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 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 Roman Catholic Church in Singapore was initially under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca, 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. The diocese of Malacca was transferred to the Vicariate Apostolic of Ava and Pegu in 1838 and then the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam 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. 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 (1841–1844) Jean-Paul-Hilaire-Michel Courvezy (Vicar Apostolic of Siam from 1834 to 1841) (1845–1871) Jean-Baptiste Boucho (1871–1877) Michel-Esther Le Turdu (1878–1888) Edouard Gasnier Diocese of Malacca (1888–1896) Edouard Gasnier (1896–1904) René Michel Marie Fée (1904–1933) Marie-Luc-Alphonse-Emile Barillon (1934–1945) Adrien Pierre Devals (1947–1953) Michel Olçomendy Archdiocese of Malacca (1953–1955) Michel Olçomendy Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore (Metropolitan See) (1955–1972) Michel Olçomendy Archdiocese of Singapore (1972–1976) Michel Olçomendy (1977–2000) Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean (2001–2013) Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo (2013–present) Cardinal William Goh Seng Chye 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: 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. Seminary St Francis Xavier Major Seminary See also Catholic education in Singapore Catholic Church in Singapore Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore CHIJMES Notes 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 External links Official Website of the Archdiocese of Singapore Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Catholic-Hierarchy.org