During his brief visit he was able to see for himself the growth and development of the Salesian presence in the MDG Vice-Province, which since 2000 has also opened a presence in Port Louis, on the island of Mauritius. The heart of his visit was the first profession of 14 novices, on 8 September, and the entry of another 18 new novices. In this new school year, the Vic-Province has 45 postnovices.
During his Salesian Goodnight at the Provincial House he invited his confreres to give thanks for the great development of the Salesian presence: "There have been weaknesses and mistakes in the past, as in all human endeavours. But the results are there. And we thank God for the charism of Don Bosco, who continues to transform so many poor young people."
“Now the Vice-Province is experiencing vocational fruitfulness. But let us not forget that each Province must reflect the internationality of our Worldwide Congregation. Now the Vice-Province is sending missionaries‘ ad exteros’ annually, but it should also be ready to receive Salesian missionaries from other countries," he stressed.
“Why is it important to receive missionaries even if we have enough local Salesians?"Fr Maravilla asked. "Because the local confreres have a perception of their own culture that the missionaries do not possess, while the missionaries offer some perspectives of the culture not perceived by the local confreres. A Province comprising only confreres of the same culture risks being less sensitive to the challenge of interculturalism and less able to see beyond the boundaries of its cultural world. But above all, the greatest danger is to make your local culture your ‘comfort zone’. When this happens, the vitality of the charism is much less.”
