austraLasia #3342
MANDALAY: 4 January 2013 -- The Good Lord has been blessing our little Vice-Province (MYM) throughout 2013 and recently capped the year with 2 Priestly Ordinations of Fr Victor Hkun Myat Awng and Fr Gilbert Ko Ko Win on 5th and 15th December, respectively.
Deacon Victor was raised to the Priesthood by His Grace, Paul Zinghtung Grawng of Mandalay at the Marian Shrine of Nazareth, Anisakhan. It was attended by some 40 priests, parents and relatives of the Ordinandi and by a good crowd of the faithful from Anisakhan, Pyin Oo Lwin and Mandalay. Fr Victor’s parents and relatives being Kachins, the Offertory Procession was coloured by elaborate Kachin traditional costumes and generous offerings of gifts to the various Salesian communities. The altar and sanctuary were beautifully decorated by the Salesian Sisters, and the choir was ably handled by our Students of Philosophy with the participation of the Aspirants, boys and girls, and the Parish youth. The Liturgy was meticulously taken care of by Fr
Master and the Novitiate community. The Archbishop was visibly pleased and praised the Salesian potential and apostolate on behalf of the youth.
Just 10 days later, in another part of Myanmar, in Pathein (Bassein) Diocese in lower Burma, another Salesian was ordained priest. This time, our heartfelt sentiments go especially to Bishop John Hsein Hgyi, the Ordinary of Pathein, who graciously deigned to accept our candidate, Gilbert Ko Ko Win, to be ordained along with deacon Jeremy (a diocesan candidate) in the Cathedral itself. The Bishop’s own 60th Birthday celebrations also added flavour to the festivities.
Concelebrating with Bishop John were some 70 priests (including Fr Provincial, Maurice Vallence, and 10 Salesian priests). Pathein is in the Delta Region where the majority of Catholics are Karens (Kayins) --- a simple yet colourful people endowed with strong faith and deep-rooted cultures, in whose veins music and dance seem to flow! Our sincere gratitude first goes to Our Father in Heaven and to those responsible for the Feast -- the Clergy & Religious, parents & relatives of the new Levites, the laity and youth, friends and well-wishers, town authorities and elders.
Fr Victor Hkun Myat Awng and Fr Gilbert Ko Ko Win belong to 2 different ethnic races (Kachin and Karen) that have suffered much political and economic discrimination over the past decades. They had been nurtured by the Church and Congregation, by their own good families and Formation communities, and intellectually prepared in the Country and abroad (Fr Victor in the Philippines, and Fr Gilbert in Italy). These 2 new Salesian Levites have struggled through thick and thin and against all odds. They are “sicut rosas inter spinas”!
We are proud of them and wish them a Happy Perseverance. AD MULTOS ANNOS!
MANDALAY: 4 January 2013 -- The Good Lord has been blessing our little Vice-Province (MYM) throughout 2013 and recently capped the year with 2 Priestly Ordinations of Fr Victor Hkun Myat Awng and Fr Gilbert Ko Ko Win on 5th and 15th December, respectively.
Deacon Victor was raised to the Priesthood by His Grace, Paul Zinghtung Grawng of Mandalay at the Marian Shrine of Nazareth, Anisakhan. It was attended by some 40 priests, parents and relatives of the Ordinandi and by a good crowd of the faithful from Anisakhan, Pyin Oo Lwin and Mandalay. Fr Victor’s parents and relatives being Kachins, the Offertory Procession was coloured by elaborate Kachin traditional costumes and generous offerings of gifts to the various Salesian communities. The altar and sanctuary were beautifully decorated by the Salesian Sisters, and the choir was ably handled by our Students of Philosophy with the participation of the Aspirants, boys and girls, and the Parish youth. The Liturgy was meticulously taken care of by Fr
Master and the Novitiate community. The Archbishop was visibly pleased and praised the Salesian potential and apostolate on behalf of the youth.
Just 10 days later, in another part of Myanmar, in Pathein (Bassein) Diocese in lower Burma, another Salesian was ordained priest. This time, our heartfelt sentiments go especially to Bishop John Hsein Hgyi, the Ordinary of Pathein, who graciously deigned to accept our candidate, Gilbert Ko Ko Win, to be ordained along with deacon Jeremy (a diocesan candidate) in the Cathedral itself. The Bishop’s own 60th Birthday celebrations also added flavour to the festivities.
Concelebrating with Bishop John were some 70 priests (including Fr Provincial, Maurice Vallence, and 10 Salesian priests). Pathein is in the Delta Region where the majority of Catholics are Karens (Kayins) --- a simple yet colourful people endowed with strong faith and deep-rooted cultures, in whose veins music and dance seem to flow! Our sincere gratitude first goes to Our Father in Heaven and to those responsible for the Feast -- the Clergy & Religious, parents & relatives of the new Levites, the laity and youth, friends and well-wishers, town authorities and elders.
Fr Victor Hkun Myat Awng and Fr Gilbert Ko Ko Win belong to 2 different ethnic races (Kachin and Karen) that have suffered much political and economic discrimination over the past decades. They had been nurtured by the Church and Congregation, by their own good families and Formation communities, and intellectually prepared in the Country and abroad (Fr Victor in the Philippines, and Fr Gilbert in Italy). These 2 new Salesian Levites have struggled through thick and thin and against all odds. They are “sicut rosas inter spinas”!
We are proud of them and wish them a Happy Perseverance. AD MULTOS ANNOS!
