By William Gan
BINTULU — It was 1 May, the feast day of St Joseph, the Worker. As darkness settled over Bintulu town, about a thousand faithful thronged the Church carpark holding candles, singing hymns and scattering fragrant flower confetti as they accompanied the Perjalanan Salib cross in procession from St Anthony’s Hall to St Anthony’s Church.
The Salib was welcomed into the Church with traditional Iban Ngajat dance and an ensemble of Iban musical instruments. It was the start of the journey of the national Perjalanan Salib in the Diocese of Miri.
Earlier that afternoon, Rev Fr Jack Nayak from St Joseph’s Cathedral Parish of Miri, together with his team of 12, escorted the Salib from Miri in a convoy of three vehicles. Fr Jack’s convoy arrived at St Anthony’s Hall, Bintulu at 5.30 pm where the Salib was reassembled. The Salib was previously blessed and launched in the Diocese during Chrism Mass on 9 April 2025 by Rt Rev Bishop Richard Ng. St Anthony’s Parish in Bintulu was honoured to be the first stop for the Salib as it makes its journey across the entire Miri Diocese, visiting every parish until its return to Miri in September 2026.
The special Mass at St Anthony’s Church, commenced at 7.30 pm. Rev Fr Andy Lee, the Rector of Bintulu Parish, welcomed the congregation and Fr Jack’s team from Miri. He outlined the program for the Salib in Bintulu Parish, where the Salib will journey to various churches, chapels, longhouses, taman-taman and zones in the Parish between 1 May to 31 May 2025. In front of the congregation, the Salib was then symbolically handed over by Fr Jack’s team to Fr Andy’s team.
The day’s Mass, the Memorial of St Joseph the Worker, was celebrated by Fr Andy and con-celebrated with Fr Glenn Flores, Fr Jack Nyarak and Fr Peter Hwang, the visiting Rector from the neighbouring parish of Sebauh. In his homily, Fr Andy pointed out that Jesus Christ in his ultimate sacrifice has turned the cross from an instrument of shame, defeat and death into a symbol of victory, hope and everlasting life.
At the conclusion of the Mass and as part of the Perjalanan Salib handover ceremony, 50 tree saplings were blessed and presented to St Anthony’s Parish. These saplings symbolised the hope and assurance of renewal and restoration revealed through Jesus Christ who died on the Cross. That Cross has become for us the “Tree of Life”. They already represent regeneration of life reminding us of our duty as stewards of creation. The 50 saplings represented the upcoming 50th Year anniversary of the Diocese of Miri in 2026 where the Perjalanan Salib journey will culminate.
It was past 9.00 pm when the Mass ended but many stayed back to spend a few moments of quiet time venerating the Salib at the altar. It was a jubilant and memorable event that many wanted to prolong well into the night.
In June, the Salib will continue to the St Peter’s Parish in Tatau.
