1. The Campanile
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The campanile on the east side, at a height of 116 feet is an iconic feature of the church. It was designed by Benedictine Order artist cum architect Rev. Dom Adalbert Gresnigt O.S.B. (1877-1956), and later implemented by Joseph Vincent Chanatong (?–1942), local representative of the committee of St. Teresa’s, Portuguese architect Antonio Hermenegildo Blasto (1894–1979) and Belgian architect Gabriel Van Wylick (1897-1964).
St. Teresa’s Church is the only Catholic Church in Hong Kong that owes a Romanesque revival architectural style campanile. It refers explicitly to St Mark’s campanile in Venice, Italy.
During the Second World War, the church’s bronze bell and other gold ornaments were sold by Rev. Orlando Carmelo P.I.M.E. (1907-1979), the priest in charge to raise money and help the needy. After the war, the bell was replaced by an electric bell. The chimes for the Angelus continued until the 1960s, but have ceased ringing since then. In 1975, the construction of the footbridge in Waterloo Road once slightly titled the campanile.
Stairs inside the campanile, also link to the choir loft and the pipe organ.
Current look at the top of the campanile which once stored the bell
2. The Foundation Stone
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The foundation stone of St. Teresa’s Church is located at the left bottom of the campanile on the east side. The stone, which was a slab of white marble, was inscribed in black as under: - “To the Glory of God and in the Honour of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, this Foundation Stone has been laid by His Lordship H. Valtorta, Vicar Apostolic of Hong Kong. Kowloon, 23rd April 1932.”
The ceremony of laying the foundation stone was officiated by Bishop Henry Valtorta P.I.M.E. (1883–1951), Apostolic Vicar of Hong Kong, on 23rd April, 1932. After the Bishop had blessed the foundation stone and sprinkled holy water on it, he proceeded to a position just inside the main entrance of the sacred edifice where he led the Litany of the Saints.
Following the laying of the corner stone, the procession proceeded to walk round the interior of the structure where halts were made at various points for the Bishop to bless the foundation of the building. In the ceremony, Bishop Valtorta addressed the guests that he could not adequately express his joy to lay the foundation stone of the church. He rejoiced because that building was going to meet a great and pressing need in Kowloon.
Before leaving, Bishop put a picture of St. Teresa in the foundation of the Church, as hope as Patron of Foreign Mission, she could bless the people of Hoifung which currently under communist reign of terror, that churches and villages could remain unharmed and not a single villager would be killed anymore. Few months later on December 18th, the church was blessed and opened by Bishop Valtorta.
Bottom of the campanile where the foundation stone was installed
3. The Statue of St. Christopher
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
St. Christopher (? - 251), originally named Reprobus lived in the 3rd century and was born in the land of Canaan. It was believed that he was extremely tall with immense strength, and he wanted to serve the greatest king he could. One day he encountered a hermit who instructed him on the Christian faith, the hermit told Reprobus that in order to serve Jesus, he recommends fasting and prayer. This option did not suit him very well.
As an alternative, the hermit suggested that he might use his strength to help travelers cross a dangerous river. This was a service that suited him perfectly. One day a child arrived to be carried across the river. Reprobus took the child upon his shoulders, but as he crossed the river, the child grew heavier until Reprobus feared he would fall and that they would both drown.
When he asked the child why he was so heavy, the child revealed that he was Jesus Christ and answered that he was heavy with the weight of the world's sins. Not one to give up, he forged ahead and crossed the river with the Christ child on his shoulders. When they reached the opposite bank, Christ asked Reprobus to press his staff into the ground. When he did, the staff turned into a beautiful flowering tree.
After that, Reprobus changed his name to Christopher, which in Greek stands for “Christ-Bearer”. St. Christopher then traveled to preach along and evangelized thousands of people. Arriving in Lycia in Asia Minor, he converted over 8 thousands people by his miracles.
Due to that, St. Christopher was detained and ordered to offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods. When he refused, the emperor tried to persuade him with money and women. Two women were sent to seduce him, but instead he converted them to Christianity. Eventually, he was beheaded and died as a martyr.
