Last week, Catholic Archbishop Simon Poh of Kuching, President of the Association of Christian Churches in Sarawak presided over the blessing of the first Christian chapel of the Sarawak Heart Center, a Malaysian state located on Borneo island.
The idea of building a chapel for Christians in the hospital was proposed in 2019. The work was supported by Dr. Mohd Asri bin Riffin, Director of the Medical Center. The Catholic Church was assigned the design part.
This is a need that has arisen in a special way to meet the needs of medical staff and patients to attend Sunday Mass. Previously, Mass was celebrated once a month in a temporary small room.
Thanks to the cooperation of the government and the Church, the construction started in April 2021 and was completed on December 15, 2021.
In his inauguration speech, Archbishop Poh affirmed that the chapel is a blessing from God, and a place for the exchange of harmony between religious and cultural communities, in order to promote spirituality. family unity. “I hope the inauguration of this Chapel of the Sacred Heart will set an example for the rest of Malaysia,” he said. We must work as one human family, not only in Malaysia but all over the world. We must be brothers and sisters, because we are all created and loved by the same God.”
The chapel will be a place for the sick to seek God and through prayer to receive strength from above, he added. Indeed, the chapel will be a place of prayer, encouraging physical, mental and emotional healing.”
In his speech, the President of the Association of Christian Churches also noted that, although the chapel was built and assigned to the Catholic Church, all members of other Christian Churches can come here to pray. wish.
During the blessing of the Chapel, the Archbishop makes a symbolic gesture of turning on the chapel lights and saying "Let there be light" (Gen 1:3). He also celebrated his first Mass in this chapel.
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According to VaticantNews