KUALA LUMPUR — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Murphy Pakiam from the pastoral care on the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur on Friday December 13.
Archbishop Pakiam had sent his resignation letter to the Pope on reaching the age limit as set by Canon Law.
It was on December 6th that the staff at the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur got together to celebrate Archbishop Murphy Pakiam’s 75th birthday. It was a simple celebration, which began with the Eucharist presided over by the Archbishop, and concelebrated by Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez and Fr Lawrence Andrew SJ, followed by a catered lunch.
The Archbishop said, “I am 75, and Church law (Canon 401) requires bishops to submit their resignation to the Holy Father. I have sent my letter today (Dec 6) through the Apostolic Nuncio who is Pope Francis’ ambassador to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. And now I have to wait for the Holy Father to accept my resignation letter before I can cease to be the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur.”
The Pope will begin a process that will lead to the eventual appointment of a successor, which could take a few months.
In his letter to the Holy Father, the Archbishop expressed his gratitude to God for all the graces and blessings he has received and also for the opportunities that have come his way while ministering as Shepherd of the faithful of the Archdiocese, in union with the Bishop of Rome.
Archbishop Murphy Pakiam is the third Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. Speaking to the staff, he shared: “When I became the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, most of the offices and other facilities were already in place. This was not the same for the late Archbishop Dominic Vendargon, who was the first archbishop. At that time, there was only one person in the office, as the Archbishop was busy building churches in the Archdiocese.
“When Archbishop Soter Fernandez took over, he added more offices to facilitate the administration of the diocese as well as to continue his work in building communities. So when he retired and I took over, there was not much in terms of additions that needed to be done.”
Archbishop Pakiam was born in Tapah, Perak on the feast of the popular saint of children, St Nicholas (Santa Claus) on December 6, 1938. He has been a priest for forty-nine years and a bishop for 18 years.
(Source: Herald Malaysia)
