HONG KONG (SE): Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, of Hong Kong was invited to make an unofficial visit to Rome in early March, Vatican News reported. During a meeting with Pope Francis, Bishop Chow suggested the Holy Father to give his blessing to the Church in China and in Hong Kong in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the pope agreed.
Pope Francis’ blessing for Hong Kong, delivered in Italian, is translated in English below:
Dear brothers and sisters, you Catholics, I greet you with gratitude and love. Thank you for your testimony of faith. Thanks for the love to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Mother of God, Our Lady. Thank you for your work; for bearing so much with this COVID pandemic makes us suffer a lot.
We go forward with the Lord, sometimes the Lord is hidden from our sight, but He is always beside us. It takes patience to hope. I am close to you; I love you so much! I pray for you, and you, please pray for me!
Now may Almighty God bless you all, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
