By Father Joseph Chan Wing-chiu
November 22 is the feast day of St. Cecilia, a famous martyr of the early Church, during a time of persecution. The story of the saint’s martyrdom can be found on the Internet and is quite inspiring.
There used to be a church in the Diocese of Hong Kong that was dedicated to the saint, but when you entered you would only see oil paintings of the Child Jesus, Mary and Joseph at the altar. It was not until you entered the conference room of the parish that you saw the painting of St. Cecilia hanging on the wall.
The church was located in Diamond Hill, and its construction started in the 1950s after Bishop Lorenzo Bianchi appointed the PIME priests to set up a parish there. In the 1960s, the Hong Kong government developed the area by building a large public housing estate between Ngau Chi Wan and Choi Hung Road, which is now known as Choi Hung Estate. At that time, the Catholic Church successfully applied for the establishment of a Catholic secondary school in the estate. As a result, the original Holy Family Church in Diamond Hill was relocated to the secondary school in Choi Hung Estate. As for the situation in Diamond Hill, in view of the large number of new immigrants from China who moved into the area, and the large number of Catholics among them, the diocese re-established a parish on the site and named it St. Cecilia’s Church.
Today, the church no longer exists and we can only look at its historical photos on the Internet. Thankfully, there are still many parishes where brothers and sisters celebrate the feast day of St. Cecila. She is the patron of music, so in many parishes the saint is the patron of the choir. Furthermore, no one who lived in the former St. Cecilia’s Church will ever forget the faith experience they had there. I am one of them.
Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation—on many occasions I met God. This was the place I felt loved and called by him. I am grateful that my brothers and sisters from the former parish are still connected and that we are able to maintain this bond with our family of faith by singing and praying with our hearts and souls.
Whether the parish building is still standing or not, the roots of the Church have been planted deep in my heart and soul.
What kind of faith experience do you have? Where is your parish? Do you attend Mass at a regular church, or at different churches according to your schedules? Or do you follow your preferred priest and go to different churches?
Whatever your situation, what is more important is whether you have built a sanctuary in your heart to welcome the Lord. The Lord is willing to come, not to a building, not to a grand and comfortable place, not to an area with convenient parking space … but to an altar built in you with a faith that loves the Lord and loves people.
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