St Theresa’s Home welcomes Pope Francis

By Delphine Allaire and Claudia Torres - Singapore

On his third day in Singapore – and the final day of his Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania – Pope Francis is set to visit St Theresa’s Home, a care centre for the elderly and the sick.

Ahead of the encounter with the Holy Father, the Home’s Director, Victor Seng, told Vatican News, “We are very blessed for the Pope to visit Saint Theresa’s Home. We are very honoured and privileged for the Pope to come here and see the old people.”

He explained that the Home cares for elderly people who are transferred from hospitals for long-term care when families are no longer able to care for them.

Mr. Seng noted that in the next few years, as many as 60–70 percent of Singaporeans will be over the age of 60. With younger people no longer having as many children, families find it more difficult to care for the elderly.

“I think part of our mission is to see to these people that are in need, the poorer people that have been neglected by society itself, so they probably have nowhere to go,” Mr. Seng said. “That is where they are actually being put into the Catholic home to be looked after.”

Asked about his hopes for the meeting with the Pope, Mr Seng said, “Moving forward [the papal visit] also forms a unity in terms of our faith. It also gives us the encouragement to look forward, to do something better.”

For the elderly cared for in the Home, “it also gives us a sense of the love, where the Pope is coming here also to bless all of us, to give us his love, so that whatever we are doing, we continue in the Spirit of Christ.”

Then, responding to a question about the contrast between the reality of “fragility” in a society as wealthy as Singapore, Mr. Seng said, “We will see, probably, a more focused unity in the Christian faith, more focused within the religious beliefs within Asia itself.”

Highlighting the cooperation among followers of different religions, he said, “What we all do is to love these people. And I think all religions practice and advocate the beautiful thing called love. And I think with that, I think we should be able to continue what God has given to look after these elderly.”

Finally, asked about the values of the Saint Theresa Home, Mr. Seng said the greatest value is “to give the best care and the love that we can share to all these elderly in the home, and to give them a happy and good life before God takes them back home.”