A new church and Marian grotto were blessed in the Htoi San Quarter of Myitkyina on January 13, marking a significant expansion for the local Catholic community in the Miytkyina Diocese.

The blessing ceremony for St. John Church and the Queen of Peace Marian Grotto was presided over by Bishop John Mung Ngawn La Sam of Myitkyina Diocese. The event was attended by His Eminence Cardinal Charles Bo and Bishop Noel Saw Naw Aye, Bishop Francis Than Htun, and Bishop Raymond Wai Lin Htun, three auxiliary bishops of the Yangon Archdiocese, alongside many local faithful.

In his homily, Cardinal Bo reflected on the spiritual significance of the new church. Dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, he reminded the congregation that the true church is built not just of bricks, but of believing hearts. “The real Church is made of the People of God,” he said, quoting the First Letter of Peter that describes believers as “living stones” being built into a spiritual house.

He described the church as a future house of prayer, comfort, and forgiveness, and a place from which the community is sent out as witnesses. “The walls of the church are not meant to confine the community, but to send them out as witnesses of love, peace, and justice in the world,” the Cardinal stated.

He emphasized the church’s role as a place of unity, open to all amid wider conflict, and as a legacy for future generations where sacraments will be celebrated.

The Htoi San Quarter community consists of 154 Catholic households totaling 902 faithful, served by two catechists. The newly blessed St. John Church and Queen of Peace Grotto stand as physical symbols of a faith that the diocese hopes will be carried from the holy place into homes and the wider community.

By RVA Lisu Service