Anthony Soter Fernandez (22 April 1932 – 28 October 2020) was a Malaysian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the first Malaysian cardinal. He was Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur from 1983 to 2003.
Anthony Soter Fernandez | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Kuala Lumpur | |
 Fernandez in 2016 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur |
| Installed | 10 November 1983 |
| Term ended | 24 May 2003 |
| Predecessor | Dominic Vendargon |
| Successor | Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Alberto Magno |
| Previous post(s) | Bishop of Penang (1977–1983) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 10 December 1966 |
| Consecration | 17 February 1978 by Gregory Yong, Chan Soon Cheong, and Lee Kok Hin |
| Created cardinal | 19 November 2016 by Pope Francis |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 April 1932 |
| Died | 28 October 2020 (aged 88) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Buried | St. John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Nationality | Malaysian |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Motto | Keadilan dan Keamanan (Justice and Peace) |
| Coat of arms |  |
Ordination history of Anthony Soter Fernandez | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Styles of Anthony Soter Fernandez | |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Biography
editAnthony Soter Fernandez was born on 22 April 1932 in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. He was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Penang on 10 December 1966.[1]
He was named Bishop of Penang on 29 September 1977.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on 17 February 1978[1] from Gregory Yong, Archbishop of Singapore.
Pope John Paul II appointed him the second Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur on 30 July 1983[3] and he was installed there on 10 November 1983.[1]
He served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei from 1987–1990 and 2000–2003.
Pope John Paul accepted his resignation as archbishop on 24 May 2003.[4]
Fernandez was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory on 19 November 2016,[5] and was the first Malaysian to be made a cardinal.[6][7]
Fernandez died on 28 October 2020 at the Little Sisters of the Poor St. Francis Xavier Home in Cheras. He had been suffering from tongue cancer for several years.[8][9] He was buried in the nave of St. John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c "UCAN Diocesan Profile Series". Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010.
- ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXX. 1978. p. 65. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXV. 1983. p. 852. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 24.05.2003" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 24 May 2003.
- ^ "Pope to create 13 new cardinals, including 3 Americans". Crux. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ Arbee, Awaina (9 October 2016). "Pope Francis names Malaysia's first ever cardinal". New Straits Times. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Catholics celebrate first Malaysian Cardinal". Asia News. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ^ "Malaysia's sole Roman Catholic cardinal Fernandez dies of cancer". MSN News. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ Chandran, Sheela (1 November 2020). "Tribute for a true man of the cloth". The Star. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin (31 October 2020). "Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez buried in Cathedral of St John, KL". Malay Mail. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
External links
edit
- "Fernandez Card. Anthony Soter". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
