Abstract
The Catholic Church established itself in Hong Kong in 1841, in response to the religious needs of Irish troops in the recently occupied territory. At that time, the Church had not developed any plans for Hong Kong as a mission field, not to mention that personnel were deployed in Hong Kong only on a short-term basis and that the Catholics had not yet formed a stable community. However, in the ensuing few years, the population of the colony grew by leaps and bounds, and thus opportunities for evangelization increased. Evangelization was the ultimate motive of foreign missions, and Hong Kong was no exception. Very soon, the Church moved from taking care of Irish troops to working for the consolidation and expansion of a local Catholic community. The latter objective entailed the proclamation of the Christian religion, the erection of church buildings, and the appointment of a responsible institute in Hong Kong.
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Notes
Patricia Neils, ed., United States Attitudes and Policies toward China: The Impact of American Missionaries (Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 1990).
Li Li, “Diversifying the Operation: Southern Baptist Missions in China at the Turn of the Century 1890–1910,” Baptist History and Heritage, vol. 34, no. 2 (1999), pp. 42–55; Cindy Yik-yi Chu, “From the Pursuit of Converts to the Relief of Refugees: The Maryknoll Sisters in Twentieth-Century Hong Kong,” The Historian, vol. 65, no. 2 (Winter 2002), pp. 353–76.
Adrian A. Bennett, Missionary Journalist in China: Young J. Allen and His Magazines, 1860–1883 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1983); Lawrence D. Kessler, The Jiangyin Mission Station: An American Missionary Community in China 1895–1951 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996).
Thomas F. Ryan, The Story of a Hundred Years: The Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions, (P.I.M.E.), in Hong Kong, 1858–1958 (Hong Kong: Catholic Truth Society, 1959), pp. 1–2.
Xianggang Tianzhujiaohui yibai wushi zhounian jinian tekan (The Special Bulletin for the 150 th Anniversary of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong) (Hong Kong: Catholic Church, 1991; in both Chinese and English), p. 5.
T. F. Ryan, “Survey of a Century,” in Catholic Hong Kong: A Hundred Years of Missionary Activity (Hong Kong: Catholic Press Bureau, 1958), p. 7.
Vicariatus Apostolicus Hongkong, Prospectus Generalis Operis Missionalis, n.d., Folder 2, Box 10: Reports, Statistics and Related Correspondence (1969), Accumulative and Comparative Statistics (1842–1963), Section I, Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives.
Sergio Ticozzi, Historical Documents of the Hong Kong Catholic Church (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives, 1997), p. 118.
Vicariatus Apostolicus Hongkong, Prospectus Generalis Operis Missionalis.
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Maryknoll: Hong Kong Chronicle (Hong Kong: Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, 1978), p. 1.
The Rock: Hong Kong Catholic Monthly, vol. 4, nos. 10–11 (July–August 1924).
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Maryknoll: Hong Kong Chronicle, p. 4.
Stephen H. L. Law, “Social Commitments of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong: Education,” paper presented at “Seminar on Catholic Archives Records” of Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives and Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office, January 5, 1995, p. 17.
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Maryknoll: Hong Kong Chronicle, p. 4.
Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, Xianggang Tianzhujiao jiaoyu jianjie (A Brief Introduction to Catholic Education in Hong Kong) (Hong Kong: Exhibition of Catholic Church, 1900), p. 7.
Newspaper clipping, entitled “Death of Bishop Pozzoni: Succumbs Suddenly at French Hospital; Nearly 40 Years in Diocese,” February 21, 1924, Folder 5, Box 8: Msgr. Domenico Pozzoni, 3 rd Vicar Apostolic (1905–1924), Section II: Hierarchy, Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives.
Sister Mary Imelda Sheridan, “A History of the South China Region 1921–1958,” 1959, p. 6, Folder 1, Box 1, South China Region: Hong Kong/Macau Region, 1921–, Maryknoll Mission Archives, Maryknoll, New York.
Law, “Social Commitments of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong: Education,” p. 18.
Letter from Sister Mary Paul McKenna (Superior of Maryknoll Sisters in Hong Kong) to Mother Mary Joseph Rogers (Mother General in Maryknoll, New York State), May 9, 1923, p. 1, Folder 2, Box 1, Regional Correspondence: South China, Maryknoll Mission Archives.
Bishop Dominic Pozzoni, Vicar Apostolic, to A. G. M. Fletcher, Colonial Secretary, May 16, 1923, 1 page, and June 30, 1923, 2 pages, Folder 1, Box 10: St. Teresa’s Church, Section IV: Territorial Subdivision, Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives; Letter from A. E. Wright, Pro-Director of Public Works, to Colonial Secretary, June 5, 1923, HKRS 58–1-114–46 “Application of Roman Catholic Mission for Three Areas near Kowloon Tong for Erection of Church, Training School, Girls’ School and Houses for Portuguese,” Public Records Office, Hong Kong.
Ticozzi, Historical Documents of the Hong Kong Catholic Church, pp. 144–45.
Vicariatus Apostolicus Hongkong, Prospectus Generalis Operis Missionalis.
Stephen H. L. Law, “Social Commitments of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong: Welfare Services,” paper presented at “Seminar on Catholic Archives Records” of Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives and Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office, January 5, 1995, pp. 1–2.
General Constitutions of Catholic Action (Extract) (Hong Kong: Apostolic Delegation of China, n.d. [1931?]), p. 2, Box 57: Catholic Action, Section V: Mission Personnel, Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Archives.
Ticozzi, Historical Documents of the Hong Kong Catholic Church, p. 156.
The word “procure” was often used among missionaries. As Jean-Paul Wiest explains: “This word, borrowed from the French, is a term commonly used by Catholic missionary societies. It refers to a house or office in some convenient location to which missioners can look for service in procuring needed supplies, exchanging checks, and so forth. A procure also serves, when large enough, as a hostel for passing missioners.” Read Jean-Paul Wiest, Maryknoll in China: A History, 1918–1955 (Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 1988), p. 60 footnote.
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© 2005 Cindy Yik-yi Chu
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Chu, C.Yy. (2005). Catholic Church Between Two World Wars. In: Chu, C.Yy. (eds) Foreign Communities in Hong Kong, 1840s–1950s. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403980557_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403980557_5
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