Don Bosco in the august word of the Popes

By the Salesian Press Office
of the Direzione General Opere Don Bosco in Turin

PIO XII
Eugenio Pacelli was born in Rome on 2 March 1876. He was ordained a priest on 2 April 1899. He worked in the Secretariat of State. In 1917 he was elected Apostolic Nuncio in Germany and consecrated bishop by the Supreme Pontiff himself on 13 May. In 1929 he was created Cardinal and Secretary of State. In the very short conclave of 1-2 March 1939 he was elected Pope and crowned on 12 March.
Pius XII approved the Decree of the Congregation of Seminaries and of the University of Studies on 3 May 1940, which saw the building of the Pontifical Salesian Athenaeum (PAS). On 24 June 1951 he canonszed St Mary Domenica Mazzarello. He beatified (5 March 1950) and canonised (12 June 1954)St Dominic Savio. He proclaimed the heroicity of the virtues of Fr Michael Rua (26 June 1953). He introduced the cause of Beatification of Ceferino Namuncurá (10 December 1956). He also introduced the cause of Beatification of Dorotea de Chopitea (June 21, 1957).

In 19 years of Pontificate he appointed 37Salesian  Bishops (Salesians 19.553).

PIUS XII Statements on Don Bosco
* The education of children in the light of Saint John Bosco (January 31, 1940) 
* Saint John Bosco, patron saint of Catholic publishers in Italy (May 24, 1946) 
* Dominic Savio, patron of the "Pueri Cantores" (June 8, 1956)
* Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello (June 24, 1951)
* Saint Mary Mazzarello (June 27, 1951) 
* To the Salesian Cooperators (September 12, 1952) 
* Providential work of redemption (April 19, 1953)
* The victory over  all hostile forces (April 25, 1953)
* Soul stretched in pure oblation to Christ ( 12 June 1954)
Dominic Savio, shining gem ... (21 November 1954)
* Singular small library ... (21 March 1956) 
* "They moved the heart of His Holiness to paternal tenderness" (May 1956)          
* Luminous ideal of the educational system of Don Bosco (31 January 1957) 
* The "Salesian Sodalities" vital part of Don Bosco's system (7 April 1957) 
* Don Bosco patron of young apprentices. (January 17, 1958)
* Legislator and Father (August 14, 1958) 

THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN THE LIGHT OF SINT JOHN BOSCO

In the general audience to a great multitude of faithful, including numerous newlyweds.
(January 31, 1940)
1. One of the purest glories of the Church and of Italy. - 2. Intended for a providential mission. - 3. Oratory, not laboratory. - 4. Becchi, a kind of Oratory. 5. Reason and religion. - 6. The lesson of the example. - 7. Fear branch. - 8. "Try to make yourself loved".

1. It is now more than a century ago, that a young lad of humbkle circumstances lived with his two brothers in a poor farmhouse in Piedmont. Having lost his father early, he who was later to be called the father of orphans, had only his mother to care for him. With how much wisdom, however, this simple peasant girl, without education but guided by the Holy Spirit, educated her son in the most complete and highest sense of the word. It can be said that the Church itself has recognised her by raising to the altars the one whose feast is celebrated today with the name of St. John Bosco. This humble priest, who later became one of the purest glories of the Church and of Italy, was a wonderful educator and therefore his life offers you, beloved sons and daughters, future fathers and mothers of families, the most useful and salutary lessons.
2. When God entrusts a child to Christian spouses, he almost seems to repeat to them what Pharaoh's daughter said to the mother of little Moses: "Take this child and raise it" (Ex.2, 9). By divine intention, parents are the first educators of their children. However, it should be recognised that in the current circumstances of social life the urgent concern for daily bread makes it sometimes difficult for them to fully fulfill such an essential duty. This was also the situation when John Bosco was already dreaming of helping parents and the need to do this serious duty in their stead. That he was providentially destined for such a mission, was something his heart told him with an early attraction; it was revealed to him in a dream of his early years, in which he saw wild animals suddenly changed into meek lambs, which he led obediently to pasture. To know how he translated this dream into action we need to remember the education he received and the one he gave; they are a unity in him; the mother he had largely explains the father he was to others.
3. When founding his first house of education and teaching, DOn Bosco wanted to call it "not a laboratory, but an oratory", as he himself said, because he intended to make it first and foremost a place of prayer, "a small church where young boys could meet." But his ideal was also that the oratory would become very much like a home for the boys he would gather there.
4. Was it not because "Mamma Margaret" had made a sort of oratory for him out of the Becchi home? Imagine the young widow there with the three children kneeling for  morning and evening prayer; seeing them like little angels in their festive attire which, she had carefully taken from the wardrobe, go to the village of Morialdo to attend Mass. In the afternoon, after the frugal meal, in which the only sweet pastry was a piece of blessed bread, here they were gathered around her. She reminds them of the commandments of God and of the Church, the great lessons of the catechism, how to look after their health; then, with the delicate poetry of pure souls and popular imaginations, she tells them the tragic story of gentle Abel and evil Cain, or the idyll of Isaac and Rebecca, the ineffable mystery of Bethlehem, the painful death of the good Jesus, placed on the cross for us on Calvary. Who can measure the profound influence of these first motherly teachings! When Don Bosco became a priest, he attributedhis tender and trusting devotion to Mary Most Holy and the Divine Lord to them, which another dream showed him later as the two columns to which the souls of his students, thrown like fragile ships into stormy sea of ​​the world, had to firmly anchor themselves to find salvation and peace.
5. Religion is therefore the first foundation of a good education. But Don Bosco wanted reason associated with it; reason enlightened by faith. This true reason, as indicated by the very origin of the Latin word "ratio", consists above all in good measure and wisdom, in equilibrium and equity. Would it be, for example, consistent to want to correct in a child the defects that occur every day in front of him? To want him to be submissive and obedient if his leaders, the ecclesiastical or civil superiors, are criticised in his presence, or if God's commands or the just laws of the State are disobeyed? Would it be reasonable to want your children to be loyal if you are malicious; sincere, if you are liars; generous, if you are selfish; charitable, if you are stingy; gentle and patient if you are violent and angry?
6. The best lesson is always the lession of example. At the Becchi farmhouse, "Mamma Margaret" did not offer too much encouragement to work. But, since the head of the family had disappeared, this good widow put her own hand to the plow, the sickle, the hoop, and with her example - as we read - she worked harder than many of hte other farmers involved in the harvest and threshing. Formed at this school, little John, at the age of four, was already involved in the common work, unraveling the hemp stalks, and when he was older, dedictaed all his time to work, giving himself only five hours to sleep and even keeping watch a whole night each week. We have to confess that here he went beyond the right limits of human reason. But the supernatural reason of the saints admits of such things,
7. To displease a father or a mother: the supreme pain of a well-behaved child! This is what John Bosco had also felt at home, where a slight sign, a glance from his mother was enough to make him repent of the early moments of childish jealousy. Therefore he wanted the educator to use as the main means of action a constant concern, animated by a truly paternal tenderness. Parents too must therefore give their children the best time available, instead of wasting it far from them in dangerous distractions or in places where they would blush to take them.
8. With this love directed by reason and with this reason enlightened by the spirit of faith, family education will not be subject to those deplorable leaps which too often compromise it: alternatives of an indulgent weakness and a grumpy severity; passages from a guilty condescension, which leaves the child without a guide, to a violent correction, which leaves him without help. Instead, the experienced tenderness of a father or a mother, to which corresponds the filial confidence, distributes with equal moderation, because it is mistress of itself, and with equal success, because it possesses the hearts of its children, deserved praise and blame needed. "Try to make yourself loved," said Saint John Bosco, and then you will be easily obeyed. " May you too, newlyweds, future fathers and mothers of families,

