Archdiocese of Singapore

1°17′45″N 103°51′05″E / 1.29596°N 103.85131°E / 1.29596; 103.85131

Archdiocese of Singapore

Archidioecesis Singaporensis
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Location
CountrySingapore
MetropolitanImmediately Subject to the Holy See
Coordinates1°17′45″N 103°51′05″E / 1.29596°N 103.85131°E / 1.29596; 103.85131
Statistics
Area765 km2 (295 sq mi)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2020)
  • 5,600,000
  • 373,000 (6.7%) [1]
Churches32
Schools59
Information
DenominationCatholic
RiteLatin Rite
Established
CathedralCathedral of the Good Shepherd
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye
Vicar GeneralStephen Yim
James Yeo
Peter Zhang, CDD
Website
catholic.sg

The Archdiocese of Singapore (Latin: Archidioecesis Singaporensis) is an exempt archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. Its territory includes all that is under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Singapore.

Its current archbishop is Cardinal William Goh Seng Chye. Goh took over the archdiocese on 18 May 2013, after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo. The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, located within the Civic District, is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Singapore.

As an exempt diocese, the archdiocese is not a part of an ecclesiastical province, but comes under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See. The archdiocese is a member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

History

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd before its restoration in 2006.

The Roman Catholic Church in Singapore was initially under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca,[2][3][4] established by the papal bull pro excellenti praeeminentia issued by Pope Paul IV on 4 February 1558 as one of two new suffragan dioceses (the other being Diocese of Cochin) to the Archdiocese of Goa.[5][6]

The diocese of Malacca was transferred to the Vicariate Apostolic of Ava and Pegu[7][8] in 1838 and then the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam[9] in 1840. In 1841, the church was placed under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam that was erected from the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam. Initially called the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam, the name was changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of the Malay Peninsula and finally the Vicariate Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore.

In 1886, the Portuguese Archbishop of Goa transferred the jurisdiction over the Portuguese Missions in Singapore and Malacca to the Portuguese Bishop of Macau.

In 1888, the church was once again placed under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca when the diocese was revived, following a visit by Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor to Rome for an audience with Pope Leo XIII three years prior.[10] The Diocese of Malacca was raised to the rank of an archdiocese in 1953. In 1955, the Archdiocese of Malacca was split and an ecclesiastical province was formed in its place comprising the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore as the metropolitan see and the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur and Diocese of Penang as suffragan dioceses.

In 1972, the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore was split into the Diocese of Malacca-Johor and the Archdiocese of Singapore with the Archdiocese of Singapore coming under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See.

From 1838 to 1981, there was dual jurisdiction situation in Singapore, one tracing authority from the Vicariate Apostolate of Siam down to the present Archdiocese of Singapore and the other with the authority from the Portuguese Mission first from the Archdiocese of Goa and then the Diocese of Macau. This was a legacy of the padroado pronouncement in the 16th century. Dual jurisdiction was ended in 1981, when the Portuguese Mission handed over St Joseph's Church to the Archdiocese of Singapore and, thus, all of Singapore's territories was brought under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore.

Ordinaries

Diocese of Malacca

  • (1558–1576) Jorge de Santa Luzia
  • (1579–1601) João Ribeiro Gaio
  • (1604–1612) Cristovão da Sá e Lisboa
  • (1613–1632) Gonçalvo (Gonzalo) da Silva
  • (1637–1638) António do Rosário
    • Sede vacante (1637–1691)
  • (1691–1701) Antonio a Saint Theresia
  • (1701–1738) Emmanuel a Santo Antonio
  • (1738–1743) Antonio de Castro
  • (1746–1748) Miguel de Bulhões e Souza
  • (1748–1760 Geraldo de São José
    • Sede vacante (1760–1782)
  • (1782–1785) Alexandre da Sagrada Familia Ferreira da Silva
    • Sede vacante (1785–1804)
  • (1804–1815) Francisco de São Dâmaso Abreu Vieira
    • Sede vacante (1815–1838)
    • Sé suprimida (1838–1841)

Vicariate Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore

Diocese of Malacca

Archdiocese of Malacca

Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore (Metropolitan See)

Archdiocese of Singapore

Statistics (2012)

  • Roman Catholic population: 303,000 (including PRs, Expats and Immigrants)
  • Churches: 32
  • Seminary: 1
  • Diocesan Priests: 71
  • Religious Priests: 71
  • Religious Brothers: 36
  • Religious Sisters: 166
  • Diocesan Seminarians: 12
  • Baptisms: 3521
  • Catechumens: 895
  • Marriages: 977
  • Charitable and Social Institutions: 18
  • Educational Institutions: 54 Schools, 53,124 Students

Key office holders

Following his appointment, William Goh made key appointments:[11]

  • Vicar General (Pastoral), Ambrose Vaz
  • Vicar General (Administration and Religious), Peter Zhang CDD
  • Chancellor, Terence Pereira
  • Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation, Terence Pereira
  • Financial Administrator, Clement Chen

Churches

The archdiocese is divided into five district deaneries covering the entire city-state of Singapore, namely the City District, East District, West District, North District and Serangoon District.

