Church of Saint Alphonsus (Novena Church)

Church of Saint Alphonsus

Novena Church
Basic information
Location 300 Thomson Road Singapore
Geographic coordinates 1°19′19″N 103°50′34″E / 1.321812°N 103.842786°E / 1.321812; 103.842786
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Rite Latin
District Archdiocese of Singapore
Architectural description
Completed 1950 (Current Building)

The Church of Saint Alphonsus, or Novena Church as it is more popularly known, is a Catholic church in Singapore located at 300 Thomson Road. It is not a parish church and is under the care of the Redemptorists.[1] The name Novena Church refers to the novena prayer devotion,[2][3] for which this church is famous. At the Church of Saint Alphonsus the Saturday novena services usually attract more people than the Sunday Mass services (Catholics generally go to their own parishes to attend Sunday Mass).[4] Having popularised the novena devotion sessions in Singapore, it draws people from the entire country and beyond. The devotions gave name to the surrounding area, Novena.[5]

History

The Church of Saint Alphonsus was founded in 1935.

The current church was built in 1950 and was designed by the architectural firm Swan and Maclaren. Porticoes were added in the late 1950s to cater to the large and growing number of devotees coming for the popular Saturday novena devotions. The side walls that existed earlier in the main church hall were removed and grills added.[6]

Novena devotions

The novena devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a popular novena devotion held each Saturday and which regularly draws thousands of devotees from all faiths to the Church. They were started by the Redemptorists in 1949 in a small chapel and initially saw only a handful of people attending the sessions. However, news of the devotion and that of many answered petitions soon led to the rapid rise in the number of devotees attending. News of the devotion were mostly spread by word of mouth, but there were the few car stickers distributed by the Church with the caption "Have You Been To The Novena?".[7][8] As such, the increase in the number of devotees meant that the church building had to be expanded and the porticoes at the sides of the main Church building were added as a result. Currently, there are 10 half-hourly sessions held each Saturday with each session drawing on average 3,000 devotees, with it not being uncommon to find a sizeable number of non-Catholics among the many devotees.[9]

Annual procession

The annual procession was started on 21 June 1953 and it has been held every year since on the 1st Sunday of September in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.[10] It is so popular that it regularly draws devotees from all faiths and backgrounds in the tens of thousands, with there being 30,000 devotees at one point in 1970.[11] The church celebrated its 61st Annual Procession at the present site before the church closes for redevelopment. There would be a possibility that the procession would go on after the church open in 2 years time.

Redevelopment plans

In 2011, it was announced that the existing Church building would undergo major renovations, with the Church being expanded in order to be able to cope with the numerous faithful that turn up for the novena devotions every Saturday.[12] It has been estimated that the total cost for building the infrastructure of the new Church would be $45 million (SGD). The church has closed from 1 October 2014 for a period of 2 years. Saturday novena devotions will be at Risen Christ and masses will be at St Joseph Institution Junior

Priests

Rector: Rev Fr Peter Wee, CSsR
Priests:

Rev Fr Simon TanS, CSsR
Rev Fr Vincent Low, CSsR
Rev Fr Paul Lim, CSsR
Rev Fr Paul Pang, CSsR
Rev Fr Philip Lai, CSsR
Rev Fr Clement Lee, CSsR
Rev Fr Jacob Ong, CSsR
Bro Celestine Toh, CSsR
Bro Albert Khoo, CSsR
Bro Bernard Heaney, CSsR[13]

References

  1. ↑ Erbin Fernandez Catechesis in the Archdiocese of Singapore: A Multiple Case Study ... - 2007 - Page 118 "The Church of St. Alphonsus is a Church of devotion dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and is administered by the Redemptories Congregation. It is popularly known as the Novena Church and literally thousands of Catholics and ..."
  2. ↑ Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore: From ... 2012 - Page 68 "Insular Southeast Asia, of which Singapore may be said to be its nexus, did not allow it to be close-minded. ... In the Roman Catholic Church, Chinese syncretism appears in the form of novena practice where many Chinese offer prayers and ...
  3. ↑ Lynn Pan, The encyclopedia of the Chinese overseas Chinese Heritage Center (Singapore) - 1998 "In Singapore and Malaysia, indigenous Malay animism is acknowledged and affirmed in Chinese Religion by the presence of ... Buddhist temples (Theravada, Vajrayana and so forth) and even the Catholic Saint Alphonsus (Novena) Church."
  4. ↑ Peter C. Phan Christianities in Asia -- 2011 Page 90 ... the Mother of Jesus (the weekly Saturday novena liturgies in Singapore are more popular than Sunday liturgies).
  5. ↑ Novena Church History:Urban Redevelopment Authority
  6. ↑ Novena Church History:Urban Redevelopment Authority
  7. ↑ Thousands Find The Courage To Live-At This Chapel on the Hili Part 1: The Straits Times
  8. ↑ Thousands Find The Courage To Live-At This Chapel on the Hili Part 2: The Straits Times
  9. ↑ 30,000 of Various Religions Flock to Novena: The Straits Times
  10. ↑ Annual Procession History
  11. ↑ 30,000 at Catholic Ceremony at Novena Church: The Straits Times
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ of St. Alphonsus (Novena Church) (1935)
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