| Thailand – The pilgrimage of Don Bosco’s casket - 2 |
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“It was a great blessing for us and for the Salesian Family in Thailand to welcome the casket of Don Bosco and his relics; his presence gives a great boost to the renewal of our Salesian spirituality and to our unity as the Salesian Family”. With these words the Provincial Fr John Bosco Thepharat Pitisant commented on the presence of the saint of youth in his country.
The arrival of Don Bosco’s casket in the “Saint Paul” Province of Thailand (THA) had been prepared for over many months. For a year the 8 groups of the Salesian Family had been making their preparations including the distribution of 40,000 copies in the Thai language of Fr Luigi Chiavarino’s book “Don Bosco smiles,” a book which had even been adopted as a text book in some schools.
A month before the arrival the Salesian Past Pupils gave interviews and talks on television in which they gave the news about the pilgrimage of the casket, about the life of Don Bosco and the Salesian mission. These interviews gave considerable publicity to the occasion in this country with a Buddhist majority.
When the relics of Don Bosco arrived in Bangkok, on 18 November, welcoming them at the airport were the Salesian bishop of Surat Thani, Bishop Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil, the Provincial, the Vice Provincial and the Provincial of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. After the welcoming ceremony with the handing over of the keys, from the airport a long convoy accompanied the relics to the “Don Bosco Technical School”.
There they were given a rousing welcome by about 1200 students and 500 members of the Salesian Family. Later in the “Don Bosco” church which was unable to accommodate all the faithful who had come from Bangkok and from other Provinces of the country, the archbishop of Bangkok, Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, presided at a solemn Mass. The archbishop spoke at length about the life and mission of Don Bosco which he knew well having attended course of spirituality at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome.
The church then remained open all night, for the many faithful and young people who had come; past pupils of the school then led a vigil service with hymns and prayers.
On the Province site photographs and a video are available
Published 01/12/2010
