St Theresa’s Church turns 80

By Bernard Anthony
The Church of St Theresa celebrated the 80th anniversary of its establishment (1937 – 2017) and the 120th death anniversary of its Patron Saint, St Therese of the Child Jesus (also known as St Thérèse of Lisieux) (02/01/1873 – 30/09/1897). The parish celebrations began on September 21 and culminated on September 30, with a procession in honour of St Theresa.

Joining in the procession, after the Rosary and Novena prayers were Melacca-Johore Diocese Bishop Bernard Paul, parish priest Fr Adrian Francis Mathews and Permanent Deacon Offic Joseph Veangany, with close to 800 faithful.

After the procession, the multi-lingual Mass began in the church. Bishop Bernard Paul was the presider and preacher on September 30. The theme was Be Disciples of Hope. The prelate preached in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Tamil.

After Mass, Fr Adrian thanked all for coming to join in the celebration. He also thanked the prelate for his presence. Fr Adrian also expressed his appreciation to his parishioners who did a splendid job to make the anniversary celebrations meaningful and wonderful.

Fr Adrian appealed to all present for funds as the church is in dire need of repair and renovation. The parish is currently waiting for approval from the local council before renovation works can be carried out.

Many bought the ‘Help Build Our Future — Donate a Brick’ tickets at RM10/- each, to donate towards the fund raising project.

Dinner was held in the parish hall and grounds. As the faithful feasted on nasi briyani, there was a presentation of songs to keep the guests entertained. As Fr Adrian also marked his second Sacerdotal Anniversary on Oct 1, 2017, the parishioners brought out an anniversary cake. Bishop Bernard Paul and everyone present sang Happy Anniversary.

Today, after 80 years, the composition of the once mainly Indian parishioners includes Sabahans and Sarawakians. More than 1,000 faithful come here for worship.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online