Shillong, Oct. 29, 2022: Father Àngel Fernàndez Artime, head of the Salesians of Don Bosco, says northeastern India experienced Mother Mary’s presence even before his congregation reached the region a century ago.
Father Artime mentioned this when he visited the Salesian novitiate at Sunnyside Upper Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state, October 28 on the second day of his visit to the region.
The novitiate, the cradle of Salesian life in the region, holds the statue of Mary Help of Christian that had preceded the first Salesian missionaries. The novitiate is under the Salesians’ St. John Paul II, Shillong.
The Salesian family accorded warm welcome to their international leader. Father Artime presided over the Mass in the novitiate.
The rector major reminded the young novices and the community to have a union with God as their primary goal. He said communion with God brings value to works. Without connection with God, one cannot do any good, he added.
Father Artime appreciated the novices saying, “You look elegant and do not be afraid” and invited them to follow Jesus who has called them. He also cautioned them if they look for comfort and power, then they are mistakenly on the wrong path.
Since 1955, the novitiate of Sunnyside continues to be a cradle that nurtures the vocation of Salesian priests and brothers to continue the Salesian mission started by the first missionaries who came to Northeast India in 1922.
Source: https://www.donboscoindia.com/english/bis/default_ms.php?newsid=10155&pno=1&newsidlist=,10142,10154,10155,10141,10143,10139,10134,10124,10129,10130,