The first Salesians were sent to India by Don Rua, at the request of the Bishop of Meliapor. At the head of the expedition was Fr Giorgio Tomatis. On 5 January 1906, they disembarked in Bombay and on the 14th, arrived at Tanjore. Here they took charge of a parish School and imbued life into an Industrial School recognised by the English administration.
In 1922, at the explicit request of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, the Salesians started their work in a new region of India, in Assam.
This group of Missionaries was led by Fr Louis Mathias. Their apostolate got underway at Shillong, among the Khasi tribe. Made Prefect Apostolic in 1923, Fr Mathias multiplied the mission Centres throughout the entire area.
In 1928, the Holy See entrusted the Salesians with the Diocese of Krishnagar and the Archdiocese of Madras. Fr Manuel Barswas appointed Apostolic Administrator of Krishnagar and Fr Eugène Méderlet (French), Archbishop of Madras.
During the thirties, educational and evangelising effort flourished among the Garo, Khasi, Naga and Megir tribes, and among the Adibasi, in the lowlands. Meanwhile, sustaining and encouraging the mission Centres, there came from Italy, and in particular from the Cardinal Cagliero Salesian Missionary Institute at Ivrea, a stream of young Salesians, full of enthusiasm and of apostolic zeal.
In 1934, Mgr Mathias was ordained Bishop of Shillong and the following year as Archbishop of Madras. Mgr Stephan Ferrando, who had been Bishop of Krishnagar, was then transferred to Shillong.
In 1951, with the increase in Catholic numbers, the Diocese of Shillong was split in two and the Salesian Mgr Oreste Marengowas placed at the head of the new Diocese of Dibrugarh.
The Diocese of Madras also underwent changes: Vellore was hived off, and a Salesian of Indian origin, Mgr Paul Mariaselvam,was installed as Bishop. It was the fifth Diocese entrusted to the sons of Don Bosco in India. In 2002, these dioceses continued to be entrusted to Salesian bishops, who were now entirely Indian.
Side by side with these Bishops, many Missionaries worked with great ability and depth of dedication. Fr Orfeo Mantovani andFr Frank Schlooz (apostles among the lepers of Madras), Fr Vincenzo Scuderi, Fr Luigi Ravalico, Fr Antonio Alessi, Fr Costantino Vendrame, Fr Francesco Convertini (whose cause for beatification is in hand), Fr Leon Piasecki, Fr Archimede Pianazzi, Fr Mariano Uguet, Fr Jesus Gimenez and many others created enthusiasm and evoked respect.
Salesian India developed extraordinarily in the second half of the twentieth century. Today, there are 9 Salesian Provinces in India, based in Bombay, Calcutta, Dimapur, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras, New Delhi and Tiruchy. There are more than 200 Salesian works in India looked after by more than 2,200 Indian Salesians. And very many of these, as missionaries, foster a Salesian presence in various parts of the world. India has been an extraordinary example of missionary expansion.
Sri Lanka
Begun in 1956 at Negombo, Salesian missionary activity has been developing over the years, reaching some ten works in 2002. Activities of human promotion and of evangelisation, in particular by means of Oratories and Schools of professional formation, are some of the more significant works undertaken at present by more than 60 Salesians. Constituted as a Vice-Province, the mission of Sri Lanka is linked to the Indian Province of Madras.
Myanmar-Burma
In 1957, in Anisakan, Salesian missionary activities began in this country. By 2002, there were 7 works undertaken by the sons of Don Bosco with a pastoral activity which reached out particularly to the poorest of youth and the peoples of the villages. There are around some fifty Salesian missionaries. Local vocations are on the increase, with aspirants at Thibaw and students in the Novitiate and House of Studies at Anisakan.
China
The first Salesian base was created in the city of Macao on 13 February 1906, where they were entrusted with the management of an Orphanage with its schools and workshops. At the head of this first Salesian nucleus was Fr Luigi Versiglia.
From Macao, the Salesian presence expanded to the island of Timor.
In the twenties, there was yet again a fresh flourishing of missionary activity. Crowning this effort was Fr Versiglia's ordination as Bishop. The centre of his apostolate was the town of Shu Chow. Together with other Missionaries, he worked with enthusiasm and zealous understanding, nourishing justifiable hopes, notwithstanding the difficulties of a political nature throughout China as a whole.
On 25 February 1930, martyrdom occurred. A band of Bolshevik pirates killed Mgr Versiglia and a young priest Fr Callisto Caravario. Their martyrdom was recognised by the Church. On the 1st October 2000, they were proclaimed saints by Pope John Paul II.
The breaking out of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 created difficulties until 1945.
In 1946, work started again in Peking. In 1949, with the proclamation of the Peoples’ Republic, there came an end to the missions in this country. Many Chinese Salesians, on varying pretext, were incarcerated. Foreign missionaries were expelled. In 1954, there were only 21 Salesians left in communist China. The years of the Church of Silence had begun.
