Saint Dominic Savio was an Italian student of John Bosco. His parents had ten children in all. His father was a blacksmith and his mother, a seamstress. They were poor, hardworking and pious.
His parents took great care to give him a Christian upbringing. By the age of four, Dominic was able to pray by himself and was occasionally found in solitude, praying. A chaplain at Murialdo when Dominic was five years old noted in a statement to John Bosco that he came to notice Dominic due to his regular church attendance with his mother.
At the age of five, he learned to serve Mass, and would try to participate at Mass every day as well as go regularly to Confession. Having been permitted to make his First Communion at an early age, he had much reverence for the Eucharist
When Saint Dominic’s health started to steadily deteriorate, he still spent most of his time with his friends, talking with them, and encouraging those who were experiencing troubles. He 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.
