Friars Join Gathering of Young Priests (YPG 2022)

The Custody sent a sizeable contingent to this year’s Malaysia-Singapore Young Priests Gathering. Our nine young priests joined 33 other young priests from the two countries for the gathering hosted by the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur from 10 to 13 October 2022.

The annual Young Priests Gathering is organised by the Episcopal Commission for Diocesan Priests and Seminaries headed by Bishop Richard Ng of Miri. It is a time of ongoing formation, and allows the young priests to catch up with each other and strengthen fraternal bonds as they share their experiences and challenges in priestly ministry.

The gathering is for young priests who have been ordained for less than five years. Our participants this year were Friars Aiden Peter Jr, Claurence Motoyou, Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, David Au, Don Don Ramerez, Esmond Chua, Gerald Terence and Sixtus Pitah.

Nine OFM Franciscan Friars together with an OFM Capuchin friar.

It was a fruitful time for our young priests. Not only were they able to exchange ideas and share their challenges and personal struggles, they also had a day of recollection with Fr Michael Raymond OFM Cap and Msgr Mitchel Joseph.

Both speakers shared important and useful tips, touching on the psychosocial aspect of priestly ministry, compassion fatigue, stress management, the importance of accompaniment, and defence mechanism.

Msgr Mitchel invited them to deepen their understanding of the priesthood. He said,

“It’s vital for us, as priests, to continue to pay attention to the pulse of our own spiritual growth. We tend to be functional in ministry rather than looking into holiness seriously. There is no real ministry without holiness”.

The participants also had the opportunity to visit churches around Kuala Lumpur such as Church of Holy Family in Kajang and Church of Divine Mercy.

The next Young Priests Gathering will be held in Sandakan, Sabah from 1 to 5 May 2023.

Let us continue to pray for these young shepherds who have given their lives to care for the Lord’s sheep, and to minister to their needs. We praise and thank God for the gift of their vocation.