Joining Filipino Catholics at a traditional Simbang Gabi Mass before Christmas in 2019, then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory praised them for their faith and devotion and for helping to shine Christ's light in the world.
“Our Filipino brothers and sisters use this time of year to prepare their hearts for the coming of Christ,” the archbishop said at the Simbang Gabi Mass at St. Columba Church in Oxon Hill, Maryland, the final Mass in a novena of nine evening Masses held at the church leading up to Christmas.
The archbishop called that tradition “a wonderful legacy and spiritual heritage.”
The Mass drew a standing-room congregation of about 600 people, including many families with children, and some prayers were sung in Tagalog, a language of the Philippines.
One year later, the Simbang Gabi tradition will continue at St. Columba and other area parishes with large Filipino Catholic populations, but scaled down and with safety protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic. And one year later, Cardinal Gregory has been elevated to the College of Cardinals.
“Personally and in our parish, we’re really happy at the honor of our archbishop becoming a cardinal,” said Father Gary Villanueva, a native of the Philippines in his 10th year as pastor at St. Columba.
Filipino Catholics represent the largest group of Asian Catholics in the archdiocese, and at St. Columba, they constitute nearly two-thirds of the 1,600 parishioners.
Father Villanueva noted that over the decades, Filipino immigrants settling in that area have served in the military, worked in government and as nurses and teachers, and their families have brought with them a deep Catholic faith from their native country.
“The Filipino community is still growing at St. Columba,” he said.
The priest said Simbang Gabi helps people reflect on the coming of Christ and his love, when there are often distractions in the holiday season.
“This novena Mass gives them hope,” he said.
Another sign of hope, and of the enduring Catholic faith of the Filipino Catholic community in the archdiocese, is that two of the eight new priests whom then-Archbishop Gregory ordained in June 2020 had Filipino roots --- Father Stefan Yap, a native New Yorker, and Father Patrick Agustin, who grew up in St. Columba Parish.
Cardinal Gregory’s elevation also was praised by Carolyn Ng, a catechetical leader for Our Lady of China Pastoral Mission that worships in Cantonese and Mandarin at St. Mary Mother of God Church in Washington and in Mandarin at St. Mary’s in Rockville.
“We are very happy, because now that he is recognized as a leader, not only for the archdiocese but for the universal Church, I pray that God will give him wisdom and strength to carry on his ministry,” she said.
Ng also serves as vice president of the Asian and Pacific Catholic network of the archdiocese, which helps coordinate an annual pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine which includes prayers, music and dances representing different Asian cultures.
The archdiocese includes St. Andrew Kim Parish in Olney for Korean Catholics, and Our Lady of Vietnam Parish in Silver Spring for Vietnamese Catholics, which has a church designed to resemble a pagoda.
Local Asian Catholics come from many countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Ng said while the Asian Catholics represent different cultures, histories and traditions, they are united in the “same faith in Jesus Christ… and also devotion to the Blessed Mother,” and share common values like a respect for life, caring for the poor, and veneration for elders.
Ng participated in the Aug. 28 Mass of Peace and Justice, where then-Archbishop Gregory launched “Made in God’s Image,” an initiative encouraging local Catholics to pray and work to end the sin of racism. Asian Catholics, she said, “share his desires and prayers for racial justice and national harmony.”
