Singapore: Visita Iglesia 2024

We visited Singapore during the Lenten season and right before Holy Week 2024. For the uninitiated, for us Roman Catholics Holy Week is from Holy Monday until Easter Sunday. The most 'holy days' are Maundy Thursday (The Last Supper), Good Friday (our Lord Jesus died on the Cross), Black Saturday (Easter vigil) and Easter Sunday (The Resurrection).

On Maundy Thursday after the Last Supper mass, there is the tradition of visiting 7 Churches called Visita Iglesia. It is a prayerful time for meditation and  reflection and we also pray the Way of the Cross novena. We were pressed for time so we managed to visit only 3 churches for our mini Visita Iglesia, Singapore edition.

St. Joseph's Church on Victoria Street in Singapore's central business district was built by Portuguese missionaries. It was also known as "The Eurasian Church" as it mostly catered to the Portuguese and Malacca Eurasian lineage community. 

Church of Saints Peter and Paul on Queen Street is within the Bras Basah Bugis area of Singapore's arts district. An airy vaulted interior with beautiful stained glass windows, it is Singapore's second oldest Catholic Church and  declared a national monument in 2003.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on Queen Street is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore, the seat of the Archbishop and declared a national monument in 1973. This church is where we heard mass during our Singapore stint from 1991 to 1995. It is within walking distance from the City Hall MRT station and the Raffles City mall where we would have lunch after hearing mass on Sundays.