作者：McLoughlin, Michael 年份：1980
"As the Catholic Church is foreign to no nation, so should every nation produce its own sacred ministers." "Wherever there exists an indigenous clergy, adequate in number and training, there the missionary work must be considered as having been brought to a happy end, there the Church is founded." (Benedict XV).
Since the beginning of the catholic missions in China, the Church has sought to establish a full regular normal local Church. In practice, from the beginning, efforts have been made to foster and to multiply Chinese vocations. It was not, however, until the present century that a concerted and organized plan for the whole country was devised. For many years the great Seminary of the Martyrs in Penang had been a sort of Central Seminary for most of the Far East, and in various parts of China there were Major Seminaries for special districts. All this was good, but still more was needed. Church Law laid it down that there should be a seminary in every diocese: where that was impossible, the Bishops of an Ecclesiastical Region, by their mutual assistance, were to open a common seminary for all the dioceses of the Region.
The First Council of China in 1924 urged the matter as of great importance, and under the guidance of the Apostolic Delegate to China, then Mgr. Costantini, a network of fourteen Region Seminaries were planned. By 1936 eleven of these seminaries were functioning: Kirin (Manchukuo), Chala (Peking), Suanhwafu (Hopei), Hankow (Hupeh), Tsinanfu (Shantung), Tatungfu (Shansi), Kaifeng (Honan), Chengtu (Szechwan), Nanchang (Kiangsi), Ningpo (Chekiang), and Aberdeen (Hong Kong). In 1949, there were sixteen Regional Seminaries, as well as many local Major Seminaries. Today, none of those seminaries is in operation in any form except one, Aberdeen, Hong Kong.
The origins of the Regional Seminary, Aberdeen, are to be found ultimately in the initiative of the Apostolic Delegate in China and of the Bishops who ruled the vicariates of South China in the early decades of this century (1). Even after that all-important decision had been taken, even after Hong Kong had been chosen as the general address, there was still a very great amount of practical work to be done; for as yet, there was no building, not even a site, and no staff.
This last problem proved the easiest to solve. The Irish Jesuits had just recently arrived in the Vicariate, and were not yet deeply committed. A stroke of a pen in Rome and the whole matter was settled in the traditional ecclesiastical way. The Jesuits in Hong Kong became responsible for finding the necessary staff.
A stroke of a pen may produce a staff: it will not level a site or raise a building. Mgr. Valtorta, then Vicar Apostolic of Hong Kong, had half a dozen sites in mind. One of these interested him particularly; it was the hill-crowned tip of a peninsula overlooking the fishing village of Aberdeen, near the Southwest corner of Hong Kong island. When the Apostolic Delegate came to Hong Kong to decide where the Seminary should be built, it was to this site that he was first brought. The other sites were not even looked at: the Regional Seminary was to be in Aberdeen.
The site had been chosen: but obviously there would have to be months of negotiation and waiting before taking possession. On 25th February 1927, Mgr. Valtorta brought the Jesuit Fathers to the scene of future labour. Having seen it, they promised St. Theresa of Lisieux that if she would secure possession of the site within six months, her feast would be celebrated in the future Seminary with special solemnity. Months passed, and nothing seemed to be happening. It looked as if the Saint were ignoring the time limit. But on 24th August, the very last day of the six months, an unheralded telephone message informed Mgr. Valtorta that the site was his.
To design the Seminary building, an architect long famous for his grasp of the traditional Chinese style, Dom Adalbert Gresnigt O.S.B., was chosen. The original plan provided for a great quadrangular building, stepped down the hill towards the sea. Later on it was decided to reverse the plan, so that the whole grandiose structure might face the busy road rather than the lonely sea. The economic blizzard of the thirties shrivelled these high ambitions. One side of the proposed quadrangle was indeed built according to Dom Gresnigt plan; but the connecting wings, the great facade, and the Chapel itself had to be resigned with a sigh.
Yet, incomplete though it is, the portion that was erected bears evident testimony to the wisdom of the choice of an architect. For all its elaboration of colour and detail, the present Seminary is pre-eminently a building of stately unity.
