Vincent Rego
KUWAIT, JULY31, 2012: The Salesian cooperators of the Northern Arabian Vicariate were indeed privileged to have the presence of Fr. Vivian D’souza and Fr. Baptist Monteiro, the two Salesians from the Mumbai province. They had come to our vicariate to animate the annual retreat for the children of the four parishes of our country, but they made time to animate us on two different occasions.
On July 24, 2012, twenty eight cooperators assembled for their monthly meeting and Fr. Vivian D’souza and Fr. Baptist Monteiro joined us. Fr. Vivian D’souza explained to us the cooperators movement. He enlightened us on the initial hardships of Don Bosco and his wandering oratory till he met Pinardi. He went on to delve on what made Don Bosco invite his mother to the oratory and how she became the first cooperator. He narrated the harrowing experiences of Mama Margaret with the boys at the Pinardi shed.
On Saturday, July 28, 2012, we gathered once again to listen to our two visitors from the Mumbai province. This time they shared with us their own vocation story. Each priest took turn to narrate the events which inspired them to join the Salesians and how they have been living the Salesian charism in their respective apostolate. Fr. Baptist shared with us his mission experience in Madhya Pradesh and Ahmednagar and his apostolate among the self help groups.
It was a wonderful experience listening to the them. The narration of the personal experiences has left an indelible impression on us. Long live DonBosco