Dominic Vendargon

The Most Reverend Tan Sri
Dominic Vendargon
P.S.M.
Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur
Church Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese Kuala Lumpur
Installed 18 December 1972
Term ended 2 July 1983
Successor Anthony Soter Fernandez
Personal details
Born (1909-08-29)29 August 1909
Naranthanai, Ceylon
Died 3 August 2005(2005-08-03) (aged 95)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Buried St. John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur
Alma mater St. Francis Xavier Seminary
College General

The Most Reverend Tan Sri Dominic Aloysius Vendargon (29 August 1909 – 3 August 2005) was a Ceylon Tamil priest and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur.

Early life and family

Vendargon was born on 29 August 1909 in Naranthanai in northern Ceylon.[1][2] Vendargon and his mother moved to Malaya, where his father worked as a surveyor, in 1910.[1] Following the outbreak of World War I Vendargon, his siblings and mother returned to Ceylon.[1] After the war the family rejoined Vendargon's father in Seremban in 1919.[1] The family moved to Malacca in 1923.[1]

Vendargon was educated at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna, St. Paul's Institution, Seremban and St. Francis' Institution, Malacca.[1] Despite his father wanting Vendargon to be a doctor, Vendargon joined the St. Francis Xavier Seminary in Singapore in 1925 before transferring to the College General in Penang in 1927.[1]

Career

Vendargon was ordained as a priest on 8 December 1934.[1][2] As vicar for Indians in Negri Sembilan he responsible for the pastoral care of Roman Catholics working in the rubber plantations.[1][3] He was transferred to Sungai Petani in Kedah in 1941.[1][3] After the Japanese invasion of Malaya, all of Vendargon's books and records by Japanese troops.[1] He spent the Japanese occupation years ministering to families in Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Trengganu.[1][3]

After the war Vendargon started teaching at the College General in 1948 before becoming vicar for Indians in Johor Baru and the Singapore Naval Base in 1949.[1][3] He was transferred to Teluk Anson in 1950 before becoming vicar of St. Anthony´s Church, Kuala Lumpur in 1951, a post he held until 1955.[1][3]

Vendargon was appointed Bishop of Kuala Lumpur on 25 February 1955.[1][2] He was ordained as a bishop on 21 August 1955.[2] He became the first Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur on 18 December 1972.[1][2] He retired on 2 July 1983.[2][3]

Vendargon was a member of the Association for the Promotion of Higher Education Malaysia, the Guild of Catholic Assisted Schools Malaysia and Malaysian Inter-Religious Association.[1] He was also the first president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism.[1][3] He was made a Panglima Setia Mahkota in June 1968.[3][4]

Vendargon died on 3 August 2005 at an old peoples home in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.[3][4] He was buried in the nave of St. John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur.[3] The Tan Sri Dominic Vendargon Foundation was named after Vendargon.[5]

Honour

Honour of Malaysia

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Archbishop emeritus of Kuala Lumpur 60 years a priest. 39 a bishop". UCA News. Bangkok, Thailand. 21 December 1994. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Archbishop Dominic Aloysius Vendargon". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The First Bishop of Kuala Lumpur: Dominic Aloysius Vendargon 1955 - 1983". The Herald. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Former archbishop of KL Vendargon dies". The Sun. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Vendargon foundation to educate the poor". The Star. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
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