HK's Novel Campaign for Vocations!

Around 1.3 million commuters had the chance recently to see Catholic clergy pursuing favorite pastimes in a series of videos aired on Hong Kong's public buses.The Diocesan Audio-Visual Centre (DAVC) filmed videos highlighting leisure activities of Hong Kong's Catholic bishop and a few priests for its "God on the Bus" initiative as a special series for of the Year for Priests.

Bishop John Tong of Hong Kong with his Violin

Bishop John Tong Hon plays basketball and the violin in the "Serving God with Joy" series. The two-minute videos also featured six other clergymen. Father Philip Chan Tak-hung performs magic and Deacon Paul Yeow Yu-hong practices taichi with a sword.The mini-programs were shown every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Oct. 2 to Nov. 8 on 1,600 buses fitted with multimedia systems. They have since been uploaded onto Youtube.

Hong Kong has no regulation against showing religious programs on buses. DAVC program organizer Loura Foo says the videos showed the public that Catholic clergy have personal interests besides religious activities. They provided a good stage to promote priestly vocations, she added.