Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sibu

Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sibu
2°17′12″N 111°49′56″E / 2.28667°N 111.83222°E / 2.28667; 111.83222Coordinates: 2°17′12″N 111°49′56″E / 2.28667°N 111.83222°E / 2.28667; 111.83222
Location	Sibu, Sarawak
Country	Malaysia
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.catholic.my/shc/
History
Founded	1907
Dedicated	1985 (as cathedral)
Architecture
Years built	1908
Administration
Diocese	Sibu
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Bishop Joseph Hii Teck Kwong

Sacred Heart Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Diocese of Sibu. It is located on Jalan Lanang in Sibu, Sarawak.

Fr. Vincent Halder arrived in Sibu in 1905. He built the old Sacred Heart Church on stilts which served the Catholic community until 1953. A new Sacred Heart Church was built with brick and cement. It served the needs of the Catholic community until 1985 when the present cathedral was ready and consecrated on 30 July. The Church continued to grow during Fr. Adrian de Vos's time as rector. The Chinese Catholic community continued to increase. There was a great need for native Chinese speaking priests. This need was answered on 19 July 1955 when 3 priests arrived from Hong Kong. Fr. James Che was posted to Sibu. It was a great boost to Sibu, finally to have a Mandarin speaking priest, who also introduced the Legion of Mary. Fr. De Vos died suddenly of a heart attack when cycling to St Mary's convent. He died on 10 November 1962, aged 58.

The priestly ordination of Fr. Anthony Lam (from China) was held on 7 July 1957. He was the first priest to be ordained in Sacred Heart Church, Sibu. Fr. James Che become the rector but left for Korea during 1968 on medical grounds. He was succeeded by Fr. Joachim Phang. Fr. Henry Vollenberg also served in Sibu for 3 years (1965–1968) before moving to Mukah. By this time a trunk road was built from Kuching to Miri. The road cut through Iban territory and travelling to longhouses became easier. Selanggau along the Mukah river became a little township, when the road passed through. The Mission had acquired a piece of land next to the road, where a handsome church St Charles was built. The priests from Sibu looked after the Iban communities, who were previously serving in the Dalat and Mukah missions.

Fr. Dignum Marcus travelled extensively for 9 years visiting longhouses by boat, on foot or by car. Many longhouse occupants embraced the faith. It was also mainly through him that a Than Parish Council was formed to work together and get support to cover the large area. Some Mill Hill priests (Frs. James Tollan and John Bede Morgan) were put in charge of the youth. Fr. Morgan introduced the Boy Scouts and cared for the altar boys. They only stayed a couple of years. A Malaysian government's ruling that only allowed a ten years stay for missionaries arriving after Malaysia Day (31 August 1963) was taking its toll. Fr. Ferdinand Vergeer's special skills for catechetists proved most useful in Sibu, giving the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) a lot of help in teaching young people from non mission schools Catholic doctrine. Fr. Anthony van Vught travelled with Sibu as base to the remote areas of Selanggau.