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Cathedral of the Good Shepherd

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, stands at the junction of Queen Street and Bras Basah Road. It is the earliest Catholic church in Singapore and is today the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archbishop. The foundation stone for the Cathedral was laid on 18 June 1843 and construction was completed by 1847.

History
Raffles gave land at Bras Basah for the Catholic Church as early as 1822. However, it was only with the arrival of Rev. Fr. J. B. Boucho in 1832 that the  the first Catholic chapel was built there. The wood and attap construction was built at a cost of $700, with the money raised through public subscription. The old site at No. 3 Bras Basah Road, was later converted into a school which became St. Joseph's Institution. In February 1843, a dynamic French priest, Rev. Fr. Jean-Marie Beurel managed to convince the colonial government to provide the Catholic Mission with a plot of land diagonally opposite, at the corner of Queen Street and Bras Basah Road. The plot was to become the location for the Church of the Good Shepherd. The foundation stone was laid on 18 June 1843 by John Conolly, a merchant resident in Singapore.

Description
Denis Lesley McSwiney apparently competed with John Turnbull Thomson for the design of this new church, with McSwiney's design chosen because his had apparently been cheaper. It was built at a cost just above $18,000, in Renaissance style with the traditional cruciform plan and Roman Doric pillars. Father Beurel who had helped set up the early classes at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, was also instrumental in establishing this, the earliest Catholic Church. He blessed the church on 6 June 1846.

In 1847, the distinguished water colourist, Charles Alexander Dyce, added a tower and spire which was modelled after the J. T. Thomson spire of the St Andrew's Church nearby. The Antwerp marble paving was added in 1860 and the nave extended in 1888. The Archbishop's Residence was designed by Father Charles Nain. The church was originally part of the Diocese of Malacca. In 1888, with the growing Catholic population in Singapore, the church was raised to the status of a cathedral and on 14 February 1897, the Bishop of Malacca, the Reverend Rene Fee consecrated the church after all bills were settled. The relics of St. Laurent Imbert, the first priest to visit Singapore (later martyred in Korea), are preserved in the Cathedral.

Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, 4 Queen Street, S.188533.
Completed:1847.
Architect: Denis Lesley McSwiney.
Owner: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore.
Gazetted: 6 July 1973.



Author
Bonny Tan



References 
Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 274). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 915.957 EDW)

Liu, G. (1996). In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore (pp. 166-171). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 725.94095957 LIU)

Tyers, R. K. (1993). Ray Tyers' Singapore: Then and now (p. 60). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TYE) 


Further Readings
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd preservation guidelines. (1992). Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority.
(Call no.: RSING 363.69095957 CAT) 

The information in this article is valid as at 1997 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>Religious Buildings
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>Educational Buildings
Catholic church buildings--Singapore
Historic buildings--Singapore
Singapore--History--1819-1867
Arts>>Architecture>>Religious buildings
Arts>>Architecture>>Educational buildings



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