austraLasia
1554
Salesian High
invites 54 past
pupil priests, 1 bishop to join Golden
Jubilee
KWANGJU (KOR): 7th May 2006 --
May 5-7 has been a special weekend at Salesian High School in Kwangju, a
particularly productive school in terms of priestly vocations. To be
accurate, since three have since gone to their reward, 1 bishop and 51 priest
past pupils were invited, at least on paper, to return to their old school for
its celebration of 50 years of pastoral and educational service in this
city of 1.4 million people, and an archdiocese of 250,000 Catholics. The
priests and bishop are spread out across all seven dioceses of Korea and
overseas, ministering to Korean communities, for example, in Melbourne,
Australia and Tampa, Florida. The number includes seven
Salesians.
Currently Kwangju Salesian High has 1,600
junior and senior students, a community of seven Salesians and around 100
staff. It has a reputation for being amongst the best schools in the city
in academic terms, and plays a leading role in youth ministry and faith
education in South Korea's Catholic High School system, which includes 64 other
schools. Around 60 students are baptised annually, after a two year
catechumenate.
May 5th, the beginning of the Jubilee
celebrations, was an important date in Korea anyway - the birthday of Lord
Buddha (a movable 'feast' in the Buddhist world) - so it was also a national
holiday. It became an opportunity for a special school festival
organised by the past pupils with current students as volunteers. The
income from this day will go to two special projects: the East Timor scholarship
programme, in response to a letter from the EAO Regional for support for all of
East Timor's 88 Salesian schools in that small nation, and poor youth in
Kwangju's Northern district, the chief administrator of which is also a past
pupil of KSH. An estimated 10,000 visitors contributed to these two
projects.
May 6th was the Feast of St. Dominic Savio, so
this became an occasion for a feast of gratitude as the day also marked
'Foundation Day' for the school. A Salesian Discovery Centre (museum) was
opened to the public as the first event, followed by a Eucharistic celebration
presided over by the Archbishop of Kwangju, Andrea Choi (Chang Moo), along with
his Auxiliary, Kim Hijino (Hee Jun), past pupil. Around 20 diocesan priest
past pupils concelebrated, and of course there were numerous members of the
Salesian Family. The archbishop highlighted the school's motto in his
homily - clean heart, clean body, clean environment, as the inculturation of
Salesian spirituality within Korean society. Present too was one of the
two past pupil parliamentarians in Korea, Mr. Chong Jong
Chae.
May 7th has been a 'homecoming' day, an annual
event, but this time focused around the 15th Graduation Batch. It was
marked by the 100 edition of The Big Gathering of Friends, a past pupils'
production published annually on this occasion and now edited by Mr Kim Jong,
poet and professor of Korean literaure at Cho Son University,
Kwangju.
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