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5256(I)_EAO Youth Ministry Delegates Meet with Mission Animation Delegates in Timor-Leste

November 21, 2019

Dili, Timor Leste, 20 November 2019 -- The Youth Ministry delegates from the provinces of the East Asia-Oceania Region (AUL, CIN, FIN, GIA, INA, MYM, THA-CAM, TLS and VIE-MON) gathered and met at the Golgotha Hotel in Dili, Timor-Leste for the EAO YM Delegates’ annual meeting from11-16 November 2019.

Fr Joao Boavida, TLS YM Delegate, and Fr Manuel Fraile, TLS MA Delegate, and their team welcomed all the YM and Mission Animation delegates with great hospitality and generosity. They even made the airport a Salesian setting where every confrere was welcomed with such Salesian familiarity.

The event began with the celebration of the Holy Mass with Fr. Apolinario Ornai Neto SDB, TLS provincial superior as main celebrant. This was followed by the blessing of the newly-constructed school for the study of Philosophy by Virgilio do Carmo da Silva SDB, DD, the Archbishop of Dili. The program was capped by traditional dances depicting richness of history and culture of the country.

Fr. Fabio Attard SDB, the General Councillor for Youth Ministry, and Fr. Guillermo Basañes SDB, the General Councillor for Mission Animation, together with Fr. Patrick Anthonyraj (YM) and Fr. Martin Lasarte and Fr. MC George (Missions), facilitated the 5-day formative experience which provided moments of:

1. Prayer and reflection on the Word of God (Lectio Divina on Mark 9, 30-37) and our experiences as YM Delegates and evangelizers.

2. Fraternal communion as we are confreres in the journey (of coordinating our ministry to the young people) particularly with the newcomers, with the Mission Animation Delegates of the region, with the confreres of the TLS province and, most especially, with Fr. Fabio who is in his last year of office.

3. Study particularly of Synod on Youth’s Instrumentum Laboris and Final Document, and their connection with Pope Francis’ Christus Vivit; the manual of Salesian Missionary Volunteering; and partly the document on the Synod of the Amazon.

4. Listening to and sharing of insights and best practices with one another in living as YM Delegates and as confreres.

5. Learning from the history, tradition and culture of the beautiful country, Timor-Leste.

The meeting was characterized by seriousness, spontaneity and fraternal atmosphere which enabled everyone to participate actively and lively. Thanks to Fr. Fabio and Fr. Patrick.

Fr. Klement Vaclav, the Regional Councillor for EAO Region, spent time listening to the efforts of every province based on the “wish list” presented by the YM Delegates in the previous year. He also asked every province about their efforts in promoting the “Don Bosco Green Alliance.”

This meeting of YM delegates was also an opportune moment to discuss with the EAO delegates for Mission Animation the important principles recommended by Christus Vivit in the better conduct of our duties and in the pursuit of venues for greater synergy in fulfilling the mission.

This experience would never have been memorable, joyful and meaningful without the responsible leadership and generous assistance of our Timorese confreres who hosted this meeting. They organized the following:

1. The visits of the delegates to other houses; the trip to the Resistance museum which commemorates Timor-Leste's 24-year struggle against the Indonesian occupation and depicts Falintil’s resistance through timeline, photos, video recordings (including the harrowing footage of the Santa Cruz massacre) and exhibits of the weapons and tools of communication that the East Timorese used in their fight for independence;

2. The climb to Cristo Rei, the 89-foot statue of Cristo Rei standing atop a globe which was constructed in 1996 as a present from Indonesia to East Timor by the then-President Suharto, and accessible by a 590-step staircase;

3. The hike to the statue of Pope St. John Paul II, built in 2008 on a small hill as a tribute to the saintly Pope for being the only world leader to visit Timor Leste during the tumultuous Indonesian occupation in 1989; and

4. The short stopover at the Tais market where the native products and souvenirs from the country may be bought.

Thanks to the great efforts of the Vice Province of Timor-Leste who made this formative encounter conducive for formation and updating, a celebration of Salesian identity and noteworthy cultural enrichment.

Related materials on BOSCOLINK

Youth Ministry: https://www.bosco.link/ym/52568

Mission Animation: https://www.bosco.link/Missions/52576