HONG KONG (SE): James Shin Ka-leung, a candidate for permanent deaconship from Hong Kong, will be ordained at Westminster Cathedral, London at 10.30am on July 6.
Shin, who moved to the United Kingdom in 2021 will be ordained alongside Eze Ugoala and Paul Hewitt.
The three will be ordained by Auxiliary Bishop James Curry of the Diocese of Westminster, during a Mass to be concelebrated by Paris Foreign Missions Father Bruno Lepeu, who will go to London to show pastoral care for Hong Kong migrants, and other priests.
Furthermore, Shin was appointed on June 29 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales to be coordinator of a committee that provides pastoral care to new Catholic migrants from Hong Kong.
According to Shin, a large number of Hong Kong migrants have settled in the United Kingdom since 2021, taking up residence in such major cities as London, Manchester, and Birmingham. He noted that, while they strive to integrate into local parishes, they miss the familiar liturgical and pastoral practices of Hong Kong, which they find more interactive, intimate, and culturally relevant. As a result, many small faith groups have formed in various regions, organising pastoral activities like prayer groups, catechesis classes, and Sunday school.
Shin said that there is a strong desire among the migrants for priests from Hong Kong to visit and celebrate Mass, and hold pastoral activities in Cantonese. As Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing will visit several regions in the United Kingdom in mid-July, the communities are eager to meet him. In addition, he believes there is a need for a Chinese chaplaincy to address their spiritual needs.
…they miss the familiar liturgical and pastoral practices of Hong Kong, which they find more interactive, intimate, and culturally relevant. As a result, many small faith groups have formed in various regions, organising pastoral activities like prayer groups, catechesis classes, and Sunday school
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2015 inspired Shin to pursue this vocation, and he approached Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, chairperson of the Diocesan Commission for the Permanent Diaconate, to learn more about the permanent diaconate and seek support in discernment.
In July 2019, he completed his Bachelor of Religious Studies at the Holy Spirit Seminary. Following discernment and formation, he was accepted as a candidate in the Diocese of Hong Kong in November 2019. The pandemic then disrupted his training.
When he moved to the United Kingdom to be with his family, he ceased to practice as a solicitor in Hong Kong. He continued his formation in the Diocese of Westminster in 2022 and studied for a master’s degree in social teaching at St. Mary’s University of London. He was recently approved for ordination by Vincent Cardinal Nichols of Westminster.
The day after his ordination ordination, Shin will assist Father Lepeu in celebrating Mass in Cantonese at St. George’s Cathedral, Southwark, followed by a party organised by the Cantonese-speaking community.
Father Chan expressed his happiness with the diaconate ordination of a Hong Kong migrant, which will be a great blessing for the Cantonese-speaking communities in the United Kingdom.
