Mother Yvonne arrived in Zambia on August 26, heartily welcomed at the airport not only by other religious in the region, but also by children of the City of Hope and the Majorettes from Mansa.
Mother first stopped at the regional house in Thorn Park, where numerous young people and members of various educating committees wished her a pleasant stay with traditional dances and songs.
That evening, everyone celebrated the Eucharist together, presided by Fr. Challissery, while also commemorating the memorial of Zaferino Namuncura. According to Father, Zaferino is a fruit of the Salesian Missionary action in the new continent and he wished that we may have a young saint one day also on Zambian soil.
Mother gave the good night, a Salesian custom consisting of a short daily reflection after night prayers. After participating in World Youth Day in Madrid, she expressed being impressed by the bishops that, although they were not Salesian, proposed models of holiness of our three Salesian Saints: Laura Vicuna, Zeferino Namuncura, and Dominic Savio. She reminded everyone that the holiness of Laura Vicuna was the fruit of the Salesian family because of the joint action of the two communities: Saint Don Bosco and FMA in Junin de los Andes. Mother invited the group to reflect on their personal lives—are we really looking forward to be holy? Only from our own journey towards holiness we will be able to encourage the youth to become saints.
