Penang Cardinal Calls on Asia's Christians to Be Visionaries and Storytellers at Pilgrimage Mass
The Great Pilgrimage of Hope continued today in Penang with a deeply moving Eucharistic celebration presided over by Sebastian Cardinal Francis, Bishop of Penang, on November 27.
Speaking to hundreds of delegates from 32 countries, Cardinal Francis called on the Church in Asia to become “storytellers, dreamers, and visionaries,” echoing the theme of the gathering, “Journeying together as peoples of Asia… and they went a different way.”
Drawing from the 2006 Congress held in Thailand, Cardinal Francis said the Church is once again called to treasure and live “the greatest story ever told, the story of Jesus Christ, in Asia and beyond,” but always with the Holy Spirit.
He emphasized that Jesus’ promise in John 14:26 remains alive today: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.”
He reminded the faithful that the Holy Spirit “pours out visions and dreams upon young and old,” calling the Church to imagine a new future grounded in unity and service.
Cardinal Francis also highlighted the importance of inculturation, saying that “a faith incapable of inculturation is not a genuine faith,” and urged delegates to continue to explore means to live and express the Catholic faith in a way that will resonate with the local cultures.
He also honored the legacy of Asian saints and martyrs, from Vietnam, Korea, India, and Cambodia, etc… describing them as “visionaries who carried the Gospel to new horizons.”
As the Church journeys toward the Jubilee Year of Hope, World Youth Day 2027, and the concluding phase of the Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Francis invited all Catholics to trust in the Spirit’s guidance and move forward, invoking the scriptural prayer : “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.”
