Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Taiping

Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart (31 August, 2015)


Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart (GPS: 4.86349, 100.75123) is a Roman Catholic church in Taiping, Perak. It is located on a hillside off Jalan Lumba Kuda, behind Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Krian Pauh. This is one of the earliest Catholic churches in Perak, tracing its history back to 1875. Unlike the Church of St Louis in downtown Taiping, which caters mostly to the Tamil Catholics, the Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart was built for the Chinese Catholics.

As with many of the Catholic churches in Perak established in the 19th century, the Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart was likewise established by French and/or Belgian missionaries from the Paris Foreign Missions Society, or M.E.P. In the case of this church, its founding is credited to Father J.P. Allard, who had earlier been involved with mission work among the Chinese Catholics who initially settled in Batu Kawan, and later on resettled in Matang Tinggi and Bukit Mertajam. He continued south, arriving in Taiping, where he managed to get a 100-acre piece of land in Krian Pauh. Although the town board eventually took back much of this land, Father Allard managed to retain some 20 acres, on which he built the church and schools.

When Father Allard moved to Taiping, a number Chinese farmers followed him there. However they found that the land, which was rich in tin ore, was not that suitable for agriculture. It was too sandy and waterlogged. So, after a few years of unsuccessful farming attempts, these farmers moved on to eventually settle in the Kinta Valley.

The Japanese Occupation of 1941-45 brough an interruption to the Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart, when the priests were forced "downtown", to stay at the St Louis Church. It was only in 1952, after the war was over, that Father Jose Liu returned to stay in the Krian Pauh area again.

Within the compound of the Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart is a statue of Christ. It stands on a pedestal. The statue was erected in memory of Father Charles Grenier, the parish priest for Krian Pauh from 1897 to 1905.

Statue of Christ at the Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart (31 August, 2015)


Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart (31 August, 2015)


Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart (31 August, 2015)

Address

Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Jalan Lumba Kuda,
34000 Taiping, Perak.

Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart is on the Map of Taiping, Perak

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