Brazil – The Salesians in Pindamonhangaba build a replica of Don Bosco's childhood home

03 April 2024

(ANS – Pindamonhangaba) – This year, 2024, the Salesian Family around the world is celebrating the 200th anniversary of a dream. Not just any dream, but the one at 9 years of age in which Jesus and Our Lady showed young John Bosco what his vocation was: to transform boys in difficulty into good boys. John Bosco had this dream in the house where he lived with his mother, two brothers and grandmother (his father died when he was only two years old). To commemorate this anniversary, the Salesians in Pindamonhangaba in the Province of Sao Paolo Brazil (BSP), are building a replica of Don Bosco's childhood home.

The creator of the project and Rector of the Salesian Presence in Pindamonhangaba, Fr Agnaldo Soares Lima, speaking of the "Don Bosco House", explained that it will be an educational space for teenagers and young adults to dream of their future and support the construction of their life projects.

Every detail of the construction has been meticulously taken care of. The original measurements, 3D mapping and other details of the original building were sent from Italy so that the replica is as faithful as possible. Worn bricks were used for the interior and exterior cladding, so that the "Casetta" has the bicentennial appearance of the original. In his research, Fr Agnaldo Soares Lima also found other replicas of Don Bosco’s house around the world: in the United States, in Guatemala and one in the northeast of Brazil, in Jaboatão dos Guararapes.

The idea is that this setting becomes part of the route for pilgrims who visit the Paraíba Valley to go to Aparecida, Canção Nova and the Sanctuary at San Frei Galvão; in other words, that it becomes part of the Itinerary of Faith.

In addition to the "Casetta", the construction of a building for a bar and a formation opportunity on the life of Don Bosco and on ecology is planned, taking into account the fact that this replica is located in a green area of 79,000 square metres on the edge of a lake, that is, in an environment conducive to raising awareness about the conservation of nature, in line with the teaching of Pope Francis.

The opening of the "Casetta di Don Bosco" is scheduled for 16 August 2024, Don Bosco's birthday.

Source: Vatican News 

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