Written by KOR SocCom

Seoul, South Korea, 28 July 2024 -- Last 4 July marked an unprecedented date in the 70-year history of the Salesians in Korea. Fr Guido Garino, SDB, General Secretary in Rome, sent an official document to the Provincial Superior, Fr Won-Cheol Choi, SDB, informing him that the Salesians of Mongolia had come under the jurisdiction of the Korean Province. A long and intensive process, which took several years and involved many different groups (Korea, Vietnam, the Mission Sector in Rome, etc.), had finally reached its goal.

The presence of the Salesians in Mongolia which was declared a mission of the Vietnam Province, began in 2001 with six pioneers. Eight years later, Mongolia was promoted to a delegation of the Vietnam Province, and several missionaries were sent from all over the world, and today there are 11 members in three locations, including Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Shuwuu, where they carry out various activities for the salvation of the young.

The official letter from Fr Guido reads as follows:

Subject: STATUTES OF THE DELEGATION OF MONGOLIA
Most Reverend Fr Provincial.
With the present I inform you that the Delegation of Mongolia, according to the decisions expressed by the Rector Major and the General Council, has been juridically transferred under the dependence of the Salesian ‘Holy Korean Martyrs’ Province of Korea (KOR).
I therefore transmit to you the Statutes of the aforesaid Delegation, by means of which the size and purpose of the Delegation and the tasks which the Provincial entrusts to his Delegate, assisted by a Delegation Council, are specified.
The Statutes are attached to this letter.
For all other matters, the prescriptions of common law and those of our Constitutions are to be faithfully observed.
I send cordial greetings, wishing you every success.
Sac. Guido GARINO
Segretario Generale

This is a very brief and legally-phrased statement, but it makes it clear that the Mongolian Delegation has left the Vietnam Province and now comes under the Korean Province, and that the eleven members of the delegation have been transferred to the Korean Province.

This is indeed a matter of the greatest significance in the 70-year history of the Salesians in Korea. Therefore, it is only right that we react with great joy but also with great care. In order to respond well to this historic moment of grace, the Provincial, the Provincial Economer and the Provincial Delegate for Salesian Family will be travelling to Mongolia from 10 to 14 August to take stock of the new reality of the Province, the situation of the Mongolian delegation, and to express our fraternal hospitality and warm welcome to the Province.

The official handover ceremony will take place in Mongolia on Sunday 6 October, presided over by Fr Joseph Phuoc, EAO Regional Councilor, with representatives from both the Korean and Vietnamese provinces in attendance.

At the end of August last year, the official logo for the Pope's visit to Mongolia featured the theme ‘Hoping Together’. This is a historic moment for the Salesian Family in Korea, and we eagerly ‘hope’ that ‘Hoping Together’ will be realised not only among the Salesians, but also among the youth of Mongolia, almost all of whom are not Christians.

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