Saint John Bosco was an Italian priest who dedicated his life to educate boys, to lead young men to a good Christian life, to teach them virtues and trades. He was a miracle worker, healer, tireless worker and spiritual father to poor boys. The saint is the founder of Salesian Order who died in 1888. Through out his life, he had many profound mystical dreams which helped to direct his steps and some also gave prophetic meanings to the future or our century.

In this page, we will look at St. Bosco 's prophetic dreams and attempt to interpret their meanings.
 

THE TRIUMPH  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  HEART:

The first dream we discuss occurred in 1862:

     "The vast expanse of water is covered with a formidable array of ships in
     battle formation, prows fitted with sharp, spear-like beaks capable of breaking
     through any defense. All are heavily armed with cannons, incendiary bombs,
     and firearms of all sorts - even books - and are heading towards one stately
     ship, mightier than them all. As they close in, they try to ram it, set it afire, and
     cripple it as much as possible.

     "This stately vessel is shielded by a flotilla escort. Winds and waves are with
     the enemy. In the midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short distance
     apart, soar high into the sky: one is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate
     Virgin at whose feet a large inscription reads: Help of Christians; the other, far
     loftier and sturdier, supports a Host of proportionate size and beneath it bears
     the inscription: Salvation of believers.

     "Standing at the helm, the Pope strains every muscle to steer his ship between
     the two columns from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks
     linked to chains.

     "The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and sink the flagship at all costs.
     They bombard it with everything they have: books and pamphlets, incendiary
     bombs, firearms, cannons. At times a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole
     into the hull, but, immediately, a breeze from the two columns instantly seals
     the gash.

     "Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded. He is instantly helped up but,
     struck down a second time, dies. A shout of victory rises from the enemy and
     wild rejoicing sweeps their ships. But no sooner is the Pope dead than another
     takes his place. The captains of the auxiliary ships elected him so quickly that
     the news of the Pope's death coincides with that of his successor's election.
     The enemy's self-assurance wanes.

     "Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between
     the two columns and moors it to the two columns; first, to the one surmounted
     by the Host, and then to the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this
     point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse,
     colliding with and scuttling each other."

         ( from Dreams, Visions & Prophecies of Don Bosco, Rev. Eugene Brown ) 
 
My interpretation:

The only Pope who was seriously wounded since St. Bosco died  is Pope John Paul II. He will be struck down the second time and die. As we can observe now, our beloved Pope John Paul is basically single-handedly uphold the Tradition and Teaching of the Church against the evil forces of the pagan world and his own internal heretical enemies. Regardless of the formidable adversaries, our Crucified Lord Who manifests His
Salvation Grace through the Holy Eucharist and His Beloved Mother Mary who intercedes unceasingly before the Throne of God for us will protect the Church and the remnants of their true children.

The successor of Pope John Paul II will be the pope who was described as " the Glory of Olive" by St. Malachy. This pope will rebuild the Church during the  golden period of peace which will succeed the Divine Chastisements  inflicting the Church and the whole world. This pope will be a Frenchman, a spiritual leader of the entire world, who will grant a papal support to his fellow Frenchman, King Henry, who shall be the Roman Christian Emperor, the leader of the whole world during the Golden Period of Peace.
 

Before the saint died, he had a vision in which he witnessed two major victories brought about with the maternal help from Our Lady through the Holy Rosary. Saint Bosco saw an angel holding a scroll with the word Lepanto and 1571. Another angel held up a scroll with the date of 19 __. St. John Bosco was so impressed with this dream that he had it sculpted and placed in his church.

My interpretation:

During his papacy (1566-1572), Pope Saint Pius V had a great responsibility of rebuilding the Church  which was devastated by the internal corruption, the Protestant Reformation, and by the constant threat from Turkish invasion. The reform ground-work was laid out by the great Council of  Trent. At the end of his life this saintly pope organized a fleet which eventually won the decisive maritime battle against the Turks in the gulf of Lepanto in October of 1571. The Pope attributed this victory to Blessed Mother and the Holy Rosary. This great victory reflected the great renewal of the Church as during the reign of this saintly Pontiff, many seminaries were formed providing priests with proper training. He also published a new Missal, breviary, Catechism, and CCD classes for the young.

A similar triumph of the Immaculate Heart and a great renewal of the Church shall begin at the end of this century and the next and shall once more be realized by the Intercession of Our Lady through many Rosaries collectively prayed and offered to God by her faithful children who still love God and still follow the Teaching and Tradition of the Church in their daily living.

During World War III, Western armies and later Christian armies shall be dominated and continue suffer one defeat after another for about twenty years, and unexpectedly the tide of the battles shall turn and favor the Christian armies of God. This change shall be so dramatic and unexpected that no one will doubt the Hand of God in it. Just like Lepanto of 1571, another manifestation of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart shall be fulfilled through the means of the Holy Rosary.

The final victory against the enemies has been prophesied as a certainty as Our Lady had said at Fatima in 1917:

     "...In the end my Immaculate Heart shall triumph. The Holy Father will
     consecrate Russia to me which will be converted, and some time of peace will
     be given to the world."

It is worthy to note that both of the major periods of reform of the Church, one beginning in the 16th century and one in the 20th century, are brought about by the Intercession of the Mother of God.

