ENG-1971 — Page 271

RELIGION AND CUSTOM

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clinics, orphanages, family case work centres, vocational training centres, aid for the handicapped and many others. In the past, a large percentage of these projects was financed almost entirely from overseas sources, but this is decreasing and local support must now take over.

Churches which are affiliated to the World Council of Churches come together with other Christian organisations, such as the YMCA, the YWCA, the Bible Society, in the Hong Kong Christian Council. The council's headquarters, known as the Christian Centre, houses the offices of the Hong Kong Christian Service, Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, Chinese Christian Literature Council and the Audio Visual Evangelism Committee. The facilities include an Ecumenical Library and a conference room.

In the same building is the old-established Chinese Churches Union, in which churches are linked on a congregational basis. The union now numbers 145 congregations in its membership.

The Hong Kong Christian Council was established in 1954. Its membership is by denomination or association, and it now covers 22 major church bodies and Christian organisations. Hong Kong Christian Council members represent 77 per cent of the total Protestant Church membership in the Colony.

The Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong dates back to the beginning of the Colony when British Army chaplains were among the first to arrive here. On April 23, 1841, Pope Gregory XVI established the Apostolic Prefecture of Hong Kong with Msgr Theodore Joset as the first prefect. He built a matshed church at what is now the intersection of Wellington and Pottinger Streets, established a seminary for the training of Chinese priests, and per- suaded religious sisters to voyage out here to start schools, hospitals, creches and other welfare work.

The first Chinese Bishop of the 130 year old Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong, the Most Rev Francis Chen-ping Hsu, was formally installed on October 26, 1969. Almost two years later, September 8, 1971, the Most Rev Peter Wang-kei Lei was con- secrated Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong.

Health, education and diversified social service work have been extended and developed during the past year. The extent of the work was generally dictated by the needs of the people.

In the field of education, expansion continued and there are at present 178 Catholic primary and secondary schools with a total enrolment of 235,123 students.