Anthony Soter Fernandez was born on April 22, 1932 in Sungai Petani, Kedah. He had his early education at the Klian Pauh Convent in Taiping from 1940-41 but World War II which began in 1939 threw a pall over his childhood and interrupted his studies.^[1] After the war ended, he resumed his education at St Theresa’s School and Ibrahim School in Sungai Petani. 

In 1946, his father passed away. Anthony, who was just 14 then, put aside his studies and took on the responsibility of taking care of his mother and making sure that his brother got a good education. He became a hospital dresser at the Kuala Ketil Estate, and then worked as a hospital assistant at the Penang City Council’s tuberculosis centre from 1947 to 1954.^[2]

He was encouraged by Monsignor I.J. Aloysius and Archbishop Dominic Vendargon to explore the priesthood and in 1958, at the age of 26, he entered the St Francis Xavier Diocesan minor seminary in Singapore.^[3] He then attended the College General Penang where he completed his priestly training and was ordained a priest by Archbishop Vendargon on December 10, 1966 at the Cathedral of the Assumption, Penang.^[4]

He spent three years as assistant vicar at the St Louis Parish in Taiping. In 1971, he went to Manila for further studies at the International Training Institute for World Churchmen as well as the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI). He then went to Bangalore, India, to attend the Intensive Training Institute at the National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Centre.^[5]

He served as a lecturer at the College General in Penang from 1973 to 1975 when he was appointed Rector of the College General major seminary.^[6]

In August 1975, Soter and several other church leaders attended a course at the EAPI in Manila and were inspired to help renew and reinvigorate the church in Malaysia following the ideas of the Second Vatican Council to promote ecumenism and a laity-focused approach. They published a leaflet entitled “Five Loaves and Two Fishes”, a precursor to the “Aggiornamento” (renewal) of August 1976.^[7]This month-long event for all priests in the three dioceses in Peninsular Malaysia would become a significant event that resulted in a great shift in the Catholic Church in Malaysia. It led to the formation of the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs).^[8] The Aggiornamento was integral in changing and shaping the ways in which Catholicism is practiced today in Malaysia. 

When Bishop Gregory Yong of Penang was elevated to Archbishop of Singapore, Father Soter was appointed bishop-elect of Penang on September 29, 1977 by Pope John Paul VI. He was consecrated as the third Bishop of Penang on February 17, 1978, with his motto being “Justice and Peace”.^[9]On November 10, 1983, he was appointed the second Archbishop of the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur, taking over from his mentor and friend, Archbishop Vendargon.^[10]

Archbishop Soter was a great believer and advocate for social justice, interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and a champion of human rights. He set up a Justice and Peace commission in Penang and was later made chairman of the Office for Human Development of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference in 1984.^[11] During the October 27, 1987 Operation Lalang crackdown in Malaysia, several church workers and volunteers of the social justice programmes in this office were detained. They were among over 100 social activists, opposition politicians, academics, prominent members of NGOs, religious leaders, educationists and unionists who were detained without trial by the Malaysian police under the Internal Security Act (ISA), and Archbishop Soter spoke out against these detentions.^[12]

In addition to his work in social justice, Archbishop Soter was concerned with the waning Christian influence in education. To address the situation, he convened a conference of Catholic religious and lay leaders in 1987. This led to the formation of the Malaysian Catholic Education Council (MCEC) and the establishment of an agenda to provide private school education driven by the principles of faith. He played a key role in the birth of the Stella Maris Schools.^[13]

He also emphasised the importance of respecting and collaborating with those from other religions in order to collectively uphold truth, justice, and unity.^[14] In 2001, he was elected as the president of the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Archbishop Soter also took particular interest in reaching out to marginalised and vulnerable communities such as the Orang Asli and those with disabilities.^[15]

On May 23, 2003, after serving the church for the better part of 37 years, Archbishop Anthony Soter resigned at the age of 71 to serve as spiritual director of College General from 2005 to 2012. He then took up residence at St Francis Xavier’s Home for the Elderly, Little Sisters of the Poor in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, where he would spend the remainder of his life.^[16]

His work and impact on the Catholic Church in Malaysia were recognised when Pope Francis made him a Cardinal on November 19, 2016, the first Malaysian to receive the honour.^[17]In November 2019, Cardinal Fernandez was diagnosed with tongue cancer and after battling it for a year, he passed away on October 28, 2020, at the age of 88.^[18]