Throughout the world, Malaysia is known as a country of many races and religions. Some two and a half centuries after the Portuguese missionaries introduced the Christian faith to the region of Malacca, the French Fathers(MEP) brought it up to Penang in 1789. And from Penang, Christianity spread southward to Taiping in 1875.

In 1875, Father F. Allard was sent to Taiping to start the first Catholic Mission in the state of Perak. The French missionary selected the Klian Pau area and erected thefirst church for the few parishioners who had accompanied him from Penang. It was a simple wooden structure erected on the hill. The ruins of this first structure can still be seen on the top of the hill. Fr. Allard, to have the Christians settle in the Larut district - “to this end he got from the government a 100 acres near Taiping”. The actual parish of Klian Pau still remains some 14 acres of that initial grant from the British Resident. The other 86 acres have been taken back by the government.

Since Taiping had become the capital of Perak in 1874 and considering that the Catholic population had increased, the second parish priest Fr. Charles Mazery, saw the need for a bigger building which would be more suitably located. So he erected a new church at the foot of the hillock in 1875 and called it the CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART.

In the year 1897, Father Louis Marie Duvelle, seeing that the Catholic population was increasing started a new parish to cater especially for the needs of the Tamil speaking Catholics, thus the formation of St Louis parish. The ST LOUIS CHURCH was built and blessed on 5 November 1899. This building is now being used as the Parish Hall. The present St Louis Church building was erected some 59 years ago in 1938.

With the amalgamation, both parishes are known as the TAIPING CATHOLIC CHURCH signifying unity and strength as one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.