Sibu (AsiaNews) – For the Church in Malaysia today, all roads lead to Sibu, in Sarawak, where Catholics from across the country are gathering to ask themselves a fundamental question: what does it mean to be the Church in Malaysia today?
The Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 (MPC2026) brings together bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak in an unprecedented gathering of experiences, cultures and perspectives. For the Church, it is more than just a convention: it is an opportunity to transcend geographical and cultural boundaries, to listen to one another and to discern together where the Spirit is guiding the Churches of western and eastern Malaysia – to become a single family united in faith, across the South China Sea.
And perhaps there is no more fitting place than Borneo – where the Church has long learnt to live out its faith amidst diverse indigenous cultures, remote communities and a deep sense of family, land and community.
The Catholic bishops of Malaysia hope that this first national pastoral convention will deepen the communion between the nine dioceses of this local Church and help Catholics to discern a common path to follow in the face of the country’s changing social and pastoral realities.
The Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 (MPC2026) begins today in Sibu and will run until Sunday 13 September. Organised around the theme ‘Celebrate, Listen, Walk’, the convention marks the first time that representatives from the three regions of the Malaysian Catholic Church have come together for a national pastoral convention in Sarawak.
The gathering also concludes just three days before Malaysia Day – the national holiday on 16 September commemorating the birth of the federation in 1963 – lending added significance to the Church’s reflection on its role and witness in such a diverse nation.
“Listening beyond our differences”
On the eve of MPC2026, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Monsignor Julian Leow, said he hoped the convention would become a “time of reflection filled with grace” on what it means to be the Church in Malaysia. He said the gathering should enable Catholics to celebrate their shared faith whilst embracing the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity. “I hope that we will listen deeply to one another in our joys and sorrows, in our hopes and dreams, and that we will learn to accompany and support one another along life’s journey,” said Archbishop Leow.
Such listening, he added, should lead to shared discernment and help the Church rediscover its prophetic role in Malaysia. He said that MPC2026 should enable participants to identify pastoral pathways that respond to current challenges, whilst preparing the Church for those to come.
Nine dioceses, one Church
Cardinal Sebastian Francis, Archbishop of Penang, emphasised that MPC2026 was a collective initiative of the nine dioceses and not the project of a single bishop. The decision to hold the convention was unanimous, he said, whilst its preparation was entrusted to an organising committee representing all nine local Churches and comprising clergy, religious and laity.
The bishops reviewed and approved the various stages of preparation to ensure that the convention remained faithful to the realities and pastoral needs of the Malaysian Church. However, Cardinal Francis stated that its outcome would ultimately depend on the participants’ willingness to engage in the process with humility. “It is important that the outcome of MPC2026 is not determined by me or my brother bishops, but is entrusted to the obedience and fidelity of all the participants who have committed themselves to this synodal process,” he said. He described the Holy Spirit as the “prime mover” of the convention, stating that participants are called to respond with humility, obedience and fidelity to the Spirit and to the people of God.
His greatest hope, he said, is that MPC2026 will strengthen the bonds, solidarity and communion amongst the nine dioceses that make up the Catholic Church in Malaysia.
A Malaysian Church ready to walk together
The Archbishop of Kuching, Monsignor Simon Poh, said that the convention could help Catholics recognise, perhaps more clearly than ever before, what it means to be a single Malaysian Church. Since the country was established as a federation in 1963, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak have developed their own pastoral approaches and held assemblies in accordance with their respective local contexts. MPC2026 offers an opportunity for these diverse experiences to come together.
“For the first time, bishops, priests, religious and lay leaders from across the country will gather in Sarawak to listen, discern and seek together a path for the future,” said Bishop Poh. He emphasised that the convention should not become a competition to determine which region has the best pastoral approach. Instead, Catholics should listen with humility, appreciate the gifts and experiences of each region, and discern how these can enrich the Church’s shared mission.
“It is not a question of deciding which region has the best approach,” commented the Archbishop of Kuching. “It is a question of listening with humility, appreciating the gifts and experiences that each one brings, and discerning how these can enrich our shared mission to build the Kingdom of God in our local communities and throughout Malaysia.”
At a time when political developments and national issues can heighten religious sensitivities and social tensions, he said that MPC2026 offers the Church an opportunity to “read the signs of the times” and to ask itself how it is called to respond as a single Malaysian Church. He hopes that participants will leave Sibu with a deeper sense of communion, a clearer commitment to walking together, and a renewed desire to offer a united, faithful and constructive witness to Malaysia.
At its heart, MPC2026 asks whether a Church shaped by diverse histories, cultures and pastoral realities can increasingly recognise itself as a single Malaysian Church — celebrating its shared faith, listening to one another and walking together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Speaking to AsiaNews, mons. Peter Ng Lai Huat a priest of Melaka-Johor, who is attending the convention, said he hoped that MPC2026 would become a “moment of the Holy Spirit” for all those gathered in Sibu. The timing itself, he observed, carries a deeper significance; the historic gathering begins the day after the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and concludes on the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, on 14 September.
“Emmanuel – God is with us,” mons. Peter continued, pointing to the heart of the Christian journey: God does not remain distant from his people but enters into their lives, walks with them and accompanies them in their joys, their struggles and their uncertainties. For this reason, the convention is therefore more than just a gathering to discuss the future of the Malaysian Church. It is a time to recognise God’s presence amongst his people and to listen to the movement of the Holy Spirit in a Church that encompasses Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
Photo Caption: A traditional Borneo cultural dance in Sarawak, representing the rich cultural heritage of the region hosting Catholics from Malaysia’s nine dioceses for the Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 in Sibu, Sept. 9-13. Joseph Masilamany (File Photo)
