Don Bosco Tigaraksa 2 January 2025 -- The Salesians of Don Bosco Indonesia (SDB), together with the entire Salesian family in Indonesia, namely the Salesian Sisters (FMA), Salesian Cooperators (SC), and Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), celebrated Christmas 2024 together and welcomed the new year 2025. The celebration was held at the Salesian Novitiate Community of Don Bosco, Tigaraksa, Tangerang, on December 28, 2024. The members of the Salesian family were determined to retreat for a while from the hustle and bustle of Jakarta city to build a new hope for the growth of Salesians in Indonesia. Also, present were representatives of Salesians from communities on the island of Java, namely Surabaya, Blitar, and Purwodadi.
The series of Christmas celebrations began with a conference by Fr Vincentius Prastowo, the superior of the Indonesia Vice Province. The conference given to the Salesian family was closely related to the Strenna of the Rector Major in 2025 with the theme “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people.” Salesian families in this pluralistic and minority country are expected to always be together with young people who are anchored in hope and become strong pilgrims with young people toward a better future. Fr Prastowo also mentioned the spirit of the Jubilee year 2025 and the missionary spirit to welcome the 150th anniversary of the sending of the first missionaries to Argentina. In connection with the Jubilee year, the Indonesian Salesian family is expected to follow all the activities of the local Church in each Salesian community.
The conference was followed by a Eucharistic celebration in the chapel of the Salesian Novitiate in Tigaraksa. Fr Noel Villafuerte, a senior Filipino missionary in Indonesia, gave his testimony about the beginning of the Salesian presence in Jakarta, Indonesia, and his personal experiences as a missionary in Indonesia and East Timor. In his missionary journey in Indonesia, Father Noel, who claims to be Filipino and Indonesian at heart, emphasized that missionary life is a vocation within the Salesian vocation. For him, being a missionary requires patience to understand God's will in the mission field.
The Salesian Family ended the series of togetherness to build hope together with a meal and certain art performances from each group before leaving the Salesian Novitiate community. Of course, the hope throughout the year 2025 is that everyone will be anchored in hope and on pilgrimage with the youth of Indonesia.
