台灣首位院長（1926－2020）
斐林豐神父
【台灣台北市 2020年8月9日】－2020年8月7日（星期五）約下午二時，93歲的馬永定神父蒙主寵召。馬神父臨終前數年依靠輪椅代步，數週前健康轉差並入院治療，最後於香港東區醫院逝世。我們會省的華道角，即慈幼會修院，是中華會省最年輕與最年長的會士生活和工作的地方，到香港東區醫院只需數分鐘車程。筆者是在台灣撰寫此文的。馬神父是台灣慈幼會首位院長，1957年晉鐸，接著於羅馬進修聖教法典碩士課程。1963年帶領六位慈幼會會士前往台南建立首個駐當地慈幼會團體，從零開始創辦中學和建立傳教堂區。該堂區佔地200平方公里，由兩個尚在初始階段的傳教站發展而成，分別是由一位西班牙傳教士創立的土庫傳教站和一位教區神父（後成了台北總主教）創立的歸仁傳教站。
馬神父擔任院長六年（1963－1969年），期間兼任慈幼高工首任校長一職。宏偉的校舍樓高四層，長一百米，收生一千；堂區則設有四個傳教中心：後甲、土庫、歸仁和關廟，服務數百名教友和數十名慕道者。
馬神父卸任台南院長後，前往台北協助資深傳教士武幼安神父。台北是台灣的首都，當時亦為整個中華民國的臨時首都。武幼安神父於1964年擔任慈幼會位於台北市郊的新會院首任院長及堂區主任司鐸。馬神父先擔任堂區助理主任司鐸，再接任堂區主任司鐸。讓我們聽聽馬神父對那段日子的自述：
「我們的首要任務是尋找迷失的羊，故此每天探訪不同家庭。當時本堂區有三個軍眷區和四個公教人員新村。我們的探訪取得了豐碩的成果，找到了很多散居各處的教友，共六十個教友家庭。因此，當時小聖堂四台主日彌撒都滿座了。我們很快便組織了堂區議會和聖母軍，其後漸漸有了其他堂區組織。至於慈幼協進會，他們可是比慈幼會士更早到台北發展呢！我們自然而然在七個村中，遇到了很多兒童和青少年，當中有天主教徒，亦有非天主教徒。我們秉承鮑思高神父愛青少年的精神開始舉辦主日學和主日慶禮院。逢星期日下午一時開始活動，四時結束。這些充滿青春活力的聚會都以分發點心和一句溫暖的『下星期見！』作結束。台北教區神父向我們說：『我們知道為何聖若望鮑思高天主堂是台北唯一一間聖堂在下午舉辦主日慶禮院的。因為根據會規，你們不會躺在床上午睡！』每主日超過150位青年來堂區參與活動，但可用空間只有籃球場和教堂前的空地，到了雨天更只能擠在聖堂裏。武神父很快發現空間不足以容納這麼多的教友和青年，所以開始向各地籌款，特別是向意大利的教友，先在教堂的右邊擴建青年中心（1970年），再在左邊興建一所大聖堂，以獻給聖若望鮑思高（1984年）。」
由於馬神父擁有聖教法典碩士學位，台灣主教很快便邀請他到教區的教理中心任教，這中心曾為台灣天主教會培育數百名傳道員。馬神父在畢業生中找到需要的人員，在原定為青年中心的地方創辦思高幼稚園，並於1976年正式在政府註冊。新城市規劃讓堂區附近的軍眷區和新村村民遷徙了，將我們堂區所在的區域改成銀行區。但值得留意的是，幼稚園是台灣教會福傳的主要途經。現時的成人慕道者中，不少人是天主教幼稚園的畢業生呢！
馬神父在台北服務十五年（1969－1984年）後，獲調回台南。他前幾年在幾個傳教站做福傳工作，後來再度擔任台南團體的院長（1984－1990年）。當時與他一起生活和工作的慈幼會會士仍記得他有系統的三個要點的教育牧民方案：一，建立一所正式的慈幼會備修院，有它獨立的場地和人手；二，設計不同的方法來加強學校倫理教育和推廣校內慕道班；三，推廣對羊群的牧民關懷（已找到的羊與尚待尋找的羊）以及在廣闊的堂區領域外展福傳。
馬神父卸任院長一職後繼續留在台南工作，直至2014年身體轉差才移居到我們在香港的安老院–位於筲箕灣的少懷之家休養。很感激台南的年輕會士在過去幾年記下了馬神父的語錄。這些語錄證明了他對人靈和聖召充滿著像鮑思高神父的熱忱，是留給我們十分珍貴的禮物。馬神父，感謝你，願你安息主懷！
First Rector in Taiwan (1926-2020)
Taipei, Taiwan, 9 August 2020 — At about 14:00 hours on Friday, 07 August 2020, the Good Lord has called to himself our beloved 93-year-old Fr John Ma Yeong Ding (1926-2020). Confined to a wheel-chair for the last few years, in the past few weeks his health had declined and demanded hospitalization. He died in Hong Kong’s Eastern Hospital, a few minutes’ drive from our province Valdocco, the Salesian Missionary House where the youngest and the oldest Salesians of Mary Help of Christian province (CIN) live and work. The present writer is writing from Taiwan. Fr John Ma was the first Salesian Rector in Taiwan. Fresh from his Canon Law Licentiate studies in Italy (ordained in 1957), in 1963 he was the leader of the first six Salesians to arrive in Tainan (South Taiwan) to set up the first regular Salesian Community in charge of a middle school (to be built from scratch) and a missionary parish (territory of 200 km2) to be developed from its infant state as two missions stations, one (Tu Ku) founded by a Spanish Dominican missionary and the other (Kuijen) begun by a diocesan priest (who later became Archbishop of Taipei).
