First-ever Malaysia Pastoral Convention (MPC) 2026

SIBU, SARAWAK — The rain came down just as the Opening Mass began. It fell heavy and relentless over the open theatre of Sibu Gateway, drenching nearly a thousand Catholics gathered for the historic launch of the first-ever Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026. Some sought shelter, some stood firm where they were, while others went up to the podium, closer to the altar, standing side by side with the bishops and clergy concelebrating the Mass. The rain somehow helped to materialise the Church, where bishops, clergy, religious, lay leaders and young people stood on the same plain, shoulder to shoulder, encircling the altar, breaking bread together. Ironically, the uninvited pour of the rain had become the bridge builder of the much-needed spirit of synodality.

In the collective mind of the assembly, it was rain from above, and for a week-worn island gasping under the annual haze of forest fires, it felt like an answer.

“The haze has been on every delegate’s lips, on the drive to Sibu, at the airport benches, in mid-air conversations,” one participant observed. “For years, we have treated it as an annual crisis we cannot solve. But when the rain poured, we all understood: the solution does not come from the ground. It comes from above.”

That symbolic downpour, many reflected, mirrored the state of the Catholic Church in Malaysia itself.

A church in the haze

For decades, each diocese has charted its own course, Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Sabah moving in parallel but rarely in the same direction. While individual visions remain clear, collective vision, according to delegates, has often been shrouded in uncertainty, until Archbishop Julian Leow mooted the idea of extending the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention to Sabah and Sarawak, rebranding it the Pan Malaysia Pastoral Convention, which was later shortened to the Malaysia Pastoral Convention. In his opening address, Archbishop Simon Poh noted that the first Malaysia-wide image of the Catholic Church was expressed when the first-ever Malaysia Clergy Assembly was organised in Melaka-Johor Diocese, gathering all the clergy throughout Malaysia from July 16–20, 2018, at the Majodi Centre in Johor Bahru, which brought together around 280 bishops, priests, and deacons under the theme “May They Be One.”

Nine crosses, one people

The Convention, held from Sept 9 to 13 across three key venues; Sibu Gateway, Kingwood Hotel, and the Sacred Heart Cathedral, opened with a ritual that left few eyes dry.

Nine crosses, which had journeyed across every diocese over 18 months, travelling from parish to parish, were brought forward and merged into a single united cross. The powerful act was carried out by youth delegates from all nine dioceses, witnessed by the full assembly of bishops and cardinals. As the crosses joined, the congregation rose in song, heralding the convention’s theme song, “Bangkitlah!” (Arise!).

“The crosses bear the marks of their journey, their faded colour, disfiguring marks, and the many hands that had touched them. They had travelled far, reaching many people at the peripheries. Today we brought them together, bringing all the voices and prayers from the grassroots to be with us here, symbolising one Church, one Malaysia, “ said Archbishop Simon Poh in his homily for the Opening Mass at Sibu Gateway.

The cross, which stood on a wheeled platform, was then pushed through the town along its roads to Kingwood Hotel, and placed reverently near the stage of the convention hall for veneration.

“That procession,” one observer noted, “was the Malaysian Church in motion, diverse in culture, united in faith.”

A landmark venue

Bishop Joseph Hii, the Bishop of the Diocese of Sibu, in answering press, said, “All the bishops were given the opportunity to be the host of this historical event. I accepted the proposal because of several reasons: financially bearable, logistically ideal because Sibu is located at the centre of East Malaysia. Another reason is that Sarawak has the largest Christian percentage of the population.”

The convention was jointly officiated with the symbolic beating three times on three gongs by Archbishop Simon Poh, the President of Malaysia’s Bishops Conference; Dato Sri Aaron Ago Dagang, the Federal Minister of National Unity; and Dato Georgina Apphia Ngau, Director of the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR), Sarawak.

‘Listening in the spirit’

Throughout the convention, delegates engaged deeply with a series of inputs designed to chart a unified pastoral framework.

The first session, followed by conversations in the Spirit, came from Archbishop Emeritus John Ha of Kuching, who posed the foundational question: “How Shall We Decide and Act Together Collectively as a Church of Malaysia?”

On the second day, Cardinal Ambo addressed the assembly on “Family and Church Journeying Together in Our Time,” while Bridget Walsh spoke on “Our Responsibility for Creation and Society Today”—a topic that resonated powerfully given the haze still hanging over the island.

The vibe of one church

For the more than 1,000 Catholics gathered at Sibu Gateway, the feeling was unmistakable.

“Despite the rain, despite the haze, we felt the vibe of being one Malaysian Church,” said one delegate. “Not Sabahan, not Sarawakian, not Peninsular. Just one.”

As the Convention continues, the question remains: will the rain that fell on the opening day become the lasting downpour that clears the haze, or will the Church, like Borneo, wait another year for the sky to change?

The united cross stands at Kingwood Hotel. The conversations have begun. And for the first time in Malaysia’s Catholic history, the Church is listening, together. – Peter Zeter