The Nineteenth Century Apostle of the Little OnesUhlrich, E.
Religion
The Nineteenth Century Apostle of the Little Ones
Uhlrich, E.
Bosco, Giovanni, Saint, 1815-1888
Don Bosco, however, continued to meet with trials and tribulations in
his work, as seems true in every good cause. His plans were so novel and
so large that he was even accused of being crazy. A crazy man, however,
ought to be out of harm's way, and so it was quietly arranged that Don
Bosco should be taken to an insane asylum. Two prominent gentlemen of
Turin were to manage his transfer to the asylum. They hired a closed
carriage and drove to Don Bosco's house. He received them very kindly,
and soon was talking to them enthusiastically about the oratorium and
the great church he wanted to build, the schools and the workshops which
would be grouped around this centre. He spoke so glowingly that one
could have thought he saw the whole thing before his eyes. The gentlemen
looked at each other knowingly, as if to say: "It is plain that he is
out of his mind."
"A little fresh air will be good for you, Don Bosco," one of them
ventured. "We have a carriage outside. You might drive a little way with
us."
Don Bosco smiled and went out with the two gentlemen. They stepped back
in order to let him enter first, but he begged them to precede him. They
did so and then Don Bosco hastily shut the carriage door and called out
to the driver, "Ready."
The driver had been instructed to drive to the asylum as fast as the
horses could go, and not to mind any possible protests or resistance. So
he started off at a gallop at Don Bosco's word.
When the carriage arrived at the asylum, the gentlemen inside were in
such a rage that the superintendent ordered them put into separate cells
at once, and, if necessary, in straitjackets. Luckily for them, the
chaplain of the asylum knew them, and they were let go about their
business. However, they at least were convinced that Don Bosco was saner
than some people thought him, and did not wish to be the agents of any
more forced cures for him.
Don Bosco's trials now took another form. The police of Turin began to
take note of his boys and to suspect in them potential socialists.
Indeed, the very existence of the work was threatened, when King Charles
Albert, then King of Sardinia, took personal action in behalf of "Don
Bosco's young rogues," as he put it, and even sent sixty dollars to help
the work along. With that the worst storms were over. Don Bosco
organized his Oratorium of St. Francis of Sales, as he called his
meeting place, for he had a special devotion to St. Francis. He chose
the name "Oratorium" because the earliest meetings were in the chapel in
which he met that first, pitifully ignorant street boy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account