St. Dominic Savio (Feast)

Early Life

Dominic Savio was born on April 2, 1842, at Riva di Chrei, a small village near Turin in north Italy. He was the son of poor parents, whose names were Charles and Brigid Savio.

Dominic’s mother taught him to make the sign of the cross and to whisper the names of Jesus and Mary, long before he went to school. She trained him to do everything to please God, and to be obedient, kind, truthful, modest and honest. By the age of four, he was able to pray by himself. At the tender age of five, he knew his way to church and used to pay daily visits. The parish priest, struck with the child’s reverence before the Blessed Sacrament, invited him to serve on the altar. Dominic was a perfect server and was very faithful to the fourth Commandment. He honoured his mother and father and had great love for his parents. He obeyed them promptly and cheerfully and was an unselfish boy, even from his earliest years.

Dominic’s schoolmaster Fr. Don Zucca noticed how pious and intelligent he was and so decided to allow him to make his first Holy Communion at the age of seven. Whenever Dominic spoke of the day he received the Holy Eucharist for the first time, he described it as “a beautiful day.” This happy occasion of his first meeting with Jesus was a turning point in his life. He wrote down four resolutions, which were the guiding rules of his life:

1. I will go often to Confession and to Holy Communion as often as my confessor will allow me.

2. I will be exact in keeping holy the Sundays and Holidays of Obligation.

3. Jesus and Mary will be my friends.

4. I wish to die rather than sin.

At the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales

In October 1854, at the age of twelve years Dominic met John Bosco who admitted him to the Oratory. At the Oratory, Dominic’s spiritual growth progressed under the guidance of Don Bosco. Bosco's mother, who was called "Mamma Margaret”, remarked to him of Dominic, "You have many good boys, but none can match the good heart and soul of Dominic. I see him so often at prayer, staying in church after the others; every day he slips out of the playground to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. When he is in church he is like an angel living in Paradise."

Failing Health

By the age of fourteen Dominic's health was steadily deteriorating. On the recommendation of doctors, Dominic was sent home to recover from his ill health. On the morning of his departure on March 1, 1857, Don Bosco notes that Dominic made the Exercise of a Happy Death with great zeal, even saying that this would be his final such devotion. He said his farewell to John Bosco, asking as a keepsake that Bosco add his name to the list of those who would participate in the Plenary Indulgence that John Bosco had received from the Pope, to which John Bosco readily agreed. He then said goodbye to his friends with great affection, which surprised them, for his illness, was not considered by many of his companions to be serious.

In his first four days at home, his appetite decreased and his cough worsened; this prompted his parents to send him to the doctor, who, at once, ordered bed rest. Inflammation was diagnosed, and as was the custom at that time, the doctor decided to perform bloodletting. The doctor cut Dominic's arm ten times in the span of four days [this probably hastened his death]. Dominic was calm throughout the procedure. The doctor assured his parents that the danger had passed and now it only remained for him to recuperate. Dominic, however, was sure that his death was approaching, and asked that he be allowed to make his Confession and receive Communion. Though they thought it unnecessary, his parents sent for the parish priest who heard Dominic's confession and administered the Eucharist.

Four days later, in spite of the conviction of the doctor and his parents that he would get better, Dominic asked that he be given the Anointing of the Sick in preparation for death. Again, his parents agreed, to please him.

Death

On March 9, he was given the papal blessing and he said the Confiteor. Don Bosco records that throughout these days, he stayed serene and calm. On the evening of March 9, 1857, after being visited by his parish priest, he asked his father to read him the prayers for the Exercise of a Happy Death from his book of devotions. Then he slept a while, and shortly awakened and said in a clear voice, "Goodbye, Dad, goodbye . . . what was it the parish priest suggested to me ... I don't seem to remember . . . Oh, what wonderful things I see ..." With these words, Dominic died.

The vision of England

John Bosco records that Dominic once recounted to him a vision he had: "... . One morning as I was making my thanksgiving after Communion, a very strong distraction took hold of me. I thought I saw a great plain full of people enveloped in thick fog. They were walking about like people who had lost their way and did not know which way to turn. Someone near me said, “This is England.” I was just going to ask some questions, when I saw Pope Pius IX just as I have seen him in pictures. He was robed magnificently and carried in his hand a torch alive with flames. As he walked slowly towards that immense gathering of people, the leaping flames from the torch dispelled the fog, and the people stood in the splendour of the noonday sun. “That torch”, said the one beside me, “is the Catholic Faith, which is going to light up England.”

At his last farewell, Dominic requested John Bosco to tell the pope of his vision, which he did in 1858. The pope felt that this confirmed the plans he had already made concerning England.

Sainthood

Though some were of an opinion, that Dominic was too young to be canonised, Pope Saint Pius X insisted that this was not so, and started the process of his canonisation. Dominic Savio was declared Venerable in 1933 by Pope Pius XI, was beatified in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, and declared a saint in 1954.

Pope Pius XI described him as "small in size, but a towering giant in spirit."

Feast Day May 6

Patron Saint of: Boys, Choirs, Falsely accused people, Juvenile delinquents, and Expectant mothers.