Out of the thirty-two churches, three churches in the City District are not parishes, namely the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Saint Joseph's Church and the Church of Saint Alphonsus.

Name Address Church district Founded Notes Image
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd 'A' Queen Street City 1832 Seat of the Archdiocese of Singapore
Saint Joseph's Church (Bukit Timah) 620 Upper Bukit Timah Road North 1846
Saint Joseph's Church (Victoria Street) 143 Victoria Street City 1853 Devotional church
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1259 Upper Serangoon Road Serangoon 1853
Church of Saints Peter and Paul 225A Queen Street City 1870
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes 50 Ophir Road City 1888
Church of the Sacred Heart 111 Tank Road City 1910
Church of Saint Teresa 510 Kampong Bahru Road City 1929
Church of Saint Alphonsus 300 Thomson Road City 1935 Devotional church, also known as Novena Church
Church of the Holy Family 6 Chapel Road East 1935
Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea 10 Yishun Street 22 North 1949
Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary 24 Highland Road Serangoon 1953
Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace 4 Sandy Lane East 1954
Church of Saint Francis Xavier 63A Chartwell Drive Serangoon 1959
Church of Saint Bernadette 12 Zion Road City 1959
Church of Saint Anthony 25 Woodlands Avenue 1 North 1960
Church of the Holy Spirit 248 Upper Thomson Road North 1960
Church of Saint Ignatius 120 King's Road West 1961
Church of Saint Michael 17 Saint Michael's Road City 1961
Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour 31 Siglap Hill East 1961
Saint Anne's Church 66 Sengkang East Way Serangoon 1963
Church of the Blessed Sacrament 1 Commonwealth Drive West 1965
Church of St Mary of the Angels 5 Bukit Batok East Avenue 2 West 1970
Church of Saint Vincent de Paul 301 Yio Chu Kang Road Serangoon 1970
Church of the Risen Christ 91 Toa Payoh Central North 1971
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi 200 Boon Lay Avenue West 1976
Church of Saint Stephen 30 Sallim Road East 1978
Church of the Holy Cross 450 Clementi Avenue 1 West 1980
Church of Christ the King 2221 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 North 1982
Church of the Holy Trinity 20 Tampines Street 11 East 1988
Church of Divine Mercy 19 Pasir Ris Street 72 East 2010
Church of the Transfiguration 51 Punggol Central Serangoon 2017
Church of Saint Jude Thaddaeus Tengah Garden Avenue West 2028 Under construction

Seminary

  • St Francis Xavier Major Seminary

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ People. (n.d.). Catholic Foundation. Retrieved 14 July 2022, from https://www.catholicfoundation.sg/what-the-church-does/people/
  2. ↑ Diocese of Malacca | Original Catholic Encyclopedia Archived 20 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Diocese of Melaka–Johor, Malaysia". GCatholic. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Malacca". www.newadvent.org. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Goa". www.newadvent.org. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "1558, 4 de fevereiro, Roma – Bula Pro excellenti praeeminentia, pela qual Paulo IV instituiu a diocese de Malaca, desmembrando o seu território da então criada arquidiocese de Goa e concedendo ao rei de Portugal o direito de padroado e de apresentação do bispo da nova diocese" (PDF). University of Coimbra (in Portuguese).
  7. ↑ "Vicariate Apostolic of Ava e Pegù". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Country consisting of the kingdoms of Ava and Peg - Original Catholic Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Vicariate Apostolic of Siam - Original Catholic Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Candilio, A.; Bressan, L. (2000). "Sultan Abu Bakar of Johore's Visit to the Italian King and the Pope in 1885". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 73 (1 (278)): 43–53. ISSN 0126-7353.
  11. ↑ "Inaugural cum Thanksgiving Mass on Friday, 24th May, 2013 - Archbishop Goh Announces Line-up of Key Office Bearers". www.catholicnews.sg. Retrieved 3 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

References

  • Johnson Fernandez (2013), Catholic Church Directory 2013 – Archdiocese of Singapore, The Catholic News Office, ISBN 983-3201-00-8
  • Eugene Wijeysingha (2006), "Going forth, The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819–2004", The Office of the Archbishop of Singapore, ISBN 981-05-5703-5
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