ROME: 27th July 2007 -- As the northern hemisphere summer
season warms
up, visitors to Rome are in their thousands, and 'Romans' meanwhile are
preparing to leave the city to find cooler climes! Amongst the
thousands visiting Rome in these
weeks have been two 'pilgrim' groups of particular interest, one from
Australia and one from China.
The Australian group, sporting bright yellow caps
with 'Briff's
mates' emblazoned on them, were accompanying Fr John Briffa, Maltese
born
but for much of his long Salesian life a member of AUL province,
now celebrating his Golden Jubilee of priesthood with a visit to Malta,
Rome, Turin-Colle Don Bosco, Fatima and finally on to London where the
group goes its own way. The point of the Roman visit was, amongst
other things, to personally visit the Rector Major who thanked them all
for their contribution to the Salesian work in Australia. 'Briff's
mates' are in fact families who have worked assiduously for the
extensive Salesian presence in Engadine, NSW, Australia, where the
Salesians have a Boys Town, Parish, Secondary School, Youth Centre and
the John Paul
II Village for the elderly. , The Salesian Sisters have a community
with a large primary school. The touring group are families who have
supported this presence at every level. In all
there were 17 of them who made this 'pilgrimage' of a lifetime.
On 26th July, a group of Salesian Cooperators from
China Province,
accompanied by Fr Anthony Chung SDB, arrived at the Salesian GHQ (Via
della Pisana) to greet and to be greeted by the Rector Major.
They
have just completed an eight day pilgrimage to the Holy Land which has
been ten years in the planning. There were six families in all,
comprising some 23 individuals, and they brought all family
members! In fact the
Rector Major, addressing the group around the lifelike statue of Don
Bosco in the atrium, commented that he had just met the youngest
Salesian Cooperator from China. Amongst the group were a member
of the
Salesian Cooperator World Council and the China Coordinator.
Amongst ohter things, this Salesian Cooperator group used the occasion
of their pilgrimage to Christianity's holiest places to renew their
marriage vows and rededicate themselves to their Salesian vocation. _________________ 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
.
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