History of Our Parish

The Seeds of Faith
In Pulau Tikus, there were pockets of Malayan/Thai-Portuguese Catholics settled, long before the arrival of Francis Light, in between the estuaries of Bagan Jermal Road and Cantonment Road. This area roughly corresponds with our parish BEC Zone 10. Stories from the early settlers tell of their arrival during the Portuguese Trading operations, which had stopovers at Batu Ferringhi and Pulau Tikus.

The first wave of Catholics landed in Penang at the urging of Capt. Francis Light, who needed skilled persons to aid in his development of the island. These settlers were Thai-Portuguese who had embarked from Kuala Kedah after their brief stay there, having fled Phuket earlier, from the Burmese occupiers' orders to massacre all Christians. They landed on 15 August 1778, on the feast of the Assumption, and settled in the area around Bishop and Church Streets. These settlers were the pioneers of Penang's first Catholic parish, the Church of the Assumption, at Farquhar Street.

Exodus From Phuket
In 1811, the Burmese massacre of Christians extended to Phuket. As a result, Fr. John Baptist Pasqual decided to move his parish, and the remnants of the Thai-Portuguese Catholic Community (the parishioners of the Church of Our Lady Free From Sin, a reference to Mother Mary which the Pope later changed to The Immaculate Conception) also made their way to Penang.

Founding of Our Parish
Fr. Pasqual and his parishioners sought refuge in a Pulau Tikus already mainly settled by Thai-Portuguese Catholics most of whom also came from Phuket and Kuala Kedah and were his relatives and friends. On land set aside for burials in Pulau Tikus by this community, he set up his Church, similar in name to that in Phuket – The Church of the Immaculate Conception. It was but a rudimentary structure - in a tent with the dead buried around it. The site of this first church is marked today by a cenotaph in the middle of the Kelawei Road Cemetery. Thus our parish was born.

The Early Years
It is believed that Thomasia Pasqual (Fr. Pasqual’s relative), and other families such as the Leandros, the Jeremiahs, the Gregorys and the Josephs gave their lands between the present College Lane and Leandros Lane to Fr. Pasqual, and this is where he built the first permanent church, made of planks and covered with attap (on the site of our present church). The neighbouring land was for poor Catholic parishioners (on the site of present-day Bellisa Row & Bellisa Court).

After setting up his parish community in Penang, Fr. Pasqual is known to have returned to a similar Thai-Portuguese Catholic Settlement called Santa Cruz which is just outside Bangkok. Thereafter, French MEP* priests based at the old College General seminary (situated at the junction of College Lane and Kelawei Road) took over the affairs of the parish.

Of Saints and Martyrs
One of these MEP priests was Fr. Jacques Chastan (1803-1839), who served as the 4th parish priest. He was in Penang from 1827-1833, serving as a professor at College General from 1828-1830, and as our parish priest from 1830-1833. In 1833, he left for Korea to do missionary work. In 1839, he surrendered himself to the authorities to protect the faithful, with the hope that his sacrifice would stop the persecution of the Catholics in Korea. He was tortured and beheaded together with Bishop Laurent Imbert. In 1984, His Holiness Pope John Paul II canonized Fr. Chastan.

Growth in Stone, in Service and in Spirit
The original church which Fr. Pasqual built lasted until 1835 when it was replaced with a brick church by the 5th parish priest, Fr. Bohet.

On the adjoining site, Fr. Bohet also built two ‘church schools’, one for the Catholic boys (traditionally known as ‘Noah’s Ark’ for its similarities and later as the original St. Xavier’s Branch School of the La Salle Brothers), and the other for Catholic Girls (later known as the Pulau Tikus Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Sisters).

In 1897, renovations were carried out on the brick church. However, in August 1898, the brick ceiling collapsed and caused considerable damage to the walls. Fr. Damais, the 11th parish priest, rebuilt the church, which was later blessed on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception in 1899.

This church survived until the late 1960s. To accommodate the growing Catholic population in and around Pulau Tikus, the 25th parish priest, Fr. Louis Ashness further renovated the church, considerably altering the façade to what it is today.

Moments in Time
Fr. Robin Andrews replaced Fr. Ashness as the next parish priest. Being a local resident, he was very popular with the people, and he was a welcome change as the church was then getting accustomed to the waves of change brought about after Vatican II.

Fr. Benedict Nieukey was attached to the church as a deacon until he was ordained as priest in 1974. The other ordination is that of Fr. Nelson Chitty in 1992.

For a few years, the parish had the services of lecturer-priests from College General, who were assigned as administrators to the parish.

In 2003, after a few years without a priest in residence, Fr. Francis Xavier Selvarajoo was installed as parish priest. He set about on an ambitious programme to transform the parish into “a little corner of heaven.” The parish saw a surge in activity, with various new initiatives to revive and grow the community in faith and service. A parish website was launched, the publication of a periodical, the Sunday Companion was made, and various renovation works were done, most notably the building of a new roof for the church, from the older blue to a dark grey colour, and the painting of the church building.

In 2006, Fr. Marshall Fernandez was installed as parish priest, with Fr. Mark Michael as assistant priest. The parish community continues to grow, change and mature under their pastoral leadership. Parishioners and visitors alike have noted the priests for a certain light-hearted, often humorous philosophy to things, especially manifested in their homilies packed with jokes and down-to-earth anecdotes. The presence of an assistant priest has also been welcome by the parishioners, seen as recognition of the growing pastoral demands of the parish populace.

Since their arrival here, much infrastructure work has also taken place. New, enlarged toilets were built; the church ceiling and wiring were re-done; the church received a new coat of paint; the new Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima was built, and a sophisticated electronic bell system was installed which among other functions, chimed the Angelus 3 times daily at 6am, noon and 6pm.

The Way Forward
As we approach our 200th anniversary in 2010, we are called to pause and reflect on our rich past, to seek to be inspired by the same Holy Spirit who moved the great men and women of yesteryear to build our parish community for what it is today, and continue to live our faith, building and improving on our very own community of Christ.

 *  MEP is the abbreviation for Missions Etrangères de Paris, a missionary society based in France.

Sources:
"A Short History of Our Parish - Districtus Pulo Ticus Ad Anno 1811" - A Series of Papers on the Parish of the Church of the Immaculate Conception Pulau Tikus Penang by Dr. Anthony Sibert
Souvenir Magazine of the Golden Jubilee, Diocese of Penang (1955-2005)