Salesians of Don Bosco

The Salesians of Don Bosco (or the Society, originally known as the Society of St. Francis de Sales) is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint Don Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution. The Salesians' charter describes the society's mission as "the Christian perfection of its associates obtained by the exercise of spiritual and corporal works of charity towards the young, especially the poor, and the education of boys to the priesthood". The institute is named for St. Francis de Sales, an early-modern bishop of Geneva.