Jean Bosco
1815-1888 19th century Feast day: January 31
Joyful patience with beginners; authority exercised only through affection.
Who was Jean Bosco?
Son of Piedmontese peasants, fatherless at two, as a boy he learned acrobatic tricks to hold the attention of the village lads and repeat Sunday's sermon to them. A priest in Turin, he opened his oratory to apprentices and to boys released from prison, found them work, and got employers to sign the city's first apprenticeship contracts. He slept badly, coughed, begged endlessly, and to the end refused to raise his voice.
In their own words
It is not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved.
Not with blows, but with gentleness and charity, you must win these friends of yours.
Education is a matter of the heart, and God alone is its master.