuous living not fighting. When Jesus and the Blessed Mother entered into this dream the fighting stopped, and the boys involved started to listen peacefully to Jesus. The dream also had young John surrounded by wild animals. The Blessed Mother told John that by his vocation these wild animals will turn into sheep to be shepherded. This dream stayed with young John for years. Because of the dream, he saw his life’s vocation to be a teacher of virtue to youth. Saint John Bosco was an active and brilliant servant of the church He was born in Becchi which is located in the Piedmont region of Italy. His parents were poor. The family was made up of three boys. His father (Francis) died when he was two years old. He was raised by his mother Margaret, a woman of faith. He left home at the age of 12 to work as a farm laborer. He had little education until he met up with a parish priest, Joseph Cafasso, later canonized a Saint in 1947. Saint John Bosco worked on his education during his adolescent years. In 1835 he entered the seminary at age 20. He was ordained a priest in Turin in 1841 at the age of 26. Saint Cafasso was a mentor to Saint John Bosco in his adolescent years, and he kept in contact with Saint Cafasso through the years. Saint Cafasso was Saint Bosco’s spiritual director for 20 years during his priesthood. Saint Cafasso educated Saint Bosco and others under his tutelage in French spirituality studies. These studies included the spiritual writings of St. Philip Neri, St. Vincent de Paul, and most significantly, St. Francis de Sales. Saint Cafasso is known for his prison ministry. He had been titled the “Priest of the Gallows” and is the patron saint of Italian prisons and prisoners. It has been said that Saint Cafasso converted 60 inmates before they were hanged. Saint Cafasso referred to them as the “hanged saints”. He played an important role in the ministry of St. John Bosco to help youth especially “at risk” youth. In 1859 at age 44 St. John Bosco and 22 companions founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales (now known as the Salesians of Don Bosco). The community’s mission was to teach young boys. Around the same time Maria Mazzarello, a woman from the province of Alessandria which is in Northern Italy, had a similar ministry for young girls. Her parish priest Father Domenic Pestarino was her spiritual director. She was a member of the lay organization, the Association of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate. Father Pestarino spoke with Saint John Bosco about meeting up with Maria Mazzarello. From this meeting there was a joining of forces. The result was the formation of a women’s religious community with a similar constitution and mission of the Society of St. Francis de Sales. The women’s community was named the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (now known as the Salesian Sisters). At the time that the order was founded, there were 15 young women with Mother Maria Mazzarello as Mother General. Mother Maria died at age 44. Today, the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) have a worldwide membership of approximately 14,000 which includes priests, brothers and seminarians. They are in 132 different countries. The Salesian Sisters have a worldwide membership of approximately 11,000. They are in 89 different countries. The Preventive System: Don Bosco worked mostly with orphaned, homeless and “at risk” delinquents. Most likely because of his collaboration with Saint Cafasso, being a prison chaplain, Saint John Bosco developed an educational curriculum based on reason, religion and loving-kindness. His curriculum was mostly void of any strict punitive measures unlike the social policies of dealing with wayward youth during the 19th century. His educational mission statement was based on setting standards of virtue and encouraging youth to live up to those standards. The practical aspects of the “Preventive System” curriculum were – academic studies, manual skills, work, clubs, and athletic games. Saint Bosco gave encouragement to recreation including music and plays. He amazed the youth with his magic tricks and acrobatics that he learned in his younger years. He believed that you should educate the whole person – body and soul united, and that Christ’s love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do – work, study and play. Prophetic Dreams: For those interested in reading about St. John Bosco’s prophetic dreams there is a book available: “Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco: From St. John Bosco’s Biographical Memoirs”. One of his famous dreams is in regard to future troubles for the Church. The title of the dream is called “The Two Columns”. It mentions significant troubles and violence against the Church. His remedy for this time of trouble is devotion to Mary and frequent Communion. Quotes of St. John Bosco (1815-1888 – feast day January 31th – canonized 1934) “Not with blows, but with charity and gentleness must you draw these friends to the path of virtue. “In every young person, a point of goodness is accessible and it is the primary duty of the educator to discover that sensitive cord of the heart so as to draw out the best in the young person”. “I want to give you the formula for sanctity, first be happy, second, study and pray; and third, do good to everyone.” “Entrust everything to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians, and you will see what miracles are.” Quote of St. Mary Mazzarello (1837-1881 – feast day May 14th – canonized 1951) “Be cheerful and don’t be so afraid of your defects and of not being able to correct them all at once. Little by little, with good will to fight them, never making peace with them once the Lord makes them known to you, do your part to correct yourself. Quote of St. John Cafasso (1811-1860 – feast day June 23rd – canonized 1947) “Heaven is filled with converted sinners of all kinds, and there is room for more.” First Day Cover Issued by Vatican Post Office in 2024 References: St. John Bosco, Encyclopedia Britannica Article Who are the Salesians, https://salesians.org/about/who-we-are The Salesian Society, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13398b.htm St. John Bosco – EWTN Global Catholic Television Network Maria Domenica Mazzarello, Wikipedia Joseph Cafasso, Wikipedia John Bosco, Wikipedia