By Father Peter Choy Wai-man
The Diocesan Working Committee for “Following Thy Way” came across some findings as they examined the footprints of early missionaries at the chapels on the Sai Kung Peninsula, Kam Tin, and Yuen Long. These chapels were not only places of worship where the villagers came to know their faith, but also were community spaces in the villages, providing education, medical care, and even a place for cultural and recreational activities.
The most obvious examples are the Star of the Sea Mass Centre in Sai Wan, the Epiphany of Our Lord Chapel in Sham Chung, and the Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows Chapel in Pak Tam Chung. These chapels had some common features: They were all divided into two parts, with a church and a school, one on the left and the other on the right, or one at the front and the other at the back. In addition to the classroom facilities, a mezzanine was also built to accommodate teachers, and the church and the school shared a close relationship.
From the oral histories of the villagers, it is not difficult to find that their childhood memories are often inseparable from the school and the church. Today, most of the villages where these chapels are located are deserted. With the villagers’ educational needs no longer existing, the rich historical and cultural resources around the villages and the diverse natural ecological landscape have attracted many visitors on holidays. They have gathered a new community of different kinds of people who would like to stretch their muscles, cleanse their minds, look for their roots and get close to nature.
How can we revitalise these chapels so that they can once again become a community space and restore the close relationship that used to exist between parish and school?
In his apostolic exhortation, The pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of the Church,” Pope Francis emphasised that a church should not be equated with a building or an organisation but rather be a community of different groups, a sanctuary that offers a sip of cool water on the journey of life. The parish should therefore be a people-centred place, fostering dialogue, cultural encounters and an open attitude.
Aside from restoring the architectural space of these chapels, the working committee envisions restoring the integral relationship between the chapel and the community, allowing people of all backgrounds, whether they are villagers, pilgrims, hikers, or eco-educators, to use them for their own purposes. In the chapels, people can cooperate and interact with one another over the course of their lives in order to build an open and inclusive community and to facilitate a harmonious relationship between people, nature, and the community.