Now the Seminary had a site and a plan. Nothing more was needed, except labour, tools, bricks, stone and mortar, and someone to see that all these were properly used to carry out Dom Gresnigt's plan. Fr. Grampa P.I.M.E. undertook this last arduous labour. Almost fifty years and, during the war, an unknown number of guns have done their worst; but the fabric is still a striking monument to Fr. Grampa's skill and devotion.
On 3rd October 1930, the feast of St. Theresa of Lisieux, Mgr. Valtorta, in a private ceremony, blessed and laid the cornerstone of the already rising building.
In so far as the Regional Seminary of Our Lady, Queen of China, had an official opening, it was on the Feast of All Saints, 1st November 1931. The first students had arrived a few days earlier, October 28th, and classes had already begun. Since the last touches had not yet been given to the building, there was no question of an elaborate opening; but on November 1st, there was a simple ceremony, which suitably symbolized the union that should bind a regional seminary to the dioceses it serves and especially to the Ordinary of the diocese in which it is built.
In the presence of H.E. Mgr. Deswaziere and a few priests connected with the dioceses of South China, H.E. Mgr. Henry Valtorta said Mass for the students, during which he preached the first of his inspiring Latin sermons which were to be heard and appreciated for the next twenty years. He pointed out to them the significance of this new development for the missions of South China. He also showed how this seminary was a visible symbol of the universal catholic charity, which is not limited by national boundaries. The students should show forth this charity in their own lives and, as priests, they should teach it to the people committed to their care. Union and charity between the students and their superiors and between the students themselves should be the distinguishing mark of the new Seminary, and the surest sign that it was achieving the results expected from it.
Fr. T. Cooney S.J. was installed as the first Rector. The other professors were Frs. G. Kennedy, P. Joy, D. Finn, and R. Gallagher, and Rev. H. O'Brien and G. Casey. There were, to begin with, seven theologians and thirteen philosophers.
Life in the Seminary at Aberdeen was similar to life in any seminary in a mission country in the thirties. There were, of course, events particular to Aberdeen. During the first ten years, a kitchen, laundry and servants' quarters were added to the original building. In 1936 a large telescope was set up and put into working order. The preliminary tests gave good definition and magnification. With this a meteorological station was established and regular readings were taken. Unfortunately with the approach of the war in 1941, the telescope had to be dismantled, and has not been restored.
Another activity of value to the students was provided by Fr. Finn's interest in the archaeology of South China. Besides being Professor of Scripture and Spiritual Director, Fr. Finn was a trained archaeologist. During his time in the Seminary he studied the superstitions and customs of the boat people of Aberdeen; his findings were sent, along with a selection of idols and charms, to the Lateran Museum. He also made many pottery finds on the nearby island of Lamma. Some of the students used to accompany him on his field work, and became quite expert in recognizing primitive artefacts and recording their location.
But the most important event of this period was the Japanese war, which caused so much physical suffering and poverty in China. To alleviate these distresses, a Chinese Catholic War Relief Organization was set up. This gave the seminarians an opportunity to show their zeal, and their contribution was substantial. Here is part of a letter from the Treasurer of the Organization to the Prefect of the Seminarians.
"A third time, and in such a short time, the Chinese Catholic Relief Organization has received a generous contribution from the Seminarians of Aberdeen... Your letter is very inspiring and I hope to quote it in the next issue of the Catholic Digest... In your own way, you too are bearing the burden of your country's suffering and you are to be congratulated on the generous sacrifices you are making... Hundreds upon hundreds of wounded are being taken care of and thousands and thousands of refugees".
For the first two years the number of students was small, but an influx from Fukien and Kwang-tung brought about a sudden increase in 1933. In 1937, the Fukien Seminarians were recalled to Foochow, to continue their studies in the newly opened Regional Seminary for that province. This step had been foreseen; for it was only natural that a group of dioceses in which vocations were numerous and where language and customs differed so much from those of the Cantonese, should have a seminary of their own. Numbers, however, did not fall off at Aberdeen. The Minor Seminaries of Kwang-tung, which in the preceding ten years had been both increased and reorganized, now began to send increasing numbers of candidates. A few more came from the Chinese diaspora - one from Banka, and a steady flow from North Borneo. There were dioceses in Indonesia and Siam which also applied for places, but had to be refused because the space was needed for those who had first claim to be admitted, and also because it was felt that the Seminary should be kept purely for the Chinese. The largest number of students in the Seminary at one time was seventy-five; while the number ordained to the priesthood during these first ten years was forty-eight.
