The Sisters of Mother Teresa came to Hong Kong in 1983. At present, they have two religious communities with 14 missionaries who run two centres on Kowloon Peninsula, an area with rundown sections and many homeless people. The nuns’ main work is to provide hot meals to the poor (a few hundred) and shelter to the homeless (a few dozen).
Mother Teresa visited Hong Kong on several occasions. The University of Hong Kong awarded her with an honorary degree. In the 1980s and 1990s, talks were held about opening new homes in mainland China, but Beijing eventually refused the necessary permits and the plan fell through.
What follows is a message from the Missionaries of Charity published in the Sunday Examiner, Hong Kong’s Catholic weekly.
We are privileged to be part of the vibrant Church in Hong Kong and to be able to-serve the poorest of the poor here through simple and humble works of love.
In our temporary shelters for the homeless, we try to bring the light of Christ to hapless men and women, to dispel the darkness in their lives and to give them Divine Hope. The experience of the joy of prodigal sons and daughters returning to the tender and merciful embrace of our Heavenly Father gives us strength and encouragement to continue our service of patience, understanding and love for the poor. Over the years, we have witnessed with joy the love of God touching their hearts.