DB in New Orleans, beginning pilgrimage through the USA Eastern Province. Coverage at their website.

9/18/10

Chin-chin Quejada has some photos on the Pilgrimage Facebook page.

9/16, 17/10

Pilgrimage continues in Southern California.

9/15/10

Link to DB at St. Francis High in Watsonville.

Some pictures from Corpus Christi, and a special page with handling tips. See more tips from Fr. Joe Boenzi below. Thanks to Ralph Murphy; he put out a special InTouch... more to come.

9/14/10

A little old grandma told Fr. Art that her grandma went to confession to Don Bosco.

Web photo essay from Don Bosco Hall.

500 kids hollered welcome to Don Bosco at Salesian High in Richmond.

Facebook photos from Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley.

9/13/10

Youtube video from Corpus Christi.

Some Facebook pictures from arrival early yesterday at Saints Peter and Paul Parish. Today, Mass for the school children, then on to Corpus Christi parish.

9/12/10

Fr. Joe Boenzi has a heads-up for sites receiving Don Bosco: 

At 2:00 this morning we arrived in San Francisco - what we learned is that there are too many steps. Only with the help of twelve big men were we able to get the Urn into the church by lifting and pushing up the last five steps that the ramp could not cover.

The truck has a very low back bumper and beneath that there is another plate with the rear lights of the truck.

At this point I do not know how we will manage to get the urn out of the church on Sunday: we will need 12 to 16 men to help us: strong guys.

Also, it is possible to turn the cart, but very difficult if the space allowed is small. It took us a long time to get the urn in place on the sanctuary of SS Peter and Paul's because there is too little space due to the remnants of an altar rail and steps in front of the lectern… Our drivers Mauro and Nino managed, but it was very difficult to complete that task. 6 strong men were needed to help them to move the urn into that tight spot. Help will be needed to get the relics out of that position on Monday.

This is not to complain about SS Peter and Paul's. The committee at SSPP has been meticulous in its planning. Furthermore, the information that we received last March was that the spaces were correct and the steps were doable. But the reality is different from the projection. Since I have seen how the urn can be moved, I just want to ask everyone who will receive the relics to check for the space and entrance and exit. If you have steps (read, more than one), it would be helpful for us if you had some sort of ramp built that can take the weight of the urn on its cart (total 800 kilos). If you are in doubt, please contact me. 

Joe

PS: I need cell phones of the contact persons where we will arrive. The truck is not insulated and I really cannot hear the voice on the telephone when we are in motion. Sometimes I do not even hear the ring of the phone. If that is the case on the day we are coming to you, be prepared for me to text you. If you do not receive texts, then please let me know. 

Thanks so much… our problems so far are only technical ones. Everyone has been more than supportive, including the customs officials of both Mexico and USA through our four-hour border crossing. They too did everything that they could to help us. I know that all are trying their best to foresee all the circumstances, and am very grateful. I will continue to speak of difficulties as I see them arise to help us all to resolve them better. 

Viva don Bosco! 

9/11/10

Reports from Saints Peter and Paul on border crossing and trip up to San Francisco

[4:44 PM, by Gibbons Cooney] An update on the progress of Don Bosco: he was delayed at the border (September 11 and all).

He should arrive around 2AM. I wanted to make sure those of you who were planning to meet him knew.

[5:15 PM, by Gibbons Cooney] Here's a photo of the reliquary, taken by Alvin Yu, who was among the group meeting Don Bosco at the U.S./Mexican border.

The latest estimated arrival time is 12:30-1:00AM, but that is an estimate. The church will open at 10:00 PM tonight for prayers, stories from our old Salesian priests, and Don Bosco trivia!