Last weekend, the Salesian family in Bulgaria, together with friends and benefactors, celebrated the feast of Saint John Bosko. The liturgical date is January 31., but this year the celebrations were a few days before.
On Saturday, January 28., the celebration took place in the parish “St. Joseph” in the town of Kazanlak. The Holy Liturgy was celebrated and was presided over by the Bishop of the “St. John XXII” Catholic Eparchy, Monsignor Hristo Proykov. He was also accompanied by priests and consecrated persons of the Eparchy who came from Yambol, Plovdiv, Sofia and other places.
After the Holy Liturgy there was a program with Salesian songs performed by young people and volunteers from Stara Zagora, a presentation of the Course for animators, which takes place every year, and finally a theater performance prepared by young people from Sofia together with the Eucharistic Sisters. The celebration ended with a treat and a football game for the little ones.
The celebrations continued on January 29., Sunday, in the city of Stara Zagora. In the “Don Bosкo” center, located next to the Roma quarter, was organised a special program for the children of the quarter. It started with a series of games allocated throughout the complex, where the children, about forty, had fun and enjoyed the festive day. The games were organized by the team of the Don Bosko Bulgaria Foundation and were led by a group of animators from Plovdiv, Yambol and Stara Zagora.
After the games, the program continued with Salesian songs. At the end of the games, Bishop Proikov addressed gentle and kind words to the children. Then a Holy Liturgy was celebrated, in which fifty people participated. And here the celebration ended with a treat for everyone.
Despite the unfavorable weather – low temperatures and periodic rains, the participation of both the children and youth, as well as the guests, exceeded our expectations. From everything experienced, we especially want to acknowledge the important participation and dedication of the young animators, both for the play and for the games. We are thankful from the bottom of our hearts for the presence of Bishop Hristo Proikov in both celebrations. In this way, the bishop was present in a special way, honored Don Bosko and brought his paternal presence closer to the Salesian family in Bulgaria.
