in 1858, A Vade Mecum for Christians, Don Bosco included a short series of words of advice for youth written by St Philip Neri.502 In his Church History, Don Bosco clearly indicated many similarities between his own preventive style and the one used by another Piedmontese, a member of the Oratory of St Philip, Blessed Sebastian Valfre: “It is hard to express the extent of the zeal that howed for the salvation of souls.503 In his Practical guide for Christians Don Bosco also introduced Bl. Valfre's General advice for a father of a family by Bl. Valfre, and Advice given by Bl. Sebastian Valfre in two letters to two mothers.504
The other Saint Don Bosco came to know during his days at the seminary was St Francis de Sales from Savoy. (1567-1622). He came into contact with this Saint, once again, through the influence of the Marchioness di Barolo and at the beginning of the Oratory. In Piedmont there was a biography of the Bishop of Savoy which was widely circulated. It had been written by the chaplain to the Monastery of the Visitation inTurin, Father Piergiacinto Gallizia, and it was published in Venice in 1720 and reprinted several times.
Saint Francis de Sales was better known in the urban areas than in the countryside and mainly through his book The Introduction to the Devout Life and The Treatise on the Love of God. Don Bosco probably read the first of these books at some time in his life; it is unlikely that he read the latter one. During the 19th Century in Piedmont, Don Bosco, and before him Lanteri, the Marchioness di Barolo, Father J. Cafasso, knew the Saint from Savoy as a “model of gentleness and pastoral zeal”; more so for Don Bosco, for those who worked for young people and for the poor.505 This, was the most likely impression that St Francis de Sales had made on Don Bosco during his seminary studies.
The following was the schedule for the feast of St Francis de Sales:
In the morning, at a convenient hour, there will be a solemn Mass; a panegyric delivered by the Vice Rector of the chapel; the day will then go on as usual, with study and tutorial review lessons.506
During the 1870s, while writing his Memoirs of the Oratory, Don Bosco justified the dedication of the first small chapel, the Pinardi shed, to St Francis de Sales, for these reasons:
- Because the Marchioness di Barolo had the intention of founding a Congregation of
priests under that title, and because of that she commissioned a painting of St Francis de
Sales.
-
Since our pastoral ministry demands calmness and meekness we had to place ourselves under the protection of this Saint, that he might obtain for us from God the grace to be able to imitate him in his extraordinary meekness and in his zeal for souls.
-
The third reason was that of placing ourselves under the protection of this Saint, so that from heaven he might help us imitate him in his fight against the errors leveled at our religion, especially Protestantism which tries to infiltrate our towns and especially the city
502 Porta teco cristiano ovvero Avvisi importanti intorno ai doveri del cristiano acciocché ciascuno possa conseguire la
propria salvezza nello stato in cui si trova, (Turin: tip. G. B. Paravia, 1858), 34-36, OE XI 34-36.
503 G. Bosco, Storia ecclesiastica, 331, OE I 489; cf. 330-352. OE I 488-490.
504 G. Bosco, Porta teco cristiano, 8-22, 48-55, OE XI 8-22, 48-55; cf-A. Dordoni, Un maestro di spirito nel Piemonte tra
Sei e Settecento. Il padre Sebastiano Vlafré dell’Oratorio di Torino, (Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1952), 210 pages. 505 Cf. P. Stella, Don Bosco e San Francesco di Sales: incontro fortuito o identità spirituale? In J. Picca and J. Struś (eds),
San Francesco di Sales e I Salesiani di Don Bosco, (Rome: LAS, 1986), 139-159.
506 Costituzioni pel Seminario Metropolitano di Torino (1819), part 1, ch. 2, art. 9, cited by A. Giraudo, Clero, seminario e
società, 351.