The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur ( la, Archidioecesis Kuala Lumpurensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It was erected as the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

on 25 February 1955, and was elevated to the rank of a

Metropolitan Archdiocese A metropolis religious jurisdiction, or a metropolitan archdiocese, is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces. ...

on 18 December 1972, with the suffragan sees of Malacca-Johor and

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

. It also administers the capital of Malaysia,

Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and the states of

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

. The archdiocese's

Mother Church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

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 , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

and

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

History

In 1786, the first church was established in

. This led to the formation of Vicariate of Siam and Kedah, which expanded towards the entire Malayan Peninsula and Singapore. The Vicariate of Malaya was formed in 1841. The Church of Visitation was founded in 1848 in

Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Soghomban'', ''Somban''; Jawi: ) is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban City Council. Sere ...

. This is the first known church to be erected in central Malaya. A historical moment was made in 1888, when the Diocese of Malacca was formed. The first church in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

was dedicated to St John the evangelist in 1883, and would be later known as St. John's Cathedral, the Mother Church of Kuala Lumpur. In 1955, the Diocese of Malacca became a Metropolitan Archdiocese, with the newly formed

Diocese of Penang The Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang is situated in the northern region of Malaysia covering 5 states, namely Penang, Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Kelantan. It was created on 25 February 1955 together with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. It is ...

and Diocese of Kuala Lumpur as its suffragan sees. Bishop Dominic Vendargon was appointed as the first Bishop of Kuala Lumpur, and was ordained in the same year. In 1972, the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur was elevated into an Archdiocese, with the suffragan dioceses of Penang and Malacca-Johor. In 1983, Archbishop Dominic Vendargon retired. Bishop Anthony Soter Fernandez of Penang was appointed as the 2nd Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. When he retired in 2003, he was succeeded by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam who was then the Auxiliary Bishop. On 3 July 2014, the Vatican appointed Most Rev Julian Leow as the 4th Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, after the resignation of Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam was accepted by Pope Francis in December 2013. During the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

on 19 November 2016, Pope Francis installed Archbishop Emeritus Anthony Soter Fernandez as a

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 ...

, making him the first Bishop from Malaysia to be appointed.

Statistical summary

Below are statistics of the archdiocese. * Area of territory - 63,763 km² * Approximate total population - 10,421,600 * Estimate Catholic population - 134,000 * Churches - 36 * Chapels & Mass Centres - 49 * Clergy - Bishops: 3, Diocesan Priests: 49, Religious Priests: 10, Deacon: 1 * Religious Sisters - 102 * Religious Brothers - 17 * Educational Institutions - Nursing College: 1, Secondary Schools: 15, Primary Schools: 32, Kindergartens: 21 * Charitable and Social Institutions - Hospital: 1, Home of Aged: 2, Counselling Centres: 3

List of archbishops of Kuala Lumpur

Dominic Vendargon The Most Reverend Tan Sri Dominic Aloysius Vendargon (29 August 1909 – 3 August 2005) was a Ceylon Tamil priest and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. Early life and family Vendargon was born on 29 August 1909 in Naranthanai in no ...

(1955–1983) (died 2005) * Anthony Soter ''Cardinal'' Fernandez (1983–2003) (died 2020) * Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam (2003–2013) *

Julian Leow Beng Kim Julian Leow Beng Kim (born 3 January 1964) is a Malaysian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur since 2014. Early life Archbishop Leow was born on 3 January 1964, in Seremb ...

(2014-current)

Awards and recognition

* 2016 The Fisher's Net Awards - Best Diocesan Use of New Media

References

External links

*
Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur Catechesis website
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur
on catholic-hierarchy.org

on gcatholic.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Kuala Lumpur 1955 establishments in Malaya Christian organizations established in 1955 Religion in Kuala Lumpur