Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, of Hong Kong has called for all local parishes to hold Masses to mark the first anniversary of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, after police questioned local pastors about plans to offer prayers for victims.
The invitation by the cardinal, made in a letter Friday which included a suggested special prayer intention, is significant as it follows multiple reports of police questioning local priests who announced plans for anniversary Masses for the 168 victims of the apartment block fires last year.
Local authorities have clamped down on memorial services and vigils for the fires, which have become a focal point for civil discontent. Authorities in Hong Kong have also been stepping up low level harassment of Church leaders in recent months.
In a brief letter to all parish priests, dated Nov. 13, Cardinal Chow said, “As we approach the first anniversary of the No. 5 alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on 26 November 2025, I invite all parishes to offer a Mass on Thursday, 26 November 2026 for the deceased. Furthermore, I earnestly request that relevant prayer intentions be included in the Prayers of the Faithful during all Masses on the following Sunday.”
“I kindly invite [that] all priests will take note of these arrangements and unite the faithful in prayer for this shared intention,” said the letter.
The prayer intention text, forwarded to all parishes, offers:
“For all who lost their lives in the fire in the Wang Fuk Court Fire,
“May Merciful God continue to console the souls of the departed and grant them eternal rest; strengthen and comfort their families, so that all who mourn may experience the Lord’s compassion and love. Let us also pray that the Lord may teach us to practice charity, uphold the truth, and work for justice.
“For this, we pray.”
The invitation by the cardinal for all parishes in the diocese to hold a memorial Mass with dedicated prayer intention follows multiple reports in local media, independently confirmed by The Pillar, that police have questioned at least two priests whose parishes had scheduled liturgies to mark the anniversary of the fire.
One pastor described law enforcement as “curious” about the plans, and how many were expected to attend.
State authorities have, in recent years since the passage of the National Security Law, clamped down on public memorial celebrations, outlawing the previously annually observed Victoria Park prayer vigil for those killed in the Tiananmen Massacre.
At the same time, The Pillar has reported that police have stepped up routine harassment of clerics in Hong Kong and Macao, the other Special Administrative Region meant to operate under different laws to the mainland and with some measure of basic religious and civil liberties.
In August, Hong Kong auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing was detained by immigration authorities on his way from Hong Kong to neighboring Macao for a priests’ day of reflection. He was later allowed entry into Macao.
The Pillar has previously reported that similar stops and brief detentions have been common for diocesan priests considered by state authorities to be favorable to causes like the once-annual Victoria Park vigil, and former diocesan vicar general Fr. Dominic Chan has been subject to similar stops since 2019. But clerical sources close to the chancery told The Pillar that Ha’s detention was the first occasion of the bishop being stopped on his way to Macao.
Earlier this month, the Macao diocese celebrated its 450th anniversary with local clergy telling The Pillar that attendees, invitees, and the program of events were carefully scrutinized by local authorities, with organizers warned ahead of time by government officials that “power might go out” at any event with unsanctioned speakers.
The Pillar has also confirmed that a memorial Mass for deceased uniformed service personnel, which is part of the annual diocesan anniversary celebrations, was cancelled for this year’s itinerary at the direction of state authorities.
Said one local cleric, “It is as simple as this, they [officials] don’t want anything religious touching anything civic. All signs of the Church are being squeezed off the stage [in Macao].”
Cardinal Chow’s intervention to promote parish memorial Masses also comes just days after his diocesan Catholic newspaper, the Sunday Examiner, printed an unsigned leader stressing that Cardinal Chow was working to preserve “the fragile trust on which every dialogue depends” in negotiating the place of the local Church in relationship to civil authorities.
“Vigilance about religious freedom is a service to the Church,” the diocesan op-ed said.
If I were a Catholic living in Hong Kong, I would get while the getting's good.