Hajja Salesjana

In October 1854, Dominic Savio joined the Valdocco Oratory. He entered don Bosco’s office and was fascinated by the da mihi animas sign that hung above the window on the east wall. These words, the Salesian motto, sparked a meaningful conversation between Dominic and Don Bosco and the meaning of the phrase. In Don Bosco’s 1859 biography of the young saint, we find this description of the event. “... Domenic entered my office to entrust himself, as he said, “entirely into the hands of his superiors”. His gaze fell immediately upon a sign on which, in large letters, are written the following words which St. Francis de Sales often repeated: Da mihi animas, caetera tolle . Dominic read it carefully, and I really wanted him to understand its meaning. Therefore I invited him, actually, I helped him, to translate the phrase: “O Lord, give me souls, and take away everything else.” He thought for a moment and then added: "I understand: here we do not trade in money, but in souls; I hope that my soul will also become part of this enterprise." (Bosco G. Life of the Young Dominic Savio ). Dominic’s hopes were fully realized. After just two years and 5 months at the Oratory, he was called from this life at just 15 years of age. He was canonized in 1954, one of the youngest saints in the Church. Unfortunately, the fate of that sign was not so bright. It was stolen from Don Bosco’s rooms in1970. What we see today is a reproduction, faithful to the original. On the back of it is a handwritten explanation of this sad turn of events, a type of “mea culpa” 22 hajja Fr. Mike Pace, SDB, Vice-Director, Casa Don Bosco Museum, Turin Views from Valdocco DA MIHI ANIMAS, CETERA TOLLE Dominic Savio, by L. Kirchmayr, 1910, displayed in Museo Casa Don Bosco, Holiness at Valdocco April-Ġunju 2024