On January 31st we celebrate Saint John Bosco, the patron saint of prestidigitators!
It was magician Treborix (1894-1982) who was responsible for the request to make the religious figure the patron saint of our art. After a request to the ASAP (Association Syndicale des Artistes Prestidigitateurs) headed by Jules Dhotel was immediately accepted, magic had its own patron saint!
Don Bosco's choice seems obvious to anyone who has read his autobiography, in which he describes at times some of the conjuring experiments he used to give:
"The wonder of my conjuring tricks grew and grew. To make a box contain a number of balls larger than itself, or to draw a whole load of eggs from a small bag, was to plunge people into astonishment. When I collected a number of balls from the spectators' noses, guessed the sums they contained in their purses, reduced coins of any metal to powder with a simple press of my fingers, or made the whole audience appear horrified, even headless, people began to wonder if I wasn't a sorcerer, or if I really could do such things without the help of the devil. My landlord, Thomas Cumino , was convinced. A devout Christian, he didn't dislike pranks, and I knew how to take advantage of his character, or rather, his naivety, to give him a run for his money. One day, he had put all his care into preparing a jellied chicken to treat his boarders on the occasion of his birthday. He brought the pan to the table and, removing the lid, saw a rooster flapping its wings and crowing energetically! Another day he prepared a dish of macaroni. When he had cooked the macaroni for a long time, just as he was about to pour it into the dish, all he found was a bit of dried bran. Time and again, he filled his bottle with wine, but when it came time to serve, he found only clear water flowing from it; or, wanting to drink water, he found the glass full of wine. Instead of jam, he found only slices of bread. The money in his purse turned into rusty, worthless pieces of tin. His headgear turned into a woman's bonnet. Nuts and hazelnuts were transformed into bags of small pebbles. And these phenomena were repeated very often! " - Excerpt from Don Bosco's Autobiographical Memories
Now you know why we're wishing magicians a happy January 31st!
Sources
- Autobiographical memories of Don Bosco
- https://www.argedour.bzh/don-bosco-saint-patron-des-magiciens-des-apprentis-et-des-educateurs/
For your information
There's a beautiful statue of Saint jean Bosco in La Chapelle Sainte Blanche in saint Cast ( Cotes d'Armor)