By Rock Ronald Rozario
Antony Judy quickly rushed to the registration booth of “The Great Pilgrimage of Hope” with his friends shortly after arriving in the Seberang Perai city in Penang state, Malaysia, on Nov 27 at noon.
“We have signed up, and we are heading for a quick lunch. We are tired but excited for the great gathering,” Judy, 29, from Kerala state of India, told UCA News at the Light Hotel in the city.
Like Judy, the hotel is abuzz with hundreds of Asian Catholics from about 30 nations, representing distinct languages and cultures, who have converged for one of the region’s largest Catholic gatherings in about two decades.
About 800 delegates, including 10 cardinals, 104 archbishops and bishops, about 155 priests, 74 nuns and about 442 lay people from various professional backgrounds, have gathered for the four-day assembly on Nov 27-30.
The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences’ Office of Evangelization (FABC-OE) is organizing the event in collaboration with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Mission Societies, with the Diocese of Penang hosting it.
While most delegates travelled to Perai, a city on the northwestern coast of Malaysia, by air, some took trains and buses to reach Penang Island, separated from the mainland by the Penang Strait.
As delegates arrived in pairs and groups at Penang International Airport on Nov 26 and 27, volunteers at a special desk set up by organizers greeted them and assisted them to reach the venue, about 25 kilometers away, by private and public vehicles.
The airport is located in the state capital, George Town, across the Penang Strait from Perai on the mainland, and is connected to Perai by a bridge and one of the nation’s oldest ferry services, dating back to the 12th century.
Delegates view the major gathering as an opportunity to reflect on their faith and celebrate the diversity of language and culture that shape Catholicism in Asia, the world’s largest continent, where Christians are a minority and mostly live in non-Christian societies.
“I feel good to think that though we are different in color, culture, and language, we are united by faith and we are all Catholics, and we are all brothers and sisters,” said Judy, a law student, youth activist, and climate justice advocate.
‘Diverse but one in faith’
“This diversity is the strength for Catholics in Asia and we need to move forward to take the Church to a better position. I am happy and excited to see Catholics from different parts of Asia. I am looking forward to better learning for the betterment of my faith and our Church,” he added.
In front of the hotel’s Grand Ball Room, where the main events will be held, a 28-member South Korean delegation is seen busy taking photos and videos.
One of them, Sister Agnes Choi, a nun for 40 years and a member of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs, says she is excited about the event.
“I am extremely excited. It’s a great opportunity to see and hear from Catholics from different parts of Asia,” Choi told UCA News.
The nun worked as a missionary in Timor-Leste for seven years before returning to South Korea last year. She is now based in the Diocese of Masan and involved with the ministry of ecological conservation.
“We make people aware of the dangers of pollution and insist on the protection of the environment. This is an important ministry for the Church today,” she said.
Mildred P. Iselta, 64, a retired engineer from the Philippines, is one of 128 delegates from Asia’s largest Catholic-majority nation.
A member of the Philippine Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s Commission for Youth, Iselta finds the event an opportunity to meet Catholics from other countries. “It’s a blessing,” she said.
Filipinos have the privilege of living in a Catholic-majority country, while others are minorities in their own countries, she noted.
“So, we are commissioned by the Lord to share our Christian faith with others and try to invite others to embrace Christian faith and values,” she added.
She said that, because of various problems, such as the pandemic, many people have turned away from the Church. “It is our responsibility now to bring them back to the Church,” she stressed.
‘Sharing faith experiences’
Sister Srey Socheat, a Cambodian nun from the Lovers of the Cross, is part of a 15-member delegation from her country.
The nun says the small Catholic Church in Cambodia, which is still growing, has much to learn from other Churches in Asia.
“The Cambodian Church died during the Khmer Rouge regime, and was reborn again. It’s a small Church that is alive and active, and needs to learn how to grow from others,” she told UCA News.
The nun said she is excited about the event, which allows “the small family” from Cambodia to meet and know “the big family.”
“It will help us to share about our mission and know about the mission of others in their own countries. Hope it becomes fruitful to learn from participants’ experiences from other countries to enrich our own missionary activities.
The four-day event is being organized with active help from over 100 local volunteers, mostly Catholics from Penang, the host diocese.
Albert Crisopher, 46, a financial manager, is in charge of registration for 10 cardinals and over 100 bishops.
“I got this chance by luck because the person responsible could not make it due to a personal emergency. It is easy for me to help out because this is an area familiar to me and covered by my parish,” he told UCA News.
Among his responsibilities are recording the names of cardinals and bishops correctly and offering them name tags with souvenirs, including a good bag, stole, and vestment specially prepared for the event.
He sees the event as a blessing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I see this event as God’s grace for our diocese, Church in Malaysia, and Asia. People from various countries and cultures have gathered, and it’s a great opportunity for us to strengthen our faith,” he said.
“I hope the delegates will enjoy and appreciate Malaysian hospitality and the richness of culture during the event,” he added.
Organizers hope the program will deepen the faith of Asian Catholics and help the global Church better understand them.
“The first mission congress in 2006 informed the global Church that Asian Catholics are alive and active, and also helped Asian Catholics understand how they can witness their faith in their own ways,” Bishop George Pallipparambil, FABC-OE chairman, told UCA News.
“We hope this ‘Pilgrimage of Hope’ will help them become better Catholics to build up a society based on cooperation, peace and harmony,” the Indian prelate added. – UCA News
