BOSCO
690
BOSCO
vesting for Mass, the sacristan drove from the church
a ragged urchin because lie refused to serve Mass.
Don Bosco heard his cries and recalled him, and in
the friendship which sprang up between the priest
and Bartollomeo Garelli was sown the first seed
of the "Oratory", so called, no doubt, after the
example of St. Philip Neri and because prayer was
its prominent feature. Don Bosco entered eagerly
upon the task of instructing this first pupil of the
streets; companions soon joined Bartholomeo, all
drawn by a kindness they had never known, and in
February, 1842, the Oratorj- nmnbered twenty boys,
in March of the same year, thirty, and in March, 1846,
four hundred.
As the number of boys increased, the question of a suitable meeting-place presented itself. In good weather walks were taken on Sundays and holidays to spots in the country about Turin where lunch w-as eaten, and realizing the charm which music held for the untamed spirits of his disciples Don Bosco organized a band for which some old brass instruments were procured. In the autumn of 1844 lie was appointed assistant chaplain to the Rifiigio, where Don Borel entered enthusiastically into his work. With the approval of Archbishop Franzoni, two rooms were secured adjoining the Rijugio and converted into a chapel, which was dedicated to St. Francis de Sales. The members of the Oratory now gathered at the Rijugio, and numbers of boys from the surrounding district applied for admission. It was about this time (1845) that Don Bosco began his night schools and with the closing of the factories the boys flocked to his rooms where he and Don Borel instructed them in rudimentary branches.
The success of the Oratory at the Rifugio was not of long duration. To liis great distress Don Bosco was obliged to give up his rooms and from this on he was subjected to petty annoyances and obstacles ■which, at times, seemed to spell the ruin of his under- taking. His perseverance in the face of all difficulties led many to the conclusion that he was insane, and an attempt was even made to confine him in an asylum. Complaints were lodged against him, de- claring his community to be a nuisance, owing to the character of the boys he befriended. From the Rijugio the Oratorj' was moved to St. Martin's, to St. Peter's Churchyard, to three rooms in Via Cottolengo, where the night schools were resumed, to an open field, and finally to a rough shed upon the site of which grew up an Oratory that counted seven hundred members. Don Bosco took lodgings nearby, where he was joined by his mother. "Mama Mar- garet", as Don Bosco 's mother came to be knowni, gave the last ten years of her life in devoted service to the little inmates of this first Salesian home. When she joined her son at the Oratory the outlook was not bright. But sacrificing what small means she had, even to parting with her home, its fur- nishings, and her jewelry, slie brought all tlie solicitude and love of a mother to these children of the streets. The evening classes increased and gradually dor- mitories were provided for many who desired to live at tlie Oratory. Thus was founded the first Salesian Home which now houses about one thousand boys.
The municipal authorities by this time had come to recognize the importance of the work which Don Bosco was doing, and he began with much success a fund for the erection of technical schools and workshops. These were all completed without serious difficulty. In 1868, to meet the needs of the Val- docco quarter of Turin, Don Bosco resolved to build a church. Accordingly a plan was drawn in the form of a cross covering an area of 1,500 sq. yards. He exDerienced considerable difficulty in raising the necessary money, but the charity of some friends finally enabled him to complete it at a cost of more than a million francs (about $200,000). The church
was consecrated 9 June, 1868, and placed under
the patronage of Our Lady, Help of Christians.
In the same year in which Don Bosco began the
erection of the church fifty priests and teachers
who had been assisting him formed a society under
a common rule which Pius IX, provisionally in 1869,
and finally in 1874, approved.
Character and Growth oj the. Oratory. — Any attempt to explain the popularity of the Oratory among the classes to which Don Bosco devoted his life would fail without an appreciation of his spirit which was its life. From his earliest intercourse with poor boys he had never failed to see under the dirt, the rags, and the uncouthness the spark which a httle kindness and encouragement would fan into a flame. In a vision or dream which he is said to have had in his early boyhood, wherein it was disclosed to him what his lifework would be, a voice said to him: " Not with blows, but with charity and gentleness must you draw these friends to the path of virtue." And whether this be accounted as nothing more than a dream, that was in reality the spirit with which he animated his Oratory. In the earlier days when the number of his little disciples was slender he drew them about him by means of small presents and attractions, and by pleasant walks to favourite spots in the environs of Turin. These excursions occurring on Sunday, Don Bosco would say Mass in the village church and give a short instruction on the Gospel; breakfast would then be eaten, fol- lowed by games; and in the afternoon Vespers would be chanted, a lesson in Catechism given, and the Rosary recited. It was a familiar sight to see him in the field surrounded by kneeling boys preparing for confession.
Don Bosco 's method of study knew nothing of punishment. Observance of rules was obtained by instilling a true sense of duty, by removing as- siduously all occasions for disobedience, and by allowing no effort towards virtue, how trivial soever it might be, to pass unappreciated. He held that the teacher should be father, adviser, and friend, and he was the first to adopt the preventive method. Of punishment he said: "As far as possible avoid punishing . . . try to gain love before inspiring fear." And in 1877 he wrote: "I do not remember to have used formal punishment; and with God's grace I have always obtained, and from apparently hopeless children, not alone what duty exacted, but what my wish simply expressed." In one of his books he has discussed the causes of weakness of character, and derives them largely from a misdi- rected kindness in the rearing of children. Parents make a parade of precocious talents; the child un- derstands quickly, and his sensitiveness enraptures all who meet him, but the parents have only suc- ceeded in producing an affectionate, perfected, in- telligent animal. The chief object should be to form the will and to temper the character. In all his pupils Don Bosco tried to cultivate a taste for music, believing it to be a powerful and refining influence. "Instruction", he said, "is but an accessory, like a game; knowledge never makes a man because it does not directly touch the heart. It gives more power in the exercise of good or evil; but alone it is an indifferent weapon, wanting guidance." He always studied, too, the aptitudes and vocations of his pupils, and to an almost supernatural quick- ness and clearness of insight into the hearts of children must be ascribed no small part of his success. In his rules he wTote: " Frequent Confession, frequent Communion, daily Mass: these are the pillars which should sustain the whole edifice of education. " Don Bosco was an indefatigable confessor, devoting days to this w'ork among his children. He recog- nized that gentleness and patience alone were not enough to bring to the task of education. He
