St Peter and St Paul's Church, Singapore
Encyclopedia
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul (Chinese: 圣伯多禄圣保禄教堂) is a Roman Catholic church in Singapore
. It is located at Queen Street
in the Rochor Planning Area, within the Central Area
in Singapore's central business district
.
serving a congregation of all the Chinese dialect groups and their Indian
brethren. It was also a centre for many European missionaries who needed to learn the Chinese language
before other postings.
Initially, the Chinese Catholic community had contributed to the building of the first permanent Roman Catholic house of worship along Bras Basah Road
. With a fifth of the construction cost borne by them, the chapel
was ready by 1833. However, by the end of the 1830s, the chapel had become too small. Instead of enlarging the chapel, work was begun on the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
nearby and Saint Joseph's Institution took over the chapel's premises
.
With the development of the apostolate among the Chinese and the Indians under Father Pierre Paris, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate the different linguistic groups in the Cathedral. By the late 1860s, a new church was needed and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was erected. It is said that the cost of the compound wall of the church was defrayed by Napoleon III of France
. The church was smaller then, with only seven pairs of column
s. In 1883, Father Paris bestowed the three bells
, which are still in use today, but the state of his health prevented him from being present when the bells were blessed
. He also initiated construction of the spire
. Father Paris died on 23 May 1883, after having worked in the Straits
for over 28 years and is buried in the church. Father Ludovic Jules Galmel, who had taken over from Father Paris during his illness, completed the spire and built the presbytery
. As he spoke no Tamil
, another priest became his assistant to minister to the Indian congregation. When the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
in Ophir Road was built in 1888, the Indian congregation moved there. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul then became an exclusively Chinese parish
under Father Alphonse Vignol, concentrating on the different Chinese dialect groups.
From 1891 to 1892, the church was enlarged when the sacristy
and transept
were added. Father Vignol also erected three marble
altar
s whereby the High Altar in the new sanctuary
was consecrated by Bishop Edouard Gasnier. From 1910 to 1911, the church was further extended with the enlargement of the choir
loft
, construction of the entrance porch
and the extension of the façade
with the help of contributions from wealthy Chinese parishioners such as Mr Low Gek Seng, a manager of the Bangkok and Singapore-based merchant firm Kiam Hoa Heng.
In 1910, the Cantonese and Hakka dialect groups left Saints Peter and Paul for the new Church of the Sacred Heart
in Tank Road built by Father Vincent Gazeau. In 1929, the Hokkien
s left for the new Church of Saint Teresa in Kampong Bahru. The last two churches were financed by wealthy Chinese parishioners particularly Mr Jacobe Low Khiok Chiang
(1843-1911) and Mr Chan Teck Hee, both founders of the firm Kiam Hoa Heng. Mr Wee Cheng Soon (d. 1944), a wealthy contractor and property developer and Mr Chan Teck Hee, also defrayed almost all of the costs of the Church of St Theresa.
A major renovation of the church was planned for its centenary year and in October 1969, with the help of the Church Renovation Committee, the parishioners and other well-wishers, renovations were completed in time for the Centenary Celebrations in June and July 1970.
There was once a pipe organ
installed by Paris
ian organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
in this church. It was built in 1877 and was of modest dimensions, costing 5939.75 francs. This orgue de choeur was dismantled and discarded in the 1960s and no trace of it remains. The old wood
en pew
s have also had their fleur-de-lis
decorations removed. In early 2008, the church installed a second-hand 50 stops Allen 2 Manual Digital Computer Organ in the Choir Loft.
The parish of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul grew marginally in the 1970s but began to decline since the 1980s when schools within its vicinity were relocated. With the completion of new churches in the various housing estates and the demarcation of parish boundaries, many parishioners have since left for their new parishes located nearer to their homes.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was gazette
d a national monument
on 10 February 2003. From 4 September to 12 November 2006, the church was one of the exhibition venues for the Singapore Biennale
, Singapore's inaugural international biennale of contemporary art.
Currently, the church is under the care of the Discalced Carmelite Friars. All masses
are usually in English with a Mandarin
service on Sunday mornings.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It is located at Queen Street
Queen Street, Singapore
Queen Street is one of the oldest streets in Singapore and once had a very strong Eurasian presence. Beginning at Arab street, Queen Street forms major junctions with Ophir Road, Rochor Road, Middle Road and Bras Basah Road before ending at the junction of Stamford Road and Armenian Street.The area...
in the Rochor Planning Area, within the Central Area
Central Area
In Singapore, the Central Area or Central Business District contains the core financial and commercial districts, including eleven urban planning areas, namely Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South, Museum, Newton, Orchard, Outram, River Valley, Rochor, Singapore River and Straits View as...
in Singapore's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
History and architecture
The history of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul is closely linked with the beginning and growth of the Chinese Catholic community in Singapore. The church, with its tower, was constructed between 1869 to 1870. It was erected by the Chinese Catholic MissionMission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
serving a congregation of all the Chinese dialect groups and their Indian
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
brethren. It was also a centre for many European missionaries who needed to learn the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
before other postings.
Initially, the Chinese Catholic community had contributed to the building of the first permanent Roman Catholic house of worship along Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road is a one-way road in Singapore in the planning areas of Museum and Downtown Core. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road and Handy Road, at the ERP gantry towards the Central Business District, and ends at the junction of Nicoll Highway and Raffles Boulevard which then...
