MIRI: A new church to cater for more than 3,000 Roman Catholic families in Permyjaya here has been proposed for construction next year.
Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin said this today after attending a blessing ceremony for the newly completed church, St Anthony of Padua, in Tudan.
“The state government has allocated a 1.5-acre piece of land in Permyjaya, opposite E-Mart shopping complex for the church,” Lee, who is also Senadin assemblyman, said.
He added that with the number of Roman Catholics in Permyjaya, there’s a great need to build a church in the area.
St Anthony of Padua church, which costs RM1.7 million, took about a year to complete and it sits on a 0.7-acre piece of land in Tudan.
The blessing ceremony for the church was carried out by Reverend Father Richard Ng, the bishop of Miri.
According to Ng, the Catholics in the area had a small house of worship, but due to Covid-19, they were forced to close the place.
“Most of them come to this church (St Anthony of Padua) ever since,” he added.
At the event, Lee also presented RM10,000 in Minor Rural Project (MRP) grants to help provide other facilities such as an air-conditioning unit for the church.
Also present at the ceremony was Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting.
