ENG-1961 — Page 355

RELIGION

297

Catholic school in Hong Kong. In 1848, the first religious Sisters of the Congregation of St Paul de Chartres arrived from France. They opened the first Catholic school for girls and a hospital.

The second Prefect Apostolic of Hong Kong, Msgr Aloysius Ambrosi, took his office in 1855. He was a pioneer in what is now called 'Juvenile Care' and he founded the West Point Reformatory for Boys. Its purpose was to rehabilitate homeless boys and train them in useful trades. Later, he established St Saviour's College, the first Catholic secondary school, which had become a flourishing institution by the time it was taken over by the La Salle Brothers 15 years later.

The Canossian Sisters arrived from Italy in 1867 to start their work, which today includes a comprehensive programme covering education for girls, vocational training, rehabilitative care of the blind, and nursing.

In 1867 the Prefecture Apostolic of Hong Kong was entrusted by the Holy See to the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME), whose first missionaries came here in 1858. Pope Pius IX raised the Prefecture to a Vicariate in 1874. Msgr Timoleon Raimondi, PIME, the Prefect, was consecrated a Bishop and appointed the first Vicar Apostolic of Hong Kong.

Under the efficient administration and fruitful ministry of Bishop Raimondi, the work of the Church was extended in the New Territories and in South China proper as far as Waichow. He built St Joseph's Church in Garden Road, the present Cathedral in Caine Road, and started the first Catholic newspaper.

Roman Catholic activities kept pace with the steady growth of the Colony during the early part of the 20th century, helping to meet emerging needs in the fields of education, health services, and institutional care for the orphaned and aged poor. In 1928, 'Kung Kao Po', the Chinese Catholic weekly was started. Ricci Hall, the Catholic hostel of the University of Hong Kong, was opened in 1929. The Catholic Truth Society, which is devoted to the publication of Catholic literature, was established in 1933. In 1935, the Aberdeen Trade School was opened.

After the Second World War, much rebuilding of Church premises was necessary and new activities were started. Among the latter was the Catholic Centre which was established with the