Roman Catholics celebrate Monday, Jan. 31, the feast day of Saint John Bosco, the well-loved founder of the Salesian Order and revered patron saint of boys, school children, and editors.
Holy masses will be celebrated at the Saint John Bosco Parish in Makati City at 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and at 6 p.m. The 6 p.m. mass will be officiated by Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Archbishop Emeritus Francesco Panfilo, SDB.
Novena masses were held from Jan. 21 to 29 with a motorcade held on the last day that carried the images of St. John Bosco and Mary Help of Christians. The parish fiesta was celebrated Sunday, Jan. 30 with a holy mass presided by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula at 6 p.m.
Fr. Gerardo Matin, SDB, provincial superior of the Salesians of Don Bosco- Philippines North Province celebrated the mass at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, the St. John Bosco Parish in Tondo, Manila has deferred the fiesta masses for the feast of their patron on Sunday, Feb. 6 for safety concerns.
Born on Aug. 16, 1815 in Turin, Italy, Don Bosco was ordained priest in 1841. He taught poor boys about God, how to live moral lives, and basic livelihood skills. He founded the Salesian Order in 1859 with the purpose of providing education to poor and neglected young boys.
A follower of the philosophy and spirituality of Saint Francis de Sales, Don Bosco was a known devotee of the Blessed Mother. In 1872, together with St. Mary Mazarello, he established the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians to help poor and neglected girls.
Don Bosco died on Jan. 31, 1888 and was canonized by Pope Pius XI on April 1, 1934. Over the years, devotion to him became widespread, transforming his major shrine, the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians in Turin, into a popular tourist spot and pilgrimage site. Many churches and schools in many countries, including the Philippines were named in his honor and memory.
In 2010, the pilgrim relic of Don Bosco was brought to the country as part of a worldwide pilgrimage tour in preparation for his bicentenary of birth which was marked on Aug. 16, 2015.