The feast of All Souls Day was celebrated in Hong Kong by a number of Columbans who joined the Friends of the Columban Sisters to visit St Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley.
In keeping with tradition, they visited the graves of the Columban Sisters and priests laid to rest there, and offered prayer and thanks for the missionary lives of those who have gone before us.
The immense contribution made by the Columban Sisters at the nearby Ruttonjee Hospital to control TB in Hong Kong continues to be a source of deep appreciation among affected families in the city.
The story of the Columban Sisters’ mission in Hong Kong began in the 1920s. It expanded over the following decades, and involved diverse mission projects including the Ta Ku Ling Clinic, the Ruttonjee Sanatorium, the Sandy Bay Home for Disabled Children, Leung Shek Chee College, Marymount Secondary School and the Blue Pool Road School.
Columban doctor, Sr Gabriel O’Mahony (right), studying lung X-rays with medical staff in Hong Kong. Image: Columban Sisters Archives.
A short history of the Columban Fathers’ mission to and among the Chinese can be read here: https://www.columbanmission.org/our-history