St Michael's Church, Ipoh

St Michael's Church, Ipoh (10 March, 2019)

St Michael's Church (GPS: 4.59508, 101.08827) is the main Roman Catholic church in Ipoh, Perak. It is located off Jalan Sultan Idris Shah (Brewster Road), across from the Convent, Brewster Road.

St Michael's Church was established in 1890 by Father Emille Barillon, a French Catholic missionary from the Paris Foreign Missions Society (Missions étrangères de Paris, MEP), who relocated from an earlier parish in Batu Gajah. In the early days, the church was a mere attap shed. As there was no lodging for Father Barillon, he had to sleep within the church itself.

Father Barillon worked in Ipoh until 1892, when he was called to take on the position of Director of the MEP Seminary in France. The months leading up to his voyage home was particularly eventful for Ipoh, for that was when the great fire of Ipoh took place (in June 1892), razing much of the town to the ground. In September that year, a new priest, Father Pierre Perrichon, arrived and served as parish priest of St Michael's for the next eight years. Under Father Perrrichon, the present church site was obtained.

After Father Perrichon, four priests served at St Michael's in rapid succession: Father Decroques (1900-01), Father Mariette (1901-02), Father Raudel (1902-03) and Father Vey (1903-04). Then came Father Jean B. Coppin, who served for 23 years, from 1904 until 1927. Father Coppin was involved in the founding of two Catholic schools, with help from the Infant Jesus Sisters and the La Salle Brothers. The schools are the Infant Jesus Convent School (The Convent Brewster Road) on 7 January, 1907, and the St Michael's Institution in 1912.

The first building of St Michael's Church dates to 1895. It was constructed by Leong Ah Chong, a local Christian contractor, and was blessed in 1896. The present church building was completed just before the Second World War. However due to the war, it was only blessed in 1948.