(From left) Sister Josephine Sim and married couple Alphonsus Chern and Angela Lim were among the volunteers involved in Pope Francis' visit to Singapore. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: Assembling the 1,700-strong choir and wind band for the papal mass held at the National Stadium on Sept 12 attended by 50,000 Catholics was no easy feat.
Married couple Alphonsus Chern, 44, and Angela Lim, 36, the choir’s co-chairmen, had to juggle the needs of singers aged 10 to over 80 years old, and get everything right with only one four-hour, full-dress rehearsal the day before the mass.
This meant getting choir members seated, training them to blend their voices together, and allowing sound engineers to make technical adjustments.
There was no guarantee that things would work out on the day itself, but Lim told The Straits Times they were thankful they managed to get four hours’ worth of practice because it was “amazing” how everything came together during the actual event.
The chorus included Primary 6 pupils who had to take their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) the day after the mass, as well as members from all 32 Catholic churches across the island.
“We wanted all the children to join this huge papal mass choir as it’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives,” said Lim, a music teacher.
Pope Francis left Singapore on Sept 13, after a three-day visit which included giving a state address, meeting young people during an inter-religious dialogue and meeting Singapore’s leaders.
Some 5,000 volunteers were involved in this historic visit – the second by a pope to Singapore. The late Pope John Paul II visited in 1986.
For the 395,000 Catholics in Singapore, the papal mass, which was celebrated by the Pope, was the highlight of the visit, said those interviewed.
After receiving news of Pope Francis’ visit in February, it took about five months for the Cherns to recruit choir members and prepare music scores for the mass.
Together with the choir’s third co-chairman, the Rev John Joseph Fenelon, a Catholic priest, Lim conducted the choir and her husband played the organ during the mass.
Chern, a church staff member, said they wanted as many people as possible from all the 168 choirs of Singapore’s Catholic churches and students – including non-Catholics – from choirs of 10 Catholic primary schools.
The former Straits Times photojournalist added that they felt that it would be an “awesome experience” for the young children, who may be inspired to take the lead in future large-scale events.
The couple’s 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Clare Chern, was among choir members sitting the PSLE the day after the mass, with her parents saying they were glad she was “very happy to be there” while juggling the singing and her studies.
Much thought was also put into the music selection as the couple wanted to showcase a diverse spread of musicians and singers.
This led to the inclusion of a contemporary component with guitars and drums, as well as traditional hymns and Gregorian chants.
Chern noted that the music also had to be easy enough for the choir to learn and for the congregation to sing.
Describing this choir as one that demonstrated community and friendship, Chern said it was heartwarming to see so many people who would not usually sing together as one group gather for this big occasion.
He added that it was not just about teaching this choir to sing, but to instead bring members together to build friendships.
Lim looks forward to younger members from the choir stepping up to lead during the next papal visit. She said: “God gave us all talents. It fills my heart to see so many people coming together... to show the world what unity truly means.”
Another Singaporean who helped in the papal visit is Sister Josephine Sim, 69.
The Italian language that the Catholic nun learnt in the 18 years she lived in Italy was put to good use for the pontiff’s visit.
A member of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, a Catholic order of religious sisters, Sister Sim helped to translate between Italian and English for Vatican officials planning the visit.
Since March 2024, Sister Sim has helped to translate for four or five such groups who met their Singapore counterparts to discuss issues such as security, programme planning and the papal mass.
She said: “It was not an easy task as I’m not trained in translation. So I was a little stressed, but I did the best I could.”
Apart from herself, a Singaporean priest also helped in the translation, she said.
Sister Sim is trained as a teacher and taught accounting at various Catholic schools here before she was deployed to Rome by her superiors.
There, she handled finances at the headquarters of the Canossian Sisters, and had to take Italian classes.
She returned to Singapore in 2023, and her current duties include handling the finances of the Canossian Sisters in Singapore and Myanmar.
Sister Sim said she has seen the Pope many times from afar, and even shook his hand and took a picture with him twice.
But to see him in Singapore – her home country – was an experience no words can describe, she said.
She added that it was especially touching that the 87-year-old Pope came to Singapore despite his mobility challenges.
His 12-day trip also took him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
Sister Sim was also among those who read out a prayer to the congregation during the papal mass.
She said: “I was seated very near to the Holy Father (during the papal mass).
“I feel very blessed by the fact that he was so close by, and we were all praying with him.” - The Straits Times/ANN
