John Bosco

John Melchior Bosco (Italian: Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; 16 August 1815,^[4]  – 31 January 1888),^[5][6][7] popularly known as Don Bosco [ˈdɔm ˈbɔsko, bo-],^[8] was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, educator, and writer. He worked in Turin, where the population suffered of illnesses because of industrialization and urbanization, he dedicated his life to the education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System.^[9]

Saint John Bosco "Don Bosco" S.D.B.
Priest and Confessor "Father and Teacher of Youth"
Born	(1815-08-15)15 August 1815[1] Castelnuovo d'Asti, Piedmont, Kingdom of Sardinia
Died	31 January 1888(1888-01-31) (aged 72) Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Venerated in	Catholic Church Anglican Communion[2]
Beatified	2 June 1929[3], Rome by Pius XI
Canonized	1 April 1934, Rome by Pius XI
Major shrine	Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, Italy
Feast	31 January
Attributes	Cassock, Biretta
Patronage	Christian apprentices editors publishers students young children magicians juvenile delinquents Piura, Peru Brasília, Brazil

Canonisation

Don Bosco

Pope Pius XII proclaimed John Bosco a patron of Catholic publishers in 1949. Bosco had been popularly known as the patron saint of illusionists, on 30 January 2002, Silvio Mantelli petitioned Pope John Paul II to declare Bosco formally to the patron of stage magicians.^[10] Catholic stage magicians who practice gospel magic venerate Bosco by offering free magic shows to underprivileged children on his feast day.^[10]

Bosco's work was carried on by an early pupil, collaborator, and companion, Michael Rua, who was appointed rector major of the Salesian Society by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.

He is remembered in the Church of England with a commemoration on 31 January.^[11]