The successor to the head of the Catholic Church here will be officially ordained on Feb 22.

Father William Goh, rector of the St Francis Xavier Major Seminary, will be ordained the Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore, the deputy to Archbishop Nicholas Chia. This means that the 55-year-old will take over as Archbishop of Singapore when Archbishop Chia retires. Father Goh was appointed to the role by Pope Benedict XVI two months ago.

In Singapore, the head of the Catholic Church traditionally retires at the age of 75. Archbishop Chia will turn 75 in April, but has said that he has no immediate plans to retire as yet.

His episcopal ordination Mass will take place at the Singapore Expo at 7.30pm on Feb 22. Parishioners will have to ballot for tickets, a set number of which have been allocated to each parish.