The Custody of St Anthony Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei is blessed to have a good number of young brothers in various stages of formation in 2024.
Two candidates – Jonathan Ng from Singapore and Maximillian Alexson from Kuching, Sarawak – joined the postulancy programme on 14 January this year. Postulancy is the initial stage of the formation journey in the long process of discernment to religious life. (Click here for photos of the event)
Brother Jorgerson Japar, who is from Sarawak, has completed his novitiate. He made his First Profession of Simple Vows on 6 January at St Anthony Friary, and begins his first year in philosophy at St Francis Xavier Major Seminary. (Click here for photos of the event)
Brother Julian Chua has completed his philosophy studies, and will begin his Franciscan year soon. The Franciscan year is when friars in formation are sent to a Franciscan entity beyond their Custody to experience community and mission work in a different culture and environment. Brother Julian will go to the Pakistan Province for his Franciscan year.
Having completed his Franciscan year in Indonesia last year, Brother Marvin Voo returns to the formation house at Greccio Friary in Singapore to continue his formation and studies.
Finally, Brother Nelson Evarinus has completed his priestly formation studies, and was ordained as a deacon on 14 January 2024 at St Ann’s Church, Kuching, Sarawak. He has been assigned to the Church of the Risen Christ, Penang for his diaconate ministry. Whilst in Penang, he will also do a course on Clinical Pastoral Experience at Mount Miriam Hospital. (Click here for photos of the event)
For the Franciscan friar, formation begins the moment God calls, and continues through the various stages of formation that deepen the call to community life, to ministry, and finally to embracing the evangelical vows for life. We thank God for these brothers in formation, for their openness to the Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate formator, guiding them in the footsteps of St Francis, to be at service to Christ and his Church. Please join us in praying that they may continue to grow in their love and commitment as friars minor.
The path to the diaconate has been a transformative journey marked by self-discovery, spiritual growth and commitment to the teachings of Christ. As I prepared for my diaconate ordination on 14 January 2024 at St Ann’s Church, Kuching, Sarawak, the verses from Matthew 23:11-12 were a guiding light. “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humble, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
This is the essence of what it means to be a deacon – to be a servant, to embrace humility, and to find greatness in selfless acts of love and compassion.
I reflected on these words with a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility. They are a call to emulate the humility of Christ who washed the feet of his disciples, exemplifying the essence of servant leadership. They are a reminder that humility is not a virtue reserved for the cloistered halls of a monastery, but an indispensable quality for anyone aspiring to follow Christ’s teachings. The measure of greatness lies not in the accolades we receive but in the lives we touch and the burdens we help carry.
Following my ordination, I will be posted to the Church of the Risen Christ in Penang for six months. This opportunity to serve in a different community is a chance to embody the teachings of Matthew 23:11- 12 in a practical way by walking alongside the people of Penang, sharing in their joys and sorrows, and offering the comforting presence of a servant-leader.
While in Penang, I will also be taking Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) studies, which will help to refine my pastoral skills, deepen my understanding of human suffering, and enhance my ability to offer compassionate care to those in need.
The journey ahead in Penang promises to be a time of profound learning and growth. May the footsteps of this humble servant leave an indelible mark on the hearts of those I am called to serve, as I strive to show Christ’s love in every act of kindness and compassion.
On the day of our Custody’s autonomy, 25 April 2023, OFM Minister General Friar Massimo Fusarelli presented me with a relic of Blessed Gabriele Allegra, who was named as the copatron of our Custody, together with St Anthony of Padua. It was such a precious gift. This Blessed stepped on our humble shores and actually lived intermittently at St Anthony Friary from 1960 to 1963.
The Franciscan Friars in Singapore owe our existence to him as it was he who saw that Singapore was the ideal location for a sociological centre to offer the Church’s Social Teaching as an alternative to the Communist ideas then gaining popularity in the Far East.
His biblical spirituality is well-known, having established the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (Franciscan Biblical Centre). Bl Allegra responded “yes” to God’s personal call to him to translate the bible into the Chinese language, despite not knowing Chinese and not being a specialist in Sacred Scripture. He set his heart and mind completely on God’s work, and he was known to have said that “the most enviable fate for a Franciscan who does not obtain the grace of martyrdom is to die while he is working!”
Bl Allegra was also respected in theological circles. He participated in international theological congresses, and championed the Franciscan vision of Christology and Mariology, after the likes of other Franciscan theologians such as St Bonaventure, Bl John Duns Scotus and St Bernardine of Siena. Bl Allegra paid special attention to the subject of the Primacy of Christ and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to whom he had a special devotion.
Less known is his love of the poor and the attention he paid to them. Whilst living in Hong Kong, he often visited the leper colony in Macau during Easter and Christmas, deliberately choosing to celebrate these special days with lepers. His deep love for the Franciscan Order is evident in his desire to renew the Order especially after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) when the Church herself was being renewed. He connected this renewal with his theological insights about Christ (Christology) and about Mary (Mariology). This is the genius of this man: knowing how to use his intellect and making real his insights into practical liveable values.
On his feast day, 26 January, especially, we remember this wonderful holy man and friar. There is so much more to learn about him, and so much we can learn from his radical following of Christ in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi.
PULAU TIKUS, Penang – The Order of Friars Minors (OFM) celebrated a solemn Requiem Mass for a “simple” Franciscan friar at the Church of the Risen Christ here on 5 Dec 2023. The sudden death of Friar Arul Sagayaraj Mariadass, 60, on Nov 28 in Sabah came as a shock to those who knew him. He was assigned less than a year in the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese.
The Franciscan Friars pay final respects to their deceased confrere
Born in 1963 in Penang, the deceased entered the Franciscan Order, made his solemn profession in 1995, and was ordained a priest in 1997. The deceased was well-known for his simplicity and availability, according to those who knew him well. This was brought out during the eulogies delivered by his nephew and nieces before Mass began.
The Mass was presided by Friar Derrick Yap, Custos of the Custody of St Anthony (Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei), while the homily was preached by Friar Michael D’ Cruz to a jam-packed church. He was buried at the Kelawei Road Catholic Cemetery.
