From Fr. John Baptist ZEN, SDB
Dear editor and friend/brother in Jesus Christ and Don Bosco
Withe reference to the 130th Birthday of the Founder of
the CSJ, may I tell you and your readers in good move a joke in the
atmosphere of the family spirit;
therefore if you are not in a good mood, please do not read the following lines, please!
Secondly, to fully understand the joke, one must know a bit of the Italian language.
So,
let us go back to the fifties in the Salesian world in Hong Kong where
and when the Italian language was largely used, spoken and understood
in the salesian circles.
In those yers in Hong Kong there were a few Sisters
founded by now St. Luigi Versiglia, Sisters Amnnouncers of the Lord,
SAL, in a small community, some one worked in the parishes, someone
began to open and run a kindergarten and primary school, by now a well
reknownd High School. The good and simple Sisters, deign followers of
the Great Saint Founder; were looked after by now defunct Rev. Fr.
Giuseppe CUCCHIARA, SDB, Vicar General of H.E. Monsignor Michele
Arduino, then Bishop of Shiu-chow, deign successor of Monsignor Kanazei
and Monsignor Versiglia.
Here comes the joke without any malice and discrimination, proof of the then reigning authentic family spirit:
THE SISTERS LOOKED AFTER BY FR. CUCCHIARA WERE CALLED COMMONLY SUORE CUCCHIAINE!!!
In a similar way, in those years, in the same Hong Kong,
there were some chinese nuns from a Congregation coming from a Diocese
on the Mainland China, allow me not to mention their exact name; they
were looked after by now defunct FR. BRUNO GELOSA, SDB, a great apostle
for the oratories. So commonly and again with amy malice or
discrimination, those Sisters were commonly called GELOSINE!!!
In those years, in Hong Kong it was already known that in
Japan where was a Congregation of local Nuns, initiated originally by
Monsignor Cimatti and later on followed up by FR. ANTONIO CAVOLI,
- please excuse me, here I am not going to mention the specific and
detailed history of this Great Congregation, - So, in the common
language used for other Sisters, specifically looked after by the
Salesians, these Revernd Sissters were called CAVOLINE!, again without
any malice or discrimination.
All the contrary! God has
abundantly blessed this Congregation, as far as I know, it florished in
terms of number of the nuns,, in the number of the Institutions of
charity and education, in different terriitories and Contries., less in
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. WELCOME TO TAIWAN, DEAR REVEREND SISTERS
OF CSJ. DO YOU HEAR ME?
As you see, apart from
the joke, the matter becomes serious, I am not in any competence to
invite the CSJ to begin a presence in Taiwas. but I can assure you in
the name of God and of Don Bosco that here in Taiwan there is a lot of
evangelization, education and apostolate to do . , , ,
Yours fraternally, Fr. John Baptist ZEN, SDB
By the way, exactly in these days, in Kowloon, Hong Kong
the Congregations of the SAL, are having their General Chapter and on
the 4th of August under the auspice of the Bishop of Hong Kong, H.E.
Monsignor Michael Yeung, - by the way, a past pupil from the Salesian
Tang King Po School where Brother John Baptist Chu Shek-yan has been his
instructor in a religious Association.
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