SINT JOHN BOSCO PATRON OF CATHOLIC PUBLISHERS OF ITALY

Pontifical decree (May 24, 1946)
How great, in these times when technology and science have reached the maximum of their development and diffusion, the influence of books, newspapers and the press in general is something known to all. All this, as can be seen from the experience, while it is often good for the good and the salvation of men, can sometimes even return great harm to them and corruption.

To prevent, so far as is possible, so much evil, it seemed good to the Society of Italian Catholic Publishers to ask for the high protection of a heavenly Patron, from whom all those who work in this field took the example and were inspired to shape the own thinking and mentality.

Now, this exalted task did not seem to be better entrusted to others than to Saint John Bosco, who did not spare labor or effort to spread healthy books everywhere, and reached the point of making large purchases of writings infected with heresy, of replacing them with good books, and to write others himself, adapting them to the mentality and culture of the Christian people.

In undertaking and pursuing this kind of apostolate, he in turn chose St. Francis de Sales as guide and protector; and being distinguished himself by virtue and all lit up with zeal for souls, he also instituted a religious society whose purpose was also to divulge everywhere books and periodicals of clear Christian inspiration, providing for this the subsidies and the necessary tools to give stability to this enterprise.

And in fact, he chose first of all several collaborators, distinguished by science and culture and all turned to the same love for souls; therefore he founded printers, equipped with modern machinery and the most perfect. With these means, in addition to the booklet series he called Catholic Readings,who spread among the people and especially among the student youth to attract them to the good, he succeeded in offering great achievements in school book publishing, just then when the others disputed not to finish on the opportunity or not to let the ancient classical authors read , elegant certainly in form, but contrary to the purposes of Christian education. Under his direction, therefore, were later published works by Latin, Greek and Italian writers, wisely purged according to the needs of the young soul, together with a series of the best Christian writers: and in such noble labor, he lacked neither capacity nor the encouraging number of employees.

Always on the initiative and under the impulse of Saint John Bosco, dictionaries of various languages ​​and general culture, or concerning special subjects, were printed and disseminated; books on history, physics, philosophy, theology, art and music, as well as plays for theatrical performances. In a word, supremely solicitous of the good of the young students, he strove in every way to keep away from them, so delicate and inconsistent, every danger, and to educate them in the sense of modesty and piety by reading books in which the Christian virtue is highlighted and the exemplary life of the Saints is narrated.

Also at heart were the people of God, who were also studying to teach with various publications: suffice it to say that, among these, of the already mentioned Catholic Readings, 50 years after their foundation, almost 10 million copies had already been published , and that the same zealous Master spread in every where popular books of history and religion and flying leaflets without number, to counter the bad colluvie of insane or hostile writings to the Catholic truth.

Finally, having ignited in the minds of many, with the publication of the official period of the Salesian Congregation entitled Salesian Bulletin 's love for missionary works and aroused so many priestly vocations, he has himself made himself supremely worthy in the Church precisely through this same typographic art.

So now, so that those who have the grave responsibility for printing books and periodicals can have in such an important work a Model to be inspired and a Patron from which to be helped and protected, the Society of Catholic Editors of Italy Ci he addressed a lively prayer because we deigned to be their main Patron Saint John Bosco.

And We, fully approving this purpose as supremely opportune in this time so perverse of ours, in which we see so many errors in ponderous volumes and in the insignificant sheets of many newspapers and in which, therefore, it is very important to oppose print to print and to present to the eyes of the readers the pastures of genuine truth, we have willingly decided to nod to these votes.

Therefore, after having heard the Venerable Our Brother Carlo Salotti, Bishop of Palestrina and Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, of certain science and after mature Our deliberation, with the fullness of Our Apostolic Authority, by virtue of this Letter we establish and proclaim Saint John Bosco, confessor, principal heavenly Patron with God of the Society of Catholic Publishers of Italy, with all the honors and liturgical privileges that by right belong to the main patrons of associations.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, under the Fisherman's ring, May 24, feast of Mary. Help of Christians, 1946, VIII of Our Pontificate.

