ASIA/TAIWAN - The Camillians in Asia: "The life of the Spirit walks in the mission"

Tuesday, 10 April 2018 missionary institutes   healthcare   mission  

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Loudong (Agenzia Fides) - "The Camillian missionaries in Asia today have the same joy and enthusiasm as their first years of mission. They are engaged in teaching catechism, in pastoral work, in the most remote areas, in many charitable works such as kindergartens, hospitals, centers for the elderly and disabled, cultural centers; they are present in formation centers and in seminars for the preparation of future priests and missionaries of the Gospel, also to be sent to other countries in the world": this is what Father Luigi Galvani, Camillian missionary in Flores, Indonesia, told Agenzia Fides about the experiences of Camillian missionaries in Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia gathered recently in Loudong, in Taiwan, to reflect on the theme "Charisma of St. Camillus and mission". "The missionaries present found in the charism of St. Camillus, focused on service to the sick and the poor, the inspiration and the strength to devote the best of themselves to missionary work", he told Fides.
The presence of the Camillians in Asia, which began in 1943 in great China, over the years, has spread to ten other Asian countries. "In Taiwan, for example, the works carried out in the 66 years of presence, are numerous" explains the missionary. These include the St. Mary's Hospital with 700 beds, the Center for the mentally disabled with 230 beds, a new home for the elderly with 150 beds, a nursing school with more than 3 thousand students and a cultural center with hundreds of students.
In the Philippines, in 43 years of presence, 3 small missionary hospitals have been established in three different islands, 4 polyclinics, a nursing home for the elderly and disabled, a school with more than a thousand students as well as pastoral care in two parishes and in some hospitals in big cities, like Manila, Davao and Baguio.
In Indonesia, "the main objective - says Fr. Galvani - is, at the moment, vocational promotion and the formation of young people. There are already two formation homes with about sixty young people who constitute the hopes for the future of the mission". "To these - he continues - two social centers in two different islands, Flores and West Timor will soon be added, for the reception and training of particularly needy young students". "It is good to see how the Camillian charism is always alive and current in the missionary commitment. This testifies in a concrete way how the life of the Spirit walks in the mission. With their good will, trust in Providence, the solidarity of many generous people and the support of superiors, our missionaries will still be able to do, with the grace of Christ, other 'little miracles of good' for the Gospel and the Church", concludes the Camillian. (AP/LG) (Agenzia Fides, 10/4/2018)

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