Fr Edouard Becheras (1879-1957): Not only have you acted well, but you have shown us the way.
BÉCHERAS Édouard (1879–1957)
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On October 7, 1957, aboard the ocean liner Vietnam, shortly before arriving in Aden, Father Bécheras returned his soul to God.
Born on August 5, 1879, in Arras-sur-Rhône in the Ardèche, Father Édouard Bécheras was the second of four children. He studied at the village public school. Very early on, his parish priest, Abbé Viaugard, noticed the promising disposition of his altar boy and gave him his first Latin lessons. In September 1894, young Édouard entered the Sainte-Barbe minor seminary in Annonay. In October 1899, he was admitted to the major seminary of Viviers, where he remained until he was called up for military service. In 1902, he was incorporated into the 61st Infantry Regiment in Marseille. In September 1903, he entered the seminary on Rue du Bac. Ordained a priest on June 29, 1905, he received his assignment to Malacca and departed for his mission on August 20, 1905. During a train stop in Valence, he had the joy of embracing his mother and speaking with her in their native dialect, which he would never forget, even in his old age.
Arriving in Singapore in September 1905, he was immediately posted to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, where Father Bès was then the parish priest. His language teacher was the catechist Sih Toa Ti, who died in 1925 at the age of 83 after serving as a catechist for forty-four years—a man whose work was so profound that the Bishop of the time insisted on presiding over his funeral personally. Under his guidance, the young missionary began studying the Teochew dialect, which he would later have the opportunity to teach to many younger colleagues.
After seven months in Singapore, Father Bécheras was transferred to Malacca, where he spent 20 months at St. Francis Xavier Church. From there, he was appointed parish priest of Bukit Mertajam at the other end of Malaya. He then had to learn the Hakka dialect. He remained in this post for six and a half years. It was there, on a fine day in 1913, that he baptized a young Noël Goh in the arms of Father Maury (parish priest of Matang Tinggi, acting as godfather). This child would later be ordained a priest, named Vicar General, and eventually succeed him as parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul.
The 1914–18 war found him in Malacca, and he had to return to France.
Impact on Serangoon
Upon his return in 1920, he was placed at the head of the large Chinese parish of Serangoon on Singapore island. For 14 years, he worked relentlessly for the sanctification of his parishioners, showing no mercy toward opium smokers and gamblers.
As Parish Priest of Serangoon (1920-1934), Father Becheras was appointed to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Serangoon. At the time, this was the heart of the Teochew Catholic community in Singapore.
Moral Leadership: He was known as a firm disciplinarian. The obituary notes he was "impitoyable" (pitiless/unyielding) toward social vices. He worked relentlessly to eradicate opium smoking and gambling among his parishioners, believing that spiritual sanctification required a clean break from these destructive habits.
Physical Expansion: To accommodate the growing community, he undertook the massive task of enlarging the parish church. By 1930, the extensions were complete, making it one of the largest and most imposing churches in the region at the time.
Founding of Holy Innocents’ Schools
One of Father Bécheras's most enduring legacies in the area was is his contribution to education in the Serangoon area. Recognizing that the future of the community lay in the youth, he established schools to provide both vernacular and English education.
Holy Innocents' English School: In 1916, a small school had been started by his predecessors, but it was Father Bécheras who formalised and expanded it. In 1932, he founded the English-medium section, which eventually became Holy Innocents’ English School (now known as Holy Innocents’ High School).
Holy Innocents' Chinese School: He also championed the Chinese-medium school for boys (Tao Nan School, later renamed Holy Innocents’ Chinese School). He believed that being bilingual was essential for the Chinese diaspora, a philosophy he later brought to the founding of Catholic High School.
Infrastructure: Despite a debilitating bicycle accident in 1929 that left him with a permanent limp, he personally supervised the construction of these school buildings, ensuring the Teochew farming community in Serangoon had access to quality education.
Timeline of Educational Impact in Serangoon
Bicycle Incident
In March 1929, a bicycle accident sent him to the hospital for two months with a broken femur—an injury that would handicap him until his death. In 1930, he celebrated twenty-five years of priesthood and, in the same year, completed the expansion of his parish church, which remains one of the largest in Malaya. A relentless worker, he was nonetheless disciplined enough to know the utility of regular rest. Thus, with a few other Fathers, he initiated the construction of a rest house in the mountains, which in 1955 became the community house. The chronicles of 1932 mention the Bécheras-Périssoud expedition to the Cameron Highlands several times. Finally, on December 28, 1932, the chronicler wrote: "Fathers Bécheras and Périssoud have returned safely from their expedition to the Cameron Highlands. It is said they have signed a contract for the construction of the sanatorium so desired by all."
