(ANS - Turin) - That Pope Francis’s style and vision are very "Salesian" is not a mystery to anyone. He himself has said that he is regarded as a "pro-Salesian Jesuit." A few days before the Pope's visit to Valdocco to pay homage to Don Bosco on the occasion of his Bicentenary, this is a good time to have a look at the book entitled "Pope Francis and Don Bosco" by Fr Alejandro León, SDB.

The author write in the introduction that the aim of the book, which explores the Salesian influence on Jorge Bergoglio’s education and family life, is to "get closer to the link between Don Bosco and Pope Francis with a simple yet comprehensive approach (...) starting from the Salesian roots of his family and the historical events through which he has lived and gradually re-reading his Salesian experience, in a way that will allow us to highlight the ecclesial dimension of the Salesian charism as a gift and a challenge”.

Jorge Bergoglio came in contact with Salesian spirituality when he was still a child, thanks to Salesians like Fr Enrico Pozzoli, who baptized him and was his spiritual guide for many years, and Fr Cayetano Bruno with whom Jorge, as a young man, shared many confidences and who accompanied him at times of important decisions.

In a letter written in 1990, the second one reproduced in the book, Fr Bergoglio said that as a child he used to take part in the procession of Mary Help of Christians, attended the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales, and knew the Salesian priests who were confessors at San Carlos. In 1949 he was a student, for one year, in the Salesian College of Ramos Mejía. His description of that period reads like a compendium of Salesian pedagogy: "The College created, through the awakening of consciousness in the truth of things, a Catholic culture that was not at all 'bigoted' or 'disoriented'. Study, the value ​​of sharing life with others, the social references to those who were most in need, sport, skill, compassion ... everything was real and everything formed habits which, taken together, became a way of life."

The book also reports on his devotion to the Salesian Brother Artemide Zatti and contains the text of a lecture given by Fr Bergoglio in 1976 to celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the Salesians in Argentina.

One chapter contains memories written by Salesians who knew Jorge Bergoglio from 1949 to 2013, the year of his election as Pontiff. A section is dedicated to the bond between Pope Francis and the Salesian Family with some interventions from the Successors of Don Bosco, Fr Pascual Chávez and Fr Angel Fernandez Artime, and the Superior General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians Mother Yvonne Reungoat.

The volume also has some appendices and a series of photographic inserts.

The book was published in Spanish by Editions Don Bosco Argentina; and in Italian, by Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Published 15/06/2015