VietNamNet
Bridge – The remains of St. Don Bosco, including the right arm and hand bones,
were brought to Vietnam
last week.

The bones were put into two metal boxes,
which are place in the rib-cage of the statue of St. Don Bosco.

This event previously took place in some
American countries like Honduras,
El Salvador, Mexico, Canada
and the US.
In Asia, the remains are brought to 17 countries, including Vietnam.

In Vietnam, the remains will be received and
honored at six places, including the Xuan Hiep church in Thu Duc district, HCM
City from January 16-21, Ba Thon church in District 12 on January 30, Phuoc Loc
church in Ba Ria Vung Tau province on January 22, Duc Huy church in Dong Nai
province on January 23 and the Don Bosco monastery in Lam Dong province from
January 24-29.

At the Xuan Hiep church in HCM City,
many activities were organized to welcome St. Don Bosco’s remains. Thousands of
people went to the church to pay their last tribute to St. Don Bosco. The
ceremony was attended by Cardinal Pham Minh Man, the Archbishop of HCM City,
Bishop Hoang Van Tiem of the Bui Chu archbishopric and Bishop Nguyen Van De of
Thai Binh archbishopric.

John Bosco (1815 – 1888), was an Italian
Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century, who put into practice
the convictions of his religion. He dedicated his life to the betterment and
education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged
youth and employing teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a
method that is known as the preventive system.

A follower of the spirituality and
philosophy of Francis de Sales, Bosco dedicated his works to him when he
founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales (more commonly known as the
Salesian Society or the Salesians of Don Bosco). Together with Maria Domenica
Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians, a religious congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and
education of poor girls, and popularly known as Salesian Sisters.

In 1876 Bosco founded a movement of laity,
the Salesian Cooperators, with the same educational mission to the poor. In
1875 he published Bibliofilo Cattolico - Bollettino Salesiano Mensuale (The
Catholic Book Lover - Salesian Monthly Bulletin.) The Bulletin has remained in
continuous publication and is currently published in 50 different editions and
30 languages.

Bosco succeeded in establishing a network
of organizations and centers to carry on his work. In recognition of his work
with disadvantaged youth, he was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934.

PV