On January 18, a prayer meeting was held in Chater Garden, Hong Kong. It was presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who inaugurated the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Hong Kong. According to the  Fides news agency  , the Cardinal offered his reflection on the Christian blessing, drawing inspiration from the Book of Numbers, which says: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Children, a blessing

“The blessing that God bestows upon us and upon Hong Kong,” Tagle declared, “is his holy face in Jesus Christ,” a face “entirely divine and entirely human.” For the cardinal, the face of Jesus can be found in children because, together with young people, “they are always a blessing to society; no child or young person is ever a problem.” “The true blessing for Hong Kong,” he added, “is the face of God shining upon it.” May “the face of Jesus always smile upon Hong Kong, and may Hong Kong rejoice in the face of Jesus.” Therefore, he encouraged believers to “bring hope to society” by becoming “courageous witnesses of the Lord.”

The blessing of the city

During the gathering, according to  Fides  , individuals and groups of various ethnicities and nationalities prayed for Hong Kong in Cantonese, Filipino, French, Mandarin, Korean, and Vietnamese. At the conclusion, both Cardinal Tagle and Jesuit Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Bishop of Hong Kong, blessed the city and the participants. Numerous Filipino Catholics participated in the musical and prayer gathering in Chater Garden, as Hong Kong has long had a large Filipino community. At least five years ago, there were 177,000 Filipinos among the temporary residents living in Hong Kong. Among the more than 7.4 million permanent residents, Catholics number over 400,000.