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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Besides the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Hong Kong Island, which was erected in 1888, there are sixty four Roman Catholic Churches and public chapels.
The Roman Catholic population, according to the census taken on June 30th 1959, numbers 146,464; there are in addition 12,780 Catechumens. There are 299 priests, 106 religious Brothers and 609 religious Sisters in the Colony. Of the priests 54 are secular priests. The 14 Religious Orders and Congregations in Hong Kong represent 25 nationalities. At present there are 58 members of the Pontifical Foreign Mission Institute in Hong Kong.
The Sisters working in Hong Kong belong to 20 Congregations and 260 of the Sisters are Chinese.
The Church in the Colony has 152 schools with a total enrol- ment of 74,665 pupils. Of the schools, 23 are Kindergartens, 73 Primary Schools, 27 Secondary Schools, 5 Industrial or Profes- sional Schools and 24 Night Schools.
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The Church's charitable work is directed by the Diocesan Catholic Charities Bureau, Hong Kong Catholic Social Welfare Conference, 15-18 Connaught Road Central. The religious and lay organizations grouped in the Conference operate, 5 hospitals with 458 beds, 21 Clinics and Dispensaries in which during the past year 472,805 cases were treated, 7 Welfare Centres,-2 creches, 5 orphanages, 2 Homes for the Aged, a Home for the Blind, a Home for wayward girls, and 50 Relief Distribution Centres. The Hong Kong Catholic Social Welfare Conference is a member of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. The American Catholic Relief Services, National Catholic Welfare Conference who have their Hong Kong Office in Man Yee Building, are likewise mem- bers of the Council of Social Service.
The Church has a Public Relations Office, situated in the Catholic Centre, 15-18 Connaught Road Central. The Press of the Diocese of Hong Kong publishes two weekly newspapers, the Kung Kao Po in Chinese and the Sunday Examiner in English.
Among other Diocesan Organizations are the Catholic Truth Society, which publishes Chinese Catholic Literature, The Pon- tifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, an organization to assist missionary activities, the Apostleship of the Sea which ministers to the spiritual needs of seamen, the Diocesan Church