From his statue in St. Teresa’s Church, we can see the right hand of the statue holding Baby Jesus, with a globe with a cross on top in His left hand, showing He is the ruler of the entire universe. While his left hand is holding a staff with flowers on top, as what his stories stated. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers, and since the beginning of the 20th century, he became patron saint of motorists too.
The statue stands high in the south-east corner of the Church compound, overlooking the busy Prince Edward Road and Waterloo Road, as if to protect divers and pedestrians using these busy thoroughfares. The original statue was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Lum in 1955, and on May 5th, 1956 Lady Patricia Hogan (1918-1995) unveiled the statue, and Bishop Bianchi Lorenzo P.I.M.E. (1899-1983) blessed it together with many cars all around.
A new statue made in Italy was commissioned and blessed by Bishop John Wu (1925-2002) on June 8th, 1980 after the original statue was damaged by a fallen tree during a typhoon. St. Christopher’s statue serves as a beacon to passing motorists and pedestrians. Until the mid 60s, every year on the feast day of St. Christopher, July 25th, a large number of car owners would drive their cars to the driveway outside the church to receive a blessing. Between 2005-2010, the tradition resumed on 2-3 occasions.
Bishop Bianchi blessed the old Statue of St. Christopher in 1956 (Kung Kao Po archive)
Rev. Orlando Carmelo P.I.M.E. (1907-1979), parish priest of St. Teresa’s Church officiated at the annual blessing of cars on 25th July, 1960, feast day of St. Christopher (Sunday Examiner archive).
Rev. Orlando offering blessing to a car
Holy Water Font outside sacristy
There are eight holy water fonts in the church, two each at the main entrance, entrances of Belfran Road and Waterloo Road, and the last two outside the sacristy. They provide Holy Water for parishioners to dip and make the sign of the cross before entering the church.
The action originated from The Sacrament of Baptism and started in around the 5th century, symbolising the cleansing of oneself before entering the House of God, and providing protection for us against evil.
5. Stained Glass Windows
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The pale yellow, green and white stained glass windows are glazed in simple geometric patterns. This creates a sense of simplicity that befits the theological thinking of St. Teresa of Lisieux, who lived with humility and dedication to God. Sun rays passing through the window panes provide a warm, loving and caring atmosphere.
Beside the ceiling are windows that penetrate natural lighting, which adds a sense of sacredness to the church. Concise yellow and blue glasses are also applied on the door, providing visitors a soft atmosphere when they enter the church.
Glass windows surrounding the nave
The blue and yellow coloured door glass pane
A close look at the three colours pattern
The Fourteenth Station
The 14 Stations of the Cross depicts the Lord’s suffering and passion. It focuses on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. The stations are commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to station. At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on a specific event from Christ's last day.
This devotion has evolved over time. Tradition holds that our Blessed Mother visited daily the scenes of our Lord’s passion. After Constantine legalized Christianity in the year AD 313, this pathway was marked with its important stations. In the fifth century, an interest developed in the Church to “reproduce” the holy places in other areas so pilgrims who could not actually travel to the Holy Land could do so in a devotional, spiritual way in their hearts.
William Wey (1407? –1476), an English pilgrim, visited the Holy Land in 1458 and again in 1462, and is credited with the term stations. He described the manner in which a pilgrim followed the steps of Christ, and the devotion continued to grow in popularity in Europe.
In 1686, Pope Innocent XI (1611-1689), realizing that few people could travel to the Holy Land due to the Moslem oppression, granted the Franciscans the right to erect stations in all of their churches. Pope Benedict XIII (1649-1730) extended these indulgences to all of the faithful in 1726. Five years later, Pope Clement XII (1652-1740) permitted stations to be erected in all churches and fixed the number at 14.
In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV (1675-1758) exhorted all priests to enrich their churches with the Way of the Cross, which must include 14 stations and are usually accompanied with pictures or images of each particular station. The popularity of the devotion was also encouraged by St. Leonard Casanova (1676-1751) of Porto Maurizio, Italy, who reportedly erected over 600 sets of stations throughout Italy.
