“The Book Centre is a temple where we seek to take care of souls, to enlighten and guide them, to present our apostolic initiatives and where good vocations are found.  Here the clergy and the faithful should find in our Book Centre what is necessary for their spiritual needs.  The Book Centre is the point of contact between us and people.  Therefore, you collaborate with parents, bishops and clergy in the work of education and of human, social and spiritual formation.”

.At 10.00 am Bishop Tong conducted a small ceremony of blessing of the St Paul Media Centre for the Daughters of St Paul and a number of invited guests at the premises of the Pioneer Centre, in front of their Book Centre.

Blessing of the St Paul Media Centre

On Monday August 4, 2008 By the Most Reverend John Tong, Coadjutor Bishop of Hong Kong

Sr Mary Grace Lee gave an Introduction expressing the joy of the Sisters in having a small but significant outlet for the Gospel to reach the people. She explained the meaning of a Pauline Book Centre. She quoted their Founder, Blessed James Alberione, who said from the earliest time of their foundation in 1915:

The Daughters of St Paul have been in HK for the past 30 years, and in these long years, they had been spreading the Word of God through books, audiovisuals and other media productions to all the parishes, Catholic schools, the various organizations and social groups, as well as to people in the offices, factories and homes. But the Sisters needed a place where people could come back to find more resources and support for their spiritual and moral needs.

HK is a big commercial city where business comes first and spiritual needs come almost last in the list of importance. As a result, it was very difficult to find a suitable place for a Book Centre due to the exorbitant rents that prevail. First the Sisters rented a small corner at the back of this third floor of the Pioneer Centre at a low price, through the help of a benefactor. After more than two years of trying to do their mission, it was still inadequate and ineffective due to the inconvenient location.

In April this year, the sisters approached Cardinal Zen and expressed their deep desire for an apostolic centre. He made many calls to people asking them to help the Sisters. Through him, Fr Michael Yeung of Caritas, knew of the Sisters’ need and tried his best to look for a suitable place among the Caritas outlets. Again it was not so easy to find the right place.

All of a sudden the Lord intervened. The management of Pioneer Centre took back all the corner units where the Sisters were, in order to develop a bigger space for rent, and relocated the tenants to the front row. So the sisters suddenly found themselves in a more visible place for which they are very grateful. They feel sure that here they can reach out to more people especially to those passing by.

Sr Grace on behalf of the Pauline Community in Hong Kong took the occasion to thank and praise God for his divine providence and great love in arranging everything for them, and she hoped that they could do their best to make the Word of God meet the world of Hong Kong in the crowds that come into this building.

She also thanked Bishop Tong for his kindness in gracing the occasion and in sharing their apostolic concerns. She also thanked the Cardinal, Fr Michael Yeung, the Management of the Pioneer Centre and many other benefactors for their part in the search for a suitable location for the Media Centre. At the moment they felt very encouraged with the present location. They feel that now they are breaking into the HK society, not only of the Christian communities but of the secular world where people are seeking God and desiring to know the Truth and to give meaning to their lives. She prayed that St Paul, their Father and Patron, in this Year of St Paul, would lead them and show them the way forward as he did 2,000 years ago, spreading the message of God’s love and hope to all the world.

She also thanked their many collaborators and cooperators who during these 30 years have stood by them with their help and support.  Without them, she said they could not have come this far, but with them they wished to go forward with greater energy and love, to conquer the world for Christ as St Paul did.

After this Introduction, the assembly (a very sizable number) sang the Magnificat, a song of praise and thanksgiving in Cantonese. A passage was read from the Book of Genesis which showed God’s plan in the creation of the world and of human labour. Then the actual Blessing took place after which the Bishop addressed the assembly.

Bishop Tong encouraged the sisters to maintain the objective of their evangelization by publishing and diffusing good books and media. He referred to paragraph 14 of the Vatican Decree on Mass Media which stressed on using especially books to spread the Word of God. He said that through these good books people can come to know Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

He also mentioned that our Pope Benedict XVI in his latest encyclical on Christian Hope pointed out that the Christian message must not only be informative but formative. This means that people should be informed but also be formed to understand Jesus Christ Who is their supreme hope in their life.
He concluded by wishing the Sisters success in spreading the Word of God, that this Media Centre may draw many people to give the Sisters a “good business.”

The Blessing Function ended with the singing of the Our Father in Cantonese. There was much rejoicing among the friends and well-wishers of the Daughters of St Paul. Their Sisters from Macau also came for the occasion and spent a wonderful day of joy and unity together.

St Paul Media Centre: Unit 340 Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong (Prince Edward MTR Exit B2)  Tel: 9127 9624  Opening Hours: Monday 12-6pm; Tuesday-Sunday 12-7pm

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