Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore

The Archdiocese of Singapore (Latin: Archidioecesis Singaporensis) is an exempt archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. Its territory includes all of Singapore. Its current archbishop is the Most Reverend Monsignor William Goh Seng Chye, DD, STL. Archbishop Goh took over the Archdiocese on 18 May 2013, after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of his predecessor Archbishop Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo. The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Singapore.

Archdiocese of Singapore

Archidioecesis Singaporensis
Location
CountrySingapore
MetropolitanImmediately Subject to the Holy See
Coordinates1.29596°N 103.85131°E / 1.29596; 103.85131
Statistics
Area639 km2 (247 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2010)
4,990,000
185,208 (3.7%)
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteLatin Rite
CathedralCathedral of the Good Shepherd
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
ArchbishopWilliam Goh
Vicar GeneralAmbrose Vaz
John-Paul Tan, OFM
Bishops emeritusNicholas Chia Archbishop Emeritus (2001–2013)
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

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

The Roman Catholic Church in Singapore was initially under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca,[1][2][3] which was established on 4 February 1558 as a suffragan (other being Diocese of Cochin) to the Archdiocese of Goa.[4]

The diocese of Malacca was transferred to the Vicariate Apostolic of Ava and Pegu[5][6] in 1838 and then the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam[7] 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 1888, the Church was once again placed under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca when the Diocese was revived. 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, the whole island of Singapore was brought under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore.

Ordinaries

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

Vicariate Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore
  • (1841–1844) Bishop Jean-Paul-Hilaire-Michel Courvezy (Vicar Apostolic of Siam from 1834 to 1841)
  • (1845–1871) Bishop Jean-Baptiste Boucho
  • (1871–1877) Bishop Michel-Esther Le Turdu
  • (1878–1888) Bishop Edouard Gasnier

Diocese of Malacca
  • (1888–1896) Bishop Edouard Gasnier
  • (1896–1904) Bishop René-Michel-Marie Fée
  • (1904–1933) Bishop Marie-Luc-Alphonse-Emile Barillon
  • (1934–1945) Bishop Adrien Pierre Devals
  • (1947–1953) Bishop Michel Olçomendy

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
  • Candidates for the Priesthood: 12
  • Baptisms: 3521
  • Catechumens: 895
  • Marriages: 977
  • Charitable and Social Institutions: 18
  • Educational Institutions: 54 Schools, 53,124 Students

Key office holders

Following the appointment of Archbishop William Goh, a new group of key appointment holders were appointed to assist him.[8] There are as follows:

  • Vicar General (Pastoral), Rev Msgr. Ambrose Vaz
  • Vicar General (Administration and Religious), Rev Msgr. John Paul Tan, OFM
  • Chancellor, Rev Msgr. John Paul Tan, OFM
  • Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation, Rev Fr. Terence Pereira
  • Financial Administrator, Deacon Clement Chen

Churches

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

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.

Seminary
  • St Francis Xavier Major Seminary

Controversies

Madonna's Rebel Heart concert

In February 2016, the church's advice to congregants not to attend Madonna's Rebel Heart concert, the pop singer's first in Singapore, sparked controversy. In a circular, Archbishop William Goh warned Christians not to support “the ‘pseudo arts’ that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography, contamination of the mind of the young, abusive freedom, individualism at the expense of the common good, vulgarity, lies and half-truths”.[9]

Expressing concern about Madonna’s "blasphemous music" and her "disrespectful use of Catholic/Christian symbols", the archbishop said he appreciated that “the task of the government in balancing freedom of the arts and public sensitivities is a challenging one”, but warned that “in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore, we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favour of artistic expression at the expense of respect for one’s religion, especially in these times of heightened religious sensitivities, particularly among active practitioners of religions”.[10]

“There is no neutrality in faith; one is either for or against. Being present (at these events) in itself is a counter witness," the archbishop added.[11]

As a debate ensued over whether the church was imposing its views on the public, other Christian bodies including the National Council of Churches of Singapore, the Anglican church and LoveSingapore, began issuing similar statements.[12][13]

The protests did not end with any change on the part of the Media Development Authority which had already rated the concert R18 for its sexually suggestive content and scrapped a song for "religiously sensitive content".[14]

See also

Notes
  1. Diocese of Malacca | Original Catholic Encyclopedia Archived 20 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Diocese of Melaka–Johor, Malaysia". GCatholic. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  3. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Malacca". www.newadvent.org. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  4. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Goa". www.newadvent.org. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  5. "Vicariate Apostolic of Ava e Pegù". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  6. "Country consisting of the kingdoms of Ava and Peg - Original Catholic Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  7. "Vicariate Apostolic of Siam - Original Catholic Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  9. Administrator. "Madonna's Concert – What About It? | Archdiocesan Commission for the Family". Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  10. hermes (23 February 2016). "Archbishop speaks out against Madonna's concert". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  11. hermes (24 February 2016). "Catholic Church 'not imposing its views on others'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  12. hermes (28 February 2016). "Anglican Church 'not forcing its views on Madonna concert'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  13. "More churches express concern over Madonna show". TODAYonline. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  14. "Madonna sticks to the script at her concert". TODAYonline. Retrieved 26 December 2020.

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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