. With a fifth of the construction cost borne by them, the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was ready by 1833. However, by the end of the 1830s, the chapel had become too small. Instead of enlarging the chapel, work was begun on the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District and affords a welcome respite from the city....
nearby and Saint Joseph's Institution took over the chapel's premises
Former Saint Joseph's Institution
The Former Saint Joseph's Institution is a historic building in Singapore, located at Bras Basah Road in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...
.
With the development of the apostolate among the Chinese and the Indians under Father Pierre Paris, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate the different linguistic groups in the Cathedral. By the late 1860s, a new church was needed and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was erected. It is said that the cost of the compound wall of the church was defrayed by Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
. The church was smaller then, with only seven pairs of column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s. In 1883, Father Paris bestowed the three bells
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
, which are still in use today, but the state of his health prevented him from being present when the bells were blessed
Blessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
. He also initiated construction of the spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
. Father Paris died on 23 May 1883, after having worked in the Straits
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...
for over 28 years and is buried in the church. Father Ludovic Jules Galmel, who had taken over from Father Paris during his illness, completed the spire and built the presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
. As he spoke no Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, another priest became his assistant to minister to the Indian congregation. When the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic church in Singapore. It is located at Ophir Road in the Rochor Planning Area, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district.-History:...
in Ophir Road was built in 1888, the Indian congregation moved there. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul then became an exclusively Chinese parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
under Father Alphonse Vignol, concentrating on the different Chinese dialect groups.
From 1891 to 1892, the church was enlarged when the sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
and transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
were added. Father Vignol also erected three marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s whereby the High Altar in the new sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
was consecrated by Bishop Edouard Gasnier. From 1910 to 1911, the church was further extended with the enlargement of the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
loft
Loft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
, construction of the entrance porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
and the extension of the façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
with the help of contributions from wealthy Chinese parishioners such as Mr Low Gek Seng, a manager of the Bangkok and Singapore-based merchant firm Kiam Hoa Heng.
In 1910, the Cantonese and Hakka dialect groups left Saints Peter and Paul for the new Church of the Sacred Heart
Church of the Sacred Heart, Singapore
The Church of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic church in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore.- History :The Church of the Sacred Heart was built in 1906 by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and completed in 1910...
in Tank Road built by Father Vincent Gazeau. In 1929, the Hokkien
Hoklo people
The Hoklo people are Han Chinese people whose traditional Ancestral homes are in southern Fujian of South China...
s left for the new Church of Saint Teresa in Kampong Bahru. The last two churches were financed by wealthy Chinese parishioners particularly Mr Jacobe Low Khiok Chiang
Low Khiok Chiang
Mr Low Khiok Chiang , also known as Jacobe to his contemporaries, was a successful businessman and prominent Roman Catholic Church philanthropist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Singapore, Thailand and China.He played a major role in financing the construction of major Roman Catholic...
(1843-1911) and Mr Chan Teck Hee, both founders of the firm Kiam Hoa Heng. Mr Wee Cheng Soon (d. 1944), a wealthy contractor and property developer and Mr Chan Teck Hee, also defrayed almost all of the costs of the Church of St Theresa.
A major renovation of the church was planned for its centenary year and in October 1969, with the help of the Church Renovation Committee, the parishioners and other well-wishers, renovations were completed in time for the Centenary Celebrations in June and July 1970.
There was once a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
installed by Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was a French organ builder. He is considered by many to be the greatest organ builder of the 19th century because he combined both science and art to make his instruments...
in this church. It was built in 1877 and was of modest dimensions, costing 5939.75 francs. This orgue de choeur was dismantled and discarded in the 1960s and no trace of it remains. The old wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
en pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s have also had their fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
decorations removed. In early 2008, the church installed a second-hand 50 stops Allen 2 Manual Digital Computer Organ in the Choir Loft.
The parish of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul grew marginally in the 1970s but began to decline since the 1980s when schools within its vicinity were relocated. With the completion of new churches in the various housing estates and the demarcation of parish boundaries, many parishioners have since left for their new parishes located nearer to their homes.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was gazette
Gazette
A gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...
d a national monument
National Monuments of Singapore
National Monuments of Singapore are buildings and structures in Singapore that have been designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board as being of special historic, traditional, archaeological, architectural or artistic value....
on 10 February 2003. From 4 September to 12 November 2006, the church was one of the exhibition venues for the Singapore Biennale
Singapore Biennale
The Singapore Biennale is a contemporary art biennale in Singapore. The first Singapore Biennale operated as one of a lineup of Singapore 2006 events. Fumio Nanjo, Director of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, has been reappointed Artistic Director of the Singapore Biennale 2008...
, Singapore's inaugural international biennale of contemporary art.
Currently, the church is under the care of the Discalced Carmelite Friars. All masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
are usually in English with a Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
service on Sunday mornings.
See also
- Saint PeterSaint PeterSaint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
- Saint Paul of Tarsus
- Christianity in SingaporeChristianity in SingaporeChristians in Singapore constitute approximately 17.5% of the population. In the 2000 Census, 4.8% of residents aged 15 years and older, identified as Catholic and 9.8% as 'Other Christians'.-History:...
- Roman Catholicism in SingaporeRoman Catholicism in SingaporeRoman Catholicism is practiced by about 4.6% of Singapore's populace, or about 210,000 people. Roman Catholicism is practiced by people of Chinese and Eurasian descent, along with a Filipino, Indian and European minority.- History :...
- Archdiocese of Singapore
- List of Roman Catholic churches in Singapore