By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
On October 1, I was invited to officiate at the fifth anniversary thanksgiving Mass of the Missionary Childhood Association [Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood] at St. Jerome’s Church in Tin Shui Wai, and to participate in their sharing session and celebration.
I believe many of us have never heard of this association, which was founded in 2019 at St. Jerome’s Church by PIME Sister Sophia Rani Dhason and a few parishioners. It is the first and for the time being, the only Missionary Childhood Association established in a parish in the Diocese of Hong Kong.
The association is an international organisation founded in 1843 by Bishop Charles August Forbin-Janson in France, who invited children to support needy children both spiritually and materially. This idea, this movement and this children’s mission has gradually spread to different parts of the world.
Today, more than 150 countries have established a Missionary Childhood Association as an organisation for the formation of children, volunteers and parents for the mission of evangelisation. Pope Pius XI placed it under his guardianship on 3 May 1922, so that the Association of the Holy Childhood could also be given the “Pontifical” title. He gave the Christian children of the world a mission to be true missionaries and to help other children to know and love Jesus.
During the sharing session, the children told their stories of the past five years, and it was very encouraging to see the spirit of these child missionaries. Out of the past five years, about three were spent in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and there were indeed a lot of obstacles to the development of this newly established organisation. Nevertheless, there were always solutions. Under the guidance of Sister Dhason and the volunteers, children could still reach out and spread the gospel by praying the rosary and singing Christmas carols via online platforms, and through prayers, children showed their concern and care for those in other countries who face greater difficulties.
Now after the pandemic, they are active again. In the past year, through monthly Bible sharing and various evangelisation activities, they have enabled children, volunteers and parents to take up the mission of evangelisation, including spreading the gospel to Hong Kong people through skits and songs outside the church, the Way of the Cross on the streets, participating in the services of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Community of Sant’Egidio, visiting the homeless, and giving out meals, etc., so that children do not only receive faith formation, but also put faith into practice.
In parishes in our diocese, there seem to be no organisations focusing on children other than Sunday Schools. It is worthwhile for the the Diocesan Committee for the Development of Children Ministry, which has just been set up, to develop and promote the association in the diocese.
If all the parishes in Hong Kong have this association in place, I believe that the awareness that “we are all missionaries”, as well as the missionary spirit, can be cultivated from childhood and can slowly spread to the diocese as a whole. In addition, vocations begin with children and family, so I believe that the development of the association will also lead to an increase in vocations.
Furthermore, as the association is an international organisation, it allows children to develop a global outlook and to experience the Church they are joining as a family, not only in the parish and the diocese, but also in the universal Church of the world, so that from an early age they will have a sense of the parish, the diocese, and the universal Church.
