PETALING JAYA: It was a prayer come true for Jude Lopez, who is among the 1,000 Malaysian Catholics who “won” tickets to see Pope Francis in Singapore on Sept 12.
“There are limited tickets offered for Malaysians to attend Papal Mass, where successful applicants are chosen through ballots. Only two tickets were offered for each parish or church, and I was surprised to be chosen,” he said.
Lopez, 59, from Puchong, said he submitted his name to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe on June 6 and was informed 10 days later that he had been selected to attend the mass at the Singapore National Stadium.
“It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Pope as the last papal visit to Singapore was 38 years ago,” he added.
Lopez, the chief operating officer of an IT consulting company here, added that the news of his selection brought double joy to the family.
“My son is studying at the National University of Singapore, and the family will accompany me to Johor Baru to celebrate his birthday on Sept 13, a day after I see the Pope,” he said.
Lopez hoped the Pope’s visit to the region would rekindle the faith among Catholics here.
Francis is scheduled to arrive in Singapore on Sept 11 during the last leg of his four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific.
Before his three-day visit to Singapore, the 87-year-old pontiff visited Indonesia. He is in Papua New Guinea until Sept 9, and in Timor-Leste from Sept 9 to 11.
The Pope is scheduled to hold a papal Mass in Singapore, which is expected to be attended by some 50,000 faithful and clergymen.
A total of 48,600 tickets were offered through public balloting, of which a small portion was offered to neighbouring Catholics from Malaysia, which is home to about 1.5 million Catholics.
Another lucky ticket winner was Carol Teoh, a Kuala Lumpur resident residing in Singapore with her family.
She said her husband, who works in Singapore but hails from Penang, would accompany their six-year-old preschool child, who had been chosen from his school to attend the Mass.
“I also registered for the group balloting with my other two children through CatholicSG, a digital platform, on July 1, and the results were announced on Aug 5.
“I consider our family blessed because we will be attending the Mass as a family,” she said.
Teoh, a marketing and communications specialist, hopes that Francis’ visit to the region would inspire local Catholic communities to move forward in spreading the joy of the gospel.