Pius PP. XII

DOMINIC SAVIO PATRON OF CHOIR BOYS (8 June 1956) 

DECREE
The children who with their clear voices perform the sacred praises, while they make the Christian temples resound with festive songs, move the minds of the listeners and elevate them towards the invisible, to heavenly thoughts. For this reason this Apostolic See has always favored and encouraged these choirs and we ourselves have surrounded the "Pueri Cantores" with particular kindness when, some years ago, in the basilica of San Pietro, around us rejoicing, they made resounding enchanting executions under the dome Michelangelo. Their presidents, belonging to 26 nations, gathered in a recent assembly, they sent us the petition because we proclaim SAN DOMENICO SAVIO, who under the guidance of St. John Bosco sang the divine praises with fervent love, as heavenly Patron with God of « Pueri Cantores ». To this plea, supported by the recommendation of our dear Son Maurizio Feltin, card. arc. of Paris, with a happy heart, We have decided to comply, We who have raised to the honors of the Saints this child, full of sweetness and fragrant with filial candor, whose imitation We have proposed to all the youth. Therefore, by decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, We, of certain science and after mature deliberation, with the fullness of the Apostolic Power, elect and declare with the present letter and forever, SAN DOMENICO SAVIO, confessor, as CELESTE PATRONO with God of "Pueri Cantores", with all the honors and liturgical privileges normally attributed to the Patrons of Associations and Orders. Despite any contrary provision: we proclaim and establish,

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, under the Fisherman's ring, June 8, 1956, XVIII of Our Pontificate.

Pius XII

SAINT MARY DOMENICA MAZZARELLO

Homily of Pius XII for the Canonization of the heroic virgins Emilia de Vialar and Maria Mazzarello.
(June 24, 1951)
1. The Christian fortress of the two virgins. - 2. Multiple Apostolate. - 3. Serene and sweet tranquility. - 4. Inflamed charity. - 5. Light that invites supernal things.

1. While we meditate on the life of the sacred virgins, that today, in this so great majesty of things and crowd of men, we have decorated the insignia of holiness, of them, indeed everything, to Our mind, presents the virtue of the Christian fortress, with which the two Saints, from an early age, endeavored to overcome all the obstacles which they hindered the arduous journey to achieve evangelical perfection and to inculcate it, with every effort, into their companions.

Abandoning the paternal home, saying goodbye with a strong and generous spirit to the joys of this life, which in high and in humble condition is also permissible to hope, nothing else to desire, nothing else to ask but the Will of God, who invited them to great missions : all these pious desires let us know their nature, which, if, by nature, was strong and courageous, was also abundantly nourished and strengthened by superior grace, so that it could grow in a marvelous way.

1. This invincible fortitude of mind shone splendidly in the two virgins, when it was necessary that, under their guidance and moderation, the two nascent communities faced and overcome serious difficulties of all kinds. Without neglecting anything, and overcoming continuous difficulties, schools for girls were opened in many places, especially of modest condition; for the same reason colleges, factories, hospices were founded. Moreover the Daughters of the two Congregations, driven by the inflamed charity of the Foundresses, lent their work to relieve anxieties, miseries, troubles, and to cure the illnesses of the body they devoted themselves with soft ways that, often, raised the souls of the languishing and of the sick in the hope of a better life and greater happiness. Nor is this enough:
2. In the many matters and serious enterprises it is especially admirable that the Foundresses of these sacred virgins, though distracted by such serious care, solicitude, and fatigue, and were oppressed by so many dangers, difficulties and difficulties, nevertheless lost nothing of that serene and gentle tranquility, that seemed almost an innate gift of their soul. But it was not entirely innate, it was, rather, grace infused by the sky, nourished from above, confirmed and strengthened by a strong love for God and for one's neighbor. They were, in fact, closely connected and always with the divine Redeemer; it was their delight to speak familiarly with Him and to love Him intensely. And from this inflamed charity derived an impetuous force so that it was easy to win and overcome every obstacle.
3. This explains that golden book of the Imitation of Christ, in which we read the following phrases worthy of careful meditation:

"Great is love, great good in every respect; because it only makes any weight light, and tolerates every inequality with equal heart. Pórta, in fact, the weight without feeling it, and makes any bitterness sweet and tasty. The noble love of Jesus urges on great things, and always leads to desire more perfect things. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing more sublime, nothing more expansive, nothing more cheerful, nothing more abundant, nothing better in heaven and on earth, since love is born of God, nor can it over-do things create quiet, but in God alone. The lover flies, runs, rejoices, is free and cannot be kept.

He gives everything for everything, and everything finds in all things; because it rests in that one, which is above all things, from which all good emanates and proceeds " (Imitation of Christ, 3, 5).

1. This century of ours has much to learn from such admirable and healthy examples; many things to learn from the holy life of these virgins; men today too often repudiate the eternal good in order to aspire to the mutable and transitory, as if the pleasures of this earthly life could satisfy their infinite desires, and it happens that they are continually agitated by the mutability of things and events; they with their minds and their hearts are always prey to restlessness, for they do not rest in the love of God. They easily decide and resolve, and as their will lies unnerved, they do not rise to the splendor of the sublime things, but rather they linger in the unhappy moral baseness.

All of you, therefore, who are present here, and you who are absent and who feel these words of ours by the radio, or who will read them through the press reports, turn your mind and soul to the light that emanates from these Heavenly saints, who invites you so strongly to supernal things. Be assured that there can be nothing in this mortal life more beautiful than virtue, nothing more lovable, nothing more fruitful. Christian virtue, in fact, reinforces and directs the turbid movements of the soul, tempering the will and pushing us to act strongly and rightly; in anxiety it gives quietness, in the troubles of comfort, in sorrow, serenity and in the works of the apostolate, which today belong not only to the clergy but also to the laity, it confers that prompt alacrity that requires the health of souls from all.

May these two saints procure from God, the giver of all goods: in this way almost a sacred and new spring flourishes on this miserable earth; and all, each faithfully fulfilling their duty, enjoy the light of that intimate tranquility, which is the image and hope of eternal happiness to be achieved one day.

SAINT MARY MAZZARELLO

In the general audience with the Religious and the Representatives convened in Rome for the Canonization of the Sante De Vialar and Mazzarello.
(27 June 1951)
1. She walks simply in the shadow of Don Bosco. - 2. Under the invisible action of Providence.

1. Unite in one and the same hymn of actions of grace your joy and your gratitude, beloved daughters of the two great Saints, whose supreme glorification you celebrate together. According to what they consider both from the mundane and superficial side, or instead from the serious and Christian, they appear, in turn, dissimilar to the contrast, similar to the fraternity of spirit and works.

