Taiwan, 14 November 2019 -- On Wednesday, 13 November 2019, the Liturgical Memorial of Salesian Brother Artemides Zatti and Taiwan Salesian Brothers Day, the presence of Brother Salesians in Taiwan experienced an increase of 100%!
Normally on these days in Taiwan there is only one Brother Salesian, namely, dear 82-year old Br. Dominic Savio Wong Kin Kwan, Director of the daily in-school Oratory of the Tainan Salesian Technical School. In the last three days, however, Br. Savio was joined by Br. Mon (Raymond Callo) of the Formation Department of our General House in Rome. The increase from one to two is a 100% increase, if our arithmetic is not mistaken.
Here in the Taipei's Saint John Bosco Parish Salesian Community (inclusive of Blessed Michael Rua Salesian Specific Formation Community for priests), we are very grateful to God for the beautiful 48-hour “fraternal visit” (this is how the visitors called it and this is how it really was, between 12 November morning and 14 November morning). The visitors were the General Councillor for Formation, Fr Ivo Coelho, accompanied by his Formation Team members: Br. Raymond Callo and Fr Silvio Roggia.
In the short 48-hour span, the dear visitors met the seven young Salesian scholastics, three members of the formation team, two lay mission partners, the Principal of the Fu Jen Faculty of Theology of Saint Robert Bellarmine, Fr Jeffrey Chang S.J.; they also visited the Faculty’s excellent 90-year old theological-philosophical Chinese/non-Chinese library (with a complete collection of Civiltà Cattolica [1850-…]), finding the first presentation to the Catholic world of a young zealous Turin priest called John Bosco as well as the announcement of the day of his death given as 1 February 1888…; the visitors even had time to stroll through the beautiful campus of Fu Jen Catholic University (with a 26,000 strong student body), have lunch in one of the University canteens, pass in front of the imposing Taipei Presidential Palace, visit the Chang Kai Shek Memorial Plaza (now renamed Freedom Plaza) and the 228 Memorial Park (in memory of the tragic 28 February 1947 Incident), where daily record is also being kept of the victims of the ongoing Hong Kong youth protest.
The peak moment of the visit was the solemn celebration of Vespers of the Memorial of Blessed Artemides Zatti, in which both Br. Savio and Br. Mon took part, then taking turns to give us a double Good-Night. Br. Savio stimulated our faith in the fact that “God has a positive answer for everything”; Br. Mon updated us on the powerful intercession of Blessed Artemides Zatti and on the discovery of the mortal remains of Blessed István Sándor.
The Salesian Brothers' presence could have increased 300% if dear temporary vows Br. Giligiljaw Tamauwul, the first Taiwan vocation from the aboriginal population, had been here with us. But he is now doing his Brother Salesian Specific Formation in the István Sándor Brother Salesian Community in Parañaque. All the same, our Priest Salesian Specific Formation Community in Taipei is one heart and one soul with the Brother Salesian Specific Formation Community in Parañaque. Both communities are also in union of prayer with our Hong Kong Salesian confreres, brothers and priests, who, because of the ongoing unrest, have been obliged to cancel the celebration of the Hong Kong-Macau Salesian Brothers Day 2019.
