Catholic Church Between Two World Wars

The Catholic Church established itself in Hong Kong in 1841, in response to the religious needs of Irish troops in the recently occupied territory. At that time, the Church had not developed any plans for Hong Kong as a mission field, not to mention that personnel were deployed in Hong Kong only on a short-term basis and that the Catholics had not yet formed a stable community. However, in the ensuing few years, the population of the colony grew by leaps and bounds, and thus opportunities for evangelization increased. Evangelization was the ultimate motive of foreign missions, and Hong Kong was no exception. Very soon, the Church moved from taking care of Irish troops to working for the consolidation and expansion of a local Catholic community. The latter objective entailed the proclamation of the Christian religion, the erection of church buildings, and the appointment of a responsible institute in Hong Kong.