Ky Anh, Vietnam, 1 January 2017 -- Don Bosco Technical school of Ky Anh organized a great and cheerful camp for all the students in two days of Dec 31 and Jan 1 with the cooperation of salesians and all the teachers.

Even though the weather was very bad because of rain and cold climate, however this camp was still happened according to planning. With this camp, all the participants really had a memorable time living together from the beginning to the end through joyful games and active activities.

The impression is that the young participants were trying to overcome challenges in different games under the severe weather showing us a hope that the young aren’t easy to give up in their lives.

Moreover, with the event of camp-fire at night time under the rain mingled with interesting story of different tribes fighting with devils attracting everybody entering into an atmostphere of both legend and reality. Through this, all the participants really understood that in order to win over devils they need to overcome their own bad habits and to rely on God’s graces.

In the morning or Jan 1, 2017 all the participants attended Eucharistic celebration of the solemnity of the Holy Mother of God, and after some other challenging games, this meaningful camp ended with concluding words of father Rector, Rev. Fr. Tomas Tran Quoc Tuan, sdb to encourage them to be good and active students, and particularly to become witnesses of Jesus Christ for others.

4243_Blessing of statues of Saint Joseph and Mary Help of Christian

January 4, 2017

Hoa An, Vietnam -- On the afternoon of December 31st, 2016, the Bishop of Bac Ninh, Most Reverend Cosmas Hoang Van Dat, S.J., blessed the statues of Saint Joseph and Mary Help of Christians. Having these two statues installed and blessed has been a wish of the parishioners for a long time. Hoa An parish was established 45 years ago and has Saint Joseph as its Patron; therefore, the blessing of the statue of Saint Joseph brought great joy to the parishioners.

With the generosity of benefactors, the determination of the parish priest and parish council, a 2.8 meter high statue was constructed. At the same time, the parish also had the old statue of Mary replaced by the statue of Mary Help of Christians, which is 2.6 meter high. At 5pm, Bishop Cosmas Hoang Van Dat, together with 5 newly-ordained deacons, arrived Hoa An parish. Then, he had a fraternal meal with all the parishioners. At 6:30pm, the Bishop blessed the statues of Saint Joseph and Mary Help of Christians. He joined the faithful in a devotional service in honor of Mary Help of Christians.

After the devotional prayer, the Bishop presided over the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, which was concelebrated by the parish priest, Father Joseph Ngo Xuan Tin, SDB and the parish priest assistant, Father Martin Mai Quyet Thang, SDB. A good number of religious men and women, together with the faithful, participated in the celebration. In his homily, the Bishop reminded those who were present about 3 main points: the faithful should thank the Lord for the presence of the Salesians, which has greatly transformed the parish; they should imitate Mary, Mother of God in her faith and in doing the will of God; in doing the will of God as Mary did, they will be abundantly blessed by God.

At the end of the celebration, the president of the parish council spoke of behalf of the faithful to show their gratitude to the Bishop, priests, religious and all those who were present. To add more joy, the Bishop offered the community a gift which has a plate shape portraying Christmas Belen. To conclude, the Bishop encouraged the community to build up their homes into happy and peaceful families.