Some important historical people St Laurent Imbert and Father Beurel and Father Becheras MEPs leading to St Peter and Paul

St Laurent Imbert was born 1796. The MEP order started in The starting point of missionary began in Siam during 1658. Based there, the Siamese King supported the seminary of St Joseph. It was revitalized by Napolean in 1805 but due top a dissent with the Pope, and again under LouisXVII in 1815. In 1839, St Laurent Imbert became Apostolic Vicar of Korea. However as Russian war ships came and demanded trading rights and residency from Korea , the latter allied with French and brought forth French MEP priests like St Imbert. Finally they were massacred for their faith. His travels took him to Malaya Peninsula. St Laurent Imbert came to Singapore in 1821 before proceeding to Korea. He was the first to be martyred along with 3 others in Korea in 1839 for the faith. Later the oldest church in Singapore was named The good Shepherd, as they remembered him as "the good shepherd lays his life for his flock". In 1984 Pope John Paul the 2nd canonized him and 103 other martyrs. The second oldest church St Peter and Paul arose from the efforts of the same missionary house that St Laurent Imbert came from. Instrumentally helped in big way by Father Beurel, who also an MEP priest, who built the SJI and CHIJ (1st Catholic schools in Singapore) and thereafter, helping to build the Cathedral of Good Shepherd and St Peter and Paul church. His era which marked the first phase of MEP activity in Singapore, came to an end around in 1872 when he died. Leaving us in good shape. Instrumentally, he brought in only 6 sisters and 4 brothers(one sister died on the ship) and that spread the missionary zeal in Singapore. He was also known as founding Father of Catholicism in Singapore, due to his untiring efforts. He also helped build the mother church and the first three churches Church of St. Peter and Paul along Queen Street, the Church of St. Joseph in Bukit Timah and the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Upper Serangoon Road. From the period of 1872 onwards just after St Peter and Paul was built in 1870, leaving good institutions and momentum in its wake, Father Becheras continued to soldier on. After he became parish priest of St Peter and Paul. As Vicar General of church in Serangoon, he continued to develop the northen side of Singapore in Serangoon area and Hougang restarting Holy innocent school and initiating bilingualism and serving the church. He died in 1957. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mcnamarasblog/2009/09/st-laurent-marie-joseph-imbert-1796-1839.html http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1548_2009-07-27.html http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb19340406.2.20.aspx http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/freepress19571008-1.2.108.aspx http://catholicnews.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1849