After the 6-year first rectorship of Fr John Ma (1963-1969), the imposing 4-storey 100-meter long Salesian Technical School was in place with a thousand students and the parish had four mission centres: Houjia, Tuku, Kuijen, Kuanmiao with hundreds of Catholics and dozens of catechumens.
When his term as Tainan Rector ended, Fr John Ma was transferred to Taipei to support, first as Assistant Parish Pastor then as Parish Pastor, veteran missionary Fr Peter Pomati, the first Rector and Parish Pastor of the newly born (1964) Salesian North-Taiwan presence in the outskirts of Taipei. Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan and, at that time, was also the provisional capital of the whole of China. Let us listen to Fr John Ma himself speaking about that period:
“Our first task was that of searching out the lost sheep. Our visits to the families took on a daily rhythm. At that time the parish included 3 military-personnel villages and 4 civilian villages. Our visits bore abundant fruit. We found many scattered Catholic families, about 60 in all. No wonder, the 4 Sunday Masses recorded all full attendance in the limited space of the original church. Soon, the Parish Pastoral Council was organized as well as the Legion of Mary. Other parish sodalities followed. As for the Salesians Cooperators, they had preceded the arrival of the Salesians in Taipei! Naturally, in the seven villages we met also a lot of children and adolescents, both Catholic and non-Catholic. In the spirit of Don Bosco, every Sunday afternoon, from 13:00 hours to 16:00 hours, we began holding regular Sunday School and Sunday Oratory. Every Sunday about 150 youngsters came to the parish. The only place available was the regular basketball court and the open space in front of the parish house. When it rained, all had to crowd inside the parish-house building. The youthful gathering ended with the distribution of a little snacks and a warm ‘See you next Sunday!’ The Taipei diocesan clergy used to tell us: ‘We know why you at St. John Bosco Parish are the only parish in Taipei to have a Sunday afternoon Oratory. It is because by Holy Rule you do not take your afternoon siesta in bed!’ Soon Fr Peter Pomati realized that our space was too limited for so many faithful and young people. That is why he began gathering funds, from Italy in particular, for the construction, first, of a Youth Centre (1970) on the right side of our property and, next, on the left side, of a big church dedicated to Saint John Bosco (1984)”.
Given his Licence Degree in Canon Law, Fr John Ma was soon asked by the Taiwan Bishops to teach in the inter-diocesan Catechetical School that formed hundreds of catechists for the Taiwan Catholic Church. Among his graduates, Fr John Ma found the necessary personnel to begin the St. John Bosco Kindergarten, regularly registered with the Government (1976), in the premises of the Youth Centre. These premises were now rendered redundant by the dislocation of all the military-personnel villages and civilian villages caused by the new city-planning that turned our parish district into a Banking District! For the Taiwan Church, kindergartens are a primary tool of evangelization. Today it is not rare to find that adult catechumens are past pupils of Church kindergartens!
After 16 years in Taipei (1969-1985), Fr John Ma was transferred (back) to Tainan. There, after a few years as missionary in one or other of the missionary stations, he began his second term as Rector of the Tainan Community (1984-1990). The Salesians living and working with him at that time still remember his programmatic 3-point Educative-Pastoral Project: “1. Begin a formal Salesian aspirantate with its own premises and personnel. 2. Devise all ways and means to strengthen the moral education in the school and to promote in-school catechumenate. 3. Promote the pastoral care of sheep (found and to-be-found) as well as the reach-out evangelization of our enormous parish territory.”
After finishing his service of authority, Fr John Ma continued working in Tainan until, a few years ago, his declining health demanded that he be transferred to our Home for the Aged in Hong Kong, the Casa Braga in the CIN province Valdocco of Shau Kei Wan. We are grateful to the young Salesians of Tainan who, digitally alert, in the last few years, have recorded several words of Fr. Ma, words which we now find so precious. They are words that bear witness to his Bosco-like zeal for souls and for vocations. Thank you! And may the Good God give you peace, dear Fr Ma!