The history of the Salesian missions in China, side by side with its two saintly martyrs, has been an extraordinary endeavour of so many missionaries, among whom can be numbered Fr Carlo Braga, Fr Ludovico Olive (French), Mgr Ignazio Canazei, Fr Vincenzo Bernardini and Fr Mario Acquistapace. Among those who have borne witness to the faith in prison have been Fr Simon Leong Shu Tchi, clerical student Peter Yeh Tsi Tsiao and Fr Joseph Fu.
From 1998, the work continues in Hong Kong (which today embraces 8 great educational and cultural centres) Macao and Taiwan.
The Philippines
Salesian work began here in 1951. Sent by Fr Braga, the provincial for China, the Salesians took over a School at Tarlac. In the years that followed, there were other works. The pedagogy of Don Bosco found fertile ground among Filipino youth. Works have multiplied and also local vocations have flourished. Today, there are two Salesian Provinces based in Manila-Makati and in Cebu, with an extraordinary network of over 45 Houses spread throughout the greater Philippines archipelago, directed by almost 300 Salesians, now in great part Filipino. Their pastoral work in the last few years has also reached Papua New Guinea and Pakistan.
Vietnam
A beginning was made in the north of the country. The communist revolution of 1954 forced Salesian work to be relocated to the south, where a professional School was opened.
Side by side with the work in education, there was a growth in local vocations, thanks to the Aspirantate at Thu-Duc opened in 1955. In 1962, at Tram-Hanh, a novitiate was started.
After the long and terrible war between the North and the South, there has been a strong revival since the second half of the seventies. Together with activities of professional formation and human promotion, local vocations have flourished. The blood of martyrs has indeed been the incentive for numerous followers of the Gospel and of Don Bosco.
Today, while works expand, of which there are about 25 in the country with over 150 Salesians, mostly of the younger generation, missionaries have left Vietnam for other more needy countries. Mongolia has been a new frontier which has been opened up by Vietnamese confreres, a work undertaken in the last few years.
Thailand
The Salesians arrived in 1927, led by Fr Pietro Ricaldone then Prefect General of the Salesian Society. Two years on, Fr Gaetano Pasotti became the superior of the mission at Ratburi.
In 1934, the Holy See elevated the mission to an Apostolic Prefecture, entrusting it to Mgr Pasotti. Transferred then to Bang-Nok-Khuek, this zealous missionary founded the Congregation of the “Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” to help in the work of evangelisation. In 1937, the Salesian Province of Siam was created and Fr Carlo Casetta was named Provincial. In 1941, Fr Pasotti was ordained Bishop.
Work was stopped with the outbreak of the Second World War. Once the war had ended, in 1947, pastoral work was recommenced in the capital, Bangkok, with a large Technical School.
In 1951, Mgr Pietro Carretto was ordained Bishop.
In 1954, Fr Carlo della Torre founded the Secular Institute “Daughters of the Queenship of Mary” for youth pastoral work.
Educational work spread a little throughout the country and there has been a discreet flourishing of local vocations.
In the nineties, missionary zeal and charity also brought the sons of Don Bosco into neighbouring Cambodia, crippled by years of suffering and martyrdom. Today, there are visible signs of hope.
Japan
The Salesians arrived in Japan in 1926 led by Mgr Vincenzo Cimatti. In, 1928, the provinces of Miyazaki and Oita were entrusted to the Salesian missionaries. In 1933, work reached Tokyo and a start was made in Osaka.
Side by side with Mgr Vincenzo Cimatti, named as Apostolic Prefect by the Holy See, there worked a select group of missionary enthusiasts, among whom were Fr Leone Liviabella and Fr Antonio Cavoli (who founded the “Sisters of Charity of Miyazaki”) and Fr Pietro Piacenza.
The war which was devastating and terrible in its consequences did not extinguish missionary activity. Once the world conflict was over, work started again with an upsurge.
The pastoral educational project of Don Bosco was embodied in Oratories, parishes and Schools.
In 1965, the work of evangelisation achieved an important goal in the translation and printing of the Bible into Japanese under the editorship of Fr Barbaro.
There have been quite a few demanding difficulties to surmount, in particular as regards Japanese cultural mentality and economic consumerism.
Nevertheless, today, there are some thirty works run by the sons of Don Bosco throughout the whole country, directed by 130 Salesians, in great part Japanese. Since 1995, a pastoral presence has also extended to the Solomon Islands.
Korea
In 1955, invited by Mgr Henry, the Salesians founded a School at Kwang-Ju which soon had 1,400 pupils, all Christian.
Following the insistent requests of the Archbishop of Seoul, Mgr Paul Ro, the Salesians accepted a poor parish in the suburbs of the capital.
