Salesians in Taormina

I was pleasantly surprised to find a building marked ‘Salesiani Don Bosco” in Taormina on Sicily.  Don Bosco is, of course, the Catholic priest who set up the Salesian Order to help underprivileged youths, starting in Turin and ended up spreading all over the world.  I encountered the Salesians for the first time at Aberdeen Technical School in Hong Kong, where I received a transformative education for which I am forever grateful.  It was when I was at ATS that I found God.  And the education I received from the Salesians was a big part of the reason that I am in service-learning.  

Taormina is a small picturesque town in Eastern Sicily. From the plaza in front of the Salesian building one can get a breathtaking view of the coast facing the Mediterranean Sea to the East.  To the south-west we got a glimpse of the volcano Mount Etna, mostly hidden in the clouds.  

The Salesians are truly everywhere.  After we left Taormina, I learned that there was a couple in our tour group who attends St. Anthony Church on Pokfulam Road.  One of my former teachers, Father Wong Kin Kwok, is at that church and they know him well.  The husband attended St. Louis School, another school run by the Salesians.  Father Wong was still Brother Wong and not yet a priest when I knew him.  

It is a small world in some sense, and the Salesians are everywhere.  Thank you, Don Bosco.