Leading Kids to God—”Don Bosco Style”

This saintly priest was a gifted parent.

By: Bert Ghezzi

Although a priest and never married, St. John Bosco (1815–1888) was a naturally gifted parent. For nearly a half-century of ministry in Turin, Italy, Don Bosco was a wonderful dad to hundreds of homeless boys.

(“Don” is the Italian term of address for a priest.) Today family-life professionals still regard him as an exemplar of excellent child-rearing. Don Bosco’s example and his teaching about raising children are evergreen, and because he faced many of the same challenges twenty-first-century parents do, he offers us much help and hope.

In 1841, Don Bosco came to Turin as a young priest in order to study theology. There he found hundreds of lonely youths without family or homes; many worked on construction projects in that rapidly growing city. He began to gather boys on Sundays for games, entertainment, picnics, prayer, and religious instruction. Soon he was housing boys in his mother’s home, providing them the care and safety of a family. Within fifteen years, Don Bosco was acting as a father for hundreds of youths. Relying on God…

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