At the time when Emilia de Vialar wrote her Constitutions, she was born of simple Campagnuoli Maria Mazzarello. She grows piously, placidly, in the work of the house and the fields. In matters of human sciences and letters, she is and will always remain - and she will be pleased to proclaim him highly - poorly educated. Far from having to impose herself in order to respond to a clearly known vocation of foundress, she, on the contrary, will have to struggle in vain to screen herself. Almost by divine inspiration, the Superior is created, even before she herself and her companions had a precise idea of ​​what religious life is. Except for a few passing clouds, she walks in the light. She does not lack either support or advice; sustained and guided by eminent men for holiness and qualified, object of the care of attentive and attentive spiritual directors, it would seem that he had only to let himself be led, and his Institute, in the shadow of that of the holy Don Bosco, was founded, established, consolidated, almost by himself. Without doubt the tribulations were not lacking to Mary, like the joys to Emilia, but they are of a very different character.

1. As different are the two fields in which the life of the two Saints takes place, the spirit, the object, the development of their Institutes are equally important for their conformity.

The spirit of both is to assist needs and miseries in all the most active ways, turning frequently to the most urgent and most pitiful. Therefore the object of both is very varied and manifold, and it can be said that it embraces all the branches and forms of teaching and assistance: the visit to the destitute, the solicitude for prisoners, the care of the sick, the vigil of the dying at home and in hospitals, the dispensaries, the free teaching to the poor, made possible with that of the children of wealthy families. In this summary enumeration is the activity of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition: would there be much to change to indicate that of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians? Some incisive words of Don Bosco respond sufficiently to this question: "Their Congregation is equal to ours; it has the same purpose and the same means ".

Both Institutes, due to the visible influence of very different secondary causes, however, advance, under the invisible action of Providence, at a prodigiously accelerated rate, and the two Foundresses continue to carefully follow their development with their visits and their correspondence. The thought of vocations, necessary to be sufficient for so many enterprises, does not induce them either to loosen the severity in the choice and the preservation of the aspirants, or to hesitate in answering the questions of new foundations.

The news, which reached the wonderful apostolic works of the Salesians in Latin America, fostered the zeal of Maria Mazzarello and her daughters and aroused, one after the other, numerous departures, not only for Argentina and Uruguay , but soon also for the Indian regions of Patagonia.

TO SALESIAN COOPERATORS

Speech to the Salesian Cooperators on the occasion of the great international Convention in Rome.
(12 September 1952)
1. Most effective auxiliaries of Catholic Action. - 2. New providential Catholic lay movement. - 3. Light militia of activists of the cause of good. - 4. Supported by the Institute of which you are happy scion. - 5. Valid supporters of the Catholic Hierarchy. - 6. Implement the Salesian ideal.

1. The visit we are receiving today from such a large representation of the great Salesian Family - the Cooperators and Cooperators of the valiant militia of St. John Bosco - is one of those delicate traits disposed by divine Providence to put us once again before one of the most serious duties. and more dear to Our heart, that is, those that are the care of every day, a daily instant (2 Cor. 11, 28), of our apostolic ministry.

This duty, to which our soul is assiduously addressed, but to which your presence reminds us even more today, concerns that provident Catholic Action, of which the Salesian Cooperators are very effective auxiliaries.

In fact you do not ignore, beloved children, that your pious Union, grafted onto the prolific lineage of the religious family of St. John Bosco, and a participant in its multiform activities and spiritual assets, does not however have for its immediate purpose to come to aid the Congregation from which you take the name, but rather, as your Holy Founder declared, "to help the Church, the bishops, the parish priests, under the high direction of the Salesians; and this, in charitable works, such as catechisms, the education of poor children, and the like ».

1. Apostle born and arousal of apostles, Don Bosco divined, a century ago, with the intuition of genius and holiness, what was to be later in the Catholic world the mobilization of the laity against the action of the world enemy of the Church. Thus one day in 1876 the man of God, speaking of his Cooperators, was able to come out in these bold thoughts: "So far it seems a small thing; but I hope that by this means a good part of the Italian population will become Salesian and open the way to many things for us ».

The farsighted zeal foresaw, under the signs of the Salesian institution, a new providential movement of the Catholic laity, which, under the overwhelming urge of the forces of evil and the illuminating conduct of the Spirit, was preparing to take the field, ordered in his paintings, formed to action, to prayer and to sacrifice, working side by side with the forces of the first line, which for divine mandate are the direction and the primary part in the holy battle.

Intimately imbued with the Salesian spirit, you understand well, beloved children, what close relationships are yours with the complex of those works that are supported and promoted by the Catholic laity in aid of the Hierarchy according to the times, places and circumstances; and what assignment we can make about your cooperation. Catholic Action has the right to expect a great deal from you in the field of charity, of charity, of the good press, of vocations, of catechisms, of festive oratories, of missions, of the education of poor and unsafe youth. This is the primary purpose that the ardent soul of Don Bosco pointed to your activity; and signaling oneself in this field must be, as has always been the case here, your glory.

1. Today this duty and this boast are, as you can see, an urgency that goes beyond the very expectation of your Founder. The Catholic world is, as never before, the target of all the forces of evil, and the youth, that is, the future of the world, is the coveted stake of these forces, which gives the guarantee of victory.

If in the anguish of the present it is Our imperious office to renew without ceasing the cry of awakening, to summon, to awaken the sleepers and the unconscious, to encourage the willing, "to preach the word, to insist in time, out of time, to resume, to plead, to exhort "(cfr. 2 Tim. 4, 2), it is equally strict duty of all Our children not to desert the arena, but to do honor with the deeds to the solemnly professed Christian militia.

To the facts they commit themselves, with a new explicit enlistment, the ascribed to the Catholic Action; and you, who carry the banner in the name - cooperate - you are, in the shadow of the Salesian Family, the light militia, the "activists" of the cause of good, who are scattered in all classes and exposed to all the most varied circumstances , work with life, with the word, with action, to repair the ruins, to prevent evil, to throw in the souls the seeds of truth, virtue, faith, religion and piety.

1. With life above all - let us say - you, beloved children, must conduct a good spiritual fight, alongside the Institute of which you are the happy offspring. Because in this kind of activity it is not so much the doing, the overdoing, the writhing in all the senses, as the mirrored Christian behavior, that in the heart of your families and of the society, of which you are members, makes the testimony of the facts to your multiform apostolate.

