Archbishop Emeritus John Lee celebrates golden jubilee

Jan 08, 2015

KOTA KINABALU: Seven Arch/Bishops and no less than 20 priests, and the faithful from the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu converged at Sacred Heart Cathedral Kota Kinabalu on Dec 28 to celebrate the 50th Sacerdotal Anniversary of Archbishop Emeritus John Lee.

The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Archbishop John Wong. In his homily, he reflected on the faithfulness of the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary and Jesus. He stressed that to live as a Christian, one has to stay close to God. Furthermore, he stressed that being close to God is only possible when we listen, accept, obey and live the Word of God. He pointed out that by his celebrating 50 years in the ministerial priesthood, the Archbishop has shown his faithfulness in living the Word of God.

Archbishop Emeritus John Lee was born into the family of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, Thomas Lee Yu Moi and Beatrice Ho Nyuk Kau on 5th October 1933 in then Jesselton, North Borneo. He is the sixth child of 9 siblings.

Prior to entering St Francis Xavier’s Minor Seminary, Singapore in early 1976, he worked as a Health Inspector. Six years later, he went to College General Penang for his Philosophy and Theology. He was ordained deacon on May 3, 1964 and as a priest on December 27, 1969. After several years serving in the parishes around Sabah, he was sent to Urban University Rome for 3 years to study Canon Law. Upon completion of his study, he returned to Sabah and was appointed as Rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral and made Vicar General of Kota Kinabalu Diocese.

On April 21, 1987, he was officially appointed as successor to the bishopric of Kota Kinabalu Diocese. His episcopal ordination and installation took place on June 26, 1987.

During his tenure as Bishop of Kota Kinabalu, he had recommended to Rome the creation of another two Dioceses in the state of Sabah, namely Keningau and Sandakan. On May 23, 2008, Kota Kinabalu Diocese was raised to an Ecclesiastical Province, the status of an Archdiocese, with Bishop John Lee as the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the province. After 23 years in the Episcopal ministry and being 79 years old, he tendered his resignation and was succeeded by Archbishop John Wong.

Archbishop Wong said, under Archbishop Emeritus John Lee’s pastoral care, many could attest to the wisdom and vision in his leadership. “It is through his farsighted vision that we have now three dioceses in Sabah. This, by itself, is a sign of growth, empowerment and shared responsibility in the local Church. Indeed it needs someone who has vision, wisdom, humility and courage to do so. And this, to me, is what we have and are grateful to the Archbishop Emeritus for. It is through his guidance that we are where we are now as the local Church.”