Sunday MARCH 5, 2017
SINGAPORE $0.70 cents / WEST MALAYSIA RM$2.10
MCI (P) 013/08/2016
PPS 201/04/2013 (022940)
Vol 67
No. 05
Archbishop William Goh, together with about 70 priests, celebrate the cathedral’s Dedication Mass on Feb 14.
‘The cathedral is mother of the abandoned, poor’ ... says Archbishop William Goh at cathedral’s Dedication Mass By Jared Ng The air was thick with anticipation as Catholics gathered for the historic Dedication Mass of the newly restored Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on Feb 14. The date was significant as it marked the 120th anniversary of the cathedral’s original dedication in 1897. As there were limited seats in the cathedral, most of the 2,500 participants viewed the three-hour celebration from a large tent outside while others peered through the building’s windows. Joining the 70 or so priests, and various Religious at the event, were guest-of-honour Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean; Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say; Mr Lim Boon Heng, cathedral restoration steering committee chairman; Council of Presidential Advisers chairman J.Y. Pillay and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. The celebration began with Archbishop William Goh and some priests blessing the cathedral, its compound and participants with holy water. After the Liturgy of the Word,
Archbishop Goh deposited the relics of St Laurent Imbert and St Francis Xavier into the altar. St Laurent Imbert visited Singapore in 1821, and was the inspiration behind the name of the cathedral. St Francis Xavier was a prominent missionary in Asia. Archbishop Goh then anoint-
ed the altar with chrism and incensed it. In his homily, Archbishop Goh likened the cathedral to an elderly mother whose children eventually left her. “Parents will understand. When you get older, your children will leave you. Some even migrate,” he said.
Similarly, the cathedral, the “Mother Church” of the archdiocese, gave “birth” to many parishes, and now has become “a church for visitors and tourists”. The cathedral is not and should not be a “museum”, he said, adding that when “people gather in the cathedral such as to-
The cathedral and all other churches in Singapore have to be ‘inclusive and universal. All are welcome!’ Archbishop Goh presents guest-of-honour Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean with a brick from the original cathedral building.
day, it should be an assembly of God’s people.” He stressed that the cathedral and all the other Catholic churches in Singapore have to be “inclusive and universal. All are welcome! The rich, the poor, believers, non-believers, those who are divorced and those with same-sex orientation.” Coming to church should also “lead us to a life of charity,” said Archbishop Goh. He highlighted the Homeless Jesus sculpture – a bronze artwork depicting a homeless Jesus on the cathedral grounds – and the cathedral’s social mission fund which gives food to the poor every Sunday. These “remind us that the cathedral is mother of the abandoned and poor,” said Archbishop Goh. At the end of the celebration, he presented DPM Teo with a brick from the orginal cathedral building, completed in 1847. Mr Lim Boon Heng and former cathedral rector Fr Adrian Anthony also received a similar brick, in appreciation of their work in the cathedral’s restoration.
– Archbishop William Goh n Continued on Page 2