An overview of the Church in Singapore

By Lisa Zengarini

The history of the Church in Singapore is closely linked to that of neighbouring Malaysia, where the first missionaries arrived from Portugal in the 16th century following the Portuguese.

Saint Francis Xavier arrived in Malacca in 1545, and in 1558, the territory was set up as a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Goa, then a Portuguese colony in India.

After the occupation of Malaysia by the (Protestant) Dutch, Catholicism was temporarily banned from the territory. It was restored after the purchase of Singapore by the British East India Company (1819).

Portuguese and French missionaries

The Catholic Church in Singapore traces its establishment to December 1821 when Fr. Laurent Imbert, a young missionary from the Société des Missions étrangéres de Paris (Paris Foreign Missions - or MEP), landed in Singapore on a reconnaissance mission and sent his report to his superior, Bishop Esprit Marie Joseph Florens, the Vicar Apostolic of Siam, conveying the needs of the small Catholic community, in wanting a resident priest.   This report is the first known official Church record of Catholics in Singapore. At the time the Church numbered only 12 Catholics. By 1829, they were about 200 and ten years later around 500.

One MEP missionary, Jean-Marie Beurel (1813–72), played a crucial role in strengthening the presence of the Catholic Church in the island. He built the Church, then Cathedral, of the Good Shepherd, a school for boys run by the De La Salle Brothers (or Brothers of the Christian Schools), and one for girls run by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus.

On 10 August 1888, a brief issued by Pope Leo XIII restored the Diocese of Malacca, which had ceased to exist in 1818.  Thus, the existing Vicariate of Malaya was elevated to a Diocese, and the incumbent Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Edouard Gasnier was installed as the first non-Portuguese Catholic Bishop of Malacca, with his official residence in Singapore.  As the seat of the Bishop, the Church of the Good Shepherd was raised to the status of Cathedral.

There was no change to the status of the Portuguese Mission in Singapore (St Joseph’s Church ) which for remained under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Macau, then a Portuguese colony. 

Persecution under the Japanese occupation

After the Japanese occupation (1942-45), during which the local Church suffered severe persecution, the Catholic community in post-war 1950s was restored in Singapore and the Church resumed its activities in the educational, healthcare and social fields.

The first major reorganization of the local Church took place in 1953, when the Diocese of Malacca, which included Singapore, was raised to the status of an archdiocese, with Bishop Olçomendy now as Archbishop. 

Two years later in 1955, the Archdiocese of Malacca was converted into an Ecclesiastical Province, which was divided into three territories: the suffragan  Dioceses of Penang and  Kuala Lumpur and the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore, incorporating Johore, Singapore and Malacca, with Archbishop Michel Olçomendy as metropolitan . 

A separate Archdiocese since 1972

Finally, in 1972, political developments  required another reshuffle which ended almost 100 years of joint Singapore-Malaya administration. Kuala Lumpur became an archdiocese and head of a new province that comprised the Diocese of Penang and the new Diocese of Malacca-Johore which was detached from Singapore.  Singapore remained an archdiocese but without any suffragan and was directly subject yo the Holy See. 

In 1976, Archbishop Michel Olcomendy retired and on 22 April 1977, the last of the MEP bishops passed the baton over to Gregory Yong, the first Singaporean archbishop.   

The Bishop of Macau agreed to relinquish his authority over the Padroado mission in Singapore to the Archbishop of Singapore, a decision which the Holy See ratified in 1981.

Archbishop Yong was succeeded by Nicholas Chia, the first Archbishop born in the city-state and then, in 2013, by Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye, who became Cardinal in 2022.

Diplomatic relations with Holy See and Pope John Paul II’s visit

After the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1981, Singapore received the visit of Saint John Paul II on 20 November 1986 as part of his 32nd Apostolic Journey abroad, which took him to Bangladesh, Singapore, Fiji, New Zealand (18 November-1 December 1986).

A secular state in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society

Singapore is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, with a prevalence of Buddhists who make up around 43% of its population of 5.6 million and a significant Christian (nearly 20%) and Muslim (around 14%) presence and a smaller Hindu community. This pluralism has contributed to shape the relations between the state and religions.

Unlike neighbouring countries, Singapore is a secular state. The Constitution guarantees full religious freedom—to profess, practice and spread religious beliefs—provided that religious activities do not infringe the public order or morals or other people’s religious freedoms.

Another key principle enshrined in the Constitution is safeguarding religious harmony. This has been enforced through a law passed in 1990 that authorizes the Ministry of the Interior to issue restrictive orders against religious groups which incite hostility against members of other confessions or carry out subversive activities under the pretext of practicing a religion.

Religious policies in the city-state are oriented to promoting dialogue and collaboration with religions, especially in the field of education and in the social field. An example of this is the support given by the Government to the Inter-Religious Organization (Iro), a Singaporean NGO that promotes the sharing of different faith experiences.

The peaceful coexistence between religions is also favoured by the high rate of mixed marriages in the city-state. The Catholic Church also benefits from this situation.

Good relations between State and Catholic Church

The Church enjoys a good relationship with State authorities in Singapore, which established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1981.

These good relations were confirmed in 2015 by the then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the occasion of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of independence, and in 2016 during the official visit to the Vatican by the then President of the Republic, Tony Tan Keng Yam.

A vital Catholic community

With some 395,000 Catholics, the Catholic Church in Singapore is one of the most dynamic and vital in Southeast Asia.

Despite the diffusion of consumerist values and lifestyles, the state-city still has a high percentage of practicing faithful: half of the Catholic population regularly attends Sunday Mass, and churches are still full thanks to migrants who represent an important component of the local Church.

Recent data from the Singapore Statistics Office show that Christianity, and in particular Catholicism, is the only growing religion in the city-state. This vitality is confirmed by the active presence of the Church in the education and social care sectors.