Massimo Marcocchi – “At the roots of Don Bosco’s spirituality” in “Don Bosco’s place in history”

Marco Marcocchi in his essay tries to shed light on the type of reality in which Don Bosco lived, worked and which religious figures influenced his spirituality and his way of working as an educator. We must not forget, however, that Don Bosco had his own original personality on a spiritual level.                                                                           

 Marco Marcocchi nel suo saggio cerca di far luce sul tipo di realtà in cui viveva e operava Don Bosco e quali figure religiose hanno influenzato la sua spiritualità e il suo modo di lavorare come educatore. Non bisogna, però, dimenticare che Don Bosco aveva una sua originale personalità a livello spirituale.

SUMMERY

• 1. The climate of the age in which Don Bosco lived and worked
  • 1.1 The “Friendships” and the Oblates of the Virgin Mary 
  • 1.2 The “Ecclesiastical College” 
  • 1.3 Rigorism, “benignism” and Alphonsian moral theology
  • 1.4 Saint Alphonsus and his teaching
  • 1.5 The influence of St. Alphonsus on piety
  • 1.6 The influence of St. Francis de Sales
  • 1.7 The spiritual tradition of St. Philip Neri
  • 1.8 The Vincentian tradition
• 2. The attitude and mentality of Don Bosco
  • 2.1 His priestly formation in a rigoristic climate
  • 2.2 The decisive influence of Cafasso
  • 2.3 The central importance of St. Francis de Sales
  • 2.4 Reference to St. Philip Neri
  • 2.5 The appeal of St. Vincent de Paul
  • 2.6 Don Bosco, master of a new kind of spirituality

Reference time period: 1814 – 1844

Reference institution:
Centro Studi Don Bosco