Source Contexts Concerning the Life and Educational Activity of St. John Bosco
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/SPI.2026.2.006Keywords
John Bosco, educational activity, sources, memoirs, biographyAbstract
The aim of this article is to identify and discuss the value of sources for the biography of St. John Bosco. The primary sources examined are John Bosco’s own writings and various memoirs. The educational activity of St. John Bosco (1815–1888) has been documented both in his numerous writings and in the multi-volume Biographical Memoirs (Memorie biografiche; 20 volumes), edited between 1898 and 1948. Among his own works, particular attention should be given to the Memoirs of the Oratory (Memorie dell’Oratorio), in which he described the first years of his activity.
An analysis of these sources leads to the conclusion that certain popular interpretations of both the person and the work of John Bosco, as presented in earlier historiography, should be reconsidered. The most significant correction involves shifting the emphasis from portraying the Educator of Turin and his intellectual and spiritual formation to the character of his educational activity. St. John Bosco never focused on presenting himself; rather, he presented his work and justified its necessity. These issues are of fundamental importance for understanding both the biography and the educational activity of this priest, and the sources discussed here make such an interpretation possible.
References
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Braido P. (1981). L’esperienza pedagogica preventiva nel sec. XIX – Don Bosco, [w:] P. Braido (red.), Esperienze di pedagogia cristiana nella storia, vol. 2: SecoliXVIII–XIX, Roma: Libreria Ateneo Salesiano, s. 271–401.
Braido P.(1992). „Memorie” del futuro, „Ricerche Storiche Salesiane”, nr 11, s. 97–127.
Braido P. (1999). Prevenire non reprimere. Il sistema educativo di don Bosco, Roma: Libreria Ateneo Salesiano.
Giraudo A. (2015). Historyczne i pedagogiczno-duchowe znaczenie „Wspomnień Oratorium”, [w:] J. Bosko, Wspomnienia Oratorium św. Franciszka Salezego 1815–1855, przeł. K. Kozak, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Salezjańskie, s. 5–53.
Memorie biografiche di Don Giovanni Bosco, t. I–XX, Libreria Salesiana, San Benigno-Canavese 1898–1948 (tu w skrócie: MB).
Misiaszek K.(1987–1988), Główne idee systemu prewencyjnego św. Jana Bosko, „Seminare. Poszukiwania naukowo-pastoralne”, t. 9, s. 37–65.
Stella P.(1973). Don Bosco e le trasformazioni sociali e religiose nel suo tempo, [w:] P. Brocardo, M. Midali (red.), La famiglia salesiana riflette sulla sua vocazione di oggi, Torino: Elle Di Ci, s. 145–170.
Stella P. (1981). Don Bosco nella storia della religiosità cattolica, t. 2: Mentalità religiosa e spiritualità, Roma: Libreria Ateneo Salesiano.
Stella P. (1989–1990). Apologia della storia. Piccola guida critica alle „Memorie biografiche” di don Bosco, Roma: Università Pontificia Salesiana.
Teppa A. (1868). Avvertimenti per gli educatori ecclesiastici della gioventù, Roma–Torino: Marietti.
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