Arin Surgit, who became an acolyte, gave out Holy Communion during a mass held to celebrate the second anniversary of the appointment of the Sultanate’s first bishop.

Bandar (AsiaNews) – It was an occasion of great celebration for the 5,000 strong Catholic community of Brunei. During the commemoration of the second anniversary of the appointment of the first bishop of Brunei, Cornelius Sim (on 21 January 2005), a seminarian undertook a first step towards priestly ordination, becoming an acolyte. So for the first time Arin Sugit, a 34-year-old man from the Iban ethnic group, gave out Holy Communion.

During the ceremony in the parish of the Assumption, which was attended by 800 people, Mgr Sim noted how the Catholic community has only four priests 100 years after being set up.

The president of the Parish Council, Luke Lau Kong-chiong, said the initial steps of the seminarian on the journey to the priesthood were a sign of the journey of the Church of Brunei in the work of evangelization and of the assimilation of the Good News by the indigenous peoples.

He recalled the help given to the three parishes of the state by Filipino priests who serve believers from their country as well as the support of priests from Malaysia for Chinese-speaking Catholics.

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