Datuk Cornelius Piong (born 1 July 1949) is a Malaysian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He became Bishop of Keningau in 1993.

Early and personal life

Cornelius was born in Bundu,

Kuala Penyu Kuala Penyu Town () is the capital of the Kuala Penyu District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 659 in 2010, with ethnic Dusun Tatana sub-group forming the largest single ethnic group. ...

on 1 July 1949 to the late Augustine Piong Senagang (19251998) and the late Lucia Martinus @ Lucy Kimsin (19272023). In 1970, he entered St Francis Xavier's Major Seminary in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and later furthered his studies at

College General The College General () is a Catholic interdiocesan seminary located at Tanjong Bungah in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The college's foundation can be traced back to the 1665 establishment of the Seminary of Saint Joseph in Ayuthia which was ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

in 1972. On 27 March 1977, he was ordained priest in his hometown parish of St Peter the Apostle, Bundu, Kuala Penyu by Bishop Simon Michael Fung Kui Heong. In June 1987, he was appointed as vicar general of the Diocese of Kota Kinabalu (now

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

). On 17 December 1992, Cornelius received his appointment to be the bishop of the newly created Diocese of Keningau. He was ordained bishop on 6 May 1993 at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Keningau by Archbishop

Peter Chung Hoan Ting Peter Chung Hoan Ting (born 10 September 1928) was the metropolitan archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching, Malaysia from 1976 to 2003, the first archbishop of the diocese. Chung entered the diocesan minor seminary of the D ...

. Cornelius is the first bumiputera Catholic bishop in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. He is of Dusun Tatana ethnicity, an indigenous tribe native to the Malaysian state of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

from the majority

Kadazan-Dusun Kadazandusun (also written as Kadazan-Dusun or Mamasok) are the largest ethnic group in Sabah, Malaysia, an amalgamation of the closely related indigenous peoples, indigenous Kadazan people, Kadazan and Dusun people, Dusun peoples. "Kadazandus ...

ethnic group found in his hometown of

as well as in neighbouring Beaufort district of southern Sabah state.

Honours

Cornelius was the recipient of the Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(P.G.D.K.) award which carries the title "Datuk" from the former Sabah Head of State, the late Tun

Sakaran Dandai Sakaran Mohd Hashim bin Dandai (15 April 1930 – 30 August 2021) was a Malaysian politician. Biography He served as the 8th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah from January 1995 to December 2002, 8th Chief Minister of Sabah briefly from March 1994 ...

(19302021) in 1996, in conjunction with his 66th official birthday celebrations.

Honours of Sabah

* Sabah : Commander of the

(P.G.D.K.) (1996)

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piong, Cornelius Kadazan-Dusun people 1949 births Living people People from Sabah 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Malaysia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Malaysia