First of all, I would like to point out, Pulau Tikus is name of an area. Pulau in Malay is island, whereas Tikus is mouse. To properly translate it, it should be rat island. Note that despite this place located in Penang Island, the area is not "the island". It's just a small commercial area at the slightly north east of the island. The church is one of the significant icon of that area, and we had a chance to attend mass and take some photos to share with you.
The church was founded in 1811 and is the second oldest church in the diocese after Church of Assumption in the Penang Island. I have visited that part of the town couple of years back, just before the pandemic took place. I'm glad I had took the Ferri one last time before they remove the service. If you're interested on the other older church, here's a quick link to the post from 3 years ago.
@davidke20/head-to-north-for-a-feast-part-1-of-2
We were there slightly late, just 5 minutes shy from the starting. By the time we stepped into the building, opening hymns was already in progress, we had to stay at the back of the church and wait for it to finish before we proceed to sit at the 1st floor of the church. Frankly, this is the first time I have a chance to sit at the special placement of the church. Never in my life going to the 1st floor of a church, and it's such a unique experience. The view is absolutely amazing for a first timer!
For the first time I have a chance to see the stained glass at such near distance. I wish I can touch it, to find out if each different colored glass are melted into one piece? Or they're attached together with special resins. No I'm not an art guy, I'm just curious how they made a piece of glass with so many different colours.
The church has been updated with air conditioning. We didn't get to enjoy the coolness as they didn't switch on. There's windows and wasn't feeling too warm at all with fan blowing enough fresh air. Each row of the long chairs has a picture of a saint in the middle. Believe it was used to separate the congregation for "social distancing" yo. No I didn't ask the parishioners the actual usage of those laminated saint photos, I'm just guessing it with my common sense.
There's 4 of these concrete slabs on the pillars at the main entrance. I was going to take photo of all of them, but then there's too many people hangout at the front after mass ended. I guess that will do, not many of us will know their names anyways.
After the mass, we're ready to meet up with my friend Luke for dinner. Restaurant is right next to the church, so we're not too worry if we can make it on time. However, after a long wait, there's still a lot of crowd at the church, so this is the best I can capture and decided will be back for a clearer photo after the dinner.
After the dinner, we're on our way walking back to the hotel and here's the clearer picture of the church. I guess Penang municipal does a good job in preserving these historical buildings.
Standing further and adjusted for a wide screen. Noticed the lens of my phone camera is a little blurry and I think I can't do much about it. Probably scratch marks on the lens causes it, but that doesn't affect how cool looking this church is.
The next day, home minister decided she wanna come here to attend morning mass one more time, since the one we had the day before was late. I was with the kids at the hotel to arrange breakfast for them, and later I walked myself there to meet her up for breakfast. The above picture taken at the backyard of the church, and Gurney Plaza can be seen from here.
Another extra shot from the back of the church to complete this visitation.
