Good Shepherd

Beginnings The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. Established in 1832 by missionaries from the Société des Missions étrangères de Paris, services were first held in the house of Denis Lesley McSwiney until 1833 when a modest wooden chapel on the site of the former Saint Joseph’s Institution (SJI) along Bras Basah Road was completed. As years passed, the chapel became too small and the cornerstone of the present church was laid in 1843. The church, designed by McSwiney, was blessed and opened by Father Jean-Marie Beurel on 6 June 1847. Father Beurel was also responsible for the founding of SJI and the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. The Good Shepherd Saint Laurent Imbert was the first Roman Catholic missionary to visit Singapore in 1821. The dedication of the church to the Good Shepherd stems from the note written by him to his fellow missionaries asking them to join him in surrendering to the authorities to save their flocks from extermination during a period of Christian persecution in Korea. He wrote: “In desperate circumstances, the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” They surrendered and the three of them were beheaded on 21 September 1839. News of this and their martyrdom reached Singapore when a name was being considered for the church and “Good Shepherd” was chosen. Today, the Cathedral houses the relics of Saint Laurent Imbert. A National Monument The Cathedral’s architecture is reminiscent of two London churches – Saint Paul’s, Covent Garden and Saint Martin-in-the-Fields. Its neo-Palladian porticoes and steeple are its most prominent features. Adorning the interior walls are 14 large antique oil paintings of the Way of the Cross that help the viewer meditate on the final moments of Jesus. The Cathedral also houses Singapore’s oldest pipe organ, a Bevington and Son instrument blessed in 1912. During World War II, the Cathedral was used as an emergency hospital and continues to be a centre for peace and refuge from the buzz of the city today. For its social, historic, cultural and architectural significance, the Cathedral was gazetted a national monument in 1973. Restoration Works This is Singapore’s oldest Roman Catholic Church, the seat of the Archbishop and a gazetted national monument since 1973, but through the 2000s the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was being shaken at its foundation, literally. Uneven soil settlement beneath its foundations was made worse by underground tunnelling nearby for the mass rapid transit system and construction work on the Singapore Management University campus next door. By 2006, there was no escaping the inevitable: the Cathedral was crumbling and desperately in need of repair. The plans were put on hold for another 7 years due to a lack of funds and because more time was needed to decide on the restoration, renovation, design and other work to be done. Finally the Cathedral closed its doors at the end of 2013 for repairs and renovation work on the main Church and the Rectory. A three-storey annex building and a basement would also be added to house prayer rooms, meeting rooms, a heritage centre and a crypt. There would be new communal space in a pedestrianised ground-level area and the grounds would be landscaped suitably too. The renovated Cathedral would be fully air-conditioned, with a new flooring, pews and colour scheme, and its prized pipe organ would be fully restored too. It was not an easy task to raise $40 million earmarked for the project but Catholics across Singapore had generously given their support through a variety of fund-raising drives. The restoration project was completed by end of 2016 and the Cathedral reopened on 20 November 2016. Former Rector of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd Fr. Robert Balhetchet, popularly known as Fr. Bob, was the Rector of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for over 20 years from 1980 to 2001. He was responsible for the Cathedral’s management and upkeep through the 1980s and 1990s, up until the end of the Jubilee Celebrations in January 2001. He was instrumental in the drawing up of the Moral Education Programme for schools in Singapore in the 1980s as part of an attachment with the Ministry of Education. Selected by Dr. Goh Keng Swee to helm the effort, he was regarded as the ‘First of Dr. Goh’s Wise Men’. Fr. Balhetchet was born on 19 August 1939 as the second of two boys. His family attended the Church of the Holy Family in Katong and were familiar with the parish priest, Fr Rene Ashness. It was to Fr. Ashness that the young Robert Balhetchet said “I want to be like you.” After completing his ‘O’ Levels in St Joseph’s Institution, he expressed the same desire again to Fr. Ashness who then brought him to speak with the Superior of the Minor Seminary in Punggol. Fr. Balhetchet enrolled in the Minor Seminary in 1954 and was ordained on 26 January 1964. After his ordination, Fr. Balhetchet was appointed Assistant Rector of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. Shortly after, he was sent to Rome to study Vatican II documents on ecclesiology – what it meant to be Church. He was awarded his doctorate at the age of 37 and sent to teach at his alma mater, College General, Penang. At age 39, Fr. Balhetchet was appointed by the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee, then Minister for Education and Deputy Prime Minister, to be in charge of preparing the curriculum and teaching materials for a revised national moral education programme. In 1980, still working on the programme, ‘Being and Becoming ‘, Fr. Balhetchet returned to Singapore and served as the Rector of the Cathedral. He was also a member of the planning committee behind the building of the St Francis Xavier Major Seminary in Singapore and chaplain of the Carmelite Convent. When Pope John Paul II visited Singapore in 1986 at the invitation of then President Mr. Wee Kim Wee, Fr. Balhetchet was the overall coordinator of the Papal Visit Committee. As Rector for more than two decades, Fr. Balhetchet knew that the Cathedral was much more than a building. Like every church, it was and is a place where God’s people gather to worship and share their lives with each other. The community of believers is the one that God calls to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and welcome the stranger. Long-time Cathedral staff and volunteers would agree that Fr. Balhechet liked to empower those who worked with him, and entrust them with work that would help them grow and come into their own. Cathedral staff Irene Goh said of him: “His character is such that he trusts you all the way. We appreciate that he trusts us”. Besides local Catholics, Fr. Balhechet saw it as his mission to minister to migrants, especially Filipinos and Koreans, by welcoming them and providing a place where they could feel at home. “I wanted to make them feel that the Church cared for them. Because if they can’t find a sense of belonging in the church, then where are they going to find it?” Fr. Balhetchet celebrated his Sacerdotal Golden Jubilee in 2014 at the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace. He passed away on 15 March 2016 at the age of 76.

"A" Queen Street Singapore 188533