The sepia-coloured image depicts the young St John the Baptist as a shepherd. The lamb is the common attribute of this saint as it symbolises his recognition of Jesus as the Son of God. In fact, when John baptised Jesus in the River Jordan he said ‘Behold, the Lamb of God’ (John 1: 36). At the back of this image, one can find a prayer to St John the Baptist taken from La Filotea, or the Introduction to the Devout Life written by Saint Francis de Sales, the first edition being published in 1609. It is categorised as a form of reading known as lectio divina , based on the Christian monastic practice of spiritual reading. At the top, overleaf, one finds a rubberstamp of the M.U.S.E.U.M. (Societas Doctrinae Christianae) Branch No. XV, Sliema.
The front page of the image consists of a portrait of St John Bosco (+1888), founder of the Salesians. The middle pages carry a religious calendar for the year 1968 and the back page is empty.
The image depicts St John Bosco (+1888), founder of the Salesians. Overleaf, one finds a memento commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of spiritual direction by Fr Salv. Laspina as assistant spiritual director at theCatholic Action Circle known as 'Gioventu Cattolica' in Valletta.
The rectangular, plastic item is a religious calendar for the year 1963. On the front page, one finds a portrait of St John Bosco in the middle, franked by the first four months of the year, from January to April. Overleaf, there is the rest of the year, from May to December. At the top, there is printed a ruler in inches and at the bottom one finds a quote from the Saint's writings.
