austraLasia 1022
Taiwan: Bishop Bosco celebrates Don Bosco
TAINAN: 31st January 2005 -- Bishop Bosco Lim, the recently appointed Bishop of Tainan (previously Auxiliary Bishop of Kaoshiung) is no 'accidental' diocesan-and-Salesian-at-heart. He is in fact a past pupil of the UPS, and more precisely the education faculty of that Salesian University in Rome. So it was no wonder that he found himself at Tainan Salesian Professional School, as they call it, for the vigil of the Feast of St John Bosco.
Taiwan is no walkover in evangelisation terms. The Salesian technical venture there has 2000 students of whom but 5 are Catholic. The Bishop thanked the Salesians for their efforts in this context; his view of Don Bosco being that of the Saint who rediscovered youth for the Church. Clearly he was of the opinion that the Salesians were of inestimable value for his own hopes for youth in or out of the Church in Tainan.
This was a special occasion - 25 years of Salesian presence in Tainan. It began back then with the presence of Fr Thomas Panakhezam, the Regional at the time. On this occasion Fr Vaclav Klement, the current regional, was able to be there.
For the Feastday of Don Bosco there were special celebrations at the school, including an overnight celebration for the students. On Sunday there was a basketball tournament for Filipino parishioners, of whom there are many, organised by Fr Jojo Garcia.
The school compound now features paintings by the students, officially inaugurated on this occasion - depictions of Don Bosco's dream at nine years of age, with additional Catholic and generally religious motifs displayed along the school buildings fronting the footpath ('sidewalk' they call it but the writer has antipodean training!).
But it really doesn't stop there. This is a 'Salesian' presence, not just SDBs. Three minutes walk across the road one meets the Salesian Sisters' newly inaugurated (December) Laura Vicuña Youth Centre, all four stories of it with evangelisation and recreational facilities and a 30 bed capacity retreat facility to boot.
It might be added that in addtion to all the above, this Tainan Salesian setting is also the Province centre for Taiwan missionary preparation, there being Salesians from no fewer than 5 different nations studying Chinese culture and language from this vantage point. All the evangelisation difficulties aside, it is an ideal location, and perhaps precisely for that reason! And with Bishop Bosco so keen to develop a vibrant youth ministry, it is no surprise that he counts heavily on the Salesian presence.
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