5 SLMs Commissioned on August 20

5 SLMs Commissioned on August 20

The Salesians of the New Rochelle Province commissioned 5 Salesian Lay Missioners at a prayer service on Aug. 20 as they concluded 6 days of retreat at Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw, N.Y. Vice Provincial Fr. Dominic Tran presided at the service, at which 35 Salesians also on retreat assisted.

3 of the 5 will be missioned to Hogar Maria Auxiliadora, a girls’ orphanage in Cochabamba, Bolivia:  Hannah Mercado of California, Grace Mosher of Connecticut, and Olivia Wyles of Ohio. 2 will be missioned to the Salesian work in Wau, South Sudan: John Funk and Theresa Hoang. Except Ms. Hoang, a widow, all are recent college graduates. They will be joining one or more SLMs already at their sites, who will help them with their transitions.

All of the new missioners are still in the process of securing the necessary visas.

They spent one week of orientation at St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester, N.Y., and one week on retreat, under the leadership of program director Adam Rudin and Fr. Tom Brennan of Salesian Missions, New Rochelle.  Ordinarily, orientation would take 3 weeks, but because of Covid this year’s was curtailed.

Photos from their week at Haverstraw, which included a hike in Harriman State Park (Aug. 17) and their commissioning prayer service: https://link.shutterfly.com/dcKVmFb0Vib