The diocese of Malacca was transferred to the Vicariate Apostolic of Ava and Pegu[7][8] in 1838 and then the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam[9] in 1840. In 1841, the church was placed under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam that was erected from the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam. Initially called the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam, the name was changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of the Malay Peninsula and finally the Vicariate Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore.
In 1972, the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore was split into the Diocese of Malacca-Johor and the Archdiocese of Singapore with the Archdiocese of Singapore coming under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See.
From 1838 to 1981, there was dual jurisdiction situation in Singapore, one tracing authority from the Vicariate Apostolate of Siam down to the present Archdiocese of Singapore and the other with the authority from the Portuguese Mission first from the Archdiocese of Goa and then the Diocese of Macau. This was a legacy of the padroado pronouncement in the 16th century. Dual jurisdiction was ended in 1981, when the Portuguese Mission handed over St Joseph's Church to the Archdiocese of Singapore and, thus, all of Singapore's territories was brought under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore.
Ordinaries
Diocese of Malacca
(1558–1576) Jorge de Santa Luzia
(1579–1601) João Ribeiro Gaio
(1604–1612) Cristovão da Sá e Lisboa
(1613–1632) Gonçalvo (Gonzalo) da Silva
(1637–1638) António do Rosário
Sede vacante (1637–1691)
(1691–1701) Antonio a Saint Theresia
(1701–1738) Emmanuel a Santo Antonio
(1738–1743) Antonio de Castro
(1746–1748) Miguel de Bulhões e Souza
(1748–1760 Geraldo de São José
Sede vacante (1760–1782)
(1782–1785) Alexandre da Sagrada Familia Ferreira da Silva
Roman Catholic population: 303,000 (including PRs, Expats and Immigrants)
Churches: 32
Seminary: 1
Diocesan Priests: 71
Religious Priests: 71
Religious Brothers: 36
Religious Sisters: 166
Diocesan Seminarians: 12
Baptisms: 3521
Catechumens: 895
Marriages: 977
Charitable and Social Institutions: 18
Educational Institutions: 54 Schools, 53,124 Students
Key office holders
Following his appointment, William Goh made key appointments:[10]
Vicar General (Pastoral), Ambrose Vaz
Vicar General (Administration and Religious), Peter Zhang CDD
Chancellor, Terence Pereira
Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation, Terence Pereira
Financial Administrator, Clement Chen
Churches
The archdiocese is divided into five district deaneries covering the entire city-state of Singapore, namely the City District, East District, West District, North District and Serangoon District.
Out of the thirty-two churches, three churches in the City District are not parishes, namely the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Saint Joseph's Church and the Church of Saint Alphonsus.
Church of Saint Vincent de Paul – 301 Yio Chu Kang Road
Church of the Transfiguration – 51 Punggol Central
Seminary
St Francis Xavier Major Seminary
Controversies
Madonna's Rebel Heart concert
In February 2016, the Church's advice to congregants not to attend Madonna's Rebel Heart concert, the pop singer's first in Singapore, sparked controversy. In a circular, Archbishop Goh warned Christians not to support “the ‘pseudo arts’ that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography, contamination of the mind of the young, abusive freedom, individualism at the expense of the common good, vulgarity, lies and half-truths”.[11]
Expressing concern about Madonna’s "blasphemous music" and her "disrespectful use of Catholic/Christian symbols", the archbishop said he appreciated that “the task of the government in balancing freedom of the arts and public sensitivities is a challenging one”, but warned that “in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore, we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favour of artistic expression at the expense of respect for one’s religion, especially in these times of heightened religious sensitivities, particularly among active practitioners of religions”.[12] “There is no neutrality in faith; one is either for or against. Being present (at these events) in itself is a counter witness," the archbishop added.[13]
As a debate ensued over whether the Church was imposing its views on the public, other Christian bodies including the National Council of Churches of Singapore, the Anglican church and LoveSingapore, began issuing similar statements.[14][15] The protests did not end with any change on the part of the Media Development Authority which had already rated the concert R18 for its sexually suggestive content and scrapped a song for "religiously sensitive content".[16]
