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Panorama Showing St Michael's Catholic Church - A Brief Histoty
This photograph shows the St Michael's Church in Church Road, Ipoh around 1925.
In 1890, Father Emile Barillion, assistant to Father Allard in Batu Gajah, founded the Catholic St Michael's Church in Ipoh, by building a wooden structure with an attap roof as his first place of worship. He also had a wooden attap building which he used as a chapel and residence (the building which is at present the Main Convent School Hall). Father Barillion slept in the corner of this chapel; he also dug well, close to the HIJ Nun's future refectory. Later he became the Bishop of Malaya.
The wooden church building was later replaced and the new one was blessed on 31 August 1890. The pontifical high mass was led by Father Allard. Joining in were: Father Barillion, Father Rivet, public magistrates, and about 1000 believers. There was also a large choir present, whereby the first organist happened to be a Chinese Court interpreter who studied at the La Salle Brother's School in Penang. The organist played the harmonium too.
The church congregation expanded significantly during the long period in office of Father Jean B Coppin, who held the office of Parish priest from 1904 to 1927. It was he who encouraged the missionary Infant Jesus Sisters to set up the Convent of the Infant Jesus (now the Main Convent)in Ipoh after having started St Michael's Institution himself in 1912 with Mr P J Morsingh as its first headmaster. Later Father Coppin persuaded the La Salle Brothers to take over the management of the school, which they did on 11 August 1920.
Father Coppin also oversaw the building of the new brick church which was completed in 1924 (pictured) and is still in very regular use today (2007).
To read more about The Main Convent School, click here.
To read more about St Michael’s Institution, click here.
To read more about the book ‘Kinta Valley’, click here.