A Movie Review of “Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love”

 

This three hour long movie depicts the beautiful and holy life of Saint John Bosco and the incredible works of love he performed in service of God. He was born in 1815 in Italy and grew up with his mother and two older brothers, as their dad had died when John was young. Though John was still young, his brothers resented him because they worked hard to provide what little the poor family had, while John read books and was more interested in learning. It wasn’t long before his eldest brother had enough, and forced John to work in the fields as they did.

One day, while John was making his way home, he accompanied a priest who was walking the same way. The priest, named Giovanni Melchiorre Calosso, asked John questions about himself, and when John told him that his father was dead, the priest said, “remember this my son, that no one on this earth is ever without a Father because we have God.”¹ He handed John a crucifix, and told him to keep it with him, as “it will remind you that you are never alone.”²

One day, while he was hard at work, John collapsed to his knees and saw the crucifix that Father Calosso had given him. He stared at the cross, and without hesitation he ran to his mother and said that he was going to leave home and study to become a priest. Despite their poverty, this is what happened. John Bosco zealously desired to do the will of God in his life and to grow in virtue. “Perfect ‘nonviolence’ and its related values of gentleness, kindness and compassion became John Bosco’s dominant way of living for the rest of his life. His model in this regard was Saint Francis de Sales…”³

The movie flashes forward to the year 1841, when John returns home after he has been ordained a priest. He goes to Turin and is told by Father Cafasso that a position in Genoa would be good experience for him as a newly ordained priest. He would be the private tutor for the children of a wealthy family. Father John agrees, and Father Cafasso tells him that the train to Genoa leaves in two days and that John is welcome to stay with him in Turin. Hoping to visit a friend, Father Bosco agrees to stay, not knowing that the course of his life would shortly change in a drastic way.

An intense scene takes place as a group of teenage boys sneak into a baker’s shop and steal bread while the baker is distracted. One of the younger boys accidentally makes a loud noise, which alerted the baker to the young thieves. He yelled at them, called them names, and chased after the boys with a metal bar. A loaf of bread was dropped in the street by the thieves, and another young bystander grabbed the loaf. The baker knocked this boy over and began to forcefully beat him with the bar, screaming, “I’ll make you pay for that!” Hit after hit the boy cried, until the man’s arm is grabbed and prevented from another swing. It was John Bosco who intervened, saying, “Stop! You’ll kill the boy… he didn’t steal from your shop, and even if he had, no theft is worth a boy’s life.”⁴ The baker complains that Father Bosco defended delinquents, and that he was going to have to pay for the bread. Father Bosco, putting money into the baker’s hand, said, “here, if that’s all you’re worried about you should be ashamed of yourself.”⁵

Father Bosco continued on his way to find his friend who worked in a factory in Turin, but he was told that his friend no longer worked their because he had sick lungs. John witnessed how young the boys were who worked in the poor conditions of the factory under abusive management. He told their boss that the boys would respect him more without the abuse.

Father Bosco then went to the place where many sick and homeless boys stayed and found his friend, Niccolo, who used to work with him in the fields. Niccolo was suffering very severely from sickness and gave money to Father Bosco, asking him to bring the money to a friend of his who was in prison. Upon going to the jail, John Bosco witnessed the sad plight of even more young boys, who were locked up in poor conditions. Though these boys reviled him and were nasty towards Father Bosco, he showed nothing but kindness and compassion towards them. It is clear from these many instances that Father Bosco, “centered his convictions on love which for him is the most positive and decisive reality that exists.”⁶

After discreetly handing Niccolo’s friend the money, for fear that the other boys in the cell would fight him for it, they yelled at Father Bosco to leave. One of the older boys pushed Father Bosco towards the cell door, and said “get out!” He attempted to push him once more, but Father Bosco caught his arms and held them in place, saying, “Never do that again. Do not let these prison walls bring out the worst in you.”⁷ The boys were untouched by these words and it only fueled their mockery.

After much prayer and contemplation, Father Bosco went to Father Cafasso the next day and told him that his future was not in Genoa, but in Turin. After witnessing the terrible plight of so many young and abandoned boys who felt unloved and uncared for, and who resorted to stealing and violence in order to live in the world, Father John Bosco desired to make it his life’s mission to care for them, teach them, and love them. Father Cafasso approved of this desire of his, but made it clear that this mission would not be without challenges.

Father Bosco went straight to work by recruiting every single boy he came across on the streets to meet with him. This growing group of boys would play games, do catechism, have snacks, learn to read, and much more. He called their group an “oratory”, and because he was so influenced by Saint Francis de Sales and strived to follow his example, “in 1844 Don Bosco named his first oratory after Francis… in 1854, he named his first disciples Salesians.”⁸

I highly recommend watching this movie about the very inspiring life of John Bosco. It demonstrates the great lengths he took to earn the trust of so many abandoned boys, who no longer trusted anyone because nobody trusted them. Unlike others during that time who only saw the boys in the streets as criminals and delinquents, Father Bosco showed the boys that they were worthy of love and compassion and that they had the potential to do more with their lives.

By showing them that he sincerely loved and cared for them, the boys’ hearts were softened and they desired to grow in holiness like Father Bosco. “From his priesthood right to the end of his life, nonviolence through gentleness and loving kindness would remain one of his cardinal traits that endeared him to his young friends, his acquaintances and to those in authority, not least, Pope Pius IX, who would become his greatest benefactor.”⁹ Father Bosco not only loved the boys, but he also taught them and provided them with practical things. He gave them food and a place to stay, and trained them in certain trades so that they could find work. He taught the boys that with God, they always have a Father. The amazing life of this saint is fantastically portrayed in this movie, and it truly demonstrates what one can accomplish when they commit their life to the service and will of God.

Images from: “Our Patron: St. John Bosco,” at Associates of St. John Bosco, at www.asjb.org.

¹ Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love, directed by Lodovico Gasparini, (Rome, Italy: Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana, 2004).

² Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love.

³ Peter Gonsalves, “The 'Salesian' Gentleness of Saint John Bosco from a Peace Perspective,” Salesianum 84, no. 4 (2022), 2.

⁴ Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love.

⁵ Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love.

⁶ Eligio R. Santos, “St. John Bosco's Spirituality of Work,” Landas 22, no. 2 (2008), 16.

⁷ Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love.

⁸ Santos, “St. John Bosco's Spirituality,” 10.

⁹ Gonsalves, “The 'Salesian' Gentleness,” 3.