Hong Kong Church welcomes 3 thousand newly baptized

(April 07, 2010) The Church in Hong Kong also welcomed 3 thousand newly baptized.
The ceremony took place during the Easter vigil in various parishes in Hong Kong. In his pastoral letter for Easter, Mgr. John Tong thanked the catechists and asked all to be missionaries. In the past, in Hong Kong, there were on average 1500 to 2 thousand baptisms of adults during the Easter Vigil. This year their number of 3 thousand is a record. Mgr. Tong offered a warm welcome to the newly baptised and has planned a thanksgiving mass with them for Pentecost. In his letter, the prelate also thanked the 1000 Catechism schools throughout the diocese and 580 volunteer catechists, who teach the catechumens during the year. "The mission to bring others to know Jesus is the most important Christian commitment," he said.
There are 350 thousand Catholics in Hong Kong in a population, estimated at about 6.8 million.