More on Father Pierre Paris as MEP Father and constructor of the church

Born 19 of Jan 1833, Father Pierre Paris was born 50 years before the birth of first parish priest Father Michael Seet in 1883.

He was attributed to be the constructor of the St Peter and Paul church in 1870.

As the MEP and also parish priest, he was distinctly unique amonst others as he could speak Tamil!

Father Pierre Paris was able to traverse between town area(which is Queen Street) and also the jungles in Serangoon.

As the times were tough for any MEP priests, having faced competition from the gangsters and triads, nevertheless the work of evangelism carried through assimilating cultures and language. He learn the vernacular of the early immigrants, which were Teochew and Hokkien and made them feel comfortable.

In fact for the MEP priest, life was often beset with problems of society at that time, namely poverty and gangsterism.

One of the triad leaders called an MEP Father who lived around the same time,  Father Albrand,  "the Head of the Devil  and threatened to cut off parishoners pig tails when they tried to convert.  Serangoon (Ao Kang) was a jungle and so was Bo Chu Kang. However these were Catholic enclaves. They were united by their faith, they though in different parts of Singapore.  In 1853 a small chapel was erected and blessed in Serangoon(called St Mary's and later renamed Nativity Church).
Father Pierre from the heart of  town,  had to travel by foot, to these areas to say Mass and interact for the pastoral needs of the Indians and other settlers on the outliers of the island.

The jail was in the town area too. Father Pierre had to say mass at the prison. The jail was called by British colonial Bras Basah Jail (the local Chinese called it "Lau Ka Ku Keng Kau")  (Map is appended below).  This rhythm of life of servanthood, and pastoral care is continued by the priests till today with priests saying in our jails albeit in highly restricted grounds of  Changi.


Father Pierre Paris had very close ties with the cathechists and the cathechumans. Father Pierre Paris received much support through large donations by a Pedro Tan No Keah to build the church of St Peter and Paul. Later, houses for cathechists were built by Chan Teck Hee.

Father Pierre also set up the St Francis Malabar school located along Waterloo Street.

It could be clearly seen  with his grasp of the Tamil language, and his closeness to his flock, he influenced the outcrop of the next church he was to build Church of Our Lady in 1888, seventeen years after he built St Peter and Paul. The church was to house the Tamil worshippers, a footprint of Father's Pierre no doubt in early development of the first Singapore Catholic churches.

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_100_2005-01-24.html

http://www.microsite.nl.sg/pdfs/biblioasia/biba_0304jan08a.pdf

http://www.ghettosingapore.com/story-of-the-old-bras-basah-jail/