ANNALS of the SALESIAN SOCIETY (Vol 1)
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ANNALS OF THE SALESIAN SOCIETY (Vol 1) Fr Eugene Ceria 2 ANNALS OF THE SALESIAN SOCIETY I. 1841-1888 FROM THE ORIGINS UNTIL THE DEATH OF ST JOHN BOSCO (1841-1888) Note: the following translation is by Fr John Lens, now deceased. It is more a digest than a complete translation of everything to be found in the original, but certainly suffices to give the English reader access to most of the contents of Volume 1 of the Annals. 3 DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the fourth successor of St John Bosco, Fr Peter Rical- done, in the hope that it may be an appropriate contribution to the celebration of the first Salesian centenary. 4 FOREWORD The title ’Annals’ points to the chronological approach taken in this work. In- stead of proceeding according to more or less artificially divided periods, we are following the main direction marked out over the years; we can consider this direction to have its beginning from 1841, as the facts will make obvious but also according to Don Bosco’s emphatic statement.1 It is true, however, that those who love to represent the evolution of complex historical events in successive stages will not have any difficulty finding ways to identify a range of facts that have a similar nature. The title also refers more generically to the Society of St Francis de Sales without the word ’Pious’ added. Why we refer to Society instead of Congre- gation will become apparent as the story unfolds. With regard to ’Pious’, we need to note, first of all, that this never appears in the Rule, not even in the earliest drafts, nor is it generally to be found in official documents. Don Bosco liked to use it when speaking or writing, so that the term ’Society’ would not be taken wrongly by ill-intentioned people, but would at the same time clarify the nature of his Institute for good people. Would it have been appropriate to maintain this term forever? The Superior Chapter decided that it shouild be used only for the Pious Union of Salesian Cooperators, and saw that there was no longer any need to perpetuate its use for the Salesian Society; hence, from 1926 this words was suppressed in its Acts and Year Books.2 Our account will not go beyond the lifetime of our Holy Founder. He left the Society perfectly organised, and it remained to his successor only to develop its potential in every direction not only as marked out but also more or less already in process. In fact, Don Rua did nothing that was not already there at least in embryo in the legacy passed onto him by Don Bosco. I think it is pointless to offer a bibliography; because, those who have writ- ten so far about Don Bosco, drew either from the Biographical Memoirs, if they could consult them, or from works based on them. Where I encountered some- thing new, I have not failed to give them due recognition. If any archival material 1Mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 11 2The Year Books, beginning from 1887, bear the title Society of St Francis de Sales. From 1887 to 1924, inside,the List of Houses and Members bore the heading: General list of the Pious Society of St Francis de Sales. In 1925, only the Superior Chapter group is referred to as the Superior Chapter of the Pious Society of St Francis de Sales; but this was more a question of oversight. From the following year onwards, the word ’Pious’ disappeared completely. 5 6 has been published, I have to say that everything has also passed through my hands, since I have easily been able to freely consult the Salesian archives to obtain information, check news and also, if necessary, draw from unpublished material for anything that naturally has a close relationship with the history of the Society. Hopefully, readers will not have to complain here about a problem people sometimes meet whenn dealing with topics that refer to Don Bosco. In fact, we can see at times how easily, when we lose sight of the overall direction, we can wander off on unessential biographical excursions, despite the fact that they make the reading more attractive. In our case the temptation was more frequent and stronger than ever. The reason for this is that Don Bosco’s life and the history of the Society are intertwined in such a way as to often make it difficult to avoid related elements between them, as everyone could see when reading the Biographical Memoirs. But here we will find the material of our history kept apart from the rest and entirely reworked. There was no need to delay in making a first attempt at the history of our Society. The last of the Saint’s contempories have gone. They offered us three vauable advantages:, they had the good fortune of seeing and hearing this great luminary of the nineteenth century; they were close to those fortunate ones who not only owed their Salesian formation to him, but were also chosen by him to see to the general government of the Society; they were witnesses of how matters concerning us were passed on in times not too far from their origins. To allow those times to move even further away without writing them up and establishing their characteristics with the help of those who had lived with them at more or less close quarters, would have made the task much more difficult for anyone who later wanted or needed to go back to the soruces, eager to obey the proverb that those who want clear water go to the source. It is an ideal for those who write history to bring the people and past matters as close as possible, to those who come after them, according to the advice of a famous historian who says of history that you have to "write so that someone born in a distant age can have it all before him as clearly as those who were present at the time. This is precisely the aim of history.”3 I have mentioned the Saint’s most immediate collaborators. In the origins of each religious Congregation two facts are observed. The Founder, blessed with many supernatural gifts, sanctifies himself in a way that corresponds to the nature of the foundation he is about to achieve, and meanwhile infuses his spirit among his first disciples, who then have to pass it on to future generations. “The spirit of the disciple,” writes St. John of the Cross, “secretly models itself on that of his spiritual father.”4 Whence we see the importance of knowing these ’satellites’ who variously reflect the light of the main star; here, however, they appear almost only on the horizon, but will shine out in the period that follows. We believe it has been the right moment to pass on their features, reproducing the portraits of all those who were members of the Superior Chapter while Don 3GUICCIARD1NI, Ricordi poi. e civ., CX1,111. 4The Ascent of Mt Carmel, II, 18, 5. 7 Bosco was alive. Let me express here my infinite gratitude to the Economer General, Fr Gi- raudi, who has followed my work with particular interest and gave me plenty of encouragement and advice. Turin, 31 January 1941. 8 Chapter 1 The idea of a Society In 1845, Don Bosco wrote in his ‘Church History’: “After the fall of Napoleon, the Religious Orders and Congregations (abolished during the French Revolu- tion) could return to their old places and once again take up their Gospel and Mission work. Some of the old Orders did not regain their ancient vigour; there- fore God raised up other Congregations that to some extent took their place and at least in part supplied the needs of the day.” Without arrogance or ex- aggeration, with humble certitude, we can say that the Salesian Congregation was the most conspicuous of those Congregations. Don Bosco was only a boy when he understood what would be his life’s mission, the salvation of poor youth. Already as a small boy he gathered the boys of Moncucco and began to catechise them. As a student he continued his apostolate among the youngsters of Chieri; during his years in the Seminary he spent his long holidays educating and evangelising the boys of the surrounding farms. As a young priest he was on the look-out to save the boys of the streets and squares of Turin. At that time he gave a lasting shape to his work: the Festive Oratory – the first cell of a giant complex of works for the benefit of the Church and civil society. For eight years he worked on a limited scale; meanwhile hundreds and hun- dreds of poor boys flocked to the capital of Piedmont. Up to a certain point he almost managed alone; occasional helpers gave a hand in keeping discipline and providing instruction for the crowd of youngsters, but the burden of responsi- bility rested on him alone. In 1844 he began to feel that he could no longer manage alone; he needed capable and devoted helpers, men on whom he could count. The need of helpers became a constant preoccupation. One Saturday, in October, ruminating on the work of the next day, he went to rest with a heavy heart. A dream kept him busy the whole night. It looked to him that he was in the midst of a number of animals: wolves, goats, sheep and lambs, dogs, birds. They caused such uproarious bedlam that he took fright and wanted to run away.