Jesus said,” I am the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). Parishioners are reminded to carry their own cross in their life and follow Christ. In St. Teresa’s Church every year during Lent, the church will hold the Way of the Cross on every Friday. The stations are spread across two sides of the aisle, installed in 1932 when the church was built.
7. The Main Altar
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The main altar is the first Roman style altar in Hong Kong. The altar of white marble with patterned texture was a gift from parishioners, to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Ordination of the parish priest, Rev. Orlando Carmelo P.I.M.E. (1907-1979) in 1955, the crucifix hanging up at the rear altar was another gift as well.
While the first and no less precious marble altar that was used since 1932, was transferred to St. Francis of Assisi Church which was just built in Shek Kip Mei, together with the old baptismal font.
The altar is located at the centre of the church, where Jesus celebrates the Eucharist with us during the Liturgy, symbolising His Presence. It also symbolises Christ’s role as the celebrant, the offering and the altar. Note that in keeping with the Church’s traditional practice and with what the altar signifies, usually all altars are made of natural stone.
There is also a tradition in the Roman liturgy of placing relics of martyrs or other saints beneath the altar, but after the Second Vatican Council this practice was no longer compulsory. The entombing of martyrs in or under the altar designates their close resemblance to the Lamb of God, as it took place in suffering and now consists in glory.
View of the old altar in St. Teresa’s Church (Left), and it’s current look in St. Francis of Assisi Church (right)
8. Lectern at the Main Altar
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The lectern is the reading stand for God’s words. Messages and good news from God are passed to the people there, as what stated in the bible, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. " (Matthew 4:4) Through this platform, Jesus speaks to us through his messengers - the priests.
Same as the altar, the lectern symbolizes the presence of God. Before the Second Vatican Council, gospels were read up on the pulpit, near where the statue of St Teresa’s resides today.
There is a Chinese character “Tao” at the front face of the lectern, meaning the “way” of Christ. As what Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) There is a dove above the character, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Another lectern that belongs to the same set place outside the side entrance of the Adoration Chapel, which has an Alpha-Omega symbol on it, symbolising Jesus is our origin and our destiny.
Lectern outside the Adoration Chapel
The marble pulpit (replacing the former wooden one) was used between 1940 and the period of Second Vatican Council.
9. Statue of St. Teresa
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) is the patron saint of St Teresa’s Parish. Born to a devout Catholic family, she was admitted to the French Carmelite Convent in Lisieux, France at the age of 15, and took the religious name Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. During the nine years in the convent as a nun, she lived a humble, sacrificial, seclusive life, and did numerous small charitable works to live out her ‘Little Way’ as a young and chaste nun, following Jesus.
St. Teresa is best known today for her spiritual memoir, L'histoire d'une âme (The Story of a Soul), which was published after her death. The book quickly became a modern spiritual classic, read by millions and translated into dozens of languages around the world.
On Mission Day of 1997, Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005) honoured St. Teresa as Doctor of the Church because of her theological Thinking, and in tribute to the powerful way her spirituality has influenced people all over the world.
The statue of St. Teresa was placed in the church since it was built in 1932, and was venerated by parishioners in annual processions. St. Teresa is holding a handful of roses and a crucifix in the statue. The roses signifies the virtue of love, as what St. Teresa said “I will let fall from heaven a shower of roses.” ；and the crucifix on her right hand is the key to sainthood. The statue is now placed at the left side in front of the main altar.
More information can be found at 28. Relic of St. Teresa
The first procession of St. Teresa's Church held in 1933
The roses and crucifix in St. Teresa’s hands
10. Altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has its roots all the way back to the time of the Apostles. Along the Middle Ages the heart of Jesus became a specific object of adoration as the center and wellspring of Jesus' passionate and infinite love for us.
In the eleventh century, pious Christians meditated on the Five Wounds of Christ, including St. Bonaventure (1221-1274). Most of them were private devotions which helped Christians to focus on the passion and death of Christ, and thus to grow in love for our Savior who had suffered and died for mankind.
