St. John (Don) Bosco

Saint John Bosco was born to a very poor family in Italy. His father died when he was only two and as he grew older he had to help support the family. When he was quite young he had many dreams in which Jesus and Mary asked him to devote his life to caring for poor and neglected boys. He entered the seminary and became a priest. He eventually established the Society of St. Francis de Sales which helped him carry on his charitable work of helping boys with their faith formation and staying out of trouble. Today the group is known as the Salesians. By the time of his death, the Salesians had established 150 houses and helped over 100,000 boys. St. John Bosco's feast day is January 31st. He is the patron of apprentices, editors and publishers, schoolchildren, magicians, and juvenile delinquents.