With the opinions, the logic and the customs of the world, in all its parts it contrasts the message entrusted by the Divine Master to this apostolate, which his parents cannot think of exercising effectively for the simple fact of their external action. The pagan or pagan society that receives it, both in the community and in individuals, even if convinced and admired, cannot but be perplexed if the apostle says and does not; and even when the effect of this apostolate is not ruined rather than edifying, the world will continue to consider the effective ordering of life according to the norm of faith and Christian morality to be utopian or of a select few.

1. Life therefore exemplary in all senses must be your beloved children, because the cooperation to which you are devoted is not a polished one, but makes good fruits, whatever the field on which it is called to apply should be. The irresistible strength of every kind of Christian apostolate is piety, of which St. Paul said that "it is useful to all, and has the promise of the present life and of the future" (1 Tim. 4, 8).

Piety is itself the first, the great apostolate in the Church of Jesus Christ; and those who claimed, in homage to the external activity, to reduce their cult or to have less consideration of it, would show little or no intelligence of the essence of Christianity, of its
substantial nucleus, which is the union of the soul with God in the active and obedient love.

Let us insist on this serious affair, dear Cooperators and Cooperators, so that the key to the successful success of your work as a valid supporter in the deployment of the Catholic Hierarchy may not escape you, or rather continually present you to your spirit. They have called you - and you are in reality - the Third Salesian Order, in the way that their Tertiaries have other religious Institutes and Orders, with the difference that in them the element of piety is emphasized, in you, the charity factor . Now, as the danger of the first is that, next to the prince element, prayer, they do not leave sufficient field for action, your danger is, on the contrary, that the action extinguishes the flame of prayer, and lacking this , the action without

1. Think therefore, beloved children, as the very urgency of your manifold work, today, we would say almost, anxiously requested by the Church, obliges you to the most jealous care of your interior life; of that life, that is, to which the wisdom of the Saint of action provided well, dictating to you, no less than to his double family of Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a Rule of spiritual life, ordered to form you, albeit without the common life, to the internal and external religiosity of those who seriously make his work, of all the most sublime, of Christian perfection in his family and social world.

At this point, let you, beloved children, let our paternal spirit, aware of its tremendous vicarious mission, rise, with the hope that it does not confuse, to the contemplation of a society disseminated in all its classes, professions, jobs, professions , - of men and women who fulfill the Salesian ideal fully, with faith, perseverance, love, in the midst of the world of the distracted, the superficial, the weak, the scandalous of every name. "Salt of the earth" that penetrates with the ardor of faith lived in all the meanders of the family and civil consortium: this ideal, affirmed with the strength of evangelical meekness, which seeks nothing, fears nothing from men and things, from which magnificent, albeit slow, transformation of hearts will not, in the long run, be capable!
And you, Cooperators and Cooperators of the great complex Salesian work, who, on the jubilee date of your foundation, went back to the origins and history of such a fruitful movement, you more than others, while blessing the Lord for the great good accomplished by your means, today you must remember above all your responsibilities and the commitment that binds you to God and to men to collaborate in the establishment and spread of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Grateful We ourselves and the joys of good that you sow and the fruits you harvest, all Our vows in this auspicious circumstance are for the greatest increase of your Pia Union in number and fervor. To this end we implore on it the widest outpouring of the divine Grace. And while we ask the Lord that the active zeal of the Cooperators and the Cooperators never lose anything of his vigor, and your institution under the auspices of Mary Help of Christians and of Saint John Bosco is flourishing at all times in works and in spirit, we impart of great heart to its leaders, to its members, to all its holy undertakings the Apostolic Blessing.

PROVIDENTIAL WORK OF REDEMPTION

Exhortation to over a thousand children of the "Borgo Don Bosco" for the celebration of the five-year term of their institution.
(April 19, 1953)
1. Your presence is full of enchantment. - 2. The parable of the workers in the vineyard. - 3. Let Jesus form your young souls. - 4. The shining example of the holy Founder.

1. There is something new today in this House, which has seen many people of different ages and conditions come together, even in the last few days: a few times, however, the air of a festive and bursting spring has penetrated this Father's House like now common, invaded by a multitude of lively and dear boys.

Perhaps you have received those who know how many recommendations to be good, not to make a fuss, and truly give a magnificent example of order and discipline. But we wish to assure you that, if you were not so numerous, we would have liked to come down among you, to show you even more manifestly how much the Pope loves you.

We have before our eyes the spirit that should have happened whenever the children could make their way through the crowd and reach Jesus. It would not be an exaggeration to imagine that they even took it over; and he let them do and defended their intemperance and the audacity of those who led them, from the reproaches of the Apostles and of those who feared that those little ones disturbed the quiet and provoked disorder. Thus the words of Jesus resounded in the streets of Palestine, sweet and steadfast: "Let the children come to me" (Mk. 10, 13-14).

We would like to tell you, beloved children, boys of Borgo Don Bosco, like a tender love, similar to the one that filled the divine Heart of Jesus for all the children, lights up Our and makes it overflow with joy today that you wanted to gladden You with your presence so full of charm.

1. Therefore, dear children, we give you our fatherly welcome and take the opportunity to address a simple word to you, as we are eager to imitate in some way what Jesus would have said if he were visible here instead of his unworthy Vicar on earth.

You certainly remember - for having heard it many times recount - the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt. 20, 1 et seq.): "Once there was a landlord, who needed workers for his vineyard, and he went out early to look for them. Then he returned at the third, sixth and ninth hours, and each time a group of workers moved to go to work. When he left at eleven o'clock, he found others who were lying there idle, and said to them: "Why are you here all day idle?" They replied: "Because no one took us". And the master added: "You also go to my vineyard" ".

This evangelical scene makes Our thought run into a fairly recent event: one of the many facts, which pierce, like bright stars, the firmament of the Church in all its history.

In some of the most popular neighborhoods of Rome there were so many kids on the street. Some played, others quarreled and repeated bad words and perhaps in many ways offended the. Lord.

And one day a priest came out, driven by the anxiety to save those adolescents, and he managed to go among them and asked: "Why do you stand all day in the street doing nothing? ». Some replied: "Dad works, and his mother has no time to look after all the children: we are so many! ». Others murmured: "Dad and mum are out looking for something to eat: dad is unemployed". Someone crying said, "I don't know where Papa is, and my mother is dead." Everyone observed: "Nobody picks us up, nobody wants us: for this we are idle all day in the street".

