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Phnom Penh -- 12.03.10 -- DBNAC. The Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh, Mgr. Oliviere Schmitthaeusle, presided the Solemn Eucharist to honor the relics of Saint John Bosco that were brought to Cambodia for four days as a sign of preparation for the 200 years of the birth of the holy educator and the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Salesian Society, a Catholic order dedicated to the care of

vulnerable young people.

Previous to the Catholic religious service, faithful from different parishes and communities around Phnom Penh, dedicated a time of prayer during the afternoon of December 3, the last full day of the Don Bosco Casket in the kingdom.

The Solemn Mass began at 17:30 and finished at 19:25. Bishop Oliviere was accompanied by Mgr. Anthonysamy Susairaj, bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Kompong Cham, a Catholic pastoral division that includes the east regions of Cambodia. 23 priests from the dioceses and other religious orders concelebrated at the side of the Salesian priests. About 800 persons participated in the Catholic ceremony, according to Fr. John Visser, country representative of the Don Bosco Foundation of Cambodia, who said also that among the people there were several past pupils.

Mgr. Oliviere highlighted the life of Saint John Bosco as an apostole of the youth, especially those who are poor and in need and he said in his homily that the most important is that such legacy still alive through the Salesian Family in modern societies like the one of Cambodia.

The planning and organization of the Solemn Mass with the bishops and Catholic communities of Phnom Penh were under the care of the Salesian sisters, who have two schools in the capital, Tuol Kork and Teuk Thla. Students and teachers of the two sisters schools participated actively in the program to honor the Don Bosco Casket besides the educational communities of the Salesians.

At 2 AM of December 4, Fr. John Visser leaded a last honoring prayer to the Don Bosco Casket in preparation for the next journey: The Philippines. Although it was night, a meaningful group of young people, teachers and Salesians gathered beside the Casket to say goodbye. The small ceremony of blessings lasted half hour. The Casket was put inside a truck and headed to the Sihanoukville Airport, about three hours at the southwest of the capital. Fr. Leonard Ochoa, deputy country representative of the Salesians in Cambodia, went along with 10 young members of the Bessuco Boys group. The Casket was going to make a travel by helicopter from Sihanoukville to Bangkok and from there a flight to the Philippine islands, an Asian country where Roman Catholicism is practice for most people and where the Don Bosco schools have a long standing tradition.

In this way, the Don Bosco Casket left the two more Buddhist kingdoms of Asia, Thailand and Cambodia, to continue the journey throughout the world as a sign of unity and remembrance of the educational and holy legacy of one of the most noticeable persons of the 19th century: Saint John Bosco, who stills alive in the heart of too many nations.