Hi Francisco! Could you please introduce yourself…
I'm Francisco Armindo Viana, SDB. I was born on 13 February 1998 in Bilimau, Cailaco. I come from a simple family, but rich in faith values. I am the second son of nine children, three of whom have returned to the Father's House. My parents are professional farmers. I met Don Bosco through the oratory of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Marco, Cailaco. With the help of the sisters, I was able to study at the Don Bosco secondary technical school in Maliana, Maumali. It was then that I decided to become a Salesian because the Salesian lifestyle is very beautiful. I made my first Salesian profession on 8 December 2020, in the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, in Fatumaca, and I come from the Vice-Province of St Callistus Caravario, in Timor-Leste
What inspired you to choose to become a missionary?
During my formation, I admired the witness of consecrated life of the Salesian missionaries, full of joy, optimism and dedication. From their lives I have experienced the love of God that comes from the passion for mission. Thus, in full freedom and with the help and support of the formators, I decided to become a Salesian missionary ad gentes, to continue bringing the love of God that I received during my life in the mission land that God will send me to serve through the Salesian Congregation.
Are you happy with where you are going? Do you have any fears or concerns about the new place, culture and people?
I was very happy when I learned that the Rector Major and his advisors had accepted me as a member of the 155th Missionary Expedition. So I felt a sense of gratitude towards God and I put myself in his hands saying: "Here I am, the Lord has sent me"! Finally, I learned that the Rector Major chose me to serve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the Mary Help of Christians Vice-Province of Africa-Congo Congo (ACC). One thing I know about the Congolese is that their culture is very lively and that they are a very friendly people.
How did your family members, friends and confreres react when you told them about your missionary vocation?
My family, friends and Salesian confreres are mostly happy and satisfied with my missionary vocation, although for some it is difficult to accept this reality. I told them: "it is God's will for me for his glory and the salvation of souls". What I am doing is praying that God will help them understand his project for each person, especially with regard to my Salesian missionary vocation.
What are your plans and dreams for your missionary life?
The missionary vocation is a call from God within a vocation, therefore, to be a good missionary you must first be a good Salesian. My project is to be an instrument of God's love for his people and to promote dialogue. What I need in mission is patience, simplicity, joy, optimism, and total trust in God through my superiors.
Do you have some great missionary role models in mind whose lifestyle you want to follow?
My role models among the Salesian missionaries are Fr Eligio Locatelli SDB, Deacon Baltasar Pires SDB and Fr Manuel Fraile SDB. I greatly admire their consecrated missionary life, their dedication, their joy, their approach, their punctuality and their ability to dialogue. Fr Fraile SDB is special, for me he is a watch and a living library.
What is your message to young people about missionary choice and vocation?
Young friends, loved by Christ and by Don Bosco, you are the reason for my consecration and one thing I can offer you is my life. Let us go, together with our mother Mary, to Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour. Only he gives us the meaning of life.
