Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur Archidioecesis Kuala Lumpurensis Keuskupan Agung Kuala Lumpur |
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St. John's Cathedral
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Location | |
Country | Malaysia |
Ecclesiastical province | Kuala Lumpur |
Coordinates | 3°09′00″N 101°41′59″E / 3.14991°N 101.69960°E |
Statistics | |
Area | 63,763 km2 (24,619 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 10,811,000 185,617 (1.7%) |
Parishes | 35 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Latin Rite |
Established | 25 February 1955 |
Cathedral | St. John's Cathedral |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Julian Leow Beng Kim |
Suffragans |
Penang Malacca-Johor |
Vicar General | Leonard Lexson Mitchel Joseph |
Emeritus Bishops |
Murphy Pakiam (2003-2013) Anthony Soter Fernandez (1983-2003) |
Website | |
www |
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 of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and the states of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Terengganu. The archdiocese's Mother Church and thus, seat of its Archbishop, is St. John's Cathedral.
In 1786, the first church was established in Penang. 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, 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.