Roman Catholics will commemorate on Tuesday, 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.
Vicariate of Taytay in Puerto Princesa, Palawan Bishop Broderick Pabillo will preside over a high mass in honor of St. John Bosco at 6 p.m. at the Saint John Bosco Parish in Makati City.
Holy masses will also be celebrated at 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., and at 12:15 p.m.
Novena masses were held from Jan. 20 to 28. A parish feeding program for children has launched on Jan. 28. A caracol and a grand procession were also held on Jan. 28. Parish fiesta masses were held on Jan. 29. Devotees attending the fiesta celebration are reminded to observe the safety health protocols strictly.
Born on August 16, 1815, in Turin, Italy, Don Bosco has 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 central 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.