Firstly, I would like to thank God for the outpouring and overflow of His graces upon me and all the supports and encouragements from all Salesians and friends since the beginning of this year. When I arrived in Samoa the Alafua community warmly welcomed me and hearteningly accepted me even though I still have many limits as a human being.
Former DJ and now Salesian brother Barry Parker swapped Sid Vicious for Catholic artist Matt Maher on his journey back to the Catholic Church. Br Barry, 51, who began ministry this year at Glenorchy’s Dominic College, describes himself as having a ‘blue-collar faith’ and wants to reach out to youth and young adults and get them back involved in the parish.
At the conclusion of Provincial Chapter 21, a large number of Salesians from Australia, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand gathered at the Catholic Leadership Centre for Province Day celebrations on Friday 24th May; the solemnity of Mary Help of Christians.
Fr Tony De Groot is a Salesian priest who has been quietly empowering thousands of some of the world’s poorest young people for over 45 years, living and working amongst the indigenous Q’eqchi’ people of Guatemala, in Central America.
The experience of being greeted genuinely by a receptionist either in person or over the phone like ‘How can I help you?’ is something unique. This has the power to change the mood of a person for the better. The experience becomes even sweeter when being accompanied with a smile!