The mortal remains of Mgrs Piazzoli and Bianchi were laid to rest in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Cardinals Tong and Zen, three auxiliary and dozens of local priests and deacons were present at the ceremony. Before the faithful, the bishop mentioned the enormous contribution the two missionary prelates made to the growth of the Church in the territory and their work for the Church in mainland China.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews/SE) – The ashes of two former bishops of Hong Kong, Mgrs Luigi Piazzoli and Lorenzo Bianchi, were interred in the columbarium in front of the altar of the Mission Chapel, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The mortal remains of the two bishops were brought back to Hong Kong from Italy in February, with the assistance of the Pontifical Foreign Mission Institute (PIME).

They were laid to rest alongside the remains of the past apostolic vicars and bishops of Hong Kong: Bishop Giovanni Timoleone Raimondi (Foreign Missions of Milan, later PIME), Bishop Luigi Pozzoni (PIME), Bishop Enrico Valtorta (PIME), Bishop Francis Hsu Chen-ping and Bishop Peter Lei Wang-kei who were interred in the columbarium in 2009.

The ceremony took place on 25 March and was celebrated by the current bishop, Card John Tong Hon. He was accompanied by the Bishop Emeritus, Card Joseph Zen, and the Auxiliary Bishops Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, Joseph Ha Chi-shing and Stephen Lee Bun-san.

PIME regional superior Fr Franco Cumbo and his deputy Fr Luigi Bonalumi, along with some 50 of the Territory’s priests and deacons were present. Many of faithful also attended.

Cardinal Tong mentioned the tremendous contribution the two bishops made to the Chinese Church, noting that his own pastoral priorities – evangelisation, promoting vocations and concern for non-Chinese Catholics, as well as acting as a bridge Church to the Church in China – were inspired by the witness given by Bishops Piazzoli and Bianchi.

Their respective periods at the helm of the Hong Kong diocese saw a substantial rise in the number of Catholics, many local vocations to the priestly and religious life, as well as the arrival of a large number of religious congregations to serve the city. The two made a huge contribution to the evangelising mission of the Church.

Cardinal Tong also noted that both bishops, in particular Bishop Bianchi, helped many people in need, especially migrant workers. They were also keen to serve mainland China and expressed a concern for the Church there even after they had left.

The cardinal said that Bishop Bianchi prayed for China and Hong Kong every day even after he went back to Italy.

Bishop Piazzoli was born in Alzano, Italy, on 12 May 1845. He joined the Lombardy Seminary for Foreign Missions (which later became the PIME) in 1868 and arrived in Hong Kong in 1869.

He was named apostolic vicar on 11 January 1895 and ordained bishop on 19 May of the same year. But due to deteriorating health, he returned to Italy in August 1904 where he died before the end of the year on 26 December.

Born in Brescia on 1 April 1899, Mgr Bianchi joined the PIME and was ordained a priest on 22 September 1922.

A year later, he arrived in Hong Kong where he was appointed coadjutor bishop to Bishop Enrico Valtorta in 1949 (who died on 3 September 1951).

However, Mgr Bianchi was not formally installed until 26 October 1952, after his release from prison in mainland China.

He returned to Italy in 1969, and was succeeded by Bishop Hsu, the first Chinese bishop of Hong Kong. Mgr Bianchi passed away on 13 February 1983.

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