Hundreds of members of the Filipino community in Broken Bay have gathered for a cultural showcase.
Organised by the Filipino Catholic Chaplaincy in Broken Bay, the showcase celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Diocese of Broken Bay and 7th year of Filipino Chaplaincy in the Diocese.
The showcase, held on Sunday, 26 September 2026, just two days before the Feast of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the protomartyr of the Philippines who was executed in Japan by the Tokugawa shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.
The celebration began with Mass at 11:00am at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, celebrated by Very Rev Dr David Ranson, Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Broken Bay.
“Today is not simply about Filipino Catholics displaying Filipino culture to our Diocese. It is about Filipino Catholics helping our entire Diocese become more fully Catholic,” Fr David said during his homily.
“You bring gifts that our Church in Australia needs: a profound sense of family; joy in celebration; affection for the saints; devotion to Mary; love of the Eucharist; respect for elders; generosity of hospitality; resilience in adversity; and that wonderful Filipino capacity to combine faith with festivity.
“You remind us that Christianity is not simply something we think about. It is something we sing, something we celebrate, something we eat together, something we carry in procession, something we teach our children, something that becomes part of the texture of life.”
He also praised the witness of Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod, two patron saints of the Philippines.
“Lorenzo Ruiz was not a priest or a religious. He was a husband and father, a parishioner, an altar server and a calligrapher from Binondo in Manila,” Fr David said.
“He was himself of mixed heritage, the son of a Chinese father and a Tagalog mother. His life eventually carried him beyond the Philippines to Japan, where he suffered martyrdom in 1637.
“And then there is Saint Pedro Calungsod. He was astonishingly young. Born in the Visayas, he became a catechist and travelled with Jesuit missionaries to the Mariana Islands. He crossed the sea carrying the Gospel to people whose language and culture were different from his own. He was still only about seventeen when he was killed in Guam in 1672. Lorenzo and Pedro therefore have something remarkable in common. Neither lived a faith confined by geography. Both crossed boundaries. Both discovered that following Christ could lead them somewhere they had never imagined.”
Following Mass, a lunch was hosted at The Light of Christ Centre, and featured a number of cultural performances and live music.
The Filipino Catholic Chaplaincy was formally implemented on1 May 2019 by Fr David, following consultation initiated by Bishop Peter A Comensoli.
Deacon Roberto Corpuz was appointed as the Pastoral Coordinator of the Chaplaincy and has continued to lead the Chaplaincy since then.
The Filipino community has become one of the strongest within the Diocese, playing a strong role in the life of the Diocese and within the life of parishes.
