The Law of Guarantees on 13 May 1871 and decrees applying to this required that for newly appointed bishops to enter into possession – the so-called temporalities – they had to present the Minister with the original decree of appointment and formally ask for the exequatur to be granted. This act, in the Holy See’s judgement, implied recognising the Kingdom of Italy which came into being in 1861, and included part of the Papal States ‘illegally’ taken from the Pontiff.
In the years immediately preceding and following Italian Unity (1858-1866), Don Bosco kept constantly in touch with Pius IX by letter. He did this not only for interests directly relating to his work, but also in reference to the worrying situation the Church was going through in Piedmont, to encourage him in his defence of the faith against the enemies of religion, and to pass on to him any likely reserved information in his possession. As already indicated, Don Bosco was with Pius IX and his Secretary of State, Card. Antonelli, on the Roman question. Slowly however, he became convinced that a too vigorous resistance to the “revolution” was becoming ever more pointless, even risked worsening the situation, so after the capture of Rome he chose, also politically, the principle of doing whatever good could be done.
The Salesian Cooperators association, which came into being in 1876, just two years after the approval of the Constitutions of the Salesian Society, is the last group that Don Bosco founded. As with ADMA he did not ask the Holy See for formal, canonical approval of the association; he considered it sufficient for the aims of the Salesian Cooperators Association to gain moral recognition through the granting of indulgences by the Pope and favourable recommendation by some bishops.
Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – Salesian Cooperators Association”
When he had built the church of Mary Help of Christians at Valdocco in Turin in 1868, Don Bosco had it consecrated with an entire cycle of celebrations made available for the public domain through an appropriate booklet. Then he set out to make it an attractive centre for prayers, thanks and donations through a second larger book. Still not satisfied he sought to give stability to general devotion to Mary under the title of Mary Help of Christians through a lay association which bore that name.
Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – Association of Devotees of Mary Help Of christians”
From 1863 onwards the Salesian work which arose at Valdocco and through other oratories in Turin began to expand rapidly, as already indicated, through numerous foundations first in Italy—Piedmont, Liguria (no. 18) and then in other regions—and finally in France and Latin America (nos. 21, 24, 25, 27).
Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – National and international geographic expansion of salesian work”
Don Bosco, at the advice of his spiritual director, St Joseph Cafasso from autumn 1844 to summer 1846 lived at the Barolo Refuge as chaplain of the Little Hospital of St Philomena, opened in August 1845. In the same place and in other temporary places not far from Valdocco, he carried out his early priestly ministry on behalf of boys, mostly immigrant lads who had no parish of reference. On the vigil of his move to the Pinardi house, he drew up for the civil authorities of the city of Turin, who were responsible for and concerned about public order, a very brief account of his three years of catechetical activity, indicating the aims and results he had achieved that were positive both for civil society and the Church (no. 1).
In retrospect, one can appreciate why Don Bosco had become so distraught by the message that was played out in his dream (reverie?) during his Roman sojourn of 1884. His old friends, Joseph Buzzelli and Ferdinando Valfre, had demonstrated all too realistically what he could expect when the educational principles of his Sistema Preventivo and the “love environment” he strove so hard to cultivate for 40 years at the Oratory had been allowed to dissipate.
Continue reading “Michael Ribotta – The Roman Letter of 1884 and its aftermath”
In Part One of the present installment (Part Four overall), we shall discuss the last two dreams in a similar manner to the first article. Part Two (Five) will deal with the significance of the missionary dreams, with interpretative comments.
Continue reading “Arthur Lenti – Don Bosco’s Missionary Dreams (Part II)”
Father Philip Rinaldi was my granduncle on myfather’s side. For us youngsters he was the tall, smiling priest who, when visiting our home, would dig into his pockets and invariably come up with all sorts of goodies.
Continue reading “Peter Rinaldi – Blessed Philip Rinaldi as I knew him”
In the fall of 1870, for reasons that have never been documented, Don Bosco did not answer Archbishop Joseph Alemany’s invitation to travel the El Camino Real in the land of El Dorado.
Eugenio Valentini, SDB, in his “Presentazione” to the Fourth Volume of the Epistolario de S. Giovanni Bosco, states, that the letters of Don Bosco are not letters of ideas but of matters both spiritual and temporal.
Continue reading “John Itzaina – “My Charitable Mademoiselle””
Lo zelo fa concepire a D. Bosco il desiderio di fornire ad ogni parrocchia abili cantori. Egli gusta ed ama ardentemente la musica, eppure ha una predilezione pel canto gregoriano. Mi è dolce ricordare i loro sforzi, coronati da splendidi risultati, per insegnare colla musica sacra il canto prettamente ecclesiastico, sia in Italia come in Francia. Don Michele Rua si compiace nel pensiero che i Salesiani furono considerati da vari Vescovi e ragguardevoli personaggi quali strumenti per rialzare il decoro delle sacre funzioni, e furono sempre chiamati a cantare nelle più grandi solennità. Lo zelo dei maestri in varie case si comunicò agli alunni, che presero a coltivare il canto gregoriano con non minor gusto ed impegno che la musica. Si ebbero quindi esecuzioni di canto ecclesiastico nelle grandi funzioni, che poterono star a petto della più bella musica. Continue reading “Michele Rua – Lo spirito di D. Bosco – Vocazioni.”
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