HONG KONG (SE): Jesuit Father Mark Fang Chih-jung (1926 to 2021) has been remembered for his love for the Church, dedication to theology and formation. Father Fang rested in the Lord on March 2 at the age of 94. His funeral took place on March 13 at the Holy Family Church in Taipei and he was buried at the Jesuit cemetery in Changhua.
In a condolence letter to the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus, John Cardinal Tong, apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, praised Father Fang’s scholarly contributions and profound academic studies. The late priest was especially “thanked for leading spiritual retreats for priests and giving lectures to the Catholics in the diocese of Hong Kong,” it noted.
Both his message and another message from Archbishop Savio Hon, now nuncio to Greece, were presented before the funeral Mass.
Born in Anhui, eastern China, Father Fang, studied theology and philosophy in Rome in late 1940s. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1952 in Salamanca, Spain, and was ordained to priesthood in 1955. He obtained his doctorate in biblical studies in Germany in 1963. Since 1960s, he lived and worked in Taiwan.
Precious Blood Sister Goretti Lau, a past student of Father Fang when she studied at the Fu Jen Faculty of Theology of St. Robert Bellarmine in Taipei some 51 years ago, said in Chinese-language article commemorating him, that his passing saddened her.
“He was teaching Old Testament when I studied there. His style of teaching was unique—slow and calm, and with clear and orderly explanation,” she said. The priest-scholar’s “love for the Bible was often expressed through his writings and conversations. His achievements in biblical and theological studies are highly regarded, especially in the Chinese Catholic Church. As for my academic researches, he had given me advice and guidance,” said Sister Lau, a theologian at the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology and Philosophy in the Diocese of Hong Kong.
She recalled a time in the early 1970s, shortly after the launch of the theology journal of the faculty, Collectanea Theologica Universitatis Fujen, for which the late Father Aloysius Chang Chun-shen (1929 to 2015) and Father Fang were the “pillars” of the publication. “Encouraged by both priests to do translations of academic materials for the publication, I was happy to be given such an opportunity. I still remember that Father Fang had read through and revised every translation of mine attentively and often taught me the skills of translation. He even introduced me to lectures on translation by the famous writer Chang Shiou-ya (1919 to 2001) at Fu Jen Catholic University and I benefitted a lot from her lectures.”
“Although he resided in Taiwan, he was much concerned about the Church in the Mainland. Since the late 1980s, a Bridge Church Group comprising Church personnel from Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong was formed and Father Fang, Father Gabriel Ly-chen and (John) Cardinal Tong (then Father Tong) were key persons. I was a member too, often acted as the secretary.”
“The group held a number of meetings, all in Taiwan. Father Fang was never absent, and provided valuable and practical advice to the mainland Church in all aspects of its formation of faith, including the Bible, theology and spirituality,” she noted.
“Father Fang, a profound scholar in biblical studies, was active in the promotion of Christian Unity and spent a lot of time and effort on the use of vocabulary in Chinese translation of the Bible. In a word, Father Fang can be lauded ‘a treasure of the Chinese Church’. His influence is not limited to the Churches in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, but also for the Church in the mainland and overseas Chinese Churches.”
She said, “He will always be remembered for his dedication to the formation of the Chinese Church especially in the aspects of the Bible and theology.”
