Forty Dreams of St John Bosco, Compiled and Edited by Fr J. Bacchiarello SDB

St John Bosco (b. 16 August 1815 – d. 31 January 1888) is known for being a priest who worked tirelessly founding and running schools that educated and looked after boys, particularly the poor, abandoned, orphaned and delinquent.

John Bosco was born in Becchi, a village in Piedmont, Italy. Initially prevented from attending school, his mother did send him to school during the winter of 1824–1825. He was taught to read and write by a priest who also prepared him for his first confession.

As a shepherd boy, he was often seen with a book whilst watching animals; even then he wanted to become a priest. He continued his studies and did exceedingly well. He eventually entered the seminary in 1835 and was ordained on 5 June 1841.

He was assigned to Turin and was mostly based there for the rest of his life. From 1841–1846, his oratory was a “wandering oratory” due to the fact that he did not have permanent premises to house all the boys. His first boarding school was in Valdocco, Turin, and over time with the help of others, more were opened. He founded the Society of St Francis de Sales in 1859.

During his life, John Bosco had many extraordinary dreams. These dreams could contain instructions, revelations about individual consciences and spiritual states and therefore important lessons, or revelations about past, present and future. It was common some personage acted as a guide, sometimes named but often referred to as a “stranger”.

His first dream was at nine years of age in which Our Lord and Our Lady revealed his life’s mission of ministering to the youth.

What is revealed in these dreams would later prove them to be true as the priest himself verified the information or as the events occurred as predicted. Some of these dreams were narrated to others privately but often these were told in addresses as lessons to the boys. He, of course, did not reveal private details publicly.

The saint’s Biographical Memoirs, originally in Italian, is 20 volumes and contain records of 179 dreams. Volume I was first published in 1898 with the subsequent volumes published over the next 50 years. This book contains a selection and was first published in 1969.

The text is organized into 40 chapters plus a letter dated 1884 by John Bosco regarding education that also contains a dream. Some chapters contain one dream, others contain more than one that may be on the same or related theme or a follow-up.

It is over 200 pages and is not intended to be a short biography. Generally, a little background is included to provide context for the dreams in each chapter. The first chapter is the first dream he had when he was nine years old. The other 39 chapters are not necessarily in chronological order. References to the abovementioned memoirs are provided.

The common themes in the dreams presented in this book are the dangers of making bad confessions, the importance of frequent, good confessions and Holy Communion, and the protection the Blessed Virgin Mary provides.

Below are a few notes for four dreams, not intended to be a summary.

8. Deadly Nooses – He sees nooses around the necks of many boys. On closer inspection, he sees horns and then a “hideous cat tightly clinging to the noose.” With the threat of a sprinkler and holy water, he ordered the cat in the name of Christ to speak. It reluctantly revealed that the nooses are used to get the people to make confessions with insufficient sincerity, sorrow and resolution to amend their lives.

I also forced the devil to tell me why he was crouching behind your backs. “So that I can’t be seen,” it replied. “That way it is easier for me to drag them down into Hell.”

The lesson is to make a good confession which is why the devil tries to prevent it. [Note that the devil tries to remain hidden and is reluctant to speak, which is consistent to experience of multiple exorcist priests.]

17. Boys’ Gifts for the Blessed Virgin Mary – John Bosco saw his boys take gifts to the altar to offer to Our Lady. There was a handsome youth with wings which he assumed was the oratory’s guardian angel. The boys offered various things of different quality. Some the angel accepted, others he had to fix and others he rejected. Others he asked the boys to fix before offering again.

When a boy carrying a pig’s head came up, the Angel said to him, “How dare you offer this to Our Lady? Don’t you know that this animal symbolizes the ugly vice of impurity? Mary Most Pure cannot tolerate such a sin. Step aside. You are not worthy to stand in her presence.” To those who offered cats, the Angel said: “Don’t you know better? A cat represents theft, and you dare present it to Mary? Those who take what does not belong to them, those who steal food from the house, tear their clothes out of spite, or waste their parents’ money by not studying as they ought, are nothing but thieves!” These too the Angel ordered to withdraw. He was equally indignant with boys offering toads. “Toads symbolize the shameful sin of scandal, and dare you offer them to Our Lady? Step aside. Join the unworthy ones.” These boys, too, shamefully withdrew.

John Bosco noted, amongst other things, that many of the offered bouquets had thorns in them which symbolized acts of disobedience.

32. To Hell and Back – John Bosco was led by a guide on a broad road lined with roses on either side. The road was initially level and but then increasingly sloped downward, eventually leading to a “frightful drop” into an abyss. On the road were concealed traps, “fine as spiders’ webs” representing “just plain human respect”. He pulled on it and found that it was held by a monster in the abyss.

By Divine Providence, knives and swords were available on the road for travellers to free themselves from the traps. These represent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Sacrament.

Continuing down the road, the guide showed John Bosco an enormous dark building and portal at the bottom. He saw boys rushing down the slope and through the portal. Some boys were alone, some were with others. Bad company and bad habits were obviously the causes. When the portal opened, there was a corridor of portals inside with inscriptions from Scripture.

