Life of the Young Dominic Savio, Pupil of the Oratory of St Francis de Sales
St John Bosco ‘So I am the cloth; let her be the tailor.’ With these words, on 2...
Salesian charism
Getting to know Don Bosco (17). Giuseppe Buzzetti
Fr Bruno FERRERO Joseph Buzzetti, a young bricklayer captivated by Don Bosco, was among the first and most...
“Prayer is the air I breathe”. Interview with Fr. Peter Chinweike Morba, new Provincial of Africa Nigeria Niger
BSOL Editor He did not grow up in a Salesian environment. A maternal uncle, passing through Onitsha...
A long history with real faces. Salesian missions in Malaysia (1/1)
Salesian missions are not a chapter of history: they are names, faces, biographies in progress....
The preventive system (7/7). The retrospective look. The exposition of the Biographical Memoirs
We continue with the seventh and final instalment on the main texts of Don Bosco’s...
The preventive system (6/7). To a formator of priests. The reply to the rector of the Seminary of Montpellier, Dupuy
We continue with the sixth instalment on the main texts of Don Bosco’s preventive system....
The preventive system (5/7). Invitation to read the book by Alberto DU BOYS, “Don Bosco and the Pious Salesian Society”
We continue with the fifth instalment on the main texts of Don Bosco’s preventive system....
The preventive system (4/7). The letter to the Minister of the Interior Francis Crispi
We continue with the fourth instalment on the main texts of Don Bosco’s preventive system....
The preventive system (3/7). Appendix to the Inauguration of the Patronage of St. Peter in Nice
We continue with the third instalment on the main texts of Don Bosco’s preventive system....
The preventive system (2/7). The dialogue with the teacher Francesco Bodrato
We continue with the second instalment on the main texts of Don Bosco’s preventive system....
The preventive system (1/7). The conversation with the Minister of the Interior Urbano Rattazzi
Introduction to the series on the main texts of the preventive system A method...
Getting to know Don Bosco (16). Giovanni Cagliero
The story of John Cagliero begins in 1851 when, as a young boy, he asked...
Prophecy of 1870: Paris, Church, Italy
Solemn Prophecy: The Future of Paris, Rome, and the Church: A Warning and Encouragement to...
We get to know Don Bosco (15). The definitive choice for the poor
At the most critical moment of the origins of the Oratory, Don Bosco finds himself...
The Salesian coat of arms. A programme of life enclosed in an image
There are images that do not limit themselves to representing an institution: they tell its...
Oceania calls us: the Vanuatu Project
On 13 December 2025, three Salesian missionaries landed in Vanuatu, an archipelago of 83 islands...
Four name days in ten days
Fr Francesco MOTTO And what name days! Don Bosco never forgot the name-day of religious authorities and benefactors,...
Let us get to know Don Bosco (14). The Marchioness of Barolo
Giulietta Colbert di Barolo, a French noblewoman marked by exile and by profound family trials,...
Three laces to lead to perdition (1869)
In the dream that Don Bosco recounted to his young people on the evening of...
The Leisure of Don Bosco
P. Natale CERRATO The concept of “doing nothing” didn’t exist in Don Bosco’s mind, not even when he...
Cina 1926-2026: A Hundred Years of Grace
On 28 May 2026, Salesian China Province of Mary Help of Christians (CIN) became 100...
Getting to know Don Bosco (13). The theologian Giovanni Borel
Anonymous, Portrait of Don Giovanni Borel (1801–1873), late 19th century, tempera on copper, 37.5 ×...
Don Bosco and Saints Joachim and Anne
Saints Joachim and Anne, oil on canvas by Guido Guidi, 1914. Basilica of the Sacred...
Saint Francis de Sales, Missionary
P. Wirth MORAND Don Bosco saw in Saint Francis de Sales not only a master of gentleness, but...
Holiness of the Salesian Bishop
Fr Pierluigi CAMERONI St Luigi VERSIGLIA, sdb (1873-1930) Don Bosco’s charism, centred on an educational fatherhood imbued...
The Catacombs of San Callisto and the Salesian presence: An encounter between history and faith
Along the Via Appia Antica, in the heart of early Christian Rome, the Catacombs of...
Don Bosco and the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel
On 16 July, the Church celebrates the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount...
Get to know Don Bosco (12). Saint Joseph Cafasso
Saint Joseph Cafasso, Piero Dalle Ceste (1938), above the altar dedicated to him in the...
Nino Baglieri: on the wings of the Spirit
This is the story of Nino Baglieri, a bricklayer from Modica whose life changed drastically...
We know Don Bosco (11). I saw the holiness and humanity of Don Bosco
Giovanni Battista Bertagna was born in Castelnuovo d’Asti on 26 October 1828. He graduated in...
Mary … Mary … Mary Peter and Paul (1884)
Teresio BOSCO El Greco, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, 1595-1600, oil on canvas, Museu Nacional d’Art de...
