By St Ann’s Parish
KOTA PADAWAN — Kampung Sapit is a Bidayuh village located high in the mountains of Kota Padawan and is well known as the ‘Kampung Di Atas Awan’, or the ‘Village in the Clouds’. Famous for its beautiful scenery, the village is populated by a remote Catholic population, and was previously not part of the Archdiocese of Kuching.
Located at the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, the Catholic faith in Kampung Sapit grew and originated from a church in the neighbouring country, Indonesia. Kampung Gun Tembawang and Kampung Gun Jemak are nearby villages in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The unfenced international border allowed the villagers to mingle, which led to migration and the spread of the Catholic faith to Kampung Sapit, although the exact date of this event is unknown. There are 24 Catholic families in Kampung Sapit, comprising 123 parishioners. The rest of the village is made up of Anglicans and other Christian denominations. For decades, the Catholics of Kampung Sapit attended Mass at the church in Kampung Gun. Mass was celebrated whenever a priest from the St John Mary Vianney parish in Entikong, Kalimantan visited.
When the existence of the Catholic community in Kampung Sapit came to the knowledge of Archbishop Simon Poh, he immediately made an inaugural pastoral visit to the village from 29–30 July 2023. Amongst those who accompanied him were Friar David Au, OFM from the Parish of St Ann, Datuk Michael Hii, Catechist Lawrence Ajak, Mr Fredrick and Mdm Tinah.
Sunday Mass was celebrated at the “Gated Palace”, a homestay in Kampung Sapit since there was no Catholic church there. The Mass was presided by Archbishop Simon Poh, and concelebrated by Friar David Au and Fr Bartolo from Entikong. Parishioners from Kampung Gun Tembawang and Kampung Gun Jemak were also present. The Mass was celebrated in three languages; Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Bidayuh-Biatah.
The Archdiocese of Kuching and the Diocese of Sanggau, Kalimantan aim to place Kampung Sapit under the care of the Parish of St Ann, Kota Padawan since it is located within the borders of Malaysia and within the parish boundaries of St Ann’s.
The Catholics of Kampung Sapit are looking forward to building a church of their own. Administratively, they will be grouped under the Simpok Zone of St Ann’s Parish. The closest Catholic community to Kampung Sapit is Kampung Timurang. This makes Kampung Sapit the 41st village under the care of the parish.
Representatives of the Catholic community of Kampung Sapit were present at St Ann’s Parish Pastoral Council Meeting (PPC) on 6 August 2023. In addition, the PPC also welcomed the Catholics of Kampung Sungai Burung, Siburan (originally from Kampung Sapit) to the parish.
To the people in Kampung Sapit and Kampung Sungai Burung, we warmly welcome you to the Parish of St Ann, Kota Padawan!
(Translated)
News in BM: Kampung Sapit sertai Keuskupan Agung Kuching
