Father Joseph Tan Leitao
In 1841, the Roman Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide [now the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples] established Hong Kong as an apostolic prefecture. In 1842, Father Theodore Joset, the procurator in Macau, was sent to Hong Kong to host this event. He built the first Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1842, at the corner of Wellington and Pottinger Streets, mainly to serve Portuguese parishioners who were far from home. It burned to the ground during a fire in 1859, but construction of a new cathedral began at a site in the Glenealy area on Caine Road in 1881 and the first Mass was celebrated on the feast of the Immaculate Conception in December 1888.
(second from right) and Peter Tam Kwok-hung (right), the designer of the three-storey tall banner, marking the Year of St. Joseph, together with some participants at a blessing ceremony in April.
In 1845, St. Francis Xavier’s Chapel was built in Wan Chai. Afterwards, the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions [PIME] and the Canossian Sisters arrived in Hong Kong. At the same time, Catholics from mainland China began to come to the territory. In 1864, the chapel was enlarged and officially became a parish serving people who had left their homeland. It was the second church in Hong Kong, and this became a “home away from home” for these people.
In 1868, PIME Father Giovanni Timoleone Raimondi was appointed as the praefectura apostolica [apostolic prefect]. In those days, many British troops stationed at Admiralty in Hong Kong. They came from Ireland and Scotland, and were mostly Catholic. Father Raimondi knew that the British government had subsidised the establishment of St. Peter’s Church for the Anglican Church and, in order to serve these Catholics, he proposed in this connection: “To build a church not far from the barracks for the benefit of the Catholic laity among the Irish soldiers of the government.” This church was completed and blessed on 30 November 1872. The Gothic-style building was built of granite and brick, and located at 37 Garden Road, Mid-Levels. This was the third Catholic church in Hong Kong.
The first community at St. Joseph’s Church in Garden Road was comprised of the soldiers who had left their homeland to go overseas. These young men and women were given pastoral care by the parish during their time away from their homeland and enjoyed the consolation of God. They found a “home away from home.” St. Joseph’s became the only church in Hong Kong to keep same name and the same location.
On 22 September 1874, after a typhoon and an earthquake, St. Joseph’s Church was razed to the ground. It was rebuilt and blessed on 3 June 1877.
During World War II, the church was bombed, however the parish still did its best to serve its parishioners, eventually however, its roof weakened and became infested with termites and the building had to be torn down. Rebuilding began in 1966 and the new church was blessed on 1June 1968. This is the structure we see today.
Over the next few decades, the number of expatriates increased and Hong Kong’s economy grew rapidly. At this time, the government, the police, banks, and the educational and the cultural sectors were all dominated by British leaders and administrators. Their faith needs became the mission of St. Joseph’s Church. Our parish had been living “with the openness heart to serve the needs of the times.” These elite members of the government and business community, who lived on the Peak or the Mid-Levels, also found a “home away from home” at St. Joseph’s Church.
Many Westerners left Hong Kong around 1997. Over the previous two decades, due to rapid economic development, many local families began hiring overseas foreign workers. Hundreds of thousands left their hometowns to work in Hong Kong as domestic helpers. Most came from the Philippines.
Most of these Filipino foreign domestic helpers are Catholic, thanks to the 500-year history of Catholicism in the Philippines. They have one day off a week, so they have made Central the place where most of them gather on Sundays. Since St. Joseph’s Church is nearby and the parish continually lives “in the spirit of openness heart, and to serve the most needy of our time.”
Over the last few decades, the parish has served these young women who have made a living in Hong Kong. They have received pastoral care and the Word of God, while the teachings of the priests have guided them in the direction of their lives and their attitudes towards work; they have had the joy of meeting with their relatives in friendship and mutual help. Here at St. Joseph’s Church they have found a “home away from home.”
Sunday Masses run almost every hour and previously, they were always in English; there were no Chinese services. However, after I became parish priest, a number of elderly parishioners living nearby became aware that I am Chinese and asked whether I could offer Cantonese Masses for them.
After my arrival, an elevator was also built at the church allowing those who live close by, but were unable to mount the stairs to attend Mass can now do so. Moreover, St. Joseph’s church is gifted with a number of parking spaces, so it is easy to come by taxi or to park their cars at the church.
After months of preparation, and with the help of the church staff and many dedicated parish volunteers, in April 2019 we started to celebrating anticipated Sunday Mass in Cantonese every Saturday at 4.30pm. Since then, the number of participants has gradually increased and the number of faithful serving at the Mass has grown. This has benefited the parishioners in the neighborhood and those with special needs. They have “found a home not far from their home.”
St. Joseph’s also launched the St. Joseph Freinademetz Cantonese Catechism Class and St. Joseph Freinademetz Putonghua Catechism Class in 2019. On April 3 this year, the parish welcomed the first batch of about 30 people who were baptised into the faith through the Chinese Catechism Class—the first in over 100 years. This opened a new chapter in our parish’ service to local and mainland Chinese communities. These new immigrants have established a “home away from home” through the catechism classes at St. Joseph’s Church. They pray, praise and spread the love of God together. Through various activities and services, as well as through mutual care and support among the faithful, they live out the Christian commandment to “love the Lord and love neighbour.” Gradually, these new immigrants began integrate into Hong Kong society: “a home away from home.”
Reflecting on the service history of St. Joseph’s Church’s, Learning from St. Joseph in this, the Year of St. Joseph, I believe our parish spirit is alive “with the openness heart, to serve the needs of the times; to make our church a home away from home.”
