St. Joseph Church (Bukit Timah)
St. Joseph Church (Bukit Timah), What You Need To Know?
The Church celebrates St. Joseph, the labourer, on May 1. The connection is particularly poignant because the parish’s initial members were coolies and workers from the rubber, gambier, and pepper plantations. Fr. Anatole Mauduit established a chapel as a jungle mission station in 1846 to serve the Christian population in Kranji’s interior and spare them the arduous journey into town to attend Mass. The St. Joseph Church (Bukit Timah) parish community relocated to its current location in 1853, migrating from Kranji to Bukit Timah for a new beginning in an effort to escape the hardships of secret society harassment and persecution, a loss in agricultural productivity, and the constant threat of man-eating tigers.
Location
St. Joseph Church (Bukit Timah), known as Kranji, was constructed in 1846 by French missionaries Father Anatole Mauduit and dedicated to St. Joseph. Its target audience was the Chinese Catholic immigrant labourers who had travelled to Singapore to work on plantations after leaving China. It is one of the rare traditional churches with an adjoining cemetery and a tower resembling a pagoda. When Father Joachim Teng began serving at St. Joseph’s in 1949, the Church underwent a few alterations. Father Teng established the “St Joseph’s Farm,” is now the site of a sizable parking lot, and cared for numerous fruit trees and livestock there. To support the fruits and milk collected sold.
About
Catholics enjoy visiting the life-size Stations of the Cross statues that the Church built in 1991; this is especially true during Lent. In 1995, the columbarium for the parish was inaugurated and sanctified. The expansion of the little Catholic community in Kranji reflects the development of the broader Church in Singapore. The Catholic Theological Institute of Singapore, St. Francis Xavier Major Seminary, many schools, the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel’s residence, and St. Joseph’s Church are all part a complex of Catholic institutions in the neighbourhood.
Infant Baptism
RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)
Through a journey of faith formation, interested adults introduced to the Catholic way of life. To help and support the inquirers and converts toward the Sacraments of Initiation on Easter, they might become full members of the Roman Catholic Community social process entails several carefully phases punctuated by liturgical rites. Usually, a new journey starts two months after Easter.
Confirmation
The completeness of baptismal grace requires the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation. They are therefore under more pressure to propagate and uphold the religion by word and behaviour as authentic witnesses of Christ. CCC 1285
Baptised adults who have not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation are encouraged to participate in faith formation. RCIA registration is possible. Teenagers should refer to the Secondary Catechism section for Confirmation.
Medications For The Sick
The entire Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord for him to raise them and save them through the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayers of the priests. And she encourages them to freely join themselves to Christ’s suffering and death in the interests of the Church of God. CCC 1499. Before being admitted to the hospital, please touch a parish priest or the parish office if anointing is necessary before a procedure.
