Pioneering Salesian missionary of Manipur remembered

A pioneer Salesian missionary of northeast Manipur was remembered on his death anniversary, March 8, at the Don Bosco School.

Fr. Peter Bianchi, an Italian who came to India in 1938, spent over 60 years of his life, apart from spreading the Gospel, contributing immensely to the development of the state including Assam and Meghalaya.

Apart from helping the poor and needy, some of his other contributions include, the expansion and construction of the Don Bosco School, providing benefactor to above 400 poor children irrespective of all denominations, establishing the Bosco village in 2005.

Enumerating his spiritual qualities, Fr. James Poonthuruthil, during a prayer service remembered Fr. Bianchi as a ``missionary par-excellence".

He especially paid attention to the education of the poor and underprivileged to raise them as future leaders for the society. His unbounded generosity built many communities, Poonthuruthil noted.