Roman Catholic Church in Singapore
The Roman Catholic Church in Singapore is a small diaspora congregation with an old tradition.
Their origins can be found in the Portuguese colonization of the 16th century , especially in the diocese of Malacca founded in 1558 , and therefore largely coincide with the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia .
It was not until December 18, 1972, that the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore , headed by the Paris Mission , was divided into a Malaysian and a Singaporean part. This is how the immediate Archdiocese of Singapore was created , which is only 639 km² in size.
The steadily increasing number of Catholics in 2002 was already 155,537 believers, who make up 3.8% of the country's population and live in 30 parishes . These are led by 69 diocesan priests , supported by 61 religious priests and 220 religious sisters .
Apostolic Delegates and Nuncio in Singapore
Singapore and the Holy See have had full diplomatic relations since 1999, after having had diplomatic missions with an apostolic delegate since 1968 . The Holy See is represented by the Apostolic Nuncio . Delegates or nuncios were:
- Jean Jadot (1968–1971)
- Giovanni Moretti (1971–1978)
- Silvio Luoni (1978–1980)
- Renato Raffaele Martino (1980–1986)
- Alberto Tricarico (1987-1993)
- Luigi Bressan (1993-1999)
- Adriano Bernardini (1999-2003)
- Salvatore Pennacchio (2003-2010)
- Leopoldo Girelli (2011-2017)
- Marek Zalewski (since 2018)
See also
Web links
- Homepage of the Archdiocese of Singapore (English)
- Entry on Catholic Church in Singapore on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on July 27, 2014.