Page 45 - Certantes magazine 2019 FINAL

Who is Ciantar Learning He became a sort of roving ambassador for St
Commons named after? John Bosco in Australia, visiting many parishes
and seeking their support for the work amongst
Fr Joseph Ciantar was the Fourth Rector- the young, encouraging vocations for the new
Principal of the College, from 1938 to 1947, very
novitiate at Sunbury. His favourite expression
difficult years for Australia and the world due to when faced with disappointment was “When
the Great Depression and World War 2.
God closes one door he always opens
In the book, ‘Grateful Heirs, a history of the another”.
Salesians in Australia’, Ted Cooper wrote:
Fr Ciantar might not have been tall, but he
“Fr Ciantar was not a big man, 164cm tall, born was a giant in the eyes of the early Salesian
in Malta, of strong and wirey build, proud of his Community here in Australia, and for this reason
fitness and stalwart energy. He was the most alone we wish to honour his efforts by naming
active and tireless man one could imagine, this important place of learning after him.
fluent of speech, infectiously enthusiastic, a real
human dynamo.
Such a dynamic man was just what Sunbury
needed – a man of deep spirituality who
was exemplary in community life, but had the
uncanny ability to mix with people and to hold
up to them the person of Don Bosco as a most
admirable human saint.
He became good friends with Archbishop
Mannix, through whose support managed
to finance many new projects for the order,
including the Youth Hostel in Brunswick and
Boystown in Sydney.

Salesian College Sunbury 45