The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Archdiocese of Kuching ( la, Archidioecesis Kuchingensis) is a Metropolitan Latin archbishopric 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 ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

, 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 ...

n state on

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 ea ...

, however remains dependent on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Coat of arms of Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng

Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

archiepiscopal see is in St Joseph's Cathedral, in Kuching, Sarawak. Former auxiliary bishop Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng was appointed Archbishop of Kuching by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 4 March 2017 following John Ha Tiong Hock's resignation. Erected in 1927 by Pope Pius VI as an

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

, Kuching was elevated to

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. ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

in 1976 with the suffragan dioceses of

Sibu Sibu (; Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of . It i ...

and

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

History

* It was erected it as the

of Sarawak by Pope Pius XI on 5 February 1927, on territory split off from the

Apostolic Prefecture of Labuan and Borneo The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu (Lat: ''Archdioecesis Kotakinabaluensis'') is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Sabah, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The Archdiocese is the ...

. * It was promoted to the Apostolic Vicariate of Kuching by Pope Pius XII on 14 February 1952. * Lost territory on 1959.12.19 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Miri (now its senior suffragan see of separated

Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei Darussalam The Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei Darussalam ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Bruneiensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction covering the territory of Brunei and headed by an ''apostolic vicar''. The first apostolic vicar was Corneli ...

and Diocese of Miri). *

elevated it 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 31 May 1976. * Lost territory on 1986.12.22 to establish the Diocese of Sibu as its second suffragan (by the installation of Dominic Su Haw Chiu as its first bishop).

Ecclesiastical Province

Its

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

comprises the Metropolitan's own Archbishopric and the following

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

s, both daughter dioceses : * Roman Catholic Diocese of Miri *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sibu The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sibu ( la, Dioecesis Sibuensis) is the ecclesiastical territory of the Latin Church or the diocese of the Catholic Church in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is headquartered in Sibu and covered the divisions o ...

Bishops

The following are the lists of ordinaries (bishops of the diocese) and auxiliary bishops, and their terms of service. They are followed by other priest of this diocese who became bishop.

Apostolic Prefects of Sarawak

# Edmund Dunn, MHM (1927–1935) # Aloysius Hopfgartner, MHM (1935–1949) # Jan Vos, MHM (Born in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

; 1949–1952); elevated to Apostolic Vicar

Apostolic Vicars of Sarawak

# Jan Vos, MHM (1952–1968) # Charles Reiterer, MHM (1968–1974) # Dato' Sri Peter Chung Hoan Ting (1975–1976), elevated to Archbishop

Archbishops of Kuching

# Dato' Sri Peter Chung Hoan Ting (1976–2003) # Dato John Ha Tiong Hock (2003–2017) # Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng (2017–present)

Former Auxiliary Bishops of Kuching

* Dato John Ha Tiong Hock (1998–2003), appointed Archbishop of this diocese * Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng (2015–2017), appointed Archbishop of this diocese

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* Richard Ng, appointed Bishop of Miri in 2013

Ordained priests

* Msgr. William Sabang * Rev. Fr. Adrian Kho * Rev. Fr. Albert Jacobse, MHM * Rev. Fr. Alvin Ng, SJ * Rev. Fr. Arockyaraj Pavulu, CMF * Rev. Fr. Augustine Jepy * Rev. Fr. Bernard Jim Bujang * Rev. Fr. Berchmans Rayar, CMF * Rev. Fr. Christopher Laden * Rev. Fr. David Au, OFM * Rev. Fr. Davie Entalai * Rev. Fr. Don Don Romero Ramerez, OFM * Rev. Fr. Eugenio Gocela Maglasang, SDB * Rev. Fr. Felix Au * Rev. Fr. Francis Dakun * Rev. Fr. Galvin Richard Ngumbang * Rev. Fr. Henry Jimbey * Rev. Fr. Jerome Juleng * Rev. Fr. John Chong * Rev. Fr. John Ekly Direk * Rev. Fr. Joseph Chai * Rev. Fr. Joseph Lee, OFM * Rev. Fr. Joseph Liew * Rev. Fr. Joseph Ng, SJ * Rev. Fr. Larry Tan Cheong Kee, SJ * Rev. Fr. Lazarus Swinie * Rev. Fr. Leonard Yap * Rev. Fr. Lucas Ng, CDD * Rev. Fr. Mark Noel Bunchol * Rev. Fr. Martin Wong * Rev. Fr. Nicholas Ng * Rev. Fr. Patrick Heng * Rev. Fr. Paul Herry * Rev. Fr. Paul Hu Pi Xian, CDD * Rev. Fr. Paul Ling Keh Yiing * Rev. Fr. Peter Liston * Rev. Fr. Pratap Baskey, CMF * Rev. Fr. Prince Carneelyes Arockiam, CMF * Rev. Fr. Ramon Borja, SDB * Rev. Fr. Robert Jissem * Rev. Fr. Stanley Goh, SJ * Rev. Fr. Stephen Chin * Rev. Fr. Stephen Lim * Rev. Fr. Vincent Chin

