It is in the flicker of the sea of candlelight that illuminates the compound of the Church of St. Joseph in Victoria Street, that we see a side of Singapore that seems lost to us, one that lies buried behind the narrow definitions that we now use to define the Singapore of today.
Candles lit for the annual Good Friday procession at the Church of St. Joseph.
The flicker is of an annual procession, part of the commemoration of Holy Week, that borrows from the Portuguese tradition – the church was established by the Portuguese missionaries and came under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese Diocese of Macau until as recently as 1981. And, it is in its very visible commemoration that we are made aware of one of the many cultural and religious influences that has given Singapore as a whole, a very unique flavour.
Participants in the procession gather outside the church in anticipation of the procession.
The procession comes at the end of a Good Friday service during which the Passion of Christ is commemorated through the Stations of the Cross, following which the crucifixion and the lowering of the body of Chirst is reenacted. During the procession, a bier carrying the life-sized representation of the body of Christ is carried around the church, followed by a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows and the clergy and congregation as well as the many who have gathered holding candles outside the church.
The reenactment of the crucifixion inside the church.
The representation of the body of Christ being lowered.
The procession attracts many thousands of Catholics each year, and beside the 1500 or so who make their way into the church, and the many more who gather inside the compound, the crowd does also spill over to Queen Street and Waterloo Centre, the second floor of which does provide an excellent vantage point. It was on Queen Street, that we did once see many candle vendors, hawking long candles – some taller than the height of a person which had to be supported by a backbone of wood, adding to the colour of the occasion.
The bier being carried during the procession.
Members of the church dressed as Roman soldiers (Jerusalem was a colony of Rome during the time of Christ).
The procession, as well as the commemoration of Holy Week in this manner in Singapore, is thought to have had its origins in the early days of the church, which was originally established in the 1850s. It is one of several such similar commemorations that is seen across Asia where the religious influences of the Portuguese remain strong, such as in Macau and close-by in Malacca, which was a former Portuguese colony and where many of the Portuguese Eurasian community found in Singapore have their roots in. The Church of St. Joseph, which at some point was referred to as the Portuguese church, is perhaps the last bastion for a community that is rich in tradition and one of the many that has made Singapore what it is today.
Altar boys at the head of the procession.
Archbishop William Goh, followed by members of the clergy.
A member of the church playing Veronica showing the ‘Veil of Veronica’.
Flower girls.
The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Reflections of the procession in the rain.
The crowd seen through a reflection off a traffic mirror.
Filed under: Bras Basah, Devotion, Events, Heritage Sites, National Mounments, Photography Series, Reminders of Yesterday, Singapore, Traditions
