Eddie Lo grew up in a religionless Chinese family and never considered practicing a religion despite his schooling under Catholic priests and brothers. But the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s democracy struggle helped him change.
The 55-year-old professional karate trainer says “the seed of faith” he received at Hong Kong’s St Antony’s Primary School, run by the Salesians, has matured after four decades.
He is now a catechumen preparing to be baptized Ignatius Lo on Easter Saturday in St. Patrick’s Parish in Lok Fu under Hong Kong Diocese.
Lo is among some 1,550 adults under-going catechumen classes in 52 parishes and territories of the diocese, readying themselves to be baptized this Easter season.
Each year several thousand adults join Hong Kong Diocese. During Easter 2019, before the pandemic hit, some 2,800 adults were baptized. The number of adult baptisms has dwindled since then.
Lo grew up in a traditional family “with Dad and Mum following Confucius thinking but without any religion,” he recalled. He followed no religion until a year ago.
The isolation of the pandemic restrictions and the chaos of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy campaign guided him to the Catholic Church, he says.
As a martial arts trainer, his focus was on physical energy and techniques to control mind and body. But social disruption since 2019 as well as the pandemic made him “think and feel differently, especially with my students.”
Lo recalls that he was “harsh and tough” with his students to help them win competitions and gain recognition.
“But after what happened in Hong Kong, I began to appreciate young people with independent thinking and changed the way I teach them,” he says.
Young university students have been spearheading the pro-democracy movement with thousands taking to the streets protesting what they called their shrinking freedoms. It continued until the Chinese government suppressed protests with a sweeping new security law in June 2020.
As Covid-19 lockdowns and isolation continued, Lo wanted a change. He began to think about the meaning and purpose of life and even tried new things like making bread and practicing iaido, a Japanese martial art. “At the same time, I wanted someone to guide me for the future. I began to think that I needed more mental support and someone to rely on,” he says.