HONG KONG (SE): Reverend Peter So Ming-hong of the Salesians of Don Bosco was ordained a deacon at St. Anthony’s church, Pokfulam, on August 14.
The birthday of St. John Bosco, which fell on August 16, was also celebrated and Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun was felicitated on the 60th anniversary of his priesthood. Salesians who were marking their anniversaries of priestly ordination and religious profession were also greeted.
Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Zen and concelebrated by Father Joseph Ng Chi-yuen, provincial superior of the China Province of the Salesians, Father Lanfranco Fedrigotti and around 20 other priests.
Father Ng recommended Reverend So as an elect for the order of diaconate. He made his promises to serve God with humble charity and celibacy, and to always conform his way of life to the example of Christ. The elect was ordained through the imposition of the hands of the cardinal. The parents of the newly-ordained Deacon So assisted in vesting him with the diaconal stole and dalmatic. Cardinal Zen placed the Book of the Gospel in his hands, signifying the office of the deacon to proclaim the gospel in liturgical celebrations and to preach the faith of the Church in word and in deed.
In his message, the newly-ordained deacon thanked his parents for instilling strong faith in God in him. When Deacon So expressed his desire to join the seminary, his parents, despite their concerns, were willing to let him go. A young So did not even know the way to Savio House in Chai Wan at that time and it was his parents who accompanied him on the bus.
Deacon So observed that the key to his determination to respond to religious vocation was a firm faith in God. He thanked the Salesian superiors who journeyed with him when he faced the limitations of his life so that he could keep pursuing his dreams. Above all, he thanked Father Fedrigotti for making time to listen to him when he experienced difficulties and making him aware of God’s presence in his life.
Deacon So was born in a Catholic family in Hong Kong in 1991 and grew up as a parishioner at Mary Help of Christians Church, Kowloon. He studied at Tang King Po School, To Kwa Wan, and later joined the school’s altar server group. He started thinking about his priestly vocation when he studied form four. After completing form five, he joined Savio House and received formation at Salesian English School, Chai Wan. He finished his novitiate in the Philippines and made his first religious profession in 2011. Six years later, he made the final vows in Hong Kong.
When Deacon So expressed his desire to join the seminary, his parents, despite their concerns, were willing to let him go. A young So did not even know the way to Savio House in Chai Wan at that time and it was his parents who accompanied him on the bus.
While studying philosophy at the Holy Spirit Seminary, Aberdeen, Deacon So served the altar server group of the Salesian English School as well as the vocation office of the Salesian China Province. He later worked as an intern at Yuet Wah College in Macau and assisted in the religious formation of the school.
In 2018 he joined the Fu Jen Faculty of Theology of St. Robert Bellarmine, Taipei, to study theology and graduated in 2021. Organising youth retreats, catechumen classes and formation camps, Deacon So has been dedicated to serving young people.
In his homily, Cardinal Zen said the most important attitude was humility and that a Salesian has to care about what God cares about instead of fighting for power.
The ceremony also marked the 70th anniversary of profession and the 60th anniversary of priesthood of Father Francis Tsang Tsong-lai; the 60th anniversary of profession of Brother Paul Hau Pou-loh; the 50th anniversary of profession of Brother Bosco Lai Wing-ming and Father Anthony Lek Soon-hiang; the 25th anniversary of priesthood of Father Louis Cheung Chi-chiu, Father Savio Yeung Cho-law and Father Joseph Garcia; as well as the 25th anniversary of profession of Father Kishore Miriyala Bala and Father Martin Yip Tai-ho.
The anniversaries of profession of six Salesian Cooperators, the laity movement of the Salesian Family, was also celebrated on the occasion.
