Slowed for two years due to the pandemic and the long months of lockdown imposed in Victoria, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes has finally been completed. To mark the occasion, the entire parish community, communities of faithful of Italian and Vietnamese origin, friends and supporters gathered in front of the shrine with Fr. Peter Hoang SDB, Vicar of AUL, and the other priests, religious, who had come to celebrate the blessing ceremony of the statue of Our Lady.

During the homily of the blessing Mass, Fr. Peter Hoang SDB recalled the many difficulties faced in getting to that moment: in addition to the slowdowns due to the pandemic, he also mentioned an incident that occurred in the summer of 2021, when due to a storm some blocks of building materials were lifted and thrown away 20 meters by the wind, ending up falling exactly where the replica of the Lourdes Grotto now stands. An event that the Vicar of AUL interpreted as one of many signs that despite the hardships faced and overcome, Our Lady wanted to settle in the parish through this small shrine.

The sanctuary blessing ceremony was the culmination of a journey of growth for the Salesian parish that began a full 15 years ago, when the then Provincial of AUL, Fr. Frank Moloney, sent Fr. Anthony Quang Nguyen, SDB, to revive the local Salesian presence, including through the start-up of a shelter for refugees.

So much has changed since then and many of the then parishioners have aged, while many young families have had to relocate due to rising house prices in an area that has become fashionable. But the Sons of Don Bosco rolled up their sleeves and initiated various pastoral projects and activities to carry out their educational, evangelizing, and charitable mission.

Thanks to the collaboration established between two Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Sister Marguerite and Sister Thuy-Linh, and Salesian coadjutor Br. Dat Phung, the Salesian Youth Movement was established; then the Vietnamese language school, conducted every Sunday in the early afternoon, was started and has become a great attraction for many children and young people: they come to the parish to learn the language and then stay there for fun activities, to learn catechism and celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, before joining the whole community for the afternoon Eucharist.

Source: AustraLasia, St Margaret Mary's Parish Brunswick

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