Don Bosco, "Apostle of Youth"

Just two years before St. Marcellin founded the Marist Brothers, Giovanni Melchior Bosco was born to a poor family in a village near Turin, Italy. One of three boys whose father died when John was 2 years old, he was forced to work in the fields to help support the family despite his intelligence and desire to become a priest. He overcame those early obstacles and did become a priest, which signaled the beginning of greater trials and greater triumphs. His first assignment brought him into contact with "street kids" who were imprisoned with seasoned convicts. He fumed at the injustice of this kind of punishment, and determined to rectify it. Direct contact with a young boy of the streets who at first refused to serve his Mass, drew out a love that embraced this young lad and spread to others. Don Bosco founded the first "oratory" where prayer, community and education worked wonders. Thought insane by his contemporaries, he continued to expand his "Rifugios" while also founding the Salesian Order of Priests and Brothers as well as two orders of Sisters. The Salesian charism is much like the Marist charism: using love as the tool to help students reach their potential. Particular attention has typically been given to "vocational training", plumbing, carpentry, welding, electricity. When visiting a Salesian school in Nairobi, I was amazed at the ingenuity and practicality of the work being done with the boys. It was the old, "teach them to fish" story: give them a trade and they will be able to support their families. Always, the love of Jesus and Mary is present in these schools and takes root in the hearts of their students. Don Bosco out lived St. Marcellin by 48 years but the two of them hit the winning combination of what makes effective Catholic Education: Faith, Love, Compassion and Practicality.
Bro. Rene