Deceased priests

* Rev. Fr. Terence Burke, MHM (1944 - 2017) * Rev. Fr. James Meehan, MHM (1933 - 2018) * Rev. Fr. Peter Aichner, MHM (1914 - 1995) * Rev. Fr. Leopold van Rooyen, MHM (1917 - 2008) * Rev. Fr. Joachim Pang (1921 - 2007) * Rev. Fr. Richard Khoo Choon Phoe (1940 - 2016) * Rev. Fr. Dato Lawrence Chua (1936 - 2021) * Rev. Fr. Michael O'Brien, MHM (1941 - 2022) * Rev. Fr. Noel Hanrahan, MHM (1928 - 2019)

Statistics and extent

As per 2021, it pastorally served 240,575 Catholics (38.2% of 812,900 total) on 19,173 km² in 12 parishes with 37 priests (26 diocesan, 11 religious), 82 lay religious (13 brothers, 69 sisters), 5 seminarians. There is a

major seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of St. Peter. There are about 19 parishes and chapels administering outstations around the archdiocese.

Parishes

* St. Joseph's Cathedral, Kuching (Priest in charge: Rev. Bernard Jim Bujang, Rev. Larry Tan Cheong Kee, SJ, Rev. Galvin Richard Ngumbang & Rev. Mark Noel Bunchol) * St. Peter's Church, Padungan (Priest in charge: Rev. Vincent Chin) * St. Ann's Church, Kota Padawan (Priest in charge: Rev. Don Don Romero Ramerez, OFM & Rev. David Au, OFM) * St Teresa's Church, Serian (Priest in charge: Rev. Leonard Yap, Rev. Arockyaraj Pavulu, CMF, Rev. Pratap Baskey, CMF & Rev. Robert Jissem) * St. Stephen's Church, Bau (Priest in charge: Rev. Peter Liston, Rev. Paul Herry & Rev. Augustine Jepy) * St. Jude's Church, Bunan Gega (Priest in charge: Rev. Berchmans Rayar, CMF, Rev. John Ekly Direk & Rev. Prince Carneelyes Arockiam, CMF) * Sacred Heart Church, Kota Sentosa (Priest in charge: Rev. Felix Au, Rev. Lucas Ng, CDD, Rev. Paul Hu, CDD & Rev. Stephen Chin) * Blessed Sacrament Church, BDC (Priest in charge: Rev. Patrick Heng) * Holy Spirit Church, Lundu (Priest in charge: Rev. Adrian Kho & Rev. Christopher Laden) * Holy Trinity Church, Kenyalang Park (Priest in charge: Rev. Joseph Liew & Rev. Eugenio Gocela Maglasang, SDB) * Chapel of Mother Mary, Stutong (Priest in charge: Msgr. William Sabang & Rev. Martin Wong) * Our Lady Queen of Peace, Sri Aman (Priest in charge: Rev. Jerome Juleng, Rev. Joseph Chai & Rev. Henry Jimbey)The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching , Parishes
/ref>

Religious communities

Male

* Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM) * Congregation of the Disciples of the Lord (CDD) *

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brothe ...

(FMS) *

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(SJ) *

Claretians , image = Herb CMF.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = Coat of arms of the Claretians , abbreviation = CMF , nickname = Claretians , formation = , founders = Ant ...

(CMF) *

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

(OFM) *

Salesians of Don Bosco , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turi ...

(SDB)

Female

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

(OCD) * Franciscan Sisters (SSFS)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google map and satellite photo - data for all sections
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuching, Roman Catholic Archdicoese Religious organizations established in 1927 Kuching Roman Catholic dioceses in Malaysia Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century