Saint Francis de Sales in his time
Understanding Francis de Sales means immersing oneself in the heart of seventeenth-century Europe: an era...
24 June, the feast of the Rector Major
For over a century and a half, on the day of the Nativity of St...
Łosiówka: Don Bosco’s heart beats in Krakow
In the Dębniki district, along the banks of the Vistula, stands one of the first...
Fr. Costantino Vendrame: Apostle of the Sacred Heart in India is Venerable
On 22 May 2026, Pope Leo XIV authorised the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints...
One Hundred Years of Charity. The Salesians in Japan (1926–2026) [Video]
Don Vincenzo Cimatti, SDB, leading a group of young disciples The year 2026...
Get to know Don Bosco (10). Don Bosco at the crossroads
The vocational discernment of John Bosco, initially attracted to the Franciscan religious life as a...
Salesian Missions. A long history of 150 years
A few months later, on the feast day of Mary Help of Christians, the proceedings...
Salesian martyrs who gave their lives for the faith
Salesian spirituality, received from St John Bosco, has generated an extraordinary flowering of holiness. A...
Light in the dark: the testimony of the nine Polish Salesian martyrs
On 6 June 2026, in the Sanctuary of St John Paul II in Krakow, the...
Are we too among the 72?
P. Fabio ATTARD We too are sent. Our workplaces, neighbourhoods, families, and friendships are the “towns and places”...
Get to know Don Bosco (9). A loving father
Don Bosco was able to win over poor young people not only because of his...
Loving one’s neighbour with St. Francis de Sales
“Philotheas are philanthropic”, wrote Francis de Sales, wishing thereby to demonstrate that there was no...
Association of Devotees of Mary Help of Christians
The booklet by Don Bosco, “Association of the Devotees of Mary Help of Christians canonically...
Novena to Mary Help of Christians 2026
Saint John Bosco nourished a profound devotion to Mary under the title of Help of...
Salesian holiness in history: emerging aspects in the beatification processes of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
To speak of Salesian holiness in history is to engage with a tangible experience, one...
Carlo Braga brought Don Bosco’s heart to China
Die Gestalt von Don Carlo Braga (1889–1971) nimmt einen einzigartigen Platz in der salesianischen Missionsgeschichte...
VI World Congress of Salesian Cooperators
From 6 to 10 May 2026, the VI World Congress of the Association of Salesian...
Vision of St Dominic Savio (1876)
The following text recounts the “Vision of Saint Dominic Savio”, as told by Don Giovanni...
Getting to know Don Bosco (8). The spirit of Saint Francis de Sales
Between Don Bosco’s Oratory and Saint Francis de Sales, there was a bond that progressively...
Saint Joseph and work
In the panorama of Christian spirituality, Saint Joseph occupies a unique place: a silent, just,...
Salesian missionary solidarity, theme of the Salesian Missionary Day 2026
The theme of this year’s Salesian Missionary Day (SMD) is Salesian missionary solidarity: a journey...
The Servant of God Carlo Crespi: a heart for the least among us
The figure of the Servant of God Carlo Crespi (1891–1982) stands as one of the...
Getting to know Don Bosco (7). Don Bosco’s eyes
The story of Don Bosco’s eyes reveals a surprising and deeply human trait of the...
Ignatius Stuchlý and his virtuous habitus
Prof. Lodovica Maria ZANET The life of the Servant of God Ignazio Stuchlý (1869–1953) allows us to observe, within...
Getting to know Don Bosco (6). A will of steel and a heart of gold
Don Bosco’s personality was the result of a blend between his impulsive, fiery nature and...
Teaching Civil Devotion with Saint Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva in the 17th century, revolutionised Christian spirituality by proposing...
The spirit of St Francis de Sales in Don Bosco
Stained glass window of Saint Francis de Sales, Church of Saint Nicholas (Église Saint-Nicolas), Combloux,...
A beautiful and tall church (1844)
In 1844, a time full of questions about the future of the Oratory, Don Bosco...
No place is far away…if there is a bridge
This year’s Salesian missionary theme is Salesian missionary solidarity and the precious work of the...
Educating to the divine starting from the human with Saint Francis de Sales
Saint Francis de Sales proposes a pedagogy of faith that begins with human experience to...
A Report from the 44th Spirituality Days of the Salesian Family
From 15 to 18 January 2026, Valdocco hosted the 44th Spirituality Days of the Salesian...
The Phylloxera (1876)
In 1876, during the third series of spiritual exercises preached in Lanzo, Don Bosco recounted...
Don Bosco and Pope Pius IX
Don Bosco was profoundly faithful to the Church and to Pope Pius IX, whom he...
Getting to know Don Bosco (2). Margherita, Christian Mother and Educator
The fountain of Mamma Margaret at the foot of Don Bosco Hill (1960s) Young...
Fr. Osvaldo, in Mexico since 1969. Fidelity to the missionary charism
In the context of the 150th anniversary of the Salesian missions, the testimony of Fr....
