Pax Assembly gathers Catholics

Cardinal Sebastian Francis (third from right, in red) and Kota Kinabalu Archbishop John Wong (second from right, in grey) with delegates at the 2024 Pax Assembly.

8 October 2024

KOTA KINABALU: An inaugural gathering of Catholics from across Malaysia is one step closer to reality with the completion of the Pastoral Assembly of the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu.

Known as the Pax Assembly, the event from Oct 3 to 5 involved 637 delegates comprising the clergy, religious, and laity from 23 yyparishes as far away as

Kudat, Kota Marudu, Ranau and Papar.

The Pax Assembly is among the steps leading to the first-ever Malaysian Pastoral Convention (MPC) scheduled to be held in Johor in September 2026.

The others include the Regional Pastoral Assembly of Peninsula Malaysia held last August, and Sarawak last month while the Sabah region meeting is to be held in May 2025 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral parish Centre.

The parish centre was also venue of the Archdiocesan Pax Assembly which saw the delegates deliberating on the four areas of concern - the church, family, ecology, and society.

In his keynote address to the delegates, Malaysian prelate Cardinal Sebastian

Francis said the upcoming gathering in Johor revolved around three key actions - celebrating, listening and walking together.

He described the celebration as an invitation for Catholics to embrace the joy of the Gospel, the mercy of God, and the hope of the Holy Spirit.

Cardinal Sebastian noted these themes were not only central to the Pastoral mission but also vital to the Church’s identity and purpose as it moves towards MPC 2026.

The Malaysian prelate described the next part of Catholics’ Pastoral journey of listening as hearing the Gospel and of God’s mercy.

Cardinal Sebastian said listening in this context was not just a passive act but a fundamental aspect of the Church’s synodal (participatory consultative) process that requires repentance and conversion.

In this regard, he underscored the importance of synodal conversion, where every correction or warning from the Church should be seen as an invitation for repentance and renewal.

Cardinal Sebastian said the walking aspect towards MPC 2026 was essentially a collective pilgrimage for Malaysian Catholics.

He invited the Catholic community to walk together in the joy of the Gospel, in the mercy of God and hope of the Holy Spirit.

Welcoming the delegates, Kota Kinabalu Archbishop John Wong said a way for the Catholic community to walk together was to support and encourage each other with the hope of building a community centred on Jesus Christ.

He noted that the synodal Church advocated by Pope Francis was already being experienced in the Archdiocese.

“It is a Church that prays, listens, analyses, dialogues, and makes Pastoral decisions

in accordance to God’s will,” Archbishop John said.

He said this has been outlined in the Archdiocese’s Vision and Mission that was inspired by the Holy Spirit.