4678(II)_A Salesian missionary zeal fruits in Europe
A special encouraging Good Night Talk
March 24, 2018
RMG, 24 March 2018 -- On the evening of 21st March our Salesian confrere Bishop of Gent (Belgium) Luc Van Looy joined the General House community for evening Eucharistic celebration and dinner. At the end of the meal Bishop Luc shared with the community very briefly some good news from his diocese of Gent.
The best news is about growing number of vocations in the diocese: 14 years ago there was not even a sign of vocation ministry (2004), and now there are already 6 major seminarians and other three are coming soon for the next school year. Within the 'vocation desert' of secularized Europe it's indeed an outstanding fruit of God's grace and consistent pastoral drive.
Another special trait of the diocese is a large number of lay mission partners well prepared in theology, who are maximized at any occasion as resource person in the formation of other lay mission partners, who are working in the hundreds of Catholic schools adminstered by the diocese.
Last but not the least Bishop Luc shared his deep conviction that with a missionary zeal that characterizes his ministry, the whole local Church is becoming more missionary.
Before departure as former Councilor for the Missions (1984-1990), Bishop Luc took also photos with two of his successors - Fr. Guillermo Basanes and Fr. Vaclav Klement. And the three confreres also remembered with gratitude another two of their predecessors who are still alive (Fr. Luciano Odorico - Venezuela, Caracas Theologate, Fr. Francis Alencherry - Bangladesh, Utrail community) as well the other two who passed away, + Fr. Bellido Iñigo Modesto (+1993, Spain) and + Fr. Bernard Tohill (+2010, Hong Kong)
