Don Bosco had the idea of sending missionaries to India after his visits to Pope Pius IX in 1876 and 1877, with the intention of taking up the Vicariate Apostolic of Mangalore. However, the urgent and constant demands for personnel from South America forced him to postpone his plans for India. Years later, in 1883-1884, Mgr. Paul-François-Marie Goethals, Vicar Apostolic of Calcutta, on the recommendation of the Baroness de Monin from Belgium, invited Don Bosco to establish an orphanage in Giridih, southern Bihar, but the lack of personnel prevented Don Bosco from accepting this attractive proposal.
