Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hong Kong (Agenzia Fides) - Respect and sharing of culture and traditions of the Catholic foreign residents in Hong Kong so that they can fit in better in society and the church community and encouraging communion: this is the commitment of the entire Catholic community in Hong Kong. According to reports from the Kong Ko Bao (Chinese version of the diocesan bulletin), Fr. Christian Becker, chaplain of the German-speaking community that takes care of over a thousand worshipers coming from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who live and work in Hong Kong noted: " There are ususally over 70 faithful who attend weekly Mass in German, and this helps their spiritual life." Thirteen faithful also received the sacrament of Confirmation on March 24. The Spanish-speaking community is another very religious community. According to some of them, "the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is very important for us, is now celebrated together with Chinese Catholics and other nationalities. We are very grateful to the Church of Hong Kong for the respect of our traditions." The diocese has also designated some Mexican priests for the pastoral care of the community, helping its members to better fit into the social and ecclesial life in Hong Kong. Fr. Choo Sung Hun, chaplain of the Korean community, said: "The diocese has given the utmost attention to the pastoral care of foreigners, starting from the attention and support to us priests, chaplains. At the same time I feel spiritually enriched working for my countrymen here in Hong Kong, it is a mutual encouragement."
According to the Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory 2011, to August 31, 2010, the diocese had 357,000 faithful and 173,000 foreign faithful. The Filipino community, made up of 128,000 people, is the largest. In the diocesan pastoral structure there is the French, German, Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish, Korean, English chaplaincy.... (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 23/4/2012)
