Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Singapore

Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in front of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hougang, Singapore.
Basic information
Location 1259 Upper Serangoon Road Singapore 534795
Affiliation Roman Catholic
District Archdiocese of Singapore
Website http://nativitychurchsingapore.org

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Chinese: 圣母圣诞堂) is a Catholic church in Singapore. It is located at Upper Serangoon Road in the Hougang Planning Area, within Singapore's North-East Region.

The church was first founded in 1852 and constructed in 1901, and is the oldest Catholic church for the Teochew community in Serangoon.

History

The origins of this Catholic church can be traced to an attap (thatched roof) chapel that was built in 1853 on Upper Serangoon Road, its congregation comprising mainly Teochew farmers living in Serangoon and Punggol. Subsequently, a brick chapel was built in the area and named St Mary's Church. Father Jean Casimir Saleilles, parish priest from 1881 to 1911, was responsible for building the present church in 1901.[1]

Father Saleilles also helped to spread the Catholic faith to Johor. He founded the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (Johor), later renamed the Church of the Immaculate Conception and subsequently designated a cathedral. His good relationship with Sultan Ibrahim of Johor let the Sultan to present the Church in Johor, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Singapore, each a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church of the Nativity's statue still stands in front of the church building.

The Church of the Nativity founded many educational institutions in the region, including the Holy Innocents' High School, Hai Sing Girls' High School (now Hai Sing Catholic School), Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Punggol (now CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity), and Montfort School (now Montfort Junior School and Montfort Secondary School).

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was gazetted as a national monument on 14 January 2005.

Architecture

Architecturally, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was based on the Gothic designs of Father Charles Benedict Nain, who was also the architect of the Chapel of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus and the façade of St Joseph's Institution.

Current Priests

Music

From humble beginnings, the music community of the Church strengthened and grown through the years. Today, the Church holds a Yamaha Electone STAGEA and a KORG Clavinova. A distinctive feature in Singapore is the high ceilings of the church which creates an acoustic hall ambience.

Most musicians of the church are self-learned musicians and have been serving in the Church for years. Musical knowledge is a passed down through the generations.

Choirs

There are five English choirs and other few Chinese, Teochew and Korean choirs.

The five English choirs:

References

  1. ↑ John Bertram Van Cuylenburg Singapore through sunshine and shadow 1982- Page 20 "The Roman Catholic church at the junction of Ponggol and Upper Serangoon Roads was a small building in the early part of the century"."
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