Saint Dominic Savio was born on April 2, 1842, in the village of Riva, near the town of Chieri in the province of Piedmont in northern Italy. The saint was born to Charles, a poor, industrious, and godly man, the second of 11 children of the Brigid couple. Information about the saint is available to us through the biography of Saint Don Bosco’s family and friends.
Dominic was a very talented student. The saint went to school walking for about 12 miles a day. The saint had immense control over his anger and other emotions. Dominic received his first Qurbana at the age of seven. On the eve of his first Holy Qurbana reception, the saint wrote four firm vows.
(1) As long as God allows me to confess, I will confess and receive the Holy Mass.
(2) I will especially observe Sundays and obligatory holidays.
(3) Jesus and Mary are my best friends.
(4) Even if I die, I will not sin.
These were the decisions.
Those decisions revealed the maturity of a child who was only 7 years old. The saint subsequently lived according to these decisions. A case in point of the profound humility and kindness of the saint was – once a classmate of saint Dominic’s school made a grave mistake and blamed him. The teacher threatened to expel the saint from school. In front of the class, the teachers severely reviled the saint. The saint listened to all of them, bowing his head in silence.
When the teacher who later found the real culprit felt sorry for the saint and asked him why he did not reveal his innocence, he replied: I remembered that our Savior, Jesus, was unjustly accused. If I stay quiet, it’ll give him another chance. ” The saint was only 11 years old at the time of this incident. At the beginning of October 1854, Dominic Savio enrolled in the school of Saint Francis de Sale, in the Tour of St. Don Bosco.
On the second Sunday of Lent in 1855, Don Don Bosco gave a sermon on the saints before his students. The speech enlightened Dominic Savio’s mind, and a desire to be a saint arose in him. He accomplished all his missions with great joy and with the goal of becoming a saint.
The saint was a role model for all his classmates. The saint slept on his bed with sharp rocks and pieces of metal to suffer for Christ. Saint Donbosco’s schooling helped the saint grow to maturity. Soon Dominic became a young missionary as a member of St. Don bosco’s youth ministry.
Once, two children at the school where Saint was studying had a quarrel and decided to settle their dispute by stoning each other, as was the custom at that time. When St. Dominic heard this, he asked him not to do so, but they refused to listen. The Holy One then stood in their midst, holding the Crucifixion in their midst, while they were ready to stone each other. The saint asked them to throw the first stone at him, looking at the crucifix in his hand.
The children, unable to do so, forgot their rivalry and fell in love with each other. One of the children later said, “At that moment, all my courage was gone and I was cold. I was ashamed because Dominic could do such a thing. I pardoned the boy who abused me and asked Dominic to show me a good priest to hear my confession. ”
The saint would go to the temple every Friday and pray. Here is an incident about the saint’s devotion to the mother. In May, all the children in Dominic’s bedroom decided to build a small shrine for the mother to bow to her. The Holy One was very excited about this. Realizing that he did not have a penny in his hand, the saint donated a gift book to him and said, “Now I give my share to Mary. Accept and sell this book. ”
By this time the saint was already infected with tuberculosis. As he progressed each day, the sickness of the saint continued to intensify. In 1954, Dominic Savio was declared a saint.
