Anthony Soter Fernandez (22 April 1932 – 28 October 2020) was a Malaysian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who was the first Malaysian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. He was

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur ( la, Archidioecesis Kuala Lumpurensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia. It was erected as the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur by Pope Pius ...

from 1983 to 2003.

Biography

Anthony Soter Fernandez was born on 22 April 1932 in

Sungai Petani Sungai Petani ( abbr. Sg. Petani or SP; Jawi: سوڠاي ڤتاني) is a city in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. Sungai Petani is Kedah's largest city and is located about 55 km south of Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah, and 33&nb ...

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...

, Malaysia. He was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the Diocese of Penang on 10 December 1966. He was named Bishop of Penang on 29 September 1977. He received his episcopal consecration on 17 February 1978 from

Gregory Yong Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean D.D., J.C.D. (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Yòng Sui-ngèn'') (20 May 1925 – 28 June 2008) was the second, and the first local, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore. Biography Early years Archbishop Yong was born in ...

, Archbishop of Singapore.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him the second Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur on 30 July 1983 and he was installed there on 10 November 1983. He served as president of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (C.B.C.M.S.B.) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The B.C.M.S.B reviews the position of the Church in Malaysia, Singapor ...

from 1987–1990 and 2000–2003. Pope John Paul accepted his resignation as archbishop on 24 May 2003. Fernandez was created a cardinal by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

on 19 November 2016, and was the first Malaysian to be made a cardinal. Fernandez died on 28 October 2020 at the Little Sisters of the Poor St. Francis Xavier Home in Cheras. He had been suffering from tongue cancer for several years. He was buried in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of St. John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Anthony Soter 1930 births 2020 deaths People from Kedah Roman Catholic archbishops of Kuala Lumpur 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Malaysia 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Malaysia Malaysian people of Indian descent Cardinals created by Pope Francis Malaysian cardinals Deaths from cancer in Malaysia Deaths from tongue cancer Malaysian Roman Catholic archbishops