Ordination, of course, is the whole purpose of a seminary. For the Aberdeen Seminary, its greatest day was not the opening but Easter Saturday, 31st March 1934, when the first of its students were raised to the priesthood. His Excellency Henry Valtorta, Bishop of Hong Kong, performed the ceremony in the Cathedral. The Apostolic Delegate to China, H.E. Mgr. Mario Zanin arrived in Hong Kong for the first time during the ceremony, and was present in the sacristy at the conclusion to receive the new priests.
The following article, taken from the 'Rock' 1934, is quoted here as a tribute not only to those first priests of Aberdeen, but also to all who have followed them. Since they left the Seminary, these priests have been asked to undertake difficult, even heroic assignments. Some have been in prison, some are in prison, many have had to leave their country to work in other lands. To all the Regional Seminary offers its greetings and thanks.
"This event (of the first ordinations from the Seminary) gives us many reasons for rejoicing, in the first place for the great gift that has been conferred on the recipients themselves. No higher honour can be conferred on man than that he should be called by God to the service of the altar. The priest is the minister of Christ on earth. In Christ's name he pours on the neophyte the waters of Baptism, in Christ's name he brings comfort to the sinner... But above all－and this is the sublime dignity of the Catholic priesthood－in Christ's name he stands at the altar, Mediator between man and his Maker, to offer up once more the Sacrifice which was offered by the great High Priest Himself on the hill of Calvary. ... It is a sublime dignity indeed and the Catholic faithful look to the priest as someone who stands to them in the place of Christ. ...He is the servant of all. But he is well requited for his life of sacrifice by the love and gratitude of his people. We therefore congratulate in the first place these three young men whom God has called to serve their own China and the Chinese people in this supreme service."
The years sped by unperceived until suddenly it was realized that the tenth year had arrived. The students wanted to celebrate the occasion, but the conditions caused by the war made that almost impossible. It was finally agreed that Mgr. H. Valtorta would celebrate pontifical high mass in the Seminary and that he would administer tonsure and minor orders to those who were due (sixteen candidates).
On the tenth anniversary, the sixty-six students in the Seminary represented between them all the Vicariates in Kwang-tung, the Vicariate of Wuchow in Kiangsi, and the missions of Borneo and Sarawak. A commemorative card, showing the area from which the students were drawn, was distributed. On a map of the region each of the mission centres was indicated, and the number of former students ordained for each mission was marked. The total of those who had entered the Seminary and had already been ordained was forty-eight; of those many had already spent some years in other major seminaries, others had completed studies commenced in Aberdeen, in Rome, in the new Regional Seminary in Foochow or elsewhere. Twenty had made their full course of Philosophy and Theology in the Regional Seminary. One had died, Fr. James Wong Sing Foon.
The happiness of the tenth anniversary celebrated on 1st November 1941 had barely faded from memory, when the terrible tragedy that is war became imminent. On 7th December 1941, a quiet Sunday evening, the Hon. Mr. John Wu Ching Hsiung, afterwards Chinese Minister at the Vatican, came to the Seminary to give a lecture on one of his favourite topics, the Chinese Classics as a Providential Preparation for Christianity. After the lecture, he and the professors were chatting and expressing their confidence that there would be no war. Little did they realize that the disaster of Pearl Harbour would have taken place within the next twenty-four hours. The next morning a telephone call from the city gave the news of the attack on Hong Kong.
The Government had already informed the Rector that, in the event of war, the Seminary would be requisitioned for the safe housing of the families of the officials and workers in the naval dockyard, and that the seminarians and fathers would have to leave the house. The quest-ion then arose of the disposal of the seminarians. Government did not feel itself obliged to provide accommodation. In order to make sure that all would have a definite status in war-time, professors and students had enrolled for various forms of civilian service. The house was now made ready for the reception of the government's protegees, and all prepared to go to their posts as called up. Eventually not more than fifty people, instead of the expected five hundred, came, and the seminarians were not all called on for service. In the early days of the war, some did go to Hong Kong to help with the work of accommodating refugees, while others directed the distribution of food to the poor in Aberdeen village. But the very swift advance of the Japanese soon put an end to these activities. Those who remained in the Seminary sandbagged the windows of the refectory according to plan. That proved be be a necessary and effective defence.
