Don Bosco Bicentenary Tour: Stop 1- Tour de Gator
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 9:34AM 
I was fortunate to travel last week on the first leg of the vocation tour to celebrate the bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth was with the Gators at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The environment at the Catholic Center at U of F, given its formative character and its missionary outreach, was very welcoming and energetic. It definitely prepares the students to be agents of discipleship and to discern their prospective future vocation. What a great place to begin!
A viewing of the vocation video followed by a Don Bosco skit was performed at a discernment house and at the Catholic Center. Three Salesian alumni: Francis Mijares (Immaculata-LaSalle), Eddy Neret (Immaculata-LaSalle, and Jimmy Sebesta (St. Pete Catholic) were on hand to help with the skit and give witness talks on how the Salesian charism had impacted their lives. For sure, the reunion with these alumni was a highlight of the entire experience.
Of the 50,000 students presently at the University of Florida, 10,000 are Catholic. The goal of the Catholic Student Center at St. Augustine, headed by Father David Ruchinski, is to reach all Catholic students on campus by offering various programs and ministries to help in their growth and formation. We were fortunate enough to have new participants gather with us on January 14 at the Catholic Student Center for a late evening of ministry formation geared to empower students to appropriate their faith, and bring it to the larger campus environment.
That is essentially the goal of this two-year program. This tour consists of prayer, evangelization, and salvation history so as to bring awareness of our own calls and vocations. With continued prayer and determination, I’m off onto the next stop on the tour. Stay tuned!!