Then the priest exclaimed: "Come, we will give you a house, we will try to replace for you mother and father. Come: we have a small church, where Jesus, a friend of children, will teach you to become more good. Come: next to the church we will build workshops and schools; you will have thoughtful teachers who will help you be better. Come: you will not lack nourishment; you will have the necessary medicines; there will be fields to play. So you will become stronger. Come, and we will make a village all for you, and we will be your friends. We will work with you; we will study with you; we will play with you; we will cry, if necessary, with you. We will be a great family, entrusted to the omnipotence and wisdom of our Father who is in heaven ".

1. And the boys, taken by the priest's hand, went: first some, then others, then others. Today you are more than a thousand, and we have been informed that in the Borgo Don Bosco, in Via Prenestina, there is all a fervor of works to your advantage: over three hundred internal and seven hundred external students, who spend the whole day there, working, studying , playing. And meanwhile the tireless Salesian religious - while they procure, with so much self-denial and hard work, that nothing is lacking in the perfect course of the «Borgo» - they do their utmost for your civil, religious and moral education, so that, once grown up, you can be good citizens skilled and skilled Christian workers.

Respond, dear ones, generously and honestly to their care. Take advantage of playing fields, gymnastics and sports in general, to be and keep you physically healthy.

Be diligent in elementary, professional, technical schools, and in laboratories, to become ever better.

Above all let Jesus, by using the work of the priests and their collaborators, be forming your young souls. Certainly it is necessary that your limbs become stronger and your intelligences develop; but what good would it be to have a healthy and strong organism and a sharp and ready intellect, if then the will were bad, if the soul were dead, because deprived of divine grace?
4. Our word is now addressed briefly to you, fathers, mothers, relatives of these boys. We are well aware of the difficulties and distresses, among which you often struggle and which prevent you from dedicating yourself, as you would like, directly to your children; therefore try at least to assist, as far as possible, the priest in the educational work. Sometimes - it is painful to say - it happened that some families instead came to destroy what had been built in the souls of children in the mystical recollection of the devout chapel or in the classrooms. We implore you in the name of the Lord: take care of these young lives, pupils of Our eyes, and above all pupils of the eyes of the divine Master. And you, beloved Salesian sons of Don Bosco, have all our paternal satisfaction and gratitude for what you have done and continue to do for the benefit of these children. All your care, your every aspiration, your every anxiety, you have had it for Jesus.

Faced with wolves, who try to penetrate the fold of the Church to devastate that temple of God which is the youthful soul, your action of salvation stands firm and powerful.

Do not get tired, beloved children, in this providential work of redemption and education. Always have the shining example of your great Father and Founder alive before your mind. Double your efforts to multiply the number of children you assist. And blessed are those who collaborate with you: those who spend their energies, or who with the generous offering put you in a position to courageously overcome many difficulties, to maintain your Home, and indeed to complete it, increase it and equip it, so that it responds to all the most urgent needs that the present conditions require for the physical and spiritual good of your protégés.

«FATHER AND MASTER»

"St. John Bosco, in order to be able to withstand the formidable burden placed upon him by divine Providence, was held in habitual union with Heaven, from which he drew that wisdom, which we all admire in him with wonder".
Sacred Congregation of the Rites, 26-VI-1953

THE VICTORY OVER ALL HOSTILE FORCES

Message of Pope Pius XII in the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Coronation of Mary Help of Christians (17 May 1903-53), for the volume
"The Help of Christians of the Church and of the Pope".
(April 25, 1953)
In the book of Marian Studies which the mercy of the worthy Salesian Family lays gratefully at the feet of their heavenly Patron, Maria Auxilium Christianorum in the fiftieth anniversary of the Coronation, invites our own mercy to insert the flower of the ancient and always new gratitude, which binds Our person and all of Our Pontificate to the Mother of God.

A loving seal of a worthy homage paid to the Queen of Heaven, Our word also wants to be a prayer, even a cry of plea to Colei, who, in the anxious trepidation now turning, cannot but move, to multiply the prodigies of her help to Christians.

Auxilium Christianorum, now pro nobis, repeats with us every page of this volume, where the doctrine, history and art of the word comment in a fraternal contest on the glorious title, which with admirable consensus bears witness to the Christian family of all times and of everywhere.

Neither consensus will be lacking if, with the faith of Saint John Bosco, the devotee of Mary, the Christian family will once again want to restore itself to a healthy renewal of spirit and custom to raise its plea for the plea to the Victorious of heart in sincerity of heart all the hostile forces of the world and hell.

To this same renewal the Immaculate Virgin help the children of a century that is also impressed by so much evil. Help the wanderers, help the condottieri and the masters. And like faith, piety, love dripping in the pages of this volume are the noble tribute of an apostolic family indebted to Mary for its existence and its beautiful vitality, so may whole Christendom, rediscovered itself, hope for the powerful intercession of the great Mother of God, to bring to her feet, a new wreath of much higher value, the homage of a purified life and the flower, no longer fragile and transient, of regained peace.

Pius PP. XII

SOUL TESA IN PURE OBLATION TO CHRIST

Speech for the Canonization of five Beati, including Saint Dominic Savio.
(12 June 1954)
While the three heroes we have just commemorated had lavished all their virile energies on the hard fight against the forces of evil, the image of Domenico Savio, a frail teenager with a weak body but with a soul stretched out in a pure oblation of oneself to the sovereignly delicate and demanding love of Christ. In such a tender age one would expect to find rather good and amiable dispositions of spirit, and instead one discovers in him with wonder the marvelous ways of the inspirations of grace, a constant and unreserved adherence to the things of heaven, that his Faith perceived with a rare intensity. At the school of his spiritual Master, the great Saint Don Bosco, he learned how the joy of serving God and making him loved by others can become a powerful means of apostolate. THE' December 8, 1854 saw him elevated in an ecstasy of love for the Virgin Mary, and shortly afterwards he gathered some of his friends in the "Company of the Immaculate Conception", in order to make great strides in the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. ecstasy of love for the Virgin Mary, and shortly afterwards he gathered some of his friends in the "Company of the Immaculate Conception", in order to make great strides in the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. ecstasy of love for the Virgin Mary, and shortly afterwards he gathered some of his friends in the "Company of the Immaculate Conception", in order to make great strides in the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. and shortly afterwards he gathered some of his friends in the "Company of the Immaculate Conception", in order to make great strides in the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. and shortly afterwards he gathered some of his friends in the "Company of the Immaculate Conception", in order to make great strides in the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. to advance at great speed on the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. to advance at great speed on the path of holiness and to avoid even the slightest sin. He incited his companions to piety, to good conduct, to the frequency of the Sacraments, to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the flight of evil and temptations. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love. Without letting himself be intimidated by bad reception and insolent answers, he intervened firmly, but charitably, to call the wretched and perverse to duty. Already filled in this life with the familiarity and gifts of the sweet Guest of the soul, he soon left the earth to receive, with the intercession of the heavenly Queen, the reward of his filial love.

