St Francis de Sales and St John Bosco Feasts

Salesian poster

Monday 24 January is the feast of St Francis de Sales after whom all Salesians are named. This year we celebrate his 400th anniversary and so it is a special year. Our theme for this year is "do nothing by constraint" - a phrase from St Francis de Sales. It means that as far as possible we use persuasion and gentleness to guide young people forward. St Francis is always seen as the patron of gentleness and his words inspired Don Bosco's method of education.

The 31 January is the feast of St John Bosco, who founded the Salesians and was a pioneer in education. Many schools working from a Salesian tradition like to celebrate 31 January in a way that mixes prayer and celebration for the whole school. Over the last few years this has been very limited, and even this year schools are still constrained by regulations and by prudence about what can be achieved.

The novena tradition, nine days of short prayer leading up to the feast, aims to raise awareness of the spiritual dimension of the school ethos and draw the school into a more united and optimistic community. Saint John Bosco College in South London has produced novena material this year. We pray that the gentleness of St Francis de Sales will continue to influence all your relationships at home and in school.

Link: www.sdb.org/en