What might interest you
These projects might interest you.
What might interest you
These projects might interest you.
Sébastien Robert
Treasurer of the Foundation
The Foundation's name was chosen in reference to the great educator that was John Bosco.
This young priest welcomed a young orphan for the first time on December 8, 1841, Barthélemy Garelli. He was the cornerstone of his work.
In Turin, while visiting prisons, John Bosco perceived the need for his work. In a poor district of the city, Valdocco, he launched his first «oratories» (shelters for recreational and cultural activities and for deepening Christian life).
In 1859, with young people living with him, he founded the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, now called the «Salesians.».
In 1872, he founded a women's institute which he entrusted to Marie-Dominique Mazzarello, the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco.
In 1875, the Salesians crossed borders and settled in France and South America.
Popular writer, builder, founder of religious institutes, confidant of Pope Pius IX, he died in Turin on January 31, 1888. On Easter Day 1934, he was canonized. In January 1988, John Paul II proclaimed him «Father and Teacher of Youth.».
It discerns and develops each person's potential by relying on reason and intelligence, on the heart and affection, and on a search for meaning.
This method, centered on the educational relationship, is all the more relevant today as it is also effective in helping young people in great difficulty.
Today, Don Bosco houses are present in over 130 countries and welcome more than 2 million young people in nearly 8,500 diverse works.
The Don Bosco Foundation in France was recognized as being of public utility by a decree dated January 20, 1986. The Don Bosco Foundation in Belgium, created in 2021, is of public utility.
«Without affection, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no education.»
Saint John Bosco
Jean Bosco, A Vocation
Born on August 16, 1845, in the Becchi, a small hamlet in Italian Piedmont, John Bosco was raised on the family farm by his mother, who was widowed with three children when he was two years old. Even at a young age, he already had a strong influence on children his age with whom he played and prayed.
At the age of 9, Jean Bosco had a dream that greatly impressed him and marked the rest of his life: his vocation as an educator, a priest serving young people, guiding them with patience and kindness.
Jean Bosco, the great educator
As a young priest in Turin, he was immediately struck by the sight of children and young people left to their own devices on the streets, without work or guidance.
He then makes the decision to dedicate his life to young people to save them.
On December 8, 1841, in the church of St. Francis of Assisi, he met Bartholomew Garelli, the first of a multitude of young boys. This is how the Oratory began, itinerant at first, then, from 1846, permanently established in the Valdocco district. Boys then flocked in the hundreds: they studied and learned a trade in the workshops that Don Bosco had built for them.
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