3. John was born in Turin, Italy. He
had 2 older brothers. His parents
were poor farmers. His father died
when he was 2 years old so he had to
work hard on the farm.
4. He found life at
home hard as he
had a lot of
quarrels with his
older brother
Antonio.
5. John was a great
juggler, magician and
acrobat. He would
put on shows with
prayers before and
after the
performance.
6. When he was 9 years old, he had a
dream. In his dream, he was in a
field with a crowd of children who
were being nasty and not speaking
nicely. A man with a face filled
with light appeared to him and
made him leader of the children.
The man showed him that with
gentleness and kindness, these
children would turn from wild
animals to gentle lambs.
7. When John was 9 years old, he knew
he wanted to become a priest. His
mother let him go to school and a
holy priest called Fr. Cafasso helped
him enter the seminary.
9. He had a lot of dreams which helped
him in his mission to help poor and
abandoned children. He felt sorry
for the children living on the streets
of Italy.
10. Like a loving father,
he gathered them
together and taught
them trades. This way
they would not have
to steal or get into
trouble. He loved
them no matter how
naughty they were.
11. He gave this advice to
children “Pray when it’s
time to pray. Study
when it’s time to study.
Play when it’s time to
play. Show kindness to
everyone you meet. But
do it all for the love of
Jesus.”
12. One boy listening
was Dominic Savio
who told John he
would try very hard
to become a saint
and please God. And
he did.
13. John started his own
religious order of priests
and brothers. They were
called the Salesians, after
St. Frances de Sales.
These men and women
pray and teach young
people about God’s love all
over the world even today.
