Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hong Kong (Agenzia Fides) - Father Giosuè Bonzi of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), an Italian missionary from Bergamo, has left Hong Kong and his physically and mentally disabled children and young people at the age of 85 and returned to his home in Lombardy. With the appreciation and affection of Hong Kong Catholics and non-Catholics, who were equally moved and sad, Father Bonzi returned to Italy in mid-February after 60 years of missionary work in Hong Kong. His children and young people accompanied him to the airport to say goodbye.
According to "KungKaoPo", the weekly newsletter of the Diocese of Hong Kong, Father Bonzi has won everyone over with his unconditional love and tireless spiritual commitment to the weakest in society. His work has also been recognized by the civil authorities, who have awarded him various honors over the past decades, an important sign of recognition for the valuable service of the missionary and his collaborators. He, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1967, barely a year after his ordination, acknowledges the praise with the modest words: "What did I do in Hong Kong? Nothing special,".
Father Bonzi founded "Fu Hong Society", and throughout his life he worked for the weakest of Hong Kong's highly technological and developed society, welcoming them into his centers for the disabled, about fifty in number. In the days of farewell, the missionary took part in masses and celebrations organized by various communities to express their gratitude and love for this man who will leave a legacy of compassion, faith and dedication, but above all the gift of hope for the last.
Father Giosuè Bonzi, a native of San Giovanni in Bianco in the province of Bergamo, was born in 1940. He entered the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) and was ordained a priest in 1966. His mother would have liked to see him become a diocesan priest, perhaps as a parish priest in one of the churches in the surrounding area. Instead, he was immediately sent to the mission in Hong Kong, where he worked first in the education field as director of an institute and then in the health field as chaplain of the “Caritas Medical Centre” hospital. For several years he was director of pastoral care for people with disabilities.
According to the website of the “Fu Hong Society”, after more than half a century of existence, the Society, founded in 1977, currently has more than 70 service units divided into different categories and programs, providing rehabilitation services to more than 4,000 people with disabilities, including people with intellectual disabilities, autism disorders and people with physical disabilities. In addition to inpatient care, the Catholic organization also offers programs for outpatient rehabilitation, professional training and community support for people with disabilities. The founder of the society himself has always lived with disabled children, to whom he dedicated his life in the name of Christ's charity. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 6/3/2025)
