Catholics in Myanmar

Father Girish Santiago, a Jesuit missionary priest now working in Myanmar, shares with us an excerpt of his book on learning the local language

Father John Kyaw Thu Ya, parish priest of Mary Help of Christians in the village of Chaung Yo in Mandalay archdiocese, led a religious procession and veneration of the Holy Eucharist on July 31 to inspire parishioners in the midst of the pandemic.

The Catholic bishops of Myanmar launched on Monday, August 2, a "national prayer campaign" as coronavirus cases in the country continue to surge.

We offer all our people to the protection of God. Our people's destiny is more and more in the hands of God as we sail through these stormy seas of fear, despair, anxiety and pandemic.

Young Catholics in the Diocese of Mandalay in Myanmar have set up COVID-19 response initiatives to address the increasing number of people affected by the pandemic.

Catholics in Myanmar, including Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, expressed their gratitude to the Church in the Philippines for showing “solidarity” with the beleaguered country.

A ban on more than one person leaving home for non-medical reasons will apply to 10 Yangon townships starting Thursday, July 8.

A community of Myanmar people in Australia launched a fund-raising event for displaced families back home on June 19.

The Diocese of Kalay in Myanmar announced new guidelines for the burial of COVID-19 victims following the death of two Catholic priests in the past week due to the disease.

Catholics in Myanmar welcomed Pope Francis’ appeal for help for people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the Southeast Asian country.

There was a notable increase in the number of churches under military attack in Myanmar in recent weeks, said reports from communities and independent media organizations.

Church officials in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah state have prioritized the emergency needs of thousands of displaced people rather than repairing churches damaged by military attacks.

Catholic Church leaders in Myanmar appealed for a “humanitarian corridor” in the country’s conflict zones as violence continues to rage in many parts of the country this week.

A Catholic priest in Myanmar’s Diocese of Loikaw called for an end to attacks on churches and other places of worship.

Pope Francis on Tuesday invited believers of all faiths to set aside a minute to pray for peace, especially for Myanmar and the Holy Land.

Children from the Karen tribe in Mazaw village in the parish of Myeik, Mawlamyine diocese, received first communion on May 30.

A Catholic Church has been repeatedly hit by artillery shells on June 6, Corpus Christi Sunday, as Myanmar’s military continued its offensive in the eastern part of the country’s Kayah State.

The Diocese of Mawlamyine in Myanmar was able to ordain two new deacons even in the midst of political crisis in the country.

A member of the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans, from Myanmar has been ordained priest in Spain on May 24.

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Myanmar’s highest Catholic Church official, expressed “immense sorrow and pain” over the attack on churches in the country this week that resulted in the death of civilians.