St Mary’s Cathedral celebrates 131st anniversary

SANDAKAN – The parish of St Mary’s Cathedral celebrated its 131st anniversary with a 5-day program Aug leading to the commemoration of its founding Aug 17.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Taize prayers and catechesis sessions on Mother Mary were some of the activities organized for the event.

In addition to the program this year, parishioners witnessed the blessing and launching of the Rosary Monument and the Marian Rosary Corridor by Bishop Julius Gitom, followed by the recitation of the Holy Rosary along the newly opened corridor.

On the final day, a 12-hour non-stop Rosary Rally at the Cathedral took place, followed by the Assumption Mass, which was presided by Bishop Julius, and concelebrated by Fr Thomas Makajil, Fr Philip Muji, Fr Sunny Chung, and Fr Antony Savarimuthu of Heilbronn, Germany, Spiritual Director for the 12-member SHEP delegation from Heilbronn.

The newly installed Parish Pastoral Council members for 2014-2016 were commissioned by the presider at Mass.

The following day, Aug 17, was set aside for the 131st Parish Day celebration which began with a fun-filled telematch between the various BECs. A pot-luck dinner fellowship followed after the evening Mass.

This year’s celebration was made special with the presence of 12 German guests (6 Catholics and 6 Lutherans) who were on a 3-week biennial Sabah Heilbronn Ecumenical Partnership (SHEP) exchange visit to Sabah.

Fr Thomas welcomed everyone and pointed out that the past few days’ activities were meant to strengthen family ties and to unite parishioners under the parish. He also took the opportunity to thank Bishop Julius who mooted the idea of the Marian Rosary Corridor and the blessing of the Rosary monument. These features have added to the treasure trove of the Marian Pilgrimage Center.  He also called on everyone to promote Mother Mary as the patroness of the parish.

Apart from the sumptuous food, the evening was filled with a range of entertainment from the various communities. – SOCCOM, Dalius LL