HONG KONG (SE): Reverend Philip Shi Yuqian of Society of Jesus, was ordained a deacon at St. Ignatius Chapel, Kowloon, on June 27. He will study Canon Law and serve Hong Kong in the future. The ordination ceremony was officiated by John Cardinal Tong Hon, the apostolic administrator of Hong Kong in a Mass concelebrated by Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun and other priests.
Reverend Shi was recommended by provincial superior, Father Stephen Chow Sau-yan. Cardinal Tong encouraged the new deacon to serve others like serving God, with love and joy. The cardinal imposed hands on Reverend Shi who then put on the diaconal stole with the help of Father William Lo. Placing the gospel in his hands, the cardinal reminded him of the mission to preach the Word.
At the end of Mass, Reverend Shi shared that his family in Shanghai could not join the ceremony because of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. “But you are all my family. Your presence is the sign of the working of the Gospel of Christ,” he told those gathered.
He said he is a sinner but loved and chosen by God. From the Jesuits, he often saw services that empower others and he hopes that more young people will join the society with the same spirit to serve.
Father Chow explained during the ceremony that Reverend Shi was supposed to go to Rome to study Canon Law and offer related services in Hong Kong in the future, but he could not do so due to the pandemic. He invited those present to pray for the formation of Reverend Shi.
Reverend Shi told the Kung Kao Po before the ordination that he was discerning his vocation while he was studying at Shanghai Medical College at Fudan University. He said the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius has helped him to discover more about himself. “I was a serious person who only cared about studies. But I became more cheerful after I joined the seminary and I like to tell jokes,” he said.
Reverend Shi was born in Shanghai in 1983. He was baptised by his grand aunt, a sister of the Society of the Helpers four days after he was born due to the absence of priest. In an article published in Kung Kao Po on May 31, he shared that while studying in medical college in 2005, he saw the real presence of God in life and death.
After spending four years discerning his vocation, he left Shanghai for Manila where he joined the Jesuits as a candidate and then a novice one year later. Before making his first vow in 2012, he visited Mindanao in the Philippines, and Battambang in Cambodia, and was inspired by the poor people there who have been granted hope and joy by God.
After studying philosophy for two years at the Holy Spirit Seminary, he was assigned to Chad, Africa, for pastoral training in 2014. He also served at a hospital in N’Djamena to aid with surgeries.
From 2015 to 2017, he was in Mindanao working as a school chaplain, a class teacher as well as a teacher of religion and ethics at a Jesuit secondary school.
He said the training was difficult but gave him lots of real joy through friendships, especially with Islamic friends in Chad and students in the Philippines.
“Missionary life gives me a chance to get in touch with various cultures. The friends in different countries and continents are all remembered in my prayers, which is why they are often quite long,” he said.
He returned to Hong Kong in 2017 and completed his theological training. However, he finds it a pity that he cannot yet complete his hospital pastoral care training due to the visitation ban due to the pandemic.
He said he liked Church history best among his subjects and discovered that any study cannot be detached from history and the need of the times.
He thanked God for his guidance during his vocation and said the biggest lesson he has learnt is that “God will provide…” (Genesis 22:8). He said his biggest regret was the lack of time to be with his parents and he prayed that God would take care of them.
