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The
Church
of
the
Assumption
was
founded
in
1786,
when
Captain
Francis
Light
first
came
to
Penang,
Malaysia.
It
is
located
in
Farquhar
Street,
George
Town,
within
the
heritage
core
zone
of
the
city.
The
church
is
the
third
oldest
Catholic
church
in
Malaysia.
This
church
was
the
seat
of
the
bishop
of
Penang
from
1955
to
2003
and
it
is
also
a
World
Heritage
Church.
In
1786,
Captain
Francis
Light
landed
on
Penang
Island
and
named
it
Prince
of
Wales
Island.
He
set
up
the
Fort
Cornwallis.
In
conjunction
with
their
landing
in
Penang
which
coincides
with
the
feast
of
the
Assumption
of
The
Blessed
Mary
on
15
August
that
year,
he
and
his
companions
built
a
church
and
named
it
Church
of
the
Assumption.
It
was
the
first
Roman
Catholic
church
in
the
northern
region
of
Malaysia,
as
well
as
the
first
church
built
after
the
British
landed
in
Penang.
They
went
on
to
control
Malaya
later
on.
As
the
population
of
Penang
Island
continues
to
increase,
there
was
a
need
for
a
bigger
church.
In
1860,
the
present
crucifix
shaped
church,
was
constructed.
It
was
completed
in
1861
and
opened.
It
consists
of
two
bell
towers
and
a
huge
altar.
The
pipe
organ,
by
Morton
&
Moody
of
Oakham,
England,
was
installed
in
1916
and
the
choir
gallery
was
extended.
In
December
1941,
when
the
Japanese
conquered
Penang,
the
church
was
closed
except
for
a
few
masses.
It
was
said
that
during
one
day,
when
the
bells
of
the
church
were
tolled,
a
Japanese
soldier
went
into
the
church
to
cut
off
the
ropes,
saying
that
the
bells
were
noisy.
Life
went
back
to
normal
when
the
Japanese
surrendered
in
August
1945.
In
1954,
in
conjunction
with
the
Marian
Year,
the
statue
of
Our
Lady
of
Fatima
was
carried
on
a
long
procession
through
the
streets
of
George
Town.
It
was
replaced
with
a
shrine
built
in
front
of
the
church.[2]
The
need
for
a
diocese
was
raised
up
after
the
Japanese
occupation.
After
much
discussion,
finally
on
25
February
1955,
the
Penang
Diocese
was
established
together
with
the
Archdiocese
of
Kuala
Lumpur.
At
the
same
time,
Bishop
Francis
Chan
and
Bishop
Dominic
Vendargon
were
appointed
as
bishops
of
Penang
and
Kuala
Lumpur,
respectively.
This
church,
together
with
St.
John's
Cathedral
in
Kuala
Lumpur,
was
given
the
cathedral
status.
At
that
period
of
time,
Cathedral
of
the
Assumption
served
as
the
main
church
of
the
northern
region
of
Malaysia.
A
lot
of
diocesan
activities
were
held
there.
It
was
in
the
mid-1970s,
when
the
cathedral
and
three
other
churches
in
George
Town
suffered
a
major
setback.
The
Catholic
population
there
started
to
dwindle
until
only
about
1,500
Catholics
were
left
in
the
city.
Since
the
number
of
the
priests
were
shrinking,
in
1988
Bishop
Antony
Selvanayagam
decided
to
merge
the
four
parishes
into
one
parish,
named
City
Parish.
In
the
1990s,
main
functions
of
the
diocese
were
moved
to
other
churches.
That
was
also
the
time
when
the
Bishop
of
Penang
had
a
meeting
with
the
priests
to
discuss
about
moving
the
cathedral
to
some
other
places.
In
2001,
Bishop
Antony
Selvanayagam
announced
that
in
January
2003,
the
status
of
the
cathedral
will
be
moved
to
the
Cathedral
of
The
Holy
Spirit
in
Green
Lane,
Penang.
This
parish
emerged
as
the
new
cathedral
because
it
has
a
high
number
of
parishioners
and
was
also
a
very
active
parish
in
the
diocese.
On
20
January
2003,
the
cathedral
status
and
bishop's
seat
were
officially
moved
to
the
new
Cathedral
of
The
Holy
Spirit,
thus
lowering
the
status
of
the
cathedral
to
Church
of
The
Assumption.
In
2008,
when
George
Town
and
Malacca
Town
became
UNESCO
World
Heritage
Sites,
the
church
was
named
as
world
heritage
church.
The
church
building
was
over
160
years
old
and
has
historical
significance.
In
2022,
the
church
marked
a
year-long
celebration
of
its
235th
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