HONG KONG (SE): Guadalupe missionary Reverend Miguel Angel Ramirez Flores was ordained a deacon by John Cardinal Tong Hon, the apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, at St. Joseph’s Church in Kowloon Bay, on October 10, one week before Mission Sunday.
Reverend Flores was recommended by his superior, Father Mario Gutiérrez Carrejo, to Cardinal Tong, who encouraged the newly-ordained to whole-heartedly serve God and his people.
In his message, Father Carrejo thanked God for calling Reverend Flores to lead a consecrated life and expressed gratitude to the Diocese of Hong Kong for giving theological formation to the Guadalupe missionaries. At present, 10 Guadalupe Missionaries are working Hong Kong, seven of whom received formation and were ordained here.
At the end of the ceremony, Reverend Flores spoke in Spanish and thanked his family in Mexico. They could not be present due to the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. They were represented by a Spanish-speaking family from Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Pokfulam, whom he has known since arriving in Hong Kong in 2013.
Yin Mey Cheung Casado explained that her family regarded Reverend Flores as one of the family and that they were happy to see him gradually get used to life in Hong Kong.
After Mass, Reverend Flores told the Kung Kao Po that seven years ago he could not speak English or Cantonese and was grateful for the support of parishioners who gave him the chance to practice his Cantonese.
He believes the first duty of a missionary is to learn the local language of the place he serves. He explained that he takes his cue from the Marian apparitions and recalled that during her apparition in Guadalupe, Our Lady spoke the Mexican language.
Life has not spared Reverend Flores from tensions. Seeing the struggles of his family back home and not being able to share their pains led him to consider giving up missionary life and to return home. But now he is grateful to his teachers at the Holy Spirit Seminary for their support and accompaniment; urging him to be open to life and to leave everything in the hands of God.
Father Joseph Liu Ah-lun, parish priest of the Holy Redeemer Church, Tuen Mun, where Reverend Flores served for two years, recalled that the deacon used to teach Spanish in the parish and insisted on teaching in Cantonese. Father Liu said he appreciated his efforts in learning the language.
