Church of St. Catherine of Siena, Putatan

Perpective view of the St. Catherine Church of Siena Putatan.

Kota Kinabalu, Putatan, May 18, 2009

Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese will soon have a new Church in Putatan District.

The ground-breaking ceremony was carried out this morning of the proposed new church known as St. Catherine of Siena Church Putatan in the Putatan District. The site is located in Kg. Dimbaan, Putatan, off ¼ km from the main Putatan/Penampang road, and is on a hill top overlooking the Putatan New Township and is just behind the Putatan Servay Hypermarket Shopping Complex.

The ceremony was performed by His Most Reverence Arch Bishop Datuk John Lee, the Bishop of the Diocese of Kota Kinabalu, and witnessed by more than 200 faithful coming from the surrounding kampongs and parishioners from Stella Maris Church.

Despite the muddy condition of the site caused by the heavy rainfall the previous night, coupled with the early morning drizzle that caused the organizers worried of poor attendance, the faithful however were undaunted with the weather condition who turned up in droves to be a part of this historical event.

In his opening address, Encik Stephen Sondoh welcomed all those present, in particular His Most Reverence Datuk John Lee for coming to officiate the ground-breaking ceremony. Encik Sondoh is the person who first conceptualized the idea of building a new church in Putatan District, a dream he had after he recovered miraculously from illness prior to retiring as the Penampang District Officer in February 2007. He is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee while Rev. Fr. Fundes Motiung, Rector of Stella Maris Parish Church is the Adviser.

The Member of Putatan, YB Dr. Marcus Mojigoh was also present who was confident that the project would be realised with the support of the faithful and the Diocese of Kota Kinabalu. He pledged his undivided support to ensure the implementation of the church is carried out smoothly. He would render his assistance in his capacity as MP of Putatan to see that the “dream” of the faithful in Putatan to have their own church is realised.

YB Dr. Marcus also thanked members of the surrounding community for their “Mitaatabang” spirit that was very much evident when they cleared the surrounding site prior to the ground-breaking ceremony.

Meanwhile, His Most Reverence Arch Bishop Datuk John Lee congratulated the Steering Committee as well as the Building & Technical Committee for their strong commitment in building the new church despite encountering financial limitation and constraint in financing the project. He urged the faithful to rally behind Commitee headed by Encik Stephen Sondoh and Ir. John Anthony respectively in order to successfully complete the project on time together with the bridge linking from the main road on the other side of the river to the site.

The Church, His Grace said, will be the rallying point for the faithful to grow in their Christian faith. “The building might be shaken but the faithful who are strong in their faith will not be shaken,” the Arch Bishop added.

The whole project is estimated to cost at RM3.95 millions and is to be implemented in stages depending on the collection from fund raising and donations from the public. As of 10/05/2009, a sum of RM200,945.92 (5.02% of the project cost) has been collected.

Donors can either contribute in kind (bricks) or in cash. Cash contributions can be channelled through appointed members only, or donate direct through the project account with Maybank payable to “RTDKK St. Catherine of Siena Church, Putatan, Sabah, Malaysia” under account no: 510189007514.

“I believe that all of us are generous people and if we can hold on together and stay united, nothing is impossible,” Rev. Fr. Fundes Motiung said in the pamphlet distributed during the ground-breaking ceremony. “Therefore, I would like to invite all members (of the public) to take this opportunity to be part of this program and participate fully to support us. Let us together build this wonderful church,” he added.

His Most Reverence Datuk John Lee, delivering his speech.

Datuk John Lee praying with those in attendance and thereafter he blessed the Church site before he officiated the ground-breaking ceremony.

His Gracious Datuk John Lee operating the excavator to do the honour of ground-breaking for the new St. Catherine of Siena Church Putatan.

Rev. Fr. Fundes Motiung, Rector of Stella Maris Parish Church, who is also the Adviser of The Steering Committee, delivering his speech.

Encik Stephen Sondoh, Chairman of the Steering Committee.

His Gracious Datuk John Lee signing the marble plaque to mark the ground-breaking ceremony.

Tree planting to mark the occasion by His Gracious Datuk John Lee.

Mother Grace Diosing also planted the "Gahuru" sapling.

The condition of site after a heavy rainfall the previous night. Behind the camp is overlooking Putatan Town, just a Kilometer away.

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The proposed site of the church seen from google.

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