Christmas open house at Kuching Cathedral celebrates unity, peace and goodwill

KUCHING (Dec 25): ’Tis the season to be jolly as Christmas morning was celebrated with festivity and joy at the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Pastoral Centre here.

A large crowd gathered at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching’s Christmas open house on Wednesday, celebrating in a spirit of gratitude, goodwill and togetherness.

“Christmas is a time of celebrating God’s gift of Jesus for us. His birthday brings about peace, mercy, and the angels declare glory to God in the highest, giving thanks to God and peace on earth to people of goodwill.

“We are seeking goodwill among one another, to build peace, harmony, and unity among all people,” said Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuching Dato Dr Simon Poh when met by reporters.

He also reflected on ongoing global conflicts, expressing hope that peace will prevail.

“Beyond here we pray that throughout the world, leaders of goodwill will work together, especially where there are conflicts,” he said, noting the situations in Ukraine, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and most recently, Australia.

“We pray that people, leaders of goodwill, political and spiritual leaders will work together to bring peace and harmony throughout the world,” he added.

Poh went on to express gratitude and pride as a Sarawakian, commending the state’s leadership for advocating unity and peace.

“We are blessed in Sarawak. We have our Premier and Yang di-Pertua Negeri, who practice harmony and peace and their presence at all the functions unifies all of us.

“As a proud Sarawakian, I am very happy to be here, and we know that we are blessed,” he said.

He concluded by extending festive greetings to all those celebrating.

“To all who are celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas. And to all friends who are here, welcome. Let’s share the blessings together, and may each of you have a blessed New Year,” he said.

The Christmas open house is expected to welcome between 500 and 800 guests throughout the day.