Over 800 Asian Catholic delegates conclude Great Pilgrimage of Hope in Penang, sent forth with 2033 horizon to proclaim Jesus through relational, contemplative witness.
Newsroom (01/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) The Great Pilgrimage of Hope, Asia’s landmark Jubilee gathering of Catholic communities, concluded this morning with a solemn missionary mandate entrusted to more than 800 delegates from across the continent. Each participant received a blessing and a small cross from one of the over one hundred Asian bishops present, symbolising a call not to “conquer” but to walk alongside the peoples of Asia as the Risen Jesus walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Held in Penang from 27–30 November, the four-day event — only the second continental missionary congress in nearly two decades since Chiang Mai 2006 — brought together ancient Churches, young Christian communities, persecuted groups, and urban ministries grappling with digital-age loneliness. Organised under the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), the Pilgrimage served as a profoundly synodal moment to discern how the Church in Asia can help people discover the living presence of Jesus today.
In his keynote address on Saturday, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, Archbishop of Kalookan and FABC vice-president, proposed 2033 — the two-thousandth anniversary of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection — as a common horizon for the continent’s Churches. Rather than a single event, 2033 represents a paschal perspective: recognising that the Risen Christ already walks Asia’s roads with migrants, war-torn families, digitally disoriented youth, victims of violence, indigenous peoples defending ancestral lands, and communities rebuilding after natural disasters.
“Jesus walks today in Asia with all those who thirst to be seen, understood and loved,” Cardinal David declared.
Acknowledging historical wounds caused by past missionary approaches, particularly toward local cultures and religions, he stressed that evangelisation in Asia “cannot be shouted.” Instead, it must be “relational, respectful, contemplative,” rooted in genuine friendship and the fertile ground of goodwill.
“Asia is not a continent of great cathedrals, but of great stories,” he continued. “Our cultures value memory, ancestor worship, respect for mystery, profound silence, contemplative listening. We walk barefoot on sacred ground. This makes Asia particularly suitable terrain for telling the Gospel.”
At the closing Mass on Sunday, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and FABC president, urged delegates to return home with renewed humility, courage, companionship and hope.
“The hunger for God in Asia is deep. The yearning for justice is real. The thirst for meaning among our young people is intense,” Cardinal Ferrão said. He reminded the assembly that mission “cannot wait,” and that Christ calls the Church not to predict the future but to remain alert to God’s surprising presence among migrants, refugees, interreligious friends, the persevering poor, and the wounded of a divided world.
As delegates departed Penang carrying their small crosses, the Churches of Asia set their compass toward 2033: a decade committed to synodal journeying, bridge-building across religions, uplifting the poor, protecting creation, and proclaiming — gently, relationally, contemplatively — that the story of Jesus is the story of God walking with Asia toward hope.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Aisanews.it
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