Rush to Christmas break

Christmas novena begins today… and tomorrow is the start of the final week of classes before the Christmas break. Many of the European Salesians are already returning to their home provinces, which means that the upcoming classes will be partially attended.

Really, I do not remember this happening when I was a student at the UPS, but then, I was so concentrated on my own studies and deadlines that I never really paid much attention to what may have been happening among my classmates in terms of travel and break time. I was aware of a general coming and going, true, but then I mainly interacted with the Latin Americans and with the one Australian on campus: Tim Costelloe.

Yes! Good old Tim! He was sooooo homesick during my first year in Rome. He was a semester ahead of me in his program (since Australians begin the academic year in January), and pursuing the Licentiate in Systematic Theology. He was also in the Don Bosco Community, whereas I was a member of the Don Rua Community. This meant that we did not automatically run into each other, but we both made it a point to touch base several times a week. He was very aware of the cultural offerings in Rome, and pushed me to participate in a number of interesting events; I was very much into cooking at that point in time, and instigated a few group parties, including Chinese New Year (never before celebrated at the UPS), St Patrick's Day, and the start of a Saturday morning "Breakfast Club"; Tim willingly became involved in organizing these ever more frequent events.

Well, Tim returned to Australia at the end of 1991, to teach theology. I saw him again in 1993 when I went to Melbourne for an evalutation meeting by all the English-speaking provinces of the Salesians. At that time, Tim was rector at Lysterfield. He had planned to return to Rome to complete doctoral studies, but the teaching became ever more important and so completed his Doctorate at the Melbourne College of Divinity in 1999. He was part of an effort to open a theological faculty in Perth, but later returned to Melbourne.

From time to time we heard from each other, but the ocean is big and we never were in contact by e-mail. Then, during this year, news came in April that Tim Costelloe was named Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne. The first Australian Salesian to ordained bishop, and this happened last 15 June 2007.

How about that! Bishop Timothy Costello! Is that cool or what? And to think I knew him when he was this homesick kid struggling through studies at the UPS. Good on ya, Tim!

But how did I get on this topic? Oh year! Students absenting themselves for the holidays… Hmmm, as I recall, Tim did not do that… but then, we made holidays happen right here, among the group. That was back in the 20th Century, however.