By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
Every year from January 18 to 25 is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Christian denominations in Hong Kong respond to this invitation to unity by arranging different gatherings or activities to promote accord. For example, this year there was a ecumenical prayer meeting held at St. Ignatius Chapel on January 18. On January 19, Sunday, an exchange of pulpits between clergy from different Christian denominations and the Catholic Church was encouraged.
Regarding Christian unity, I was most impressed by the Taizé Community. Located in a village in the south of France, it is a monastic community founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz. Since then, it has grown to a total of about 100 members of different backgrounds and denominations from 30 countries and receives hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world every year. The community prays three times a day with chanting, the Word, meditation and simple community life to help the pilgrims dialogue with Christ and to spread the spirit of Christian unity and peace.
I believe that many Hong Kong Catholics have heard of the Taizé Community, and even if they do not know much about it, they must know the Taizé chant. In fact, the community has had many contacts and exchanges with the Diocese of Hong Kong.
Two former priors, Brother Roger and Brother Alois, visited Hong Kong on different occasions, although the third prior, Brother Matthew, who took office last year, has not had a chance to visit us yet.
Since 2005, two Catholic and two Protestant young people have been invited by the Taizé Community to go to France each year for three months to experience the community and to do volunteer work there. Apart from hosting pilgrims every year, the community also organises an annual youth gathering in Europe, which has already taken place 47 times, as well as youth gatherings in Asia and Africa every few years. I am sure you will remember that in August 2018, the Taizé held a youth gathering in Hong Kong for over 3,000 people.
I had the honour of visiting the Taizé group in France for the first time in 1992, and I have had a close relationship with them. In addition to my many visits, I have also invited many young people to participate in youth gatherings in Europe, Asia and Africa. Since 2007, I have been responsible for selecting young people to go to Taizé for a three-month experience every year, and have organised many youth gatherings in Hong Kong with the Taizé brothers.
In this Jubilee Year, we are very thankful that the Taizé Community, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and our Catholic diocese will be holding a four-day Taizé Meeting for East Asian Youth from May 2 to 5 at All Saints’ Cathedral, Wah Yan College and St. Ignatius Chapel in Kowloon. We expect to receive 150 young people aged 18 to 35 from overseas and 350 young people aged 16 to 35 from different Christian denominations in Hong Kong. The theme of the gathering is “Hope beyond all hope”.
We cordially invite our parishioners to become host families for the 150 young people from overseas, so that they can participate in this prayer meeting with kind care and companionship.
In addition to the participants, anyone interested is welcome to join the Taizé prayer meeting at 8.00pm on May 4 at the sports ground of Wah Yan College in Kowloon. However, if the weather is bad, we will have to return to St Ignatius’ Church. We invite you to pray for the Taizé Meeting for East Asian Youth in Jubilee 2025 and to respond positively by taking part in the gathering or by being a host family. We look forward to meeting you.
