Don Bosco Feast Day Celebrations, Pt. II

Courtesy of Fr. Tito Iannaccio, SDB, and Ms. Chioma Okoye, Communications Director, Mary Help of Christians Center

The feast of St. John Bosco took place on Friday, January 31. Various celebrations were held to commemorate our founder’s feast day.

In addition to the first three reflections, two more communications have shared how our founder was celebrated. Here’s what they said:

MONTRÉAL

The Don Bosco feast in Montréal was a wonderful celebration. Parents, children, coordinators, animators, and all the Salesian priests gathered together to honor Don Bosco. Fr. Luc Lantagne, SDB, presided over the festivities as the community’s director, while Fr. Richard Authier, SDB, represented the Don Bosco Youth Leadership Centre.

The most emotional moment was the passing of the torch from Esteban to Shadi as core team members. Then a fantastic cioccolato was served, and the programs for every group went about as usual. The ENE kids were engaged in a treasure hunt. They participated in questions and answers about the variety of pictures and paintings of Don Bsoco and youth saints, as well as discussion topics, such as theology of the body.

Our community—and Don Bosco—are emerging as important charismatic presences in Montréal.

TAMPA

The annual Don Bosco Festival took place on Sunday, February 2, at the Mary Help of Christians Center (Mary Help). Like all things Salesian, the day started with prayer via a Salesian Family Mass. All the parishioners, friends of Mary Help, and visitors gathered in the gym to celebrate.

Each year, one of the hopes of the festival is to involve the entire Diocese of St. Petersburg. This year, we did just that! Volunteers from all four Catholic high schools in Tampa, including Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School (CRT), ran the carnival games, helped with concessions, and enjoyed many activities. Spirit FM, the local Christian radio station, emceed the live entertainment portion of the festival.

Students from the surrounding middle schools also came with their families to enjoy the day. A group of students from Villa Madonna, the local Salesian grade school run by the Salesian sisters, performed a song from their upcoming musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

All seven ministries of the Mary Help of Christians Center were present and worked hard to make the day very memorable for all. Of note:

• Mary Has a Little Farm hosted the lakeside petting zoo;
• The Salesian priests and brothers were present for Mass and fellowship following Mass;
• Students from CRT volunteered their time and talents with the games;
• The parishioners cooked and managed the International Food Festival and tickets, and all helped with the logistics;
• Members of the Korean Catholic Mission of Tampa provided food for the International Food Festival, as well as three sets of entertainment: traditional Korean dance, a wind instrument ensemble, and a Taekwondo demonstration.
• The facilities and maintenance team worked tirelessly to set up everything and made sure the day ran smoothly.

Thanks to this immense team effort, this year’s Don Bosco Festival was a great celebration. It honored our founder and friend, St. John Bosco, along with our Salesian Family and Catholic-Christian friends in the diocese.

Thank you to everyone who shared their celebrations with Salesian News!