Staff of Catholic Archdiocesan Centre (CAC) with beloved Archbishop John Wong
By Catholic Sabah
Jan 21 2022
KOTA KINABALU (CS) – The staff at the Catholic Archdiocesan Centre (CAC) here surprised Archbishop John Wong with a cake, in the midst of his busy schedule, to mark his 23rd sacerdotal anniversary today Jan 21 at his office in the new centre.
Archbishop Wong, 53, was ordained priest by (then) Bishop John Lee on this day in 1999 at St Mary’s Church, Sandakan.
According to a report by Catholic Sabah in Feb 1999, some 2,000 faithful of Sandakan attended his priestly ordination in the atmosphere reflecting the Chinese tradition.
He was 30 during the ordination and was the second priest to emerge from that parish after Fr Nicholas Ong.
A long journey in the green pasture of God; Archbishop Wong entered the seminary in St Peter’s College Kuching in 1992, installed as lector in Apr 1995, acolyte in Nov 1996 before completing his seminary formation in Dec 1998.
Ordained in Jan 1999, he immediately served as assistant priest in the Kota Kinabalu Cathedral parish.
From the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu website – Archbishop John Wong was born on 6 June 1968 in Sandakan. He was ordained priest on January 21, 1999. As a priest, he has served four years at the cathedral parish. Later, after returning from his studies in Rome where he obtained a licentiate in spirituality, he became the director of the aspirants at the Catholic Diocesan Centre and vice-director of the Initiation Year of St Peter’s College Karamunsing. He has also served as the spiritual adviser to the Bible Commission from 2006 to 2007. Up until his episcopal ordination on 1 October 2010, he was serving as the spiritual adviser to the Youth Commission, exercising his priestly ministry at the cathedral and its subparish Church of Mary Immaculate, especially among the Chinese-speaking parishioners. He was 42 at the time of his episcopal ordination. This made him one of the youngest candidates ever to have become a bishop in the Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Region. He was installed second archbishop of Kota Kinabalu on 24 January 2013. – Archdiocese KK
Archbishop John Wong cutting his cake while the staff look on
A snippet of the news article on his ordination in Catholic Sabah, Feb 1999
One for the album, Fr John Wong (then) with his family during his sacerdotal ordination. Fr Wong prostrating in front of the altar during the Litany to the Saints prayer.
