A Serious Illness

One Sunday afternoon, after his very tiring activities at the Oratory, he returned to his room at the Refuge and suffered a fainting spell which forced him into bed.

Soon, this sickness developed into bronchitis with a vigorous cough. A week after, Don Bosco was critical. Fr. Borel went to the Oratory to administer the victims to Don Bosco. The boys were in grief:

Don Bosco wrote the following comment on his illness.

"I think I was fully prepared to die at that moment. I was sorry to leave my boys, but I was glad to end my days knowing that the Oratory now had a permanent base."

The display of affection of the boys went beyond words. They stormed the heavens with their prayers. They also offered promises and sacrifices for Don Bosco's recovery.

The morning after, two of Don Bosco's doctors came to see him. They're expecting him to be gone, but when they felt his pulse, they told him "Don Bosco, you have a good reason to go to La Consolata and thank the Madonna."

No pen could describe the joy which filled everyone's heart when it became known that Don Bosco's condition had improved.

A Timely Booklet

On September 11, 1845, a royal edict abolished all the old weights and measures throughout the land in favor of the metric system. Those days, every province had its own weights and measures.

To prepare the people for the changeover, the government distributed well in advance comparative tables of the new weights and measures to all the different municipalities and published pamphlets explaining the new system in simple language.

But even before the government took these measures, as soon as the law appeared, Don Bosco went to work and expertly wrote a book entitled:

The Metric System Simplified,
Preceded by the Four Basic Operations of Arithmetic,
for Artisans and Farmers.

By Fr. John Bosco

It is noticeable that Don Bosco always used the title "Father" before his name in all his books, because he esteemed this title above any other human honor.

A New Pope

In the midst of various political activities in Italy, the mournful tolling of bells soon confirmed that Pope Gregory XVI had died in Rome at the age of 80.

Don Bosco, speaking to his boys, praised the fervor of the deceased Pontiff and emphasized the grave loss to the Church. After a fervent exhortation, he invited the boys to join him in reciting five decades of the rosary for the repose of the Pope's soul.

On June 16, 1846, Cardinal John Mastai Ferretti, Bishop of Imola, was elected Pope and took the name Pius IX. Shortly after the news was received, even in the humble little chapel of St. Francis de Sales, a hymn of thanksgiving rose to God for having given the Church another father of all the faithful, one who would turn out to be also a great benefactor of the Oratory.

 

A Decisive Choice

The benefactor of Don Bosco, Marchioness Barolo, returned to Turin after gaining the desired result from the Sacred Congregation of Bishops (This is the branch of the Church hierarchy that approves new religious congregations). The constitutions of he Institute were amended and approved!

She was updated about the opposition of the city hall to his Oratory, and the various rumors circulating about Don Bosco. She immediately went to her sisters and begged them to storm the heavens with their prayers to Don Bosco.

Because of the tiring and burdensome activities of Don Bosco, the marchioness decided to lighten his load and even offered her 5,000 lire for a medical treatment she thought he deserved.

But she did not stop there. She made Don Bosco choose between her Refuge and the boys.

Don Bosco responded with gentleness and all humility:

"I have already thought it over, and I can give you my answer now: You have money and means, and you will have no trouble in finding all the priests you want to direct your institutes. But poor boys have nothing, and that is why I cannot and must not forsake them. If I were to give them up now, the work of several years would be lost… I am giving up this post to devote myself more fully to the care of these boys."

Unusual Boyish Devotions

A group of boys that was having a spiritual retreat came to Don Bosco for confession. The place where the retreat was being held was rather far, this surprised Don Bosco. The boys insisted for Don Bosco. However, their number was rather big that not even a dozen priests would have been enough and all of them waited to confess to only one priest! They were persuaded that this was not possible. They agreed to just come the following day.

This event in the life of Don Bosco manifests how young people appreciated Don Bosco.

Harassment from the City Hall

Marquis Cavor, the vicar of the city insisted that the gathering of the boys was dangerous for it might lead to a revolt. That time, the political atmosphere was fragile. And groupings of any individuals were highly suspected.

The marquis couldn't pressure Fransoni to close the Oratory. Hence, he planned to shut down the Oratory down by a formal decree of the comptroller's office. He called the council for an extraordinary session.

The majority sided with the marquis, the gathering of the boys was forbidden. The Oratory would have to be closed down.

However, King Charles Albert, a supporter of the Oratory, intervened. The marquis was shocked and the council all bowed their heads in silence.

Nevertheless, the marquis would send policemen too the Oratory every Sunday with orders to watch and report on everything done in and outside the church.

A Place At Last!

Mr Pinardi had promised Don Bosco to have the shed ready by the following Sunday. He kept his word. When Easter Sunday dawned on April 12, 1846, everything was ready. The long shed had been converted into a chapel. A relatively spacious playground was available for his boys.

As soon as the boys arrived, Don Bosco asked them to carry the church articles from the Refuge.

The chapel was about 45 feet long and 20 feet wide. Behind the altar, there were other rooms used as a sacristy and storeroom. The floor was made of wood. The ceiling was matting covered with plaster.

Don Bosco wrote in his memoirs "From this time on, the boys came regularly and were better looked after. It was amazing how so many boys, for the most part quite unknown to me just a short time before, now willingly followed my orders. But I must admit that, despite their appalling ignorance, they always displayed profound respect for church services and for the clergy, as well as a great eagerness to learn more about the doctrines and practices of their religion."

A Day of Anguish

April 5, 1846 was a Palm Sunday. It was a day of bitter affection on top of the other problems he needed to confront. He had to tell the boys where to meet the following Sunday. But despite all his inquiries, his efforts were in vain.

Every suitable place was denied to him.

That very morning, the boys who came were invited to Don Bosco to have a pilgrimage to Mary—to appeal to her. Despite the merrymaking, the dancing and the cheers, the boys noticed how Don Bosco was aloof to them for the very fist time. Some of them came to him to accompany him. But his reply was: "No boys, go and play, I need to be alone."

Several of the boys, who were near him saw him lift his tearful eyes to heaven and heard him cry.

"My God, why don't you show me where I can gather these boys? Please let me know."

Don Bosco hasn't finished speaking when a certain Pancrazio Soave showed up in the field. He approached Don Bosco and told him about a place where he could gather his boys. The unexpected offer was like a glow of light amid dark clouds.

Don Bosco immediately followed Pancrazio to see the place of a certain Francis Pinardi. He left the boys to the company of a priest.

Don Bosco examined the place. It was a little two-story house with a worm-eaten staircase and balcony.

Francis Pinardi was delighted with the fact that one of the rooms in his will be transformed into a church. The contract for lease per year was a done deal at 320 lire.