The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1869 by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor and migrant youngsters during the Industrial Revolution. The congregation was named after Saint Francis de Sales, a 17th-century bishop of Geneva.
August Franciszek Maria Anna Józef Kajetan Czartoryski was a Polish Roman Catholic professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco and a noble prince. He was born in Paris during his house's exile and came from a notable house; his constant frail health saw much of his childhood being shuttled to various health spas. Raphael Kalinowski tutored him; the prince turned to the priesthood instead of pursuing the aristocratic life.
Joseph Cafasso was an Italian Catholic priest who was a significant social reformer in Turin. He was one of the so-called "Social Saints" who emerged during that particular era. He is known as the "Priest of the Gallows" due to his extensive work with those prisoners who were condemned to death. But he was also known for his excessive mortifications despite his frail constitution: he neglected certain foods and conditions to remain as frugal and basic as possible unless a doctor ordered otherwise.
Michele Rua was an Italian Catholic priest and professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Rua was a student under Don Bosco and was also the latter's first collaborator in the order's founding as well as one of his closest friends. He served as the first Rector Major of the Salesians following Bosco's death in 1888. He was responsible for the expansion of the Salesians and the order had grown to a significant degree around the world at the time he died. Rua served as a noted spiritual director and leader for the Salesians known for his austerities and rigid adherence to the rule. It was for this reason that he was nicknamed "the living rule".
Jan Leopold Tyranowski was a Polish Roman Catholic. He was an ardent admirer and follower of the Discalced Carmelite charism – but was not of their order – and was a central figure in the spiritual formation of Karol Józef Wojtyła who became Pope John Paul II. He was both the leader and student mentor of his friend's college parish of Saint Stanisław Kostka in the 1940s as well as a small group he ran on the behalf of the Salesians of Don Bosco during the wartime period.
Eusebia Palomino Yenes was a Spanish Roman Catholic professed religious and a professed member from the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco. Palomino worked as a domestic in her adolescence having withdrawn from her education in order to support her parents though she later worked with the Salesian Sisters before she began the process of becoming a religious of that order in the 1920s; she afterwards continued most of the same duties and became known for her devotion to the five wounds of Jesus Christ and to the Via Crucis.
János Scheffler was a Hungarian-born Roman Catholic prelate who served as the bishop of two dioceses before acting as the Bishop of Oradea Mare. He was imprisoned due to opposing the Communist government policies and was killed while imprisoned. He had been noted during his episcopate for his attentiveness to vocations and for the defense of the faith from those forces that sought to disrupt it such as communism.
José Vandor Puchner – born as József Wech – was a Hungarian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Salesians of Don Bosco. He served in the missions on the island nation of Cuba where he was stationed from 1936 until his death but spent the bulk of that time in Santa Clara where he was since 1954.
Luigi Maria Monti was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception. He was referred to as "Father" despite not being an ordained priest. Monti served as a nurse for most of his life and aided the ill in the Santo Spirito hospital in Rome while he was there and also worked to tend to ill people during the Brescia cholera epidemic in 1855. Monti also considered entering the religious life and joined the order of Lodovico Pavoni for a brief period of time though became a religious of his own order later on.
Giuseppe Guarino was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and cardinal who served as the Archbishop of Messina from 1875 until his death. He was also the founder of the Apostoli della Sacra Famiglia. Guarino dedicated himself to proper religious formation for both priests and nuns while serving in both Siracusa and Messina and was known for reigniting the faith in those who were considered cut off from the faith.
Filippo Rinaldi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Salesians of Don Bosco; he served as the third Rector Major for the order from 1922 until his death in 1931. He founded the Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers. Rinaldi was close friends since his childhood to Giovanni Bosco and Paolo Albera and it was Bosco who guided Rinaldi who was torn in his adolescence between the farming life and the religious life. The order held him in high esteem from the outset and noted the potential within him as well as seeing the charism of Bosco encompassed in Rinaldi.
Augusto Bertazzoni was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Potenza from 1930 until his retirement in 1966. He was titled later in his career as an archbishop despite running a normal diocese as opposed to archdiocese; upon his resignation he was given a ceremonial position which he occupied until his death.
Luigi Variara was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. He served for most of his life as part of the missions in Colombia where he worked with lepers and the children of outcast lepers. He was ordained as a priest while serving there and made it his mission to provide both relief and consolation.
Maddalena Caterina Morano was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious who was a member of the Salesian Sisters. Morano served as an educator for her entire life believing it to be her vocation; she served as a catechist in addition to being an educator.
Bronisław Markiewicz was a Polish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Markiewicz established the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel that devoted itself to the principles and teachings of John Bosco under the patronage of Saint Michael the Archangel.
Artemide Zatti was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious of the Salesians of Don Bosco and a noted pharmacist that emigrated to Argentina in 1897. Zatti became a professed Salesian in 1911 and became well known for his ardent faith and commitment to the sick.
Octavio Ortiz Arrieta was a Peruvian Roman Catholic Church prelate and a professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco who served as the Bishop of Chachapoyas from 1921 until his death. Arrieta first studied to become a carpenter at a Salesian-run school but soon decided to become a priest with the order to which he was professed in 1902. He served at several Salesian houses for over the next decade until Pope Benedict XV appointed him as a bishop in late 1921. He was a prolific shepherd of souls; he underwent eight pastoral visitations to all his parishes and travelled far and wide to meet with his people and to launch a range of pastoral initiatives designed to rekindle the faith of the population.
Luigi Versiglia, S.D.B. was an Italian Catholic prelate and professed member from the Salesians of Don Bosco who served as the first Apostolic Vicar of Shaoguan from 1920 until his murder. He was also a former novice master noted for his strict austerities and discipline but for his loving and compassionate care of the poor and defenceless. He led the first Salesian expedition to China in 1906 and remained there until his death functioning for the people in various capacities such as a gardener and barber.
Francesco Convertini, SDB was an Italian Catholic priest and member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. He served in the missions in India since arriving there in the mid-1920s and dedicated his apostolate to tending to children suffering from malnutrition and fostering interreligious dialogue and tolerance. He also dedicated himself to preserving the environmental protection of local communities in waste-ridden areas and travelled to various communities to bring forth the Gospel message to all people.
Attilio GiordaniA.S.C. was an Italian Roman Catholic and member from the Association of Salesian Cooperators. Giordani studied in Milan where he encountered the Salesians of Don Bosco alongside his brother Camillo. His brother was inspired to become a priest while Giordani was inspired to become a catechist and evangelist catering to the needs of the local children and adolescents. His work at a Salesian-managed oratorio was where he would meet his future wife during the time he did mandated service with the Italian Armed Forces during World War II. He had three children and followed them to Brazil to do volunteer work in the missions there. His time there was short-lived as he died suffering a heart attack while giving an address to a crowd.
