The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

SEREMBAN: The Feast of The Visitation of The Blessed Mary, celebrated on May 31, saw some 2,300-faithful gathered at the Church of The Visitation. The theme for the feast day multilingual Mass was My soul glorifies the Lord. Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Julian Leow.

Being the oldest Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, the feastday also marked the church’s 170 years of existence since 1848, thanks to the selfless giving, hard work and the faith foundation laid down by the early missionary MEP Fathers.

In his opening, Archbishop Leow welcomed all to this parish and to celebrate the faith and the existence of this parish. In his homily, Archbishop Leow said, “The promise given to Abraham and all generations to come has been made to us, that is the promise of salvation inherited from God. We must remain faithful to God. The choice is ours to choose good over evil.” He went on to urge the parishioners to read again the 2nd reading as it contained good advice for all. Our love, he said, must be sincere and not pretence. In referring to the name of The Visitation, Archbishop called upon parishioners to make hospitality as a special care. He asked that we carry Jesus wherever we are sent, to serve, to work or to live.

Parish Priest Fr George Harrison gave the homily in Mandarin and Tamil.

A Minangkabau style tabernacle was built to replace the old tabernacle. Archbishop Leow incensed and blessed the new tabernacle before placing the ciborium there.

Holy water and oil in small bottles were brought to the sanctuary for blessing. They were later distributed to each family present.

To mark the 170 years, hand fans decorated with the façade of the church building and The Visitation were distributed. In addition, a pocket size prayer card with the image of the 85 year old statue of Our Lady printed was also given out.

After Mass, all attended the dinner cum fellowship organised by the Church. Four food stations and a cendol stall had been set up. The chairperson of the organising committee of the 170th Anniversary, Jerome, gave a speech and presented the committee of ten members.

The highlight of the day was the launching of the coffee table magazine commemorating the 170th Anniversary by Archbishop Leow who was flanked by Fr George and Fr Andrew Kooi. Interesting articles, news, pictures, testimonials and information relating to the 170 years of the Church of the Visitation are contained in this magazine.

A cake cutting ceremony followed. As midnight approached, the celebration of the 170 years of the Church of the Visitation which started a year ago finally came to a close.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online