During the last three days of the siege, December 23rd - 25th, the seminary was in the very front line. British look-out posts and gun-positions had been set up near the property, and this apparently drew the fire of the advancing Japanese. Fortunately they did not use guns of sufficient calibre to pierce the strong walls of the seminary, and only a shot through a window could have done serious damage. As everybody remained in the sandbagged refectory, there was little injury to personnel. Of one hundred and twenty persons, only three were wounded, and their injuries were but slight. However, Providence was at work. The Rector had decided that in future, beginning with Christmas Eve, Mass would be in the refectory. If they had remained in the chapel that Christmas Eve morning, they would have had Benediction after Mass. Just at the time when Benediction would have been in progress a shell came through a chapel window and exploded destroying the altar.
This escape and the continuous thunder of the guns on the walls was so unnerving that the seminarians made a vow to Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces, to be fulfilled if She would preserve them from harm (2).
On Christmas morning the Rector decided to take the women and children away from the Seminary to the convent in the village; two-thirds of the seminarians went also, while the others volunteered to stay behind to protect the house from looters. The fighting ended that afternoon and all returned to the seminary on the morning of the 26th. Those who had remained behind were in good spirits, even though the house had been bombed twice on Christmas Day.
With as little delay as possible, the Seminary was temporarily patched up and cleaned, the remaining families were sent back to the city, and by January 1st the regular life of the seminary was restarted. On January 7th after the lapse of only a month, normal classes were in progress, but many hours had still to be spent by the students in repairing the damage to the building.
For the next three and a half years the usual life of the seminary was carried on amid the customary difficulties of an occupied city. The Japanese never got to the point of registering the seminary, as they could not fit it into any one of their categories. It was neither school, church nor monastery－and so it carried on, protected by its very incomprehensibility. This liberty granted by the Japanese, however, would not have been sufficient in itself to ensure survival, had it not been for the arrival, irregular and unforeseen, of financial assistance from Rome and Ireland.
For some now forgotten reason, in May 1945 fears were expressed that Hong Kong would be subjected to a devastating bombardment, food was running too low, and prices were exorbitant, rice costing up to $65 U.S. per 1b. It was decided, therefore, to accept the generous invitation of H.E. Mgr. J. Ramalho, Bishop of Macao, to join his seminary. Professors and fourteen students set out and were given a wonderful welcome.
When in August 1945 peace was restored, the seminarians were still in Macao, and in Aberdeen there was only one priest, the Rector Fr. J. O' Meara, S.J. At first it was proposed not to open the seminary until after Christmas, but on November 7th six seminarians, three from Kaying and three from Swatow, arrived unexpectedly by minesweeper from Swatow. It was then decided to recall the other seminarians and start lectures as soon as possible. On November 19th the normal course of lectures began. During the next few days more students arrived, bringing the number to thirty one.
That was quite a large group to maintain at the time, for life was still difficult. Electricity and water supplies had only recently been re-connected. Transport was not organized, and so communications with Hong Kong city depended on chance lifts in Government or military trucks. Food rations were supplied by the Government at a price, and these had to be supplemented by local produce.
A more serious difficulty was malaria. The regular precautions against mosquitoes had been neglected during the occupation, and mosquitoes were numerous and voracious. Malaria was rife in the neighbourhood. Many of the seminarians contracted the disease, and there were two violent cases of cerebral malaria. But in January 1946, the house and grounds were sprayed with insecticide which brought relief.
Gradually, during the next few years, normal conditions were restored in Hong Kong. In the seminary, there was regular discipline, varied by the usual chance occurrences that happen in any life.
Meanwhile the community was changing. Fr. J. O' Meara, having steered the seminary through the storms of war, handed over his charge to Fr. R. Harris. Three years later, Fr. J. Garland succeeded Fr. Harris, who had been appointed Superior of the Hong Kong Jesuits. A few months later Fr. Joy, the last of the original staff, left for Singapore. In 1957 Fr. Garland was succeeded by Fr. J.B. Wood, who remained in office until the close of the Regional Seminary in 1964. There was also a considerable change in the teaching staff since the end of the war.
