About 2000 join Archbishop John Wong at Christmas Open House

KOTA KINABALU – Surprise and joy registered on the face of the host for the Christmas Open House, Archbishop John Wong, each time a visitor came up to warmly greet him with the familiar salutary “Blessed Christmas”.

The annual tradition of hosting the Christmas Open House on December 25 has been receiving an increasingly warm response from the faithful and other well wishers over the years.

The festive celebration has been held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish Hall since the last four years to accommodate more guests. Prior to that, it was held at the Bishop’s House.

As he welcomed his visitors, it was the opportune moment for Archbishop Wong to remind them of the purpose of getting together to celebrate Christmas.

He said “Because of Jesus, we celebrate Christmas.  It is not just for food that we come together, but more importantly, we share the gift of Jesus, who is born for us today.”

“Let us share this “gift”, this joy with one another, and give to whoever in our family, work place and parish,” added the archbishop.

The guests were treated to an array of dishes prepared by the Catholic Women’s League, while Christmas presentations by the various groups provided a festive ambience to send feet a-tapping.

 At the same event, a surprise cake-cutting was presented to Archbishop Emeritus John Lee to celebrate his 54th Sacerdotal Ordination Anniversary which falls on Dec 27. – CS