Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (1968)

1 Tingkat Besi Satu, 11600 Pulau Pinang
T: 04-6584909, 04-6566681
F: 04-6564309
email:  admin@holyspiritcathedral.com


Parish Priest : Rev Bernard Paul
Asst. Priest : Rev Andrew Stephen

 

Mon - Tues:  7.00am,  Wed - Fri, 6.00pm,  Sat - 7.00am

Sat. Sunset Mass: 6.00 pm (English)

Sunday Masses :
6.45 am (English)
8.00 am (Mandarin),
10.00 am (English)
5.30 pm (Tamil) 1st & 3rd Sunday

 

CHURCH OF THE DIVINE MERCY (CDM)
117 Jalan Kenari, 11900 Bayan Lepas
Tel:  04-6466885
Fax:  04-6564309

Administrator:  Rev Bernard Paul
Assst. Priest:  Rev Andrew Stephen


Friday Mass:  8.00pm (E)
SUnday Masses:  9.00am (BM/E), 6.00pm (E)

 

Parish bulletin
Parish website

Sungai Ara Community Centre

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Opening & Blessing of the Church of the Divine Mercy

Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Oct 28 2010
Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Penang >>

The following is an unpublished report from Lucia Lai. Published report in Herald by Gregory Warrier about the t\history of the church, please click here.


  

After 41 years, a new church officially opened its door to parishioners on 28 September 2010.

 

The Church of the Divine Mercy at Sungai Ara, Penang, housed at the Christian Community Centre, is the 11th church in the Penang state, which is under the Diocese of Penang.

 

The idea of setting up the Christian Community Centre and church came as early as 1989, when Mr H.R. Watts, donated a piece of land with an area of 3848 sq. meters along Kenari Road, Sungai Ara to the Roman Catholic Church.

 

As Kenari Road is nearest to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, the task of constructing the Centre fell on the parish priests of the Cathedral. A committee was formed in 2003 when Msgr Stephen Liew was the parish priest.

 

In 2005, the Church/Community Centre was officially launched at the Cathedral by the current parish priests, Fr Francis Anthony and Fr Henry Rajoo. From 2005 onwards, there had been various fund-raising projects carried out.

 

“The support given by the Catholic community towards building of this new church has been tremendous and no words can adequately describe how thankful I am for their selfless actions.” said Dato’ Joseph Kow, the Fund Raising Chairman.

 

He also informed that most the interior fittings and furnishing has been donated by the Catholic community.

 

The total cost of the Centre/Church came to about RM8 million. The Diocese contributed RM1 million. Though the Community Centre and the Church had been completed, there are still overdue finance to be settled, thus fund-raising will still go on periodically.

 

The Church consists of a sanctuary, gallery and a multi-purpose hall that can seat 900 people. Adjacent to it is the four-storey multi-purpose Christian Community Centre, which consists of meeting rooms, administrative office, priests’ residence and fifteen classrooms for catechism, formation sessions or functions.

 

The Church would cater for about 2,500 Catholics who are staying around that area. Presently, they are attending Mass at the Cathedral, some 12 km away.

 

The Church of the Divine Mercy does not have a parish priest yet but it will be administered by the parish priests of the Cathedral.

 

Fr Henry Rajoo, who was instrumental in supervising the building works said “A Church has distinct characteristics of its own that upon seeing one or entering it, our minds and hearts intimate to us that we have entered a place of worship. This sense of holiness found within the building together with the act of worship by the people gathered there is what contributes to the making and meaning of Church – the Body of Christ.”

 

Bernard Lim, the organizing committee chairman said that the journey from the conception of the idea of the Church/Centre right through to the official opening saw many committees and individuals working relentlessly to make it a reality.

 

“The opening of the Church is just a start,” he said. “What is more important is for us to build this church into the living body of Christ. A Church truly comes alive when the people of God work in solidarity to build God’s kingdom here on earth.”

 

Both the Bishop and Fr. Francis Anthony, in their speech during the opening and blessing of the Church, echo that it is not good to build a parish and leave it empty without a priest, thus they appealed to everyone to pray for more vocations.

 

 

Last changed: Oct 28 2010 at 9:48 AM

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