AD 1853
The inscription on
the foundation stone:
"The
first stone of this Portuguese Roman Catholic Church
at Singapore consecrated to the service of the Almighty God
in honour of the Holy Virgin and St. Joseph was laid by the Vicar
Vincente de Santa Catarina on the 14th day of December, A.D. 1851".
at Singapore consecrated to the service of the Almighty God
in honour of the Holy Virgin and St. Joseph was laid by the Vicar
Vincente de Santa Catarina on the 14th day of December, A.D. 1851".
The Church of Saint
José was an attractive building in the classical style with a portico
supported by four columns. It had a low square tower and bell turret.
Saint Joseph's
Church is an architectural marvel structured in the form of a Latin
cross and boasts beautifully crafted stained-glass windows. Another
striking feature about this Gothic building is its central octagonal
tower, capped by a dome and flanked by two smaller towers.
New buildings were added to the Church in 1938, 1954 and 1956.
On the Church website there is a section on the History of the Church and in part it reads:
1825 Father Francisco da
Silva Pinto e Maia of the Congregation of Missions from Macau
arrived in
Singapore and Founded the Portuguese mission. He
requested and obtained ecclesiastical jurisdiction from the
Archbishop
of Goa over
the catholics in Singapore. In the same year,
he obtained 12 lots of land
between Victoria street and Queen street from Samuel George
Bonham, Assistant to the Resident of Singapore. Six lots of land
were
granted gratis to the Mission and six lots were bought by Father Maia.
Fabian - the volunteer tour guide from PMB - was the best tour guide we could have had for all three Churches that we toured. His knowledge was amazing and made the tour that much more interesting by sharing with us his personal experiences!
Thank you Fabian for being such a great guide and to the
Preservation of Monuments Board for putting on these tours for the public to enjoy.
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