I attended a 6 a.m. Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church near my school. I was happy to see women religious from the Missionaries of Charity in their habits attending with the laypeople. The archdiocese follows the Roman liturgical rite for Mass, so it’s conducted the same way as in the West. I was expecting a change in how the liturgy was run, maybe with more kneeling or standing. But there was no change in Singapore; same liturgical tradition, different place.

Singapore youth aren’t reluctant to discussing faith. In fact, my peers openly raise questions about faith. Through conversations with my peers, I’ve learned that some are also interested in my faith. One girl asked me to let her know more about Catholic pilgrimages. Another asked why Catholics venerate Mary. In daily conversation, people have talked about Pope Francis, the Vatican and Jesus. Young Singaporeans are open about faith and are willing to share what they believe.

A person can see the different religions represented here when they pass by Buddhist temples, mosques and churches. Buddhists make up 30 per cent of the population while Catholics account for nearly six per cent. In order to maintain peace and avoid conflict among the faiths, the government promotes “racial and religious harmony” through legislation. While Singapore is a secular society, people from different faiths and ethnic backgrounds interact and work together.

Taking the multiracial population into account, it made sense that there were Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Tamil language ministries in a particular parish. There is an active community participating in various parish activities and ministries. I visited the Church of the Risen Christ on a weekday and found a gathering of the faith renewal and evangelization ministry, youth enjoying charismatic prayer and a planning meeting for helping the poor. People from different backgrounds and ages were uniting to bear witness to God’s glory. By witnessing and seeing these people coming together, I realized that it is true that a holy, Catholic and apostolic Church exists in Singapore.

(Chen, 21, is a third-year journalism student at Ryerson University in Toronto. He is currently studying at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.)