Less than two weeks after being designated the cathedral of the new Diocese of Mindat in Myanmar, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church was severely damaged in a military attack.
No injuries were reported in the February 6 aerial bombing by Myanmar’s military. But the church has been rendered unusable, according to Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
“Several bombs hit the building, damaging the roof and stained glass windows,” Fides said. “No injuries were reported, as priests and faithful had left the area due to insecurity and fighting.”
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been plagued by war since a coup d’etat in February 2021. The Southeast Asian nation’s military took power after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Nationwide peaceful protests escalated into civil war.
One particularly tragic element of the fighting is the plight of the Rohingya people in the state south of where the cathedral was bombed. They are an ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam, but who are denied citizenship in Myanmar. The Pope frequently speaks out on their behalf. Thousands have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.
Situation continues to deteriorate
Since the coup, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Burmese military and its State Administration Council (SAC) have pursued an aggressive military campaign to maintain authority, which has included targeting religious leaders, communities, and sites and has exacerbated social tensions between ethnoreligious communities.
“In 2024, the situation in Burma continues to deteriorate as the military junta loses control while ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) are consolidating territory and establishing parallel government structures,” USCIRF said last year. “These escalating conflicts negatively affect conditions for freedom of religion or belief.”
Fides said that Mindat, which is in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin State, has seen clashes between the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) and the Myanmar army in recent months.
“The CDF, which emerged in opposition to the military junta, managed to take control of the territory and, in January, officially declared the area as ‘liberated,’” the news service said. “In several border regions, these militias have allied themselves with ethnic armed groups that have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades.”
At the same time, the local Church has been growing, leading the Vatican to carve the new Diocese of Mindat from the Diocese of Hakha on January 25.
The new diocese has 15,000 Catholics amid a general population of about 360,000. The region is predominantly Protestant. The Mindat diocese has 23 parishes, 48 diocesan priests, three religious men, 21 nuns, as well as 40 minor seminarians and seven major seminarians.
Pope Francis visited Myanmar in 2017.
The diocese now must figure out how and when to hold liturgical celebrations for the consecration of its first bishop, Fr. Augustine Thang Zawm Hung.
Fides said the community has expressed its determination to repair the church.
“We are very sad that our church has been hit by the bombs. It is a wound in our heart. But we will not let ourselves be defeated. We will rebuild it,” said s local priest, identified simply as Fr. Paulinus. “We are certain that the Lord will ‘bombard’ us with his grace and blessing: this will bring peace and prosperity to our people.”
