Family donates new church in Yangon

On March 14, Cardinal Charles Bo, SBD, blessed a new church donated by a Catholic family, some 25 miles north of Yangon in Myanmar.

St. Mark Catholic Church was constructed by the generous contribution of John Paul U Kyin Won and Maria Daw Hla Thein and their family. Auxiliary Bishop Noel, Saw Naw Aye of the archdiocese of Yangon, was present on the occasion.

“Through the building of the Church, the donors are conveying the faith which they have inherited from the ancestors to the younger generation, and it is also a kind of investment for life to come. One’s plan cannot do construction of the House of God. Only those virtuous people who deserve for such project can accomplish it,” said Cardinal Charles Bo. 

Cardinal Charles Bo praised former parish priests and the present parish priest, together with the parishioners, all the people of goodwill, for their active participation and generous contribution in whatever way they could afford in Church construction.

“All will be blessed for all the visible and invisible generous cooperation for the glory of the Lord,” said Charles Bo

During the time of Father Edward Win Pe, the former Parish Priest of Yemon, John Paul U Kyin Won and Maria Daw Hla Thein, the devout and generous Catholics and their family noticed that the space of worship for the mass attendants was not sufficient enough and they have decided to donate for the construction of a Church.

“Previously, the place of worship was only meant for the Government employees and the soldiers.  With the generous contribution of John Paul U Kyin Won and Maria Daw Hla Thein and family, the new parish Church of St Mark has come to exist to be available for all the people of God,” said Father Edward Win Pe, the former parish priest.

Cardinal Charles Bo, Father Edward Win Pe and the Daw Hla Thein’s family, the donors of the new Church, laid the foundation stone for the construction on January 1, 2019.  From 2020 June, the construction turned to delay due to the Covid-19 crisis. In June 2021, the construction work resumed.

Maria Daw Hla Thein, the primary donor of the Church construction, says, “I thank the Lord beyond all telling. I cannot express my happiness fully in words. It is because of the will and the grace of the Lord that we could accomplish the construction of the Church.”

“Without Him, we can do nothing. The construction was in time of Covid and political crisis, but we could finish our project successfully for more than two years,” said Maria Daw Hla Thein.

Bishop Noel Saw Naw Aye shared that Maria Daw Hla Thein invited all her family members, sons and daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to join the project in whatever way they could -offering their income or pocket money generously.

“In this way, she imparts and strengthens the faith to the younger generation,” said Bishop Noel Saw Naw Aye.

Decades ago, the departed parents of the present donors had also donated for the construction of St. Joseph Parish Church in Bogo City, about 50 miles north of Yangon.