Nicholas Chia

Most. Rev. [1][2][3] Nicholas Gerald Chia D.D., S.T.L.
Archbishop of Singapore
Archbishop Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo.
See	Archdiocese of Singapore
Enthroned	2001
Predecessor	Archbishop Gregory Yong
Orders
Ordination	1964
Personal details
Born	April 8, 1938 Singapore
Nationality	Singaporean
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Archbishop House

Styles of Nicholas Gerald Chia
Reference style	The Most Reverend [1] [2]
Spoken style	Your Excellency [3]
Religious style	Archbishop
Posthumous style	not applicable

Most. Rev. Monsignor Nicholas Gerald Chia Yeck Joo (Chinese: 谢益裕) (April 8, 1938 – ) 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.

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 Saints 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.

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.

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.

Appointment as Archbishop

Prior to his appointment as Archbishop, Archbishop Chia was the Parish Priest to the Church of the Holy Cross. When Archbishop Gregory Yong retired, Vatican City appointed Archbishop Chia to the office, other candidates for the office were current Vicar General Monsignor Eugene Vaz and then Rector of St Francis Xavier Major Seminary, Fr. Anthony Ho who has since retired.

See also

• Archdiocese of Singapore
• Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
• Archbishop Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Catholic Church hierarchy
2. ^ ^{a b} Excellency#Ecclesiastical use
3. ^ ^{a b} How to address Catholic Clergy

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

External links

• Catholic-Hierarchy.org
• Official Website of the Archdiocese of Singapore

Preceded by Gregory Yong Sooi Ngean

Archbishop of Singapore 2001–

Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Chia, Nicholas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 8, 1938
Place of birth	Singapore
Date of death
Place of death