Cagliero Institute Director Fr. Eligio Caprioglio hands over to Fr Kanaga a brick from the missionary chapel. (file photo).
IVREA, Italy – The Regional Councilor for South Asia Fr Maria Arokiam Kanaga left Rome Thursday night to arrive in time to welcome the relics of St John Bosco visting Ivrea’s (northern Italy) Cagliero Institute, on Friday (17 January) morning.
The Cagliero Institute was the seed bed of overseas Italian missionaries in 20th century.
Fr Kanaga is carrying with him two bricks representing the two missionary aspirantates in India preparing young men for Salesian missions worldwide.
Earlier, on 5th July 2012, in a gesture of solidarity and twinning of two Salesian missionary institutes, the Rector of Salesian Community at Ivrea, Fr. Eligio Caprioglio handed over to Fr. Kanaga one brick from the chapel of the former missionary aspirantate, now turned into a Technical Institution.
The Cagliero aspirantate alone sent out about 1,000 missionaries in the course of its existence (1922-1965) and majority of 460 foreign confreres who worked in India came from there.
The two Indian missionary aspirantates are situated in the provinces of Guwahati and Chennai. The Sirajuli institute in northeast India, near Tezpur, started on 22 November 2011 is named after Hubert D’Rosario the first Indian archbishop of northeast India (Shillong-Guwahati). The southern India mission aspirantate which began on 29 June 2012 is in Chennai at Don Bosco, Permabur.
Today the Cagliero Instiutte is home to some 800 young people attending training courses in Mechanics , Electrics, Hairdressing and Catering.
Besides a theatrical performance on the life of Don Bosco at Ivrea on Friday evening, there will be a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by Bishop Edoardo Aldo Cerrato.
The bishop will ordain a young Croatian Salesian Mario Juricevic as Deacon, and later in May this year he will be ordained to the priesthood.
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