Connecting with the Ursulines in Cambodia

At our whole school assembly on Friday, staff and students who attended the Cambodian Immersion presented the College with gifts. These gifts included a priest’s stole and two wooden statues, which come from the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang. 

In areas where the Catholic Church is not sufficiently developed to be called a diocese, a priest or bishop leads a prefecture. In Cambodia, in the area of our sister school in Chrab Veil, the person who leads this prefecture is His Excellency Bishop Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez, affectionately known as Bishop Kike.

Bishop Kike began his mission in the refugee camps of Cambodia in 1985, working with those who had been displaced, maimed by landmines and suffered as a result of war, disease and persecution. After completing his studies and being ordained, he returned to Cambodia in 1992. He has worked tirelessly for the people of Cambodia ever since and is known internationally as the Bishop of the Wheelchairs for his unique mission to Cambodia’s disabled, many of them maimed by landmines.

This image of Mary is well loved in Battambang Prefecture and can be found in many parishes, in wood or stone. This picture shows the stone statue in the St Joseph’s Centre run by the church to support schooling for rural and disadvantaged students that we visited. It represents Jesus’ act of entrusting the community of believers to his mother’s loving care, and how this community was open to every human being. The statue is full of symbolism: Mary holds Jesus with open arms welcoming all who wish to draw near, both of them with a disarming smile. In the middle of the figure are two children; one holds a book symbolizing wisdom, the other plays the flute putting together art, music and tradition in praising God.

In the lower part are three children; one child gives a hug of welcome, a sign of solidarity to include two other disabled children. One child is in a wheelchair holding a dove to represent peace and the other child uses a crutch and holds flowers; a sign of love and God’s greatest commandment – “Love one another as I have loved you”. The crutch and the wheelchair are like a sacrament that gives them back their dignity and makes communion between disabled and non-disabled.

The cloak of Our Lady which surrounds them all symbolizes the family we belong to in the church. We are all included under this cloak. We are all under the love of God. We are all creatures made as an image of God, the supreme master builder. At the bottom of the image are lotus flowers, the most emblematic flower in Cambodia as a symbol of glory, purity and holiness.

All these wooden statues are carved by disabled Cambodian artists; this also shows that we can all help each other in bringing the love of God that Jesus­ brings to our Iives, no matter our condition.  We are all creatures made as an image of God, the supreme master builder.

Our group purchased two statues for the College during our immersion. Both are from the shop at the prefecture so our purchase would support the work of the Catholic Church in Cambodia. We hope this statue will, like our statues of St Angela Merici, and St Ursula, become part of our community and our sacred spaces. We have a larger one for the front office and a smaller one for the Chapel.

As part of our connection to our community in Cambodia we will also now be introducing the prayer intention that is said in Cambodia in the Battambang Prefecture in relation to this image of Mary. This will mean that when we pray as a community, we will pray to three strong women who represent our community; St Angela Merici, who began the Ursuline Company of Women, St Ursula, whom the Company was inspired by; and Mary, our Mother of Inclusive Love, who loves us and guides us every day. 

We hope that, by including this prayer intention, we can grow and develop our connection to our sister school in Cambodia. We are already working towards our next student immersion in 2025 to continue our work with, and support for, the Ursulines and the other works of the Catholic Church in Cambodia. 

Mary, Our Lady of Inclusive Love – Pray for us.

Julie Monk
Religious Education Coordinator