DOMENICO SAVIO, FULGIDA GEMMA ...

Telegram of His Holiness Pius XII for the celebrations of Turin.
(November 21, 1954)
Paternally present with the Salesian youth of Italy and the world at the solemn celebration of the new Saint Dominic Savio, the August Pontiff is pleased to point out to her the angelic pupil of Saint John Bosco, the new shining gem in the dense cohort of young winners of the century, followers of the Mystic Lamb.

From him imploring the youthful hosts of every country, which accompany his triumph, light and comfort to the holy bravery of the Christian life, to them His Holiness sends of great heart, spur to the virtue and wish of grace for the noblest enthusiasms of the good, the begged Apostolic Blessing.

SINGULAR SMALL LIBRARY ...

Response of the Holy Father to the many letters bound in volume sent by members to Salesian Youth Companies for his 800th birthday. (March 21, 1956)
SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS N. 365587
Rev.mo Signore,
the volume of letters with which the Salesian Youth Companies throughout Europe are united these days around the white Father to celebrate the two anniversaries , is a tribute to great eloquence.

The August Pontiff looks at this singular epistolary library and admires.

Col Suo gesto, pieno di significato e di affetto, Egli allarga le braccia in mezzo a tanta folla dai visi aperti, dagli occhi scintillanti, dalle labbra frementi, di bambini, di fanciulli, di adolescenti d'ogni clima e d'ogni lingua, che non veduti e pur veduti, con accenti noti o ignorati, e pur compresi, aprono il loro cuore al Vicario di Gesù Cristo, dicendo ciascuno nella sua nitida paginetta, assai più di quanto l'ingombrante penna si prova a dire e non dice se non con accenti smorzati e scorati.

But the Father means. To all, indeed to each, He responds with His benevolence. In the confused multitude of such His little friends He sees the apostles of tomorrow, who, mindful of him and of today's celebrative dates, will be the bearers of Jesus Christ and his good News in the world, with the word and with life. Under the signs of Saint John Bosco they will be among the men, ignorant and forgotten, the good ferment of the Gospel, ordered to levitate the mass; it will be the Christians of the better world, who today fills hope with the heart of the sweet Christ on earth.

With these senses the Pope of the little ones invokes upon them the generating Spirit of new creatures, grace, which will keep them firm in their purposes of virtue and apostolate. And on their heads that bow down under His paternal hand, he lets a special Apostolic Blessing descend, so that it may remain in perpetual comforting and admonishing.

With distinct esteem I confirm, devoutly in the Lord
ANGEL OF WATER Substitute

«THE HEART OF HIS HOLINESS HAS FALLEN IN PATERNAL TENDERNESS»

The Pope's reply to the letters of the students of the Istituto Elvetico of Lugano (Switzerland), for his 80th birthday.
(May 1956)
SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS N. 365587
Rev.mo Signore,
in the grand concert of good wishes and the many expressions of affection with which the worthy Salesian Family has solemnized the recent auspicious recurrences of the Holy Father, the Argentine voices - so varied and so synchronous! - of the students of this Helvetic Institute they moved the heart of His Holiness to paternal tenderness.

They have committed themselves - from the oldest to the youngest - in a noble race to tell the Common Father, with the most intense expressions, the fullness of their filial affection, the sentiments of their good heart, the prayers and sacrifices that for him have facts, the "pebbles" that they put in the boxes to count their little flowers, their gratitude for the canonization of San Domenico Savio, and - unanimous! their affliction for the suffering that the Pope derives from persecution against the Church.

May the Reverend Lord, to these children, express the deep satisfaction of the August Pontiff for such a moving tender of filial love.

How willingly the Pope would answer personally, and to each one! But ... how is it done? - dear little Ferriero Della Chiesa, that you would like a whole for yourself and for your family - how do you do it, if many other children, too many, and from all over the world, have written to the Pope? However, the Pope has present you, everyone, and pray! Pray, dear Brunello Molteni, for the healing of your father who has been ill for four years, in a sanatorium; pray for you, dear Pier Giorgio Donada, who, as an aspirant of Catholic Action, aspires to become a priest; and also for you, another Pier Giorgio Violino, who, from "worthy" (you say so!) President of the Society of the Blessed Sacrament, wants to become a Salesian priest; pray also for you, little Ivan Rajover, who are "Jew",

The Pope prays for all and thanks! Thanks little Claudio Alberti, who expects to grow older to write him more expressive words - but the ones you've written to him are already so expressive! And you too, Luciano Panzer: sure! the heart told you just because your letter was very pleasing to the Pope; and you, Fabio Locatelli that, for the Pope, you have listened to six Masses, you have made six Communions and you have recited six Rosaries.

The Pope reminds you well, dear Andrea Mazzario, that one day you brought him "together with eight other boys, tricolor flames" a beautiful planet; but ... this time not "just three words" was "your part!" ».

And thanks also to you, little Flavio Filippini, who wished to express your satisfaction with the "beautiful speeches that the Pope makes from the Vatican". And you, dear Daniele de Ritis, will you imitate the life of your august Ancestor Pius IX?
So rich anthology, Most Reverend Lord, and so flamboyant florilegium of limpid, ingenuous devotion, they have spiritually brought the Holy Father into the midst of these most beloved children, pleased to see the face of their white souls reflected in the childlike expressions.

To all, with his gratitude, his paternal complacency, and for all the invocation to Mary Help of Christians and to the angelic Saint Dominic Savio so that this garden of innocence may not be contaminated by evil.

