BOWRING, SIR JOHN.
A little known personality of the old days was Sir John Bowring's daughter who took the veil in Hongkong. Few would imagine that the daughter of a Governor of the Colony would have become a nun while in Hongkong. There is a reference in an old record which reads: "Died at the Italian Convent, Hongkong, on 20th August 1870, Emily, youngest daughter of Sir John Bowring (Formerly Governor of Hongkong) aged 37 years."
The chronicles state that as Sister Aloysia (the name Miss Bowring assumed on taking the vows, as one of the Daughters of Charity in the Italian Convent in Hongkong) the deceased lady was well-known, and universally respected, ever since the year 1859, when her father retired from the Governorship leaving her in Hongkong to work in the Christian Mission which she had chosen for her field of labour.
From the account given, it is evident that Miss Bowring chose a "diverse religious road" to that travelled by her father and her family.