Christmas at St John’s Cathedral, KL’s oldest Catholic church

Free Malaysia Today

After a tough year, St John’s Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur is ready to reopen its doors, just in time for Christmas.  Story by: Noel Wong Shot by: Bani Jamian and Fauzi Yunus Presented by: Theevya Ragu Edited by: Vishna Laxmi Balasubramaniam   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2023/12/24/kls-oldest-catholic-church-readies-for-christmas-after-a-tough-2023/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTLifestyle #Christmas  #StJohnsCathedral #OldestChurch #KualaLumpur

Transcript

00:00 [music]

00:10 It's Christmas time and many Malaysian churches have been preparing to welcome the holy season.

00:16 St. John's Cathedral is no exception,

00:19 although their preparations have been somewhat more extensive this year.

00:25 When FMT Lifestyle visited Kuala Lumpur's oldest Catholic church in mid-December,

00:30 workmen could be seen touching up the walls and floors.

00:34 As it turns out, being an old church can require a lot of work.

00:39 [music]

00:42 Although the current building was completed in 1955,

00:46 records suggest that St. John's has been around since the 1880s.

00:49 With the KL Tower looming right behind it, the building stands as a relic of the age of Merdeka.

00:55 [music]

00:57 This year has not been an easy one for the church.

01:00 In February, part of its ceiling collapsed due to termites,

01:04 resulting in the need for extensive repair work.

01:07 Nevertheless, parish priest Gerard Theraviam remains in good spirits.

01:13 And this is my second year here in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

01:19 And it's an exciting time to be here right now because we are approaching Christmas.

01:28 This is the season of Advent.

01:30 So it's a lot of stuff and, you know, already Christmas is already in the air

01:36 and things are happening everywhere.

01:39 The historical value of the church is not lost on Gerard,

01:43 who was ordained in this very cathedral,

01:46 making it an honor for him to be serving at St. John's.

01:50 The church's most famous feature is the stained glass windows overlooking the sanctuary.

01:55 Imported from France, the windows depict the journey of St. John,

01:59 a beloved disciple of Jesus Christ.

02:02 [music]

02:08 Gerard looks forward to welcoming his congregation,

02:11 who come from near and far, back to the restored building

02:15 just in time for the holy celebration of Christmas.

02:19 I've grown to love this space.

02:22 It is an interesting combination of people from many nationalities coming here.

02:28 I hope all Malaysians will be able to work as one, you know,

02:32 to see our commonality as children of the one God

02:37 and to be able to work regardless of race or religion or color or creed,

02:44 you know, to be able to see the needs of people,

02:49 especially those who are underprivileged and need help.

02:54 [music]

03:01 TVA Ragu and Noel Wong, FMT Lifestyle.

03:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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