The last one opened into a courtyard. From here, he saw a cave going deep. The surfaces were white hot. He saw boys, some he recognized, hurtling through. They wailed but then became “incandescent and perfectly motionless”. But when looking closely, he could see they were striking each other or “tearing their own flesh”.

The ceiling of the cave opened up and they saw their companions in Heaven, knowing and regretting that they despised God’s graces that would have helped them earn Heaven.

The guide showed John Bosco different groups of boys he recognized, some covered with worms and vermin. Bad confessions without sufficient good resolutions were the cause. “Hell is indeed paved with good intentions!”

Sins against the Six Commandment were common as was disobedience to rules of God, Church, parents and superiors. “He who does not pray, dooms himself to perdition.”

When leaving, the guide practically forced John Bosco to touch the wall of the portal, the most outer wall of Hell. The guide told him that “there are a thousand walls between this and the real fire of Hell.” According to John Bosco, the pain was “excruciating” and upon waking, his hand was swollen and the skin peeled off.

40. The Two Columns in the Sea – This dream is about the future struggle of the Church, including a council and the death of a pope and the extraordinary election of a new pope. The text of the dream is reproduced below.

Imagine yourselves to be with me on the seashore, or better, on an isolated rock and not to see any patch of land other than what is under your feet. On the whole of that vast sheet of water you see an innumerable fleet of ships in battle array. The prows of the ships are formed into sharp, spearlike points so that wherever they are thrust they pierce and completely destroy. These ships are armed with cannons, with lots of rifles, with incendiary materials, with other arms of all kinds, and also with books, and they advance against a ship very much bigger and higher than themselves and try to dash against it with the prows or to burn it or in some way to do it every possible harm. As escorts to that majestic fully equipped ship, there are many smaller ships, which receive commands by signal from it and carry out movements to defend themselves from the opposing fleet. In the midst of the immense expanse of sea, two mighty columns of great height arise a little distance the one from the other. On the top of one, there is the statue of the Immaculate Virgin, from whose feet hangs a large placard with this inscription: Auxilium Christianorum—“Help of Christians”; on the other, which is much higher and bigger, stands a Host of great size proportionate to the column and beneath is another placard with the words: Salus Credentium—“Salvation of the Faithful.” The supreme commander on the big ship is the Sovereign Pontiff. He, on seeing the fury of the enemies and the evils among which his faithful find themselves, determines to summon around himself the captains of the smaller ships to hold a council and decide on what is to be done. All the captains come aboard and gather around the Pope. They hold a meeting, but meanwhile the wind and the waves gather in storm, so they are sent back to control their own ships. There comes a short lull; for a second time the Pope gathers the captains together around him, while the flag-ship goes on its course. But the frightful storm returns. The Pope stands at the helm and all his energies are directed to steering the ship towards those two columns, from the top of which and from every side of which are hanging numerous anchors and big hooks, fastened to chains. All the enemy ships move to attack it, and they try in every way to stop it and to sink it: some with writings or books or inflammable materials, of which they are full; others with guns, with rifles and with rams. The battle rages ever more relentlessly. The enemy prows thrust violently, but their efforts and impact prove useless. They make attempts in vain and waste all their labor and ammunition; the big ship goes safely and smoothly on its way. Sometimes it happens that, struck by formidable blows, it gets large, deep gaps in its sides; but no sooner is the harm done than a gentle breeze blows from the two columns and the cracks close up and the gaps are stopped immediately. Meanwhile, the guns of the assailants are blown up, the rifles and other arms and prows are broken; many ships are shattered and sink into the sea. Then, the frenzied enemies strive to fight hand to hand, with fists, with blows, with blasphemy and with curses. All at once the Pope falls gravely wounded. Immediately, those who are with him run to help him and they lift him up. A second time the Pope is struck, he falls again and dies. A shout of victory and of joy rings out amongst the enemies; from their ships an unspeakable mockery arises. But hardly is the Pontiff dead than another Pope takes his place. The pilots, having met together, have elected the Pope so promptly that the news of the death of the Pope coincides with the news of the election of the successor. The adversaries begin to lose courage. The new Pope, putting the enemy to rout and overcoming every obstacle, guides the ship right up to the two columns and comes to rest between them; he makes it fast with a light chain that hangs from the bow to an anchor of the column on which stands the Host; and with another light chain which hangs from the stern, he fastens it at the opposite end to another anchor hanging from the column on which stands the Immaculate Virgin. Then a great convulsion takes place. All the ships that until then had fought against the Pope’s ship are scattered; they flee away, collide and break to pieces one against another. Some sink and try to sink others. Several small ships that had fought gallantly for the Pope race to be the first to bind themselves to those two columns. Many other ships, having retreated through fear of the battle, cautiously watch from far away; the wrecks of the broken ships having been scattered in the whirlpools of the sea, they in their turn sail in good earnest to those two columns, and, having reached them, they make themselves fast to the hooks hanging down from them and there they remain safe, together with the principal ship, on which is the Pope. Over the sea there reigns a great calm.

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