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Located in the heart of Singapore and surrounded by the lushness of MacRitchie Reservoir, the future Catholic Hub at 49 Upper Thomson Road will serve the long-term needs of our Church. Sited on the Church’s largest freehold property in Singapore, it will have a total gross floor area of 46,100 m2, and will be developed in three phases.
Provisional planning approval has been obtained for the first phase of the project, estimated to cost $83 million. Written permission of the design is expected by end-2022 and a tender for construction is in progress. St Theresa’s Home, currently located there and run by Catholic Welfare Services, will move to improved facilities before Phase 2 begins.
Since 2015, the building committee under the Archdiocesan Land and Properties Singapore (ALPS) has consulted potential users on their needs and engaged the authorities on design and construction plans, including during the 18-month delay while the government studied the environmental impact of the MRT Cross Island Line.
As a large shared resource, the Catholic Hub ensures that organisations, parishes and other Church groups using it as a venue for activities can focus on their ministries and fuel the growth of the Church through a wider outreach. Key archdiocesan organisations will be relocated here, strengthening their existing collaborations to serve the community better, with the support of amenities such as a configurable multi-purpose hall and retreat facilities.
Designed with Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ in mind, the Catholic Hub will be interspersed with greenery and several themed gardens, providing conducive areas for prayer and reminding us of our oneness with all creation.
Several existing St Theresa’s Home buildings have been identified for conservation to preserve the historical significance of the site, dating as far back as 1937 when the Little Sisters of the Poor ran Singapore’s first home for the aged and destitute. To help Singaporeans appreciate our faith’s enduring legacy, there are plans for a heritage centre in one of these conserved buildings. In addition, a residence for senior clergy will ensure that our priests can retire with comfort and grace, yet still continue to exercise their ministry for those who come to the Catholic Hub. As one Body of Christ, let us look forward to the completion of the Catholic Hub that will provide restoration and renewal.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Since 2013, our archdiocese has been working to build a more vibrant, evangelising and missionary Church. In sharing the Good News, we are bringing the hope and love of Christ to vast numbers of people.
Within our Church today, however, there is simply no place big enough for our organisations and communities to hold their activities on a large scale and draw more people in. An opportunity presented itself when there were plans to upgrade and move St Theresa’s Home. The idea of developing a centre for the archdiocese was thus seeded – one that would optimise the use of the Church’s largest freehold site in Singapore.
Beyond physical facilities, the Catholic Hub can bring about a greater depth of communion. Locating archdiocesan organisations together will enable collaboration for a more effective witnessing of the Gospel to the people of Singapore and reap economies of scale. Catholics of all ages can gather to benefit from different programmes within one venue.
In recognition of the site’s rich history, several existing buildings have been identified for conservation. With this, a heritage centre is planned in one of them to showcase the seminal work of the Catholic community these past 200 years, reach out to the broader community and form future generations of disciples.
This vision for the Hub is the result of years of discernment and discussions. I am deeply grateful to the building committee, project consultants and archdiocesan organisations who have been part of the development of this project. Once completed, we hope it will be an icon of communion in mission, bringing together clergy and laity, working together to renew and strengthen the evangelising and missionary spirit of the Church in Singapore. We trust that God, who has guided us through the years, will continue to bless and direct the development of the Catholic Hub. May it be a place of God encounter for all who come to serve and worship here.
May God bless you.
Most Reverend William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore
This preview was for the God, Money and Me course on personal financial management by the Catholic Foundation. It integrates the practicalities of money management with Catholic principles and ethos.
Date: Sat, Dec 4
Time: 2.00 pm to 2.45 pm
Venue: CGS B1 Room 1
Speakers: Bernadette Yuen & Willie Cheng
There are many ways to grow your money: saving and investing in a range of financial instruments. This session discussed both secular and spiritual principles of saving and investing.
Having money is good; growing it is better. True? This session was for those who want to understand the spiritual aspects of growing your money, as well as the practicalities of compound interest, the different types of financial instruments (bonds, equities, unit trusts, insurance, etc), and other aspects of financial planning. This talk is part of a series by the Catholic Foundation on personal financial management and stewardship. Check out the other programmes in this series.
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2021
Time: 5.00pm to 5.45pm
Venue: CGS B1, Room 1
Speakers: Alex Teo & Andrew Chai
People live with debt as a fact of modern life. In this session find out what the bible teaches about debt and learn practical tips on how you can better deal with them.
This talk was made for those who want to understand the snowball effect of compound interest on debt and what you can do about it so that you can eventually be debt-free and build true treasures in heaven where it counts.
