KUCHING — When news broke out that three Dominicans would be concelebrating a weekday mass with Blessed Sacrament Church’s rector Fr Felix Au, people were curious, at the same time excited, to see and meet them.
The 6.00pm daily Mass on 4 December at the Day Chapel was packed to capacity. Fr Felix cheerfully told the visitors that the congregation was there because of them.
The Dominican friars were Fr Angelic, Superior of the Dominicans, Taiwan Province, Fr Nars, also from Taiwan Province, and Fr Andre from Pontianak, Indonesia.
Fr Angelic is originally from Ukraine, and Fr Nars and Fr Andre from Philippines. Both Fr Angelic and Fr Nars have been residing in Taiwan for the past 16 years and they speak fluent Mandarin.
One may ask: Who are the Dominicans? Little is known about them in this part of the world. Although St Dominic founded the Dominicans more than 800 years ago, they are still relatively unknown in many countries.
According to Fr Angelic, they are interested to bring the Dominican order to the Chinese community in countries abroad, like Malaysia, through vocation activities. They are here to explore that possibility.