On Monday, May 17, 2021, Pope Francis named Fr. Stephen Chow SJ as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong.
Bishop-Elect Chow, a native of Hong Kong, has served as the provincial of the Jesuits’ Chinese Province since 2018 and has been a supporter of The Beijing Center (TBC) for nearly a decade, currently serving as Vice-chairman of TBC’s board of directors.
As the Jesuit Chinese Provincial – the person in charge of the Jesuit province of China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan – Fr. Chow has nurtured friendly relations throughout the region and abroad. Last year, with the support of his province and the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, TBC was able to deliver medical aid and donations to hospitals in Hubei, the epicenter of the pandemic.
Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, commented on Fr. Chow’s appointment as bishop of Hong Kong in an America magazine article, saying, “I am happy that Fr. Stephen can continue to serve, and I wish him every blessing in this new ministry. The Jesuits are proud of our links with the Chinese people, which go back to the great missionary Matteo Ricci who had such a respect for Chinese culture.”
Executive Director of The Beijing Center, Dr. Simon Koo notes, “TBC is thankful for the immense support and commitment received from Fr. Chow and the Chinese Province towards achieving our mission of fruitful dialogue and engagement between China and the world.” As Jesuit educators and champions for building bridges between cultures, The Beijing Center extends its sincere congratulations to Fr. Chow, and we look forward to our continued collaboration in this new chapter.
The official release from Vatican news can be read below. (Originally published here: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-05/pope-francis-names-chow-sau-yan-bishop-hong-kong.html )
Pope appoints Jesuit as new Bishop of Hong Kong
Pope Francis appoints Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong.
By Vatican News staff writer
The Pope appointed Jesuit Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan as the Bishop of Hong Kong Diocese on Monday.
Bishop-elect Chow currently serves as the Provincial of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus.
He will take over from Cardinal John Tong Hon, who has served as the Apostolic Administrator of Hong Kong since January 2019.
Brief biography
Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, was born on 7 August 1959 in Hong Kong.
After his pre-university studies, he obtained a Baccalaureate and Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, USA. He then joined the Society of Jesus on 27 September 1984.
From 1986 to 1988, he completed his novitiate and licentiate in Philosophy in Ireland, continuing his theological studies in Hong Kong from 1988 to 1993.
Fr. Chow was ordained to the priesthood on 16 July 1994.
He received a Master’s degree in Organizational Development (1993-1995) at Loyola University in Chicago, and a Doctorate in Human Development and Psychology (Ed.D.) from Harvard University in Boston (2000-2006).
He professed his final vows on 17 April 2007.
Bishop-elect Chow has served in the following positions:
Supervisor of two Jesuit colleges in Hong Kong and Wah Yan in Kowloon, since 2007; Honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong (2008-2015) and Jesuit Formator (2009-2017).
He has served as Chairman of the Education Commission of the Chinese Jesuit Province since 2009, and as Part-time Professor of Psychology at Holy Spirit Diocesan Seminary in Hong Kong since 2012. He was a Member of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2014, Provincial Consultor from 2013 to 2017, and Member of the Diocesan Board of Education since 2017.
Bishop-elect Chow became the Provincial of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus on 1 January 2018, and Vice-Secretary of the Association of Religious Superiors of Male Institutes in Hong Kong in 2020.
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.