Don Bosco ‘returns’ to Naples through a new mural, testifying to his living presence among the young people, in the streets and in the heart of the city. Naples was the only city in the south visited by the saint between 29 and 31 March 1880, when he met the bishop of Naples and also San Ludovico da Casoria, known as the Don Bosco of Naples, in the church of San Giuseppe.

The new mural stems from a deep desire to restore a face, that of Don Bosco, not as a distant icon, but as a living presence, still capable of questioning and welcoming. His gaze is central, immersed in an explosion of colours that recall the life, dreams and energy of young people, and it is a gaze that does not judge but accompanies, that does not dominate but educates. Next to him is the inscription ‘Chi ama educa’ (Those who love educate), a powerful summary of his charism and, at the same time, a daily compass for those who live and work in this Salesian house: there is no education without love, and there is no authentic love that does not become educational responsibility.

Around Don Bosco’s face moves a rich and complex world: bright colours, like the ‘mille culure’ with which the late Neapolitan artist Pino Daniele describes his city in the song ìNapule è’, the silhouettes of young people in motion, games, sports, music, the street, life flowing by. The heart-shaped gulf reminds us that ‘education is a matter of the heart’. Everything comes from a book, almost as if it were the book of life, because every story, every life is a book to be written, with blank pages to be filled. The halo made of different colours and shapes reminds us that holiness is for each of us, that God is the Beauty that never disappoints.

The mural was created by Neapolitan street artist Lorenzo Manna, aka Gosh, originally from Marano, Naples, whose artistic career began in 1997. Since 2004, he has been part of two international groups based in Belgium and Germany, and in 2022 he joined the historic American group TDS, which brings together artists from all over the world. The collaboration with Don Bosco in Naples began in 2018, when Gosh was chosen for a project from a list of artists. As he says, ‘I am really happy with the collaboration with Don Bosco because it is always proactive in making the structure even more youthful and attractive, which is the main interest.’

Gosh’s distinctive feature is the geometric division of areas which in this mural is manifested in the representation of three children who, through opening a book, discover the modern world and the history linked to Don Bosco and the activities of the Salesian house. The drawings depict the trades taught at the craft school, the workshops held at the oratory, the day centre for local education and in educational courses, activities in the courtyard, after-school activities, sports and prayer, and even the figure of Don Bosco himself.

The choice of street artist was not accidental: Gosh has ties to Naples and is accustomed to working in popular contexts, where art is not decoration but storytelling, denunciation and hope. His hand renders a credible, accessible, almost contemporary Don Bosco, inserted into the flow of the city and not suspended in abstract devotion. In this sense, the mural is part of the Salesian tradition, which from its origins has been able to read the signs of the times and use the most appropriate languages to speak to young people: previously theatre, music and popular press; and today also street art, capable of speaking to those who often do not enter the church but look up as they pass by on the street.

The mural is located in a strategic and significant point in the neighbourhood: not hidden, not protected, but exposed, visible and passed by every day by young people, families and passers-by. It is a sign that dialogues with the street because the ‘Don Bosco’ of Naples does not want to be a closed citadel, but an open house, a church that meets, a courtyard that welcomes. It is a public declaration of what it wants to be as an educational and pastoral community, a sign given to the city of Naples to say that Don Bosco is still here, that he still believes in his young people and in those who dedicate themselves to them with passion every day.

To see the video of the mural being created, click here: https://fb.watch/EK3SjLLXWT/

Don Fabio Bellino
Director of Don Bosco Naples