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Asian and Pacific Island Catholics’ Marian pilgrimage stresses how diverse cultures are united in faith

An Indian family prays during the Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage held on May 1, 2021 at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Participating in their 18th annual Marian pilgrimage in the Washington, D.C., area, Asian and Pacific Island Catholics were encouraged to be a “family of families” united in their faith, and to make devotion to Mary and love for Christ central to their homes and an impetus for them to build a new and better world.

“Fellow Asian and Pacific Island Catholics: we are better together as a family of families. May we continue as pilgrims on Earth, help others to encounter the Risen Lord, looking up to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the numerous saints and martyrs who serve as our models and intercessors,” said Carolyn Ng, the vice-president of the Asian and Pacific  Network, who spoke at the end of the pilgrimage Mass celebrated on May 1 at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The Asian and Pacific Catholic Network organized the pilgrimage and Mass in collaboration with the Asian and Pacific Island Affairs section of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, and with the support of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach and the Office of Multicultural Ministries in the Diocese of Arlington. The annual event is celebrated in May as part of Asian and Pacific Island National Heritage Month.

Ng, the coordinator for catechesis and faith formation at Our Lady of China Pastoral Mission that worships at St. Mary Mother of God Church in Washington’s Chinatown neighborhood, said the pilgrimage and Mass offered an “opportunity to pray in solidarity, not only with Asian and Pacific Island Catholics, but also with the Church in the U.S. and beyond.”

Women pray during the May 1 Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Silver Spring for the annual Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Over the years, the pilgrimage and Mass have traditionally been held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, drawing a large congregation of Asian and Pacific Island Catholics from the East Coast. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, the pilgrimage this year was held on a smaller scale, with about 100 participants at the Maryland church wearing masks and sitting in social distances in alternate church pews. The pilgrimage’s call to prayer and Mass were also livestreamed.

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 caused the pilgrimage last year to be canceled, and instead an online rosary was held.

While lacking the striking musical and dance performances representing different Asian cultures that have opened the past pilgrimages at the National Shrine, the May 1 call to prayer featured Alice Kan of the Guzheng Ensemble playing “Amazing Grace” and “America the Beautiful” on the Chinese zither.

Alice Kan plays the Chinese zither during the May 1 pilgrimage for Catholics with roots in Asia and the Pacific Islands. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Welcoming people to the pilgrimage, Aylene Mafnas, a Filipino Catholic, noted that while participants represented different countries, cultures and dioceses, “yet our devotion to our Blessed Mother binds us together as one.”

That devotion could be seen in a display of several ornate statues of Mary, depicted in native dress as the patroness of several Asian countries, that were displayed in front of the church’s sanctuary, not far from banners representing Catholics with roots in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Samoa, Korea and China.

Participating communities in the Asian and Pacific Catholic Network also include Bangla, Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Laotian, Lebanese, Pakistani and Thai Catholics.

Opening remarks were offered by Sister Myrna Tordillo, a member of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo who serves as an assistant director for the Asian and Pacific Island Affairs section of the USCCB Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church.

She noted that the pilgrimage came at a “providential moment… This is a favorable time for us to gather in person after a long time and to gather online.”

In her remarks, she highlighted the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines, noting that the first Mass was celebrated there on Easter Sunday in 1521.

Sister Tordillo highlighted the heroic example of two Filipino saints – St. Lorenzo Ruiz, an altar server who was martyred in 1637 for refusing to renounce his faith and who said he would rather die “a thousand deaths” than renounce his Savior, Jesus Christ; and St. Pedro Calungsod, a young missionary catechist who was martyred in 1672, struck by a spear as he shielded a priest from native attackers.

Also displayed at the front of the church were statues of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod, who are patron saints of Filipino youth.

The 2.9 million Filipino Catholics in the United States today represent a vibrant part of the present and future Catholic Church in this country, Sister Tordillo said.

An essay in the pilgrimage program written by Rosemarie Ong, who works for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, highlighted the legacy of those Filipino saints and added that the 500th anniversary offered a special time for Catholics from the Philippines “to live out and share this precious gift of faith wherever they may be in the world.”

A woman prays pray during the May 1 Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Silver Spring for the annual Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

A diverse group of Asian Catholics, including women wearing traditional silk dresses or saris, led the praying of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, including the Indonesian Catholic community of the Washington area; a family representing the Indian Tamil Catholic community; the Legion of Mary of St. Paul Chung Korean Catholic Church in Fairfax, Virginia; the Vietnamese Catholic community of Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington; and a man and woman from the Samoan Catholic community.

Father Chris Arockiaraj – a Sulpician priest and native of India who serves as vice-rector and director of pastoral formation of the Theological College seminary at The Catholic University of America who concelebrated the Mass – said praying the rosary offers “a bridge between us and God. Let this rosary be a powerful companion as we witness to Jesus…”

The Mass featured traditional Marian hymns like “Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly” and “Ave Maria.”

Msgr. Eddie Tolentino, the pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish who served as the main celebrant at the Mass, said it was an honor for the parish to host the pilgrimage, and noted that his grandfather was an immigrant from the Philippines.

Msgr. Tolentino, St. Michael's pastor, gives his homily during the May 1 Mass for the Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage. In the foreground can be seen statues of Mary, depicting the Blessed Mother as the patroness of several Asian countries. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

In his homily, Msgr. Tolentino said that at a time when some family members are estranged from one another, “Jesus Christ never ceases to call us to be one in God.”

The priest said today’s families can find models of love and of saying “yes” to God in the Holy Family of Nazareth – Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. Each home, he said, should be a place of prayer, adding that Mary, just as she is the mother of the Church, can be a mother in each home, where people should make Jesus present, and where every word and action finds its summit in Christ’s love. With faith, families can help build a new and better world, he said.

The pilgrimage and Mass came at a time when Asian Americans have faced increasing discrimination and violence after the coronavirus pandemic first reported in China has spread throughout the world, including in its current epicenter in India, with more than 20 million reported cases and more than 220,000 deaths there from COVID-19. A prayer was offered at the Mass, seeking healing for those impacted by the coronavirus, including those who have lost loved ones, jobs and businesses, and for strength for those caring for the afflicted.

Another prayer was offered “for the reconciliation of our country due to division and racial discrimination, may God grant us the grace to love others and to value the diversity in our human family…”

Another place of turmoil in Asia has been Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, where security forces have allegedly killed at least 750 protesters and detained thousands more since a recent military coup there. Pope Francis and Myanmar Catholic leaders have prayed for peace there, and a prayer at the Mass was offered for world leaders, that they might work for peace and justice and respect human life and dignity.

Msgr. Tolentino gives Communion to a woman during the May 1 Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Silver Spring for the annual Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

After Communion, Msgr. Tolentino said the last survey at St. Michael the Archangel Parish found that parishioners came from more than 100 countries, and he said whenever that community gathers, it reflects the universal Church.

Moments earlier in his homily, the priest said that from the time of the Catholic Church’s beginnings chronicled in the Acts of the Apostles, it has been shown that “the Church of Jesus Christ is for absolutely everyone.”

That diversity and unity in faith was highlighted in another prayer at the Mass, “for the Asian and Pacific Island communities, may we continue to serve God and witness His love in our own cultures as we are united with the universal Church.”

The closing hymn for the pilgrimage Mass, representing the gathering’s purpose, to bring people to Jesus through Mary, was “Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.”

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