Don Bosco’s relic to be brought to Shirva on Aug 25

Don Bosco’s relic to be brought to Shirva on Aug 25

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Aug 21: The relic of St. John Bosco, the Italian priest and educator who lived during the nineteenth century, will be brought to Our Lady of Health Church in Shirva on Aug 25 Thursday at 9:00 a.m. The relic commenced on a pilgrimage on Jan 31, 2009 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Salesian order, which he founded. 

The relic will be taken to 130 countries in 5 continents where the Salesians have founded educational institutions. The relic will complete its world pilgrimage in 2015, in which the bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth will be celebrated.

The relic comprises the bones and tissues of Don Bosco’s right hand placed with a wax image of his body, which is in turn placed inside an urn. It arrived into India on April 29 from Imphal and reached the Salesians’ Konkan province on Aug 17. 

The relic will be taken to Sirsi in Karnataka from Goa, after which it will arrive at Shirva on Aug 25 at 9:00 a.m. Rev. Aloysius Paul D’Souza, the bishop of Mangalore Diocese, will receive the relic after which a mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. 

Special events based on the life and teachings of the saint will be held for the youth and the leaders of the parish in the afternoon. Another mass will be held at 4:00 p.m. with Vicar General Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu as the chief celebrant. 

The devotees can worship the relic till 6:00 p.m., after which it will be taken to Bangalore on Aug 26. 

Don Bosco established two religious orders—the Salesian order for priests and brothers and the Salesian order for nuns. He also established the Salesian co-workers and the Don Bosco Alumni Associations for lay people. Today, there are around 30,000 members in these orders. Around 4000 of them are in India, working in over 350 educational institutions belonging to the Salesians.