Hajja Salesjana January March 2018

9 to help John pass his exam in preparation for his first Holy Communion. Imagine what would have become of John if God had not provided him with such a great mother. In the summer of 1829, John Bosco met up with an elderly priest Fr John Calosso who had just arrived at Murialdoas chaplain. During that first meeting, John Bosco expressed his desire to become a priest. Fr Calosso was impressed by the fourteen-year-old. John Bosco for the first time in his life experienced the benefits of Spiritual Direction: I put myself completely into Don Calosso’s hands. He had become chaplain at Murialdo only a few months before. I bared my soul to him. Every word, thought and act I revealed to him promptly. This pleased him because it made it possible for him to have an influence on both my spiritual and temporal welfare (...) It was then that I came to realize what it was to have a regular spiritual director, a faithful friend of one’s soul. I had not had one up till then. [John Bosco, Memoirs of the Oratory, 33]. Before this meeting, John lived his life in a mechanical way “not knowing the reasons,” but after the meeting he “began to savour the spiritual life.” Unfortunately, at the age of fifteen, John lost Fr Calosso to a stroke. This was a devastating moment. The death of Fr Calosso was for John Bosco like becoming an orphan for a second time. In his own words, “his death shattered my dreams.” [John Bosco, Memoirs of the Oratory, 42.] Louis Comollo (1817-1839) was a seminarian at Chieri. He is well known for being an intimate friend of John Bosco. Comollo was often ill-treated by his classmates, but he never retaliated and always forgave them. Comollo’s actions made a great impression on John Bosco so much so that because of him Bosco took his spiritual life seriously. John Bosco states that Comollo taught him to live as a Christian . Don Bosco stayed at the Seminary during the years 1835-1841. Another great Spiritual Director was Fr Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860). In 1827, Cafasso met Don Bosco and the two became close friends. Through Cafasso’s support, Bosco realised that his calling was to work with boys. Cafasso was not only Bosco’s spiritual director, but he also worked closely with him in his foundations, and persuaded others to fund his religious institute.  Pietro Braido gives a beautiful description of the positive influence Fr Cafasso had on John Bosco. Cafasso left an enduring and formative imprint on John’s ministry to prisoners. The Chieri Seminary