By: Christine Schreck
The beating of ceremonial drums and the clash of cymbals reverberated through the Event Center on the lower level of the Cathedral of Christ the Light during the lion dance, a traditional performance during Lunar New Year celebrations. Dancers garbed as colorful lions performed; their display meant to bring good fortune in the new year and drive away evil spirits. The lion approaching an audience member is a symbol of joy and luck.
The performers, teenagers and young adults from the Vietnamese Youth Leaders Program at Most Holy Trinity in San Jose capped off the first night of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs’ (SCAPA) regional consultation, New Seasons, New Grounds: From Encounter to Embodiment. The Diocese of Oakland hosted the meeting Feb. 5-7, 2026.
“Following the 2024 Encounter of Asian and Pacific Island Catholics in Indianapolis, immediately prior to the National Eucharistic Congress, our subcommittee thought it wise to hold regional gatherings so as not to lose the momentum of being together. The experience of being together, listening to one another’s stories, and moving forward together as Asian and Pacific Island Catholics in the United States, was fruitful,” said Bishop Earl Fernandes, chairman of SCAPA and bishop of the Columbus, Ohio Diocese in his keynote address on the second day. He is the first Indian-American bishop in the United States.
Participants introduced themselves with their parish affiliations, role in ministry and heritage, representing a range of API communities, including Fijian, Filipino, Thai, Laotian Khmu, Chinese and Indonesian. They were youth ministers, cultural ministers and prison ministers, to name a few. Members of the clergy, deacons, religious sisters and lay ministers representing dioceses across the state of California and the Diocese of Honolulu gathered for synodal discussions on how best to continue supporting pastoral care and ministering to Asian Pacific Islander (API) communities within the Catholic Church, highlighting the contributions of API communities to the Church and reflect on issues impacting API communities among other objectives.
Bishop Fernandes spoke about the radiant gifts of API Catholics that enrich the life of the Church in the United States. Among other gifts he highlighted, Bishop Fernandes pointed out the ability of API Catholics to celebrate diversity while preserving unity. “API cultural events and celebrations connected with the sacraments engage a larger parish community, especially at weddings, baptisms, first communions and funerals. New Year’s celebrations and death anniversaries are another way of keeping the family and communal bond strong,” he said.
For example, the September celebrations of Our Lady of Vailankanni that commemorate a sixteenth century Marian apparition in Tamil Nadu, India and Simbang Gabi, a nine-day Filipino Christmas tradition of spiritual devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary offer opportunities to engage the wider parish community in API cultural and spiritual heritage. Several parishes throughout the Diocese of Oakland host these annual celebrations.
Six panelists with backgrounds as prison ministers, youth ministers, educators, nonprofit founders and lay missionaries joined in spirited discussions on topics such as mental health, the LGBTQ+ community, what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence. and evangelizing youth while maintaining traditions.
The panel ended with the lingering question: “How do we become a church that is a space for all facing these realities in the world?”
The regional consultation was not about finding answers. Rather, it marked a beginning. As Clarissa Martinez, the assistant director of SCAPA said, “If we do this right, chances are we will get a good harvest. We have planted the seed. Now we nurture the field hoping for a good harvest.”