Tuesday, October 14, 2008

College General Bicentennial Celebration

About two weeks ago, on October 2, 2008, College General (the Catholic Major Seminary in Penang) celebrated its 200 years of anniversary. In order to give our thanksgiving to God for having blessed us with a faith formation center as well as a 'training ground' for thousands of holy people, a Mass was celebrated on October 2, 2008.

During the Bicentennial Mass, there were 6 archbishops, 7 bishops, about 100 priests, and 800 attendees present. I did not actually count the people; all figures were reported by media. ;-)

I am glad that I got to serve as a small instrument within the choir team. Although I did not actually see the whole scene (I was sitting at the 3rd row from the stage), I learnt from friends that the Mass was majestic. The entrance procession of the holy men (archbishops, bishops, and priests) were awesome! I really, really thank God for giving us all the opportunity to give the bit of ourselves to make the celebration a successful one.

The altar, with archbishops and bishopsThe priests and congregation


Fellow bloggers' blog posts on the event:
5Xmom [1]
Andrew4JC [1][2][3]

At the position I was sitting throughout the Mass, I was at one of the best location to take photos of the altar and the bishops on stage. The following are some of the pictures I captured.

LCD screen for slideshow / video
The choir and musicians (From CG website)
The string triplet, plus the guitaristThe poser drummer :-)
Choir lazing around before MassMe with Brs Greg and Kevin
Male choir posingFemale choir posing
Caught Gino and Ian :-OMe with Ian and Gino
CrucifixTable of (un-consecrated) Host


The Mass
The Mass began (Altar with many bishops and archbishops)The commentator
Main Celebrant Rt Rev Antony SelvanayagamLector for 1st Reading
Lector for 2nd Reading
Gospel ReadingThe HomilyEucharistic Prayer
"This is My Body...""This is My Blood..."
"Through Him, with Him, in Him...""This is the Lamb of God..."


The Speeches
Most Rev Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio (Apostolic Delegate)YB Sdr Chow Kon Yeow (representing Penang Chief Minister YB Sdr Lim Guan Eng)Rev Fr Edwin Paul (Rector of College General)


Some additional pictures taken the evening before the Mass, which is during the rehearsal.

College General Hall launching plaqueThe Stage as the altar
Statue of Vietnamese martyrs (Saints)CG Martyr memorial plaque
Scenic view of Tg Bungah from CGPortrait of Priesthood
Stage/Altar decorStage/Altar decor
Br Kevin with his handycamEmilio the guitaristGlenn the photographer
Andre the organistAaron the drummer... erm, drummer missing
Andrew the violistBrs Kevin and Greg the psalmist


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