CATHOLIC churches across the peninsula are holding a 24-hour vigil to pray for a peaceful and clean general election.

Churches under the Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Malacca-Johor archdioceses commenced a full day of prayer yesterday evening, following a day of fasting.

Their East Malaysian counterparts held the vigil last Saturday.

“It’s a collective effort of all the Catholics, a kind of solidarity with all the churches in prayer at the same time,” said Reverend Father Clarence Devadass, who is director of the Catholic Research Centre.

“The purpose of this vigil is to pray for the country, to pray for our leaders, to pray for all those who are presenting themselves as candidates for election. We are praying for a peaceful and free and fair election.”

He said the call for a vigil was made at the Malaysian Catholic Bishops’ conference: “It’s a 24-hour day of prayer, where the faithful stay awake and pray. There’s no special ceremony. Just a simple service, some Bible reading and a lot of it is silent prayer,” he said when contacted today.”

In a statement on April 24, Kuala Lumpur archbishop Julian Leow called on Catholics to pray the candidates, political parties and leaders will “respect the outcome of the general election”.

“As responsible stewards, there is no room for attitudes of indifference or apathy towards good governance of our country.

“Every vote helps set the direction of our country and society for the next five years and it is only proper that we ask for divine assistance and guidance in our choice in order to allow our nation to flourish and continue to prosper,” Leow said. – May 5, 2018.