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Born in poverty in 1815, Giovanni Bosco was a shepherd in his youth. To pay his way through seminary he was in turn a tailor, baker, metalworker and café waiter. Becoming interested in street urchins, he taught them, took them hiking, organized a brass band. As assistant chaplain of a charitable Rifugio in Turin, Don Bosco accumulated such a band of young vagabonds that he was harried about as a public nuisance. At length he obtained a decrepit shack and founded an Oratory which became the mother house of the Salesian Order. This Oratory now covers eight city blocks, containing workshops, schoolrooms and quarters for more than 1,000 resident boys. Salesian houses have grown from 250 at Don Bosco's death to 722 in 45 provinces (two U. S.) employing 11,000 teachers. For young girls 712 houses are run by an affiliated order of 8,500 nuns. Almost 500,000 laymen join in the work as "Co-operators." Like any progressive educator of today, Don Bosco believed in vocational guidance, play-teaching, musical training. His favorite maxim was that of St. Philip Neri: "Do as you wish, I do not care so long as you do not sin."
*In Italy a secular or parish priest is called "Don," as distinguished from a "Padre" or priest belonging to a religious order.