Dominic Savio
Dominic Savio (Italian: Domenico Savio; 2 April 1842 – 9 March 1857) was an Italian student of John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotion to the Catholic faith, and was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1954.
Saint Dominic Savio | |
|---|---|
A prayer card depicting St. Dominic Savio | |
| Confessor | |
| Born | 2 April 1842 San Giovanni, a frazione of Riva presso Chieri, Piedmont, Sardinia-Piedmont |
| Died | 9 March 1857 (aged 14) Mondonio, a frazione of Castelnuovo d’Asti, Piedmont, Kingdom of Sardinia (today Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Italy) |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church and Episcopal Church |
| Beatified | 5 March 1950, Rome by Pope Pius XII |
| Canonized | 12 June 1954, Rome by Pope Pius XII |
| Major shrine | The Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin (his tomb) |
| Feast | 6 May (formerly 9 March) |
| Patronage | Choirboys, falsely accused people, juvenile delinquents |
Bosco regarded Savio very highly, and wrote a biography of his young student, The Life of Dominic Savio. This volume, along with other accounts of him, were critical factors in his cause for sainthood. Despite the fact that many people considered him to have died at too young an age – fourteen – to be considered for sainthood, he was considered eligible for such singular honour on the basis of his having displayed "heroic virtue" in his everyday life. Savio was canonised a saint on 12 June 1954, by Pope Pius XII, making him the youngest non-martyr to be canonised in the Catholic Church, until the canonisations of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the pious visionaries of Fatima, in 2017.