The Church of Saint Alphonsus, or Novena Church as it is more popularly known, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in Singapore located at 300 Thomson Road. It is not a parish church and is under the care of the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

. The name Novena Church refers to the

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

prayer devotion, for which this church is famous. At the Church of Saint Alphonsus the Saturday novena services usually attract more people than the Sunday Mass services (Catholics generally go to their own

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es to attend Sunday Mass). Having popularised the novena devotion sessions in Singapore, it draws people from the entire country and beyond. The devotions gave name to the surrounding area,

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

History

The Church of Saint Alphonsus was founded in 1935. The current church was built in 1950 and was designed by the architectural firm Swan and Maclaren. Porticoes were added in the late 1950s to cater to the large and growing number of devotees coming for the Saturday novena devotions. The side walls that existed earlier in the main church hall were removed and grilles added. After being closed for three years for further renovations, the church reopened on 29 September 2017.

Novena devotions

The novena devotions to

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon with an alleged Marian apparition. The icon is believed to have o ...

is a popular novena devotion held each Saturday and which regularly draws thousands of devotees from all faiths to the Church. They were started by the

in 1949 in a small chapel and initially saw only a handful of people attending the sessions. However, news of the devotion and reports of many answered petitions soon led to the rapid rise in the number of devotees attending. News of the devotion were mostly spread by word of mouth, but there were the few car stickers distributed by the Church with the caption "Have You Been To The Novena?". The increase in the number of devotees required the church building to be expanded and the porticoes at the sides of the main Church building were added as a result. Currently, there are 10 half-hourly sessions held each Saturday with each session drawing on average 3,000 devotees, with it not being uncommon to find a sizeable number of non-Catholics among the many devotees.

Annual procession

The annual procession was started on 21 June 1953 and it has been held every year since on the 1st Sunday of September in honour of

. It is so popular that it regularly draws devotees from all faiths and backgrounds in the tens of thousands, with there being 30,000 devotees at one point in 1970. The church celebrated its 61st Annual Procession at the present site before the church closed for redevelopment.

Redevelopment plans

In 2011 it was announced that the existing Church building would undergo major renovations, with the Church being expanded in order to be able to cope with the numerous faithful that turn up for the novena devotions every Saturday. The total cost for building the New Church, the Pastoral Centre, the New Admin Block and the underground carparks was $55.4 Million (SGD). The church closed on 1 October 2014, and reopened on 29 September 2017. The Blessing and Opening of Novena Church was Celebrated by Archbishop William Goh on 25 October 2017.

References

{{Churches in Singapore Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore Redemptorist churches Roman Catholic churches completed in 1950 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Singapore