Fr Teresio Bosco, writing the book on Don Bosco, by the same title, makes an interesting comment somewhere in the middle of his book (p. 140 to be exact). While referring to the times of the wandering oratory and Don Bosco's struggle to find a place where he could meet and animate the hundreds of boys who would flock to him on Sundays and feastdays, he says:
I know not if he would - or we could - say the same once Don Bosco got his own place or established his institution(s) at Valdocco and later, all over the world. 'Returning to Don Bosco' would also mean this: regaining the charisma of the person and not the institution!
The centre of the Oratory was not the institution of the parish church, but the person of Don Bosco with his continuing, stimulating presence. The rapport was personal, not institutional.This statement speaks a lot about the true reason for the boys presence.
Rapport can only be with a person. Institutions come up simply because we try to retain the spirit and essence of that special person when s/he cannot be physically present. So if Don Bosco created establishments and visited them, they would still not be institutions because of his dynamic presence which caused things to happen. If any of his followers imbibed his presence and spirit, the establishments would continue to remain homes or oratories and not institutions; perhaps not exactly like how it would be with him (because people are unique) but similar in spirit. And that is all that is needed.
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