Every year the Catholic Church in Phnom Penh has a large joint celebration of Pentecost with the English, French, Khmer, Korean, and Vietnamese communities all coming together at St. Joseph Church.
The first stop this morning after leaving home was at our nearby market where I bought a lot of fruit to be presented for the poor during the liturgy.Church maintenance people were giving the sanctuary a last going-over before the service started. This liturgy, with about 1,000, people is held outside under a large semi-permanent tent covering.There were 30+ people receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this morning and before the mass Fr. Chatsirey practiced with them. Worship in the Khmer church requires some difficult postures along with removing shoes. Notice the Koreans to be confirmed (in black pants) can’t quite assume the positions of their Cambodian counterparts.A part of the culture–a strict part–and a headache for the foreingers is taking off shoes before entering the sanctuary area.These are our dedicated musicians and choir members from the English-speaking community.Probably to save time afterwards, Bishop Olivier got all those to be confirmed together for a photo shoot just as they finished their practice.The first reading during the mass. It was in English, the second was in Khmer.Bishop Olivier preaching. He made a printed outline of his talk available in French and English for those less conversant in Khmer.
