By Margaret Chan Kit Yok
KUCHING — Every year on 1 November, All Saints Day is observed to honour all Saints in heaven, a day to celebrate and remember Saints. In 2023, Holy Trinity Parish in Kenyalang initiated a “Parade of Saints” on All Saints Day, providing an avenue of catechising the Sunday School children and their families about the lives of the Saints. The parish’s objective was to virtually give the children the chance to dress up as Saints.
This year’s 2024 “Parade of Saints” was truly blessed! There were 21 Saints from the Sunday School English Stream and 19 Saints from the Chinese Stream. Not able to resist the opportunity of being a live Saint for at least an hour, the 11 Catechists from the Chinese Stream all took part.
Seeing the happy faces of the children and the Catechists all dressed in Saint costumes, coupled with the proud and happy faces of their parents and guardians, the congregation was fascinated and learnt about how they became Saints as explained humorously by the rector, Fr Eugenio Gocela Maglasang, SDB on how each person lived a life of holiness, pureness, kindness, suffering and devotion.
Which Saints paraded?
During the English/Bahasa Malaysia Mass on 31 October 2024, four children paraded in first, dressed as the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Fatima, and St Joseph (Husband of Mary and Foster Father of Jesus). There were two dressed as St Teresa of Ávila, two as St Elizabeth (Patron of Bakers and Charitable Workers), St Emilia, St Lucia, St Francisco Marto, St Rose of Lima, St Francis of Assisi, St Joan of Arc, St Thérèse of Lisieux (Little Flower), St Tobias (Fifth Bishop of Jerusalem), St Agnes, St Carlos Acutis, St Alice of Schaerbeek, and one of the 70 disciples who was a miraculous healer. With disappointment, St Ezra could not make it as the student fell sick.
For the Chinese Mass on 1 November 2024, two children dressed as the Blessed Mother led the parade. There was a St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, with the rest on the list dressed as St Abigail, St John Bosco, St Dominic Savio, St George, St Francis, St Philomena, St Giselle, St Kelvin, St Kenneth, St Faustina, St Nathalie, St Thérèse of Lisieux, St Agnes and St Julius.
The Saints the teachers came as were St Maximilian Kolbe, St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St Teresa of Ávila, St Rita, St Catherine of Siena, St Rose, St Josephine, St Anne, St Jessica and St Janet.
