HONG KONG (SE): St. Joseph’s parish, Garden Road, marked the 150th anniversary of its establishment with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Chow Sau Yan SJ, on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God.
The original St. Joseph’s Church was constructed in the Gothic style with granite and brick, and consecrated to serve the British troops in the former British colony on 30 November 1872. It was the third Catholic church built in Hong Kong.
It had to be rebuilt after the original building was destroyed by a typhoon in 1874. The replacement church building, consecrated on 3 June 1877, was bombed during World War II.
Construction of the present church building began in 1966. Designed in the shape of a ship by architect Peter K. Ng, it alludes to Noah’s Ark and symbolises the Church and its mission of salvation. [Sunday Examiner, 18 April 202].)
The anniversary Mass initiated a series of programmes to help the faithful understand the parish’s history in which it has primarily served people from overseas, first the British soldiers, then the British people and since the 1990s, Filipino migrants.
Before the Mass, Bishop Chow blessed a giant poster with an image of St. Joseph and a prayer for pilgrims, hung outside the elevator of the parish marking the 150th anniversary. All participants were given a bookmark bearing the image and prayers.
The bishop also blessed 50 paintings by artist, Jackie Lau, about St. Joseph and exhibited at the parish chapel.
Most of the paintings were inspired by the apostolic letter of Pope Francis, Patris Corde, [With a Father’s Heart]. They are meant to remind people to follow the example of their patron saint as the parish celebrates its anniversary.
Parish priest, Father Joseph Tan Leitao, assistant parish priest, Father Paul Chen Zhongxue, and two other Divine Word Missionaries, Father John Zhang Xinghao and Father Joachim Li Yongxin, concelebrated the Mass.
Bishop Chow expressed his joy in joining with the parish community, which is a second home away from home for many of those present. In his homily, he encouraged the congregation to start the new year with positive thoughts to help them yield better results. He encouraged them to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who waited patiently for the answer of God.
Bishop Chow expressed his joy in joining with the parish community, which is a second home away from home for many of those present. In his homily, he encouraged the congregation to start the new year with positive thoughts to help them yield better results. He encouraged them to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who waited patiently for the answer of God.
The bishop also explained the three appeals of Pope Francis for the World Day of Peace: to encourage dialogue between generations, to teach and educate and to respect labour.
The theme of the 150th anniversary for the parish is Home Away from Home. “Most of our parishioners are not born in Hong Kong but stay in Hong Kong for most of their lives; that is why they need a home in our parish,” Father Tan explained at the end of the Mass, before announcing the launch of the activities marking the anniversary.
In the coming year, the parish will invite other parishes, schools, and organisations to organise pilgrimages to the church help them learn more about its community, spirit, and architectural design. It will also organise a talk on the identity of the Filipino community at the parish, a spiritual seminar, as well as workshops about financial management and skills of taking care of the elderly for foreign domestic workers.
Display boards about the parish’s history are also designed to help inform visitors about the church with historical pictures.
Father Tan reminded parishioners to “remember, rejoice and renew” as they celebrated the anniversary by remembering the priests and faithful who have served the parish, rejoicing as they serve those who do not yet know God and the needy, as well as renewing the gifts of their faith.
The parish is presently the home to over 10 spiritual groups and functional groups for Filipinos including, the Filipino Catholic Group, the Apostleship of Prayer [Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network], the Filipino Prayer Group, the Legion of Mary, the Sowers Charismatic Group, the Saturday Community, as well as the groups for lectors, altar servers, choir, ushers, Eucharistic ministers and communication services.
The parish’s Chinese-speaking community has been growing in recent years after it started an anticipated Cantonese Mass at 4:30pm on Saturdays in April 2019. Knowing that the parish priest is Chinese, several elderly Chinese parishioners had asked Father Tan for a Mass in Cantonese. This prompted him to develop the Chinese-speaking community.
Two catechism classes—one in Cantonese and another in Putonghua were also started. On 3 April 2021, around 30 Chinese parishioners from the were baptised.
Father Tan believes the elevator, completed at the end of 2019, will also encourage more elderly, who had difficulties walking up the stairs, to join the Mass.
