A multitude from the remotest edges of Myanmar converged on Yangon to celebrate 500 years of Christianity in the country. According to Fr Chinnappan Amalraj SJ, Delegate for the Jesuit Myanmar Mission, they occupied all the empty spaces in and around the churches, halls, even Hindu temples.
Fr Joseph Aik Maung SJ, who was ordained in May, led one group of the Kachins who came from the northernmost dioceses. Fr Aik Maung is one of only three Myanmar priests in the Society of Jesus.
“Neither the war nor displacement deterred the Kachins from undertaking this long journey – crossing rivers and mountains and a journey that took nearly two full days. There is a riot of colours in the streets of Yangon,” said Fr Amalraj, adding, “In a commendable show of Christian fellowship, the Yangon Catholics are feeding these thousands.”
The Church has a part in helping Myanmar’s transition to democracy. UCAN quotes Fr Maurice Nyunt Wai, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, saying, “What we need today is to be involved in nation-building, the peace process and national reconciliation. The Church must be a voice for the voiceless, and it must stand for the people of marginalized [communities].”
As the three-day Jubilee celebration began on November 21, Fr Amalraj reflected on Jesuit footsteps through the country’s history and what the Jubilee means for the Jesuits there.
Although Jesuit interest in Myanmar dates back to St Francis Xavier, contemporary Jesuit history in the country only began in the 1950s and early 1960s when Jesuits from the Jesuit Maryland Province were tasked to staff a new national seminary. However, they were forced to leave five years later when the socialist dictatorship closed the country down to foreign contacts. In the 1990s, several bishops, former students of the Maryland Jesuits, personally appealed to then Fr General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach SJ for a return of the Society of Jesus to the country. The Jesuits returned in 1998 and have since established several apostolic endeavours, including a novitiate.
There are 32 Myanmar Jesuits; most of them are scholastics engaged in apostolic endeavours in various parts of the country or abroad studying. All are eager to embrace the challenges that await them as their country begins to open to world trade and democracy.
As Fr Mark Raper SJ, Superior of the Jesuit Myanmar Mission and President of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific said earlier this year, “We want to support the Church’s efforts to inject new creativity into Myanmar society so that it may realise its potential to function well in the contemporary world context.”
Read Fr Amalraj’s reflection here.