Our Own Correspondent
Melbourne, Australia - On July 25 started the extraordinary visitation of the Australia-Pacific Province (AUL) with a Center in Ascot Vale (Melbourne – Australia). The visitor arrives just two months after the memorable pastoral visit of the Rector Major to all 6 countries with Salesian presence in Oceania.
During the two months of the visitation as requested by the letter of the Rector major, the Regional Councilor of EAO will foster the communion with the Rector Major and each confrere of the Province, visiting personally all 14 communities in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa. He will also listen to all Salesians, Lay mission partners and Salesian family members in each presence.
The Salesian presence in Australia is the most ancient in Oceania (Kimberley, 1923) and has 14 local communities with 95 confreres and 4 novices (2015 Jan 1) of 14 nationalities with an average age of 62. There are also 7 student confreres sent from other 3 EAO provinces in the Clifton Hill, Melbourne, inter-provincial formation house. The Salesian family is composed of seven groups: SDB, FMA, Salesian Cooperators, Don Bosco and Mary Help of Christians Past Pupils, Caritas Sisters of Jesus and The Michaelites.
The province does continue it’s strong school characteristics with about 8.100 students in 10 schools, with 12 parishes and 20 public churches, 2 youth centers, 1 spirituality center, 1 social work for the youth at risk and vibrant Salesian Youth Movement relaunched after WYD 2008 in Sydney and 2011 in Madrid.
The missionary spirit is strengthen by the ASMOAF (http://asmoaf.salesians.org.au) Provincial Mission Office opened 35 years ago and recently (2007) launched Cagliero Project for oversea missionary volunteer services (http://www.cagliero.org.au).
With a slowly declining numbers of consecrated Salesians (maximum about 120 SDB during the 90’) is growing a number of full time lay mission partners (2100 staff full time) well identified with Don Bosco. Most of the Salesian educative and pastoral works are already with the Lay leadership.
The visit is conduced just 6 years after the previous extraordinary visitation. According the letter of the Rector major should help to evaluate the dynamic charismatic identity of the Salesians and their works. A special attention needs also an answer to continuous immigration in all 4 countries of the province that requires pastoral creativity from all confreres and from the Salesian family. Thanks to the relaunching of the Youth Ministry during past decade there are also coming after long time first Australian vocations to the Salesian consecrated life. During the pastoral year 2015 there are in the novitiate in Suva, Fiji four novices from the Pacific Islands and again one novice from Australia.
During the extraordinary visitation will be a larger celebration of the 200th Birthday at the level of the Salesian Family on August 16 in Salesian College Chadston (Melbourne). As fruits of the Salesian Bicentenary Conference in Geelong (Victoria) last January 19-24 ‘Don Bosco: ‘Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’ emerged 17 ‘Recommendations’ for the future of the Salesian Charism in Australia-Pacific. The process of charismatic renewal continues in the local communities also during the visitation.
As a visible sign of the GC27 renewal the Visitor will leave in each community a larger copy of the Salesian Biblical Icon for the Sessenium 2014-2020 ‘Jesus and the Vine Tree’ (cf. John, 15.1-11).
