Saint John Bosco Square

Praça São João Bosco is located in front of the main entrance to the Prazeres Cemetery.

The final stops of trams 25E and 28E are located here, and the tram takes about 30-40 minutes from the city center, if it doesn't get stuck in traffic at Camoes Square.

In the center of the square there is a monument to the Italian priest John Bosco, whose name the square bears. Giovanni Bosco was born in 1815 in Castelnuovo d'Asti to a poor peasant family, and at the age of two he succeeded his father. As a young man, Bosco had a dream in which he took care of orphans and decided to visit this life. After graduating from the seminary in Chieri, then from the Theological College in Turin, he was ordained a priest on June 5, 1841.

In December 1841, Bosco created a permanent oratory for working youth and teenagers in Turin. In 1847, the oratory opened a shelter for homeless children, and in the same year Bosco opened a second oratory. In 1850, Bosco founded a boarding school for students and a mutual aid society for workers. In 1853-1862, Bosco opened six workshops and a printing house at the oratory. By 1862, the oratory was attended by 1,200 children, of whom 600 lived with it. During these same years, Bosco established a seminary in Valdocco for the poor. On January 26, 1854, Bosco founded the monastic order of St. Francis de Sales, now known as the Salesian Order. He died in 1888 and was canonized on April 1, 1934. His liturgical feast day is celebrated on January 31.

The square is home to St. Joeph's Seminary and the Salesian College. The Salesian Parish of Prazeres was founded in 1962, and the church of Maria Auxiliadora (Igreja de Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora) was built in 1964.

The church is built in a modernist style, with a facade in the form of a high tower. The entrance arch is decorated with a mosaic panel, the interior space is illuminated by stained glass windows, the organ pipes are symmetrically located on the sides of the altar.