Kota Kinabalu: The Pax Assembly, the Pastoral Assembly of the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu from Oct 3 to 5 was 637 delegates, comprising clergy, religious, and laity from 23 parishes gather here.
it was a prelude to the first Malaysian Pastoral Convention (MPC), scheduled to be held in Johor in September 2026.
The others include the Regional Pastoral Assembly of Peninsula Malaysia, held last August in Sarawak and the Sabah region meeting be held in May 2025 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral parish Centre.
The parish centre was also the venue for the Archdiocesan Pax Assembly, which saw the delegates deliberate on the four areas of concern: the church, family, ecology, and society.
Malaysian prelate Cardinal Sebastian Francis in his keynote address to the delegates said the upcoming gathering in Johor revolved around three key actions - celebrating, listening and walking together.
He said the celebration is an invitation for Catholics to embrace the joy of the Gospel, God’s mercy, and the hope of the Holy Spirit that these themes were central to the Pastoral mission and vital to the Church’s identity and purpose as it moves towards MPC 2026.
He described the next part of Catholics’ pastoral journey of listening as hearing the Gospel and God’s mercy.
Cardinal Sebastian said listening in this context was not just a passive act but a fundamental aspect of the Church’s synodal (participatory consultative) process that requires repentance and conversion.
In this regard, he underscored the importance of synodal conversion, where every correction or warning from the Church should be seen as an invitation for repentance and renewal.
He said walking towards MPC 2026 was essentially a collective pilgrimage for Malaysian Catholics. He invited the community to walk together.
Kota Kinabalu Archbishop John Wong said a way for the Catholic community to walk together was to support and encourage each other with the hope of building a community centred on Jesus Christ.
He said the synodal Church advocated by Pope Francis was already being experienced in the Archdiocese.
“It is a Church that prays, listens, analyses, dialogues and makes Pastoral decisions according to God’s will,” Archbishop John said.
He said this was outlined in the Archdiocese’s Vision and Mission, which the Holy Spirit inspired.
