By Evelyn Jock
141 years since its first establishment in 1883 and we give thanks to the Almighty and we are proud of the achievement of a long legacy which shows that God has always been there with us and guiding us to this day. In 1883, some brave souls from the Mill Hill missionaries comprising of nuns and priests ventured into the lush jungles of North Borneo (Sabah) to bring the Good News and set up a church cum school on a hill they called the ‘Marian Hill’ which is now the site of the St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Sandakan Diocesan Centre. Our parish has a long history indeed but all of the church’s physical attributes were eradicated during the second world war. However, with the blessings of God, the Good News has brought more people to the faith. Today, the Church has become a Cathedral with faithfuls from diverse ethnic groups, from Chinese, Kadazan, Dusuns, Ibans, Bidayuh and migrants from the Philippines and Indonesia. The church is where most of her people received their Catholic faith formation and the sacraments.
All the communities of the church came together in this annual celebration and did all the necessary preparation as a Synodal church. The parish’s mission is gearing ‘Towards a Green Church: Caring for Creation’ which is inspired by the call of the Holy Father, Pope Francis in his encyclical addressed to all people of the earth to care for our common home.
The programme starts with a 9-day rosary novena with mass and fellowship from 6 August 2024 to 14 August 2024. Prayers of intercession was for the success of the Synodal journey whilst embracing a green church within the parish as they come together to prepare for the celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the 141st Parish Feast and Cultural Day. The fellowship after mass was to bring parishioners closer and interact with one another after a hard day’s work over finger food and light refreshment, prepared by the respective ministries. Saturday, 10 August 2024, began with daily mass at the St. Mary’s Convent and thereafter from 7:00am to 5:00pm, the rosary rally was held. The rally called for all ministries, committees and groups to recite the rosary devotion non-stop whilst walking the Marian rosary corridor. 
The Assumption of Mother Mary which coincided with the Parish Feast Day was celebrated in the evening of 15 August 2024 with the recitation of the holy rosary in the Parish Hall, followed by the crowning of the statue of Mary and a procession to the grotto with parishioners holding lighted candles singing “Ave, Ave, Ave Maria”. The celebration of mass took place in the open air at the grotto. With God’s wonderful blessings, it did not rain that evening and there were throngs of parishioners in attendance. Mass was celebrated at the grotto by His Lordship, Bishop Julius Gitom and concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Simon J. Kontou, Rev. Fr. Thomas Makajil and Rev. Fr. Raymond Lee. The statue of Mary was adorned with beautiful flowers and it stood radiant lit up for all to see under the night sky.
This year’s Parish Feast & Cultural Day celebration culminated during the weekend of 17-18 August 2024 and features environmental green exhibition booths, with hands-on mind teasing activities for adults and students. There were food stalls selling homemade cakes, delicious local delicacies, hot and cold beverages all packed in biodegradable packaging materials, refillable booth encouraging the concept of “reuse, refill and repeat” (no single used plastics-bring your own cups/containers) with eco-friendly liquid soap and washing detergent. The parishioners came to support the celebration.
A thanksgiving mass was held on 18 August 2024 with the main celebrant being His Lordship, Bishop Julius D. Gitom, assisted by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Simon J. Kontou and Assistant Parish Priests, Rev. Fr. Thomas Makajil and Rev. Fr. Raymond Lee with a visiting OFM Friar Crispus Mosinoh. Rev. Fr. Simon J. Kontou praised and thanked God that we are able to celebrate the Parish Day with the presence of His Lordship, as the leader of the parish. He highlighted that although the parishioners come from different language groups and culture, coming together to celebrate this memorable feast clearly shows the unity and synodality of the people.
Bishop Julius D. Gitom also shared that although the parishioners come from different backgrounds, we are able to come as a family to celebrate the parish day. He reminded that as we come together to celebrate our unity, we should also cultivate and nurture in our hearts to look after our environment. The world is the only hope given by God and we are destroying it through our disregard for the environment. We can improve the situation so that the world can be a better place to live in. Bishop Julius recalled that with 141 years of our parish’s existence, there are families in our parish that have already seen the fourth generation. He reminded that we should be thankful that the Lord has blessed the parish with new leaders in the society and the parish has produced and nurtured priests and religious sisters. With gratitude and thanksgiving to God, he invited the parishioners to come together to celebrate their unity, diverse cultures and their faith in our parish.
