The Preventive Pedagogy of Saint Ludovico Pavoni

Abstract

Saint Ludovico Pavoni was born in Brescia (Italy) in 1784 and died in Saiano (Brescia) in 1849. He dedicated his life to the training of young people and children through the workshops and a characteristic educational method. Priest, man of God, apostle of the world of work, pioneer of vocational training even before John Bosco, father of orphans and deaf mutes, and forerunner of the Catholic publishing house. In 1847, he founded the Congregation of the Sons of Mary Immaculate (Pavonians). In 1821, he gave rise to the Institute of San Bernabé, a ‘School of Crafts’, so that “the homeless and the most neglected by the parents themselves, find a free shelter and they will surely grow up educated in the honorable arts”. For 30 years, Pavoni would direct this Institute by directing the educational method and the workshops (typography, forge, binding...), for the results obtained, and for prevention and treatment of situations that were, in the 19th century, true social scourges. Here, Pavoni developed his own method, being at the forefront of pedagogues of the 19th century, a method based on the love for kids, rationality, the importance of work, emulation and honour, prevention and the gospel. Even now, the Pavonian family continues to work on Pavoni’s tracks.