Today, in Seoul alone, Salesian activity embraces 8 works. There is further presence in the rest of the country. There are now almost a hundred Salesians, the majority of them Korean.
Middle East
The Salesians where invited to Palestine by Fr Antonio Belloni, a priest from Genoa who had founded some institutes for youth in the Holy Land. Wishing to ensure continuity in his work, he got in contact with Don Bosco asking him to incorporate into the Salesian Society the “Congregation of the Brothers of the Holy Family” which he had founded. It was left to Don Rua to welcome this generous priest and his work.
On 8 October 1891, the first Salesians arrived in Bethlehem. Once initial difficulties were overcome, some Brothers of the Holy Family and Fr Belloni himself became Salesians.
In 1896, a new house were founded in Nazareth, dedicated to Jesus the Adolescent. A School was opened in Jerusalem in 1904 and another in Jaffa in 1906.
After the first foundations, new locations were developed outside Palestine: in Cairo, Egypt (1925), in Teheran, Iran (1937), at Aleppo in Syria (1948), and at El Housson in the Lebanon (1957).
Salesian missionary figures displayed trust and commitment with their presence. Moving in his simplicity and in the depth of his faith and charity, such was the evidence of the life of Brother Simaan Srugi, of Nazareth, the cause of whose beatification is underway.
The events of recent years, in Palestine and in Iran in particular, have not put a brake on the pastoral zeal of the sons of Don Bosco.
More than one hundred Salesians continue the work of Don Bosco side by side with the poorest of people and of youth, extending their endeavours into Turkey and lately to Baghdad, in Iraq.
East Timor
The political events undergone by East Timor with neighbouring Indonesia, with its Muslim majority, have been of interest to the entire world and have made known the work of human promotion and that of the evangelising of our missionaries. The Nobel Prize for Peace awarded to the Salesian Bishop, Mgr Carlos Belo has also been a recognition of the civil efforts of the Church and of the Salesian missionaries for peace and justice. The Salesian presence is to be seen in parishes, mission stations, Schools, help and refuges centres.
In 2002, there were some ten works making up the Vice Province of Timor and the extensive Indonesian archipelago, with its headquarters located in Dili. Vocations have been on the increase, as indeed has zealous pastoral work carried out with the neediest of youth.
Indonesia
Included in the Vice Province of East Timor, Salesian work in Indonesia began in Jakarta in 1985. By 2002, there were two pastoral works. Youth and parish activities, and professional formation have borne witness to the initiatives of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The missionary work in this country with its overwhelmingly Muslim majority is patient and demanding.
Nepal
In 1995, Salesian missionary activity began at Dharan. A highly respected Technical School has constituted an educational response of the sons of Don Bosco in this country. Another significant presence is the Don Bosco Technical Institute at Katmandu.
Cambodia
A Salesian presence got underway in 1991, at Phnom Penh. A professional and technical School, which has gone from strength to strength, has been the Salesian response to a young population which has been disorientated by years of suffering, fighting and tremendous political unease. In 1999, another equally significant work was started in Sihanoukville. The group of Salesians of Don Bosco which has been pushing ahead with these works in very demanding situations, has been working with great enthusiasm and has been in receipt of favourable comment. “Miracles in the style of Don Bosco” continue to happen and nourish hope.
Pakistan
Begun during the nineties and made official in 2000, the Salesian presence is embodied in two Technical Schools for Pakistani youth in Lahore and in Quetta. The tension of these last few years have made this formative work demanding. Salesian patience and the tenacity of the young boys produce trust and are a stimulus to continue the educational work which is so urgent in these areas of this great country.
Azerbaijan
After an informal presence, Salesian pastoral work began officially in 2001 in the capital, Baku. The small community of Catholics sees security in the sons of Don Bosco who are supported by personnel from Slovakia. The visit of Pope John Paul II in 2002 has indicated an important stage which has nourished both hope and ecclesiastic communion.
Mongolia
Work got underway in 1998 with the assistance of Vietnamese confreres. It is gaining ever more consistency. A youth Centre and a professional formation School have been the locations for Salesian work.
Iraq
Since the end of the nineties, a Salesian presence with a Summer Camp has encouraged Iraqi youth in Baghdad. In 2002, there were almost two thousand boys involved at the youth Summer Camp co-ordinated by the sons of Don Bosco coming from nearby Palestine. At present, work is in hand to give continuity to the presence of Salesians in Iraq.
Yemen
Supported by personnel from the Indian Province of Bangalore, a Salesian presence has undertaken pastoral and education work among the Indian immigrants and with the local population of Abu Dhabi, Aden, Hodeidah and Sana’a.
Kuwait
Since 2002, the work of the sons of Don Bosco has pressed ahead with a School for the sons of immigrant workers. It is frequented by Christians, but it is open to requests from other youth.
