HONG KONG (SE): Thomas Wong Sze-bok, Gordon Lau Nam-shan, Matthias Yeung Chi-kwong and Johnny Wong were ordained permanent deacons by Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ during a ceremonty at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Caine Road, on Saturday, June 11.
The ceremony was originally scheduled for January 15 but was postponed because of the the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bishop Chow presided at the Mass, which was concelebrated by John Cardinal Tong Hon, Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, and Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, along with over 40 priests and assisted by more than 10 deacons.
Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, the chairperson of the Diocese Commission for the Permanent Diaconate, recommended the four candidates to Bishop Chow who expressed joy at the ordination of four permanent deacons who will serve the people of God.
Bishop Chow then explained the duties of permanent deacons in assisting bishops and priests in the ministry of the Word, the altar and works of charity. The bishop said their role is to simultaneously spread the gospel message in a Church of plurality as they performed their roles in their own families.
The four candidates expressed their desire to be ordained, perform their duties with humility and pure conscience, and be obedient to the bishop and his successors. The bishop conferred the diaconate by imposing the hand on the heads of the candidates. The two cardinals and Bishop Ha also placed their hands on them in the ritual of consecration.
Due to our backgrounds, permanent deacons serve as a bridge between the Church and society, helping to communicate and resolve disputes while carrying the urgent needs of different communities to the diocese for a timely response
After receiving the diaconal stoles from the bishop, the newly ordained deacons were vested with the outer dalmatic and the stole, worn over the left shoulder and under the dalmatic. Finally, they also took the Book of the Gospels from the bishop, thereby receiving the duty to proclaim God’s Word and preach it with wisdom, charity and zeal.
All the clergy at the ceremony welcomed the new deacons with a fraternal kiss of peace.
On behalf of the newly ordained, Deacon Lau expressed their thankfulness to the cardinals, bishops, priests and all those present, Father Chan and other priests who helped with their formation, their wives and other family members for their selfless support. He believes the ceremony, with the presence of the Holy Spirit, is a sign of unity so that they can all be more aware of synodality in the Church and fulfil their missions in their unique roles.
“Due to our backgrounds, permanent deacons serve as a bridge between the Church and society, helping to communicate and resolve disputes while carrying the urgent needs of different communities to the diocese for a timely response,” Lau said. He also emphasised that they are just four ordinary people bearing witness to God, a mission shared by all believers.
Bishop Chow shared that he was in tears during the ceremony as he watched the four put on the stole with the assistance of their families, which reminded him of the moment he was ordained a priest and his parents assisted him. The bishop thanked their families for their sacrifices and blessed the four and their family members.
Yeung was baptised at the cathedral in 1960 and joined the altar servers one year later. A widower with a daughter, he was accepted as a candidate in 2014. He received the ministry of lector in 2017 and the ministry of acolyte in 2018.
In previous years, Yeung served at Visitation Parish, Tung Chung; St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Tsing Yi; and St. Jude’s Church, North Point. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology and Philosophy in 2016 and received pastoral training at St. Joseph’s Church, Garden Road. He will continue to serve the parish as a deacon, with an additional responsibility to help with the pastoral care in prisons.
Deacon Lau was accepted as a candidate in 2016, received the ministry of lector in 2017 and acolyte in 2018. He was baptised while in high school and became involved in the parish council, Legion of Mary, Bible study group and the choir of St. Margaret’s Church, Happy Valley. He has a degree in Economics and completed his theology training at the Holy Spirit Seminary in 2020. Deacon Lau has been married for 30 years and has a daughter. He has a day job in the garment trading business.
Completing his theology training at the Holy Spirit Seminary in 2020, he received training at the cathedral; Christ the Worker Parish, Ngau Tau Kok; and the Hong Kong Catholic Commission for Labour Affairs. He is currently serving at St. Lawrence Church, Cheung Sha Wan, and will be assigned to help the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family.
The last time the Diocese of Hong Kong ordained permanent deacons was about three and a half years ago. Currently, the diocese has 13 candidates and eight aspirants for the permanent diaconate
Thomas Wong was accepted as a candidate in 2016 and received the ministry of lector in 2017 and later, the ministry of acolyte in 2019. He was born into a Catholic family and was baptised at 10-days-old. He had his initial schooling at the Salesian School and in 1979 studied in the United States. He is a registered chiropractor and a Chinese medicine practitioner.
In 2011, he was elected international president of the Serra Club. He completed his religious studies and theology training at the Holy Spirit Seminary and later received his theology and philosophy degree from the Pontifical Urban University in 2018 and 2021.
He currently serves on the pastoral team of the airport chaplaincy, the Visitation parish in Tung Chung, the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers, and the Caritas Integrated Family Service Centre. He is also the manager of four diocesan and Caritas schools.
Johnny Wong, a dentist, was baptised as a child at St. Mary’s Church in Hung Hom, and has been married to his wife for 27 years and has two sons. His father was the late permanent deacon, Francis Wong Kwok-shum. He applied to be an aspirant in 2010.
After being accepted as a candidate in 2016, he received the ministry of the reader in 2017 and acolyte in 2021. After completing his bachelor’s degree in religious studies at the Holy Spirit Seminary in 2017, Wong served at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Kennedy Town. He then served at the Annunciation Church, Tsuen Wan, before being assigned to Epiphany Church, Mui Wo. He will also help the prison ministry and serve the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family.
The last time the Diocese of Hong Kong ordained permanent deacons was about three and a half years ago. Currently, the diocese has 13 candidates and eight aspirants for the permanent diaconate.
The permanent diaconate in Hong Kong was established in 1996 by the late John Baptist Cardinal Wu Cheng-chung. Apart from serving the liturgy and the Word, permanent deacons are assigned to render pastoral services in hospitals, jails, schools, the airport chaplaincy, ministry in family and marriage, and works of charity in society.
