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On Thursday afternoon, my room-mate brought me across the Penang Bridge on his motorcycle to the famed St. Anne’s Sanctuary which lies in the sleepy town of Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Perai (formerly known as Province Wellesley under British colonial rule), Penang. Initially, I was a lil’ bit apprehended since I’ve never been on a motorcycle for nearly half a decade. Thank goodness I grew more and more comfortable as we moved along the way. Within half an hour, I finally caught a glimpse of the legendary place where news reports of it filled pages during the annual Feast of St. Anne on July 26th.

Although Malaysia is officially a Muslim country, it’s always surprising to see non-Muslim places of worship being scattered throughout the country, despite certain limitations on their construction since independence. And with us here now is a holy sanctuary hailed to be 1 of the 20 most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, joining the ranks of Jerusalem, Rome, Lourdes, and Fátima!

The shrine from afar; the church altar

This Catholic sanctuary is dedicated to St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, and hence the maternal grandmother of Jesus Christ. The old church (now known as St. Anne’s Shrine) was built in 1888 by the French missionary as they were the 1st to arrive in the region. The sanctuary was named after St. Anne, who’s a very popular patron saint amongst the French. Before the construction of the 1st church, 2 chapels were built on the sanctuary grounds and the remains could still be found there.

The new church

The church interior

The latest addition to the sanctuary was a recently erected church featuring a multi-tiered Minangkabau roof and a European-inspired bell tower built attached to it. The church was consecrated on the 2002 St. Anne’s Feast by the then Apostolic Delegate to Malaysia, the Most Reverend Adriano Bernardini.

Not only that, the beautiful Dataran St. Anne (St. Anne’s Square) was also installed in front of the new church. In order to accommodate pilgrims who flock there for the annual feast day, the Domus St. Anne was constructed for those who intend to stay over.

Scenes from the Stations of the Cross

It was not long when dark clouds started to loom on the horizon. I quickened my pace and snapped pictures around the sanctuary before the rain poured down without me knowing it.

Does this remind you of Michelangelo’s masterpiece in St. Peter’s Basilica?

St. Anne’s Water; grotto on St. Anne’s Hill

Before we left, I bought this official Vatican guide for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 from the gift shop built adjacent to the Shrine of St. Anne.

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