KUCHING: Sarawak’s first ever Catholic columbarium was officially blessed and opened by the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching Simon Poh at St Peter’s Church, Padungan here, yesterday.
The columbarium is built as a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns (containing the cremated remains of those departed).
The ceremony took place immediately after the Sunday morning mass at the church which was celebrated by Archbishop Simon Poh.
Reverend Fr Vincent Chin told those present that to enter the columbarium, those who have their loved ones inside the columbarium are required to buy two access cards-one at RM50 and the other at RM100-and RM200 to replace a lost card.
“Those who just want to visit the columbarium are required to get a key card from the guardhouse and the system will record the time and number of people entering.
“If any interior damage occurs, the church can refer to the system’s record of time and people who enter the columbarium and question them regarding the incident,” Chin said before the opening of the columbarium.
After the blessing of the columbarium, Catholics who have their loved ones in cinerary urns were the first to go inside the columbarium to place the urns in the niche that they had booked.
Details on future projects of the church and live stream of the blessing and opening ceremony of the columbarium can be found on https://stpeterpadungan.wordpress.com/
