Basilica of Mary Help of Christians (Tomb of St. John Bosco)
The burial place of St. John Bosco.
St. John Bosco → Plan a trip hereThe Story
The Basilica of Mary Help of Christians (Maria Ausiliatrice) stands in the Valdocco district of Turin, at the heart of the great work St. John Bosco began among the poor and abandoned boys of the city. Don Bosco himself willed the church's construction, entrusting his young people and his mission to Mary under the title Help of Christians; the basilica was consecrated on June 9, 1868. Valdocco was the cradle of the Salesian family. Here Don Bosco established his oratory in the Pinardi shed and chapel, developed his "preventive system" of education built on reason, religion, and loving-kindness, and founded the Salesians of Don Bosco and, with St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Don Bosco died in 1888 and was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934, hailed as a father and teacher of the young. His remains are enshrined in a monumental side altar of the basilica, which was enlarged in the 1930s at the time of his canonization. The church, raised to the rank of minor basilica in 1911, also holds the remains of St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello and of St. Dominic Savio, Don Bosco's fifteen-year-old pupil who is among the youngest canonized non-martyrs. Today the basilica is the spiritual center of the worldwide Salesian family. Pilgrims venerate the tomb of Don Bosco, pray before the great painting of Mary Help of Christians he commissioned, and visit his rooms and the Pinardi chapel. The feasts of St. John Bosco on January 31 and of Mary Help of Christians on May 24 draw the largest crowds.
Church Recognition
The church was declared a minor basilica in 1911; St. John Bosco was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934, and the shrine remains the mother church of the Salesian congregations he founded.
Catholic Teaching
The basilica embodies devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, whose intercession the Church invokes with confidence (CCC 963–971), and Don Bosco's witness that education of the young in faith, reason, and kindness is a genuine path of holiness and charity.
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
Pilgrims visit the basilica with the tombs of St. John Bosco, St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello, and St. Dominic Savio, along with Don Bosco's rooms and the original Pinardi chapel in the Valdocco complex. Celebrations peak on January 31 (St. John Bosco) and May 24 (Mary Help of Christians), and the shrine is open to visitors year-round.
Go Deeper
The official website of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco (https://basilicamariaausiliatrice.it) provides shrine history and visitor information. See also Don Bosco's Memoirs of the Oratory and the Catechism on devotion to Mary (CCC 963–975).
Location
Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
No pilgrim photos yet — be the first to share one from Basilica of Mary Help of Christians (Tomb of St. John Bosco).
In the Area
Other sacred sites within 40 miles.