austraLasia #2909 Breviary app in Chinese a definite 'first'
HONG KONG: 25 August 2011 -- Back in 2005 Fr Paul
Leung - Hong Kong Salesian - built a prayer web site in
Chinese (www.mhchina.net), still
functioning, which offered the Breviary in Chinese, and
which is in daily use by Chinese language speakers. Recently
he has built an app for iPhone and iPad, the same
material, i.e. the Breviary (but also with daily Mass
readings, the Ordo, lives of saints and common prayers) in a
Universal Church edition and for Salesian Family use (http://itunes.apple.com/hk/app/id452205871?mt=8).
Possibly this is the only daily Office Salesian
app in the world? For now the app is written in traditional
Chinese (for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), though it would
be understood by continental Chinese, with a little bit of
effort. Soon Paul hopes to have a simplified Chinese
edition, which will be open to all to use without difficulty
and obviously with great satisfaction for those who choose
to do so. There will also soon be an Android version.
Since Chinese speakers are to be found
the world over, Fr Paul is hoping we will all give a hand in
letting the Chinese faithful, wherever they may be know
about this innovation.
Fr Paul is now working on five other
apps, for the five (Chinese) volumes of the Biographical
Memoirs of Don Bosco in preparation for the
Bicentenary (2015).
Years ago, when he was working at the very first www.sdb.org
site at the Generalate, Paul was interviewed by the Salesian
Bulletin at the time. Already then he was making reference
to online oratories for the young. iPhone, l'iPad certainly
seem one way to go!
