Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name:
Chng Xing Yue (0310425)
Goh Chin Zhi (0314562)
Yong She Li (0314345)
Hiew Yen Nee (0314212)
Tutor: Ms Anida
Introduction
The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic church located at Jalan Tengku Kelana,
Klang which completed its construction in August 1928. It is currently one of the oldest
religious buildings in Klang (Keong T. C., n.d.).
The name Church of Our Lady of Lourdes originated from Lourdes, a village in France
where Mother Mary appeared eighteen times to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. This is also
the reason why there is a carving of Mother Mary in a Grotto as Bernadette first met Mother
Mary at the Grotto of Massabielle.
The Lady asked Bernadette to build a chapel on the site of the Grotto which results in the
building of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes all around the world (Cembellin, V., n.d.).
The history of the church can be tracked back in the 1890s, the era when Chinese and
Indian immigrants started to settle on the banks of Klang River. Klang was the main gateway
and trading centre for the Klang Valley when the railway line to Kuala Lumpur and Port
Swettenham was completed.
There were many Catholics amongst the Chinese tin mines workers and the Indians who
worked at the rubber estates around Klang. Back then, priests were sent from St. Johns,
Kuala Lumpur to tend to their spiritual welfare and the mass was celebrated in a wooden
chapel (Chin, K. Y., & Chen, V. F., 2003).
The wooden chapel sized 70 x 40ft. which was built in 1918, still exists as a government
ante-natal clinic, opposite the South Klang Bus Station.
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes was built by Father Souhait who was sent to Malaya by the
Paris Foreign Mission and was attached to St. Johns Parish. He was an architecture student
before taking up holy orders. In 1923, Father Souhait took charge of the spiritual needs of
the Catholic residents in Klang and the surrounding districts including Kuala Selangor and
Kuala Langat which was under the jurisdiction of St. Johns Parish. He realized the need for
a bigger and permanent church. (Selvanayagam, A., 1980).
The building of the Church, grotto and parochial house used $ 45,000.00 and it followed the
architectural design of the original Our Lady of Lourdes Church at Lourdes, France.
The dimension of the current Church of Our Lady of Lourdes is 464.65cm (length) x
138.20cm (width) x 191.50cm (height)
Design idea
The Church of Our Lady Lourdess faade is similar to Notre Dame de Paris. The faade is
facing east to obtain morning sunlight. The bell towers at the corner of faade rise in three
stages with cross-tipped pinnacles at the four corners joined by arcaded railings. A blind
arcade separates the upper two stages from the base. The central bays main entrance arch
is flanked by the towers lower side arches.
The key feature of gothic architecture is the rose window at the faade. The rose window is
formed by quatrefoils around a floral heart. Statues of Virgin Mary and Jesus have been
placed at the corner at the portal of Church of Our Lady Lourdes instead of carving it on the
wall. It portrays the story of Virgin Mary.
Stained glass
Location of spiral
stairs
Columns
French Gothic
Bent axial
Bent axial
Lead roof
Jalousie
Height
19.1 meters
Vault type
Barrel vault
Rib vault
Arches
Roman arch
Pointed arch
East
West
Material used
Plan
Roof type
Window type
Faade orientation
The overhanging pitch roof is constructed to create cooler environment. It adapts from local
village house as decorations and provides shades at the same time. It allows cross
ventilation to reduce the temperature in the church in order to create holiness in the church.
Lintel
Church of Our Lady Lourdes uses jalousie windows to reduce sunlight into the church.
Stained glasses are installed above the jalousie in a smaller scale. Each stained glass
represents a chapter in the bible. Lintel is placed to support the window and avoid rain water
from slipping into the church.
Our Church of Lady Lourdes does not require thick wall as much as Notre Dame de Paris
due to local climate. The heat absorbed by the wall increased directly with the thickness of
the wall. Hence, heat gained is minimized by replacing with thinner wall.
The roof of Church of Our Lady Lourdes is made of clay whereas roof of Notre Dame de
Paris is made of lead. This is because clay is more conventional and cheaper material
compares to lead. It is sustainably available in local. Clay roof tile is a better roofing material
in local as it acts as natural thermal mass insulator. It keeps the heat out and the cold during
hot day and keeps the cold out and the heat in during cold day.
The size of church depending on how much money the bishop and the town had. As
Christianity was relatively new in Klang at that time, the prayers are mostly the immigrant
workers who are not many in amount. Therefore the scale does not need to be as big as
other Western gothic cathedrals such as Notre Dame de Paris. This result in the use of
barrel vault and roman arches in Church of Our Lady Lourdes as it is easier to be built
compared to rib vault and pointed arches that are able to support much heavier structural
loads.