THE CHURCH  IN  EXILE:

The other less well-known prophetic dreams given to St. Bosco was described as follows:

"There shall yet come a violent hurricane. Iniquity is at an end, sin
 shall cease, and before two full moons shall have shone in the month of
 flowers, the rainbow of peace shall appear on earth ... Throughout the
 world a sun so bright shall shine as never seen since the flames of the
 Cenacle until today, nor shall it be seen again until the end of time..."
 

  "It was a dark night, and men could no longer find their way back to their
 countries. Suddenly a most brilliant light shone in the sky, illuminating
 their way as at high noon. At that moment from the Vatican came forth, as
 in procession, a multitude of men and women, young children, monks, nuns,
 and priests, and at the head was the pope.

 "But a furious storm then broke out, somewhat dimming that light, as if
 light and darkness were locked in battle ...

 "The ranks of the procession thinned considerably. After a two-hundred-day
 march, all realized that they were no longer in Rome. In dismay they
 swarmed about the Pontiff to protect him and minister to him in his needs.

 "At that moment two angels appeared, bearing a banner which they presented
 to the Supreme Pontiff, saying: "Take the banner of her who battles and
 routs the most powerful armies on earth. Your enemies have vanished; with
 tears and sighs your children plead for your return."

 "One side of the banner bore the inscription: 'Queen conceived without
 sin' and the other side read: 'Help of Christians.'

 "The Pontiff accepted the banner gladly, but he became very distressed to
 see how few were his followers.

 "But the two angels went on: 'Go now, comfort your children. Write to your
 brothers scattered throughout the world that men must reform their lives.
 This cannot be achieved unless the bread of the Divine Word is broken
 among the peoples. Teach children their catechism and preach detachment
 from earthly things. The time has come,' the two angels concluded, 'when
 the poor will evangelize the world. Priests shall be sought among those
 who wield the hoe, the spade, and the hammer, as David prophesied: 'He
 raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
 To seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people' (Ps
 113:7-8).

 "On hearing this, the Pontiff moved on, and the ranks began to swell.

 Upon reaching the Holy City, the Pontiff wept at the sight of its desolate
 citizens, for many of them were no longer. He then entered Saint Peter's
 and intoned the Te Deum, to which a chorus of angels responded, singing:
 'Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will.'

 "When the song was over, all darkness vanished and a blazing sun shone...

 "From the start of the exile until the intoning of the Te Deum, the sun
 rose two hundred times. All the events described covered a period of four
 hundred days."

My interpretation:

In the evil world full of sins and iniquities, God gave us the illuminating light from Heaven through the Shepherd of the Church, Pope John Paul II, whose teaching, numerous pastoral letters, encyclicals, traveling, and tiredless evangelization through out the whole world have instilled the love of God and the Gospel into the hearts of the dwindling number of the true catholics. Unfortunately, his lambs and sheep shall be scattered as soon as he flees from Rome upon the eve of the invasion from Muslim aggressors. Rome shall be devastated. The Holy Pontiff(s) succeeding Pope John Paul II shall be in exile for a duration equal to the reign of his predecessor. The true Church shall have no permanent home as the Sanctuary of the Lord will reside only in the hearts and the souls of a small number of the faithful who still follow the Divine Truth - the Teaching and Tradition of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. The true Church shall go underground through out twenty or thirty years while the earth will be scorched with wars and natural disasters.

Russian and Muslim aggressors shall be used as the instrument of the Divine chastisement  which shall inflict true Justice upon this sinful world for the crimes they commit in killing God's unborn children. They shall be used also as the Divine instrument in bringing an end to iniquities and blasphemies from the Western or modern societies which no longer recognize God, lose their conscience, and no longer respect the value of human life. At the end, the purification shall be total, complete, and universal. Sadly, about two-thirds of mankind shall perish as all Godless unrepentant nations shall be destroyed.

After the World War or after the purification upon this sinful world, God shall grant men a period of peace in which the Church shall become more glorious than ever as the whole world shall become Catholic, obedient to one Church, one Shepherd.

The Blessed Virgin shall be enthroned officially as the Mother of mankind, the Queen of Heaven and earth, the Lady of All Nations as through her intercession, God shall restore the Church to her pristine and innocent state comparable to the early Christian Church two thousands years ago.

The new leaders, new priests shall come from the remnants of the underground Church. They shall come from poor Catholic families who love God and one another, who shall be accustomed to hard work, shall be completely open to life, and shall disdain the worldly knowledge. Many God's future laborers shall come from Africa, a poor continent but rich in Faith.

During his 1995 African Synod, the Holy Father address the African Catholics with his Apostolic Exhortation , Ecclesia in Africa, which was full of prophetic insights: " Today you are the hope of this 2,000-year-old Church of ours. Being young in faith, you must be like the first Chrisitans and radiate enthusiasm and courage. In a word, you must set yourselves on the path of holiness. Only thus can you be a sign of God in the world and relive in your own countries the missionary epic of the early Church. You will also be a leaven of missionary spirit for the older Churches. "

On the other hand, the children of selfish families of the modern Western world consisted of the parents with one or two children shall never want to serve God as a priest or religious.