By Peter Zeter
KIULU – Saddened by the dilapidating condition of St Vitus Chapel, Cikgu Pius Jerome Goromon summoned his courage to voice out to the local Catholic community, and suggested a five-year plan to rebuild moth-eaten wooden structure of the chapel. Determined to complete the project to the end, he also shouldered the responsibility to lead an ad hoc committee to oversee the project. This was five years ago.
On Jan 19, 2025, the new building of St Vitus Poturidong was rededicated and blessed by Archbishop John Wong, a joyful occasion for the whole catholic community, upon completion of five years phase-by-phase construction of the chapel.
Speaking to CS about his ‘personal mission’ Pius said, “I was away from the community for almost half of my life due to my profession as a teacher and, finally, returned few years back when I was posted to nearby school. After several times attending the Sunday service at the chapel, I voiced out my suggestion to our prayer leader and he accepted it. My heart was moved to improve the condition of the chapel seeing its deteriorating structural
condition.”
The cost of the new building amounted to RM165,000.00 which now can accommodate 160 people compared to 120 people at the former building. The average weekly attendance on every Sunday service for the chapel is 90 people.
On fundraising activities to finance the construction of the building, Pius explained that apart from the received state’s fund amounting to RM75,000, for five consecutive years they also received an additional fund from the Kiulu Parish. To top up the collected fund, they also organized ‘Lucky draw’ sales, sought donation from generous donors and some amount from Sunday collections. “Our initial estimation for the cost of construction was RM150,000 and as prices of construction materials fluctuate, our estimation hiked up,” said Pius.
The Catholic community of St Vitus Poturidong comprises 33 catholic houses is situated at several smaller villages namely Ranau-Ranau, Naalad, Poturidong Lama, Poturidong Baru, Rikos and Gamut. Other than the Catholic population, other Christian community such as of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and Sidang Injil Borneo are also present in the villages.
In his speech after the Mass, Archbishop congratulated the community for their hard work and dedication
to rebuild the chapel. “I was told by your parish priest that this new building was constructed entirely from
your generous effort. Congratulation and thank you for inviting me to officiate and bless this chapel,” said the archbishop.
