A grace obtained, a missed votive offering, an indelible memory
Fr Francesco MOTTO Every unpublished document generally contains something new. Well, the documents we are presenting here not...
saints
Pains of Hell (1887)
St John Bosco In this passage, taken from his 1887 memoirs, Don Giovanni Bosco recounts the most disturbing...
Let me be alone; I suffer too much (1867)
The following dream, recounted by Don Bosco to his young people in 1867, begins with...
In Don Bosco’s footsteps: Blessed Michael Rua (1837-1910)
Fr Pierluigi CAMERONI “We will always go halves!” At 9 years of age Michael (already fatherless) was admitted...
Educating the will with Saint Francis de Sales
P. Wirth MORAND With the faculties of the spirit, such as intellect and memory, one remains within the...
On 20th October, the Novena of Blessed Michele Rua begins
Blessed Michele Rua (1837-1910) represents an extraordinary figure in the history of Salesian spirituality. As...
Abide by the limit, cross the limit. Blessed Titus Zeman, martyr, and the relevance of his message today
Prof. Lodovica Maria ZANET Don Tito Zeman (1915-1969), a Slovak Salesian, lived his priestly vocation with evangelical radicalism right...
Sister Maria Troncatti, missionary of hope among the peoples
Redaktor strony In the photo, Mr. Juwà Bosco, a member of the Shuar people, miraculously healed through...
A Raging Bull; Humility, Work and Temperance (1876)
This vivid dream narrative, recounted by Don Bosco at the end of the 1876 spiritual...
Monsters that Hurt Young People (1865)
In this lively account, dated 24 February 1865, Don Bosco speaks to his pupils about...
Family Education
Alongside the “sentiment for the child”, the 15th century saw the development of a sentiment...
Monsignor Giuseppe Malandrino and the Servant of God Nino Baglieri
Monsignor Giuseppe Malandrino, the ninth Bishop of the Noto diocese, returned to the House of...
The shepherdess, the sheep and lambs (1867)
In the following passage, Don Bosco, founder of the Valdocco Oratory, recounts a dream he...
To the heights! Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati
“Dearest young people, our hope is Jesus. It is He, as Saint John Paul II...
The Little Lambs and the Summer Storm (1878)
The dreamlike tale that follows, recounted by Don Bosco on the evening of 24 October...
Visiting Rome with Don Bosco. Chronicle of his first trip to Rome
The first time Don Bosco went to Rome was in 1858, from February 18 to...
Educating the Faculties of Our Spirit with Saint Francis de Sales
St. Francis de Sales presents the spirit as the highest part of the soul, governed...
With Nino Baglieri, Pilgrim of Hope, on the Journey of the Jubilee
The path of the 2025 Jubilee, dedicated to Hope, finds a shining witness in the...
Novena to Mary Help of Christians 2025
This 2025 Novena to Mary Help of Christians invites us to rediscover ourselves as children...
Young people’s gifts to Mary (1865)
In a dream recounted by Don Bosco in the Chronicle of the Oratory, dated May...
St Dominic Savio. The places of his childhood
P. Natale CERRATO Saint Dominic Savio, the “little great saint,” lived his brief but intense childhood among the...
Father Crespi and the Jubilee of 1925
In 1925, in anticipation of the Holy Year, Father Carlo Crespi promoted an international missionary...
The way to hell paved with feeble resolutions (1873)
San Giovanni Bosco recounts in a “good night” the result of a long plea to...
Don Bosco promoter of “divine mercy”
As a very young priest, Don Bosco published a booklet, in tiny format, entitled “Exercise...
Educating our emotions with Saint Francis de Sales
Modern psychology has demonstrated the importance and influence of emotions in the life of the...
Purity and ways it can be safeguarded (1884)
In this dream of Don Bosco, a heavenly garden appears: a green slope, festooned trees,...
Venerable Francesco (Francis) Convertini, pastor according to the Heart of Jesus
The venerable Father Francesco Convertini, a Salesian missionary in India, emerges as a shepherd after...
Social inclusion according to Don Bosco
Don Bosco’s far-sighted proposal for the ‘unaccompanied minors’ of Rome. The history of the church...
Don Elia Comini: martyr priest at Monte Sole
On December 18, 2024, Pope Francis officially recognized the martyrdom of Don Elia Comini (1910-1944),...
