From mid-December to mid-January, Father José Ángel Hernández had his hands full. Chaplain at the Conde de São Januário public hospital, the Mexican priest divided his time between Macau’s two largest health facilities. His mission? To offer spiritual comfort to those that were readying themselves to embark on their last journey. Despite being surrounded with people that were sick, he managed to evade catching COVID-19.
Forty Catholics and catechumens aged 18-35 years old will represent Macau at the 37th edition of the World Youth Day. The Diocesan Delegation will travel to Portugal in late July and remain in the country for two weeks. The pilgrimage will include time in Fatima and an opportunity to be with thousands of other young Catholics and Pope Francis. The Diocesan Youth Commission will offer several leadership and formation workshops over the next few months to help the participants prepare for this life-changing experience.
Bishop Stephen Lee has exhorted the faithful to pray for the shepherds and for more vocations, especially for the Catholic Diocese of Macau.
While the Catholic Church reinforces and integrates the particularities of Macau’s uniqueness as a multicultural space through religious practices, the Portuguese authorities in Lisbon need to pay attention to the Portuguese people who have already left Macau in recent years and others who say they will soon do so, claiming to some extent the “orphanhood” they feel in relation to the expected support from official institutions in Portugal.
The Filipino community in Macau prayed and danced once again in praise of Señor Santo Niño. The Sinulog celebrations and the devotion to the Holy Child of Cebu brought together more than five hundred devotees at Saint Augustine’s Church on January 15. Father Felipe Bacalso, SJ, who arrived in Macau in later October, presided over the ceremonies.
Paul Pun Chi Meng was earlier this month awarded the Medal of Merit in Philanthropy by the Government of Macau, an award that the Secretary-General of Caritas dedicated to Father Luís Ruíz and Mother Maria Góis, the pioneers of modern social work in Macau. Paul Pun spoke to O Clarim about the challenges Caritas has faced over the last few weeks, but claims the difficulties are already part of the past.
Food, traditional games and a stronger sense of community. The chaplaincy of the University of Saint Joseph wants to encourage a deeper connection between students and staff of Macau’s Catholic university and recently organized the first Filipino community gathering. The event brought together about twenty students, teachers and employees of the institution and it also gave an important contribution to bridge the community to the Chaplaincy.
Handed out in early December at the Vatican, the 2002 edition of the Ratzinger Prize was awarded to Joseph Halevi Weiler, an academic with a deep connection to Macau. Founder and co-director of the Academy of International Trade Law of the Institute of European Studies, the Jewish scholar was distinguished by the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation for his contribution to the harmonization of faith and legal reasoning in the contemporary world.
On January 22, the Chinese calendar will enter a new cycle and the Macau Cardinal Newman Center of Cultural and Performance Arts intends to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit with a series of activities and workshops, aimed at children and adults alike. Choi Chun Heng, one of Macau’s most renowned calligraphers, will join the celebrations for the third year in a row.
Pope Benedict’s XVI time as pope was short, but his impact was enormous and his legacy will probably continue to reverberate in the decades to come, Father José Mario Mandía believes. The former director of O Clarim recalls some of Joseph Ratzinger’s most important contributions to the Church, namely the Christ-centeredness of his theological vision and the first official Catholic catechism in more than 400 years. The Pope Emeritus’ profound words will continue to shape philosophy, theology and the life of the Church and the world.
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