About St Mary's
The Church of St Mary of the Angels is ministered by the Franciscan Friars. The Franciscans were sent to Singapore in 1957 to set up a sociological institute to counter the spread of communist ideology at that time. In 1970, the Franciscan chapel was formally established as a parish under the patronage of Our Lady of the Angels, after the Portiuncula in Assisi, Italy. The parish grew together with the new town of Bukit Batok. The current building was rebuilt and consecrated in 2004 to cater to the growing number of parishioners.In this little guide, we’ll briefly share with you what you can see in our church grounds, and also some nuggets of information about this special Franciscan parish!
Around St Mary's
Corpus of Christ
The Corpus incorporates in one and the same figure the passion, death, resurrection and ascension. Christ, who looks down with outstretched arms, looks horribly disfigured and yet seemingly alive. At different angles, he could be seen to be either in agony or peacefully smiling!
Baptismal Font
The Baptism Font is placed central to the worship space, so that the people of God can witness the baptism and welcome the newly baptised as they emerge from the waters of Baptism. Entering from the west, the catechumens enter into the death of Christ into the tomb-like font, leaving behind their old life, and coming out on the east, they rise to new life with Christ, looking up at the image of Christ, their saviour.
Axis from Mother to Son
The Garden Shrine of Mother Mary resides at the (west) end of the Garden of Peace.
The east-west alignment of the church has Jesus and his mother encompassing the two ends – as though looking at each other. Throughout history, Mary brings people to Christ – through the waters of baptism, the Altar of the Word of God and the Altar of the Eucharist.
The Ambo & Ambry
The Ambo (or the Altar of the Word of God) stands at the centre behind the Altar of the Eucharist. At Mass, both the Word and the Bread nourish us with the real presence of God.
The Ambry holds the three Holy Oils, blessed by the bishop at the Chrism Mass every year. It is located to the far right of the sanctuary.
Ambo
Ambry
"Hidden" Shrines
Catholic churches are known to have statues and icons of saints. Where are they at St Mary’s? Within the church are two side chapels housing the shrines of Our Lady and St Anthony of Padua. Facing away from the central worship area, people can pray at the shrines at any time without interrupting the mass.
A Franciscan Parish
As you go up the main driveway towards St Mary’s, the two sculpted figures at the drop-off roundabout are that of St Francis of Assisi with a flying bird and St Clare picking roses.
St Francis of Assisi
St Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi to a wealthy Italian cloth merchant father and a French mother and grew up living an extravagant life. However, after his encounter with God and spiritual conversion, he gave up all his riches to live out the bible teaching of service. While praying in a run-down chapel of San Damiano, the crucifix (see next page) spoke to him, telling him to “rebuild my church” which was falling in ruins. St Francis spent the rest of his life doing just that, first gathering stones to physically repair the chapel, and subsequently rebuilding the spiritual lives of people through the conversion of sinners. Many young men joined him and subsequently the Franciscan Order (Order of Friars Minor) was formed.
The San Damiano Cross
In St Mary’s, you can find a large reproduction of the San Damiano cross above the stage at St Clare Hall at Level 2. You can also see it in the processional crucifix leading the procession at the start and end of every Mass.
The First Nativity Scene
It was Christmas of 1223 in the town of Greccio in Italy where St Francis set up the first living nativity scene as he wanted the people to experience the love of God in sending his Son to be among us in poverty and meekness. Since then, this tradition of setting up a nativity crib is being widely practiced all over the world. At Christmas in 2023, a life-sized Nativity scene was set up at St Mary's piazza to commemorate the 800th anniversary of this occasion.
The Portiuncula
Meaning "The little portion of land" in Italian, this also refers to the chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, one of three dilapidated chapels in Assisi that St Francis rebuilt and which our church is named after. This was a significant place for St Francis as it was here where the Franciscan movement started, and also where he chose to be his final resting place.
St Anthony of Padua
This beloved Franciscan saint is the patron saint of the Custody that takes care of the parish of St Mary of the Angels in Singapore. While St Anthony is well-known as the finder of lost items, he is an evangelical doctor and a gifted preacher. His zeal, simplicity and knowledge in his preaching then touched many who listened to him.
St Anthony (cont'd)
Outside the church at the piazza stands a sculpture of St Anthony with some fishes. In this story, St Anthony went to a town where the townsfolk were not receptive to his preaching. He then called out to the fishes at the river to listen to the Word of God, and a multitude of fishes splashed out of the water. Seeing this miracle, the people gathered to listen to him.
