A recent search on “Cathedral in Kuching” in google led me to cdason’s blog. To date I have only set foot on two Cathedrals in West Malaysia, namely Cathedral of St. John, Kuala Lumpur and Sacred Heart Cathedral, Johor Bahru. Yet there is none as grand and as serene as St. Joseph’s Cathedral of Kuching. I do not mean to compare among the Cathedrals, but having born and brought up in Kuching I simply love my cathedral.

Front view of St. Joseph’s Cathedral

The entire shape of the cathedral and its harmonious setting welcomes anyone with open arms. A visit to Kuching, in my opinion, is never complete if one does set foot to this cathedral. Although I have left Kuching for 6 years, my love for this cathedral never fades. Whenever I am back at my hometown, the first thing I do is to allocate some of my time to pay a visit to this cathedral. I will give you a short tour around St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Perhaps we should visit the exterior of the cathedral first before entering the cathedral.

Statue of St. Joseph

Let me take you to the statue of the patron saint of this cathedral, St. Joseph. This just makes the cathedral looks so harmonious and peaceful. You have to agree with me, will you?

The majestic bell tower

Somewhere on the left of the cathedral is where the bell tower was erected. It was constructed on a piece of grassy area where children just like to sit on the soft green field.

The rear view of St. Joseph’s Cathedral

We have just arrived at the rear side of the cathedral. A few years ago, the cathedral was extended and renovated to accomodate more parishioners. Inside the cathedral also stands a small chapel specially dedicated for believers to pray. The Parish Office where the priests and administrative personnel are working is just somewhere behind the cathedral.

The main entrance

Now, I shall bring you to the interior of the cathedral. Hold your breath! You will be pretty amazed with how beautiful the cathedral is.

The altar and the crucifix

View from the right wing of the cathedral

I just love the way the ceiling was built. Anyone has any idea why the ceiling or roof of most churches was built in such a way? According to my calculation on the seats provided, the cathedral has a capacity to accomodate 2000-3000 parishioners at a time.

The “open” wall with glass decoration

Signboard on the time of Mass

Now, having brought you around the cathedral, will you tell me if you have a strong urge to visit Kuching next time? I will be glad to be your personal tour guide provided if I happened to be in Kuching. Just to add to your general knowledge, there are a total of 9 cathedrals in Malaysia, there are namely Cathedral of St. John (Kuala-Lumpur), Sacred Heart Cathedral (Melaka-Johor), Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Penang), St Joseph’s Cathedral (Kuching), Sacred Heart Cathedral (Sibu), St. Joseph’s Cathedral (Miri), Sacred Heart Cathedral (Kota Kinabalu), St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral (Keningau) and Cathedral of St. Mary (Sandakan).

[Special thanks given to cdason for allowing me to change the watermarks on these pictures. Do drop by his site to discover more destinations which he has covered.]