The dream of the 22 moons (1854)
In March 1854 on a feast day, after evening prayer Don Bosco gathered all the...
Educating the body and its 5 senses with Saint Francis de Sales
A good number of ancient Christian ascetics often considered the body as an enemy,...
Vera Grita, pilgrim of hope
Vera Grita, daughter of Amleto and Maria Anna Zacco della Pirrera, was born in...
Leaving for the missions… trusting in dreams
Don Bosco’s missionary dreams, without anticipating the course of future events, had the flavour of...
A Mysterious and Prophetic Wheel (1861)
The wise man’s heart,” we read in Holy Scripture, “knows times and judgments; for there...
“The Roman Stations”. A millenary tradition
The “Roman Stations” are an ancient liturgical tradition that, during Lent and the first week...
Education according to st. Francis de Sales
Education according to St. Francis de Sales is a path of love and care toward...
The Life of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles
The culminating moment of the Jubilee Year for every believer is the passage through the...
The Jubilee and devout practises for visiting churches. Dialogue
Saint John Bosco fully understood the importance of Jubilees in the life of the Church....
The handkerchief of purity (1861)
On June 16, Don Bosco gave the boys the spiritual nosegay to pray for...
Faith, our shield and our victory (1876)
“When I devoted myself to this part of the sacred ministry, I intended to consecrate...
Salesian Holiness 2024
Every year, the postulator for the causes of saints of the Salesian Congregation, Don Pierluigi...
Blessed Luigi Variara: 150th Anniversary of His Birth
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Luigi Variara, an extraordinary...
Life of Saint Paul the Apostle, Doctor of the Gentiles
The culminating moment of the Jubilee Year for every believer is the passage through the...
Saint Francis de Sales, founder of a new school of perfection
For Francis de Sales, religious life is “a school of perfection”, in which one...
The “Good Night”
One evening, saddened by a certain general indiscipline noticed at the Valdocco Oratory among...
Fifth missionary dream: Peking (1886)
During the night of April 9th, Don Bosco had a new missionary dream, which he...
Andrew Beltrami virtuous profile (2/2)
(continuation from previous article) 3. Story of a soul3.1. Loving and suffering Fr Barberis sketches...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (13/13)
(continuation from previous article) Graces obtained through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. I....
Blessed Maria Troncatti, a Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, will be canonised
On November 25th, 2024, Pope Francis authorised the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to...
St Francis de Sales, personal companion
‘My spirit always accompanies yours,’ wrote Francis de Sales one day to Jeanne de...
Andrew Beltrami virtuous profile (1/2)
The Venerable Fr Andrea Beltrami (1870-1897) is an emblematic expression of a constitutive dimension...
Fr Rinaldi at the Becchi
Blessed Don Filippo Rinaldi, the third successor of Don Bosco, is remembered as an extraordinary...
Fourth Missionary Dream in Africa and China (1885)
From time to time, Divine Providence would reveal the future before the very eyes of...
Life according to the Spirit in Mamma Margaret (2/2)
(continuation from previous article) 4. Exodus to her son’s priesthood From the dream at the...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (12/13)
(continuation from previous article) A memento of the ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone...
Saint Francis, promoter of culture
As the pastor of a diocese the vast majority of which was made up of...
Don Bosco and music
For the education of his youngsters Don Bosco made much use of music. Even...
Life according to the Spirit in Mamma Margaret (1/2)
Fr Lemoyne leaves us a truly outstanding portrait in his preface to the life...
Great saint, great manager
It is not easy to choose, from the hundreds of unpublished letters of Don...
Third missionary dream: air travel (1885)
Don Bosco’s dream on the eve of the missionaries’ departure for America is an event...
The Servant of God Andrej Majcen: a Salesian completely dedicated to the young
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the passing into eternity of the Servant of...
The safe tradition of Blessed Michael Rua (2/2)
(continuation from previous article) 2. Some traits of the theological virtues in Fr Rua2.1. Fr...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (11/13)
(continuation from previous article) Appendix I. Ancient custom of consecrating churches Once a church has...
St Francis de Sales at the service of education
Francis de Sales was convinced that ‘on the good or bad education of the...
The second missionary dream: across America (1883)
Don Bosco told this dream on September 4, at the morning session of the...
The safe tradition of Blessed Michael Rua (1/2)
“Be good, trust in God and paradise will be yours” (Blessed Michael RUA) Blessed...
