The most recently retrieved letter is the one found by Fr Giorgio Zevini, professor at the Salesian Pontifical University, who received it as a gift from the grandson of the same recipient.
Today it is kept in the Salesian Central Archives in Rome.
It dates back to before the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, 10 years after the granting of freedom of the press in the Savoy kingdom (1848).
The theme of the letter
This is Don Bosco's response to Fr Bernardino Francione, from the parish of Grignasco, who asked him to publish a booklet on the sacrament of Confirmation within the "Catholic Readings" series.
The full text of the letter is available, in Italian, in the December 2021 edition of the Salesian Bulletin.