June, 2007
| Salesian rector appointed Bishop of Gizo |
 On Wednesday the Catholic Church announced the new Bishop of Gizo. He is Fr Luciano Capelli - the rector of Don Bosco Technical School at Henderson. Fr Capelli will replace Bishop Bernard O'Grady.
Fr Capelli came to the Solomon Islands in 1999 mainly to establish the Don Bosco Technical School. As preparations were underway to pave the way for the establishment of the school, he spent time holding workshops for prisoners at Rove Prison but that was forced to end on June 5 during the 2000 coup. All the prisoners at Rove left their cells during the coup and Fr Capelli himself also left the country. Despite all these happenings, the Salesians were determined to see the establishment of the school and, on September 6 that same year, Don Bosco Technical School came into existence with 18 students including six prisoners. By then, Fr Capelli had returned and with sheer energy he accomplished what he was initially sent to do. Today the school has some 300 students studying in different fields. Fr Capelli is known for his ready and creative response to the many human and spiritual needs of our people and has played an active role in the construction of the mini-hospital at Grove on the Guadalcanal Plains. His most recent assistance was to those in the tsunami stricken areas of Western Province. Having heard about the disaster, Fr Capelli through his contacts quickly gathered supplies and with the help of his staff and students loaded MV Isabella bound for Simbo - one of the most affected areas. His group was the first to land with supplies in the area - a great relief to the people. The Catholic Church said with the appointment of Fr Capelli as Bishop elect for Gizo means 'Gizo has a further tsunami ahead - a tsunami of activity and concern for their people's welfare'. Gizo which, incidentally, is separated by a large expanse of sea from another diocese administered by a Salesian, Alotau-Milne Bay (Bishop Panfilo), is a relatively small diocese with some 11,000 Catholics (about 10 per cent of the population) and just eight priests, four of them diocesan and the other four religious. Fr Luciano Capelli was born on 19 October 1947 in Cologna di Tirano, Italy. He entered the Society of Don Bosco in 1960 as an aspirant. In 1965, he made his first profession. Sent to the Philippines as a missionary, from 1965, he studied philosophy at 'Don Bosco Seminary College', Laguna, Philippines. Afterwards he was a teacher in Don Bosco Technical School', Manila, Philippines (1969-1970) and teacher in the Seminary of Laguna (1970-1971). In 1971, he returned to Italy to study theology at Messina and Turin. He was ordained priest on 29 June 1975 at Cologna di Tirano. After ordination he held the following offices: 1975-1977: Director of the Youth Centre at 'Don Bosco Technical School', Manila, Philippines; 1977-1982: Spiritual Director of 'Don Bosco Technical School', Manila, Philippines; 1982-1985: Rector of 'Don Bosco Technical School', Tarlac, Philippines; 1985-1991: Rector of 'Don Bosco Technical School', Manila, Philippines; 1991-1993: Rector of 'Don Bosco Boarding House', Manila, Philippines; 1993-1999: Provincial Superior of the Salesians in the Philippines and in Papua New Guinea. Since 1999 he has been Rector of 'Don Bosco Technical School' at Honiara. The office of the Bishop of Gizo says that the installation of the new bishop will take place on October 26. June 29 will also be his 35th anniversary of priesthood. |
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