The Church of Saint Alphonsus:
The Church of Saint Alphonsus
About the Church:
In 1935, the Redemptorists came to Singapore from Australia, and their first residence was a rented bungalow at 339 Thomson Road, where the Thomson Medical Centre is now situated. The next year, the first Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help was erected and the icon of Our Mother placed in the Chapel in the Redemptorist’s residence.
After the end of World War II in 1945, the Redemptorist found a temporary home at 418 Thomson Road. On 29 November of that year, the first public Novena to our Mother of Perpetual Help was held and many people started attending these novenas.
In 1950, the Redemptorist in Singapore finally found their permanent home at the present site at 300 Thomson Road, and the new Redemptorist Chapel was solemnly blessed on 14 May 1950. Although officially known as the Church of St. Alphonsus (named after St. Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist Order), the church became known as the ‘Novena Church’ following the popularity of the Saturday Novenas to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. On 21 June 1953, the first Novena Procession was held in the Novena Church grounds, and this started the tradition of an Annual Procession held every first Sunday of September.
In 1956, the Novena Church was extended to include a bell tower and the Redemptorist residence at the back of the Church. Side verandahs were added in the 1980s Later the St. Clement Pastoral Centre, built next to the Church, was blessed and opened in 1997. A new Redemptorist Residence was also built at the back of the Church.
Website of the Church: The Website of the Church of Saint Alphonsus
Other Pictures of the Church:
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- The Church of Saint Alphonsus
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