by Paul K.

The urn containing the saint's remains will arrive in Taipei on April 7 and will be exhibited for three days. The Archdiocese of Taipei organizes prayer vigils and Masses to commemorate the charism of Don Bosco and his work among young people.

Taipei (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Church in Taiwan is preparing to welcome the relics of St. John Bosco to Taipei on April 7. The trip to Taiwan is part of the worldwide pilgrimage in preparation for the 200th anniversary of his birth. The urn containing the relics will be exhibited to the public from 8 to 10 April at St. John Bosco Parish, in the capital. For the occasion, the Catholics have organized prayer vigils and masses to recall to the charism of Don Bosco and his work among young people.

In recent days, the Catholic Weekly, a weekly magazine of the Archdiocese of Chinese Taipei, published two special articles to communicate the story of the saint and the work of the Salesians in Asia. Before he died, Don Bosco had foretold his confreres future mission to the Asian country, which began in 1905 with the arrival of the first group of Salesians in Beijing and the opening of missions in Shanghai and Hong Kong. To date, the missionaries of Don Bosco are active in Taiwan, Macao and Hong Kong, where the relics were exposed 26 to 27 March (see photo).

The journey of the relics of Don Bosco through 130countries began Jan. 31, 2009, on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Salesian Congregation and will end in 2015 on the 200th anniversary of the saint’s birth.

• Taiwan
• Catholic
• saint
• don
• bosco
• relics
• charism
• salesians