St Joseph’s Home celebrates 150th anniversary

Dec 11, 2015

By Lucia Lai
In 1857, a young French Catholic priest, Fr Francois Xavier Hab, arrived in Penang. He took up residence on a piece of land next to the cemetery, on which there was a chapel that was the start of the Church of St Francis Xavier.

As Fr Hab went about his work, catering to the community in that area, he realised that there were orphans with nobody to care for them. Thus, in 1865, he started the St Joseph’s Orphanage, taking in 20 boys.

That was 150 years ago. Ever since, the orphanage has evolved and expanded tremendously. In the 1900s, the orphanage opened its doors not only to orphans but to underprivileged boys and girls of various religions and ethnicities. The name was then changed to St Joseph’s Home.

On November 21, 2015, to celebrate its 150th anniversary, St Joseph’s Home organised a thanksgiving Mass and an Open House which saw not only the present board members, staff and children in attendance but also ex board members, ex staff and former children of the Home who are now working adults.

The joyous occasion was graced by invited guests, hundreds of well wishers and the media. The Chief Minister of Penang also dropped in briefly just after Mass ended. YB  Tuan Chow Kon Yeow, Penang Exco member for Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation was also present.

The Eucharistic Celebration was held at the next-door Church of St Francis Xavier at 10.00am. Bishop Sebastian Francis was the main celebrant and joining him were Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez, Bishop Emeritus Antony Selvanayagam, Bishop-elect Msgr Bernard Paul, Fr Nelson Chitty (parish priest of SFX), Fr Joachim Robert (assistant parish priest of SFX), Fr Martin Arlando, Fr Gerard Theraviam and Fr Edmund Woon.

Referring to the first reading (Zechariah 2:14-17), Bishop Sebastian highlighted to the people that the first disposition of human beings before God is silence.

“Zechariah tells us that when we are silent,  God awakens and is roused from  his dwelling place.” he said. “These days, we hear of so much killing, fighting, disasters and argument — all these happen because we are the ones ‘talking,’ so God remains silent. We should learn to be silent and let God be awakened. It is also in silence that we get to hear the Word of God in our hearts.

“This is how God works in us; this is what we celebrate today. We praise and thank God for 150 wonderful years of the Home. May all who work in the Home be blessed because of  their purity, fidelity, faith in prayer and commitment to the Word of God.”

After Mass, Datin Amy Wong, the chairperson of the Board of the Home in her speech said “The Home has been blessed with many generous donors. We are very grateful to all the donors who believe in providing formal education and personal development to children. We thank you for your generosity and for your friendship, which enable us to grow. It is not an easy task to take care of 49 children, so I salute and thank all the staff, and also my fellow board members.”

Bishop Sebastian in his speech, mentioned that our Holy Father had asked us to remember the past but to live in the present. 

“We are celebrating the past and the present. With much gratitude, I thank all the staff, board members, the priests of City Parish. Thanks to Emeritus Bishop Selva for having the vision to set up a new block and to take in girls. As we bring up the past, let’s not forget the old boys who are now adults with families of their own. In living our vision, we celebrate with each and everyone who is part of the Home. Let us remember two words – mission and mercy. The mission continues and it is all about mercy.”

YB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow sent greetings to all on behalf of the chief minister. He con gratulated the staff and board members, past and present for keeping the home running for 150 years.

“With 150 years of service, I believe God blesses the past, present and many years to come. I believe all these 150 years of service are a manifestation of God’s love. God put us in various levels of society – and the St Joseph’s Home demonstrates God’s love.”

He pledged a grant of RM10,000 from his constituency for the Home. He hoped others would continue to donate generously so that children can continue with their education and grow into good responsible citizens.

YB Tuan Chow was then invited to hit the gong to signify 150 years of St Joseph’s Home. He was accompanied by Bishop Sebastian, Archbishop Emeritus Soter, Dato Bishop Emeritus Selva and Datin Amy Wong.

This was followed by the cutting of the 150th anniversary cake and the presentation of long service awards to Denise, Margaret and Jemmal by Bishop Sebastian.

YB Tuan Tuan Chow was then presented with a souvenir in the form of a large painting of the Home, drawn by seven of the children.

A slide presentation on the Home was then shown to all before YB Tuan Chow and the entourage were given a tour of the home.