Singapore cathedral to reopen after major facelift

Singapore's historic Cathedral of the Good Shepherd will soon be back in use following the completion of $53 million worth of restoration work, according to Ucanews.

After three years of effort, the cathedral has been returned to its original neoclassical scheme of white and dark yellow, with gold highlights in its interior, reported the The Straits Times.

The cathedral's conservation specialist consultant, Ho Weng Hin, said: "One of the aims of the project was to give the cathedral back its civic presence and restore the sense of dignity as the main church of Singapore's Roman Catholics."

Built in 1843, the cathedral is expected to reopen within a week.

Archbishop William Goh of Singapore will celebrate the first Mass on November 20 at the renovated cathedral, which is situated in the island's Civic District.

In June, construction workers unearthed a 173-year-old time capsule.

Among the items left inside the shoebox-sized capsule were a prayer booklet, newspapers from 1843, plus a range of 18th-and 19th-century coins.