Which Catholic periodical in English has the widest circulation in India today? There's no prize for guessing the answer "The Don Bosco's Madonna!" Disseminated from the Shrine office at Matunga once every month, this magazine reaches 95,000 homes and institutions: 82,000 in India and 12,500 abroad... and the number keeps growing steadily every year.
The brainchild of Fr. Aurelius Maschio, the Don Bosco's Madonna was launched in 1937. It first appeared in the form of a two-page folder that gradually developed into a 16-page booklet. In 1960, it had grown into 28 pages. In 1964, the cover pages began to appear in 4-colour print, and in 1971, the magazine reached its present size of 36 pages. Finally in 1990 there was a qualitative leap with the switching over to offset printing and computerized formatting.
Fr. Maschio himself was the founder-editor. Even when Fr. Antonio Alesi became its editor in 1976, Fr. Maschio screened everything that went into print. This continued till 1990, when Fr. Joseph Moja became the registered editor. Thanks to the Madonna, there has been a phenomenal rise in the devotion to Mary Help of Christians and to St. John Bosco.
The Madonna strives to be a Catholic Family Magazine—seeking to instruct, inform, encourage, and exhort through its articles, letters, and stories. It is sort of a minor miracle in itself; no subscription fees are charged, yet contributions cover all costs.
The Present Editor of the Madonna is Fr. Ian Doulton.
