By Father Peter Choy Wai-man
The Chapel of the Epiphany of Our Lord in Sham Chung, the Holy Family Chapel in Chek Keng, the Rosary Mission Centre in Wong Mo Ying, and St. Peter’s Chapel in Tan Ka Wan… the list goes on!
I believe that many Catholics, even those who have been members of the Church for many years, are very unlikely to know about the 10 churches on the Sai Kung peninsula, much less visit them on a pilgrimage or pray inside them.
Although I have been active in the liturgical services of the parish since I was baptised as a child and eventually became a priest, it was not until 10 years ago that I discovered the existence of these churches.
I remember once, when I was walking through Chek Keng on a trip, I suddenly heard the powerful singing of the famous musical, Messiah, by the famous German musician, Händel, coming from the mountains. I was curious to know where this classical western music came from in this almost abandoned Hakka village. So I followed the sound of the music and walked past a few dilapidated buildings to find the Holy Family Chapel, practically hidden in the bamboo forest.
The chapel had been defunct for many years due to the migration or removal of villagers. Only one villager was left to watch over it. In addition to cleaning and maintaining the chapel, he spent his spare time playing his favourite religious music through a loudspeaker that he put together himself. Since then, it has been my goal to let the footprints left by the early missionaries meet with the visitors passing through the countryside today, which is why I encouraged the diocese to set up a Working Committee for Following Thy Way.
On May 12, the French newspaper, La Croix, published the report of a large-scale survey conducted by the local tourism department. Every year, an average of more than 200,000 people from all over the world take the Way of St. James across France and Spain, an ancient path that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Starting from the 9th century, this has been a popular pilgrim way, full of pilgrims. However, people taking the path for the religious pilgrimage only account for 12 per cent today.
So, what are the goals of the others? According to the report, although most walkers do not aim at the pilgrimage, there is still a spiritual element. One out of every five people likes to stay in a monastery or church hostel to experience the simplicity and hardship of a pilgrimage in the past. More than half expect the journey to be a stop in their lives, a place to refresh, renew strength and think about their directions. Since there are a lot of old churches along the Way of St. James, the bishop’s conferences in France and Spain call on the dioceses they pass through to actively welcome these travellers so that they too can have an encounter with themselves, nature, culture and history along the way.
Taking a cue from the Way of St. James, if we connect these 10 churches in Sai Kung in one go, the distance is only about 50 kilometres, which cannot be compared to 800 kilometres of the Way of St. James. And the missionary history of 150 years in Sai Kung is not comparable to the profound cultural and historical resources of the Way of St. James. But I found the survey report to be very enlightening for the Following Thy Way work. I hope that through the footsteps of the missionaries of the past, the conservation project of the Following Thy Way will also allow visitors to find a way leading into their hearts and build a deeper and more harmonious relationship with the community and nature.
