THE APOSTLE OF YOUTH
February 2, 1839, of Luigi Lemoyne, the royal physician, and the Countess Prasca, a model of virtue for all Christian mothers. Brought up in the innocence of a Stanislaus, the youth chose the ecclesiastical career; and after pursuing his studies with the most splendid success, he was ordained priest on June 14, 1862.
The religious life, however, strongly attracted him; and Divine Providence, who loves to guide lowly and docile hearts, pointed out clearly the path he was to follow. In the Process for the Cause of Beatification of Don Bosco, he declared in these terms his Salesian vocation:
"In 1864 I had already been a secular priest for two years. Meanwhile I had heard much about Don Bosco who was reputed a saint: but I did not know that he was the founder of a religious Society. In the month of July I visited Turin for the purpose of seeing him; he was absent from the city, however, and I returned to Genoa. On the last Sunday of September, being at Belforte, a small village near Ovada, I prayed in the chapel of our Lady to know the will of God in my regard. The following morning on awakening, I heard a distinct voice at my ear which said to me: Go to Lerma! (a small village one hour's distance from Belforte) and you will find Don Bosco! It must be noted that I was quite unaware Don Bosco ever visited this region. Accordingly, I offered the Holy Mass absorbed in the thought of what had happened; yet fearing it might be the effect of imag-
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