Sydney’s Urdu-Hindi community celebrated the one-year anniversary of Mass celebrated in its native language, capping a remarkable year of community and formational growth. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
More than 100 attendees celebrated the Mass on June 1, with all readings, including the Gospel, prayers and hymns sung in Urdu.
Co-ordinators Ansir Aquinas and Elliott Bowen, who last year brought the idea for the initiative to Fr Yacub Barkat, parish priest of St Mary MacKillop’s Parish, Rockdale City, said the continued success of the initiative is an indication of people’s desire to experience Mass as they would in their native Pakistan or India.
“We have families coming from within the city, and places like Penrith, Newcastle and Wollongong, just to say Mass together in a language we all speak,” Aquinas said.
Families are at the core of the “blossoming” community and at a time of ageing congregations in other places, there are many children among the group.
Having overcome some logistical challenges – “We didn’t have any literature in Urdu here in Australia,” Mr Aquinas said – the initiative has not only become a monthly custom but has also expanded to include Christmas and Easter.
Indian-born Alphons Mattu said the Hindi-Urdu Mass is not just a translation of the liturgy but a “homecoming of the soul”.
“In our mother tongue, every prayer feels more personal, every hymn more heartfelt, and every word of the Gospel touches deeper. It connects our faith with our roots and reminds us that God speaks to every heart, in every language,” he said.
Another regular, Zaviour Abram, agreed. “For our Urdu-speaking community, it is a reminder of home and the joy of practising our faith, which has been built in us since our childhood,” he said.
Plans to grow the formational and missionary aspects of the community include introducing dedicated youth and adult initiatives, including a Bible studies group.
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Sydney’s Urdu-Hindi community going strong one year after inaugural Mass in native language (By Alex Woolnough, The Catholic Weekly)
