Church of the Sacred Heart, Singapore

Church of the Sacred Heart, Singapore (30 July 2017)


Church of the Sacred Heart (GPS: 1.296, 103.84361) is a Roman Catholic church on Tank Road, in the Museum Planning Area of downtown Singapore. To its left is the Teochew Building. The church was established by Father Vincent Gazeau for the needs of the Cantonese- and Hakka-speaking congregation of Catholics, who until then were worshipping at the Church of Sts Peter at Paul, which catered to the general Chinese Catholics.

Father Gazeau established a building fund in 1908 while the search was on for a suitable site. It is said that the site of an abandoned soya sauce factory became available following a novena - nine separate days of prayers - over the matter. Funding came largely from the Chinese speaking congregation, with various members also donating to specific items such as the teak pews, baptismal font and stain glass.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is two storeys tall. It has a spire that adds another two storeys over it. The building was designed by French priest-architect Father Louis Lambert in the French Baroque style. There are two side alters to Our Lady of Lourdes and St Joseph, complete with life-size statues of the both that were sculptured by Parisian artists.

The Church of the Sacred Heart did not fully escape the ravages of the Second World War. The firing of Japanese shells on the afternoon of 15th February 1942 destroyed its ceiling, pews and fittings, all of which were repaired or rebuilt after the war. The church itself underwent several rounds of renovations in 1969, 1985, 2002 and 2007, in keeping with the time. During the most recent renovations, a columbarium garden was added behind the church, making it the third parish in Singapore with a columbarium.

Contact

Church of the Sacred Heart
111 Tank Road,
Singapore 238069.
Phone: +65 6737 9285

Feast day of the Church of the Sacred Heart is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which falls 19 days after Pentecost Sunday.

Taking the MRT to Church of the Sacred Heart

The Church of the Sacred Heart is easiest to reach using the Fort Canning MRT Station (DT20), which is 450 meters away on foot. Second nearest is the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station (CC1/NE6/NS24) 750 meters away.

Church of the Sacred Heart is on the Map of Tank Road, Singapore

Church of the Sacred Heart is on the Map of Churches in Singapore

Church of the Sacred Heart Singapore on Google Street View

Church of the Sacred Heart Singapore (Dec 2022)

References

List of Churches in Singapore; Discover Singapore

 Sights in Singapore

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Streets of Singapore and Map of Singapore Streets

Singapore MRT and Map of Singapore MRT

Postal Districts of Singapore and Map of Singapore Postal Districts

Planning Areas of Singapore and Map of Singapore Planning Areas

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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