Hong Kong youth in Rome for the Jubilee
Some 21 young people aged 15 to 27 from Hong Kong’s St Patrick's Catholic Church are in Italy for the youth jubilee with Leo XIV. They also stopped off in Assisi, Milan, Florence, and Naples. For PIME missionary Fr Fabio Favata, the experience will help the group, which was recently formed, to "broaden their minds” and “discover the beauty of community”. Educational and psychological challenges await ahead. Friday's meeting with Card Chow Sau-yan is eagerly awaited.
Rome (AsiaNews) – Last night, Pope Leo XIV surprised 120,000 young men and women gathered in St Peter's for the welcoming Mass for the Youth Jubilee, celebrated by Archbishop Fisichella.
“Today we are at the beginning. In the coming days, you will have the opportunity to be a force that brings God’s grace, a message of hope, a light to the city of Rome, to Italy, and to the entire world,” the pontiff told the gathering.
The youth of 146 countries is present in this "light", including a group of 21 young people from Hong Kong accompanied by Father Fabio Favata, a PIME missionary and parish priest at St Patrick's Catholic Church in a part of Hong Kong with many Catholic schools.
“We have teenagers and young adults, aged 15 to 27,” the clergyman told AsiaNews. He is accompanied by another priest Father Alessandro Canali, and two women religious, Sister Carmela Pamei and Sister Lorena Brambilla.
"Almost all of them are from my parish, except four, who joined out of friendship or for other reasons,” Father Favata explained.
The idea of the pilgrimage is closely tied to the Jubilee, and to mark the occasion, the group, in Italy until 8 August, is on a tour of the country, with important stops in Milan, Florence, Assisi, and Naples, plus an outing to the Piani dei Resinelli plateau in Lecco province.
"It's an experience of nature because Hong Kong is very urban. After seeing the view, we noticed a broad sense of wonder, which will also be evident in Rome,” he said.
Speaking about the start of his pastoral work as parish priest at St Patrick's, on 1 January 2024, he said: “When I arrived at the parish, I saw that there were many young people, but they weren't united. They were very eager to organise activities, but had little spiritual training and were not coming on a regular basis.”
Thus, the primary objective of the trip to Italy is to "bring the group together," while having "a personal experience of faith and Church.”
For the parish priest, the Jubilee can offer the young men and women of his Hong Kong parish an opportunity to "broaden their minds,” connect with thousands of young people from around the world, come together as a group, and consolidate their faith.
“It's a new group, set up only a few months ago, in January. Now we need to build it. To prepare for the trip, we attended prayer meetings and services, for example with the Missionaries of Charity, even travelling on foot to experience the pilgrimage," he explained.
For many of them, especially the teenagers, this is their first trip abroad, far from home. "There was some apprehension about travelling together. On an educational level, we try to help them discover the beauty of community”.
Now "There's no longer 'I', 'I want to go there,' 'I want to do this,' 'I don't like it,' but rather staying united, respectful of the group, of schedules, and responsible for each other's needs.”
The small parish of St Patrick in Hong Kong is closely associated to education due to the proximity of seven Catholic schools. “Most students are not Catholic, and so it is important to build partnerships with them. This is one of our goals.”
For Fr Fabio Favata, schools are an "important mission territory," and children and young people are a pastoral priority. However, "Many families are emigrating, so the number of young people and young children in the parish has decreased. It is now more important than ever to work on promoting the catechumenate, catechism, and charitable initiatives."
There is also widespread “psychological suffering,” caused by various factors. “Because of pressures in Hong Kong, the protests of recent years, many emotions have not been processed, or not given the opportunity to be expressed. Therefore, reconciliation, giving hope, are a challenge.”
The young people at St Patrick’s are staying in Rome with the PIME’s Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception, whose congregation is close to the Tor Vergata area that will host the large gathering with Pope Leo XIV on Saturday and Sunday.
The main event of the week comes on Friday. Together with approximately 40 young people from the Hong Kong diocesan group, guests in Rome of the Salesian Society of St John Bosco, they will meet with Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan for a half-day retreat, at the same time as the penitential day of the Youth Jubilee gets underway at the Circus Maximus.
.png)
21/05/2023 14:55
27/06/2008
19/04/2007
