CATHOLIC today’s
A monthly publication of the Archdiocese of Kuching, Sarawak
Permit No PPK 148/01/2013(031378)
Vol 29 No 10 January 2018
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John said to his disciples, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.” Jn 1:36
今日教友 第十六至二十二頁
St Peter’s Columbarium: the first Catholic columbarium in Sarawak
Archbishop Simon Poh officiating at the ground breaking ceremony
Conceptual design of the Columbarium at St Peter’s Church
Conceptual design of the niches at the proposed Columbarium KUCHING — The blessing and ground breaking ceremony by His Grace, Archbishop Simon Poh for the construction of the Columbarium at St Peter’s Church took place on 5 December 2017. About 50 people consisting of consultants, contractors, parish councillors, members of a Humanitarian Foundation and some parishioners attended the auspicious occasion. In his welcoming speech, the Archbishop thanked the councillors, parishioners and benefactors, especially the Humanitarian Foundation, to
have made this project possible. He said that the Columbarium is a sacred place for keeping the cremated remains of the departed. Through the Humanitarian Foundation, some of the niches will also be made available for the needy and poor Catholics as their final resting place. A columbarium is a building where ‘niches’ are placed to house cremated remains of the deceased. The name derives from an Italian word ‘columba’, which means ‘the dwelling place of a dove’. Niches are spaces in the walls of the columbarium for
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the inurnment of human remains after cremation. When asked why the parish decided to build a columbarium in the parish compound, the rector of St Peter’s Church, Fr Vincent Chin, explained that they are trying to restore an old tradition of the Church. “The old tradition of the Church was to have a cemetery next to a church to make sure that those who passed away were close to the believing community. So all those while, wherever there was a church, there was always a cemetery next to it,” he said. The proximity of the
Interior view of the proposed Columbarium cemetery to the church makes it convenient for church-goers to visit and pray for their departed loved ones as often as they go to the church. It also serves as a reminder that it is their responsibility to pray for those who are gone, and that they too would be laid there one day. It is also to show that there is nothing to fear about the dead. With the current scarcity of land in Kuching and the government regulations on burial places, having a cemetery near a church is next to impossible. That is why Catholic cemeteries are located
further and further away. The nearest cemetery in Kuching accessible to most Catholics is the one at 13th-1/2 Mile. “In this kind of situation, people would probably only go to the cemetery twice a year, once during the death anniversary of the person, another on All Souls Day,” remarked Fr Chin. “Other than that, they (the dead) are mostly forgotten,” he said. “The presence of the columbarium will bring that old tradition back.” Continued on p7
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