The new rooms of the Salesian General Postulation
On 4 June 2024, the new rooms of the Salesian General Postulation located at the...
The Snake nd the Rosary (1862)
Part I At the “Good Night” on August 20, 1862, Don Bosco, after giving some...
Blessed Alberto Marvelli: a beacon of faith and social commitment in the 20th century
In the panorama of the great witnesses of faith of the 20th century, the name...
The Good Shepherd gives his life: Father Elia Comini on the 80th anniversary of his sacrifice
Monte Sole is a hill in the Apennines near Bologna that until the Second...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (10/13)
(continuation from previous article) Chapter XIX. Funds by which this Church was built. Those who...
St Francis de Sales catechises the children
Formed in Christian doctrine from childhood, in his family environment, then in schools, and...
First missionary dream: Patagonia (1872)
Here is the dream that saw Don Bosco decide to start the missionary apostolate...
A Blessed in Chambéry. Camille Costa de Beauregard, Founder of “Le Bocage”
Camille Costa de Beauregard (1841-1910), a Savoyard priest born in Chambéry, could have taken advantage...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (9/13)
(continuation from previous article) Chapter XVII. Continuation and completion of the building. It seems that...
St Francis de Sales forms his collaborators
Francis de Sales did not wish to become a bishop. “I was not born...
Where was Don Bosco born?
On the first anniversary of Don Bosco’s death his Past Pupils wanted to continue...
A pergola of roses (1847)
Don Bosco’s dreams are gifts from on high to guide, warn, correct, encourage. Some of...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (8/13)
(continuation from previous article) Chapter XV. Devotion and plans for a church to Mary Help...
Correcting “rebellious children” with St Francis de Sales
In September 1594, Francis de Sales, provost of the cathedral, arrived, accompanied by his...
Exhibition for the 200th anniversary of Don Bosco’s dream
Dialogue between past, present and future: temporary exhibition for the 200th anniversary of Don Bosco’s...
The turning point in the life of St Francis de Sales (2/2)
(continuation from previous article) Beginning of a new stage From this moment on, everything would...
How to find the resources to build a church
A secret to be foundIt is well known that Don Bosco’s reputation for getting things...
The turning point in the life of St Francis de Sales (1/2)
After ten years of study in Paris and three years at the University...
The letter from Rome (1884)
In 1884, while in Rome, a few days before returning to Turin, Don Bosco had...
The dream at 9 years of age
The series of Don Bosco’s ‘dreams’ begins with the one he had at the age...
Salesian holiness
The Holy Spirit unceasingly continues the hidden work in souls, leading them to holiness. Not...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (7/13)
(continuation from previous article) Chapter XIII. Institution of the Feast of Mary Help of Christians. ...
Don Bosco and the Consolata
The oldest pillar in the Becchi area appears to date back to 1700. It...
Edmond Obrecht. I had lunch with a saint
In the biography of a famous abbot, the emotion of meeting Don Bosco. Today it...
Don Bosco and Italian
Piedmont in the early 19th century was still a peripheral area compared to the...
St Francis de Sales university student in Padua (2/2)
(continuation from previous article) Francis went to Padua, a city belonging to the Venetian...
St Francis de Sales university student in Padua (1/2)
Francis went to Padua, a city belonging to the Venetian Republic, in October 1588,...
Wonders of the Mother of God invoked under the title of Mary Help of Christians (6/13)
(continuation from previous article) Chapter 9. Battle of Lepanto. Having thus expounded some of the...
Nino, a young man like so many… meets the purpose of life in his Lord
Nino Baglieri was born in Modica Alta on 1 May 1951 to his mother...
Meeting Vera Grita of Jesus, Servant of God
Vera Grita, together with Alexandrina Maria da Costa (from Balazar), both Salesian Cooperators, were two...
The Venerable Simon Srugi, salesian lay brother
Simon Srugi was born on 15 April 1877 and grew up in a Greek-Melkite family...
St Francis de Sales as a young student in Paris
In 1578 Francis de Sales was 11 years old. His father, wishing to make...
1954-2024: 70 years since the canonisation of Dominic Savio
The canonisation of Dominic Savio took place under the symbol of the Immaculate Conception. It...
St Joseph – a Father’s Heart (video)
St Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, is a not a well known saint, Little has...