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.
