Hajja Salesjana

St. Francis de Sales Church where he had just celebrated mass. When in late 1861 Don Bosco opened his first printing press in Valdocco, Carlo quit his job across town to become Valdocco’s master printer and book binder. 1876, the Past Pupils Association is born In 1876, to celebrate Don Bosco's name day (June 24), 157 past pupils gathered in Valdocco. They presented Don Bosco a beautifully bound book, embossed with a message expressing their gratitude to “their Father”. The bookbinding, of course, was Gastini’s work. After Mass, Gastini regaled the crowd with a skit about two booksellers, in which he and his counterpart calculated the number of copies produced at the Oratory printing press from 1861 to 1876: The Companion of Youth (Il Giovane Provveduto): 370,000 copies; the Keys to Paradise (La chiave del Paradiso): 180,000; History of Italy (Storia d' Italia): 50,000; Sacred History (Storia Sacra): 30,000... and finally the Catholic Readings (Letture Cattoliche): nearly 4 million copies! The initiative to bring alumni together was a success. Gatherings took place regularly and attracted more and more participants. Thus, the Past Pupils’ Association was born, spearheaded by Carlo Gastini. A prophecy fulfilled At yet another celebration, Carlo presented Don Bosco a series of elegantly bound works and asked for his blessing "so that," in his words, "after I have bound so many books for you, I may remain bound to you in the Book of Life.” Don Bosco assured Carlo that he would live to be 70 years old. This prophecy was fulfilled on January 28, 1902 when Carlo passed from time into eternity at 70 years of age. Carlo Gastini commemorated in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians since 1891 The new monument to Carlo Gastini is not the only commemoration of this illustrious past pupil to be found in Valdocco. Already in 1891, when Fr. Michael Rua commissioned the paintings for the chapel of St. Francis de Sales (now dedicated to Dominic Savio) in the Basilica, he included Carlo’s image in the painting on the left wall the vault. Gastini, anachronistically, is depicted practicing his trade: proofing a freshly printed page before submitting it to Francis de Sales for final approval before it goes into mass production. Today, there are over 50 million Past Pupils in more than 100 countries, making them by far the largest branch of the Salesian family. 24 Jannar-Marzu 2025 hajja