St Edmund’s Parish celebrates golden jubilee

LIMBANG, Miri: The Church of St Edmund celebrated its golden jubilee on Nov 4.

“As we thank God, we must also remember to thank and pray for all the Mill Hill priests and all the local priests who have served in St Edmund’s Church. Some have gone back to the Lord while others are still serving in different parishes. We ask the Lord to bless and reward them accordingly,” Bishop Richard Ng said in the souvenir booklet

“Today, as we celebrate 50 years of God’s faithful love and mercy, we not only look back at the past with grateful hearts.

We must also look to the future with hope and confidence and ask ourselves, how can we make the church more relevant, dynamic, inclusive and out-going,” he added.

Bishop Ng also installed Fr Peter Hwang as Rector of the new parish of St Edmund, Limbang. The new parish has 53 longhouses, camps, schools and plantation under its jurisdiction.
Short History of the Church

In 1955, an Irish priest came to Limbang and started a school. In 1958, a priest house and three classrooms were built at mile one, Kubong Road. A room at the priest house was used as a chapel (which is now used as a library room.) As the Catholic community began to grow, the small chapel was always overcrowded, especially on Sundays.

A church was built at a cost of RM80,000.00 and was blessed by Bishop Anthony Galvin MHM on April 30, 1968, with the Mill Hill priests serving the community.

The first local priest who had served in Limbang Parish was Fr Philip Empalah, an Iban from Sebauh in Bintulu. He served in Limbang from 1977 to 1979.

Unfortunately, from 1987 until 1991, the parish was without a resident priest. Occasionally, a priest from Miri or Bandar Sri Begawan came to celebrate Masses on Sundays.

In the mid 1980s, there was a plan to build a newer and bigger church. Many fundraising activities were organised by the Church Building Committee. In 1996, the old church was pulled down to make way for the new one. It was a joy for everyone when the new church was ready to be used for Christmas 1996.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online