But no less insisted upon from the viewpoint of catechesis, is the structural compactness of the Church, guaranteed from the top down: The Vicar of Jesus Christ and Successor of St Peter, The Pope. Don Bosco's educational effort in this regard is especially evident during the first two decades of his involvement in working for the young.

There are some constants in Don Bosco's activity as a leader through his writings and his talks: The defence of the historical, dogmatic centrality of the Papacy in the History of the Church;955 his Sunday catechetical instructions centred on the History of the Popes; his solicitude in celebrating

events related to the Holy Father in a festive way; the Pope's interest in life at the Oratory, especially

du ring the period when Pius IX was exiled at Gaeta (gratitude shown for the gift of 35 Lire, festivities

for the rosary -beads sent and blessed by the Pope and mailed from Portici on April 2,l850);

956

later on, the separation of the Feast of St. Peter from that of St. Aloysius Gonzaga;

957

celebrations for the 25th Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pius IX etc.

Don Bosco's enthusiasm for the Pope was contagious and educational: when he returned from his trips

to Rome, and on any other occasion, for example in l882, as recorded in the Chronicle written by Fr

John Bonetti.

During the first days of May, Don Bosco r eminded the boys about the fact that Pius IX

even though pressed by business dealing with the entire church, had shown interest in the

Oratory at Turin. And he took the occasion to urge the boys “to love him, not so much as

Pius IX, but as the Pope established by Jesus Christ, to rule over the church”. The he

concluded: "I would like to have Pius IX count on all the youngsters of the Oratory as his

defenders whatever part of the world they might find themselves in”.

And a few days later, Don Bosco stated: “Catholicism is losing out day after day. It is about time that we draw closer to Pius IX and fight with him, if necessary, to the point of dying for him”.958 Don Bosco's pedagogy of fidelity to the Pope was summed in an exhortation addressed to his boys on March 7, l867:

My dear children, never forget as long as you live that the Pope loves you and so, may no

word which might sound like an insult to him ever come out of your mouth.959

955Cf Preface to Storia ecclesiastica, p. 9, OE I 167. In the book the centrality and above all the saints and saintly Popes.

In the lives of the Popes, the historical primacy is also highlighted as well as the primacy of jurisdiction and teaching. 956Cf. Breve ragguaglio della festa fattasi nel distribuire il regalo di Pio IX ai giovani degli oratorii di Torino. Turin.

Botta 1850, 27 p. OE IV 93-119.

957 Speaking with his closest helpers 16 June 1876 Don Bosco shows that he is “absolutely against” the celebration of the feast of St Aloysius Gonzaga on the day of St Peter, and expresses the wish that for the first Pope there needs to be “a feast of of his own”. (G Barberis, Cronichetta, quad. 8, pp. 29-30).

958G. Bonetti, Annali II (1861-1862), pp. 78-79.

959G.B. Lemoyne, Cronaca 1864ff, p. 189.