St. Dominic Savio was born in Italy in 1842, the second of ten children. He learned to serve Mass at age five and received First Communion at age seven, despite the customary age being twelve, since he grasped catechesis so well. If he arrived at church before it was unlocked, he would kneel outside the doors in prayer. On the day of his First Communion, he wrote down some promises: (1) to go to Confession and receive the Eucharist as often as possible, (2) to sanctify Sundays and feast days, (3) to be friends with Jesus and Mary, and (4) to rather die than sin. In 1854, 12-year-old Dominic met 38-year-old St. John Bosco and joined his Oratory. That year, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and Dominic renewed his First Communion vows before a statue of Mary. He loved to teach catechesis and once, a boy retorted, “Why are you doing this?” Dominic replied, “Because Jesus died for us, and hence we are all brothers and ought to love each others’ souls.” At New Year, he received many prizes and over the holidays, he gifted them to children who had answered correctly at catechesis class or gone to Mass willingly. Every day, he would bring children to adore the Blessed Sacrament. In order to increase spiritual fruits and retain his zeal, he would keep a series of dedications and prayer intentions: Sundays were for the Holy Trinity, Monday for spiritual benefactors, Tuesdays for his patron St. Dominic and his guardian angel, Wednesdays for the conversion of sinners and for Our Lady of Sorrows, Thursdays for the souls in purgatory, Fridays for the Passion of Jesus, and Saturdays for Mary and her protection at the hour of death. In 1857, 14-year-old Dominic Savio died – his last words were “Oh, what wonderful things I see …”.

After his death, St. Dominic Savio was interred at Turin’s Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians (St. John Bosco’s later burial place). Nearby are many baby items left in thanksgiving: St. Dominic especially interceded for sick babies. After Dominic’s death, St. John Bosco dreamt the Virgin Mary telling him that the shepherds would come from the sheep – clearly, his order’s priests would come from his students. In 1854, he gathered followers to form the Salesian Order under the example of St. Francis de Sales, who emphasized the universal call to sainthood. While devising the order’s rule, he was attacked by devils – he would hear crying, his inkwell spilled onto his papers, and his desk would shake. But he received support from the Italian government and Blessed Pope Pius IX. In 1859, he and 17 followers formally established the Salesian Order and once he received approval from the Holy See, the Order grew to 251 members. In addition, a Salesian Family of Don Bosco grew to bring about the Salesian mission. The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians was a sister order established to educate girls, and the Association of Salesian Cooperators was established for laity to cooperate with the Salesians.

St. Dominic Savio was a holy student of St. John Bosco. When a classmate refused to pray in the cold chapel, he gave him his coat. Another time, a stranger visited the Oratory’s students and interspersed his jokes with criticisms of Catholicism. When Dominic found out, he got the students to walk out, saying, “This sinful man is trying to destroy our souls.” Another time, one of the students shared an impure newspaper, so Dominic angrily ripped it up and said, “Have you forgotten? Jesus said even one impure look can damage our souls!” The boy protested, “We’re just playing.” Dominic said, “We’ll see if you’ll still have fun in hell!” In 1856, John Bosco’s mother Margherita passed away and appeared singing to him in his dreams, saying, “I’m awaiting you, we must be together.” And a year later, Dominic fell sick and died, later appearing to his father asking for prayers.