Saint Dominic Savio

Saint Dominic Savio was a pupil of Saint John Bosco at the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales in Turin. A cheerful and diligent boy, kind to his schoolmates, he died before he turned fifteen, and the Church recognized mature holiness in his short life. The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on March 9, the day of his death.

He was born on April 2, 1842, in Riva presso Chieri near Turin, the second of the ten children of Carlo Savio, a blacksmith of modest means, and Brigida Gaiato, a seamstress. The family soon moved to Morialdo near Castelnuovo d’Asti, and in 1853 to nearby Mondonio. Dominic made his First Holy Communion at the age of seven, which was rare at the time, and on that day he made four resolutions: to go to confession often and receive Communion, to keep feast days holy, to have Jesus and Mary as his friends, and the fourth read: “La morte ma non peccati,” that is, death rather than sin.

In the fall of 1854 his father brought the twelve-year-old boy to Don Bosco, who was then staying in his native Becchi. Dominic wanted to study and become a priest. On October 29 he came to live at the Oratory in the Valdocco district of Turin. On December 8 of that year, as Pope Pius IX was proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, he knelt before the altar of the Mother of God and entrusted himself to her.

In the spring of 1855, after a sermon by Don Bosco on God’s will that all become holy, Dominic confided to him that he, too, wanted to become a saint. He received three simple pieces of advice: to keep a constant, moderate cheerfulness, to fulfill conscientiously his duties of prayer and study, and not to miss recreation with his companions. Later he explained to a new schoolmate: “Noi qui facciamo consistere la santità nello star molto allegri,” which means: here we make holiness consist in being very cheerful.

In 1856, together with a few friends, he founded the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception. Its members resolved to strive together for holiness, to honor Mary, and to look after their schoolmates, especially the newcomers and those who caused the most trouble. Dominic taught the catechism to boys his own age and knew how to reconcile those who had quarreled. When two boys agreed to fight a duel with stones, he stood between them holding a small crucifix and brought them to make peace.

When he fell seriously ill, he had to return to his parents in Mondonio. He died there on the evening of March 9, 1857, at the age of fourteen. To his father, who was reading the prayers for the dying at his bedside, he said at the end: “Oh, che bella cosa io vedo mai!” that is: what beautiful things I see. His remains rest in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin.

The life of the boy was written by Don Bosco himself, who published it in 1859; to this day it is the main source of what we know about Dominic. Pope Pius XII beatified him on March 5, 1950, and canonized him on June 12, 1954. The Salesian Family keeps his memorial on May 6, because the anniversary of his death falls in Lent.