Relic of Don Bosco Venerated by 6,500 in Nation's Capital

Relic of Don Bosco

Venerated by 6,500 in Nation’s Capital

As noted in the preamble to the previous post, a relic of Don Bosco has been making its way thru the province in these days. As I write it's in Montreal, having already visited the faithful (Salesian and many others) in New Orleans, St. Pete, Belle Glade, Miami, Washington, New York, and Toronto. At week's end it'll be in Vancouver, concluding its passage thru the province of St. Philip the Apostle.

More on the relic pilgrimage can be found at two sites:

--the province's Web site dedicated to it, http://www.donboscoamongus.org/

--Fr. Steve Leake's blog dedicated to it, http://donboscoamongus.blogspot.com/

While he resided at the provincial house in New Rochelle in the 1990s, the late Archbishop Eugene Marino, SSJ, with his friendly smile would often ask a confrere in the evening, “Did you have a most excellent and triumphant day?”

The entire Salesian Family of the Washington, D.C., area—and thousands of other laity, religious, priests, and bishops—did indeed have a most excellent and triumphant day on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The casket (or reliquary) containing our Founder’s relic arrived from Miami a little late, due to rain, on the 27th, accompanied by Fr. Bruce Craig and Salesian Domestic Volunteer Rudy Gomez, who has been serving most capably as videographer (see http://www.donboscoamongus.org/) since the relic arrived in our province. (Believe me, there’s a lot of work involved.) The truck and the drivers, Mauro Festa and Tino Luiselli, had already arrived from California and were on hand at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to meet the chartered jet, along with Fr. Steve Shafran, the Washington coordinator for the relic pilgrimage, Bro. Tom Sweeney, Fr. George Hanna, and this reporter.

The first of many reporters met us at the airport and interviewed Fr. Steve while we were waiting. He’d organized everything very well, and the delivery went smoothly. When we got to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the construction crew was waiting for us with their elaborate rig of scaffolding, chains, and pulleys to winch the 1,200-pounds of casket and carriage up the long flight of steps at the west entrance, whence it was an easy roll into the basilica itself. There was also a bevy of reporters from the local media, both secular and religious (e.g., see http://www.cathstan.org/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=4141&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&S=1).


Some clarifications of fact: Yes, the casket and carriage are 1,200 pounds. The original, heavier carriage was replaced for easier handling. The effigy of Don Bosco within the glass-and-metal casket is made of fiberglass, not wax. The original 1929 effigy at his altar in Turin was wax. That was replaced with a fiberglass one when the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians was renovated a few years ago, when also the image now traveling the world was created. And Don Bosco’s body in his tomb in Turin is not incorrupt.

Here’s more, reported by ANS (4/17/09): “The base of the casket is in the form of a bridge supported by four pillars which bear the dates of the bicentennial: 1815-2015. They are decorated on the ends of the casket with square tiles with the faces of young people from the six continents made by sculptor Gabriele Garbolino. The coat of arms of the Salesian Congregation, … the charismatic motto adopted by Don Bosco himself—Da mihi animas, cetera tolle—completes the decoration of the case. Including the base, the casket is 101 inches long, 62.5 inches wide and 53 inches high with a total weight of more than 200 pounds.” Evidently, most of the weight is in the carriage, not the casket. Of course, the effigy weighs something too.


A small contingent from Don Bosco Cristo Rey, along with some basilica staff, was there to greet Don Bosco’s relic and escort it to its overnight place off the narthex, where they venerated it. These students were those who would serve Mass on the 28th, plus a few who had to work that day and thus wouldn’t be able to take place in the rite of reception with the rest of the school.

On the 28th we had gray skies most of the day, but at least it didn’t rain. All the students of DBCR who weren’t at their jobs arrived between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m., along with some parishioners from Nativity. Many students and parishioners took turns during the day serving as greeters and ushers. Some elementary school children also came for the celebration, including a contingent from Our Lady of Victory School in D.C.