In 1934, his bad leg forced him to return to France. He made the journey with Fathers Maury and Riboud. Father Maury still remembers that every morning he had to help him put on his stockings because he could not do it alone. Soon after, he found the easy solution and wore no more socks until his death.
Return to Singapore: St Peter and Paul/ Catholic HIgh School
Upon his return in April 1935, Father Bécheras was named parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul. As Father Ruaudel was then going on leave, he was appointed Vicar General during his absence. His first task in his new parish was to complete the Chinese-English school buildings started by Father Stephen Lee in 1934.
In 1936, he built a two-story school building. In 1937, he transformed the establishment into a secondary school. In 1939, the school produced its first graduates and took the name Catholic High School. In 1940, due to the increasing number of students, he decided to build a second building.
World War II/ Bahau
Unfortunately, the war arrived and put a halt to his projects. During the Japanese occupation, about two thousand Christians of all races took refuge in Bahau, in the state of Negri Sembilan. They had to clear the jungle, till the soil, and build huts. From 1943 to 1945, along with several other missionaries and Bishop Devals, he worked for the spiritual and material well-being of these two thousand exiles.
Post-War
In October 1945, back in Singapore, he reopened his school and once again planned to expand it. In 1950, the new building was finally standing, filled with two thousand students. Father Bécheras was then happy to find the Marist Brothers and entrust the school to them. However, he maintained overall control and continued to take an interest in and direct it until the end.
Dealing with Strikes and Demonstrations (1950s)
In 1954, strikes and riots broke out in Singapore; Chinese students demonstrated in schools and on public roads. Serious disorders occurred. Father Bécheras's school was also affected. He decided to immediately expel the troublemakers; 75 students were dismissed.
The next day, he could be seen with his long white beard, his old colonial helmet, and his cane, sitting in a chair at the school entrance. He acted as the gatekeeper himself, keeping out the expelled students and troublemakers from other schools.
Press campaigns were mounted against him. He was caricatured in the newspapers, but he held firm and his school remained calm. His attitude during those harsh days contrasted so much with that of the directors of other Chinese schools that the Governor of Singapore personally came to congratulate him: "Not only," he told him, "have you acted well, but you have shown us the way."
Poor Health and Death
Age began to take its toll; his bad leg bothered him more and more, his heart was failing, and so was his jaw. However, he stayed at his post. Every year until the end, he visited all his parishioners, laboriously climbing the steep stairs of Chinese houses. He preached every Sunday. Each week, he went to hear the confessions of the elderly at the Little Sisters of the Poor and teach them catechism. He taught catechism to the orphans at the convent. He even continued to teach adult catechism at their homes at night. In 1957, his nephew, Abbé Édouard Bécheras, came to visit him.
A few months later, he abruptly decided to spend some time in France during the hot season. But he took great care to announce to everyone that he would return. He was elderly and gave up the burden—which the Chinese school had become for him—but he retained his position as parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul.
On May 24, 1957, he took a plane to France (the first time he had traveled by air). Upon arrival, he was unwell for several weeks but recovered quickly.
On September 30, while in Marseille to catch the boat back, he suffered a fall. His head hit the ground. However, the doctor found nothing serious and judged that he would be completely recovered in a few days. His nephew and the procurator in Marseille hesitated to let him leave.
Yet, faced with his firm will to embark, they capitulated. On October 7, after receiving the last rites, he died at sea. His body was brought back to Singapore, and on the 20th, thousands of Christians led him to his final resting place. The Department of Education sent five official representatives to attend the funeral.
Remebering Fr Becheras
Those who knew Father Bécheras will remember him for a long time. His calm was imperturbable. He never lost his temper but knew how to show deliberate anger when the occasion called for it. Even then, he remained measured. He did not lavish advice but gave it when asked. If he judged it his duty to intervene, however, he did so and knew how to make himself heard. He never made a fuss, preferring to work in silence. Illness never stopped him, nor did fatigue or old age. Until the end, every day of his life, he studied languages. At over sixty years old, he even undertook the study of Mandarin because he needed it for his school.
In the short note he addressed to his parishioners before his last leave, one finds these lines: "Man is born into this world, then one day he dies. But there is one thing in man that must not follow this law: his good works. They must survive." The dead are quickly forgotten, but the works of Father Bécheras endure.
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