St Chastan Monument

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The St Chastan Monument is a memorial to the only parish priest in Malaysia to ever be made a saint (not counting St Francis Xavier). The monument is in the form of a pavilion with a statue of the saint in the grounds of the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

Jasques Hororé Chastan, also known in English as James Chastan, was a Roman Catholic missionary born in France. He taught at the College General in Penang from 1828-1830. At the same seminary was Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert, another Catholic priest who also taught there from 1821 to 1822.

During Father Chastan's time in Penang, he was able to convert a lot of Chinese people to the Roman Catholic faith due to his ability of speak Chinese fluently. He served at the fourth parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Conception from 1830 to 1833, during which time he continued to teach part time at College General.

From Malaya, Father Chastan moved to China, where he did missionary work in the province of Shantung. From Shantung, he travelled to Korea. Within a year of his arrival in Korea, Father Chastan had converted 1240 believers, this in spite of his limited knowledge of Korean. During the same period, over 6,000 Koreans have embraced Christianity. By the end of the following year, the number has reached 9,000.

Working alongside Father Chastan was Father Imbert, his colleague at College General in Penang. Father Imbert was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Korea in 1836 and Titular Bishop of Capsa. Like Father Imbert, Bishop Imbert was secretly carrying out Catholic missionary work. The rate that the Koreans were converting to Christianity alarmed the Korean authorities and they began to clamp down on all "alien beliefs".

On 10 August, 1839, Bishop Imbert was arrested and tortured. To spare his converts from torture, he asked his fellow missionaries to give themselves up. In September 1839, Father Chastan and his confrere Father Pierre-Philibert Maubant surrendered themselves to the Korean authorities. They were charged with the crime of propagating a "perverse religion", found guilty, and on 21 September 1839, sentenced to death by beheading at Saenamteo, Korea.

Father Imbert and Father Chastan were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1925. On 6 May, 1984, they were canonized by Pope John Paul II. Father Chastan was the only parish priest to have served in Malaysia that has been made a saint.

At the St Chastan Monument is a plaque listing all the parish priests of the Church of the Immaculate Conception from 1811 onwards. The list is shown below:

1811-1823 Father John B. Pasqual (Founder)
1823-1826 Father Jean-Louis Pupier
1826-1830 Father Jean-Pierre Barbe
1830-1833 Father Jacques Chastan - Saint
1834-1847 Father Antoine Bohet
1847-1855 Father Francis Xavier Ducotey
1855-1871 Father Michael Le Turdu
1871-1875 Father Pierre Sorin
1875-1880 Father Christopher Mazery
1880-1883 Father Marie Jean Allard
1883-1887 Father Jean Damais
1887-1897 Father Christopher Mazery
1898-1898 Father Victor Renard
1898-1905 Father Jean Damais
1905-1920 Father Pierre Perrichon
1920-1922 Father Jean Marie Tour
1923-1924 Father Adrian Devals
1924-1924 Father Louis Goyenetche
1924-1935 Father Victor Renard
1935-1936 Father Rudolph de Souza
1936-1947 Father Jean Paul Baloche
1947-1950 Father Jean Baptist Souhait
1950-1965 Father Finian de Silva
1965-1973 Father Louis Ashness
1973-1975 Father Robin Andrews
1975-1979 Father Anthony Chong
1979-1980 Father Louis Norris
1980-1992 Father Michael Thoo
1992-1994 Father Robin Andrews
1994-1994 Father Maiccal Sinappan
1994-1998 Father Sebastian Francis
1998-1999 Father Bernard Paul
1999-2003 Father Alexander Edwin
2003-2006 Father S. Francis Xavier
2006 - Father Marshal Fernandez

Click for list of Monuments and Memorials in Penang

Photos of the St Chastan Monument

St Chastan Monument (8 December 2009)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

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Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The text is the copyright of Timothy Tye, and may not be copied for commercial use or re-published in another website without the author's permission. Information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. Photographs on this website are the copyright of the author and may not be reused without prior permission. For commercial licensing of photographs, read the licensing terms.