PRAGUE: 30th September 2007 -- Some might not know that
good King Wenceslaus is more than just Christmas! And he has
other names too - he was Karel/Karl IV, King of Germany, then Italy
would you believe, shortly afterwards, then Charles IV Holy Roman
Emperor (before his eventual martyrdom). And of course, in or
near Prague where he was born, he was known by his Bohemian/Czech name,
Václav. I think you can see where this is heading!
Yes, our esteemed Regional is now in his homeland,
though not on holiday. The Rector Major has asked him to complete
the Extraordinary Visitation there, possibly about the last of such
Visitations to be taking place in this six year period. And so,
he found himself in home territory but right at an auspicious moment:
on 28th September 1927 the first Salesians arrived in the Czech
Republic (as it is now) at Frystak, a town of just some 4,000
souls. This weekend is the focus of a year-long Salesian
celebration of the anniversary, especially since the first House was
opened by the Servant of God, Fr Ignac Stúchly
(1869-1953). He arrived with three other Salesians and seventeen
boys, catching the last train to Holesov that evening then walking the
remaining 11 kms to Frystak.
After that humble start, and the difficult times of
both Nazi and Soviet occupation, 1989 saw the Salesians starting out
again in the Czech Republic for the third time! They are now,
less than twenty years later, 18 communities with 180 Salesians, 1
novice currently, 1 bishop - auxiliary of Prague, Karl Herbst - and
with a mission in Bulgaria. In terms of male Congregations in the
nation it is the youngest but the most numerous.
To celebrate the precise details of the Frystak
arrival, on the 80th anniversary, 25 confreres from the province lined
up at the Holesov station at around 11.45 pm and walked the 11
kilometres to Frystak, arriving at 1.50 am. They paused along the
way to read portions of Stúchly's biography, ultimately stopping
at his tomb in Frystak.
Then, once everyone had recovered from the long
night, the following day proceeded with typical Salesian celebration; a
Mass in the local parish, administered by the Salesians, with Bishop
Herbst as presider and Good King.... sorry, Fr Václav as
preacher. In addition to the 100 or so Czech confreres present,
there was a strong delegation from Slovakia, confreres from Austria and
hundreds of members of the Salesian Family. The afternoon saw a
conference, an unveiling of a statue of Stúchly, a football
match of under 40's versus over 40's (no idea who won). All this
in the context of the national feast day of Good King Wenceslaus. There
are at least ten members of the province with that name.
The Extraordinary Visitation, second round, now gets
under way in earnest, as Salesians in the Czech Republic face up to the
challenges of life and mission 80 years after they first arrived. _________________ AustraLasia is an
email
service
for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions
as an
agency for ANS based in
Rome.
For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com
.
Use BoscoWiki
to be interactive. RSS feeds - subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xml Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital
Library
at at http://sdl.sdb.org