This talk is part of a series by the Catholic Foundation on personal financial management and stewardship. Check out the other programmes in this series.
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2021
Time: 1.00pm to 1.45pm
Venue CGS B1, Room 1
Speakers: Paul Wee & Lawrence Chan
Do we work for money or something else? This session discussed the spirituality of work and ethics in the corporate world and the role that money should play in the workplace. Money is not necessarily the root of all evil, but its improper acquisition and use certainly are. The workplace can be full of traps and temptations in this respect. This session was for Catholic workers, from professionals to businessmen to reconcile their faith working in a highly secular and material world.
This talk is part of a series by the Catholic Foundation on personal financial management and stewardship. Check out the other programmes in this series.
Date: Sun, Dec 5 2021
Time: 4.00pm to 4.45pm
Venue: SPP L4, Room 1
Speakers: Trillion So & Lawrence Chong
Young adults are often challenged to balance current spending with providing for the future. Join this talk to find out how you can increase your financial quotient in a spiritual way. As good money management is best cultivated from young, Catholic youths will find this session useful on how Christian principles apply in their material needs and resources.
This talk is part of a series by the Catholic Foundation on personal financial management and stewardship. Check out the other programmes in this series.
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2021
Time: 12.00pm to 12.45pm
Venue: SPP L4, Room 1
Speakers: Audrey Tan & Kevan Goh
Money is a frequent cause of marital disputes and breakups. This session will discuss money management in a Christian marriage based on biblical principles and the social teachings of the Church.
Poor management of money is a silent killer of healthy marriages. Recognise the alarm bells and avoid the pitfalls about money that can affect a marriage. Learn to handle your money issues working as a couple with God’s help. This session is suitable for married couples and those about to get married.
This talk is part of a series by the Catholic Foundation on personal financial management and stewardship. Check out the other programmes in this series.
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2021
Time: 5.00pm to 5.45pm
Venue: CGS B1 Room 1
Speakers: Xavier Woon & Willie Cheng
Details
Date: Sat, 14 August 2021
Time: 3pm – 6pm
Online via Zoom (Mass streamed)
Catholic Foundation’s vision is for each Young Adult Catholic is for them to Reclaim their Gift of Faith. This is a spiritual process that begins with Christ inspiring a conversion of our in most hearts, to allow us to realise our identity as children of God, and to realise that it is only in Him that our hearts find their true home.
Click here to see Event Page
Producer-Presenter, CatholicSG Radio
A communicator and story-teller at heart, Keith has been in full-time ministry for over 9 years and is a faith-based comic on the side. He’s also the Assistant Programme Manager for CatholicSG Radio, the archdiocese’s very own online radio stream. He is one half of the Glory and Praise Show (GPS) with André & Keith, otherwise known as ‘the morning show’
Growing up Keith wanted to be many things, including Spiderman, a spider, and a man. These days he’s just one of those… but more importantly, he’s discovered what God wants him to do: to share truths through humour and stories.
His current focus is on faith-based stand-up comedy. Still one for variety, he also enjoys being an emcee/presenter, a writer and a drama facilitator.
He was previously a Youth Pastoral Coordinator at Church of Saint Ignatius (2012-2015), as well as a Programmes & Publicity Coordinator at Kingsmead Centre (2016-2019). In between he did a gap-year course in Christian Community Theatre at Riverside Performing Arts.
Producer-Presenter, CatholicSG Radio
Nicholas is an Assistant Producer-Presenter with CatholicSG Radio. He is a father of two young boys and is passionate about making Jesus known through the gift of song and music.
Founder & Creative Director of Saint Max Story & Media
Recognising the influential power of media as a teenager, Linus recognised his calling to become a film maker for God. Trained and specialising in film making, directing and cinematography, he uses his creative talents to make life-giving films and videos for the church, social missions, charities, catholic organisations and has directed works such as the SG50 Catholic Light documentary on the history of the church in Singapore.
Dedicated to evangelising through media, he set up Archproductions in 2017 under the Archdiocesan Communications Office and together with his team, pioneered live streams for masses and events. In 2019, Linus set up Saint Max Pte Ltd, an evangelising enterprise comprising of media missionaries, dedicated to harnessing media to bring life giving stories that reflect God’s light and truth to the watchers in this digital age.
Linus also has experience as a lecturer in Temasek Polytechnic and has made several award winning short films. He continues to hone his skills in film making and believes in empowering media missionaries to use their skills and talents for the glory of God.
Founder of Mad Roasters Cafe
Madeline started her career in general litigation, representing companies and high-networth individuals in Court. Wanting to apply her skills where it was in greater need, Madeline moved to Thailand to provide legal representation to refugees.
