PORT MORESBY: 24th January 2005 -- The Feast of St  Francis de Sales is proving to be a news bonanza from Melanesia and a sign of the gradual movement towards consolidation in that part of the world. 

    In addition to the decision of the Rector Major and his Council to transfer the Solomon Islands to the North Manila Province (FIN), effectively seeking closer ties with PNG which is a Delegation of that province, a decision accepted and welcomed by the Japan province, there have been pleasing developments in PNG itself: an additional canonical community and the establishing of a novitiate.  And meanwhile young missionaries have been preparing themselves at the Melanesian Pastoral institute.

    The new canonical community is the result of the division of East Boroko into two canonical entities.  The new community, whose patroness is Mary Help of Christians, comprises the Delegation House, Retreat House (a new building) and the DB Technical College.  The continuing community of St Dominic Savio comprises the aspirantate, the prenovitiate, novitiate and postnovitiate formation house.

    In this latter Savio Haus (Tok Pisin spelling) as it is known, a new novitiate entity has been canonically set up with Fr Luciano Odorico as novice master.  It will commence operation on 31st January 2005 with the first two novices, Otto and Gilbert.  The novitiate house will be named for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

    Meanwhile a group of 4 SDB and 2 FMA Practical Trainees has concluded a course at the Melanesian Institute in Goroko, aimed at preparing them for a better understanding of Melanesian culture and languages.  They have now gone to Port Moresby to continue several days of specific Salesian formation at a gathering of all practical trainees there, where the new community referred to previously has been set up.

    Melanesia, for readers unsure of this particular cultural and geographical division, has PNG as its centre and largest component, in terms of both land mass and population.  The Solomon Islands are also part of Melanesia, along with islands such as New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, the latter sitting on the 'border', culturally speaking, with Polynesia to the East and Micronesia to the North.  Melanesia is characterised by many features - multiplicity of languages being one (a thousand of the world's six thousand languages sit within this region), which has resulted in an official Pidgin, technically a creole but called Tok Pisin in PNG, Pijin in SI and Bislama in New Caledonia.  Fiji has no pidgin or creole but instead three official languages, Fijian, Hindi and English. French is an official language in New Caledonia and Vanuatu.