When West Meets East:

The Itinerary of Hong Kong Catholicism in the 20th Century (May 2017 – May 2019)

Overview

The Catholic Church, which had taken root in Hong Kong in the 19th century, entered the 20th century with the Hong Kong society. The rapid growth of the local population and development of local communities during the 20th century led to a more intensive interaction between Catholicism and the social and cultural background of the Chinese faithful.

This research project, “When West Meets East” with a special focus on Hong Kong in the 20th century (1900-1999), aims at studying the experience of the Catholic Church and Hong Kong society growing together during this period. While reconstructing the history of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong in this century, the localization process of the Catholic Church and its impact on Hong Kong culture and society were studied.

Being supported by the Lord Wilson Trust Heritage Fund, this project spent three years for archival research, field visits and oral history study. Through various aspects including Catholic organizations, people, architecture, missionary activities, education, social services and social participation, the research team explored the growth of the Catholic Church in the context of West meets the East and eventually presented to the public the itinerary of Hong Kong Catholicism in the 20th century by several events and publications.

A series of four lectures focusing on etiquette, architecture, missionary activities in rural areas and the Church in the 1970s was held in May 2018 to share the encounter and exchange between Catholicism and Chinese culture. The research team, meanwhile, planned the “Rural Route” and “Urban Route” for organizing guided tours in July and August, in which participants were guided to learn about the presence of both Chinese and Western traditional elements in the Catholic Church of Hong Kong.

In terms of publication, a leaflet (in Chinese), a Chinese and English bilingual pamphlet titled “East Meets West: The Development of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong” and a book East Meets West: Oral History on the Development of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong were printed and available online for download.