Church of the Holy Family

Officially known as the Church of the Holy Family but affectionately called the 'Katong Church' or the 'Katong Catholic Church' by the older generations, Holy Family was the first Roman Catholic Church built along the eastern coastline of Singapore. Like the holy family of Nazareth, the parish started from very humble beginnings: worship and prayers were conducted in a makeshift hut made by the LaSalle brothers. Consecrated in November 1923 as the Chapel of the Holy Family on a plot of land donated by a wealthy Eurasian, James Scheerder, the faith community expanded exponentially in the two decades before the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. Lured by the presence of Catholic missionary schools, a more vibrant faith community and the fascination of living near the beach, many Eurasians moved to set up homes in eastern Singapore. At the same time, many Straits-born Chinese or Peranakans living in the town areas also made the move to Katong. They were converted and became part of the growing congregation at Holy Family. By the late 1920s, it was plainly evident that the chapel was too small to house the community of worshippers and plans got underway to erect a new building on the existing site. Completed in 1932, the new Holy Family parish became a vibrant focal point for the Eurasian and Peranakan communities in Katong, especially on Sundays when parishioners would gather in the bakeries and coffee shops nearby after mass. These two communities brought with them an eclectic blend of culture, food and fashion unique to Katong; so prevalent was the influence of the Peranakan community that today, the Church of the Holy Family remains the sole Catholic Church in Singapore to celebrate Peranakan masses on the eve of every Lunar New Year. In April 1936, Rev Fr. Ruaudel was appointed Parish Priest of the new parish and the first Christmas Midnight Mass was celebrated that same year. Until 1961, the Church of the Holy Family remained the only Roman Catholic church attending to the spiritual needs of the faithful in the eastern side of this island. In 1999, a massive reconstruction of the church that took some two years to complete was undertaken at a cost of more than $10 million. A new church building with a sixteen-panel stain glass imported from Italy was installed on the back of the building. The front sculptures of the church building are the only parts that were retained from the original church.

6 Chapel Road Singapore 429509