Three weeks of Scrutinies: The Diocese of Hong Kong prepares to celebrate 2,500 baptisms at Easter

Hong Kong – “Be bearers of hope”: this is the exhortation that Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong, addressed to the catechumens during the rite of scrutiny, in which the future baptized received the anointing, a symbol of purification and part of the beginning of the journey towards salvation that begins with Baptism.
According to the weekly bulletin of the Diocese of Hong Kong Kung Kao Po, 2,500 baptisms will be administered in the diocese at Easter. 1,600 newly baptized will be adults and 900 infants, with numbers similar to those recorded in 2025. Many young catechumens have chosen to ask for the gift of Baptism after being drawn to the Catholic faith also thanks to the living testimonies of people already baptized, whom they encountered in Catholic schools or parishes.
From Sunday, March 8, the third Sunday of Lent, Cardinal Chow began presiding over the series of rites of scrutiny for catechumens celebrated in parishes.
At Christ the King Church, the Bishop of Hong Kong explained to the catechumens that “receiving Baptism means welcoming the ‘living water’ which is Christ. It is only the beginning of the life of faith. You need to enter into a deeper relationship with the Church” in order to have a personal encounter with the Lord and to become “bearers of hope” through the Holy Spirit and the grace of faith. Furthermore, Cardinal Bo added, “in order to welcome the ‘living water’ into your lives, you also need the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that you may enter into the Love of the Holy Trinity and experience God’s revelation through the liturgy and the sacraments… You cannot simply rely on the notes you took during catechism, but you are called to communicate with the Lord in prayer and to live communion and unity within the Church.”
The catechumens, introduced to Cardinal Chow by their respective catechists, declared their conversion. Accompanied by their godparents, they received the anointing.
During the rite of scrutiny of the catechumens, some shared with those present the experience of their encounter with faith in Christ. Tam Shun-yiu, baptized last year, is now deputy head of youth ministry at St. Jude parish and guides young people in the reading of the Gospel.
The catechumen Lo Hoi-nok, a student at St. Anthony’s School, said his Christian vocation was inspired by the formation and pilgrimages organized by the school. Chen Qiutong, a catechumen at the University of St. Francis, said she had asked to be baptized after coming across the university pastoral initiatives.

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