Tonight we celebrate more than a saint’s feast.
We celebrate a man and a mission
that belongs to this church in a particular way.

To claim St John Bosco as patron is to accept a responsibility:
to see the world as he saw it,
to love as he loved,
and to believe, as he believed, that God works powerfully
through the young, the poor, and the seemingly small.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives us a surprising lesson.
The disciples ask:

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

They are thinking about importance and success.
Jesus answers by placing a child in front of them and saying:

“Unless you turn and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus does not choose a strong person
or a clever person
to show what heaven is like.
He chooses a child.

Why?

Because a child knows how to trust.
A child knows how to depend on others.
A child knows how to belong.

To become like a child
is not to become childish.
It is to stop trying to save ourselves
and to let God take care of us.

Jesus then says something even more important:

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name
welcomes me.”

So to welcome the child
is to welcome Christ.
And to welcome Christ
is to welcome salvation.

This Gospel helps us understand St John Bosco.

St. John Bosco lived in a city
where many boys were poor and alone.
Some had no families.
Some had no school.
Some had no one to guide them.

Many people saw these boys as a problem.
John Bosco saw something else.

He saw souls.

Not numbers.
Not trouble.
Not failures.

Souls that belonged to God.

That is why he said:

“Give me souls;
take away the rest.”

He did not mean that food and shelter were unimportant.
He meant that the most important thing
was helping people belong to God
and find their way to heaven.

For St. John Bosco, education was not only about learning a trade.
It was about learning how to live with God.

He welcomed young people.
He taught them.
He prayed with them.
He helped them learn right from wrong.

He wanted them to know two things:

You are loved.
And God wants you forever.

That is what salvation means.

Not just being forgiven.
Not just behaving well.

But belonging to God.

This is why St John Bosco matters so much today.

We live in a world that often measures worth
by productivity, success, and visibility.

Young people today carry enormous pressure.
They are scrutinised, compared, judged.

And yet many feel unseen, unheard, and unsure of their value.

John Bosco reminds the Church that evangelisation begins with relationship.

Jesus says:

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name
welcomes me.”

So when the Church welcomes children,
Jesus is close.

When children are taught to pray,
Jesus is close.

When faith is passed on with patience and kindness,
Jesus is close.

St John Bosco believed
that heaven begins
when young people know
they matter to God.

He once said:

“It is not enough to love the young;
they must know that they are loved.”

That is true for children.
And it is true for adults too.

We all need to know
that we belong to God.

Because many things can pass away:

Money can disappear.
Buildings can fall.
Strength can fade.
Success does not last.

But one thing does not pass away: Souls belong to God.

And to belong to God
is what it means
to be saved.

So today, as we honour St John Bosco, we do not only remember a saint.

We renew a belief:

that souls matter more than success,
that heaven matters more than comfort,
and that helping people belong to God
is the Church’s most important work.

We ask St John Bosco to pray for us:

that we may care for one another,
that we may teach the faith with joy,
and that we may help the young
and the old
to know that they are loved by God.

St John Bosco believed
that if people know they are loved,
they can learn to love God.

And if they learn to love God,
they will find their way to heaven.

That is what he lived for.

And that is why the Church remembers him today.