Why the name Salesians of Don Bosco?
St John Bosco, an Italian saint of the nineteenth century was called Don Bosco by his boys because Don in Italian means Father. Today he continues to be fondly remembered by the same name. He founded an organization that would take care of poor youth. He called his followers Salesians, a name he took from St Francis de Sales, a popular saint of his native place in northern Italy. He chose St Francis de Sales as the patron of his society and encouraged his followers to imitate the saints gentle humanism.
