Churches in Singapore

St Andrew's Cathedral is the largest and oldest Anglican church in Singapore. It is a Neo-Gothic architectural landmark standing magnificently in the Civic District of Singapore. With its white-stone walls, sky rising spire, lancet-shaped windows, intricate embellishments, and colourfully stained glass windows, it is an awe-inspiring beauty.

Gazetted a National Monument in 2005, the St. Joseph’s Church has been known to hold contemporary art exhibitions within its Gothic-inspired walls. The church has been built in the shape of a Latin cross with a wooden barrel-vault ceiling and stained glass details, a welcome sight amongst Victoria Street’s concrete jungle.

Singapore’s first rural church, the Church of St. Teresa was recognised as a National Monument in 2009. Built largely to cater to Singapore’s Hokkien speaking community, the structure is based on Montmarte’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart accommodating features of the Romano-Byzantine style.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on Queen Street is the oldest Catholic church in Singapore, built between 1843 and 1847 and the mother church of the archdiocese. Its neoclassical front follows the London churches of the period, and a long restoration closed it for three years before it reopened in 2016. It stands a few minutes from St Andrew's, the Anglican cathedral on this list.

The only church in Singapore to offer a mass in Teochow, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded in 1898 to foster ties between Catholics and the Teochew community in the country. Having played a prominent role in educating the poor masses, the church stands attached to several schools today.

More popularly known as the Novena Church, this wonder of Gothic architecture is a Catholic Church in Singapore popular for its novena prayer devotion. Its novena services on Saturday garner crowds from around the country and even the world. Built in the 1950s, this Church has undergone several renovations to attain its present francigenum opus form.

Our Lady of the Lourdes Church is a pinnacle of secularism and acceptance in the culture of Singapore. Established in 1888 as the first Tamil Catholic Church in Singapore, it now welcomes people of all faiths and conducts sermons in English, Tamil and Sinhalese. The neo-Gothic wonder has been modelled after its namesake in France and is truly a sight to behold.

Briefly used as the Vatican’s embassy in Singapore, the Church of the Sacred Heart is one of the oldest Archdiocese parishes in the world. It is famously known for events held on special feast days such as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and All Souls’ Day. The versatile establishment was founded in 1910 and remains one of the most important Roman-Catholic churches.

Located at the junction of East Coast Road and Chapel Road in Katong Singapore, the Church of the Holy Family is a four-storeyed roman catholic church with a brilliant white and grey facade. The highlight of the edifice is its multicoloured 16-panelled stained glass right above the altar which depicts the Holy Family and snippets of Jesus Christ's life during his last days.

The Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator is the oldest Church in Singapore, locally referred to as the Armenian Church. The Armenian community of Singapore regard this place as their spiritual abode, and the church now serves as a beautiful venue for couples to tie their knot in holy matrimony. The grand edifice is built in a British-neoclassical inspired architecture.

Located smack in the middle of Singapore’s Art District, this church marks the beginning of Chinese-Catholic culture in the country. Initially, it catered to the entire Chinese and even Indian Catholic population in the area. However, as newer churches were built, many parishioners migrated.

The Bartley Christian Church is known for having the most diverse parishioners in Singapore. It offers sermons in English, Mandarin, Filipino, Korean, Telegu and Indonesian. With a mission of ‘touching hearts and building lives’, the Bartley Christian Church’s reputation as the people’s church precedes it.