St Leonard's church new building was declared open by the Catholic Archbishop of Kuching

BAU, Aug 16 2026: St Leonard’s Church new building was declared today, five years after its construction commenced, by the Catholic Archbishop of Kuching Dr Simon Peter Poh today.

Caption: Catholic Archbishop of Kuching Dr Simon Peter Poh affixing his signature on the plaque at the opening of the new church building

The new building was fully completed in September last year, marking a significant moments for the Christian community on Kampung Atas here.

The construction of the new church was initiated in 2016 to replace the existing building, before the first project papers were prepared in 2019.

However, the construction faced several challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020,  implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and funding constraints.

The church committee prepared an architectural plan to be submitted to the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) before the application was approved in August 2020 with an allocation of RM100,000.

The allocation was among the initial resources to begin construction, while additional grant applications to UNIFOR continued throughout the construction period from 2021 to 2025.

In addition to UNIFOR, the project also received government support through the Rural Transformation Programme(RTP) allocation through the Bau District Council and the Public Works Department (JKR).

In an effort to meet the financial needs of the project, a fundraising Committee was also established to mobilise contributions from registered Christian families, local communities, business entities, corporate companies, as well as local figures and entrepreneurs.

With the cooperation and support of various parties, the main church building was completed in September 2025, thus becoming an important achievement for the people of St Leonard Kampung Atas Church and the local community.

After the opening ceremony, mass prayer led by Dr Poh together with the Rector of St Stephen Bau Parish Peter Liston.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Transport Henry Harry Jinep, Bau District Officer Eddy Nayoi, President of the Sarawak Research and Development Movement Association (REDEEMS) Peter Nansian Ngusie and Chairman of the St Leonard's Church Atas Bau Fidelis Colgeon Albert Ahin.