In this trust and with these sentiments, the Vicar of Jesus Christ imparts with great heart, to the SV Rev.ma, to his Confreres, to the Cooperators, to the Benefactors, and to all the students and alumni of this praiseworthy Elvetic Institute, as a pledge of the His particular benevolence and in the hope of the most abundant divine favors, the implored Apostolic Blessing.

Profit of the meeting to confirm me with senses of distinct esteem, of the Lordship of your Most Reverend in the Lord
ANGEL OF WATER Substitute

LUMINOUS IDEAL OF THE DON BOSCO EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

L ETTER of Pope Pius XII to the Rector Major of the Salesians, on the occasion of the 1st centenary of the death of St. Dominic Savio.
(January 31, 1957)
In that way that during the Marian Year, the celebration of which was proclaimed by Us for the whole world on the occasion of the centenary of the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, We experienced supreme joy because It was granted to us in grandeur of the Piazza San Pietro, in the presence of a huge multitude, to decorate with the honors of the saints of the sky the most innocent adolescent Domenico Savio, so in the present, closing himself the first century since he flew among the Celestials, We are again very welcome to take take part in your celebrations in his honor and paternally exhort all the Christian faithful, and especially those who, when still young, come to you with due care and education and care, to fix their gaze carefully, as a model,in this very dear disciple of John Bosco.

No doubt there is nothing more beautiful or more amiable than an immaculate youth, which shines with beautiful talents of mind and heart and above all shines with the splendours of sanctity, as we joyfully see to have happened in this pupil of your Father and Master. And while we carefully consider its life, it seems to us that the Provident of God wanted to present it as the luminous ideal of that upright system of education for youth, in which the Founder of the Salesian Society was so eminent. As soon as he joined his family, willingly and willingly submitting to the counsels and exhortations of his Master, he did nothing but run, with a pace that is faster each day, at the summit of holiness. This is the aim of his firm decision to endure all damage and even death rather than ugly the soul of any small stain of sin; his intense piety is directed towards this divine Redeemer hidden under the Eucharistic veils and his Most Holy Mother; his still living flame of apostolate aims at this, for which he strove with every means to wrest his peers from the attractions of vice proper to their age, and associate them in the practice of Christian virtue.

But what is particularly pleasing in this adolescent is the whiteness of the most innocent soul and its very firm intention to keep the lily of purity intact throughout life, so that he effectively shines at the eyes of our youth, threatened today by so many and so serious ambushes and dangers. It is therefore our lively desire that he honor, venerate and strive to imitate adolescents, and expressly those who are entrusted to your care for their education; for in such a way it will come about that with the favor and the divine help a chaste, serene, happy and strong youth will grow happily, according to the hopes of the Catholic Church and civil society.

To achieve this we want them to benefit the centenary celebrations that will soon take place; and meanwhile, as a wish for heavenly favors and as a sign of Our special benevolence, with the greatest affection in the Lord, we impart to you, beloved son, and to all the superiors of the Salesian Society, the Apostolic Blessing to the confreres and students.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on the 31st of January, on the feast of St. John Bosco, the year 1957, XVIII of Our Pontificate.

Pius PP. XII

THE "SALESIAN SODALITIES" VITAL PART OF  DON BOSCO'S SYSTEM

Words of His Holiness Pius XII to the over 4,000 boys of the Salesian Religious Societies of Lazio and Sardinia.
(7 April 1957)
The Holy Father was visibly moved by the meeting with young Salesian students. Although St. Peter's Basilica was as full as on great occasions, the boys - over 4000 - gave a special tone to the event. Going down among them, the Pope was heard repeating: «What a providential work! What a providential work! ». He was pleased to receive a parchment in which the young people said they wanted to offer their renewed heart by the grace of Communion; he listened carefully when the Inspector Don Fiora told him that they wanted to represent all the Salesian boys in the world; he appreciated the homage of the Life of Saint Dominic Savio.

When he was asked to take him to the youth, he undoubtedly accepted and smiled to the assault of the boys. Then the Holy Father spoke. Having said that it was impossible to address a special word to individual groups, he continued:
"But an exception, however, we are allowed to do seeing this large, numerous, magnificent gathering of young leaders and members of Salesian Companies.

A very numerous and fervent group of those companies founded and inspired by Don Bosco who had the best fruit of St. Dominic Savio, whom we had the good fortune to raise to the honors of the altar and of which you celebrate the centenary of death, a sublime model of adherence to duty and a constant aspiration to the sky.

These Companies, established a century ago, have spread providentially wherever the Salesian work has come and have a vital part in the implementation of the Salesian pedagogical system as they directly exploit the energies of the young for their formation and for the apostolate.

Let us invoke the divine help upon you, of which our very special, paternal blessing is a pledge ».

DON BOSCO PATRON OF YOUNG APPRENTICES

Decree to Pius XII. (17 January 1958)
The divine Savior Jesus Christ, who in his adolescence, spent in the house of Nazareth, did not disdain to practice the profession of blacksmith, offered to all the workers and honest workers of every admirable example of diligence in the work, and in a certain sense made the same manual work sacred.

The Church therefore, founded by Him, guided by His maternal love towards the less favored by fortune and towards the workers, turns all its vigilant care to obtain that their life conforms to the true dignity of the human person and to the dictates of Religion and of the Pietà; especially in this age of ours, in which the seeds of perverse doctrines, aimed at placing at the center and end of everything, are disseminated with full force, not the God the Creator of the world, but the matter.

It is also evident that we must have a very special care of those who, in their prime, begin to learn a trade, so that, in the midst of so many difficulties, they can take the right path of life. It therefore seems all the more appropriate to place them under the special protection of a Saint from Heaven, to keep them away and to guard them from all evil and to strengthen them on the path of honesty and piety.

Our beloved son, Luigi Gui, Minister of the Italian Government for Work and Social Security, persuaded us of this. He gave us a humble petition to declare us a celestial patron of the young apprentice workers of San Giovanni Bosco, that distinguished man, worthy of the Church and civil society. , who, putting himself at the forefront of progress, formed countless groups of young people for the various professions, educating them in the honesty and holiness of life.

Finding the said supplication, full correspondence in our mind, especially as it reached us widely recommended by Venerable Brother Our Ismaele Mario Castellano, Titular Archbishop