In a humble village carved from the swamps of the Irrawaddy Delta, 4,000 Catholics gathered on February 14 to celebrate a half-century of faith, honoring ancestors who paddled through uncertainty and found a future built on prayer.

The Golden Jubilee Mass for Amatgyi Aima Parish was presided over by Bishop Henry Eikhlein of Pathein Diocese, joined by more than 40 priests, 60 religious, and an estimated 4,000 faithful. The celebration marked 50 years since the parish’s formal establishment in what was once considered uninhabitable marshland.

In his homily, Bishop Henry traced the community’s remarkable origins. During the turbulent 1960s, families fled political and social hardships in Wakema and Myaungmya, traveling by small boat across countless rivers in search of clean water and fertile land. They settled on what was then known as Amatkalay Island.

“Our ancestors would not have dared to imagine,” the bishop said, “that in 60 or 70 years this place would flourish with so many buildings and such a strong Christian community.”

What the early settlers brought was not wealth but faith. Missionaries like Fr. George Phu Nei San eventually made the journey, transforming a community that once saw Mass only once a year into one with daily Eucharist and abundant vocations.

The parish’s history is also marked by profound tragedy. When Cyclone Nargis ravaged the delta on May 2, 2008, Parish Priest Fr. Andrew Soe Win lost his life. He is buried in the church compound, a silent witness to pastoral sacrifice. Miraculously, the clegery house, convent and those sheltering in the Grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the beach were spared.

From the first settlers who raised a wooden cross on the shore in 1965 to the construction of the new Christ the King Church in 2011, the parish has endured through trial and grace.

Today, under the pastoral care of Fr. Bruno and Fr. Ambrose Aung Kyaw San, the Golden Jubilee marked not only five decades past but a commitment to the future. As Bishop Henry reminded the congregation, the children and youth will carry forward the faith handed down by their ancestors—a faith tested by cyclone, shaped by sacrifice, and still standing strong.

By RVA Pwo Karen Service