"QUICK, CALM AND RESOLUTE RESPONSE"
St Joseph’s Church said in a Facebook statement on Sunday morning that it was temporarily closed and advised churchgoers to proceed to other churches for mass.
A notice on the church website also stated that all mass services planned for Sunday were cancelled until further notice.
The church later said in an update that masses will resume "as per normal" from Monday.
When CNA arrived at the scene shortly after 10am, police vehicles and a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicle were parked inside the church compound.
Police officers and church wardens were stationed at the entrance to direct members of the public away.
An elderly couple, who are regular churchgoers, were waiting at the entrance.
The woman, who declined to be named, told CNA they were waiting to retrieve their car parked within the compound.
The couple had arrived after 6am to attend mass at 7.30am but were asked to evacuate before the service began.
Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was seen driving into the church compound at 10.47am. He is the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Member of Parliament for the ward where St Joseph’s Church is located.
At about 10.50am, three police officers appeared to be searching the grassy perimeter of the church compound as well as a large drain running alongside it.
An explosive ordnance disposal vehicle, accompanied by another car, was then seen driving out of the church compound around 11am. Dr Balakrishnan left about 20 minutes later, without speaking to media.
The minister later posted on Facebook to express his thanks to SPF, SAF's CBRE Defence Group and SCDF for their "quick, calm and resolute response", as well as church volunteers.
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