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Our
Church's History (page 2)
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The
Church was finally completed in 1953, at a cost of
fifty-one thousand dollars. On 13 December 1953, amidst
much pomp and pageantry, the Church was blessed by the
Apostolic Delegate, Mgr. Lucas.
Thus was
born the parish, dedicated to Our Lady Star of the Sea (a
name suggested by Fr. Fortier and agreed to by the
Archbishop).
The
Catholic community had by then grown to about one thousand
and eight hundred, comprising mainly of Chinese,
Malayalees, Tamils and some Eurasians. In May 1954, the
first Rosary Devotion was held to a packed congregation. A
unique feature of this first devotion was that each decade
of the rosary was said in a different language - English,
Malayalam, Tamil and Teochew.
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Picture taken in
1953. It shows Our Lady Star of the Sea Church at
Sembawang Road.
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In June 1954, Fr.
Fortier went on leave and was subsequently posted to the Church of Our
Lady of Lourdes. Our Parish Priest for the next ten years was Fr. I.
Fernandez, followed by Fr. Bernard Binet from 1964 to 1968.
After the British
withdrawal from Singapore, the parish community dwindled to nine
hundred. The community grew slowly and with the growth came attendant
problems - the need to have a church hall, funds, parish unity, etc.
During Fr. Binet's tenure as Parish Priest, the Legion of Mary and a
Young Christian Workers group were established.
Fr. Amiotte-Suchet
Louis
(28 Aug 1917 to 17 Oct 1998) |
July 1968
saw the return of Fr. Fortier as Parish Priest. He
initiated an active Youth Group in 1980 and Sunday canteen
in 1982. Fr. Fortier retired as Parish Priest on 31
December 1986, when our present Parish Priest, Fr.
Amiotte-Suchet Louis was appointed.
On 26
August 1987, the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea was
informed by the authorities that "the premises and
the land are scheduled to be cleared by 31 December 1987
and you are hereby notified to move out by this date".
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Thus begun several
attempts to purchase a suitable piece of land in Yishun. Finally came
the offer by the HDB, the present site at Yishun St. 22, a 3,805 square
metre of land. The land was purchased by the Archdiocese on 6 March
1989.
Five architects were
invited to submit plans for a boat-shaped church. With the approval of
the Diocesan Finance Commission, Mr. Ho Kok Hoe's design was accepted.
Ho Kwong Yew & Sons (Chartered Architects) endorsed the contract
to build the new Church.
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ground-breaking ceremony was held on 6 January 1990 (Feast
of the Epiphany - the Magi following the Star to find the
baby Jesus, the Light of the World). After thanksgiving
prayers and blessing of the land, Archbishop Gregory Yong
lowered the anchor, symbol of the boat-shaped Church to
carry her 'passengers' to the shore of the Kingdom of God.
The
church was built at the cost of S$4,732,675, covered by
Parishioners and good-wishers' contributions. The
architect was Mr. Ho Kok Hoe, and the contractor, Project
Building Construction (headed by Mr B. H. Seah).
The
Archbishop Gregory Yong blessed the church at Yishun on 30
May 1992. The Parish today has a dynamic and vibrant
Catholic community of over five thousands and the signs
are, that it will continue to grow.
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Ground-breaking
ceremony by
Archbishop Gregory Yong.
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May the trials and
tribulations endured by our priests and early parishioners inspire
and enrich us spiritually and spur us on to greater achievements in
the service of, and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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