Opening and Blessing of CIC’s new Parish Centre

PENANG: It was a day of grace and gratitude on Epiphany Sunday, when parishioners of the Church of the Immaculate Conception (CIC) gathered to open the doors of their new parish centre.

The RM12 million four-storey centre, in the grounds of the 207- year old church, was built to meet the present and future needs of the parish.

The centre comprises a parish hall, activity room for Senior citizens, five meeting rooms, 13 classrooms, two funeral parlours, two dormitories for 60 people, parish office and living quarters for the parish priest. The building is serviced by two lifts. Ramps have been provided for easy access by the disabled. A basement carpark is another feature of the building.

Apart from generous donations by parishioners and well-wishers, the project was also supported by the Penang State Government through a RM250,000 donation and a contribution from the Penang Diocese.

Present at the opening and blessing of the parish centre were the Bishop of Penang, Rt Rev Dato’ Sebastian Francis, who opened and blessed the centre, vicar-general and parish priest Msgr Michael Cheah and assistant parish priest Fr Nelson Joseph.

In his welcome speech, parish council chairman, David Sivapatham thanked all who had contributed in cash, kind and time to make the project a reality. He also expressed happiness that over 300 children of the parish will now be able to attend their faith formation classes under one roof.

Msgr Cheah said that although the opening of the centre had been delayed by one year and three months, the time had finally come for parishioners to make full use of the space. He hoped that it would also be used for evangelisation.

In addition to naming the classrooms after donors or in memory of loved ones, plaques with the names of donors or their loved ones who have passed on, were mounted on the walls of the new centre.

The event also witnessed the donation of two paintings by Dato’ Thomas Tan Chiang Kiong, an 85 years old artist from Bukit Mertajam, and a painting of the church by Dr Katsuhiro Sato commissioned by Dr Francis Tan.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in 1811 and is the second oldest church in the diocese after the Church of the Assumption.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online