By Ivy Chai
KUCHING – A thanksgiving Mass was celebrated at St Joseph’s Cathedral Kuching on 8 October to mark the 70th sacerdotal ordination anniversary of Archbishop Emeritus Dato Sri Peter Chung.
A thanksgiving dinner organised by the Kuching Archdiocesan Pastoral Council for his priestly ordination anniversary-cum-96th birthday, was held on 9 October at the Christian Ecumenical Worship Centre (CEWC).
Archbishop Emeritus Peter Chung was ordained a priest by Bishop John Vos on 26 September 1954, shortly after his arrival in Kuching from Macao, China on 21 August. He was appointed Archbishop of Kuching in 1976, with the establishment of the Archdiocese of Kuching.
The Catholic community packed the CEWC to show their love and support for the “foreigner” who has served Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak for the past 70 years, and now calls Sarawak “home”.
Young man from a village in China
In his address, Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh gave a glowing and befitting tribute to the “young man who has come from a village in China, who spoke only Mandarin and Latin” and “with a trusting and humble heart, he learnt the various languages, prayed and diligently trusted God as he laid the foundation and carved out the vision of the Church in East Malaysia.”
Archbishop Simon highlighted the “challenges and even persecution in the Catholic Church in Sabah” the archbishop emeritus had endured from 1970-1976 “for a Bishop who was not allowed to stay in his vicariate.”
The Bishops from Sabah had shared “his vision of planting the seed for the foundation of the Sabah Pastoral Assembly that gathered the whole Sabah parishes as one Catholic Church in Sabah”. Sabah is now producing the most priests and religious in East Malaysia.
His legacy
With the establishment of the Ecclesiastical Province of East Malaysia in 1976, Bishop Peter Chung was appointed Archbishop of Kuching.
In 1977, he issued a Pastoral Letter, “Our task and Responsibility” with a detailed account of the new Archdiocese and his pastoral response as the new Shepherd.
On the 25th Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Kuching, Archbishop Peter Chung’s Pastoral Letter, ‘We are the Church’ highlighted the growth, challenges and pastoral responses for the Kuching Archdiocese.
His successors, Archbishop John Ha (2003-2017) and Archbishop Simon Poh (2017 to present) have continued to build on the foundations laid by Archbishop Peter Chung with the Vision: ‘We are the Church, Disciples of the Word, in Communion for Mission’.
Signs of vitality of the Catholic Church in Sarawak
Archbishop Emeritus Peter Chung in a short speech after cutting his Anniversary cake, expressed his joy and happiness in seeing the Church grow “from strength to strength” and showing “signs of full vitality of the local Church in Sarawak.”
He praised and thanked “God for the growth in the local Church and pray that God will continue to bless the local Church here and ask Mother Mary that she will continue to help this Archdiocese to carry out the task of evangelisation.” He also thanked the saints for being patrons of the local parishes.
He will continue to pray for more vocations “so that the works of the Church will continue…strengthen, enlarge and spread further” to encompass the interiors of Sarawak.
Archbishop Emeritus Peter’s only desire and prayer is, “I hope God will bless the Church in Sarawak…bless his bishops, priests, religious and all of you dear children of God.”
The dinner programme included a video clip of Archbishop Peter’s life history. Entertainment comprising singing and cultural dances, live feed and music, added to the joyful ambience of the night. Archbishop Simon led the community in a song he dedicated to Archbishop Peter. The lyrics to the song “I thank my God” was written by Australian Roman Catholic priest, liturgist and composer Frank Andersen.
Archbishop Emeritus John Ha in his closing prayer, thanked the Lord “for the gift of a good Shepherd” and to bless Archbishop Emeritus Peter “in a very special way to grant him reasonably good health to let him see the Golden Jubilee of the diocese” in 2026 and to celebrate his 100th birthday (in 2028).
PHOTO GALLERY – Photos by Peter Chai/Today’s Catholic-Shannon Wei
Related news: From China to Borneo: Sarawak is now ‘home’ after 70 years
