Church of the Assumption | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location within George Town | |
5°25′14.7426″N100°20′16.1412″E / 5.420761833°N 100.337817000°E | |
Location | Farquhar Street George Town, Penang |
Country | Malaysia |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | assumptionchurchpenang.org |
History | |
Former name(s) | Cathedral of the Assumption |
Status | Parish church |
Founded | August 1786 |
Founder(s) | Captain Francis Light and friends |
Dedicated | 1955 (cathedral status) |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Style | Colonial |
Completed | 1787 |
Specifications | |
Number of towers | 2 |
Administration | |
Province | Kuala Lumpur |
Diocese | Penang |
Parish | City Parish |
Clergy | |
Priest(s) | Fr Edmund Woon |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
Designated | 2008 (32nd session) |
Reference no. | 1223 |
Region | Asia-Pacific |
The Church of the Assumption is a Roman Catholic church within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Established following the founding of George Town in 1786, it is the third oldest Catholic church in Malaysia. [1] The church was also the seat of the bishop of Penang from 1955 to 2003.
In 1786, Captain Francis Light landed on Penang Island and named it Prince of Wales Island. He set up the Fort Cornwallis. In conjunction with their landing in Penang which coincides with the feast of the Assumption of The Blessed Mary on 15 August that year, he and his companions built a church and named it Church of the Assumption. It was the first Roman Catholic church in the northern region of Malaysia, as well as the first church built after the British landed in Penang. They went on to control Malaya later on.
As the population of Penang Island continues to increase, there was a need for a bigger church. In 1860, the present crucifix shaped church, was constructed. It was completed in 1861 and opened. It consists of two bell towers and a huge altar. The pipe organ, by Morton & Moody of Oakham, England, was installed in 1916 and the choir gallery was extended.
In December 1941, when the Japanese conquered Penang, the church was closed except for a few masses. It was said that during one day, when the bells of the church were tolled, a Japanese soldier went into the church to cut off the ropes, saying that the bells were noisy. Life went back to normal when the Japanese surrendered in August 1945.
In 1954, in conjunction with the Marian Year, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried on a long procession through the streets of George Town. It was replaced with a shrine built in front of the church. [2] The need for a diocese was raised up after the Japanese occupation. After much discussion, finally on 25 February 1955, the Penang Diocese was established together with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. At the same time, Bishop Francis Chan and Bishop Dominic Vendargon were appointed as bishops of Penang and Kuala Lumpur, respectively. This church, together with St. John's Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur, was given the cathedral status.
At that period of time, Cathedral of the Assumption served as the main church of the northern region of Malaysia. A lot of diocesan activities were held there. It was in the mid-1970s, when the cathedral and three other churches in George Town suffered a major setback. The Catholic population there started to dwindle until only about 1,500 Catholics were left in the city. Since the number of the priests were shrinking, in 1988 Bishop Antony Selvanayagam decided to merge the four parishes into one parish, named City Parish.
In the 1990s, main functions of the diocese were moved to other churches. That was also the time when the Bishop of Penang had a meeting with the priests to discuss about moving the cathedral to some other places. In 2001, Bishop Antony Selvanayagam announced that in January 2003, the status of the cathedral will be moved to the Cathedral of The Holy Spirit in Green Lane, Penang. This parish emerged as the new cathedral because it has a high number of parishioners and was also a very active parish in the diocese.
On 20 January 2003, the cathedral status and bishop's seat were officially moved to the new Cathedral of The Holy Spirit, thus lowering the status of the cathedral to Church of The Assumption. In 2008, when George Town and Malacca Town became UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the church was named as world heritage church. The church building was over 160 years old and has historical significance.
In 2011, the church marked a year-long celebration of its 225th anniversary and also fund-raising for the restoration of the pipe organ and church building. [3] [4] Also at the same time, the Assumption Formation Centre was opened to cater for visitors and also spiritual formations and church activities. [5] In 2013, the church successfully restored its organ after receiving generous donations. A concert was held in June 2014, and various choirs were invited to sing and celebrate the restoration of "The Old Lady" organ. [6]
In August 2016, the church was closed for 16 months to undergo a RM 2.5 million restoration project which included landscaping, repainting of the building, reconstruction of the sanctuary and installation of air conditioning units. The church was brought back to her former glory of 1928. [1] The Church of the Assumption was rededicated on New Year's Day in January 2018. The Penang Roman Catholic Diocese Museum was also opened within the same grounds which features the history of the Catholic Church in Penang Island. [7]
The Church of the Assumption has been under the City Parish since 1988. Today the Parish Priest is Fr Edmund Woon. It is a World Heritage Church and the oldest church in Penang. It also has a 1914 Morton & Moody pipe organ and is one of seven pipe organs still in use in Malaysia today. The organ is usually played for Saturday sunset masses and also during festivities like Easter and Christmas. [8] [9] The church also has a choir, accompanying the organ, singing in both Latin and English. Every year, on 15 August, the feast day of this church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated.
