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Malaysia's first Cardinal Soter Fernandez passes away

Malaysia's first Cardinal Soter Fernandez passes away
Malaysia's first Cardinal Soter Fernandez passes away

Malaysia's first Roman Catholic Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez has passed away at 12.35pm at the Little Sisters of the Poor St Francis Xavier Home for the elderly in Cheras.

Fernandez, 88, was also Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, which confirmed the passing in a brief statement.

Fernandez who was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016, had been suffering from cancer.

He was ordained as a priest on Dec 10, 1966, and served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei from 1987 to 1990 and 2000 to 2003.

He was also the former bishop of the Diocese of Penang, where he was bishop from 1978 until 1983, when he was installed as Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, serving until 2003 when he retired.