tone of our houses1140 depended on the Sodalities. In a letter written 2 January 1976, he defined the

Sodalities as the “key to piety, the safeguard of morality, and the support of ecclesiastical and religious vocations”.1141

The organisational ingredients of the sodalities are simple enough. The first ingredient is freedom and willingness to participate.

s a strenna for this year I will give you something to do... What you need to do is this:

consider well the Sodalities that we have in the house, like the Sodality of St. Aloysius,

Blessed Sacrament, the Altar boys, St. Joseph, Mary Help of Christians and the Immaculate

Conception.

I recommend, especially to the teachers and directors of the Sodalities, that they should urge, rather not urge but encourage the young who might want to join them. There is no need forexhortation.1142

And, besides, Don Bosco speaks of self -government on the part of the young, even though wit h some supervision, incorrectly called 'direction' by the Catechist

1143as we find in the

Ricordi.1144

The St Vincent de Paul Conferences too, in Don Bosco's thinking, had particular educational value

regarding the exercising of charity. These conferences were fi rst introduced by Don Bosco among the

young people at Valdocco and later on in the other oratories in Turin.

1145Don Bosco became a promoter

of 'annexed' Conferences like the St Vincent DePaul Conference for Youth annexed to the Paris

Conferences, and also the Roman Oratories

1146, to the point where Marquis Patrizi referred to Don

Bosco as “our most dear founder”.1147 Don Bosco also cooperated in founding a similar association among a group of youths from Bergamo.1148

What prompted Don Bosco to found the mutual aid soc iety among the older working boys enrolled in

the St. Aloysius Sodality was his concrete sense of religious and moral prevention and his desire to

promote Christian solidarity.

1149

The rules of the mutual aid society were printed in 1850. The young workers co uld have found there, besides the material advantages, practical Christian guidance on how to conduct themselves in society.

Its objective, in fact, was that to “offer assistance to friends who got sick or found themselves in dire need because they were unemployed against their will”.1150During the last years of his life Don Bosco refused the invitation to revive the mutual aid society and encouraged his past pupils to join some of

1140 E II 320.

1141 E III 8.

1142 G. Barberis, Cronichetta, quad. 3Bis, Good Nightof 31 Dec. 1875, p. 43.

1143 Cf. art. 4 of the rules for the St. Aloysius Sodality, in the Regolamento dell'Oratorio....per gli esterni, part II, Chap.

XI, p. 45, OE XXIX 75; the St Joseph Sodality, MB VI 194; the Blessed Sacrament Sodality and Altar Boys, MB V

760 and 788; cf also MB III 220; MB VI 196-197-

1144 F. Motto, I Ricordi confidenziali ai direttori... p. 156

1145 Cf. F. Motto, Le conferenze 'annesse' di S. Vincenzo de' Paoli negli oratori di don Bosco. Ruolo storico di

un'esperienza educativa, in J.M. Prellezzo (Ed),L'impegno dell'educare..., pp. 467-492.

1146 Cf Viaggio a Roma 1858, diary manuscript of Don Bosco and cleric Rua, p. 38 and 70.

1147 Cf letter of Don Bosco to Marquis Patrizi 22 May 1858, Em 349, and the response of 1 July MB V 927-928 1148 D. Ruffino, Cronaca, 1861, pp. 10-11

1149 Società di mutuo soccorso di alcuni individui della compagnia di san Luigi eretta nell'Oratorio di san Francesco

di Sales. Turin, Speirani and Ferrero 1850, 8 p; OE IV 83-90. “To prevent young extern boys from the Oratory from

joining up with dangerous societies, Don Bosco had in mind to set up one amongst them with the scope of carrying out

corporal works of mercy and to the spiritual advantage of the members as well”. (Storia dell'Oratorio di S. Francesco

di Sales, BS 5 (1881) no. 8, August, p. 8.

1150 Art. 1 of the Regolamento, in Società di mutuo soccorso..., p. 4, OE IV 86.