Sunday Mass
10:00am English
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St George, usually known as St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, south London, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Southwark.
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew or Glasgow Metropolitan Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow. The cathedral, which was designed in 1814 by James Gillespie Graham in the Neo Gothic style, lies on the north bank of the River Clyde in Clyde Street. St Andrew's Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Glasgow, currently William Nolan. It is dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew.
The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore, built in 1847. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District.
The Cathedral of the Assumption is a Catholic cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Louisville. It is the seat of Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, and Martin A. Linebach, vicar general for the archdiocese, serves as rector.
The Catholic Church in Malaysia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The apostolic nuncio to Malaysia is currently Archbishop Wojciech Załuski, who was appointed on 22 September 2020; The resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See is Westmoreland Anak Edward Palon.
St. Agnes Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Rockville Centre, New York, on Long Island. It is the seat of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The Most Reverend John Oliver Barres is the ordinary bishop of the Diocese and pastor of the Cathedral parish. The Saint Agnes Cathedral School is on campus with the Cathedral.
The College General is a Roman Catholic interdiocesan seminary located in Tanjung Bungah, Penang, Malaysia. The college's foundation can be traced back to the 1665 establishment of the Seminary of Saint Joseph in Ayuthia which was then the capital of Siam.
The Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin or St. Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Diocese of West Malaysia of the Anglican Church of the Province of South East Asia, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the Episcopal see of the Anglican Bishop of West Malaysia and the mother church of the diocese.
The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is a Roman Catholic cathedral within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Sited at the residential estate of Island Park near Green Lane, the cathedral is a World Heritage Church (minor) and the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang, currently Sebastian Francis.
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia. It was erected as the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur by Pope Pius XII on 25 February 1955, and was elevated to the rank of a Metropolitan Archdiocese on 18 December 1972, with the suffragan sees of Malacca-Johor and Penang. It also administers the capital city of Malaysia, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur as well as the federal administrative centre of Putrajaya and the urbanised states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in the central region as well as Pahang and Terengganu on the East Coast. The archdiocese's Mother Church and thus, seat of its Archbishop, is St. John's Cathedral. It was one of the three Roman Catholic archdioceses in Malaysia, with the ecclesiastical archdioceses of Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang is situated in the northern as well as the east coast region of Peninsular Malaysia covering 4 northern states, namely Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak as well as the east coast state of Kelantan. It was created on 25 February 1955 together with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. It is under the Ecclesiastical province of Kuala Lumpur.
Archbishop Tan Sri Datuk Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam, P.S.M., P.J.N. was the third metropolitan archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 2003 to 2013. He is styled His Grace The Most Reverend Archbishop Tan Sri Datuk.
Antony Selvanayagam is the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Penang, Malaysia. He was elected by Pope John Paul II as the 4th bishop of Penang after the transfer of his predecessor, Bishop Anthony Soter Fernandez to the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur as the 2nd archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. From 1980–1983, he was an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, holding the titular see of Giru Mons. He retired in 2012 due to old age, and was succeeded by Msgr. Sebastian Francis as the new Bishop of Penang. He has served as head of the church's Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs.
City Parish is a community of 4 churches in George Town, Penang. It was founded in 1988 with the merging of the four Catholic churches in the city.
The Church of Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic church within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at Sungai Ara, the church was established in 2005.
The Risen Christ Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at Ayer Itam, the church was established in 1968 and is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (C.B.C.M.S.B.) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Saint Anthony's School is a school in Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia. Established in 1931 as a school belonging to the local Roman Catholic parish of the same name which is in turn under the ecclesiastical purview of the Diocese of Penang, the school was transferred to the De La Salle Brothers after the Second World War and has remained part of the Lasallian community since.
Sebastian Francis is a Malaysian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as Bishop of Penang since 2011. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis on the 30 September 2023
Francis Chan was a Singaporean bishop of the Catholic Church. After finishing high school in Singapore, he studied for the priesthood at College General in Penang and was ordained a priest in 1939. Chan first served as an assistant pastor in Ipoh until 1946, with a three year interruption due to World War II. He subsequently returned to his hometown after the Japanese occupation ended and served as parish priest there for nine years. When the Holy See created the first two Malaysian dioceses of Kuala Lumpur and Penang in 1955, Chan was appointed as bishop of the latter see. He was consecrated in August of that same year, becoming one of the first two local bishops from Malaysia. A Council Father of the Second Vatican Council, Chan attended two sessions held at St. Peter's Basilica in 1962 and 1964. He died of terminal cancer in 1967. Chan was dubbed "The Singing Bishop" due to his penchant for music.