“Everything for you… until my last breath”
The room where Don Bosco actually breathed his last (Valdocco, Turin) “It costs me...
Novena to Saint John Bosco
Saint John Bosco, apostle of the young and father of the orphaned, continues to be...
Getting to know Don Bosco (1). The family’s economic situation
We are launching a new column titled “Knowing Don Bosco”. Conceived by the Salesian Fr....
Salesian Holiness 2025
Download the 2025 Salesian Holiness poster The Salesian Postulation presents the 2025 annual dossier, documenting...
Towards the 150th anniversary of the departure of the first FMA missionaries
After celebrating 150 years since the first missionary expedition of the Salesians of Don Bosco,...
Fr. Giuseppe Tomaselli, apostle of the good press
Fr. Giuseppe Tomaselli (1902-1989) is one of the emblematic figures of the Salesian charism of...
Strenna 2026. ‘Do whatever he tells you’
Strenna 2026. ‘Do whatever he tells you’ Believers, free to serve Commentary on Strenna 2026...
Don Bosco and the Name of Jesus
In the spirituality of Saint John Bosco, the Name of Jesus was not a mere...
Mary saves him (1878)
Set on the night of Good Friday in 1878, the story “Mary Saves Him” is...
A challenge to our humanity
The wealth that risks making us blind and deaf The parable of the rich man...
Christmas with Don Bosco and his boys
At the beginning of the Christmas novena in December 1859, Don Bosco offered the young...
Interview with Fr Xavier ERNST, superior of the France – Southern Belgium Province
Fr. Xavier Ernst, born in Belgium in 1981, is the new superior of the France-Southern...
Where mission meets the screen: 150 years of salesian evangelisation (video)
In an age where young people communicate through images, videos, social media platforms, and instant...
‘I came to serve and give my life’. Rudolf Lunkenbein (1939-1976)
In July 1976, in the heart of the Brazilian Mato Grosso, a young German Salesian...
Don Bosco and the good press: a rediscovered letter
The discovery of an unpublished letter from Don Bosco always offers an opportunity to shed...
Fr. Giovanni Bocchi (1929-2016). A Salesian missionary between Italy and Cameroon
May 2026 will mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Fr. Giovanni Bocchi, a...
Living Don Bosco’s Dream
In the photo: Carlo GASTINI, the promoter and first leader of the Don Bosco Past...
That Hail Mary of don Bosco’s
The meeting between Don Bosco and the young Bartolomeo Garelli, which took place on 8...
Interview with the Councillor for East Asia Oceania, Fr. William MATTHEWS
Let’s get to know Fr. William Matthews, a Salesian of Burmese origin who grew up...
Blessed Philip Rinaldi. A father who brought Don Bosco into the heart of the twentieth century
In the journey of Salesian history, Blessed Philip Rinaldi occupies a special place. The third...
Why don’t you speak? (1868)
In the following recounted speech, delivered by Don Bosco between 30 April and 1 May...
The Christmas Grotto, where Heaven meets Earth
The mystery of Christmas begins with a scandal of love: the Great becoming small. It...
The Salesian Bulletin. It is not just another magazine
It is distributed all over the world in dozens of different languages. Certainly it has...
Interview with the Councilor for Formation, Fr. Silvio ROGGIA
The General Counsellor for Formation, Fr Silvio Roggia, shares with depth and simplicity the journey...
Maria Troncatti: woman of reconciliation and peace
Maria Troncatti, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, is a witness of consecrated life “in...
Interview with the Councillor for Youth Ministry, Father Rafael Bejarano Rivera
We interviewed Father Rafael Bejarano Rivera, a Colombian Salesian, elected General Councilor for Youth Ministry...
Letter from Nizza Monferrato
An apparently simple letter, yet rich in spiritual and educational meaning: this is what Don...
Rector Major’s missionary appeal 2025
“An Appeal for Renewed Charismatic Fidelity and Missionary Generosity” Dear Confreres, A fraternal and heartfelt...
150 Years of the First Missionary Expedition. To thank, to rethink, to relaunch
150 years have passed since the First Salesian Missionary Expedition. But the 150th Salesian Missionary...
The Salesian search engine www.donbosco.info has been enhanced
Following its launch on 31 January 2025 and presentation at General Chapter 29, the Salesian...
Interview with the General Councillor, fr. Fidel ORENDAIN
Communication, now more than ever, is a decisive area for education and evangelisation. For this...
From the Pharisee’s Table to the Heart of Ministry
Humility and Charity in the Education and Evangelisation of Young People In chapter 14 of...
In Don Bosco’s footsteps: Blessed Michael Rua (1837-1910)
“We will always go halves!” At 9 years of age Michael (already fatherless) was admitted...
Discourse of the Rector Major in Catania. Called to be signs of hope
On 27 September 2025, Father Fabio Attard, Rector Major of the Salesians, received honorary citizenship...