Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vicariato Apostolico del Brunei
Bandar Seri Begawan (Fides News Agency) – In the small Sultanate of Brunei, located in the northwest of the island of Borneo, there are three Catholic churches and three priests in total, all born there, because only native inhabitants can hold pastoral positions and lead a parish. They are the ones who keep the flame of faith alive and guide the community of believers in Brunei Darussalam, a state where Islam, as stipulated in the Constitution, is the official religion, where the Sultan is the head of state, where Islam plays a central role in social life, and where Islamic law (Sharia) governs daily life (and applies only to the Muslim population). “We have neither nuns nor religious, and there can be no missionaries, because this is not permitted by the government, which only allows local priests.” “Two months ago, we celebrated a diaconal ordination: this is a great grace from God for us because, if all goes well, we will have the priestly ordination in September and thus the gift of a new priest for pastoral work,” Father Robert Leong Soon Choi said in an interview with Fides News Agency. Father Choi is a local priest and parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Bandar Seri Begawan, and currently the Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei. The Catholic presence in this part of Borneo has its roots in the work of the Missionary Society of Saint Joseph (the Mill Hill Missionaries), while the Christian faith arrived in Brunei with the arrival of Spanish missionaries from the Philippines in the 16th century. More recently, in 1998, the Holy See established an Apostolic Prefecture, which was elevated to the rank of Apostolic Vicariate in 2004. Father Leong reports: “There is also another seminarian from our community studying in Singapore, and a nun in formation with the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (FSIC). They continue to pray for local vocations; we ask God to send laborers into his harvest.” It is in these small steps of hope that the future of our community lies, a community of approximately 14,000 members, of whom, it must be said, 60 to 70% are immigrant members, primarily Filipinos, who came here to work. This community comprises a population of approximately 450,000 inhabitants, of whom more than 70% are Malays, about 10% are Chinese, and the remainder are indigenous peoples such as the Dusun, the Iban, the Kedayan, and others. In terms of religion, 82% of the population identifies as Muslim, 6.7% as Christian (including Catholics and Anglicans, members of the two recognized churches), 6.3% as Buddhist—a religion particularly prevalent within the Chinese community—and other traditional faiths among the indigenous population. The Catholic Church operates within a context "where we respect the restrictions and rules: for example, we can freely practice our faith and organize catechism classes and other activities inside churches, but not outside. The faithful are diligent, and Sunday Mass, religious holidays, and pastoral activities always attract large crowds. Our community is small, and it lives its faith with simplicity and serenity, to the extent permitted by the constitutional order, and with a vibrant faith," he explains. "Despite the diversity of our cultural backgrounds, we form a community of faith united around the Word of God and the Sacraments," he observes. "We cannot expand or evangelize. We cannot build new churches or expand existing ones," he reminds us. However, “there is no discouragement: our motto, which was that of Cardinal Cornelius Sim and which later became that of the Vicariate, is: Duc in Altum, that is, Jesus’ invitation to set out into the deep, to live the faith in the Muslim context, bearing witness to it in service to every person, especially young people and migrants.”
The Apostolic Administrator explains that “the Church’s relations with the government are stable. We are sometimes invited to interreligious meetings. The government, however, wishes to show, in a certain way, that it is open and welcoming and that it allows the Catholic community to live within the state.” The Apostolic Vicariate manages three schools, including primary and secondary sections: St. George’s School in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, founded in 1937; St. Angela’s School and St. John’s School, with a total of approximately 2,000 students, mostly Muslim, carry out educational work focused on values that contribute to the development of society. Father Leong notes: “Brunei is a happy and peaceful country. The population does not pay for education or for medical care. We have no taxes, no income tax.” Brunei Darussalam means precisely "State of Brunei, abode of peace." And the baptized—in this small Sultanate that Cardinal Cornelius Sim (1951-2021), Bishop and first Apostolic Vicar, elevated by Pope Francis to the rank of first Cardinal of Brunei Darussalam, described as "the periphery within the periphery"—live their daily lives with "discretion, in a spirit of peace, harmony, and goodwill toward all." "That is why," concludes Father Leong, "we are well received by ordinary people, we have no problems living together, we experience neither hostility nor violence. We find our own way of moving the community forward and, with God's grace, we succeed. I want to say: we are happy." (PA) (Fides News Agency, 25/5/2026)