Roman Arch
Ribbed vault
Contextual Condition
The church is located at the center of Klang which has higher concentration of population.
The location
of the church
The railway
line
Map of Klang in the 1920s which had changed little since the late nineteenth century.
1. Cultural
Before: In early 1900s, the Parish of Our Lady Lourdes Klang had its humble. Therefore,
Priests
from St Johns Church, Kuala Lumpur used to travel to Klang to celebrate Masses
every month.
After: In 1923 Rev. Fr John Baptist Souhait was directed to take charge of the spiritual
welfare of the Catholic residents in Klang and the surrounding districts of Port Swettenham
(now Port Klang), Kuala Selangor and Kuala Langat.
Wooden Chapel
A wooden building 10 by 40 feet served as the chapel. Soon after his appointment, Fr
Souhait put up a second building by the side of the chapel which served as the Parochial
House. This building still stands today, housing the Government Antenatal Clinic, opposite
the Bus Station on Jalan Tengku Kelana.
Some Catholic leaders from the Public Works Department (PWD) Quarters in Tepi Sungai
and elsewhere helped to prepare the people and the chapel for the celebration of the
Eucharist.
2. Education
Before: Around the same time as Fr Souhait arrived in Klang, the Holy Infant Jesus Sisters
from Bukit Nanas Convent (Pineapple Hill Convent), Kuala Lumpur, also began traching
classes. Mother Superior Adele with two nuns, Sisters Stephanie and Mathew, rented a
shophouse from a Chinese towkay in Jalan Tengku Kelana and started with 19 pupils, boys
and girls. From 1924 to 1951, the school was run as a branch of the Bukit Nanas Convent.
After: In 1926, on the site next to the Church of Our Lady Lourdes, construction of a new
building began. It was officially opened by Sir William Peel on 1 January 1928. H.R.H. The
Sultan Alaeddin Suleiman Shah, the Raja Muda Selangor, Fr Souhait and Mother Provincial
Tarcisius attended the opening. In 1930, it became a school fot girls only. The last nun, Sr
Florena, retired in the year of 1976, after which the Convent School was headed by
Malaysian lay principals, the first being Puan Ng Thiam Hoo.
An arcade of similar pointed arches is continued on the two sides, forming shaded
verandahs to the ground floor classrooms. Half-glazed, half-wooden, louvred windows light
and ventile the first-floor classrooms. The cross-topped pediments trio of pointed arches is
repeated at the end gables of the building.
3. Economical
Before : Work to build OLL and the presbytery which commenced in 1925 was only
completed in August 1928. It is interesting to note that Fr Souhait had a large say in the
design of the church. His early studies in architecture in France before joining the priesthood
and the carpentry knowledge he possessed stood him in good stead. When designing the
present OLL, he had set his mind and heart in having the church modelled along the lines of
the famous Gothic styled church at Lourdes in France.
Fr Souhait left Fr W.Arcond, his assistant in the care of the parish, while he went around
Peninsular Malaya collecting funds for the church. The church and parish house cost
$45,000. This was raised with help also from the parishioners of Klang, a substantial grant
from the Paris Foreign Missions and also with help from Fr Duvell, the Parish Priest of St
Johns Church in KL.
Fr Souhait was a very popular person in Klang and was very friendly with many nonCatholics in Klang. He was also responsible for converting some of them to the Catholic
faith. He was also instrumental in getting a non-Catholic European, who was then the
Mamager of the Chartered Bank in Klang in 1928 to donate the present church bell.
Element
Facade
Faade detail
First Floor
Wall Painted plastered bricks
Door Three wooden door that painted white
Second Floor
Wall Painted plastered bricks
Pitch roof at the center of front faade splits two bell towers that rise in
three level. The blind arcade of the bell towers apart base level from
the upper levels. The cross tipped pinnacles form at corners at bell
towers and connected by arcaded railings. The windows have been
replaced by new louver shutter windows due to bad maintenance of
windows. The faade has been repainted white as the paint is fading
after years.
2.2 Window
Element
Details
Brief description
Made of timber
Double leaf
Round-arched lintel
Element
Details
Staircase
Has 26 threads
Brief description
Has railings
Element
Gable Roof
Material
Roof Tile - Roman roof tiling with alternate imbrices and clay tiles.
Trusses Steel
Brief description
Element
Material
Diagonal Buttress
Clay bricks with plaster finished
Brief description
Element
Details
Flying Buttress
firstly constructed by temporary wooden frames
Brief description
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