Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian saints of Turin
Don Bosco, Dominic Savio and the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin — a pilgrimage to the heart of the Salesian saints. (5 min read)
Today was a milestone for me. After three years of pilgrimage to holy sites, I finally visited the Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians in Turin, Italy – which is where Dominic Savio and Don Bosco are both buried in a church built by the latter in the late 1800’s at the request of the Virgin Mary.
There is so much to say about this. Firstly, I continue to be amazed at the way spirit works with me. I have wanted to visit Dominic Savio’s shrine for a long time but I now understand why this particular pilgrimage had to happen now – in the context of a broader pilgrimage with my mother to visit holy sites related to the Virgin Mary – because Dominic Savio and Don Bosco were both devoted to Mary.
It was Don Bosco who received a transmission from Mary that she wanted to be honoured under the title “Help of Christians”. The title was not invented by Don Bosco – it had already existed in the Loreto litany since the 16th century – but he established a huge shrine under this name, located the mother house of the Salesian order there, and recommended to his order to propagate devotion to her under this name. For these reasons, “Mary Help of Christians” is sometimes called “the Madonna of Don Bosco”.
Mary Help of Christians is the patron saint of Australia and New Zealand and St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney is dedicated to her under this title. A friend has an extraordinary photograph of spirit materialisation over the statute of Mary Help of Christians in that church.
There is plenty of good information about Don Bosco out there, including 3 movies. If you have been to Brasilia you have probably visited the blue glass church that is dedicated to him and heard the stories about his psychic gifts, especially prophecy. He established the Salesian order to provide schooling and vocational training for young boys in the 19th century. The order quickly grew and is all over the world now.
Dominic Savio (1842-1857) was a student at Don Bosco’s oratory in Turin for the last 3 years of his life. The name Dominic means “belonging to God” and Savio was certainly this. He was spiritually very advanced and had the grace of many mystical experiences, including raptures of ecstasy that would last for hours. He was very pious and aspired to be a priest from a young age and in later years had an earnest desire to be a saint. He learned about the lives of the saints who had spent their lives in the salvation of souls, particularly the missionaries. Dominic was a favourite of Don Bosco and it was the latter who wrote his biography and pressed for his canonisation.
The biography is short and very plainly written and paints a picture of a young man of exceptional character and piety but also excellent humour and popularity: “His manner was so cheerful and attractive that he counted among his companions even those who were least disposed to piety, or were of an opposite nature to his own… he was a friend to all, and was regarded by all as a friend”.
Don Bosco states that Dominic’s devotion to Mary “was like a burning fire within him”. He conceived and convinced his friends to establish a Society of the Immaculate Conception whose objective was to obtain the special protection of Mary during life and particularly at the hour of death.
Although Dominic died very young (15 years), he was made a saint within less than 100 years (1954). Miracles were attributed to his intercession almost immediately and some of these are recounted in the biography. For many years Dominic’s picture hung in the infirmary at the Casa Dom Inacio and the devotion to him that I witnessed today suggests he is very active on the inner planes.
Today I prayed at the chapel where Savio is buried in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians and organised for a mass to be said. The chapel was highly energised and there were several orbs in my pictures too. Please include Dominic Savio in your prayers of gratitude and consider asking him to help.
Namaste
© Paul McCarthy & Iluminar.au
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