By Ivy Chai
KOTA PADAWAN — On 8 August 2025, St Ann’s Parish held a recollection for full-time catechists followed by the Installation of Catechists according to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter ‘Antiquum Ministerium’ issued in 2021.
The Pope’s apostolic letter ‘Antiquum Ministerium’ formally established the lay ministry of Catechist, recognising their foundational role in faith communication and education. On 3 December 2021, the Vatican followed up with the promulgation of the Rite of Institution of Catechists, to guide the formal recognition of this ministry worldwide.
Calling this installation a “landmark event” as this is the “first time this has been done in the Archdiocese of Kuching, possibly in Malaysia,” Archbishop Simon Poh said, “We have been using this same model of over 50 years and now can officially institute this ministry of catechists in the spirit of the ancient ministry of catechists that we read in the New Testament.”
He further noted, “The apostolic letter recognises the ancient role of catechists during the time of the apostles, highlighting their historical importance in evangelisation and the transmission of faith. It emphasises the vocational aspect of this ministry and calls for a collaborative effort between lay catechists, bishops, and priests.”
Present to witness the installation of the 22 full-time catechists by Archbishop Simon Poh, were Parish Priests Fr Don Don Ramirez from St Ann, Fr Peter Liston from St Stephen, Fr Lazarus Swinie from St Theresa and Fr Prince Cornelius from St Jude.
Training of full-time Catechists in the Archdiocese of Kuching
Continuing in the footsteps of the Mill Hill Missionaries in the 1970s who trained catechists to work alongside Priests for faith instruction in the hundreds of villages throughout the state, the Arch/Diocese of Kuching, Sibu and Miri have shared resources in the training of recent batches of catechists for Sarawak.
The present full-time catechists had undergone a 3-year comprehensive course of training, which they completed by attending three training sessions held in Miri in 2020 (10 February to 29 May), 2021 (8 February to 28 May) and 2022 (4 February to 21 May).
Full-time catechists:
Holy Spirit, Lundu: Louis Joph, Dominic Keseng, Pearson Epang
St Stephen, Bau: Joseph Jiham, Luke Lulot, Francis Leheir, Herbert Kateen
Sacred Heart, Kota Sentosa: Sr Susan Dulang
St Ann, Kota Padawan: Stephen Jawun, Joseph Juni, Lawrence Jarim, Diana Gaya, Lawrence Ajak
St Theresa, Serian: Damian Nylut, Edward Nyaingki, Royston Mu’at, David Gali, Lena Sabang, Nicholas Nyawan
St Jude, Bunan: Benedict Jambi, Gervas Jakan
Our Lady Queen of Peace, Simanggang: Grace Amy Simon
Catechist aspirants:
St Stephen, Bau: Chris Wagner
St Ann, Kota Padawan: Johny Keegan
St Theresa, Serian: Vincent Jude, Yvonne Joshua
There were eight long-serving catechists among them who had served for 30-35 years. They received their earlier training in Sibu (1993-1994); St Lukas centre (1995-1996); Sibu/Miri (2003-2005); Lay Formation centre, Kuching (2006-2008) and Church of Mater Dei, Lutong (2016-2018).
