Well wishers ranging from eminent citizens to underprivileged Muslim children turned out to welcome the relic of Saint Don Bosco when it arrived in Kolkata yesterday.

Rajesh Gupta, former president of Don Bosco Alumni, said his association had invited 150 Muslim girls from the slums of Kolkata to the event at the city’s Don Bosco School, to help them understand the saint better.

“I have heard of Don Bosco and today I had the privilege to pay my respect to him,” said 15-year old Tabashu Khatun, who is a student of the Don Bosco Alumni Adult Literacy Project.

Faizal Khan, a fifth grader in Don Bosco Night School, said touching the relic was “a special moment of grace for me.”

Her feeling was shared by Paul Ekka, a tribal Catholic, who said he felt peace and calmness as he touched the casket containing the saint’s wax image.

At the event, Kolkata’s pop icon Usha Uthup sang “Amazing Grace” in the saint’s honor and invited the audience to sing with her.

Salesian Father Joseph Manianchira, who accompanied the relic all over West Bengal, said it received “an unprecedented reception” wherever it visited.

There is a long standing relationship between Saint Don Bosco and the city. Two years before his death in 1888, the founder of the Salesian family had a dream of expanding its works to Calcutta and the Salesians established themselves there in 1925.

The Salesian family of fathers, brothers and sisters has 30,000 members in 131 countries, including 4,000 in India, the second largest in the world.

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