1949, Febr.
3rd 1 priest, 27 seminarians from Kingshien:
Febr. 17th 4 priests from Kingshien:
Mar. 28th 30 seminarians from Kingshien:
April 16th 26 seminarians from Hankow:
April 28th 17 seminarians from Shanghai:
May 2nd 7 seminarians from Fushun.
Thus it went on, comings and goings, so that from day to day no one knew how many; except perhaps the Rector, Fr. Harris, and the Minister, Fr. Morahan. At one time during May there were 120 seminarians in the house.
Of these refugee seminarians, those from Hankow went to Macao, those from Kingshien to Manila. After one year the Shanghai seminarians returned to Shanghai; the rest remained in Aberdeen to complete their course. Since then more refugee students from various minor seminaries, as well as the students from the Hong Kong area have kept the numbers above average. In 1956, the 25th anniversary of the Regional Seminary and roughly ten years after the war, there were fifty-four theologians from twenty-one dioceses and one religious congregation and twenty-five philosopers from ten dioceses and one religious congregation. But the ending of communications with China had its effect. By 1963 the number of seminarians had diminished to eleven theologians from five dioceses and fifteen philosophers from three dioceses and one religious congregation. It was not surprising then that on Monday, February 17th, 1964, the Acting Rector of the Regional Seminary, Fr. John Foley, S.J., received a letter from the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda to the effect that the Sacred Congregation had decided "to discontinue the activities of the Seminary" from the end of the academic year. Finally, on 21st July 1964 the Regional Seminary Aberdeen came to an end after thirty-three years with the signing of a document by Fr. John Foley, S.J. and Fr. Dominic Bazzo, P.I.M.E., Rector of the combined Major and Minor Seminary for the Diocese of Hong Kong.
During its brief existence, the Regional Seminary has had a varied history. What has been mentioned here is only an outline of the more important events in that history. Many other events could have been recounted, e.g. the social work of the seminarians among the boat people of Aberdeen, the "hedge" school for the children of the area, religious broadcasts, the newsletter "Vox Almae Matris" (Yuen Shing) sent monthly to the priests who had studied in Aberdeen, the new chapel completed in 1957 and so on. To sum up briefly and factually the achievement of the Regional Seminary, two hundred and fifty priests have been ordained since the Seminary opened in 1931. Besides Hong Kong, which has the largest number, and the Republic of China, these priests are to be found in sixteen different countries. Some have died (certainly more than 16); some have given up the priesthood; but by far the vast majority of them are strongly active in the mission of the Church. The spiritual achievement of the Seminary, through the apostolate of its priests, is impossible to estimate: that judgment belongs to the Lord.
(1)Joseph Da Costa Nunes, Bishop of Macao; Adulphus Rayssac, Vicar Apostolic of Swatow; Anthony Fourquet, Vicar Apostolic of Canton; Henry Valtorta, Vicar Apostolic of Hong Kong; James Edward Walsh, Vicar Apostolic of Kong-moon; Aloysius Penicaud, Vicar Apostolic of Pakhoi; Francis Xav. Ford, Prefect Apostolic of Kayingchow; Paul Mary-Joseph Julliotte, Superior of the Mission of Hainan; John Guarona, Pro-Vicar of Shiuchow.
(2)"Die 24 Decembris 1941, cum omnes in Seminario degentes maximo in periculo a globulis ignitis constituti essent, Fratres Alumni, annuente P. Rectore, Beatissimae Virgini Mariae, si domum et omnes habitantes in ea salvos incolumesque piissime custodiret, se vota infrascripta impleturos esse, polliciti sunt.
A. Tertiam partem SS. Rosarii per unum mensern cotidie in actionern gratiarum recitare.
B. In Seminario Regionali, speciali modo, colere Beatissirnam Virginern Mariam sub titulo: 'Mediatrix Omnium Gratiarum'.
C. Unumquemque post Ordinationern sacerdotalem denas Missas offerre. "