Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang - History

History

The first catholic priests settled in Malacca in the 1511. College General was established in Ayuthia, Thailand in 1665. It was moved to Cambodia before finally settling in Penang on 1808. A seminary occupied a site in Pulau Tikus before moving to their present site in Tanjung Bungah on 1984. In 1786, Captain Francis Light and his men landed in Penang and decided to build a church there. They constructed a church and it was completed on August 1787. The church was blessed on the Feast Of The Assumption (15 August). That was the first church in Penang, named the Church Of The Assumption. A few years, later, another priest settled in Penang and used the College General place as their church. This was the second church in Penang named Church of the Immaculate Conception. More churches were constructed.

In 1940s, the World War II affected Penang. Some churches were closed all the time except for Sunday Masses. After World War II, there was a need of setting up a diocese. On 25 February 1955, the Diocese Of Penang was set up together with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.

Bishop Francis Chan and Archbishop Dominic Vendargon were the first Malaysian bishops to be ordained. Bishop Francis Chan was the first bishop of Penang. In 1967, due to the demise of Bishop Francis Chan, Bishop Gregory Yong was appointed as the second bishop of Penang. In 1976, Penang hosted the Aggiornamento for all bishops and priests in West Malaysia. In 1977, he was appointed as Archbishop Of Singapore. Bishop Anthony Soter Fernandex was ordained and became the third bishop of the diocese. However in 1983, he was appointed as Archbishop of the Archdiocese in Kuala Lumpur. Bishop Antony Selvanayagam then became the fourth bishop of Penang in 1983, he was previously ordained in 1980 and was formerly the Auxiliary Bishop of Kuala Lumpur. He retired in the year of 2012.

In the 1970s, the administration of College General, Peninsular Malaysia's sole Catholic seminary, was handed over to the local clergy. In the 1990s, there were 34 parishes in the diocese. The number of priests have been shrinking, so Bishop Antony made a decision that the four churches located in George Town, Penang were to be emerged as one parish to be called City Parish. Likewise in Perak, the two churches located in Taiping also emerged as one parish as the Taiping Catholic Church. The number of parishes was therefore reduced slightly to 28.

In 2001, the main administration centre of the diocese Pusat Keuskupan Katolik was opened by Bishop Antony. The following year in 2002, the third St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam together with the parish centre, domus and administration office, were opened on the Feast of St Anne (26 July) by the then Apostolic Delegate. Also in that year, Bishop Antony decided to remove the cathedral status of the Church of the Assumption to the now Cathedral Of The Holy Spirit, after the church was no longer a parish. The Church of the Assumption had failed to meet the diocese's demands and most of the diocese's events are held outside of that church.

The Rite Of Dedication for the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was held on 20 January 2003. In 2005, the Diocese Of Penang celebrated its 50th Anniversary. In September 2010, the Church of Divine Mercy was opened. It is the first church opened on Penang Island after 41 years.

On 7 July 2012, the Vatican appointed Rt. Rev Sebastian Francis as the fifth Bishop of Penang. He was ordained on 20 August 2012, at St. Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, and installed in September 2012 at Holy Spirit Cathedral.The Diocese of Penang also celebrates the Penang Diocesan Youth Day II (PDYD 2), a first of its kind event which will take place in November 2012.