Darkhan, Mongolia, 10 December 2017 -- Fr. Anton Werun, SDB, from Indonesia ordained two months ago at Ulaanbaatar, offered his first thanksgiving mass at Maria Auxilium Parish, Darkhan, the first Salesian parish of Mongolia.
The Holy Eucharist began at 10am; Concelebrants were Fr. Paul Leung, the Salesian delegate superior of Mongolia, Fr. Simon Lee (vice-rector), Fr. Jaroslav, Fr. Joseph Manh Dat Nguyen, and Fr. Anthony Kishore. Around 100 faithful participated in the celebration.
Before the mass the parish priest of Maria Auxilium, Fr. Joseph Manh Dat Nguyen SDB introduced Fr. Anton Werun and welcomed everyone. Fr. Anton Werun, in his homely shared about his vocation story. “Life had been hard in the beginning stages of formation but God stood by me”, he said.
But he was still able to persevere with the grace of God and the constant support of his family, relatives and formators. He also expressed said that he had to make a tough choice to come to Mongolia, after arriving in Mongolia too he had a cultural shock, particularly he had problems with cold climate, difficulties in learning Mongolian language and many other complications. But he was very happy to celebrate his thanksgiving mass at Darkhan parish. Before the final blessings, he expressed his gratitude and happiness by singing English and Indonesian songs.
After the Holy Mass whole parish shared the fellowship meal together with other entertainment programs and he was also given a gift from the parish community. In the late afternoon all the Salesian co-operators, teachers of the Don Bosco School, workers, and catechists of the parish together with Salesians offered felicitation to Fr. Anton Werun by being around him.
