by Angelo S. Lazzarotto

Arriving in Hong Kong in 1860, the PIME missionary brought with him six Canossian sisters who opened the first school for girls, often from the streets. The Bologna-born priest was deeply involved in the mission to mainland China. Ceremonies marking 120 years since his death were held in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Chinese (but also Western) propaganda has often claimed that missionaries collaborated with foreign colonisers and nations, motivated themselves by power, and that their dedication was useless and forgotten. Such claims are based on ideological claims that have no bearing on historical truth. The life of PIME missionary Fr Giuseppe Burghignoli (Bologna 1833- Hong Kong 1892) is an example of that.

After he came to the British crown colony, he did not minister to Western Christians, but always worked for local and mainland Chinese. He brought the first Canossian nuns from Italy, who opened the territory's first school for girls, radically changing the traditional Chinese view of education, based on the exclusion of women.

His work on behalf of the poor made him an unforgettable person. Thousands of people came to his funeral with accounts from the time saying that his funeral saw the largest number of people in attendance from all backgrounds and religions.

The publication on 24 April of "I mezzi ed il fine - Un missionario in China nell'800" (Means and ends, a missionary 19^th century China), written by Dr Massimo Burghignoli, Fr Burghignoli's nephew, provided an opportunity to celebrate the missionary's work.

The celebration was held in three different locations:

 •1) St Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Happy Valley, where Fr Burghignoli is buried. The cemetery has a section reserved for diocesan priests as well as members of religious congregations and missionary institutes. For a number of years, the remains of the dead have been exhumed and placed inside an ossuary near the chapel. Fr Burghignoli's tomb is the only one that is still intact since he was first buried, proof of the high esteem he was held in the community.

•2), Fr Burghignoli's contribution to the development of the Church in Hong Kong was remembered in Immaculate Conception Cathedral, which was blessed on 7 December 1888. In the absence of the Apostolic Vicar, Mgr Timoleone Raimondi, Fr Burghignoli led the celebration and made an official speech.

•3) Near the house of Canossian Sisters. Fr Burghignoli played an important role in their presence and activities in Hong Kong. He accompanied the first group and was their valued adviser.

On this occasion, Fr Angelo Lazzarotto, PIME, made a speech presenting the figure of the missionary, which we reprint below:

A sincere grateful word of thanks, first of all, to the organizers of this commemoration. I feel honoured to be here today.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong, some 65 years ago, one of my first impressions was the same that most of today's' visitors have: how crowded the place is, how precious the land.

So precious that even the dead people would not be left in peace. I was surprised discovering that Catholic people could rest in their Happy Valley Cemetery only for a limited period of time. A rule that had become necessary, I was told. Yet, the simple but very visible monument erected in honour of Fr Giuseppe Burghignoli was standing there since the previous century. And there it will remain, testifying the great contribution offered by this man to the Hong Kong Catholic Church and civil society.

As already mentioned, when Father Joseph reached here in 1860, he had a clear vision that one of the needs felt more acutely in the fast growing colony was compassion and charity, to compensate in some way for the prevailing trend to get rich at any cost. The six Canossian Sisters he accompanied from Italy were to underline that aspect of the Catholic presence here. Compassion and charity, with education, remain fundamental for the mission of the Church anywhere, to make the Christian message known and accepted. And Fr. Burghignoli, Muk sanfu, contributed to make such witness fully credible.

The many tasks he accepted and performed with rare competence in his unlimited dedication, made Father Joseph in some way a man of all seasons. But I would just recall his constant attention to the needs of the rural areas, beyond the boundaries of the British Colony, where his confreres were preaching the Gospel. One of the greatest hopes he expressed to his Superior in Italy and to his bishop here, was to be allowed to join Fr. Simeone Volonteri, when he was assigned to open a new mission field, in the far away Henan province, in 1869: "I came as a missionary to the Chinese, he wrote to the Superior of the PIME Society in Italy, and preaching to the Chinese is the great ideal my heart is longing for".

He was well aware that, in the Qing empire, things were not easier than in the Hong Kong colony. The tragic experience endured by the Catholic mission in Tianjing in 1870, when a mob destroyed a Catholic orphanage, accusing the French Sisters of Charity of buying abandoned children in order to make money out of their death, shocked everybody here also. Yet, soon after, Fr. Burghignoli did not hesitate to plead the cause of an elderly woman, who used to bring to the Canossian Sisters in Hong Kong at her own risk, by travelling a long journey by boat, the abandoned girls she was able to rescue. After hearing that she had been threatened for her act of charity, Fr. Joseph went personally to visit the local mandarin, on that city in the mainland. Luckily, justice and charity prevailed this time: the mandarin even published an official statement against the ancient use of abandoning unwanted girls, praising the concern of Muk sanfu, who had taken the initiative - he wrote - to open a home where they could receive good care and education. (p. 94).

Even today, should he be here with us, I am sure that his concern would not be limited to the local situation, though important. He would also share the anxiety of the Catholic community around the world for the difficulties and dangers facing the followers of Christ in the Mainland. I think that a fitting way to honour this far sighted missionary of the 19th century would be to join in prayer our Christian brothers in China, who specially next month will invoke Our Lady's help at the Sheshan Shrine, asking freedom and social peace for that great people.

Mr. Massimo Burghignoli has just produced a lively profile in Italian of his relative. Let us hope that some local historian may soon give us a more complete account of the figure and the multifaceted contribution of this great missionary to the development of Hong Kong society and Church.

Once again, thank you all.

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