The University of Saint Joseph was elected to the Executive Secretariat of the Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities at the most recent General Assembly of ASEACCU, which took place in Phnom Penh from 23rd to 27th August. The local Catholic university was represented at the meeting by Dean Stephen Morgan and by Professor Joseph Álvaro Barbosa. O Clarim spoke with the vice-rector about the challenges ahead.
On October 1, the Catholic Scouts Group will resume its activities after the summer break and kick-start a new year in which GELMac will seek to innovate while strengthening its connection to the community.
The International Institute of Macau will commemorate on Saturday, September 24th, the quadricentennial of the Battle of Macau that took place on June 24th, 1622. Originally scheduled to be celebrated on June 24th, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of the city, the ceremony was cancelled due to the worst-ever outbreak of Covid-19 recorded in Macau.
The number of local residents facing food insecurity will probably increase until the end of the year, Secretary-General of Caritas Paul Pun tells O Clarim. The Catholic relief organization was chosen by the Social Welfare Bureau to manage the only public food bank in Macau.
The Diocesan Youth Commission invited young people, aged 14 to 35, to bring color and life to a new mural, located on the basketball court of the new Diocesan Center on Rua Formosa. The artwork will be completed this Saturday, almost two months after an online brainstorming session decided the contents of the mural.
East Timor’s authorities declared a public holiday early last week so that the Timorese population could welcome the nation’s first Catholic cardinal in a festive atmosphere. Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva – one of the new cardinals created by Pope Francis on August 27th – celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass which was attended by thousands of people. Agostinho Martins, an East Timorese living in Macau, says the name ‘Dom Virgílio do Carmo’ has become synonymous with hope.
Originally to be held on the 19th of June, the day on which Macau health authorities identified more than a dozen local COVID-19 infections, the First Holy Communion ceremony of the children that attend the Portuguese-language catechesis in the Cathedral parish will finally take place on September 25th.
The beginning of a new school year heralds the promise of a better future for young students, putting the distress of the pandemic behind them. Students, whose morality is shaped by Catholic schools in particular, are seen as beacons of hope to change the world.
Parishioners were joyful to be able to commune with each other and the Lord in person once again. Even the measures to prevent another outbreak were not enough to put a damper on the happiness of being in church.
Since the government mandated the partial confinement of Macau’s population almost one month ago, Caritas has received around five hundred requests for immediate food assistance. Although non-resident workers facing hunger and food insecurity were responsible for most of the requests, the organization also lent a helping hand to local residents who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 downturn.
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