St. Dominic Savio was born to a peasant family in Riva, Italy, in 1842. When he was little, he learned an important lesson of charity and all his life he strived very hard to be very charitable. Dominic received his first Holy Communion at the age of 7 on Easter Sunday in 1849. In his notebook, he wrote four rules to follow for the rest of his life. 1. I will keep Sundays and Holy Days Holy 2. My best friends will be Jesus and Mary 3. I will go to confession more often and I will receive Holy Communion as often as I can 4. Death rather than sin. Dominic figured that sinning is being mean to your soul, and being mean to your soul is being mean to God, Who made your soul to be clean and pure so that you could go to Heaven.

Dominic wanted to become a priest all of his life. In October of 1854, when Dominic was 12, he was enrolled as a student in the Saint Francis de Sales oratory, which was founded by Saint John Bosco in Turin, Italy. Early on while Dominic was in the oratory, he got in the way of two bullies. They had each insulted each others family and were therefore going to have a stone fight. Dominic was horrified when he heard this and thought of a way to try to stop them. They had gotten themselves ready each by their own stone pile and were ready to begin. Dominic then stepped in between them and held up a little crucifix. “Before you fight,” he said, “Look at this, both of you, and say, ‘Jesus Christ was sinless and I am going to outrage him by being deliberately revengeful.’ Then you can start and throw the first stone at me.” The two boys said to Dominic, “Get out of the way, this is no place for you Dominic you’ll get hurt.” Instead of leaving, Dominic then ran to one of the boys and knelt down in front of him, asking him to throw a stone at him. The boy was horrified and told Dominic that he would never hurt him and would even protect him if anyone dared to hurt him. Dominic then knelt down in front of the other boy and asked him to throw a stone at him. The other boy answered the same as the first. Dominic said to them, “You both would protect me and yet you are willing hurt each other because of an insult.” The boys then put down their stones and apologized to each other, and they did not have to throw stones at all.

Dominic liked his life at the oratory, but he was very strict on the behavior of the boys. In fact some of the more naughty boys would call Dominic a sneak and say, “Run and tell Don Bosco!” But Dominic would just laugh. To help such boys Dominic started the Company of the Immaculate Conception. The group’s job, besides devotional, was to help Don Bosco in his work. Anything to help Don Bosco, like the little jobs of sweeping floors to such jobs as watching over the particularly mischievous boys. In fact in 1859 when Don Bosco first began the Salesian Congregation, all of the original members of the Company of the Immaculate Conception were of his first 22 members, except for Dominic Savio who had died two years before.

Dominic became rather popular at the oratory. Aside from his strong personality, he was kind and cheerful. He knew how to help people in their need. Dominic studied hard and he loved to pray. Once, Dominic was missing during class and all morning. Don Bosco asked every boy he came across if they had seen Dominic, but none of them knew where he was. It was nearly noon now, lunch was over and Don Bosco was beginning to worry. He had searched most of the school grounds and was now coming to the Church. Don Bosco looked around and saw Dominic in the choir loft crammed in the corner gazing at the tabernacle. “What are you doing?” asked Don Bosco. Dominic looked at Don Bosco surprised and said, “Is mass over?” He had been there for six hours praying ever since early morning mass. Dominic would call such prayer times, “my distractions.”

Don Bosco wrote a book himself about Dominic Savio’ s life. He tells that the needs of England were very important to Dominic and regularly in his prayers. During a particular “strong distraction,” Dominic saw a wide mist-shrouded plain, with a multitude of people groping about in it; to them came a pontifically-vested figure carrying a torch that lighted up the whole scene. Then a voice seemed to say: “This torch is the Catholic Faith which shall bring light to the English people.” At Dominic’ s request Don Bosco told this to Pope Pius IX, who declared that it confirmed his resolution to give great care and attention to England.

Dominic’s health had always been very fragile. But in February of 1857 his health had gotten so bad that he had to go home for a change of air. The doctors concluded that Dominic had inflammation of the lungs. So the doctors bled Saint Dominic. Bleeding patients was a popular method in Saint Dominic’s day. On the evening of March 9, 1857, Dominic asked his father to read out loud the prayers for the dying and then received the last sacraments. Yes, Dominic was dying. He had been bled too much, and the treatment had most likely just hastened his death. His father was finishing the prayers for the dying, when Dominic tried to sit up. “Good bye father,” he said, “The priest told me something ….. but I forget what it was.” Suddenly his face lit up with joy, “I am seeing most wonderful things!” He died that night at the age of 14.