The First Church... Church of the Visitation, Seremban

The first missionary to have ever set foot on Seremban soil was Fr Pierre Henri Borie MEP, who in 1847, was sent by Bishop John Baptist Boucho MEP, the Vicar Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore, to work among the indigenous people in Seremban.

Oct 06, 2014

The first missionary to have ever set foot on Seremban soil was Fr Pierre Henri Borie MEP, who in 1847, was sent by Bishop John Baptist Boucho MEP, the Vicar Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore, to work among the indigenous people in Seremban.

In 1848, there already existed a small Catholic community thanks to the efforts of Fr Borie. Fr Deluette, a priest from Malacca was appointed to cater to the needs of these few Catholics in Rasah and Seremban. He in turn appointed a catechist based in Rasah to cater to the needs of this small community.

In 1885, Seremban came under the jurisdiction of a priest from Kuala Lumpur, Fr Hector Letessier, MEP.

Initially, he visited Seremban once or twice a year. He later negotiated for a piece of land on which a tiny chapel made of planks and attap was erected. From that moment, his visits became more frequent.

Once every two months, he journeyed to Malacca to hear confessions. The trip took two weeks on a jostling bullock cart over roads which were far from being a credit to their makers. Under such circumstances, it was a great boon for poor Fr Letessier to have a stopping place at Seremban where he could rest his shaken frame and say Mass for his wayside flock. Aptly therefore, the chapel was named Visitation — more out of reference to Fr Letessier’s periodical stops than out of deference to the Blessed Mother.

In 1888, Fr Peter Perrichon, MEP was appointed as the first resident priest for Seremban. Fr Perrichon stayed for a period of five years. When Fr Perrichon was transferred to Ipoh, Fr Letessier had to resume his visits from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban. He could only do it for 3 years, after which he was transferred to Penang.

The next priest who came in 1895, Fr Antoine Catesson, MEP was able to build a new church with money raised mainly by the miners of Broga. Among the benefactors was Goh Ah Ngee who gave a generous donation of $1,500.

The congregation kept on increasing and the priest maintained the principle that the one Church was to serve all Catholics, whether Indians, Chinese or Eurasians — the request of having a second church in Seremban for the Indians was not adopted. So, a much bigger church was needed to cater to the growing community. In 1910, the Church was extended and two wings were added to the side.

A new presbytery for the Visitation Church was built in 1913, by Fr Salvat Fourgs, MEP who served in the parish from 1903 to 1911 and again from 1919 to 1928.

The years 1914 to 1918 saw a lamentable depletion of clergy, most of whom were recalled to Europe during the war. During this time, Fr Georges Auguin, MEP was made responsible for the Catholics in both the districts of Seremban and Malacca. When he was transferred to Singapore, he was succeeded by Fr Noel Maury who was an expert in the Cantonese language.

The year 1922 saw the installation of electric lights in the Church. Catholics were delighted at the innovation and the bill of $500 was readily and easily met by their contributions.

After a short holiday in Hong Kong, Fr Auguin was back in Seremban, this time for 15 years (1931 to 1946). One of his thoughts was to rebuild the Church which was now inadequate to hold the growing number of Catholics. Everything was conceived on a vast and grand scale. Only the two side walls were retained, the nave was lengthened almost by half, the roof raised, a new apse and two large wings were added together with a belfry with a steeple that made the Church a landmark in Seremban town.

Nearly every item in the Church was new — bells, statues, altar, organ, pews, confessionals, vestments etc.

Fr Auguin had rebuilt the Church and made it one of the most beautiful in the mission. It was blessed in Sept 1935 by Bishop Adrian Devals, MEP.

A blight fell on the Church during the Japanese occupation in 1942. But it was to the everlasting credit of the Catholic Church that her ministers did not flee in the face of onslaught. Seremban parish suffered least, comparatively. Still caution was the watchword, and the lack of transport plus the gruelling restrictions of the police reduced activities to the minimum. Those hectic months proved a splendid opportunity for conversions, and the scores of converted at that time served to show that God can always draw good out of evil.

In 1944, a memorable event took place at the Church of the Visitation. Catholics saw for the first time, the ordination of four priests — Fr Aloysius Chiew, Fr Anthony Khaw, Fr Anthony Michael and Fr Thomas Chin. Bishop Devals was at that time Governor of the Catholic colony of Bahau. Passport difficulties prevented him from going to Penang which is the usual venue for ordinations.

Hence Seremban was chosen.

September 1945 brought victory and relief when the Japanese were defeated. Once again, the Church resumed normal duties in full vigour and liberty and set upon the task of grappling with post-war problems of reconstruction — morally, spiritually and economically.

The Church of the Visitation saw the last of the French missionaries with the departure of Fr Edward Limat, MEP in 1978. From 1980 onwards, the parish has been shepherded by local clergy. Other than the changes resulting from the transfers of priests, the layout of the parish and the church’s structures have remained unchanged.

In 1985, the Church of the Visitation celebrated its centenary celebrations. Today the Church of the Visitation is blessed with ultra-modern structures lending support to the overall parish layout. The shape of the church building itself has not undergone any change apart from specific renovations within, which include the replacement of the main altar and the introduction of an awe-inspiring crucifix in the sanctuary. The new structures include a large hall, air-conditioned training rooms above the hall and a formation centre with a cafeteria below.


A copy of the first baptism record as entered in the Baptismal Registry at the Church of the Visitation, Seremban.

The first missionaries in the archdiocese
In 1841, the Peninsula of Malaya covering the whole territory from the Thai border in the north and the island of Singapore in the south was raised to the status of the ‘Vicariate of Malaya’ and came under the jurisdiction of the Societe des Missions Etrangers de Paris (MEP — Paris Foreign Missionaries).

Thus the new Vicar Apostolic Msgr Michel Courvezy, MEP found himself at the helm of a Church whose total membership amounted to little less than 5,000.

For the next forty years (1841 - 1888), Bishop Courvezy and his successors, Bishops Jean Baptiste Boucho, Michel Le Turdu and Edouard Gasnier all of them MEPs, engaged themselves and their missionaries in the evangelisation of the two states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

The local church became present within these two states during the first decade of the new century with eight parishes set up between the 1880s to 1911. Again a strong missionary thrust took place with the opening of more parishes in the second half of the century from the 1950s till the 1980s.

Seremban was my first parish


“I was told of the priest from Kuala Lumpur who visited in Seremban on horseback. That is why the Church was called the Church of the Visitation. He was keen to study Chinese by writing the character on one side and the meaning at the back of slips of papers joined together on a ring of wire.

As the horse proceeded, he was accustomed to learn the characters and its meaning by turning one slip of paper after the other. Half way, the horse slipped and he fell on the ground. He remounted and continued his study.

In the hubbub, the horse had turned back towards Kuala Lumpur, and he was surprised that his ride did not end in Seremban.

This was told to me in the 1930s by an old Missionary, who had read in French the history of the establishment of this Church 100 years ago. I was there in 1935 when Fr George Auguin extended the old church by adding two wings and a sacristy. P.L.M.Nathan was the architect of the present building and a building inspector Mr Pereis used to supervise the work.

P.P. Chient donated the pews and the steps in front.

On the day before the opening, we tested the acoustics and thought it was wonderful. But at the opening itself, there was such a crowd that absorbed the sound and we had to speak with much greater force in order to be heard.

I love Seremban, because I had lived there since 1915. It was also my first parish where I worked for seven years (1934 to 1941).” -- Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Vendargon (Message for Visitation Church’s centenary celebrations, 1985)