Nicholas Gerald Chia Yeck Joo () (born 8 April 1938) DD,

STL STL may refer to: Communications * Standard telegraph level *Studio/transmitter link International law *Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a ...

was the third

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Singapore and the first Singapore-born clergyman to hold the office. He officially retired as Archbishop of Singapore on 18 May 2013, and is succeeded by

William Goh William Goh Seng Chye (born 25 June 1957) is a Singaporean prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as the fourth Archbishop of Singapore since 2013. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis on 27 August 2022. Biography Early l ...

. He was educated at both Montfort Junior and

Secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

schools. Archbishop Chia received his

Episcopal Consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on 7 October 2001 at the

Singapore Indoor Stadium The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...

. His consecration was attended by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr

S. R. Nathan Sellapan Ramanathan (; 3 July 1924 – 22 August 2016),. often known as S. R. Nathan, was a Singaporean politician who served as the sixth president of Singapore between 1999 and 2011. He was also the longest-serving president in Singapore's hi ...

, state dignitaries, sixteen bishops, one hundred and ninety priests and an estimated 11,000 Roman Catholics, together with representatives of the major religions in Singapore. His Principal

Consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

was

Adriano Bernardini Adriano Bernardini (born 13 August 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who occupied positions in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from the 1970s until he retired in 2017. His first assignment as Apostolic Nuncio was to Bangl ...

, and the Principal Co-Consecrators were Archbishops

Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland Gregory (formerly G ...

and Anthony Soter Fernandez. The

Cathedral of the Good Shepherd The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore, built in 1847. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District. Bounded by the parallel Queen and Victoria Streets, and Bras Basah Road, t ...

was formerly the seat of Archbishop Chia before retiring and the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of Singapore The Archdiocese of Singapore (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Singaporensis'') is an exempt archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. Its territory includes all that is under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Singapore. Its current ...

Biodata

*(1938) Born on 8 April, the third son in a family of six children. *(1955–1957) Studied in St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Singapore. *(1958–1963) Studied in

College General The College General ( ms, Seminari Tinggi Katolik) is a Roman Catholic interdiocesan seminary located in Tanjung Bungah, Penang, Malaysia. The college's foundation can be traced back to the 1665 establishment of the Seminary of Saint Joseph in A ...

(Major Seminary), Penang, Malaysia. *(1964) Ordained priest at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Singapore on 26 January. *(1964–1966) Assistant priest, Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Singapore. *(1966–1967) Studied Mandarin in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. *(1967–1969) Assistant priest, Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Singapore. *(1969–1971) Obtained licentiate in moral theology from the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, Rome. *(1972) Did comparative studies on religions in Rome. *(1973–1977) Lecturer and Procurator at College General (Major Seminary), Penang, Malaysia. *(1978–1990) Director of the Singapore Pastoral Institute. *(1980–2001) Parish priest, Church of the Holy Cross, Singapore. *(1983–1996) External lecturer at the St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Singapore. *(1990–2001) Chaplain to Catholic students in the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

. *(1995–2001) Chancellor and Procurator of the Archdiocese of Singapore. *(2001–2013) Archbishop of Singapore. *(2013–) Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore *(19 February 2014) Suffered a fall the day before, resulting in intracranial haemorrhage and a moderate coma. In intensive care at Mount Alvernia as of 19 February 2014. *(7 April 2018) Celebration held for the occasion of Archbishop Emeritus Chia's 80th birthday.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of Archbishop Chia consists of a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

upon an archiepiscopal cross surmounted by a green

galero A (plural: ; from la, galērum, originally connotating a helmet made of skins; cf. '' galea'') is a broad-brimmed hat with tasselated strings which was worn by clergy in the Catholic Church. Over the centuries, the red ''galero'' was restricte ...

with 10 gold fiocchi (tassels) suspended on each side. These are standard ecclesiastical heraldic devices indicating the coat of arms is that of an archbishop. The flame and dove on the left half of the shield represents the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

. The open book on the right half depicts the Word of God. The fish and wavy blue lines represent Singapore and the Archdiocese. The coat of arms also include Archbishop's motto ''Omnia Omnibus'', which is Latin for ''all things to all men'' (1 Corinthians 9:22). The coat of arms was designed by a team from the Catholic Audio-Visual Centre, Singapore.

Appointment as Archbishop

Prior to his appointment as Archbishop, Archbishop Chia was the Parish Priest to the Church of the Holy Cross. When Archbishop Gregory Yong retired,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Archbishop Chia to the office, other candidates for the office were current Vicar General

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Eugene Vaz and then

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St Francis Xavier Major Seminary, Fr. Anthony Ho who has since retired. (No attribution) Archbishop Chia reached the retirement age of 75 in 2013 and submitted his resignation to the Holy See. His resignation was accepted by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

at Noon (Rome Time), 18 May 2013, 18:00 SGT. He is succeeded by Archbishop

. In February 2014, the Archbishop Emeritus sustained head injuries in a bad fall and was in a coma for more than a month. As he did not recover fully from his injuries, he continues to be cared for in one of Singapore's Catholic nursing homes.

Notes

References

*Eugene Wijeysingha (2006), ''Going Forth... – The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819–2004'', Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore, *Episcopal Ordination of Reverend Father Nicholas Chia Souvenir Magazine *Archbishop Nicholas Chia Souvenir Publication, Church of the Holy Cross

External links