HONG KONG (SE): Salesian Father John Tsai Kuochang passed away at St. Paul’s Hospital in Causeway Bay on February 24 at the age of 95. During his funeral Mass on March 2, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun praised him as a model Salesian.
Father Joseph Ng Chi-yuen, provincial superior of the Salesian China Province, celebrated a requiem Mass for Father Tsai on March 1 at Mary Help of Christians Church, Kowloon. In his message, Father Ng praised Father Tsai for his dedication towards helping people, even in small matters. He also acknowledged Father Tsai’s teaching skills and lauded him as a good mathematics teacher who always made sure his students understood what he taught.
Cardinal Zen, the retired bishop of Hong Kong, presided over Father Tsai’s funeral Mass at 9:30am on the following day at the same venue. The cardinal recalled that Father Tsai was one of the 30 aspirants brought by Salesian Father Charles Braga from China to serve young people, which turned out to be a successful move as Father Tsai later became a model Salesian. Cardinal Zen expressed his appreciation for Father Tsai’s dedication to helping poor young people by providing them with concrete help, including food, work, and faith. The Mass was followed by a burial at St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley.
Born in Shanghai on 21 August 1929, Father Tsai professed his first vows in Hong Kong in 1952 and received formation at the Salesian House of Studies in Hong Kong. He professed his perpetual vows in 1958 and was ordained to the priesthood in the United Kingdom in 1962. He returned to Hong Kong to serve at St. Louis School, Sai Ying Pun, for a year and later at Savio House and Salesian English School, Shau Kei Wan.
In 1969, he left Hong Kong and served for a year at the Salesian Technical School in Tainan, Taiwan. After that, he returned to Hong Kong and worked at the Aberdeen Technical School and later at the Salesian English School. He retired in 2005 and was then assigned to hear confessions at Braga House, a community home for senior Salesians located in Shau Kei Wan.
