Nongpoh,18 October 2026Assumption Parish, Nongpoh,17–18 October 2026. The Association of Salesian Cooperators of the St. John Paul II Salesian Province of Shillong gathered at Assumption Parish, Nongpoh, on 17 and 18 October 2026 for their 48th Annual Provincial Congress, with the theme “Be the Leaven to Be Fruitful”. The Congress was also a sesquicentennial celebration: 150 years since Pope Pius IX approved the Association of the Salesian Cooperators, founded by Don Bosco in Turin, on 9 May 1876. Nongpoh Centre was the host. In all, 301 registered, professed members took part, and with the many aspirants and well-wishers who joined them, the gathering numbered about 1,000 faithful. The theme was “Be the Leaven to Be Fruitful” (in Khasi, “To long u Thiat ban seisoh”).
A Congress of Anniversaries
The year gave the Congress several reasons for gratitude.
- 150 years of the Salesian Cooperators (1876–2026). Don Bosco saw early that his mission to young people needed mothers and fathers, teachers, workers and priests beside him. The Association was his answer, and it was meant from the start to be a Salesian vocation lived in the world, not an appendix to the Congregation.
- A century of Mission Sunday (1926–2026). Mission Sunday, established by Pope Pius XI in 1926, reminds the Church every October that all the baptised share in her mission. The Congress was held in that spirit, since every Cooperator is called to be a missionary in his or her own place.
- Seven new Cooperators. Seven new members from Nongpoh Centre were to make their promise during the Sunday Eucharist, a sign that the leaven is being passed on to a new generation.
Saturday, 17 October: Gathering and Reflection
Delegates were registered from 11.00 am under Kong Purnima Khongsit and her team, and shared lunch at noon. The Congress opened at 12.45 pm with the lighting of the lamp, led by Kong Ireland Doonai, the Provincial Coordinator, and with a prayer service led by Fr. Sylvester Nongsiej, a Salesian Cooperator and Parish Priest of Umdang. After the Congress anthem and an address of welcome by Rev. Fr. Peter Syiemlieh, SDB, Parish Priest, the lamp, the guests of honour and the delegates processed into the hall.
The inaugural programme at 1.30 pm, presided over by Provincial Councillor Bah Erick Kharkulia, was prepared by Nongpoh Centre. It included a welcome address and song, a floral tribute, a prayer dance, and readings from the Word of God and from the Association’s Project of Apostolic Life. Rev. Sr. Happyline Mary Shadap, FMA Provincial Delegate, gave the address, and Nongpoh Centre offered the vote of thanks.
The afternoon’s main session, from 3.30 pm, was led by Rev. Fr. Joseph Anikuzhikattil Luka, SDB, with Provincial Councillor Bah Marius Kharkongor presiding. It was followed at 4.30 pm by the Annual Report, in three parts: the reports of the Local Centres and of the Province, presented by the Provincial Secretary, and the financial report, presented by the Provincial Administrator. Delegates then met region by region at 5.30 pm to discuss questions sent to the Centres beforehand.
The day closed prayerfully. At 6.30 pm the Rosary was led by the Provincial Formator, Bah Nicholas Shangpliang, with the five mysteries shared among the Centres of Rangblang, Mandwi, Laitkor, Baijalbari and St. Anthony’s College, and the litany led by Sohra Centre. The first part of each Hail Mary was prayed in English and the second in Khasi, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation was celebrated during the Rosary. After supper, the evening ended with the region-wise Bible Group Singing Competition, with special numbers from Sonapahar and St. Anthony’s College Centres, a lucky-number draw, Night Prayer and a Good Night talk from the Delegate, Fr. Joseph Anikuzhikattil Luka, SDB.
Sunday, 18 October: Reflection, Eucharist and Sending
Sunday began with Morning Prayer led by Jowai Centre at 6.30 am. At 8.00 am Ms. Maryline Jyrwa, Provincial Councillor, presented a summary of Saturday’s group discussions. The second session followed at 8.30 am, given by Rev. Sr. Luigina Duia, FMA Regional Delegate, with Provincial Councillor Bah Sympai Chyne presiding.
The high point of the Congress was the Eucharist at 10.30 am, celebrated by Rev. Fr. John Zosiama, SDB, Provincial of the St. John Paul II Salesian Province of Shillong. The liturgy was shared among the Centres:
- Welcome: Kong Ireland Doonai, Provincial Coordinator
- Choir: Nongpoh Centre
- Entrance procession: Balang Shnong Nongkhrah
- First reading: Upper Shillong Centre
- Second reading: Mr. Manoj Jamatia
- Prayer of the Faithful: Sonapahar and Laitkor Centres
- Offertory: Mawlai Centre
- Prayer of thanksgiving: Mawroh Centre (Aspiring)
During the Mass, the seven new members from Nongpoh Centre made their promise as Salesian Cooperators, the moment when the anniversary’s theme became concrete.
After lunch and the Sacramental Blessing led by Fr. Peter Syiemlieh at 1.00 pm, Nongpoh Centre presented a cultural programme. The Congress closed at 3.30 pm with a prayer by the Provincial Secretary, the announcement of the 49th Annual Congress in 2027, and the handing over of the lamp to the Centre that will host it, received from Kong Ireland Doonai.
The Message of the Congress
In his talk on Saturday, Fr. Joseph Anikuzhikattil Luka, SDB, returned again and again to Our Lord’s image of the woman who hid a little leaven in three measures of flour until all of it was leavened (Matt 13:33). Three points stood out.
- Small, hidden and mixed in. Leaven does not depend on numbers or recognition, but it has to be mixed into the dough. A Cooperator who stays inside the circle of the Salesian Family has stayed in the jar. The world is the flour: the school staff room, the market, the plantation, the hospital, the village council, the family table, and the screen of the mobile phone.
- Fruitfulness comes from abiding. Quoting John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you”, he stressed daily prayer, the Word, the Eucharist, Reconciliation and devotion to Mary Help of Christians as the source of the apostolate. The 2026 Strenna, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5), pointed to Mary at Cana, who notices the need, brings it to Jesus and trusts him.
- Relaunching for the next years. Three invitations were offered: serious and joyful formation, going to young people where they are (including the digital world), and walking together in the Salesian Family, where Salesians, Sisters and Cooperators each keep a proper vocation in a shared mission.
He also recalled the words of the Second Vatican Council, that lay people work for the sanctification of the world “from within as a leaven” (Lumen Gentium 31), language that Don Bosco had already put into practice in nineteenth-century Turin.
The Cooperators of the St. John Paul II Salesian Province of Shillong left Nongpoh with a clear charge: to stay small, stay close to Christ and go out to young people. They are thankful to Nongpoh Centre and its Councillor, Bah Anthony Laloo, for hosting and preparing the Congress, to the Provincial Council and Coordinator, and to the Salesians and Sisters who accompanied them. The Centres will gather again in 2027 for the 49th Annual Congress.
May Mary Help of Christians, who stood at Cana and at the Cross, make the Association fruitful.
