Francis Chan

Francis Chan (25 July 1913 – 20 October 1967) was a Singaporean bishop of the Catholic Church. After finishing high school in Singapore, he studied for the priesthood at College General in Penang and was ordained a priest in 1939. Chan first served as an assistant pastor in Ipoh until 1946, with a three year interruption due to World War II. He subsequently returned to his hometown after the Japanese occupation ended and served as parish priest there for nine years. When the Holy See created the first two Malaysian dioceses of Kuala Lumpur and Penang in 1955, Chan was appointed as bishop of the latter see. He was consecrated in August of that same year, becoming one of the first two local bishops from Malaysia. A Council Father of the Second Vatican Council, Chan attended two sessions held at St. Peter's Basilica in 1962 and 1964. He died of terminal cancer in 1967. Chan was dubbed "The Singing Bishop" due to his penchant for music.

Early life Chan was born on 25 July 1913 in Singapore, and subsequently attended seminary at the College General in Tanjung Bungah, Penang (another territory of the Straits Settlements). This is incorrect because the canonical age for ordination to the presbyterate is 25, per canon 975 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Chan did not attain this age until 1938.|group=upper-alpha He offered his first Mass on 10 December at the Church of the Sacred Heart in his hometown.

Presbyteral ministry Chan's first pastoral assignment was as assistant parish priest at the Church of St. Michael in Ipoh, then part of the Federated Malay States. He served in this role from 1939 to 1941, and again from 1944 to 1946 after the Japanese occupation of Malaya. Subsequently, he was transferred back to his hometown and served as parish priest of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary between 1946 and 1955. On the first day of every month, he organized a communal Rosary and offered a Mass to pray for all family members of parishioners who had died during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. He also founded the Catholic Young Men’s Association and the Children of Mary Movement during his time as parish priest. During his first two years as pastor, he resided at the St. Francis Xavier Seminary in Punggol. From December 1951 until October 1953, Chan's assistant at the Church of the Nativity was Gregory Yong, who would later go on to be Chan's successor as Bishop of Penang in 1968. The statue was blessed by Chan on 8 December 1946, Chan was consecrated bishop on 28 August 1955 at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Singapore, and moved to Penang three weeks later. He was a "staunch advocate" for ecumenism and backed the Council of Christian Churches. Chan celebrated the silver jubilee of his priestly ordination in December 1964. In spite of his ill health, he attended two out of the four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in 1962 and 1964, He made three trips to Hong Kong for specialist cancer treatment, the last one being in April 1967, and eventually he went blind in one eye as a result of the disease. The cathedra (bishop's chair) that was first utilized by Chan at the Cathedral of the Assumption in 1955 is still in use, having been moved to Holy Spirit Cathedral when it was elevated to the status of cathedral in 2003.

Personal life Chan had three brothers – Joseph, Anthony, and John – who resided in Singapore at the time of his death, and at least one sister, Teresa, who lived in Ipoh. He was a classical music aficionado, particularly for opera. During his years in the seminary, he played the flute for their orchestra, and frequently sang as a tenor for the choir at the Church of the Sacred Heart. This passion for music led to him being nicknamed "The Singing Bishop" during his time in Penang.