the Nuncio in Madrid including a copy of the above-mentioned letter.802
In May l866,Don Bosco received a renewed written invitation to accept the Madrid project, dated May
5 and signed by Manuel Silvela.
803Attached to the lett
er was a memo in French, containing the history
of the Institute, the text of the decree issued on January 4, l883 dealing with “correctional institutions”, as well as a list of founder-patrons of the Institute. Don Bosco answered Silvela's letter with a letter dated March 17,l 886. It was dictated to Fr. Cerruti and signed by Don Bosco himself: the answer was definite and negative.
Apart from the fact that we lack personnel, due to previous commitments, the quality of
this Institute as well as its formof discipline do not allow me to accept what we both would
like. Despite our desire to do good, we cannot not depart from the practice established by
our Regulations, a copy of which has been sent to you this past September. It would be
possible to establish a school modelled on the Salesian workshops in Barcelona-Sarria I
Madrid but we could not at the same time establish a reformatory school based on the
model of the St. Rita's Institution.
This was not the final word, because Don Bosco, who foresaw thathe would be making a trip to Barcelona in April l886,expressed the hope of meeting up with with Silvela and Lastres at that time.804 As a matter of fact, a meeting did take place in April 18,l886 between Lastres and Fr Rua. Fr Rua
made the conditions known to Lastres, which he would have later on shared at the meeting on June 25
l886 with the members of the Chapter.
805
In the context of this meeting, Don Bosco answered the
persistent intervention of the Nuncio from Sarria and showed more readiness to yield.
806
Talking with the most illustrious Mr. Lastres, we have found ways to overcome some of the
difficulties which could arise alter. So it only remains to draw up an agreement between our
Society and the committee championing this under taking. When I return to Turin, this will
be one of my major concerns, namely, to draw up an agreement regarding the project and
send it to the illustrious Mr. D. Manuel Silvela to have it examined by the above -mentioned
committee. For the time being, the really serious difficulty we have is lack of staff. But we
hope that with the help of Divine Providence we will also be able to overcome this
difficulty.
807
The Superior Council dealt with the question on June 25, 1886. Don Bosco presided at the meeting.
The minutes do not note any of his interventions. Father Rua was the acting president: he had been
already appointed as Don Bosco's Vicar and wielded the full powers of the Rector Major. Fr Rua
reminded the members of the three categories of youngster foresee n by the Madrid committee: “Boys at risk who had been directly sheltered there; boys who had done jail time, after the court had pronounced a guilty verdict; boys from well-to-do families whose parents had found them incorrigible and had committed them to the institute”. Then he read out the letter written by the Nuncio dated April 17,1886. Their final decision was that the school could be accepted, provided that the principle of autonomy in direction and administration of the school be left to the Salesians. Then the conditions of
802Verbali del capitolo superiore, quad. I, fol. 82v.
803Text in MB XVII 828-829.
804Letter from Alassio to Sen. Manuel Silvela, 17 March 1886, E IV 353-354.
805In his notes from Barcelona Don Bosco's young secretary, Carlo Viglietti, on 20 April writes: “The letter from the
Archbishop Nuncio in Madrid written to Don Bosco recommending Minister Silvela was read to the bishop and all
present. The Mninister wanted Don Bosco to put a House in Madrid and a factory is ready to build it. Silvela invited his
secretary, a deputy, to convene the group and decide. Don Bosco in fact seems to have decided to accept if Madrid
accepts all the Conditions he has put”. (C. Viglietti, Cronaca 15 April 1886 to 16 May, p.11).
806Letter of 17 April 1886 in MB XVII 829-830.
807Letter from Sarrià, Barcelona top the Nuncio Archbishop Mariano Rampolla, 22 April 1886, E IV 354-355.