(ANS – San Pedro Carchá) – On Sunday 5 May, 1100 Q’eqchi children took part in a day of celebration and festivity in honour of St Dominic Savio. The young people belong to one area of the huge parish of San Pedro Carchá, a parish of 250,000 people. It is the area cared for by Fr Vittorio Castagna, SDB. To allow for maximum participation, events were hold in two different locations.

Some of the small participants had to walk for two or three hours to reach the venue. The decision to hold this day of reflection, prayer and festivity came from the young people themselves. Last year they had had a similar celebration but it was restricted to some villages. This year, by unanimous decision, it was agreed that each village would send a small representative group.

The day began with a welcome extended to the young people, after which the various delegations shared opinions on why Dominic Savio is a model for young people.  Then some of the young people presented a sketch on the life of the saint.

At the end of the morning, Fr Castagna celebrated Mass for about 700 children from the villages who had gathered in the Mary Help of Christians Centre in Caquigual, and in the late afternoon Mass was celebrated in the Chaimal Centre with another 400 children present. In both celebrations emphasis was laid on the importance of believing that the Lord does indeed call the Q’eqchi people to holiness, and that, like Dominic Savio, the Q’eqchi young people are called to be saints.

At the end of the Mass, the young people had an opportunity to venerate the relic of Dominic Savio and then they went back home, full of joy. “In their language they do not say ‘good morning ‘ or ‘good evening’. They just ask, ‘Are you happy in your heart?’ to which the other responds, ‘Yes, I am happy.’ And that is how it was this Sunday” says Fr Castagna.

One of the good things about the day was the outstanding collaboration given by the  Good Shepherd Brothers and the Sisters of the Resurrection, two groups of local religious founded by two Salesians.           

Published 16/05/2013