Fruits of the first Salesian Missionary Month (Australia-Pacific)

By Ms. Lauren Hichabaa

Melbourne, Australia, 14 Septmeber 2018 -- We have come to the end of our Australia Pacific Province Salesian Missions Month. The missionary animation delegate has been sending weekly messagges to all Salesians in order to reflect individually and as a community on what it means to truly embrace our missionary call.

The call of each of us to be missionary is not complicated….in fact it is really quite simple…it is a return to the very heart of the Salesian vocation. To love young people and to ensure that they know they are loved. If we truly embrace these words of Don Bosco then we will be truly missionary. This simple action has the power to transform and what could be more missionary than to transform the life of a young person?

To celebrate this week of our missions month I would encourage you all to listen to the Audio Divina released yesterday (https://www.salesians.org.au/podcast). Fr. Frank Moloney has focused on ‘A missionary journey into Gentile lands’ – perfect for our focus on our missionary call.

Another opportunity: the videos for the celebration of 2018 Salesian Missions Day have finally been released also in English on Youtube. I invite you have a look at the wonderful work being done in throughout Asia, ‘Whispering the Gospel’, in vocational and technical centres.

What a wonderful missionary history we have in the AUL Province.

Our missionary history and present is so multidimensional! There are those that have come to Australia from far-away lands such as Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, India, Myanmar, Vietnam and many more. Australians have travelled to the Pacific and those from the Pacific have come to Australia! And those that have left us to mission abroad.

How blessed we are.

In this third week of Salesian Missions Month let us remember the missionaries ad gentes throughout the Australia-Pacific Province – James Adayadiel, Germano Baiguini, Frank Bertagnolli, John Briffa, Oreste Cantamessa, Elio Capra, George Carlos, Peter Carroll, Nic Castelyns, Bob Curmi, Stephen Dubovsky, Joe Ellul, Chris Ford, Lionel Henry, Michael Keogh, Gerrit Kraan, Jim Hoe, Michael Ledda, Tony Moester, John Murphy, Peter Minh Nguyen, Peter Vu Nguyen, Joe Pham, Dat Phung, Aleki Piula, Silvio Quaranta, Stan Rossato, Frank Sammut, Duc Tran, Mathew Vadakkevettuvazhiyil, Peter Varengo, Joseph Vu, Jan Walenciej, Julian Cavarzan, Ernie De Gaspari, Tony DeGroot, Brian Diamond, Luigi Pavanello and Carmelo Sacco.

Thanks be to God for the bravery and sacrifice of all those listed to leave their homes for new frontiers. The richness and diversity of our Province is truly beautiful.

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