Claretian Missionaries, a religious congregation founded by St. Antony Mary Claret and five companions on 16 July 1849 in Vic, Spain, are celebrating the 175th anniversary of their foundation on July 16. In the East Asia region, the Foundation Day celebrations are scheduled to take place in Macau on July 27. The occasion will also mark the 25th anniversary of the Pastoral Bible Foundation (PBF), the biblical apostolate of the Claretians in East Asia. Claretian Missionaries have served in the Diocese of Macau since 2006 and Hong Kong since 2011.
“A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set everyone on fire with God’s love…. His only concern is how he may follow Christ and imitate him in praying, working, enduring and striving constantly and solely for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humankind.”
This is how St. Antony Claret, who founded the missionary community of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CMF), later known as the Claretian Missionaries, described his missionary companions. The Congregation began with six diocesan priests and now has over 3000 missionaries serving in 72 countries.
Although St. Claret and the co-founders did not specify any specific approach as the mission of the Congregation, the charism of the missionary community was to share the joy of the Gospel using every available method in a timely and effective manner. As a result, the missionaries identify themselves as "Servants of the Word" and serve the disadvantaged, those in need, and the youth worldwide through publications, social initiatives, education, healthcare, and assistance to migrants and refugees.
The Claretian Mission in Macau and Hong Kong, though established in 2006, has its roots in China, where the first missionaries arrived in 1929 and began their work in Anhui province. Between 1930 and 1952, approximately 30 missionaries from five different nationalities dedicated their service to the Apostolic Prefecture of Tunxi until they were forced to close the mission in 1952. Following the closure, some of these missionaries relocated to Hong Kong to further their language studies with the intention of returning to the mission, but eventually, they departed for Japan and the Philippines.
In the 1930s, young seminarians in Spain were preparing for the mission in China. Unfortunately, during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, 51 seminarians and their formators from the Claretian Seminary in Barbastro were killed by revolutionaries. Raphael Briega, who was studying Chinese to join the China Mission, was among these martyrs. Pope St. John Paul II beatified these 51 martyrs, including Raphael Briega, in 1992. As a token of gratitude, the missionaries contemplated sending missionaries to Chinese-speaking regions again and established a mission centre in Taiwan in 1994. Over the last thirty years, missionaries have been providing service to indigenous communities and parishes under the Diocese of Taipei. Additionally, there's a training program for young Claretians from the Chinese region in Taiwan.
A decade later, Father Alberto Rossa, who was then the director of Claretian Publications in Manila, arrived in Macau to continue the publishing ministry for the Chinese audience. Since its founding in Macau in 2006, Claretian Publications and Pastoral Bible Foundation have focused on providing affordable access to the Bible and biblical literature for Chinese readers.
“Rooted in the Word, audacious in the proclamation” is the motto of the Pastoral Bible Foundation and Claretian Publications in China, Macau, and Hong Kong. Claretians expanded their presence to Hong Kong in 2011 when Missionaries from India spent their initial years learning the language at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Later, they began to serve in parishes under the dioceses of Macau and Hong Kong.
Father Jojo Ancheril served in St. Lawrence parish in Macau for ten years before transferring to Hong Kong. Fathers Alberto Rossa, Joskutty Mathew, and Ezakias Antonyswamy serve in Epiphany Parish, Lantau, and Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Cheung Chau. In Macau and Hong Kong, besides the parish ministry, the missionaries explored the possibilities of a media apostolate. Father Jijo Kandamkulathy heads the publishing ministry in Macau with the assistance of Brother Thomas.
Claretians have focused on providing new translations, printing, and publishing the Bible for more than a hundred years, particularly in Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and the USA. Claretian Publications (Philippines) has been translating the Bible into various languages, such as Korean, Vietnamese, Bahasa, French, English, and several Filipino languages, since 1986.
The missionaries in Macau and Hong Kong, in addition to their publication ministry, offer free commentaries and Lectio Divina for each chapter of every book of the Bible on their online platforms. In-depth commentaries on the three readings of the Sunday liturgy, daily reflections on the Gospel of the day, and liturgy aids are available in text, audio, or video formats on the web page of PBF, www.bibleclaret.org. All these materials are available in English, Chinese, Spanish, Italian and others. The assistance of a group of committed volunteers contributes to the translation of biblical texts into various languages. Daily updates are made to our social media channels on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify.
The primary focus of the PBF lies in translating and publishing Bibles, and it has already published Bibles in 12 languages. Currently, PBF oversees a group of Biblical Scholars and language experts who translate the pastoral Bible into modern Chinese. A new translation of the New Testament in Chinese with commentaries and Lectio Divina for every chapter was published in 2014. The translation of the Old Testament books into traditional and simplified Chinese is nearing completion. A guide for Lectio Divina for each chapter or paragraph of the Bible makes this Bible unique in the world. Once completed, the Bible Translation project would be the most significant contribution of the Claretians to the Catholic Chinese-speaking world.
In 2015, the Claretians established a community in Hong Kong after the diocese entrusted them with the pastoral care of Epiphany Parish in Lantau Island. Over the years, the missionaries made efforts to support the scattered Catholic population in various villages on the extensive Lantau Island. In addition to offering faith formation through Bible classes and devotional activities, the parish regularly organized programs to care for the poor and elderly by distributing food and necessities in all the centres.
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Parish Pastoral ministry provided the foundation for reaching out to the poor and most needy, particularly those affected by Hansen’s disease in southern China. During these years of visits and service to these people in the peripheries, the greatest treasure the Lord has provided the missionaries with is a committed group of lay associates. “The Mothers’ Meal: Family to Family Support” was an initiative of the Claretians in Macau to reach out to the most needy of society during the pandemic times. With the help of socially committed volunteers, the initiative provided food and provisions to several families.
The organisation known as Candle Light Hong Kong, a charitable group, was officially established in 2016 under the guidance of the Claretians in Hong Kong and Macau. This organization oversees various social welfare initiatives in China and other parts of Asia. Candle Light has initiated several welfare projects thanks to the generous support of numerous friends and donors in Hong Kong and Macau. These projects include providing housing for individuals affected by leprosy in China, supporting the educational requirements of underprivileged children in Nepal, conducting relief and housing efforts for flood victims in India, offering medical aid to economically disadvantaged patients in the Philippines and India, and providing assistance to refugees in Poland, among other endeavours.
The number of Claretians working in the area is not many, but the Lord has greatly multiplied their efforts! This truly represents the fulfilment of the Gospel’s promise of a hundred-fold outcome! Each anniversary and jubilee are a time to express gratitude to the Lord for the past and a chance to renew the commitment for the future. We stand in gratitude to the pioneers for their witness of life with a promise to offer our lives for Christ’s Mission entrusted to us in the Church through the Congregation.
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