austraLasia 1676

New Taiwan Auxiliary past pupil of Salesian School Tainan

TAIPEI: 1st November 2006 --  Yesterday's announcement by the Holy See of a new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Taipei in the person of Fr Thomas Chung An-zu, contained another small details: "the Bishop-elect pursued his humanistic studies in the Salesian School of Tainan". In fact he spent 6 years at the school (1965-71).
    Almost all of the students from the Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Tainan, a seminary which also catered for candidates from the neighbouring Diocese of Chiayi, pursued their secondary studies in the Salesian Middle School or later the Salesian Technical School.  At least 10 of them have been ordained priests, but Fr Thomas is the first of those ten and the first Salesian past pupil of the school therefore to be named bishop.
    According to the school records, as a student, Thomas was awarded a scholarship of 300 Taiwan dollars on at least one occasion. At the time it was a substantial amount, intended to help students who were struggling in a relatively poor Taiwan of the sixties.
    Of other past pupils, two joined the Salesians, one of them Fr Thomas Hsueh, ordained 24th June 2006 and now coordinating Religious Education in his Alma Mater. The other, Fr Francis Wang, ordained in 1998, now works at Boy's Town in Chaochou in south Taiwan. A third, Philip Huang, graduate of the evening classes section of the school, was baptised in 1995 in Mary Help of Christians Parish in Tainan. He joined the aspirantate last year and since May 2006 has been in Cebu making his novitiate with two other Chinese students from Hong Kong.
    Vocations have not been so easy to come by in beautiful (Formosa) Taiwan. The above is all good news!  The Salesians in Taiwan ask members of the Salesian Family to join them in prayer in thanking God for His graces and asking for more!
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