In Don Bosco’s educational system preaching has special importance, both that which is bound up with the liturgical or catechetical context, and that of the informal, familiar kind. The saint often addressed the community of young people with brief and fervent talks aimed at stirring up their emotions, nurturing their minds, encouraging good resolutions and devout sentiments, and looking ahead to stimulating horizons.
Christian education of youth in popular works with a markedly missionary character like the Oratories on the outskirts of Turin, frequented by boys who were mostly abandoned and uneducated, required processes that were gradual and geared to each one’s possibilities. The Companion of Youth offered a complete but essential proposal adapted to everyone. Starting with this, Don Bosco used the sacrament of penance, personal chats, suggestions of optional and practical devotions and offered books to read and meditate on. He set up personalised processes which were more adapted to youngsters who were more capable of greater moral and ascetic effort. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Sodalities and spiritual friendships” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected works””
The first edition of Il giovane provveduto (in English The Companion of Youth) appeared in 1847 and was Don Bosco’s greatest publishing success. The year he died it had reached its 119th edition. It was reprinted with minor adaptations until 1961. It is also the book which Don Bosco most liked and constantly recommended.
In the years from 1853 to 1862, Valdocco was transformed from a festive Oratory—an open institution—into a complex work: hospice and boarding, college with boarding section, trade workshops, internal classes and publishing centre, amongst the most important sections.
In 1863, Saint John Bosco undertook a pivotal study by founding the Mirabello College and crafting meticulous regulations for its governance. These regulations, initially handwritten and later printed, were intended as the foundational statute for future institutions. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “First salesian colleges founded outside Turin (1863-1864)” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected Works””
The Programme—also called Regulations—of the school in Mornese was printed by Don Bosco at the Oratory Press like all the other Regulations for Salesian houses. The text copies many of the items in use at colleges he founded.
In the late 19th century, Saint John Bosco, or Don Bosco, expressed deep concern over the detrimental impact of bad literature on young students. In response, he initiated the establishment of the “Library for Italian Youth” or “Library of Italian Classics” in 1868, a tangible effort to provide a positive alternative. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Educational reading and spreading good books (1860-1885)” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected Works””
Amongst the more original practices put in place as part of the educational praxis at Valdocco, and maintained in the Salesian tradition that then followed from it, we would have to highlight the “Goodnights”: brief “talks” or “short speeches” after night prayers. Don Bosco addressed the pupils in the presence of their educators (superiors of the house, teachers assistants), in a familiar way using simple and attractive language.
The ten brief documents that follow—some perhaps less known than the previous ones in Salesian history—are also interesting from the point of view of the maturing and practice of Don Bosco’s educational system. We have a necessarily limited selection here of personal letters to people responsible for public education, or to young people and teachers, and circulars on pedagogical and didactic issues.
“The Preventive System in the Education of the Young” (1877) is a foundational work by Don Bosco, emerging from a speech at the opening of the Patronage de Saint-Pierre in Nice. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Prevention and education (1877-1878): The Preventive System in the Education of the Young” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected Works””
The Confidential Reminders, originating from a letter to Fr. Michael Rua in 1863, evolved into a comprehensive guideline for Salesian rectors, directors, and educators. Initially a private letter providing guidance for the new Salesian house in Mirabello Monferrato, it expanded and became the “Confidential Reminders for Rectors of Individual Houses of the Salesian Society” by 1871. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Guidelines for running salesian houses (1863-1887)” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected works””
This passage delves into the historical and biographical narrative titled “The Sway of a Good Upbringing,” a pivotal document commencing the representation of Don Bosco’s genuine experiences as an educator. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Educational experiences in the school and family setting (1855)” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected works””
This passage delves into two authentic presentations of Don Bosco’s educational system, documented in conversations with Urban Rattazzi in 1854 and Francis Bodrato in 1864. Despite being recorded later in 1881-1882, these discussions consistently portray the core tenets of Don Bosco’s educational philosophy. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Don Bosco’s educational method in confidential discussions with a politician (1854) and an elementary school teacher (1864)” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected Works””
Il presente volume contiene gli Atti del Seminario di studio sul tema Maria nell’educazione di Gesù Cristo e del cristiano svoltosi presso la Pontificia Facoltà di Scienze dell’Educazione Auxilium nel dicembre 2001.
Il presente volume raccoglie gli Atti del pre-seminario svolto all’Auxilium l’8 febbraio 2003 sul tema: Maria nell’educazione di Gesù Cristo e del cristiano in cui si è avviato un confronto tra discipline teologiche e scienze dell’educazione. Esso si pone come prosecuzione della riflessione sul medesimo tema affrontato in un precedente seminario, i cui Atti sono stati pubblicati dall’Editrice LAS nel 2002.
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