By Bro. Jose Miguel Ramirez, SDB

Lawaan, Talisay City, Cebu, Philippines, 27 June 2020 -- On June 24, 2020, the Salesian Society St. Francis de Sales welcomed seven newly professed Salesians on the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist – five from the Philippines South Province and Pakistan Delegation (FIS) and two from the Vice-province of Papua New Guinea – Solomon Islands (PGS). Among the five from the FIS, three professed as Salesian Clerics, namely Cl. Vanjo Gila, SDB, Cl. Jasper Fahrl Jayno, SDB and Cl. Arjay Montecillo, SDB. The other two professed as Salesian Brothers: Bro. Perry Cervera, SDB and Bro. Jose Miguel Ramirez, SDB. The two from PGS professed as Salesian Clerics: Cl. Joshua Tarere, SDB and Cl. Thomas Warwara, SDB. The FIS provincial, Fr. Godofredo T. Atienza, SDB, appointed Fr. Eugenio G. Maglasang, SDB, the Pakistan delegate, to preside over the mass and to accept the vows of the professandi.

The Eucharistic Celebration was concelebrated by a few Salesian priests due to the circumstance of the pandemic. Among them were the Novice Director, Fr. Philip Lazatin, SDB, the rector of Don Bosco Formation Center (DBFC), Fr. Amelito Racelis, SDB, and the other members of the community of DBFC. The mass was animated by the aspirants, prenovices and the other novices who will still be professing on later dates in their own provinces. Only a handful of family and friends of the newly professed were able to grace the occasion with their presence. However, several others witnessed this event through the livestreaming.

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