By Our Own Correspondent
On the evening of May 8, Fr. Petelo Vito Pau, the Rector of Alafua Don Bosco community in Samoa shared his grateful heart during the welcoming speech to the Rector Major in the DBTS gymnasium filled with some three hundred guests (SDB, FMA, Lay mission partners and youth) coming together from our Salesian parishes and schools:
“Thank you for being in our midst! It’s a great joy to welcome you in our midst and our beautiful island of Samoa. We wish you cordial welcome – patipati! (= big clap of hands in Samoan) Rector major, this is your first visit to our shores and for this we are very honored, privileged, proud and very delighted. It’s a time of grace, to share our life and to listen to you.
For me personally, I thank God to have lived to this day to meet you in person. I mentioned this, because that was one very important part of my Dream. Fr. Pascual Chávez visited Samoa in 2004 and shared 3 years later in his letter (Acts of the General Council, February 2007): ‘I was able to verify for myself during my journey to Australia and Samoa the the most distant place from Rome is in the EAO region. It was the first Samoan Rector, who was absent at the time of my visit, who expressed later in 2006 as his dream: I would like to visit the holy places of Don Bosco and at least once in my life meet the Rector Major personally.’
Rector Major, I was that Samoa Rector who was absent and who expressed this dream, to meet the Rector Major. Today, my dream is fulfilled, it becomes a reality. I now meet you here, the tenth successor of St. Don Bosco in person. The only thing left of that dream is to come and visit your dwelling place in Rome, Italy.
But this is not just my dream. All of us here share in the dream of Don Bosco, the dream to serve the Lord and the young people with joy. Our young people also share this dream. Here in Samoa, Don Bosco is not just a name; it’s a way of life and a family!....”
After 11 days of his Pacific visit Fr. Ángel reached finally Samoa – country with 36 years old Salesian presence started in 1979. It’s the most distant Salesian presence from the General house in Rome. Exactly it’s 16.874 kilometers. It’s also the most distant part of Australia – Pacific province (four countries – one province: Australia, Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand).
Fr.Ángel will spend three days with ten Salesians SDB (eight priests, two clerics in practical training), five SDB aspirants, eight FMA sisters, many Don Bosco Past Pupils, hundreds of our Lay mission partners and young people. At present we have in Samoa three parishes, two schools, oratories and aspirantate. Alafua Don Bosco Technical school celebrated last year 25th year of foundation.
It’s for the third time when a successor of Don Bosco does reach Samoa - Fr. Viganó was here in 1982, Fr. Chávez in 2004 and now also Fr. Ángel in 2015.
