At Don Bosco's oratory, there were all sorts of people, at work... but for the same purpose: the well-being of the boys. His own Mum, Margaret was there. So were the mother of Don Rua and a couple of other women. There were the Brothers, all his 'own men'. Don Borel, the diocesan priest. And a whole lot of others.
Nonetheless, the most interesting of these lot were his own boys, now turned into leaders or even animators. These boys who joined hands with Don Bosco, whether as Salesians or not, were with Don Bosco every step of the way. I'm sure, not all of them, or any of them, would have come into the oratory with the intention of carrying on doing what Don Bosco was doing. But being WITH Don Bosco, having EXPERIENCED first hand, the care and concern shown by Don Bosco, they were smitten. They certainly may not have been able to explain in words their reasons for staying on, quite a few of them, for a lifetime, why they opted to stay on; but they did stay on! The closest 'explanation' we get to hear is what Cagliero said: Monk, or no monk, with Don Bosco!
From Don Bosco's perspective, I'm sure he did not work in order to impress his boys, so that they choose to stay by his side. That was not his agenda. His purpose was clear - to him, as well as to all those around him: the well-being of his boys. It was this clarity of vision and passion with which he went about spending his life and energy for it, that attracted those around him to join hands with him. For his boys, it was more than attraction; it was a deeply personal experience and individual benefit of that passion.
Don Bosco did not have a vocation promotion strategy; he didn't need one! He lived it. The rest was God's work!
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