The number of Burmese Catholic migrants has increased in Adelaide in the past ten years. Many of them are young families with young children. Recently, migrants from Melbourne have moved to Adelaide for better employment opportunities.
To serve the spiritual needs of the Burmese Catholics in Adelaide, Fr Will Matthews SDB, from Melbourne visited the City of Churches on 25-26 February. During his visit, a marriage was celebrated on 25th February, and on 26th February there was a Mass in Burmese, during which two infant baptisms were celebrated, at St. Augustine’s Chapel in Salisbury. Fr Will also visited a number of families giving House-blessings and providing spiritual inputs.
The Salesians in Australia are from different countries and many of them – aware of the material and spiritual difficulties of migrants –tend to look after the faithful of their countries of origin where possible. Fr Will Matthews, born and bred in Burma, oversees the spiritual needs of the Burmese Catholics in Melbourne, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga, and Auckland, Wellington and Nelson in New Zealand.
