Malaysians celebrate Independence Day in Melbourne

Sep 20, 2024

MELBOURNE, Australia: Over 100 Malaysian Catholics came together for a special Mass to celebrate Malaysia’s Independence Day at the Church of St John, Mitcham. Presiding at the Eucharistic celebration was Fr Collin Nunis (assistant parish priest of St Joseph’s Melkite Church, Fairfield), with Fr. John Kelvin Pereira (St John’s parish, Heidelberg) and Fr Alexander Chow (Administrator of St Luke’s Blackburn South and St Timothy’s Vermont) as concelebrants. Fr Robin Lomangkok, CSsR preached the homily.

The Mass was marked by a rich multicultural atmosphere. The readings and prayers of the faithful were in multiple languages, including English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, and Kadazandusun, reflecting the diverse linguistic heritage of the Malaysian Catholic community. The choir of Our Lady of China Catholic Church, Box Hill North, provided the music for the liturgy, their rendition of the Lord’s Prayer in Bahasa Malaysia leaving a lasting impression on all present.

The gathering also featured video messages from Archbishop Julian Leow of Kuala Lumpur, who is the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, and Cardinal Sebastian Francis of Penang. Both Archbishop Julian and Cardinal Francis offered their well-wishes and blessings, thanking the Malaysian Catholic community for remembering their roots, and for gathering as a community to pray for the nation.

This is the second event that saw Malaysian Catholics resident in Melbourne coming together since the visit of Archbishop Simon Poh in June. Inspired by this, Xavier Ng, a teacher and Fr Nunis (both formerly of the Church of St Jude, Rawang) took the initiative to organise a Mass to commemorate Malaysia’s Independence Day.

True to the Malaysian spirit of unity in diversity, the event brought together individuals from all walks of life and reminded the community of their shared faith and heritage.