On April 2, 1842, Dominic Savio was born in the northern Italian village of Riva. His mother worked as a seamstress, and his father was a blacksmith. He had a total of nine siblings. Despite their poverty, his family was hardworking. They were fervent and unwaveringly Catholic.

Dominic's family moved back to their hometown of Castlenuovo d'Asti, which is close to John Bosco's birthplace when he was barely two years old. Dominic loved the Lord and His Church even as a young child. In the practice of his Catholic faith, he was extremely pious. For instance, he insisted on saying grace before every meal and would not eat with anybody who skipped it. He was always the first to urge people to pray.

Dominic and his mother were frequent attendees at church, and he was frequently observed praying on his knees in front of the Tabernacle. He even offered prayers outside the church. Dominic knelt and prayed regardless of whether there was snow or muck on the ground.

Dominic's outstanding academic performance and dedication to his studies were swiftly acknowledged. He began serving at the altar. Along with routinely attending confession, he also attended Mass every day. When he was seven years old, he requested to take his first communion. This was not the standard in the Church of Italy at the time; typically, children got their first holy communion at the age of twelve. Dominic's priest made an exception because he was so moved by Dominic's devotion, love for the Lord, and knowledge of the religion. According to Dominic, the day he received his first communion was the happiest of his life.

On the day of his first communion, Dominic made four pledges in a small journal. Those pledges included going to confessions and receiving Holy Communion regularly, celebrating Sundays and festivals in a special manner, taking Jesus and Mary as his friends and choosing death rather than sin.

After completing high school, the young Dominic would walk three kilometers to school every day. He readily accepted this task.

Dominic was different from his peers, even though he was young. A school heating burner was clogged with trash and snow by two youths. The youngsters were well-known troublemakers who were likely to be expelled if found, so they accused Dominic of the incident. Dominic did not contest the accusation, and he was disciplined in front of the class. Nevertheless, the teacher found out the truth a day later. He questioned Dominic about why, while receiving a reprimand for something he did not commit, he did not defend himself. Dominic said he was following Jesus' example of remaining silent in the face of false accusations.

Dominic's instructor praised him and recommended him to Fr. John Bosco, who was well-known for caring for hundreds of boys, many of whom were orphans and underprivileged. Dominic and his father were introduced to Fr. Bosco in person in October 1854.

Bosco hoped to put Dominic's intelligence and comprehension of the Catholic religion to the test during their meeting. He sent Dominic a copy of The Catholic Readings, which was a tract that dealt with apologetics. He anticipated Dominic to make a report the next day, but barely 10 minutes later Dominic read the passage and provided a thorough explanation of its significance. This confirmed Bosco's positive assessment of Dominic.

Dominic wished to visit the St. Francis de Sales Oratory in Turin and stated that he would like to become a priest. Fr. Bosco consented to take him.

Dominic worked directly with Fr. Bosco in the Oratory. He put a lot of effort into his work and never hesitated to clarify anything he did not understand. Dominic gave a speech on the road to sainthood following his six-month stay at the Oratory. He made three very important points in his speech: it is God's wish that we ALL become saints; it is simple to become a saint; and saints have huge rewards in heaven.

But Dominic was tormented by his desire to become a saint. He pondered how someone so young could become a saint. In his fervor, he attempted voluntary mortification and other voluntary penances in the hopes that they would deepen his relationship with Jesus and make him less self-centered. In the cold, he even dressed too thinly and made his bed uncomfortable. Fr. Bosco corrected Dominic after noticing these actions. He clarified that as a youngster, he ought to focus on his education and be happy instead. Dominic was told not to perform any more physical penances by him. Dominic was back to his cheerful self in no time.

As Dominic's reputation as an exceptional student grew, his health started to deteriorate. Fr. Bosco started to worry when he began to lose his appetite. Dominic was brought to the physician, who suggested that he be allowed to recuperate at home with his family. Fr. Bosco urged Dominic to return home, even though he wished to stay at the oratory. Everyone was expecting Dominic to get well, but Dominic insisted he was dying.

Dominic made the Exercise of a Happy Death before leaving, predicting that this would be his last act of devotion.

Dominic became ill after four days at home. He was told to rest in bed by the doctor. After that, he carried out bloodletting, which was still done at the time. Dominic had to be bled ten times in the course of the following four days before the doctor was confident in his recovery.

But Dominic knew he was going to die. To make a final confession, he begged his parents to bring the parish priest. They complied with his request, and Dominic confessed and received the Anointing of the Sick. He requested that his father recite the prayers for the Exercise of a Happy Death. Afterward, he slept off. When he woke up hours later, he said to his father, "Goodbye, Dad, goodbye... Oh what wonderful things I see!" In a matter of minutes, Dominic passed away while asleep, at the age of fourteen, on March 9, 1857.

His father informed Fr. Bosco of the unfortunate news in a letter. Fr. Bosco was deeply impacted by Dominic, inspiring him to pen a biography titled "The Life of Dominic Savio." The biography gained popularity quickly and was taught in Italian classrooms. As more people became aware of Dominic, they demanded that he be declared a saint.

Critics pointed out that Dominic was not a martyr and said he was too young to be canonized. Pope Pius X, on the other hand, disagreed and began the process of canonization. Pope Pius XI pronounced Dominic Savio venerable in 1933; he was beatified in 1950 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

Saint Dominic is revered as the patron saint of choirboys, the falsely accused, and juvenile delinquents.

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