Malaysia's sole Roman Catholic cardinal Fernandez dies of cancer
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of KL Anthony Soter Fernandez has died. He was 88.
The archdiocese issued a statement saying Fernandez, who was created as Malaysia's first and to date only cardinal in November 2016, had been suffering from cancer.
He died at 12.35pm at the Little Sisters of the Poor St. Francis Xavier Home in Cheras.
An official obituary and announcement on the details of the wake and funeral will be announced once confirmed.
Born in Sungai Petani, Kedah in 1930, Fernandez was ordained as a priest in 1966, serving as the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei from 1987 to 1990, and once again from 2000 to 2003.
He served as the former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang, from 1978 until 1983. Subsequently Fernandez was appointed as archbishop in 1983 by then-Pope John Paul II, succeeding Tan Sri Dominic Vendargon as the most senior Roman Catholic figure in Peninsular Malaysia.
Fernandez was succeeded by Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam as archbishop in 2003.
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