Beurel, Father Jean- Marie (1813– 1872) Priest and missionary. Father Jean- Marie Beurel, a member of the MEP (Paris Foreign Missions Society), arrived from France in 1839 and took charge of the Catholic community in 1840. At that time, the only place of worship in Bras Basah Road was a chapel already too small for its congregation. Beurel obtained from the government a piece of land on the other side of the road and built the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, which was officially opened on 6 June 1847 and still stands.

Beurel placed great emphasis on Catholic education. When the church was completed, he started raising funds to build Catholic schools and looked for dedicated people to run them. He approached two famous teaching congregations in France: the Brothers of St John Baptist de la Salle (La Salle Brothers) and the Infant Jesus (IJ) Sisters. To speed up negotiations with these congregations, he left Singapore for France in October 1850, returning in May 1852 with six La Salle brothers and five IJ sisters. However, Bishop Jean Baptiste Boucho, who worked in the Mission in the Straits Settlements, insisted on opening schools in Penang first. He retained three of the brothers in Penang, and sent the rest to Singapore to open a school for boys in the old chapel, in 1852. This was St Joseph’s Institution, for which new premises were completed in 1857, and which is now the Singapore Art Museum. On 5 February 1854, the IJ sisters opened a school in Victoria Street, in a house bought for them by Father Beurel: this school became the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (the premises later became the site for CHIJMES).

Beurel also helped build the Church of St Joseph in Bukit Timah, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Upper Serangoon Road, and the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Queen Street.

Father Beurel also ministered to Chinese migrants, convicts and British soldiers. He explored the south of Johor and some of the Riau islands with a view to expanding the Church there. Due to illness, he returned to France in 1868 and died on 3 October 1872. A memorial plaque to Beurel— considered the founder of Catholicism in Singapore— can be seen at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.

Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore