The walk was one of the fundraising activities that the church organised to build the four-storey Magnificat Community Centre, next to the church.
The centre will house a chapel, meeting rooms, offices and children’s catechism classrooms, among others.
“The community centre is not just for us. We hope to be able to house learning facilities for the underprivileged and perhaps refugees,” parish priest Father Gerard Theraviam, 62, told FMT Lifestyle.
The cost of the building, he added, including furnishing, is approximately RM16 million. They currently have a shortfall of about RM3 million.
“There are no prizes for the fastest walker. What we want to do is create an atmosphere of fun and fellowship,” he said, adding that participants of the walk included non-parishioners of the church.
The flag-off took place at 7.40am following a prayer by Most Rev Julian Leow, the archbishop of Kuala Lumpur.
The sense of excitement was palpable in the air and the group – from children to golden citizens and even a baby and two dogs – was certainly a merry one!
Spanning 3.5km, participants walked past St John’s Institution, the Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park, the AIA Financial Centre and Renaissance hotel, among others, before ending back at the church at approximately 9.15am.
The opportunity to walk and enjoy the sights of the city at an unhurried pace was rare and refreshing. Thanks to a brief drizzle just before sunrise, the weather was beautiful. And at such an early hour, there wasn’t much traffic, either.
Another interesting element of the walk was the fancy dress contest. Some participants came dressed as Mario, the popular gaming character, and one person even came dressed as a marshmallow!
Fr Gerard, too, was in his pyjamas and carried a big teddy bear. He even brought his dog, Coco, along.
One of the winners of the contest was nine-year-old Winifred James. “I’m dressed as St Joseph, the father of Jesus Christ who was a hardworking person,” she told FMT Lifestyle about her outfit consisting of a tunic and headpiece.
She added that was thrilled about winning and enjoyed being part of the walk.
Another winner was Wong Peng Jun, who dressed as a banana. She wore yellow pants, a yellow t-shirt and a headband with a banana crowning her head.
Speaking about her experience, the 36-year-old said, “It was really beautiful to see the city, the landmarks and buildings. One rarely walks around in KL, especially in this heat, but today was really cool.
“This was such a great event. I think modern society should do this more, coming together as a community,” she added.
Wong, who was there with her family, also shared that she was looking forward to enjoying a meal with them after the energising walk – and what more fitting for brunch than a banana leaf meal!