Creating history: When St Peter and St Francis Xavier met

By Seminarian Leon Gautier

KUCHING — St Peter’s College (SPC) Major Seminary, Kuching and St Francis Xavier (SFX) Major Seminary, Singapore convened from 1–7 July 2024 for their annual retreat, making it a first in the history of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. 

A total of 33 seminarians from all the nine Arch/Dioceses in Malaysia, together with 17 seminarians from the Archdiocese of Singapore and two from the Apostolic-Vicariate of Brunei Darussalam came together for this retreat. Joining them for the retreat were formators of SFX – Frs Valerian Cheong, Terence Kesavan and Edward Seah. The retreat was led by Archbishop Emeritus John Ha, the Emeritus Archbishop of Kuching. 

Archbishop Ha focused on the verse from John 6:68 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” as the theme for the retreat. He focussed on the scandals of the Church, failed discipleship and finally what is true discipleship culminating in the kind of priesthood that we aspire to be. 

In the talks by Archbishop Ha, he continued to bring up the centrality of the Word of God in our lives, our baptismal dignity as beloved children of the Father, and the transformation of the Apostles, from their initial reluctance and denial of Jesus towards becoming ultimately martyrs and heralds of his Good News, fueled by the correct understanding of Christ. 

Each day of the retreat ended with Holy Hour. In addition to the talks given, on Friday, the retreatants were split into two groups, one going to Gethsemane Pilgrimage Centre, Bunan, and the other to Church of St Stephen, Bau for a ‘desert experience’ where each of them were to personally synthesise on the past sessions. This ‘desert experience’ was a time of silence, during which they were told to converse only with God and what was God’s personal message to them.

The 7-day retreat concluded with a thanksgiving dinner in conjunction with the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the patron of SPC and the closing of the Gawai-Kaamatan celebration. 

During the closing Mass, Archbishop Ha expressed his joy at this gathering and mentioned that there is a promising future for the Bishops’ Conference seeing that all the seminarians mingled and fraternised very well together. 

At the dinner, Fr Patrick Heng, the rector of SPC was glad that everything ran smoothly, and seeing how everyone prayed and worked together was a clear and comforting sign of unity among the future clergy. He elaborated on the Dayak culture to the Singaporeans, and how the different cultures from three countries could learn from one another in building the Church. 

Fr Valerian Cheong, the Rector of SFX, mentioned that in the future we could rely on one another as brother priests. He then recalled the 2009 Young Priests Gathering (YPG) and mentioned the wonderful experience he had, getting acquainted with the Malaysian priests and was excited that at future YPG, priests would then mingle better upon already knowing each other. His Grace Archbishop Simon Poh, Archbishop of Kuching, stressed the importance of working together as one Church and to bring Christ to whomever we meet, and to bring the Christ we know to others. 

After the retreat, the Singaporean priests and seminarians continued their annual holiday around the Archdiocese of Kuching, spending a night at Gethsemane Pilgrimage Center, Bunan, and several other Churches. They also had a kampung experience at the longhouse at Kampong Mongkos. On the last day prior to their departure, some of the seminarians also managed to have a friendly match of football, while others managed to travel around the city, including visiting the Borneo Cultures Museum, and some local eateries.

The seminarians themselves shared their sentiments and experiences. Alex Chua (First Year Theology student – Singapore) recalls that we are very much alike even in our way of praying our Divine Office; it was a great opportunity to build brotherhood among seminarians of the same Conference. 

Marcus Yee (Initiation Year – Singapore) mentioned that the retreat was a gift and a joy for his own journey as a seminarian. Karel Tingang (Third Year Theology Student – Brunei) said that the retreat was fruitful because there was an opportunity to learn more about synodality through the faith between the shared experiences of both seminaries.

Joseph D’Cruz who is undergoing his regency (Parish Attachment Year) and only joined for the holiday, said that although the interaction was brief for him, it was heartening and to hear the same passion and love each seminarian had for their own diocese. 

Brywinedren Godon (Fourth Year Theology Student – Keningau) reflected it was necessary that we have to ‘retreat’ daily by spending some silent moments and personal prayer to experience Jesus in our lives, for He is always here with us and sometimes we do not realise it. 

Lincoln Lee (Third Year Theology Student – Kuala Lumpur) looks forward to similar joint activities because through this inaugural retreat, a bond of brotherhood was cultivated from all three countries of the Conference. 

Finally, Kenny (First Year Theology Student – Kuching) found the retreat rejuvenating as it helped him to direct his intention and strengthen his vocation to the priesthood.