Nicholas Chia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Archbishop Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo.
Archbishop Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo.

Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo (Chinese: 谢益裕) D.D. S.T.L. is third and current Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore and the first Singapore-born clergyman to hold the office. He was educated at both Montfort Junior and Secondary schools.

Archbishop Chia received his Episcopal Consecration on the 7th of October, 2001 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. His consecration was attended by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr S. R. Nathan, state dignitaries, sixteen bishops, one hundred and ninety priests and an estimated 11,000 Roman Catholics, together with representatives of the major religions in Singapore. His Principal Consecrator was Archbishop Adriano Bernardini, whose Principal Co-Consecrators were Archbishops Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean and Anthony Soter Fernandez.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the seat of Archbishop Chia and the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore.

Contents

[edit] Biodata

  • (1938) Born on the 8th of April, the third son in a family of six children.
  • (1955-1957) Studied in St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Singapore.
  • (1958-1963) Studied in College General (Major Seminary), Penang, Malaysia.
  • (1964) Ordained priest at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Singapore on the 26th of January.
  • (1964-1966) Assistant priest, Church of Ss Peter and Paul, Singapore.
  • (1966-1967) Studied Mandarin in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • (1967-1969) Assistant priest, Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Singapore.
  • (1969-1971) Obtained licentiate in moral theology from the Gregorian University, Rome.
  • (1972) Did comparative studies on religions in Rome.
  • (1973-1977) Lecturer and Procurator at College General (Major Seminary), Penang, Malaysia.
  • (1978-1990) Director of the Singapore Pastoral Institute.
  • (1980-2001) Parish priest, Church of the Holy Cross, Singapore.
  • (1983-1996) External lecturer at the St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Singapore.
  • (1990-2001) Chaplain to Catholic students in the National University of Singapore.
  • (1995-2001) Chancellor and Procurator of the Archdiocese of Singapore.
  • (2001) Consecrated Archbishop of Singapore.

[edit] Coat of arms

Over the main door at the west end of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the coat of arms of Archbishop Chia.
Over the main door at the west end of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the coat of arms of Archbishop Chia.

The coat of arms of Archbishop Chia consists of a shield upon an archiepiscopal cross surmounted by a green galero with 10 gold fiocchi (tassels) suspended on each side. These are standard ecclesiastical heraldic devices indicating the coat of arms is that of an archbishop.

The flame and dove on the left half of the shield represents the Holy Spirit. The open book on the right half depicts the Word of God. The fish and wavy blue lines represent Singapore and the Archdiocese. The coat of arms also include Archbishop's motto Omnia Omnibus, which is Latin for all things to all men (1 Corinthians 9:22).

The coat of arms was designed by a team from the Catholic Audio-Visual Centre, Singapore.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Eugene Wijeysingha (2006), Going Forth... - The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819-2004, Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore, ISBN 981-05-5703-5
  • Episcopal Ordination of Reverend Father Nicholas Chia Souvenir Magazine
  • Archbishop Nicholas Chia Souvenir Publication, Church of the Holy Cross

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean
Archbishop of Singapore
2001–
Succeeded by
Incumbent