ENG-1965 — Page 267

RELIGION AND CUSTOM

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Msgr Timoleon Raimondi, was consecrated in 1874 when the prefecture was raised to an Apostolic Vicariat. He built St Joseph's Church on Garden Road and the present Cathedral on Caine Road, and brought to Hong Kong the La Salle Brothers, who established St Joseph's College in 1875.

Since the Second World War much rebuilding of church premises has taken place and new activities have been started. Among the latter is the Catholic Centre, which houses the Catholic Press Bureau, the Catholic Truth Society, the Catholic Club, a lending library, a book centre and a chapel. On 11th April 1946, the Vicariat of Hong Kong was raised to the status of a diocese by Pope Pius XII, with Msgr Henry Valtorta, PIME, as the first Diocesan Bishop. Bishop Valtorta was succeeded by Msgr Lawrence Bianchi, PIME, in 1951 and under his administration the Catholic population has risen from some 43,000 to 230,000 today. Over 90 per cent of them are Chinese, spread out in 24 parishes on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and in 14 rural districts of the New Territories. Church personnel engaged in pastoral, educational and welfare work in Hong Kong include 341 priests, 116 religious brothers and 754 religious sisters. Thirty-three religious orders and congregations and 30 nationalities are represented.

Since the Second World War also the Catholic Church has notably expanded its educational and social activities. There are at present 202 Catholic primary and secondary schools with an aggregate enrolment of 150,000 pupils. In 1965, four new secondary schools, two of them with primary sections, were opened, while one school moved to new premises capable of accommodating more students. In 1958, the Catholic Church set up a Social Welfare Bureau (Caritas-Hong Kong) to meet the need for a central directing and planning body of Catholic charities. Today the Catholic Church operates six hospitals with a total of 1,305 beds and 30 clinics in various parts of the Colony, including one boat clinic that serves the fishermen of Aberdeen. In the social field, it runs four social centres, six vocational training centres, one youth holiday centre, three children's play centres, 16 day nurseries, four orphanages and 14 hostels and homes. Catholic charities are also responsible for 23 free kitchens and food processing and distribution centres. In 1965, the Caritas Medical Centre at the densely populated So Uk Tsuen area, Kowloon, opened a nurses' training school and