HONG KONG (SE): The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance [Trappists] has announced the peaceful passing of Father Benedict Chao who returned to the Lord on July 31, at North District Hospital. He was 108-years-old; the world’s oldest Trappist monk.
Born in 1918 in Chengting, Hebei, Father Chao joined Hebei’s Abbey of Our Lady of Joy in 1941 aged 23.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1949, Father Chao dedicated over seven decades to his sacerdotal ministry, celebrating his Platinum Jubilee in 2019. Throughout his monastic lifetime, he played a foundational role in the development of Our Lady of Joy Abbey, or Trappist Haven Monastery, on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Serving as prior of the abbey from 1974 to 1998, Father Chao guided the monastic community through significant historical chapters—including the growth of the Trappist Dairy in the 1980s with the devoted support of Father Stanislaus Jen, and the expansion to Taiwan with the establishment of the Holy Mother of God Monastery in 1984.
Father Chao’s long life of silence, contemplation, and total surrender to God remains an enduring witness of faith. A funeral Mass was scheduled on August 14 at Our Lady of Joy Abbey, Lantau Island, presided over by Abbot Dom Paul Kao.
