FMT Lifestyle spoke with parish priest Reverend Father Gregory Chan, 58, to learn more about the church’s history.
“Some people say the church was first built in 1928. However, I’ve checked the records, and I think the church existed in the form of an attap hut, maybe along Jalan Tengku Kelana since 1923, for five years,” he said.
In 1923, Father Souhait, from the Paris Foreign Missions or Missions Etrangeres de Paris, was assigned to look after the Catholic community in Klang and its surrounding districts. Recognising the need for a building for the Catholics, he set about acquiring the church’s present site.
Chan shared that Souhait, who was also an architect, played a significant role in influencing the Gothic-style design of the church. It is believed that its construction began in 1925 and was completed in August 1928.
Taking the FMT Lifestyle team around the church, Chan pointed out the beautiful stained-glass windows, which add a quaint charm to the building. Some of these have illustrations on the Stations of the Cross, which depict the journey of Jesus leading to his crucifixion.
Looking upwards, the ceiling of the church is shaped like a tunnel. “It allows the church to reverberate sound,” Chan explained, adding that this came in handy before modern equipment such as amplifiers were introduced during Sunday mass.
The church also has a spiral staircase leading to a loft where an exquisite “rose” window admits light inside. “The rose window has pictures of Christ and his 12 apostles. It’s called as such because it looks like petals that form a rose,” he said.
There is also a grotto in the church’s compound, a cave-like structure where people stop to pray. “It was built on coral rocks brought from Kuala Selangor,” Chan noted.
A chapel lies next to the grotto. Inside, there are two glass panels, with one bearing an image believed to resemble that of the Virgin Mary.
The panels were relocated from a private hospital in Subang Jaya in 2012, where the image first appeared, drawing many onlookers. The panels received wide media attention as well.
According to Chan, in its early days, the church’s parishioners were made up of Indians and Chinese, in addition to British residents.
Over time, the church opened its doors to include other communities such as Sabahans, Sarawakians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Myanmarese, and even the Igbo people from Nigeria.
During the Christmas season, the church remains committed to fostering inclusivity. Even in the midst of the festivities, Chan shared, they do not forget the less fortunate in society.
“The message of the Christmas season is to give love,” he said.
On Christmas Day, the church hosts a party for people from all walks of life, including migrants and those from the lower-income group. Together, they celebrate the joy of the season over food, games, singing and dancing.
And after all these years, what is Chan’s wish for the church’s future? “My hope is that it becomes a place of refuge; a field hospital for people to come and we receive, accept, love and serve them,” he concluded.
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes Klang
114, Jalan Tengku Kelana,
41200 Klang, Selangor