St Pauls Church - Malacca

The original structure was a simple chapel built in 1521 dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The chapel was deeded to the Society of Jesus in 1548 by the Bishop of Goa, João Afonso de Albuquerque, with the title deeds received by St. Francis Xavier. A burial vault was opened in 1592 and many people of distinction were buried there, including Pedro Martins, the second Bishop of Funay, Japan.[2] In 1548, St. Francis Xavier with the help of fellow Jesuits, Fr. Francisco Peres and Brother Roque de Oliveira, established a school in the premises of the chapel known as St. Paul's College. This was perhaps the first school in the modern sense to be established on the Malay peninsula.[3] Xavier used the church as his base for his missionary journeys to China and Japan. In one of those journeys, Xavier fell sick and eventually died in Shangchuan Island, China in 1552. In 1553, the body of Xavier was disinterred from Shangchuan Island and temporarily buried at the church before it was finally shipped to Goa. An open grave in the church still exists today marking the place of Xavier's burial. Photo Chronicles intends to photograph as many Catholic Churches around the world as possible and document their history

St Pauls Church in Malacca