Relic of St John Bosco

The relic statue of St John Bosco, better known as Don Bosco, has been touring Australia as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the arrival of the Salesian Fathers on Australian soil. The Salesians came to Australia on 30th March 1923 in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Brisbane will be the final stop of the tour. See here for dates, times and locations.

The wax replica of the Saint, contained in a glass casket, comes from the Province of Hong Kong, and was made by Gianpiero Zoncu at the time of Don Bosco’s beatification in 1929. A small part of the brain of the Saint was removed and placed in this wax replica before being securely concealed in the large glass casket.

Relics connect us with the Saints, who are praying for us because of their connection to God. Being close to a relic allows us to prayerfully connect with the Saint and with God.

Who was St John Bosco?

St. John Bosco was born 16 August 1815 in Becchi, Italy.

His father died when he was two years old, leaving his devoutly Catholic mother to raise him and his two elder brothers in poverty as basic farmers and shepherds.

As a young boy, he saw the performance of a travelling circus troupe and began to teach himself magic tricks and acrobatics. He would gather groups of other children for his little shows and would recite a recent homily, prayer or hymn at the end.

Bosco felt called to the priesthood but lacked the necessary education. He left home at the age of 12 and worked odd jobs as a farm labourer until he came into the care of the future Saint Joseph Cafasso, who helped to further his education at the seminary and taught him about the spirituality of St Francis de Sales.

He became a pioneer of educating the poor and marginalised in society and eventually started the Salesian Order to continue this work.

He died on 31 January 1888 and was canonised on 1 April 1934. His Feast Day is celebrated every year on 31 January. He is the Patron Saint for Youth.