Salesian Order - History

History

In 1845 Don John Bosco ("Don" being a traditional Italian honorific for a priest) opened a night school for boys in Valdocco, now part of the municipality of Turin in Italy. In the coming years, he opened several more schools, and in 1857 drew up a set of rules for his helpers, which became the Rule of the Society of St. Francis de Sales, which Pope Pius IX approved definitively in 1873. The institute grew rapidly, with houses established in France and Argentina within a year of the society's formal recognition. Its official print organ, the Salesian Bulletin, was first published in 1877. Over the next decade, the Salesians expanded into Austria, Britain, Spain, and several countries in South America. The death of Don Bosco in 1888 did not slow the institute's growth, and by 1911 the Salesians were established throughout the world, including Colombia, China, India, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela and the United States. The society continues to operate worldwide; in 2000, it counted more than 20,000 members in 2,711 houses. It is the third largest missionary organization in the world.