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.
Nicholas Gerald Chia Yeck Joo DD,STL was the third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore and the first Singapore-born clergyman to hold the office. He officially retired as Archbishop of Singapore on 18 May 2013,and is succeeded by Archbishop William Goh. He was educated at both Montfort Junior and Secondary schools.
In the Catholic Church,a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine,governing Catholics in his jurisdiction,sanctifying the world and representing the Church. Catholics trace the origins of the office of bishop to the apostles,who it is believed were endowed with a special charism and office by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Catholics believe this special charism and office has been transmitted through an unbroken succession of bishops by the laying on of hands in the sacrament of holy orders.
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 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,both at the Borneo Islands.
Cathedral of St John The Evangelist is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur and the seat of its Archbishop,Julian Leow Beng Kim. The first church on a nearby site was established in 1883,and consisted of a long wooden hall with a few windows built on a forested area of Bukit Nanas,and was dedicated to St John the Evangelist. It was later rebuilt with bricks walls and tile roofed,and today is used as "The Community Services Centre". The current building was built in 1954 and completed in 1955 and consecrated in 1962,when it was also elevated to the status of cathedral. The building is known for its whitewashed exterior and twin spires at the west front. It also includes stained glass windows from Paris,depicting scenes from the Gospel.
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.
The Diocese of Malacca Johore is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Ecclesiastical province of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It is located in southern region of Peninsular Malaysia,administering Melaka and Johor states.
Richard John Sklba is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin from 1979 to 2010.
Archbishop Savarinathan Michael Augustine was an Indian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore from 1992 to 2004. He is an honorary member of Society of Foreign Missions of Paris. He served the church for 39 years as a bishop and for 56 years as a priest. He died on 4 November 2017 at the age of 84.
Anthony Soter Fernandez was a Malaysian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the first Malaysian cardinal. He was Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur from 1983 to 2003.
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.
Dato John Ha Tiong Hock is a Malaysian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Archbishop of Kuching,from 2003 to 2017. Previously,he served as an auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese from 1998 to 2003.
John Wong Soo Kau is a Malaysian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was named the second metropolitan Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu on 24 January 2013,the Feast of St Francis de Sales,by Pope Francis. He is fully styled as His Grace Most Reverend Datuk John Wong,Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu. Sacred Heart Cathedral in the metropolitan of Kota Kinabalu is the seat of Archbishop Wong,and the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu.
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.
Sebastian Francis is a Malaysian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Penang since 2011. Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of Cardinal on 30 September 2023. He is the second cardinal from Malaysia after Anthony Soter Fernandez.
Maria Callist Soosa Pakiam is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Latin Rite Archdiocese of Trivandrum.
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.
Mons Dr. Thomas Jessayyan Netto is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum. Archbishop Netto is the second Metropolitan Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram archdiocese.
