John Bosco

Saint John Bosco
Also known as:
Don Bosco

Memorial January 31

Our saint today was the son of Venerable Margaret Bosco, he was born 16 August, 1815 in Piedmont, Italy. John’s father died when the boy was two years old; and as soon as he was old enough to do odd jobs, he went to work to help support his family.

When I was a kid, there were various brands of syrup to make chocolate milk; Coco Marsh, Fox-UBet, and one called Bosco. I always thought of Our Saint this week whenever I saw Bosco chocolate syrup, even though I was a Fox-UBet kid. Bosco Chocolate syrup was purportedly invented in 1928 in Camden, New Jersey, by an unknown physician.[ The William S. Scull Company, founded in 1931 in Camden, acquired the manufacturing license. The Scull Company's most famous product was Boscul Coffee, which gave the product its brand name, "Bosco. " The name recalls the Ancient Greek word bosko, which means “I nourish.” So Bosco syrup has nothing to do with our saint this week…..

Anyhoo, John was fascinated by magic and would go to circuses, fairs and carnivals, to see the magicians there. He would then practice the tricks that he saw magicians perform. When he got good at them he would put on one-boy shows for his fellow guttersnipes. After his performance, while he still had an audience of boys, he would repeat the homily he had heard earlier that day in church. I think the real magic was these urchins didn’t pelt him with rotten fruit…..

To pay his way through school he worked as a baker, tailor, shoemaker and at other odd jobs. After he was ordained he was a teacher, working with young people. He was interested in finding places where they could meet, play and pray. He would use his magic to catch their attention then slip in the religion thing slyly.

His big claim to fame was the founding of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in 1859, priests who work with and educate boys, under the protection of Our Lady, Help of Christians. He was so well respected for his work in life he was called Don (a minor informal title of nobility in many European countries, like but also unlike Don Vito Corleone.

I went to Camp Don Bosco at age 8 up in Goshen NY. I remember at lunch once a Salesian brother scolding my friend Paul, for not breaking his slice of Wonder Bread into 4 pieces before he ate it. They cared…… Ironically, at Camp Don Bosco we were never served chocolate milk. For some reason Don Bosco is also venerated by the Anglican. He died, 31 January, 1888.

His patronage includes: Christian apprentices, chocolate milk drinkers, editors, publishers, catholic schoolchildren, young people, and magicians.