After the foundation and establishment of works directly concerned with youth,

Don Bosco’s greatest concern was the apostolate of the press: as writer, printer and editor. In the second volume of the Memoirs, the Saint’s biographer writes as follows: "Don Bosco fully realised that the school and the press were altogether excellent things in themselves, if directed towards good. But he early foresaw that they would be the devil’s most powerful means of spreading evil and error among the masses. He therefore took the resolution, that was to be his for life, of educating youth and the common people by means of good books. He began writing with a view to publication. And to this end he sacrificed many hours of sleep, working well into the night, and assiduously used up whatever moments of the day were not taken up with looking after his boys or carrying out his priestly ministry."

The writing table in his room used to be covered with exercise books, and scraps of paper containing the material he was gathering for his books. And their worth was proved by the large number of editions produced and by the favourable judgement passed on them by competent authorities.

In 1858 when the Rules of the Salesian Society were written, he laid it down that one of its aims should be "to sustain the Catholic religion by the spreading of good books." This, he added, should be done with all the means that charity suggests, and he longed to be able to count among these the possession of his own printing press which he had planned seven years previously. He was finally able to start it in 1861. Two old machines that worked on the old pressure system, and a bench with a few boxes containing the letters made up the sum total of his wealth. Yet to Don Bosco this was nothing short of paradise. His faith enabled him to make a start where others would have waited for the means that would never come. For him, a bare minimum was all that was required. And so he always kept an eye on his goal, and fired his pupils with enthusiasm. "You’ll see," he said, "we shall have a printing press, two, no, ten printing presses! Just wait and see." His resolution to expand those early beginnings was eventually carried out and the printing press established at the Oratory could compare favourably with the best in Turin.

In 1883 Fr Achille Ratti (the future Pius XI) visited the Oratory and congratulated Don Bosco on his wisdom and zeal in developing the printing press. For an answer Don Bosco quoted his well known motto: "In this, Don Bosco always wants to be in the vanguard of progress." Not that he had any ambitions of surpassing others in the art of printing, but he did not want to be behind anyone when it was a question of adopting new techniques that would serve to increase the output of good books. For it was his view that printing should take its place in the Salesian programme not merely because it offered professional training but also because it was itself an important form of religious and social apostolate.

From the beginning he seemed to visualise already the great workshops which in the future would rise everywhere, in the nations of old Europe as well as in those of young America, the hundreds of modern machines, the mountains of books, pamphlets and magazines which from these shops would bear to the Christian world truth in every form.

The love of Don Bosco for St Francis of Sales after whom he named his Congregation, is rooted in the identity of apostolic method of the two Saints.

A celebrated painting by Reffe portrays St. Francis of Sales with a smile on his lips and pen in hand: kindness and a wholesome press. In the rooms of Don Bosco there is an original photograph which portrays him seated at his desk, pen in hand smiling: a wholesome press, and a smile!

This is the reason the Church has declared St Francis of Sales patron saint of Journalists, and St John Bosco patron saint of Catholic Editors.

Don Bosco was a writer both by nature and vocation. He became a publisher when more and more every day the press was establishing itself as the most efficient means of spreading ideas and culture among the masses. From the very beginning of his priestly apostolate, he made use of such publishers as ‘Paravia’ in Turin, and others less known, in order to spread among youth and their families his books and pamphlets. In 1853 the Saint began those providential periodical publications which were sent to subscribers, then called associates, soon numbering 10,000, an extraordinary figure by the standard of those times.

The Letture Cattoliche were monthly pamphlets, of about 100 pages. The Saint himself, or some other writer chosen by him, presented to readers edifying stories, lives of saints, sections from Church history. To complete the series there was issued in December an almanac, called Il Galantuomo ( The Gentleman) which soon became as popular as the older and well known Italian almanac Il Barbanera. Between 1853 and 1878 in the issues of the Catholic Readings there appeared at least 50 booklets composed by the Saint himself.

This type of editorial activity on the part of the Saint gave rise to the Salesian Publishing Press which attracted much attention to Valdocco, and which was perhaps one of the works which made him famous throughout Italy. Not finding it fruitful having others publish his works, the Saint soon made use of his own presses and at the same time was also able to train skilled printers from among his young pupils. In fact Don Bosco was soon able to see among his Salesians capable masters in the various publishing departments. It was not long before there was talk of the ‘Salesian school of graphic arts’ which had for half a century two centres of training, one at Valdocco, and another at San Benigno Canavese. From both these centres valuable technicians in the printing and bookbinding trades went forth into the Salesian world.

SERIAL EDITIONS FOR YOUTH

Through the Annals of the Salesian Society we can study and list the progress of Don Bosco’s editorial work. Besides the Catholic Readings which were a great labour and undertaking for him, he also edited for the schools of his times the writings of Latin, Italian and Greek Classics, with accompanying glossaries. He showed himself a humanist in the true sense of the word. In order not to deprive youth of classical culture, he undertook the task of putting into their hands editions that could be read by them without any moral danger. Thus the Selections from Latin Authors were issued, in neat, annotated, economical texts. Others soon followed:

A Library for Italian Youth which between 1869 and 1885 issued over 204 volumes of Classic Italian Literature, and in 1872 the Greek Classic Series. Finally in 1875 Don Bosco completed the Selections from Latin Christian Authors, a courageous work in a time of laicism and unbridled anticlericalism in the schools. With these Don Bosco intended to reappraise the thoughts and style of the Fathers of the Church and at the same time evaluate their high spiritual and literary content.

—Taken from Don Bosco in the World (Salesian Press, Turin. 1968) p. 173