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Beloved Gregory Yong
By peace | June 29, 2008
Managed to find these photographs of Gregory Yong on the internet. I have no photographs of him. I can only remember him in my brain.
I am no good at words, no good at describing either. My vocabulary is limited, no beautiful words, but honest words from my heart. Gregory yong, the moment he stepped into the church of St Francis of Assisi, it was so dashing, so glamorous, he was full of charisma. I love his smile, it was such a ‘Ci xiang’ (慈祥 = kind) smile.
I still remembered him wearing the big tall hat, the catholic priest hat, so tall, so nice.
I was very sad when I saw his photograph of this one sometime this year. I had almost forgotten about him, when I was ‘filled with Holy Spirit’ again, my clock rewinding back. This photograph is Archbishop Emeritus Gregory Yong celebrates 82nd birthday. I was so surprised he had aged so much and totally so different from the time I first seen him at St Francis of Assisi church.
From Wikipedia, I got to know his DOB is May 20, 1925 - June 28, 2008 chinese name: 杨瑞元
Born in Taiping, Malaya on May 20, 1925, he was educated at St. George’s Institution and St. Michael’s Institution in Ipoh, Malaya. In January 1941, he entered the Minor Seminary and in 1944 graduated to the Major Seminary. He was ordained in 1951 and posted to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Singapore. In 1953, he left for studies in Rome where he was conferred a Doctorate in Canon Law, the very first local priest to achieve the distinction. Back in Singapore in 1956, he was sent as assistant Parish Priest to the Church of the Sacred Heart. In the following year, he joined the teaching stuff of the Minor Seminary. After a short stint as assistant Parish Priest at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, he was appointed to a teaching position in the Major Seminary, again, the very first local priest to be thus honoured. On July 1, 1968, he was consecrated Bishop, and took over the Diocese Of Penang from Bishop Francis Chan who had died on October 27, 1967.
On February 3, 1977, he was appointed to succeed Archbishop Michel Olçomendy as the first of the local clergy to lead the Church in Singapore. On April 2, 1977, he was officially installed as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore. He was the second Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Singapore, which was formed in 1972 when the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore split and held the office until retiring on October 14, 2000.
Archbishop Emeritus Gregory Yong died on June 28, 2008 at St Joseph’s Home, Singapore.
Topics: All Posts, English, Famous People, Home, Personal |
July 1st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
[…] Gregory Yong stayed at St Joseph’s Home for four years. I never know that. Otherwise, I would have gone in to visit him on that day when I passed by St Joseph’s Home. […]
July 1st, 2008 at 3:36 pm
[…] in Penang, Gregory Yong held a doctorate in Canon Law earned in Rome in 1956, was in court to give an account of the rules […]
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[…] Maria Lee died, so many big black-and-white butterflies flew into our Boon Lay house. This time, Gregory Yong died, and this special moth/butterfly flew to my house. Beloved Gregory Yong RIP Gregory Yong Share […]