The Church of Hong Kong Welcomes 3 Thousand Newly Baptized Catholics

Bishop Tong urges the new and the old faithful to be missionaries: "The mission to bring others to know Jesus is the most important Christian commitment."

HONG KONG (AsiaNews) - During the Easter vigil in various parishes in Hong Kong 3 thousand adults were baptized. In his Easter letter, Mgr. John Tong thanked the catechists and asked all to be missionaries. In the past, in Hong Kong, there were on average 1500-2 thousand baptisms of adults who after catechumenal preparation, were received into the Catholic community during the Easter Vigil.   This year their number - 3 thousand - is a record, so much so that Bishop Tong has devoted a large part of his pastoral letter on the occasion of Easter to this fact. "With God´s blessings", - says the bishop - "he Diocese of Hong Kong rejoices in over 3,000 adult baptisms this Easter Vigil. On behalf of the diocese, I would like to offer our warmest welcome to the newly baptised who have joined our Catholic family". The bishop has already met the new believers during the catechumenate and has planned a thanksgiving mass with them for Pentecost. In his letter, Msgr. Tong also thanked the 1000 Catechism schools throughout the diocese and 580 volunteer catechists who teach the catechumens during the year. "They" - said the prelate - "sacrifice their time and energy to spread the faith. I admire their efforts. I hope and pray that all of them will follow the footsteps of the Apostles and make further progress along the road to God". "The mission to bring others to know Jesus is the most important Christian commitment," said Mgr. Tong, who has called "new and old Catholics" to study the catechism of the Church so as to" spread the Gospel in ever wider circles and give a more powerful testimony of faith. "   There are 350 thousand Catholics in Hong Kong out of a population, estimated at about 6.8 million.