By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
This year, after the celebration of the first World Children’s Day, the diocese set up the Diocesan Committee for the Development of Children Ministry, which comprises the Catholic Education Office, Caritas-Hong Kong, the Diocesan Vocation Commission, the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family, the Diocesan Youth Commission, the Diocesan Catechetical Centre and Commission, Hong Kong Catholic Lay Missionary Association and Home for Greenery. To celebrate the Jubilee Year 2025, the committee has organised a programme called “Deliver Hope” to enable children and families to celebrate the Jubilee Year with love and hope, starting from the family and then spreading to those around them, especially the underprivileged and disadvantaged in the community.
We hope that each parish can select four children aged seven to 12 to participate. If all parishes send their children to participate, we will have over two hundred children who will become “Ambassadors of Hope” from February 2025 to September 2026 through formation, celebration and activities, and will spread the message of hope in different places such as parishes, communities, schools, and so on.
The whole journey of formation will take place in nine pilgrimage churches selected by the diocese through a series of activities on Sundays: first of all, we will invite the Sunday School teachers to join a gathering on the afternoon of February 9 next year at St. Andrew’s Church, Tseung Kwun O, in the hope that they will accompany and lead the children through this Jubilee Year journey. Then, we will invite all participating children to attend the launching ceremony of “Love and Hope” at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Sham Shui Po, on the afternoon March 2 next year to become “Ambassadors of Hope” commissioned to carry out their mission.
During the season of Lent, we will bring love and hope to those around us through service, works of mercy and prayer. The Ambassadors of Hope commissioned will then gather at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Tsing Yi, on the afternoon of May 18, to participate in the “Joy and Hope” programme and share their joyful experiences of bringing hope to others. Parents will be invited to the events on March 2 and May 18 to witness the children being commissioned, sharing, and embarking on this journey of love, joy, and hope together with the children.
From June 20 to 22, we will hold spiritual camps at Ming Fai, Oi Fai and Ka Fai Camps in Cheung Chau, as well as a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima Church, where more than two hundred Ambassadors of Hope and volunteers will experience the hope given by Jesus Christ through three days and two nights of playing, living, praying, reflecting and sharing together. On June 22, parents can also come to camping sites in Cheung Chau to hear the sharings of their children.
Between July 2025 and August 2026, we will arrange for our Ambassadors of Hope to go on pilgrimages to the other five churches. Of course, we also hope that our Ambassadors of Hope can carry out their mission in the parish, not only by participating in parish activities, but also encouraging other children in the parish to take up the mission of spreading hope.
In September 2026, we will arrange for children to go to Rome to participate in the second World Children’s Day. We do not yet know how many children we can bring, but we will select one from the eight deaneries among the Ambassadors of Hope to represent Hong Kong, so at least eight children will definitely participate. Of course, the more the merrier. It all depends on the actual situation and God’s will.
We look forward to working with the children on this two-year journey, so that they can become “Ambassadors of Hope” and true “Pilgrims of Hope”.
