By Ivy Chai
PLENTONG (JOHOR) — Rt Rev Dato’ Seri Sebastian Francis, the Bishop of Penang and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysian-Singapore-Brunei (CBCMSB), will be among the 21 newly elected cardinals appointed in a Consistory at the Vatican on 30 September 2023.
Bishop Sebastian Francis is the 5th Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang, which covers the states of Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Kelantan and Penang. He becomes the 4th Cardinal from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, and 2nd Malaysian Roman Catholic Cardinal, after Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez. Cardinal Cornelius Sim was from Brunei and Cardinal William Goh is from Singapore.
Bishop Sebastian was born on 11 November 1951 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He joined the Juniorate of the Brothers of St Gabriel in Singapore and resided with the Brothers in Community from 1964 to 1966. He then joined St Francis Xavier’s Minor Seminary in Singapore from 1967 to 1970.
He enrolled in College General Major Seminary in Penang, Malaysia in 1971. On 28 July 1977, he was ordained a diocesan priest for the Diocese of Melaka-Johor at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Johor Bahru, Malaysia by the late Rt Rev James Chan Soon Cheong.
Rev Sebastian Francis studied at the Angelicum Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy, for a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from October 1981 to June 1983. He also studied at the Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, U.S.A. from July 1990 to June 1991 graduating with an Advanced Degree in Justice and Peace.
He was appointed Bishop of Penang on 7 July 2012 and installed on 20 August 2012. From 2015 to 2017, Bishop Sebastian Francis was the Vice President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) and the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM).
Since 2017 until present, Bishop Sebastian Francis is the elected President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei (CBCMSB) and concurrently, is a Member of the Central Committee for the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC). He was appointed as the Chairman of the Federation of the Asian Bishops’ Conference – Office of Social Communication on 1 January 2023.
Bishop Sebastian Francis’ reaction to news of Appointment
When asked to comment on how he felt and if he was surprised at news of the appointment, the Cardinal-Elect said, “I immediately thought of the other cardinals from CBCMSB who were appointed before me” and felt it was “ok” and he “would be happy to follow in their footsteps”. He was not alone. Also, nothing surprises him anymore as he has been “actively involved in FABC, etc and so not too surprised”.
Cardinal-Elect Sebastian Francis says it is important for cardinals to know that it is about the apostles, being one with the Pope, being one with brother bishops, and additional responsibilities, such as electing the next Pope if he is eligible, that matters. Otherwise, he’s still another bishop and shepherd.
, will be among the 21 newly elected cardinals...){kind=link}