She quickly realised that livelihoods was the more pressing issue, and now runs Mad Roaster – a social enterprise coffee shop that sells coffee as a vehicle to create livelihoods for refugees.
Student Master at the St John of the Cross Community (Punggol Formation House)
A Catholic Priest from the Order of the Discalced Carmelites.
Recipient of the Singapore Health Quality Service “Superhero” Award
Shaun is a doctor currently employed with St Andrew’s Community Hospital, serving as a resident physician, serving largely in the area of palliative care. Recognising this as his calling from God has allowed him to commit himself to his work, as his service and offering to God.
For this, he was recognised earlier this year with the Singapore Health Quality Service “Superhero” Award for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaun was selected from the SACH palliative care team to assist with Changi General Hospital (CGH) EagleCare, a programme that provides end-of-life care for CGH’s partnering nursing homes, for which he helped to set up protocols, provided direct and telehealth cover, and participated in swab operations.
Shaun also supported St Andrew’s Nursing Homes (SANHs) with clinical reviews of their residents, and started a system to ensure that end-of-life needs of residents were looked at during the pandemic.
On many occasions, Shaun went beyond the call of duty and visited nursing homes after office hours to provide medication to help residents manage their medical conditions. Shaun’s initiative and responsibility left a lasting impact on EagleCare and our nursing homes.
Director of Digital & Corporate Transformation at Ministry of Defence
Henry first encountered the Lord as a young 12-year-old when he attended a church camp upon the invitation of his schoolteacher. However, it was not until his undergraduate days that he was baptized into the Christian faith and subsequently received into the Catholic Church.
Since then, his story with the Lord has led him to help at the Alpha Program, serve as a catechist and participated in the Parish Pastoral Council. At work, he was an air force engineer for 20 years and has worked alongside men and women to maintain aircraft systems for the Republic of Singapore Air Force. He is currently the Director of Digital and Corporate Transformation at MINDEF, concurrently serving as the Chief Information Officer.
Henry’s faith journey has its fair share of ups and downs, knocks and falls. While he struggles with brokenness as part of his humanity, he has also encountered the joy of being received by the Lord just as he is. Henry is passionate about personal development and has taken interest in personality assessment tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Instrument (MBTI) and Motivational Code (MCODE). He has found silent retreats and spiritual direction helpful in leading him to deeper encounters with the Lord and is currently making his way through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises in daily life. As an introvert, he prefers spending time on restful activities but is also game for meaningful conversations, especially with a nice cup of coffee. Henry is married to Ann and they enjoy serving Christ together.
CEO & Chief Psychologist of IGROW Group
Benedict is the CEO & Chief Psychologist of iGROW Group, a nationally recognized and award winning Psychological consulting firm specialising in Leadership, Engagement and Culture.
He has accumulated more than a decade of experience working with corporate large and small across different industries. In his work, he is required to consult, counsel, coach and train individuals and organizations in building their Psychological Capital, and live the best possible life.
Being a strong advocate of contributing back to the community, he readily accepts invitations amidst his hectic schedule to meaningfully impact and touch lives through the various community outreach efforts and initiatives. Benedict has presented in many international and national conferences such as the prestigious TEDx event, and featured on national media such as 938Live, documentary on Channel 5, SME Magazine, amongst other media channels.
Today. using his Academic and Practical Experience in Psychology, Benedict helps organization increase their Corporate Health in areas of Leadership, Employee Engagement, Mental Health and Well-being through Technology and Evidence-based Methodology.
Dreams Architect & Co-Founder of PlayMoolah
Audrey drives PlayMoolah’s vision, strategy and is responsible for serving the needs of our customers, children, young people, families and corporates with a goal to enable positive financial emotional resilience for a flourishing life.
Audrey is a social entrepreneur, pioneering Circles of Angels, a Blockchain platform that tracks impact for social entrepreneurs and funders. Her experience in impact work for entrepreneurs started where she Co-founded Angels of Impact on 2016. Focusing on poverty eradication and supporting women social entrepreneurs.
Her experience in technology began 10 years ago with online commerce. As part of her stint in Silicon Valley Qik.com, under the NUS NOC Program, she rallied product marketing and business development, which was later acquired by Skype.
Audrey writes on medium, an aspiring musician who sees the creative arts as a powerful force for transformation and change. In 2017, she was named an Edmund Hillary Fellow which recognises individuals contributing to the global impact space.
Audrey serves with the Catholic Business Network and is at home with a beautiful community Vocare, enabling young people to find, fullill and love out their vocation and mission.