In Cambodia, religious activities cannot be held in schools, even after school hours. Therefore, students who wish to know the Christian faith can only be nurtured through parishes. So at Xavier Jesuit School we focus on our hostel students, and invite them to go to church and attend Mass on Sundays.

Since our hostel students rarely go out, most of them see a “trip to church” as a special programme on Sundays. There are 20 to 30 of them who attend Mass each time, and a few of them become interested in Sunday School. This Easter, 10 of them are finally receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. They were accepted into the order of catechumens during a simple Mass at the Xavier House Chapel on 10 March. Each of them were given necklaces with a cross and pictures of their patron saint.

When I asked them how they felt, it was quite surprising to hear them say they were “afraid”. What were they afraid of? Fortunately, they were only “shy” to introduce themselves and profess their faith in front of everyone in the church, which is part of the initiation into the catechumenate process.

Chorvy, a tenth-grader, showed great excitement. “I’m not afraid!” she said, “I attended Sunday School in the seventh grade, but then the teacher stopped teaching [The teacher was a Jesuit scholastic who went abroad to continue his formation]. Two years later, the pandemic occurred, the school was closed, and we could not go to church. I’m finally able to be baptised this year and I’m so happy!”

So, what drives these young people to be baptised? Most of them said it was the desire to know more God’s truth and to participate further in the life of the Church. Sophea, a twelfth-grader, is more mature, and her response is reassuring: “The Church provides a lot of services to help the poor and enable students to go to school. I am very happy to have the opportunity to receive these services and hope to serve others in the future. In addition, I often feel calm and joyful when I pray.”

It is a grace to be able to enjoy prayer, but as a teacher, I wanted to ask more: “Why do you think the Church helps people?” Their answer was a crisp: “I don’t know. I also want to find out why, that’s why I want to join the Church.”

I also had to ask, “Did your family express any opinion on your baptism?” Because I once knew of a student who could not be baptised because of parental opposition, and I really do not want to see history repeat itself! It was good to hear our students say that although their families are Buddhists, they were never forced to visit the temple and did not interfere with their choices.

So, what do our students think is the difference between being a Catholic and a non-Catholic? Interestingly, they said that believers participate more in church activities. Other than that, there should be no difference between believers and non-believers, and everyone is a human being anyway.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will always be with them, giving them encouragement and strength to thrive as part of God’s little flock in Cambodia.