SAINT OF THE DAY
St. Dominic Savio
(Feast Day: March 9 )
Pray for us!
Dominic Savio was an Italian student of Saint John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotion to the Catholic faith, and was eventually canonized. Wikipedia
Born: April 2, 1842, Chieri, Italy
Died: March 9, 1857, Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Italy
Feast: 6 May (formerly 9 March)
Patronage: choirboys, falsely accused people, juvenile delinquents
Canonized: 12 June 1954, Rome by Pope Pius XII
Major shrine: The Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin (his tomb)
Parents: Carlo Savio, Brigida Gaiato
Saint Dominic Savio’s Story
So many holy persons seem to die young. Among them was Dominic Savio, the patron of choirboys.
Born into a peasant family at Riva, Italy, young Dominic joined Saint John Bosco as a student at the Oratory in Turin at the age of 12. He impressed Don Bosco with his desire to be a priest and to help him in his work with neglected boys. A peacemaker and an organizer, young Dominic founded a group he called the Company of the Immaculate Conception which, besides being devotional, aided John Bosco with the boys and with manual work. All the members save one, Dominic, would, in 1859, join Don Bosco in the beginnings of his Salesian congregation. By that time, Dominic had been called home to heaven.
As a youth, Dominic spent hours rapt in prayer. His raptures he called “my distractions.” Even in play, he said that at times, “It seems heaven is opening just above me. I am afraid I may say or do something that will make the other boys laugh.” Dominic would say, “I can’t do big things. But I want all I do, even the smallest thing, to be for the greater glory of God.”
Dominic’s health, always frail, led to lung problems and he was sent home to recuperate. As was the custom of the day, he was bled in the thought that this would help, but it only worsened his condition. He died on March 9, 1857, after receiving the Last Sacraments. Saint John Bosco himself wrote the account of his life.
Some thought that Dominic was too young to be considered a saint. Saint Pius X declared that just the opposite was true, and went ahead with his cause. Dominic was canonized in 1954. His Liturgical Feast Day is October 9.
PRAYERS
Prayer to St Dominic
… St Dominic Savio, Pray for Us …
Prayer of Dominic Savio
To the
Blessed Virgin Mary
O Mary, I give you my heart.
Grant me to be always yours.
Jesus and Mary, be ever my friends;
and, for love of you,
grant me to die a thousand deaths
rather than to have the misfortune
of committing a single mortal sin. Amen.
(By St Dominic Savio)
