austraLasia 1572

Myanmar's steady Salesian growth - and ordinations in EAO

YANGON: 2nd June 2006 --  With just 45 confreres, the relatively new Vice Province of Myanmar was amongst the smallest of the Salesian Vice Provinces around the world.  The FMA Vice Province of Cambodia-Myanmar too, with just 25 Sisters.  Now, with the first profession of 8 SDB novices and 4 FMA novices, there has been a great leap forward for the Salesian Family in this small but significant part of the world.
    It goes further than that.  The places of the 8 first professed SDBs were taken by 9 new novices and those of the 4 FMAs by 5 new ones.  There are another 23 prenovices in the wings, and aspirantates behind that.  There was also a diaconate and a priestly ordination in May, the beginning of a new work in Mandalay (DB YES, Don Bosco Educational Services) and the confirming of a 25 year presence in the Mission area of Wa.  The Superior of the Vice Province, Fr. Joachim Ye Maung has also announced the intentions of the Rector Major to visit Myanmar in February 2007 for the Golden Jubilee of Nazareth Seminary.
    Myanmar officially belongs to the South Asia Region, but it is precisely tucked in between South Asia and its Eastern neighbours, with its long border with Thailand.  Burmese Salesians are to be found active in various parts of the EAO Region, and elsewhere too - Africa for example.
    Meanwhile, in the EAO Region, May, June and July is 'ordination month' and we will be reporting on the various events as they occur.  At last count there were something like 21 ordinations of diaconate and priesthood scheduled over these three months in various parts of the world.  Our Vietnamese confrere Barnaba Le an Phong was the first to be ordained on 20th May - in Florence. The next will be Francis Tran Cong Phan, missionary to PNG-SI, who has been completing his priestly studies at Ratisboone in Jerusalem. Francis will be ordained priest in Jerusalem by the Patriarch Michel Sabah on 8th June.
    Later this month - 24th - there should be three priestly ordinations in Hong Kong and two in Seoul.
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