Lawaan, Philippines – August 2024 – The Shrine of St John the Dreamer in Lawaan, Philippines, hosted a ceremony during which eight Salesian novices made their first profession, before Fr Joseph Nguyen Thinh Phuoch, Councillor for the East Asia-Oceania Region. The Councillor is currently in the Philippines for the Extraordinary Visitation in the Salesian Province of the Southern Philippines. The novices who made their first profession are Emmanuel Almeria, Wilson Alo II, Matthew Espino, Madelon Gaddao and Ruel Gonzales, belonging to the Province of the Northern Philippines, and Peter Kamara, Noah Bisam and Sisto Oge, who belong to the Salesian Vice-Province of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands (PGS).