Auxiliary Bishop Martin Holley of Washington presided over the rite of reception, starting at 8:30 in the narthex, and including a procession up the center aisle and a liturgy of the word in the sanctuary. The reliquary of Don Bosco on its carriage was positioned at the main crossing of the basilica, under the central dome.

In his homily Bp. Holley made the point that Don Bosco helped young people to see the dignity of every person, and it’s our task to imitate his example, as he was imitating Jesus Christ.

During the service a student from DBCR noted that we venerate Don Bosco’s relic as a sign of the man who was himself a sign and bearer of God’s love for the young. Don Bosco modeled himself on Jesus the Good Shepherd, giving his time, energy, and very self to the young so that they might follow Christ. Nothing was more important to Don Bosco than helping the young along the road toward salvation. So the students are happy to celebrate Don Bosco among them every day, as he intercedes for them.

After the service, I asked a group of juniors and seniors from DBCR why Don Bosco was important to them. They told me that he’s their founding father who was so generous in helping youth—and there would be no Salesians without him. He teaches us about loving and helping others.

Some of these students have already had a chance to practice that love and help. They’ve taken part in two Gospel Roads programs, one in D.C. and one at Haverstraw-Stony Point. They said that Gospel Roads made them feel good because they were helping others, and they thought they were starting a chain of goodness—others would see their example and want to imitate it. They also saw that people in need aren’t different from themselves, and that people in need deserve help and respect. One senior girl observed that sleeping outside (at the retreat house) made her understand a little bit what homeless people have to do.

The students were thrilled at the opportunity to “see Don Bosco” so close up.

During the day, almost 4,400 people came to venerate the relic, according to Shrine staff. Many had, indeed, come to the National Shrine just for that purpose, having heard about the pilgrimage-visit on TV (local news or EWTN), through their diocesan papers, or through signs plastered on D.C. buses. Others were visitors, including school groups, who just happened to come to the Shrine that day. Some had come from a good distance; others were as close as the Catholic University of America, right outside the basilica’s doors. One school group, St. John the Baptist in Silver Spring, is one of DBCR’s sending schools.


I met one mother with five young children. They’d come from Hershey, Pa., after reading about the relic in their diocesan paper. They told me that they’d even left Hershey Park early on Sunday, the last day of the season, in order to get home and watch Fr. Groeschel and “two Salesians” talk about the relic. I asked why Don Bosco was important to them, and the oldest, a girl who looked to be 12 or 13, answered, “Because he became the parent of so many boys at one time. And he still became a saint!” (I think the fact that she has three younger brothers might have influenced her response.)

The highlight of the pilgrimage stop in Washington was certainly the Eucharistic liturgy at 6:30 p.m. No one attempted a count of the congregation, but it seemed to me that about three-fourths of the seats were occupied during most of the service. The basilica seats 2,600, we were told. So put the Mass attendance at about 2,000. The congregation included pilgrims of the archdiocese of Washington and the diocese of Arlington, representatives of the Latino, Black, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, and African communities, Salesian Family members, especially the Youth Apostles, the Don Bosco Filipino Alumni Association, the Christian Embassy, and a smattering of DBCR students and their families.

Archbishop Donald Wuerl presided at Mass. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S.; Bishop Paul Loverde of Arlington, Va.; and Auxiliary Bishops Martin Holley and Barry Knestout of Washington concelebrated, along with about 30 priests—our own confreres, priests of the archdiocese, religious, and university personnel.


After the Mass there was abundant praise for the archbishop’s homily, which I summarize from my notes:

Relics are visible signs of the continuing presence of the saints in our lives.

Today we celebrate St. John Bosco, the patron of youth, of Catholic educators, of those who care for others. We celebrate how one man answered God’s call to look after poor young people who otherwise would have no chance. He responded generously to that call.

The story of the Salesian Society shows the hand of God’s providence for the young. In his night school Don Bosco offered to them the possibility of a full, real, rich life. Education is the key to the future for young people.

