Gregory Yong

Infobox Archbishop
honorific-prefix =
name =Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean
D.D., D.C.L
honorific-suffix =
archbishop_of = Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore


caption =
province =
diocese =
see = Archdiocese of Singapore
enthroned = February 3, 1977
ended = October 14, 2000
predecessor = Archbishop Michel Olçomendy
successor = Archbishop Nicholas Chia D.D.
ordination =
consecration =
other_post =
birth_name =
birth_date = May 20, 1925
birthplace = Taiping, Malaysia
death_date = dda|2008|06|28|1925|5|20
deathplace = St Joseph's Home
Singapore
buried =
nationality = Singaporean
religion =Roman Catholic
residence =
parents =
spouse =
children =
occupation =
profession =
alma_mater =

Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean (zh-sp|s=杨瑞元|p=Yáng RuìYuán), D.D. D.C.L was the second Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore.

Archbishop Yong was born into a Hakka family in Taiping, and received his education in St. George's Institution and St. Michael's Institution in Ipoh, Malaya. He was an exceptional boy, and liked to role-play as a priest and pretend to hold Mass in his games.cite news|last=Wen Wei, Jamie|first=Ee|title=Ex-Archbishop Yong dies|location=Singapore|publisher=Straits Times|date=June 29, 2008]

In January 1941, he entered the Minor Seminary and in 1944 graduated to the Major Seminary. He was officially ordained in 1951 and posted to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Singapore. In 1953, he left for studies in Rome where he was conferred a Doctorate in Canon Law, the very first local priest to achieve the distinction. Back in Singapore in 1956, he was sent as assistant Parish Priest to the Church of the Sacred Heart. In the following year, he joined the teaching stuff of the Minor Seminary. After a short stint as assistant Parish Priest at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, he was appointed to a teaching position in the Major Seminary, again, the very first local priest to be thus honoured. On July 1, 1968, he was consecrated Bishop, and took over the Diocese Of Penang from Bishop Francis Chan who had died on October 27, 1967.

On February 3, 1977, he was appointed to succeed Archbishop Michel Olçomendy as the first of the local clergy to lead the Church in Singapore. On April 2, 1977, he was officially installed as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore. He was the second Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Singapore, which was formed in 1972 when the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore split and held the office until retiring on October 14, 2000.

It was also poor health that prompted his retirement, as he had a heart attack and had to be admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital for a heart bypass surgery in June that year. Archbishop Yong's last public appearance was in May 2004, when Yong was summoned as a prosecution witness in the trial of Catholic priest Joachim Kang, who was convicted and jailed for misappropriation of S$5.1 million in church funds. In spite of his poor health, he made light of his ailment when the prosecutor asked if he needed a break. 'I'm okay and can carry on,' he replied, and then asked the judge if she was all right too, sparking laughter in the solemn courtroom.

He died on June 28, 2008 at St Joseph's Home, Singapore of a heart failure. [cite news|title = Former Catholic Archbishop Gregory Yong dies of heart failure at age 83|publisher=Channel NewsAsia|date=2008-06-29|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/357129/1/.html]

References

*Eugene Wijeysingha (2006), "Going Forth... - The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819-2004", Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore, ISBN 981-05-5703-5

See also

* Archdiocese of Singapore
* Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
*Archbishop Nicholas Chia

External links

* [http://catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/byosn.html Catholic-Hierarchy.org]
* [http://www.veritas.org.sg Official Website of the Archdiocese of Singapore]