‘I hope that I do good’: From children to the elderly, Singapore gets ready for Pope Francis’ visit

SINGAPORE: Hai Sing Catholic School student Arissa Nabilah Arman will soon have an experience of a lifetime.
The Secondary 2 student is among 2,400 students across 45 schools who have spent months preparing for Pope Francis’ arrival on Wednesday (Sep 11) – the first papal visit to Singapore since 1986.
“Despite being a non-Catholic, I’m excited for the pope to come because I know opportunities like these are really rare,” said Arissa, who will play the tuba at the pope’s holy mass on Thursday evening.
“I hope that I do good and that I impress the pope.”
About 150 students from four secondary school bands are set to play two pieces at the mass – and rehearsals have been in full swing for months, even during the September school holidays.
“With these two pieces, I found myself putting more effort, revising at home, going through to make sure I can play it right, because this is a very big deal. So I want it to be good,” Arissa added.
Pope Francis is currently on a four-nation tour in the Asia Pacific stretching over 11 days. It is his longest trip since becoming head of the Catholic Church in 2013, and his first since September last year.
The 87-year-old pontiff began the trip in Jakarta, Indonesia last Tuesday, before travelling to Papua New Guinea.
He landed in Timor-Leste on Monday, and will be in Singapore from Wednesday to Friday.
Among the events on Pope Francis’ itinerary is a welcome ceremony at Parliament House on Thursday. He will also attend mass and deliver the homily at the National Stadium later that evening.
About 370 primary and secondary students will join a 1,600-strong choir to sing more than 30 hymns in English, Latin, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
Mr Titus Chang, choir teacher-in-charge at CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh), said the school first learned in May that it would be involved in the mass.
The pope’s visit is doubly special for the Catholic girls’ school as it happens to be celebrating its 170th anniversary this year.
“It has been months of preparations. I think the girls from my school – they worked really, really hard and they put in a lot of effort, and I think they are all really excited to witness this significant event,” Mr Chang added.
“Whether (they) are Catholic or … are non-Catholic, I think this is a great opportunity for our students to come together and foster this sense of community.”
Apart from performing and attending the pope’s mass, some students will have their artwork featured at his residence in Singapore.
As part of an art competition, 21 art pieces will be displayed there, representing unity and hope – key elements of the Catholic faith, and the theme of Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore.
“The importance of unity is so deep, especially in a country like Singapore, where we may have a very diverse background,” said Canossa Catholic Primary School principal Eugenie Tan.
The teachers who guided the children working on their art pieces spent some time explaining what unity and hope meant, allowing them to better express their thoughts on paper, added Ms Tan.
The competition attracted almost 200 entries from schools around Singapore.
“Values of humility, of being interested in the human other, are all qualities which I will pray and hope that our school students go away with,” said Ms Pauline Teng, executive director of the Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools.
“I think it speaks well of Singapore that we didn’t have a problem getting 4,000 or 5,000 volunteers to step up to work on this,” she added.
Pope Francis is also set to visit elderly residents at St Theresa’s Home on Friday.
More than 200 residents and staff at the Catholic welfare nursing home have been in high spirits as they await the pope. Residents from St. Joseph’s and Villa Francis homes will also be there for the special occasion.
For Madam Bertha Hang, it will be the second time she sees the pope in Singapore.
She was among tens of thousands who braved the rain when Pope John Paul II made a five-hour stop in 1986, also as part of an Asia-Pacific tour.
“I counted the days, day by day, one at a time,” the 73-year-old said with a laugh.
“Last time we went to the stadium but it was too crowded, cannot see from afar. Here better, here can see more – you’re closer to Pope Francis so can see.”
Her friend Bridget Ng, who turns 96 on Thursday, also expressed excitement at meeting the pope, saying she did not get to see him when she went to Vatican City in her younger days.
“I’m very, very happy and very, very excited,” she added.
For the home’s staff and management, it has been all hands on deck for preparation efforts. For example, pews in the chapel have been removed to house up to 100 elderly people in wheelchairs.
The home also has non-Catholic residents, some equally eager to meet Pope Francis – including Mr Thigaraja Suppiah.
“For me, I’m very excited to get a chance to at least say a few words to him,” Mr Suppiah said.