HONG KONG (SE): The Holy See Study Mission in Hong Kong, together with the Diocese of Hong Kong, hosted 17 artists from Europe, Asia and South America for musical concerts in celebration of the 83rd birthday of Pope Francis on December 15. This is the sixth edition of the musical concert that is held in Hong Kong and Macau to mark the birthday of the pope. The tradition began in 2014.
This year, however, a Pontifical Mass is also scheduled to be celebrated by John Cardinal Tong Hon, the apostolic administrator, on the afternoon of December 21 at Christ the King Chapel, Causeway Bay.
The concert in Hong Kong was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at Caine Road, and was the first public event held at the cathedral it underwent extensive interior renovation works in the recent months. The lighting and sound system provided the perfect ambience for the musical night which began at 8.00pm. John Cardinal Tong Hon, apostolic administrator of Hong Kong; retired bishop Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun; Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing and Monsignor Javier Herrera-Corona, from the Holy See Study Mission, were among the 400 people in the audience.
The 17-member international team of artists comprised of two groups: an orchestra from Austria and another from Columbia. The Austrian orchestra had representatives from Kazakhstan, Poland, Austria, France and India. They performed works from classical composers.
Monsignor Herrera-Corona explained that since Pope Francis hails from South America, the organisers wanted to have representation from Latin American performers and hence they hosted an artist from Colombia, one of the countries neighbouring Argentina. “I am quite sure that the Holy Father would be delighted to see that the people in Hong Kong, Macau, remember him in joy and in prayer,” the monsignor said.
An exclusive at this years’ concert were two compositions, dedicated to the Holy Father, that were performed for the first time. One of them was composed by Colombian artist, Sandra Lozano, while the second piece was by a well-known Grammy Award winning artist from India, Manoj George.
Monsignor Herrera-Corona recalled the polarisation happening in society of late, but stressed the need to support one another and move forward. “We are human beings and we enjoy being together, to celebrate together and to see our leader who is also like us, celebrate birthdays,” he said.
He added that “to celebrate the Holy Father is an opportunity to remember that we are an institution wanted by God, a spiritual institution. We celebrate pope’s birthday for what he represents, the vicar of Christ, the successor of the apostles, and we Catholics enjoy having the pope, whom God wanted to grant to his Church.”
