Salesians of Don Bosco
Roman Catholic order
The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (Latin: Societas Sancti Francisci Salesii), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded on 18 December 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the Industrial Revolution. The congregation was named after Francis de Sales, a 17th-century bishop of Geneva.
The Salesians' charter describes the society's mission as "the Christian perfection of its associates obtained by the exercise of spiritual and corporal works of charity towards the young, especially the poor, and the education of boys to the priesthood". Its associated women's institute is the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, while the lay movement is the Association of Salesian Cooperators.
History
In 1845 Don John Bosco ("Don" being a traditional Italian honorific for priest) opened a night school for boys in Valdocco, now part of the municipality of Turin in Italy. In the following years, he opened several more schools, and in 1857 drew up a set of rules for his helpers. Bosco admired the simple spirituality and philosophy of kindness of Francis de Sales and established the Society of St. Francis de Sales in his honor in 1859.
The rule was approved definitively in 1873 by Pope Pius IX as the Rule of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales. The Society grew rapidly, with houses established in France, and Argentina within a year of the Society's formal recognition.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Salesians of Don Bosco” as roman Catholic order. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as roman Catholic order. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q223659. VIAF identifies the subject as 303765039. The Library of Congress control number is n78097053. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1859, 1845, 1857 and 1873.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Salesians of Don Bosco”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Salesians of Don Bosco primary sources, Salesians of Don Bosco archive and Salesians research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Salesians of Don Bosco”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Salesians of Don Bosco” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.