Few centuries later in 1673, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a French nun that belonged to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, followed by numerous other apparitions within a period of 18 months. St. Margaret was told to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart throughout the world.
In 1856 Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) introduced the feast into the general calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since then, his successors have exhorted the faithful to turn to the Sacred Heart and make acts of personal consecration.
In 1928 Pope Pius XI (1857-1939) announced the Act of Consecration and dedication to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter, and reaffirmed the importance of consecration and reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus revealed the immense love of Christ to the world and served as a reminder to the world of the pain and suffering of Christ. He warned the world to repent, do penance and love one another so that his wounds will be healed.
In the altar there is a statue of the Resurrected Christ with the presence of His five wounds. The top of the altar is in the shape of Octagon (an eight-sided figure), which symbolizes resurrection and grace. There is a dove with open wings at the ceiling of the altar, representing the Holy Spirit. Cloud behind the dove means the sky is open, as what the voice from heaven said when Jesus was being baptized “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
On both sides of the altar, there are the symbols of Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, traditionally being a title of Jesus. Next to them is the chrismon sign, superimposing the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos) —chi and rho (ΧΡ)— on the two sides. This symbol is an abbreviation of the Greek word Christos, meaning Christ.
Built in 1934, the altar was donated by Dr. Bernand Souza, and the statue was a gift of Miss Mary Santos. Dr. Souza was also the donator of the headquarters of 13th group Boy Scouts in St. Teresa’s. Now the altar and the statue are placed at the right side from the angle of the main altar. The feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is 19 days after Pentecost, or counts as after the octave of Corpus Christi, on a Friday.
Ceiling of the altar
The carving of the Sacred Heart at the centre of the altar
11. Image of Divine Mercy
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
On February 22, 1931, the Image of Divine Mercy appeared to St. Maria Faustyna Kowalska (1905-1938), a nun from Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Plock, Poland. Jesus taught St. Faustina prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and asked her to set up the Divine Mercy Sunday, which currently falls on the first Sunday after Easter, in order to focus on the gift of mercy and love given through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Jesus promised that anyone venerating the Divine Mercy will conquer sin and his enemy, and his soul will not be lost. In St. Faustina’s diary, which was later published as the book “Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul”, she wrote about a number of visions of Jesus and conversations with him. In 1934, Polish painter Eugeniusz Kazimirowski (1873-1939) completed the drawing based on the memory of St. Faustina.
In the image we can see there are two rays coming out from Jesus’ chest, the white ray indicates water, symbolising Baptism, while the red ray stands for blood and sacrifice, symbolising Jesus’ death. Jesus’ right arm is raised to offer His Blessing, and the left arm is pressed against His Chest, making the rays radiate out into the world.
The two rays represent different sacraments - the birth of the Church from Jesus’ passion and suffering, and the gifts from the Holy Spirit. Jesus wants people to understand his Mercy, and not be afraid to approach him.
On 30th April, 2000. Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005) canonized Faustyna as a saint, and announced that the second Sunday of Easter was officially designated as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy. The image is placed on the wall next to the Altar of Sacred Heart of Jesus, it was added in 2015 by the parish priest Rev. Peter Leung (1942- ).
12. Altar of St. Joseph
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
St. Joseph is honoured as the Head of the Holy Family, the loving foster-father of Jesus, the most chaste spouse of Mary and the helper of God's salvation plan. In the bible, he was described as a righteous man (Matthew 1:18-25). Since the 8th century there were novenas recited to St. Joseph in East Asia. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV (1414-1484) extended the feast to the church in Rome. In 1621 Pope Gregory XV (1554-1623) made the feast of St. Joseph a holy day of obligation.
In 1889, Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) issued the encyclical Quamquam pluries, in which he urged Catholics to pray to St. Joseph, as the patron of the Catholic Church in view of the challenges that the church is facing. In 1962, Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963) inserted the name of St. Joseph in the Canon of the Mass, immediately after the name of Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 2013, Pope Francis (1936 - ) added St. Joseph’s name to three other Eucharistic Prayers. On December 8, 2020, the day of Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady and the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis announced a special year dedicated to St. Joseph starting from 8 December 2020 until 8 December 2021.
