Tuesday, July 25, 2006



In the period between 1999 and 2000, Friars Arul Sagayaraj and Joseph Nasanathan OFM arrived in Kuching in response to the invitation which the then Archbishop of Kuching, Dato’ Sri Peter Chung had extended to the Custody of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

In the early part of 2000, Fr Joseph Lee OFM joined the band, followed shortly by Friar Joseph Goh OFM, both of whom are Sarawakians. These friars worked in the parish on a ‘trial’ basis, in order to allow the friars and the Archdiocese to further understand and respect each other’s needs.

Thereafter, Friars Anthoni Selvaraj, Kenny Anthonysamy and Michael Goh OFM also arrived, and though not officially appointed to the parish, they proved invaluable in assisting the parish in great and little ways. Fr Alban Mitchell OFM, a well-known and much-loved Australian friar from the Province of the Holy Spirit, who was in Singapore in the 1980s, was also a member of the community from 2001 to 2004. It was only in 2001 that an official contract was signed between the friars and the Archdiocese of Kuching. Just recently, Friars Gerard Victor and Moses Yap OFM also arrived on the shores of Sarawak.

The Franciscan Friars are committed to their presence here in Kuching.
To find out more about the Franciscan Friars, visit www.franciscans.org.sg or www.ofm.org