CHURCH OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL 225A Queen Street, Singapore 188551 Space Used: Adoration Room/Main Church Building
		Church of Saints Peter and Paul
		Exhibition Hours: 10am - 5pm daily Tuesdays 1pm -5pm Sundays 11.30am - 3.30pm Admission Fee: Complimentary
		Transportation • Nearest MRT Station: City Hall • Bus Services: 7, 14, 16, 16A, 36, 77, 111, 124, 131, 131A, 147, 162, 166, 167, 171, 174, 174E, 190, 502, 518, 700, 700A, 857
		Quick Guide Download (with Map) (pdf: 132kb)

	Artists exhibiting at this site:
	Alwar Balasubramaniam, Cristina Lucas, Hiroshi Sugimoto

The history of the Church of Sts. Peter & Paul is closely linked with the beginning and growth of the Chinese Catholic community in Singapore. The Church itself was built in 1869-1870, but the Chinese Catholic community began with the building of a chapel on the site of the former St. Joseph's Institution (Bras Basah Road) in 1833. Work for the new Church of Sts Peter & Paul was started in 1869 by the Chinese Catholic Mission serving a congregation of all the Chinese dialect groups and their Indian Catholic brethren. It was also a centre for many European missionaries who needed to learn the Chinese language before other postings.

Sometime in the 1870s, Father Pierre Paris bestowed the three exceptionally fine bells, still in use today. He also began to build the steeple before his death in 1883. Father Galmel, who had taken over from Father Paris during his illness, completed the spire and built the presbytery. As he spoke no Tamil, another priest became his assistant in charge of the Indian congregation and this community later moved to the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Ophir Road, which was built in 1888 to accommodate the Indian community. Saints Peter & Paul then became an exclusively Chinese parish, concentrating on the different dialect groups.

On 11th September, 1910, the Cantonese and Hakkas left Sts. Peter & Paul for the new Church of the Sacred Heart in Tank Road built by Fr. Gazneau and the Hokkiens later left for St. Teresa's Church in Kampong Bahru.

A major renovation of the Church was planned for its Centenary year and in October 1969, with the help of the Church Renovation Committee, the parishioners and other well-wishers, renovations were completed in time for the Centenary Celebrations in June and July 1970. The community in the parish of Sts Peter & Paul grew marginally in the 1970s but began to decline in the 1980's when schools within its vicinity were relocated. Many parishioners have since returned to their own parishes with the completion of new churches in the various housing estates.

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was gazetted as a national monument on 10 February 2003 and this year marks the 130th anniversary for the Church of Sts. Peter & Paul.