1330 Salesian Mission Sunday (DOMISAL) a big event in Vietnam
austraLasia 1330
Salesian Mission Sunday (DOMISAL) a big event in
Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY: 16th November 2005 -- It might be
called 'Sunday' officially, but in Vietnam they celebrate it on
Saturday, at least this year, and not just once but twice, for reasons
of geography. We are midway between the celebration on 12th in
HCM and the one to come in Dalat on 19th November, 300 kms away.
Altogether some 700 members of the Salesian Family are involved: all
those in initial formation, which includes 20 aspirants, 36 prenovices,
26 novices, 72 postnovices, 22 students of theology; then there's the
Sisters (FMA) - 30 of them with 25 novices, to which we add VDB, CSM,
ASC, Past Pupils SDB and FMA. Another group this year are parish
councillors from 25 different Salesian parishes around the country.
And what do they all do? This year, with the
100th anniversary (birthday) of the 'patriarch' of Salesian Vietnam, Fr
Andrej Majcen, which a number of confreres from Vietnam attended in
Slovenia recently, there was a natural focus on him and on the early
history of the Province, provided through power point presentation and
a conference from the present provincial Fr Them on Fr Majcen's
spirituality. There is a strong move to introduce the cause for
canonisation of this extraordinary Salesian missionary, and Vietnam
will play its part in documenting the period from 1952-76, the quarter
of a century he spent in Vietnam before being the last missionary to be
expelled by the Government in 1975. He survived so long because
he came from a communist country, at that time Yugoslavia.
Younger members of the Salesian Family in Vietnam
have prepared an Academy of song and dance, everything from St Paul to
PNG! But those who have seen it proclaim it to be excellent, and
a deep meditation on the missionary thrust of today's Vietnamese
Church, and the Congregation in particular.
Then, at a Eucharist (HCM Fr Them; Dalat, Bishop
Paul) a missionary send-off celebration to remind all those present of
the gift of so many from the Salesian Family already. IT is no
wonder that another group of young members of the Salesian Family are
finalising their letters of request for mission 'ad gentes'. The
Salesian Family is just as conscious of its 'home' mission as
well. Despite the large number of Catholics in Vietnam, they are
still only 8% of the population amongst those who claim to be Buddhist,
Animist, or atheist! Vietnam is the 5th largest Catholic
population in Asia, however, after Philippines, India, China, Indonesia.
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