Our founder, St John Bosco, was born on 16th August, 1815, in a tiny hamlet called Becchi, in the hills of the Piedmont area of Italy. His family were agricultural labourers, and John was only a toddler when his father died, leaving his young widow Margherita to bring up three boys alone. She was a resilient and resourceful woman, who instilled compassion and charity into her family despite their own poverty, and brought her boys up strong in faith.

John was well aware of the struggles families and especially young people faced as the turbulent aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, and the infancy of the industrial revolution impacted lives already stricken by poverty and a lack of education. Inspired by a dream in his childhood, he realised he could use his strength and personal charisma to reach out to marginalised young people, guiding them with kindness in times when discipline for children was harsh and even cruel, befriending and entertaining them, to lead them into faith and provide them with the education and training they had no other opportunity to acquire.

Today, Salesian priests, brothers and sisters together with lay members of the Salesian Family, continue his work with the young and the poor across the world.

As we give thanks for his life's work and his inspiration, we also think of his mother, Mamma Margaret, who brought him into the world, shaped his faith and his values, worked alongside him in his oratory for poor boys, and supported him in founding our order.

Happy Birthday, Don Bosco! Pray for us!

Find out more about Don Bosco and his unique approach to the young.