Saint John Bosco 7 Day Glass Candle

The Friend of Youth. The Saint Who Never Gave Up on Anyone.

In the streets of Turin, Italy, in the mid-1800s, a young priest named Giovanni Bosco began gathering the children no one else wanted; the orphans, the street children, the young men fresh out of prison with nowhere to go and no one who believed in them. He did not meet them with severity or judgment. He met them with warmth, with humor, with patience, and with an unshakeable conviction that every young person, no matter how lost, was worth fighting for.

He built schools, workshops, and homes. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, one of the largest religious orders in the world. He wore himself out in the service of the young and died in 1888 having transformed thousands of lives. The Church canonized him in 1934. The young people of Turin had already made him a saint in their hearts long before that.

San Giovanni Bosco — Don Bosco is the patron of youth, educators, apprentices, and all who work with and for the young. The Saint John Bosco 7 Day Glass Candle calls on his warmhearted, tireless intercession for the children, students, and young people in your life and for all who dedicate themselves to their care.

Traditional Petitions

• Protection, safety, and guidance for children and young people
• Students facing exams, academic struggles, and important educational milestones
• Vocational guidance — helping young people find their path, calling, and purpose
• Wisdom, patience, and effectiveness for educators, teachers, and mentors
• Intercession for at-risk, troubled, or lost youth in danger or difficulty
• Blessing for publishers, editors, writers, and those who use the printed or spoken word
• Apprentices and young workers just beginning their working lives
• Joy, cheerfulness, and lightness of spirit — Don Bosco’s most characteristic gift

How to Work This Candle

Come to Don Bosco with the same openness he brought to every child who came to him — without pretense, without formality, simply with your need and your love for the young person you are praying for. Write their name on a piece of paper and beneath it, write what you are asking Don Bosco to do for them: protect them, guide them, open a door, bring them home. Place the petition beneath the candle. Light it and speak your prayer simply and from the heart. If you are a teacher or youth worker burning this candle for your own ministry, name your students, name your work, and ask Don Bosco to stand beside you in it. Return each day with gratitude for the saint who never gave up on anyone.

Each candle is approximately 8 inches tall and burns for up to 7 days.