Malaysia - Opening of The First Christian Chapel in a National Hospital

Agenzia Fides ^ | 3/12/22

[marshmallow]

Kuching (Agenzia Fides) - The Chapel of the Sacred Heart, the first Christian chapel built inside a hospital in Malaysia, was inaugurated at the Sarawak Heart Center in Kota Samarahan. The structure was blessed by Catholic Archbishop Simon Poh, Archbishop of Kuching and President of the Association of Christian Churches in Sarawak, a Malaysian state located on the island of Borneo.

The idea of building a chapel for Christian worship was proposed in 2019 and with the support of Dr. Mohd Asri bin Riffin, director of the medical facility, responsibility for the design of the chapel was given to the Church Catholic. The need was felt above all in response to the request to be able to attend Sunday mass, expressed by the Christian medical staff and by hospital patients.

In previous years, in fact, mass was celebrated once a month in small rooms temporarily assigned to them. Bishop Po echoed the words of Richard Lon, Director of the Unit dedicated to religions, pointing out that, although the chapel was built and entrusted to the Catholic Church, it is available to all Christian denominations. Construction began in April 2021 and was completed on December 15, 2021, with joint state and church funding.