Last October, thieves in Paris made off with over $10 million of Kim Kardashian’s jewelry. Immediately after Super Bowl LI, a conspicuous member of the international media stole Tom Brady’s jersey, estimated in value at $500,000. In Northern Italy, however, thieves are not nearly so materialistic. Several weeks ago, in a heist that gives new meaning to the word “cerebral,” an unidentified bandit entered a basilica near Turin and absconded with the brain fragments of St. John Bosco! Despite a police roadblock and numerous prayer vigils in the Don Bosco Basilica, the relics remain missing.
St. John Bosco, late 19th century founder of the Salesian Order, was known for his tireless work of evangelization and the remarkable ability to help young men reform their lives. Bosco sculpted souls like a master craftsman, helping countless broken persons to find their dignity and faith once again. His motto and that of the Salesians: ‘Da mihi animas, caetera tolle; Give me souls, take everything else away.’
While it could be argued that the saint from Turin got exactly what his motto asked for when his brain fragments were stolen, there is every indication that St. John Bosco would be more concerned about the thief’s salvation than with strict justice. As the Church continues to move forward in a secular culture, imminently focused on the work of evangelization, it is not the brain of St. John Bosco that we need to recover. What the Church needs today is to rediscover his heart, and his passionate zeal for souls.
