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Minor
Basilica
of
St.
Anne,
Bukit
Mertajam
(Malay:
Gereja
St
Anne,
Tamil:
புனித
அன்னாள்
தேவாலயம்,
Punitha
annaal
Tēvālayam),
is
a
Roman
Catholic
church
located
in
Bukit
Mertajam,
Penang,
Malaysia.
It
is
one
of
the
parishes
in
the
Diocese
of
Penang.
Its
annual
celebration
of
the
feast
of
St
Anne
regularly
attracts
over
100,000
pilgrims
from
Malaysia
as
well
as
neighbouring
countries
like
Singapore,
Thailand,
Vietnam,
Indonesia,
the
Philippines
and
Australia.
The
celebration
lasts
for
10
days,
and
includes
the
actual
feast
day
on
26
July.
The
origins
of
St.
Anne's
Sanctuary
can
be
traced
back
to
as
far
back
as
1833,
when
Chinese
and
Indian
migrant
workers
arrived
from
the
Batu
Kawan
area
in
Penang.
In
1840,
Chinese
Catholics
settled
at
the
foothills
of
Bukit
Mertajam
and
worked
in
the
farms
and
orchards.
At
that
time,
there
was
already
an
established
parish
in
Batu
Kawan.
Thus,
French
missionaries
from
Batu
Kawan
came
to
Bukit
Mertajam
to
minister
to
the
Catholic
families
in
the
area.
The
Catholics
in
Bukit
Mertajam
then
numbered
about
190.
Fr.
Adolphe
Couellan,
MEP
was
the
first
visiting
priest,
and
it
was
not
long
later
that
he
saw
the
need
for
a
chapel.
Consequently,
he
built
one
on
top
of
the
hill,
about
two
kilometres
from
the
town
of
Bukit
Mertajam.
The
foundation
and
cornerstone
of
this
first
chapel
can
still
be
seen
at
its
original
site
at
St.
Anne's
Hill
today.
The
earliest
records
of
the
parish
were
that
of
baptisms
in
1846,
making
it
the
year
the
parish
was
officially
established.
Consequently,
from
1860
onwards,
visiting
priests
came
from
Permatang
Tinggi.
With
the
increase
in
the
Catholic
population,
a
bigger
chapel
was
built
in
1865
by
Fr.
Maistre
MEP.
The
foundation
stones
of
this
second
chapel
can
be
found
behind
St.
Anne's
Water
Fount.
Four
years
later,
Fr.
Allard
MEP
was
assigned
to
the
parish
and
became
its
first
resident
parish
priest.
In
1883,
Fr.
F.
P.
Sorin
MEP
took
over
the
parish
and
served
for
15
years.
It
was
Fr.
Sorin
who
built
a
bigger
church
in
1888
for
the
locals
as
the
Catholic
population
increased.
Today,
this
same
church
still
stands
and
has
become
the
revered
Shrine
of
Harmony.
It
was
also
fondly
called
the
“Old
Church”
by
local
parishioners.
Incidentally,
Fr.
Sorin
died
on
the
feast
of
St.
Anne,
26th
July
1907
and
he
was
buried
in
the
main
aisle
of
the
church
that
he
built.
Soon
after
the
Japanese
occupation,
the
threat
of
Communism
loomed
over
Malaysia.
In
1948,
the
British
Government
to
declare
a
State
of
Emergency,
the
church
grounds
were
designated
as
a
no-go
area.
Curfew
was
imposed
and
there
was
food
rationing
as
well.
Many
restrictions
were
imposed
on
the
local
population.
Bukit
Mertajam
Hill
was
often
bombarded
by
the
army
as
communist
terrorists
were
believed
to
be
hiding
there.
Generally,
many
Chinese
were
suspected
to
be
communist
sympathisers
by
the
British
Government
and
they
were
uprooted
from
their
lands
and
houses
and
relocated
to
the
infamous
Chinese
New
Villages
throughout
the
country.
Around
Bukit
Mertajam,
we
can
still
find
them
in
Berapit,
Machang
Bubuk,
Sungai
Lembu
and
Junjung.
Eventually,
the
church
grounds
(old
church)
were
declared
out
of
bounds
and
labelled
as
a
"black
area"
because
of
the
communist
insurgency.
Thus,
church
services
were
temporarily
held
in
the
chapel
of
the
Holy
Infant
Jesus
Convent
instead
of
the
church.
It
was
only
in
1960
that
the
emergency
was
lifted.
In
1977,
the
church
started
moving
back
to
the
St.
Anne's
Shrine
and
restoration
works
begin,
due
to
being
abandoned
for
a
long
time.
The
stained
glass
inside
and
one
of
the
three
bells
were
recovered.