To understand the explosion of the Salesian Society throughout the world, we turn to tonight’s gospel (Matt 18: 1-6, 10). It speaks of the innocence of children seeking entry to the kingdom of God. What Don Bosco and every Salesian sees is the future, the possibility of their entering the kingdom of God.
Everyone here honoring this relic recognizes that Don Bosco was truly a master catechist. That mastery flowed from his communion with God. He was a man recognized as holy in his own time.

Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth. Today that mission continues in all who teach in his name. The Salesians have embraced this command of the Lord. Right here at Catholic University, Pope Benedict XVI said that education is integral to the mission of the Church. Those who hear the message of Jesus and accept it are welcomed into the kingdom of God.

Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School and Nativity Parish are living testimonies to the heritage of Don Bosco living today in our midst. Don Bosco would find himself at home in either of these communities. In the classrooms of DBCR, in the faces of those students, he’d see exactly what he saw in his own days—lively faith, living love, youngsters embraced by the Salesians.

That’s why so many thousands of people look to the relics of Don Bosco as a sign of God’s love for them.

Don Bosco took seriously Christ’s challenge: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” And so do the Salesians.

[For the Washington Archdiocese's Catholic Standard newspaper's coverage of the Mass and the archbishop's homily, see http://www.cathstan.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=4159 ]

At the end of Mass, Fr. Shafran thanked all present “from our hearts for your presence with us today and this great outpouring of love and veneration of our Founder, the Father and Teacher of Youth, especially those most vulnerable, poor, and abandoned.”

In a mini-homily of his own, he called the saints examples for our lives: “The saints mirror the life of Jesus in real and practical ways for us. They show us in their weakness, in their great love and their powerful examples that we, all of us and all young people, [can] reach holiness and are called to be the leaven of Jesus in the world today. The pilgrimage of the relics of St. John Bosco provides a window for us to the Kingdom that is our inheritance and our goal.”

Fr. Shafran also linked Don Bosco to two Popes who in turn are linked to the U.S. and the National Shrine. Pope Pius IX gave Don Bosco “permission to begin our Society, approved our first Constitutions, and granted permission for the first departure of Salesian missionaries to South America, which started the growth of our Congregation, which today is the second largest order of consecrated men in the Catholic Church.”

Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, eight years after the American bishops chose her under that title to be patroness of the United States.

When Canon Joseph Sarto, the future St. Pius X, visited Don Bosco’s Oratory in the 1875, Don Bosco “shared his views on educating the young, frequent communion and confession, and his great devotion to Mary. Canon Sarto enrolled as a Salesian Cooperator … and is the first Salesian Cooperator canonized a saint! Later as Pope Pius X he began the process of canonization for Don Bosco and introduced that of Don Bosco’s student Dominic Savio. Pope Pius X is known as the Pope of the Blessed Sacrament.” Pius X approved the proposal to build the National Shrine.

“What a grace it is,” said Fr. Shafran, “for Don Bosco to be in this basilica today – dedicated to Mary, whom he considered the foundress of our Society and all of the ministry of the Salesians of Don Bosco in the world.”

He concluded by presenting to Abp. Wuerl, the other prelates, and the rector of the Shrine, with large portraits of St. John Bosco in “heartfelt gratitude” for their presence and their superb cooperation in the visit of Don Bosco’s relic.

Music for the Mass was provided by the choir of our Nativity Church. They were outstanding! (No surprise in that.) At the end of Mass, the archbishop went out of his way to thank them.


On the morning of Sept. 29, the casket with Don Bosco’s relic and its carriage were removed from the basilica in the same way that they’d been brought in and were loaded into the truck for a six-hour ride to the Marian Shrine. Before that ride really got underway, the relic made an unscheduled stop at DBCR, where one class, at least, who had missed the pilgrimage while at work the previous day had the opportunity to come out and pay their respects to their “father and founder.”