The Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption or simply Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, is a religious building located in the city of
Bandar Seri Begawan
Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...
, capital of the
district of Brunei-Muara, in the center-north of the country and Asian sultanate of
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
, and the north end of the island of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
.
History
Before the church was built in 1957, a small chapel, a school, and a parsonage existed. A local Catholic, George Newn Ah Foott, donated the land where these structures were built. The new church replaced the chapel.
The construction of the current church started in 1957 took 12 years to complete. The church was consecrated on Aug. 15, 1969, the feast of
Assumption of Mother Mary. A beautiful painting of Mary Assumed into Heaven, just below a crucifix of Jesus, adorns the backdrop of the church’s main altar.
The church is the pro-cathedral or temporary cathedral of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, follows the Roman or Latin rite and serves as the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei Darussalam (''Vicariatus Apostolicus Bruneiensis'') who obtained that status in 2004 by bull ''"Ad aptius consulendum"'' the Pope
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.
It was under the pastoral responsibility of the
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Cornelius Sim
Cornelius Sim DD (16 September 1951 – 29 May 2021) was a Bruneian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Vicar Apostolic of Brunei from 2004 until his death. He had previously served as the apostolic prefect of Brunei from 1997 to ...
until 29 May 2021. It is the largest church in Brunei and is in the heart of the capital.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Brunei
The Catholic Church in Brunei Darussalam is a part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in communion with the pope in Rome, and constitutionally recognised within the state of Brunei Darussalam. The entire territory of the Church in Brunei is organi ...
*
Pro-Cathedral
A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Church
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Brunei
Buildings and structures in Bandar Seri Begawan