Don Bosco and His Animal Guardian Angel
The lives of the Saints are full of stories of the extraordinary influence of the Saints over many different kinds of animals. In the case of Don Bosco, he had a familiar spirit that acted as a guardian angel to him. According to records of the time and tradition, those alleging to have had contact with familiar spirits reported that they could manifest in numerous forms, usually as animals. Contrary to superstition, they are not necessarily evil,...
Don Bosco and His Animal Guardian Angel
The lives of the Saints are full of stories of the extraordinary influence of the Saints over many different kinds of animals. In the case of Don Bosco, he had a familiar spirit that acted as a guardian angel to him. According to records of the time and tradition, those alleging to have had contact with familiar spirits reported that they could manifest in numerous forms, usually as animals. Contrary to superstition, they are not necessarily evil, they are not demons, but rather animals that also love and accompany us during our many lifetimes.
Don Bosco and his guardian angel, the wolf Grigio
Sometimes, to visibly protect the person entrusted to him – the guardian angel can take the form of animals.
A good example is the half dog and half wolf Grigio, who was a familiar spirit of Saint D. Bosco, which appeared at crucial moments, defending the Saint from bandits, assassins, and dangers of all kinds.
Grigio was described by many as a large wolf-like, dog German shepherd-looking dog, three feet tall, with gray fur, elongated snout, and pricked ears. He would appear out of nowhere to protect Father Bosco from the anti-clerical factions in Italy during the 19th century.
It started in one dark evening in 1852 as Father Bosco walked through the deserted streets of Turin, in northern Italy, a big grey dog approached him. At first, the priest was scared but quickly realized the dog was friendly as he gently greeted him with a wagging tail. The dog walked alongside Father Bosco and when they arrived at the gate to his home the dog trotted away.
That was the first of many encounters the two had when the priest would walk at night. The dog, who Father Bosco named Grigio (the Italian word for grey), would appear out of nowhere then disappear when the priest safely reached his destination. On two occasions Grigio fought off attackers by knocking them to the ground, and on another occasion, the dog's fierce look and savage growls were enough to scare a mob of assailants away.
When Father Bosco was asked to give an opinion on the nature of the grey dog "...he admitted that the dog was a creature worthy of note in his life. Don Bosco often thought about the origin of that dog, and he admitted that he had been a true gift from Providence."
Learn more about Don Bosco at http://cathedralofthesoul.org/2021/11/05/don-bosco-and-his-animal-guardian-angel/
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