Ha places a Miter (hat worn by bishops) on Poh’s head during the ordination ceremony. On the far left are Poh’s parents witnessing the ordination of their son on stage.
KUCHING: A local priest, Simon Poh Hoon Seng, 52, was ordained Auxiliary Bishop by Archbishop Reverend Father John Ha at a Mass celebrated at the indoor Stadium Perpaduan at Petra Jaya here which was attended by more than 5,000 Catholics from the Archdiocese of Kuching and other parts of the state.
The ordination was also witnessed by Vatican Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia Joseph Marino, archbishops, bishops, priests and members of religious orders in Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia and from Singapore and Brunei.
Representatives other Christian denominations and the Sarawak Bahai Assembly also attended the ordination.
Several state politicians led by Minister Of Infrastructure and Development Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong, Julau MP Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum and Kuching South Mayor Datuk James Chan Khay Syn were also present.
In his homily the Archbishop said that Poh’s acceptance of the appointment as bishop entailed him to have humility and desire to serve the people
“As you well know, his office is one of service, not of honour. Its exercise requires a heart of humility and readiness to serve.”
He added that as Bishop, Poh had to pray and offer sacrifice of himself for the people and devote himself wholeheartedly to serving the Church to live up to his new appointment.
“In exercising the pastoral care of Christ’s work and drawing people to it, you will always be mindful of Christ the good Shepherd. He knows his sheep and they know him,” he reminded Poh.
Ha lauded Poh for his close and generous cooperation with him since he took over as Archbishop of Kuching in 2003 and looked forward to working with the new bishop.
“For this I am grateful to you as Archbishop, you share my ministry even more closely and fully. Ours is not pastoral
ministry of a parish but a diocese. Together therefore we will pursue the vision the archdiocese and pastoral council set for the archdiocese at the archdiocese pastoral congress in 2012,” he added.