John Bosco - Life

Life

Bosco was born in the evening of 16 August 1815 in Becchi, Italy. He was the youngest son of Francesco Bosco (1784–1817) and Margherita Occhiena. He had two elder brothers, Antonio and Giuseppe (1813–1862). The Boscos of Becchi were farmhands of the Moglia Family. John Bosco was born into a time of great shortage and famine in the Piedmontese countryside, following the devastation wrought by the Napoleonic wars and a drought in 1817.

Margherita, his mother, played a strong role in Bosco's formation and personality, and was an early supporter of her son's ideals. When he was young, he would put on shows of his skills as a juggler, magician and acrobat with prayers before and after the performance.

In 1825, when he was nine, Bosco had the first of a series of dreams which would play an influential role in his outlook and work. This first dream "left a profound impression on him for the rest of his life", according to his own memoirs. Bosco apparently saw a man, who "appeared, nobly attired, with a manly and imposing bearing". The man said to him:

You will have to win these friends of yours not with blows, but with gentleness and kindness. So begin right now to show them that sin is ugly and virtue beautiful.

Poverty prevented any serious attempt at schooling. Nevertheless, it is suggested that the idea to become a priest came from his childhood experiences. At the time, being a priest was generally seen as a profession for the privileged classes, rather than farmers, although it was not unknown. Some biographers portray his brother Antonio as the main obstacle for Bosco's ambition to study, protesting that John was just "a farmer like us!" Nevertheless, Margaret gave her support to John and he finally left home in February 1828 at the age of twelve. Having to face life by himself at such a young age may have developed his later sympathies to help abandoned boys. After begging unsuccessfully for work, Bosco ended up at the wine farm of Louis Moglia. However, although Bosco could pursue some studies by himself, he was unavailable to attend school for two more years. In 1830 he met Joseph Cafasso, an elderly priest who identified some natural talent and supported his first schooling.