Intentions of the Holy Father for April

Ecology and Justice. That governments may foster the protection of creation and the just distribution of natural resources.
Hope for the Sick. That the Risen Lord may fill with hope the hearts of those who are being tested by pain and sickness.

Saint for Young People


St. Dominic Savio
(Mar 9)

In his life of the young saint, St. John Bosco wrote that St. Dominic Savio was his favorite student. In fact, St. John Bosco's high regard for the youth was instrumental in the boy's canonization in 1954. He lived from 1842 until only 1857. As an older child, his poor but good parents sent him to Milan to live with St. John Bosco at the home he ran for boys, so that Dominic could continue his studies in the city. His frail health was no impediment to his vigorous activity, and his deep commitment to loving Our Blessed Lord. Instead, by voluntarily accepting what he could not refuse, St. Dominic Savio turned his illness into a means of union with Christ Crucified.

His diligence in setting a good example without being showy, his firm commitment to ample amounts of time in prayer, and his careful preservation of his purity are all aspects of the youth's zealous love of God. St. Dominic Savio willingly admonished youths older and larger than himself - even putting himself in harm's way to break up fights, warn them against the dangers of pornography, and encourage them in chaste modesty.

He desperately wanted to be a priest, and even founded a Company of the Immaculate Conception at the home St. John Bosco ran for boys. Eventually, all the other boys in his Company joined St. John Bosco's religious order; only St. Dominic Savio did not receive his wish to become a priest. Instead, he received his heart's deepest desire: to see God face to face in heaven. After a serious bout of illness, he died.

He is a patron saint of choirboys, the falsely accused, and of chaste youths.

St. Dominic Savio, pray for us.

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