Bicentenary of Don Bosco's Birth

On Saturday 20th September, Mass will be celebrated at St. George's Metropolitan Cathedral, Southwark, to give thanks for the life and mission of St. John Bosco, marking the beginning of the bicentenary of his birth.

The saint, who founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, is the patron of young people, having devoted his life to the service of the young and the poor in eighteenth-century Turin. The Salesians are now one of the largest Roman Catholic congregations, and continue to serve the young across the globe with the same apostolic zeal of Don Bosco.

Photograph of Don Bosco hearing confession.

Southwark has been chosen to host the Mass which will open the bicentennial year, since it was to Battersea that Don Bosco sent the first Salesians to Great Britain. It will be the beginning of a year of celebrations, including a touring expo, celebrating Don Bosco's life and the Salesian Charism, and culminating in a large youth festival, to be held at Savio House, the Salesians' residential retreat centre in Macclesfield, near Manchester.

The strong Salesian Presence at CYMFed's 'Flame', March 2012. 

It is a special time for me, since I spent a year, from 2009-2010, as a volunteer at Savio House, and since then have been increasingly involved with the Salesians. I had the joy of going of pilgrimage to Turin in August, where we visited the place of Don Bosco's birth, and Valdocco, the eventual home of his Oratory. During this pilgrimage, I was blessed to be able to premier a mass setting that I had written especially for the bicentenary year, the Mass of St. Dominic Savio, which is also to be used at all of the bicentenary liturgies throughout this special year.

For more details about the exciting event which are taking place this year, or to just find out a bit more about the Salesians, please follow the link below.

Salesians of Don Bosco UK