Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Myitkyina (Agenzia Fides) - The Salesians in Myanmar have resumed pastoral service in the new parish of St. Michael, in Myo Thit Kyi district, in the diocese of Myitkyina, in Kachin state, in the north of the country. Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, also a Salesian, entrusted it to the missionaries. As Fides has learned, the new parish priest is Don Bosco Aung Zaw Win, director of the Don Bosco Community in Myitkyina. During the handing over ceremony, which was held on January 1 and attended by more than 1,200 faithful, some forty boys and girls received the sacrament of Confirmation.
St. Michael Parish is the second parish in the city of Myitkyina, specially created for Catholics who are not of Kachin ethnicity, culture or language. Many inhabitants of the city, who are not of the majority Kachin ethnicity, are very happy to have a new parish where they can pray, have catechesis, liturgies and a spiritual life in their own language. As Sister Maria Htwe explained to Fides, most of the parishioners are migrants from the Archdiocese of Mandalay, who live or temporarily reside in Myitkyina.
The Salesian Family in Myanmar, present in the country since 1939, currently has communities in Mandalay, Myitkyina, Anisakan, Pyin Oo Lwin, Thibaw and Kalay Myo. The vice-province of Mary Help of Christians (MYM) has about 60 religious, 2 Bishops (Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and Mgr Lucas Dau Ze Jeimphaung, Bishop of Lashio) while the Salesian Sisters Daughters of Mary Help of Christians are about 50 and that there are hundreds of lay cooperators and volunteers. The Salesians respond to the needs of children, young people and their families in times of crisis, engaging above all in educational and pastoral activities. Especially in the big cities, faced with the phenomenon of street children, the Salesians have chosen to help the youngest, giving them the possibility to build a future based on legality and joy. (JZ-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 7/1/2022)
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