St Paul Church Melaka, Malaysia

Up close and personal

St Paul Church stands proudly at the top of St. Paul’s Hill in Melaka, Malaysia. If you want to visit this Melaka Historical Fun place, brave yourself to climb the stairs to the top of the hill.

Though the church has lost its magnificent decoration, it is still worth climbing the stairs to enjoy the bird’s eye view of the Melaka’s Town and Straits of Malacca.

The stairs at St. Paul's Hill

Today, only the four bare weather-worn walls are the remains of the St. Paul’s Church.

History of the Church

The front view of the St Paul Church

During the Portuguese Reign

Initially, it was a Catholic Chapel built by the Portuguese Captain, Duarte Coelho, in 1521. Captain Duarte Coelho was the founder of Cochin China & Olinda in Brazil. This church was built as an act of gratitude after his miraculous escape from enemy attacks in the South China Sea.

During the Portuguese reign in Melaka, it was known as the Chapel of the Mother of God (Madre de Deus ) or Our Lady of the Hill (Nossa Senhora do Oiteiro).

Successively, this chapel was enlarged (adding a second storey & addition of a tower) to become a church in 1556 and 1590 by the Portuguese.

During the Dutch Reign

Large tombstone found inside St Paul Church

After the Dutch wrestled Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641, they repaired and reconscrated the church into a Dutch Reformed Church. It was renamed the St. Paul's Church, a name which remains until today.

St. Paul’s Church was used by the Dutch for their worship for the next 112 years. However, it was later abandoned when the Dutch built The Christ Church at the foot of St. Paul’s Hill.

Due to the strategic location of the church, the Dutch turned it into an extention of the A Famosa Fort. They installed gun embrasures with holes for gun-recoilers on the roof. Later, the Dutch turned St. Paul’s Hill into a burial ground for their noblemen. Today, huge granite tombstones still stand inside the St. Paul’s Church.

Dutch Graves at the foot of St. Paul’s Hill

Among the Dutch graves at the St. Paul’s Hill cemetery, lies the grave of Jan Van Riebeeck. What’s so special about him? He was the founder of the Dutch Settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Jan Van Riebeeck was appointed as Governor of Melaka after the founding of the Dutch Settlement in South Africa. Sadly, he died in office (Stadtuys Melaka) and was buried at the tiny cemetery.

During the British Reign

When the British took over Malacca in 1824, the St. Paul's Church had lost its tower. Therefore, the British added a lighthouse in front of it for surveillance purposes. The poor church was converted into gunpowder storehouse, and later it was abandoned by the British.

Why is there St. Francis Xavier’s Statue in front of the church?

The location was chosen as St. Francis Xavier was briefly enshrined in the St Paul Church. His marble statue was installed on 22nd March, 1953 to commemorate the passing of the saint in Melaka from 1545 to 1552 while spreading Catholicism in this region.

If you are wondering what that big hole in the Church is, it’s actually the open grave that once contained the body of St. Francis Xavier before he was shipped to Goa, India, in 1553.

The marble Statue of St. Francis Xavier

Why is Statue without its right arm?

There’s an interesting incident which led to its current condition. The morning after the blessing ceremony in 1953, a large casuarinas tree fell on the statue but damaged only the right arm.

Why the broken arm was never been fixed again? It was mainly due to the legendary miracle that happened in the year 1614.

In 1614, St. Francis Xavier’s right forearm which he used to bless and baptize his converts was detached by Priest Gen.Claudio Acquaviva. The right forearm was needed by the Pope for his canonization in Rome. Legendary miracle happened as blood was said to be dripping out from the wound!

The Feast of St. Francis Xavier

The roofless St Paul Church

Today, the bare tomb in the roofless church of St. Paul’s Church is a silent reminder of a great saint. Each year, on the Sunday nearest to 3rd December, thousands of pilgrims and devotees throng the ruins of St. Paul’s Church in Melaka to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis Xavier.

These pilgrims and devotees come from Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. If you happened to be in Melaka, do come and celebrate the Feast of St. Francis Xavier.

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