Church of the Holy Immaculate Conception, Roman Catholic church in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
The Church of the Holy Immaculate Conception is a white building with traditional Catholic architectural features located in the center of Johor Bahru. The interior is simple and calm, designed to provide a quiet space for prayer and reflection.
Johor became an outstation of Serangoon in 1881, and Father Casimir-Jean Saleilles reached Catholic families by boat. Sultan Abu Bakar gave land for a church, and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes was inaugurated there in 1883. Its replacement, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, was built by Father M. Duvelle and blessed by Bishop Barillon in late 1921.
The church's daily masses are held in four languages, a practice that reflects the multilingual Catholic community of Johor Bahru. The original 1883 church was dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, and the present building, blessed in 1921, was later given a large statue of the Virgin Mary by Sultan Ibrahim; it stands in front of the church and was blessed on 8 September 1947.
The church stands in the centre of Johor Bahru, near the causeway to Singapore; the original 1921 building was put up when only a wooden bridge linked the two cities. Daily masses are held in four languages, so visitors can attend in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin or Tamil.
The large statue of Our Lady in front of the church was donated by Sultan Ibrahim and blessed on 8 September 1947 by Rev. Fr. Noel Goh. The land itself came from Sultan Abu Bakar, granted to Father Saleilles around 1881.
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