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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur (Latin: Archidioecesis Kuala Lumpurensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia. It was erected as the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur by Pope Pius XII on 25 February 1955, and was elevated to the rank of a Metropolitan Archdiocese on 18 December 1972, with the suffragan sees of Malacca-Johor and Penang. It also administers the capital city of Malaysia, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur as well as the federal administrative centre of Putrajaya and the urbanised states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in the central region as well as Pahang and Terengganu on the East Coast. The archdiocese's Mother Church 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 and Kuching, both at the Borneo Islands.

Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

Archidioecesis Kuala Lumpurensis

Keuskupan Agung Kuala Lumpur
St. John's Cathedral
Location
CountryMalaysia
Ecclesiastical provinceKuala Lumpur
Coordinates3°09′04″N 101°42′03″E / 3.15109530°N 101.70093080°E / 3.15109530; 101.70093080
Statistics
Area63,763 km2 (24,619 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2019)
12,390,830
264,840[1] (2.1%)
Parishes35[1]
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteLatin Rite
EstablishedFebruary 25, 1955; 69 years ago (1955-02-25)
CathedralSt. John's Cathedral
Patron saintJohn the Evangelist
Secular priests61[2]
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Metropolitan ArchbishopJulian Leow Beng Kim
SuffragansDiocese of Penang
Diocese of Malacca-Johor
Vicar GeneralMsgr, Stanislaus Soosaimariam
Msgr Patrick Boudville, Chancellor: Rev Fr. Dr. Clarence Devadass
Bishops emeritusMurphy Pakiam
Website
www.archkl.org
Coat of arms of Julian Leow Beng Kim

History

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In 1786, the first church was established in Penang.[3] This led to the formation of Vicariate of Siam and Kedah, which expanded towards the entire Malayan Peninsula and Singapore.[citation needed] The Vicariate of Malaya was formed in 1841. The Church of Visitation was founded in 1848 in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. 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 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.[4]

In 1955, the Diocese of Malacca became a Metropolitan Archdiocese, with the newly formed Diocese of Penang and Diocese of Kuala Lumpur as its suffragan sees.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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. This ending the 59 years of the ethnic Indian domination of the diocese's hierarchy with the election of Leow, an ethnic Chinese.[5][6] During the consistory on 19 November 2016, Pope Francis installed Archbishop Emeritus Anthony Soter Fernandez as a cardinal, making him the first bishop from Malaysia to be appointed.[7]

Statistical summary

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Below are statistics of the archdiocese.[8]

  • 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

Bishops

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The following are the lists of ordinaries (bishops of the diocese) and auxiliary bishops, and their terms of service.[9]

Bishop of Kuala Lumpur

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  1. Dominic Aloysius Vendargon (1955–1972), elevated to Archbishop

Archbishops of Kuala Lumpur

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  1. Dominic Aloysius Vendargon (1972–1983)
  2. Anthony Soter Fernandez (1983–2003)
  3. Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam (2003–2013)
  4. Julian Leow Beng Kim (2014–present)

Former Auxiliary Bishops of Kuala Lumpur

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Awards and recognition

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  • 2016 The Fisher's Net Awards - Best Diocesan Use of New Media[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b www.catholic-hierarchy.org | Statistics - Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur
  2. ^ "Directory". Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.
  3. ^ "Kopen Stromectol Online zonder Recept - tegen Covid-19".
  4. ^ "Original Catholic Encyclopedia:Diocese of Malacca". 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Pope Francis accepts resignation of Archbishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Pope appoints Chinese Malaysian priest as new Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Pope installs 17 cardinals, including Malaysia's Anthony Soter Fernandez". 20 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  8. ^ "General Info". Archived from the original on 31 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 🇲🇾".
  10. ^ "AWARD WINNERS". 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
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