I attended Mass in this magnificent Cathedral a few times previously, though my last visit there was over 2 years ago.
I would have to say that this still remains my all time favorite church here in Malaysia. It's a pity that I'd have to fly across South China Sea to attend Mass there.
It's unique in the sense that the sanctuary area is "sunken". If I'm not wrong, the sanctuary is lower than the land surrounding the cathedral. And it also has an archbishop's throne on the right hand side of the sanctuary.
A few years earlier, I had the privilege to witness the Easter's Service of Light. Behind where the lectern usually stands, was a baptismal font or perhaps bath should be a more appropriate word to use.
And I watched initially in horror which turned to fascination and eventually admiration as the RCIA candidates were baptised by the Archbishop. Now why gamut of emotions you may ask? Well, horror as I realised that the font was approximately 3-4 feet deep. And the candidates were supposed to step into the font led to my fascination with the unfolding scene I was witnessing.
And admiration at the faith of the candidates. I don't think that it is the easiest of things to do. To step into a receptacle filled with water and to have to immerse yourself in the water 3 times before stepping out dripping wet and cold in view of a few thousand onlookers. I guess it is testament to the faith they profess which gave them the strength to do what they did.
Going back to the cathedral, it was one of the bigger ones that I have ever been to. I think that it should comfortably sit around 3 thousand without any problems. If there was any grouse I had with the place was that it was a bit stuffy as the fans were somewhat insufficient to circulate the air on a hot and humid day.
Another reason why I loved the cathedral was the architecture. I was extremely impressed with the inner ceilings of the cathedral which was made of wood pieces, much like parquet flooring. I was unable to obtain photos of the cathedral at present moment, so perhaps a trip down to Kuching is in order soon...
I also loved the Stations of the Cross which was integrated with the grilles which surrounds the cathedral. They were made up of what I believe to be acrylic pieces colored made in a mosaic of color and kaleidoscope which was a sight to behold. And it would be a remiss of me to mention the huge cross which hung over the Sanctuary floor suspended by some almost invisible cable.
A friend of mine told me that the cathedral was renovated in the mid 90s to have a day chapel where the daily Masses are celebrated. As such, a heavy curtain was installed and it would be drawn to set up an area behind the sanctuary for the celebration of daily Masses which would not normally attract a huge congregation.
Another sight that was breathtaking was the tabernacle. It is built in the shape of a traditional village house known locally as a "baruk". I believe it was built out of copper and stands on several stilts. Some hidden piping lets off a flow of water to a pool below the structure and a brass cross stands a top the tabernacle. The same friend of mine told me that the cross was once the processional cross pre-renovation.
I also found the church wardens/ushers to be extremely friendly as they distributed the hymnals and missals to the arriving congregation with a wide smile and sincere greetings. And it seems that a lot of effort was put in by the choir in preparation for Mass as they were singing expertly all the hymns, responses etc.
Overall, my regret was the fact that I didn't take the effort to obtain photos in my last visit there. I hope to be able to address that soon. If there are any readers out there who have photos they'd like to share on this topic, kindly send me a message.
Based on info obtained from www.kuchingcatholic.org.my Mass times are as follows on weekends;
Saturday : 06:00pm (Eng)
Sunday : 06:30am (Eng)
: 08:00am (Man)
: 09:30am (BM)
: 05:30pm (Eng)
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