St Joseph's Church, Singapore

St Joseph's Church, Singapore (9 July 2006)


The St Joseph's Church (GPS: 1.29835, 103.85315) is a Roman Catholic church along Victoria Street in Rochor, Singapore. It was built by the Portuguese Mission constructed in the Gothic style. The foundation stone was laid in 1904, and the construction took place from 1906 to 1912.

The Portuguese Mission in Singapore was founded when Father Francisco da Silva Pinto e Maia of Porto, head of the Portuguese Mission, arrived in Singapore from Goa in 1826. When he died, he willed some money for the purpose of building a church. His funds were augmented by a gift from the King of Portugal. The result church building was called the Church of São José. It was built by Father Francisco's successor, Reverend Vincente de Sante Catharina, between 1851 and 1853.

The Church of São José was pulled down in 1906, to erect the present building, the St Joseph's Church, on the same site. The building was designed by the famous Singapore architect firm of Swan & Maclaren. It was built in the Gothic style, in the form of a Latin cross. The church has beautiful stained-glass windows.

Located within the compound of St Joseph's Church was the St Anthony's Boys' and Girls' School. It was founded in 1879 by Father José Pedro Sta. Anna da Cunha as the St Anna's School in Middle Road. It moved into the church compound in 1886 and changed its name. The Portuguese Mission handed over St Joseph's Church to the Archdiocese of Singapore in 1999. The church is noted for its annual Good Friday procession, during which Christ's Passion is honoured.

St Joseph's Church building was gazetted a National Monument of Singapore on 14 January 2005.

St Joseph's Church is on the Map of Victoria Street, Singapore

St Joseph's Church is on the Map of Churches in Singapore

St Joseph's Church, Singapore (7 July 2011)


St Joseph's Church, Singapore (7 July 2011)


St Joseph's Church, Singapore (9 July 2006)


Side view of St Joseph's Church. (9 July 2006)


Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St Joseph's Church. (9 July 2006)


Rear side of St Joseph's Church. (9 July 2006)


Plaque detailing the gazetting of St Joseph's Church as a National Monument. (7 July 2011)

St Joseph's Church on Google Street View

St Joseph's Church (Apr 2018)

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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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