Hong Kong

Brief history of the Province

The Province “Regina Martyrum” – Hong Kong, the first missionary land of the Canossian Family, was founded in 1860. It includes three regions: the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (Hong Kong SAR), the Macao Special Administration Region (Macao SAR) and mainland China. On the threshold of its 165th Anniversary, the Sisters of this Province are grateful to the Heavenly Father for His Divine Providence.

Currently, there are 77 Sisters in the Province, with an average age of 76, who embrace 5 different nationalities (Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Malaysian and Singaporean). The Sisters live in 11 communities.

Despite the challenge of aging and the decline in number of the Sisters, they thank God for the gift of new vocations: currently there is a novice who is living her initial formation in the Province of the Philippines. The Sisters feel encouraged to participate in the vocational programs of the Diocese and to cultivate vocations in the hearts of students and lay married couples.

Our Sisters are engaged in all five ministries of the Institute. The First Ministry, Education, is the service in which the Sisters’ forces are most employed. In fact, they currently manage 20 schools in the Province: two in Macao in process of being passed to others, one with secondary and primary sections and the other from nursery to secondary school; 6 secondary schools, 11 primary schools and 1 kindergarten in Hong Kong.

The energies of the Sisters are still spent in the Pastoral Care of the Sick (Third Ministry): they are still serving in our Canossa Hospital in Hong Kong and in the Nursing Home for the Elderly in Macao.

Although most of the Sisters have past retirement age [60 years], they continue to offer the service of Evangelization (Second Ministry) in parishes, prisons and through personal contacts.

Empowerment of the laity is becoming more and more important. It is carried out through the formation of lay Canossians and lay collaborators.

The Sisters also run a retreat house and offer Spiritual Exercises to Catholics and Protestants.

Specific gratitude is addressed to the elderly and sick Sisters who have supported with their prayers, sufferings and life testimonies the active apostolate of the other Mothers.

Like all religious Congregations, the Province is faced with the challenge of the aging of its members, the numerical decline and the modern evolution of societies and cultures that are undergoing rapid changes.

We admit that the call to “Make Jesus known and loved” is more challenging in this post-pandemic time. Its impact on the physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being of people, as well as on the socioeconomic development of different societies, is immense. We must understand the real needs of people, redefine our service and rediscover the meaning of our existence among people. This is an important but difficult task. However, with renewed trust in God, the Lord of History, we commit ourselves to face the future with hope and courage!

Sito web: https://sites.google.com/site/canossianhk