John Bosco (1815-1888) was an Italian priest,
educator and writer. While working in Turin,
where the population suffered many of the
effects of industrialization and urbanization, he
dedicated his life to the betterment and
education of street children, and disadvantaged
youth. He developed teaching methods based
on love rather than punishment, a method that
became known as the Salesian Preventive
System.
A follower of the spirituality and philosophy
of St. Francis de Sales, St. John dedicated his
works to de Sales in founding the Salesians of
Don Bosco. With Maria Domenica Mazzarello,
he founded the Institute of the Daughters of
Mary, Help of Christians, a congregation of
nuns dedicated to the care and education of
poor girls.
In 1876 St. John founded a movement of laity,
the Association of Salesian Cooperators, with
the same educational mission to the poor. In
1875 he began to publish the Salesian
Bulletin. The Bulletin is still in publication, and
is currently published in 50 different editions
and 30 languages.
He was beatified in 1929 and canonized
by Pope Pius XI in 1934.
(excerpt: Catholic.org/saints)
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