Catholic Church in Malaysia
The Catholic Church in Malaysia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The apostolic nuncio to Malaysia is currently Archbishop Wojciech Załuski, who was appointed on 22 September 2020; The resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See is Westmoreland Anak Edward Palon.
Catholic Church in Malaysia | |
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| Malay: Gereja Katolik di Malaysia | |
Cathedral of Saint John in Kuala Lumpur | |
| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin |
| Scripture | Bible |
| Theology | Catholic theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Governance | Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei |
| Pope | Francis |
| Apostolic Nuncio | Wojciech Załuski |
| Region | Malaysia |
| Language | Latin, Malaysian language, English, Chinese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Kadazan, Dusun, Bidayuh, Iban, Thai, Korean |
| Headquarters | Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia |
| Origin | 1511 Malacca, Malacca Sultanate |
| Branched from | Catholic Church in Portugal |
| Members | 1,292,000 (2021) |
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The first Catholic priests landed in Malacca in 1511 as military chaplains to the Portuguese. The missionaries were Franciscan and Dominican friars. Malacca subsequently became a stop-over for thousands of missionaries who spread the faith to South and Far East Asia. Until today, small Christian communities can be found in these places as a result of missionary zest. Malacca holds a special place in the history of the Church in this region.