Myanmar’s population of 50 million is made up of a number of different tribes, including Karen, Chin and Shan but the largest by far is Burman. Because the name Burma is associated with one particular group the country was renamed Myanmar, and the capital city, formerly Rangoon, is now known as Yangon. 

Myanmar looks out on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, with dense forests and mountains being the main features of the landscape. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and China. Formerly two separate kingdoms, Burma fell under control of the British in the 19^th century and became a province of India. In 1937, it was made a Crown colony.

Following occupation by Japan in the Second World War, it achieved full independence in 1948. The country is ruled today by the State Peace and Development Council. They took power in a coup in 1962, suspending the parliamentary constitution and introducing a socialist state.  When elections were held in 1990 the National League for Democracy gained 82% of parliamentary seats. However, despite its runaway victory, it has never been allowed to govern.

Many of its prominent figures were forced into exile or imprisoned. Its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize winner, has been under house arrest for 11 years. She is known with great affection as ‘The Lady’. 

The thousands of pagodas dotted across the country are evidence of the strong influence of Buddhism, the country’s dominant religion. But the population also includes Christians, Muslims, Hindus and animists. The Myanmar government has been strongly criticised by the UN Commission on Human Rights for its denial of religious freedom, along with many other human rights abuses. 

Fighting between the army and rebels has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Many have become refugees in neighbouring countries. Despite having rich mineral deposits, including zinc, silver and rubies, as well as offshore oil and gas reserves, the people of Myanmar are amongst the poorest in south-east Asia.

Early Catholic evangelisation was carried out by missionaries from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) from Italy and French religious orders. Pope Pius XII appointed the first Bishop in 1954. Although Christianity was first introduced to Myanmar in the 16^th century, it only began to flourish from the late 19^th century. 

In 1966 all foreign missionaries who had entered the country for the first time after independence in 1948 were forced to leave when the government refused to renew their work permits. While Catholics still remain a minority of about 1% in the country, Catholic Mission supports them with subsidies to aid them as a young Catholic Community. In the Archdiocese of Yangon (Rangoon) there are just 85,000 Catholics out of a total population of 15 million.

The archdiocese is made up of 47 parishes covering 400 villages and served by 90 priests. There are 41 students in St Joseph’s major seminary and 80 in earlier stages of formation. There are nineteen active religious congregations, mainly women. North of Yangon, on the main road to Mandalay in the parish of Nyaunglebin, is the national Marian pilgrimage centre. Each year thousands gather for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is celebrated with a novena, Masses and special devotions.

The idea of Mary the Mother is attractive to Buddhists who respect the devotion Catholics show her; they particularly believe that she intercedes for peace. There are many signs of faith and growth in the archdiocese.

In January 2007 the parish of Pa-pun, a remote area in the mountains 250 miles from Yangon, celebrated its first ordination to the priesthood since it was established 150 years ago. In a packed St Teresa’s church, Archbishop Charles Bo ordained Ignatius Nyan Htoo to the priesthood.  

Elsewhere, young people from ‘Advocates of the Gospel’, an enthusiastic youth group committed to evangelisation, travel to the mountain villages to spread the gospel and educate local catechists.