Turin, Italy, 23 July 2016 -- The SYM Pilgrims from the Australia-Pacific Province heading for World Youth Day in Krakow have spent three days visiting the Salesian Holy Places in Piedmont.
On the first day we visited Valdocco to experience the spirit of the first Oratory and to immerse ourselves into all the different aspects of the Valdocco of 2016. By coincidence Archbishop Tim Costelloe sdb, Archbishop of Perth in Australia, was also at Valdocco on the same morning with a group of pilgrims from his Archdiocese who are also heading to Poland and he celebrated Mass for us in the Basilica. It was a very special moment for us, as we began our stay in this special place. During his homily he very powerfully reminded us all that one of the greatest legacies that Don Bosco has left the whole church was his insistence on the fact that we all need to ensure that we not only love people, but must show them that they are loved. This great insight of Don Bosco was a reflection on the way that Jesus loved – he ensured that those who encountered his love knew that they were loved. As examples Archbishop Tim reflected on two particular encounters – that with Zaccheaus the tax collector: ‘come down, I must come and eat at your house today’, and the encounter with the woman caught in adultery: ‘has no-one condemned you, neither do I, go and sin no more’. This message to us put into a very real context the rest of the day – visiting the Pinardi Chapel, the Chapel of St Francis de Sales, the Courtyard, the Pump, the Oratory and the Rooms of Don Bosco.
Our second day was spent visiting the places of Don Bosco’s childhood, Chieri and then the Becchi/Colle Don Bosco. On a beautiful warm summer day we took a bus firstly to Chieri to encounter the places of his secondary schooling, his seminary training and his friendship with Luigi Comollo, the places he learned so many of the trades he would later pass on to his boys, where he gathered the young people into groups, and the sites of his encounters with the various wandering entertainers! The highlight of our time in Chieri was the short encounter we had with the young people at the Salesian Oratory. We then moved to Colle Don Bosco to immerse ourselves into the place and story of John Bosco’s childhood and family: the powerful presence of Mama Margaret, the peasant existence, the place of dreams, the acrobatic entertainer, the first encounter with Mary and Jesus. And after a wonderful lunch at Mama Margaret’s Restaurant, we moved to the modern elements of Colle, visiting the Basilica, celebrating Eucharist in the Chapel of Mary Help of Christians, and the purchase of souveniers! The home of Don Bosco was our home for the day.
Our third day focused on the Turin of Don Bosco’s time, walking the streets of the ‘wandering oratory’, passing the building sites of the young apprentices and encountering the places of significance to Don Bosco. Firstly we reflected on Don Bosco’s relationship and friendship with St Joseph Cafasso, especially his apostolate to the prisoners, and then St Joseph Cottolengo and his apostolate for the sick at the House of Divine Providence. We visited the two ‘Great Churches’ of Turin: the Consolata, the spiritual centre of Turin, and the Cathedral which is the home of the Shroud, both of which were significant in the life and ministry of Don Bosco, his interaction with the local Church and Bishops. Our final ‘station’ was at the Church of St Francis of Assisi, in and around which many of the foundational stories and events of Don Bosco’s early life in Turin are based – the celebration of his First Mass, the Convitto, St Joseph Cafasso, the encounter with Bartholomew sGarelli, the gathering of the first boys for fun and catechism. Concluding our Salesian Spiritual Pilgrimage here where is priestly and apostolic ministry began inspires us all!
