Celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

It was the 8th of December 1841, when Don Bosco met Berto Garelli, a young boy from Asti that came to Turin to find work. While having a nap in the Church, Garelli was chased off by the sacristan, but Don Bosco came to the rescue. Three days later, Berto brought with him 9 boys to meet Don Bosco, and by the summer of 1852, there were 80 boys in the ‘oratorio’. The rest is history.

No wonder we celebrate this feast with such joy. We at St. Patrick’s started the day with with the Holy Mass, celebrated by Fr. Antoine Farrugia sdb. It was a beautiful occasion, and present for the Mass were Bjorn and Maria Formosa. The boys collected a nice donation that was presented to Bjorn by the headmaster, Fr. Jeremy Vella sdb. The lovely sum of €400 collected by the boys and school staff and another €200 collected during the mass on the day at St. Patrick’s Church will go towards the project of Dar Bjorn, to help individuals that suffer from ALS. Bjorn gave a moving speech after he was presented with the donation.

Then we had a small ceremony near the Christmas Tree and a small procession with Baby Jesus. Followed by the presentation of the medals, won during the Billiards tournament a few days before. Then, the boys, together with the school staff, worked on preparing the mince pies to be sold as a fund raising event. It was such a fun activity, and the happy faces are evidence of this.
The boys then participated in some sports activities.