The Pope appointed Jesuit Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan as the Bishop of the Hong Kong Diocese.
Bishop-elect Chow currently serves as the Provincial of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus.
He will take over from Cardinal John Tong Hon, who has served as the Apostolic Administrator of Hong Kong since January 2019.
Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, was born on August 7, 1959, in Hong Kong.
After his pre-university studies, he obtained a Baccalaureate and Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, USA. He then joined the Society of Jesus on September 27, 1984.
From 1986 to 1988, he completed his novitiate and licentiate in Philosophy in Ireland, continuing his theological studies in Hong Kong from 1988 to 1993.
Fr. Chow was ordained to the priesthood on July 16, 1994.
He received a Master’s degree in Organizational Development (1993-1995) at Loyola University in Chicago, and a Doctorate in Human Development and Psychology (Ed.D.) from Harvard University in Boston (2000-2006).
He professed his final vows on 17 April 2007.
Bishop-elect Chow has served in the following positions:
Supervisor of two Jesuit colleges in Hong Kong and Wah Yan in Kowloon, since 2007; Honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong (2008-2015) and Jesuit Formator (2009-2017).
He has served as Chairman of the Education Commission of the Chinese Jesuit Province since 2009, and as Part-time Professor of Psychology at Holy Spirit Diocesan Seminary in Hong Kong since 2012. He was a member of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2014, Provincial Consultor from 2013 to 2017, and Member of the Diocesan Board of Education since 2017.
Bishop-elect Chow became the Provincial of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus on January 1, 2018, and Vice-Secretary of the Association of Religious Superiors of Male Institutes in Hong Kong in 2020.
The Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong was established as a mission prefecture in 1841; became a vicariate apostolic in 1874; and a diocese in 1946. There are about 404,000 Catholics in Hong Kong served by 279 priests, 74 brother,s and 427 sisters. There are 52 parishes, comprising 40 churches, 32 chapels, and 28 halls for religious services conducted in Cantonese; three-fifths of the parishes also provide services in English and, in some cases, Tagalog, the Filipino language. The diocese has its own administrative structure while maintaining close links with the Pope and other Catholic communities around the world with which it shares the same creed, scripture, liturgy, and organization.
