St. John Bosco devoted his life to the education of boys. His heart’s desire for the boys who attended his schools can be witnessed in these words he wrote to them in 1884: “My dear Sons in Jesus Christ, …My one desire is to see you happy in time and in eternity. These words of mine are the words of one who loves you tenderly in Jesus Christ, of one who has a duty to speak to you, with the freedom of a father.” He entrusted them to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, telling them that once they entered his schools, she at once took them under her special protection. (cf. St. John Bosco. Letter on Education, May 10, 1884). His biographer Eddie Doherty writes that Don Bosco worked with these boys “to restore their Christian heritage and [channel] their misdirected energies into useful courses – but his goal was the restoration of all society to Christ” (book jacket, Lambs in Wolfskins). Columbia Boys School humbly and respectfully adopts this as our supernatural vision for our boys and our school and our world. In our own day, we need the restoration of our Christian heritage more than ever. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the restoration of all society to Christ are perennial roadmaps to holiness. Boys who are formed with discipline, Christian love, and fatherly mentoring will have what they need to succeed in life in whatever vocational path they take, and so be happy in time and in eternity.