In the statue, St. Joseph is holding Infant Jesus in his left arm. Jesus' right arm is raised in a blessing gesture, and a globe with a cross on top in His left hand, showing He is the ruler of the entire universe. There is a flowering staff with lilies in St. Joseph’s right hand, the staff calls upon the imagery of the flowering staff of Aaron showing he had been chosen by God (Numbers 17:23), and the lilies is a symbol of purity, showing he was a virtuous man that was pure and obedient to God.
As a carpenter, St. Joseph was the patron of workers. It is believed that he died in the arms of Mary and Jesus, and thus he is the patron saint of the departing souls. He is also the patron saint of China and patron saint of the universal church. His feast days are on the 19th March and 1st May (only as the patron of workers). The altar and statue was built in 1939 through the generous donation of a parishioner Mrs. Laurel, and is located at the right side of the rear altar.
Full look of the altar
13. Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was painted in the 13th Century in the Middle East, and was kept in a church on the island of Crete. In 1495 it was stolen by a merchant which brought it to Rome. During the voyage a terrible storm arose, threatening the lives of all on ship. The passengers and crew prayed to our Blessed Virgin and were saved.
Shortly after arriving at Rome, the merchant became grievously ill. Before his death he begged a friend to take the icon to one of the churches in Rome so that it could be publicly venerated. However after his death, the friend’s wife persuaded her husband to allow her to keep the painting in their home, where it remained for several months.
As a result, the Blessed Virgin appeared to their family and expressed the desire for the image to be venerated in a Church. Finally, in 1499 the image was housed at the Church of St. Matthew, Rome. Pilgrims flocked to the church for the next three hundred years, and great graces were bestowed upon the faithful.
After Napoleon’s troops destroyed the Church of St. Matthew in 1798, the image was transferred to the Church of St. Mary in Posterula, and remained there, which the image was neglected and forgotten.
In 1866, Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) ordered the public display and veneration of the image, and entrusted it to the Redemptorists, who had just built a church dedicated to St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), founder of the Congregation. Since then, the icon has been kept in the Church of St. Alphonsus in Rome.
From the painting we can see that the background is in gold colour, symbolizing Heaven, where Jesus and Mary now reign in Glory. The Infant Jesus in the picture is wearing a crown, dressed as a royalty with a halo around his head. Our Lady is dressed likewise, and the Greek initials say "Mother of God." Jesus looks very scared. He is clinging onto his mother, with his shoes falling off his feet.
The eyes of baby Jesus are looking up to Heaven and there are two Angels holding instruments meant for his torture during His passion and death. On the left is Archangel Michael holding a lance and sponge (respectively used to pierce Jesus, and to offer Jesus vinegar at the cross), and on the right, Archangel Gabriel, holding the Cross of Christ. The face of Our Lady is grave, her eyes are looking at us, as if pleading us to avoid sin, which has caused her son to suffer and die.
People praying and honouring Our Mother of Perpetual Help obtain lots of graces from her and miracles happen continuously. Her feast day is on 27th June. The painting can be found on the wall at the left side of the Altar of St. Joseph.
14. St. Agnes of Rome
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
St. Agnes (c.291 - c.304) lived between the 3rd and 4th Century, and was martyred in Rome at a young age of 13. According to tradition, Agnes was a beautiful girl who refused marriage, stating that she could have no spouse but Jesus Christ. As a consecrated virgin, when she refused to get married to the son of the Roman Governor, her name was submitted to the authorities as a follower of Christianity and she was caught in prison.
The Governor promised Agnes wonderful gifts if she would only deny God, but Agnes refused. He tried to change her mind by putting her in chains, but her lovely face shone with joy. Agnes was then ordered to be dragged naked to a brothel and raped. Upon praying, she was shielded from sight by her growing hair, and men were struck blind at attempts to rape her. Eventually she was tortured with fire and finally beheaded.
Pope St. Damasus I (c. 305-384) wrote an epitaph in remembrance of St. Agnes. She was both proclaimed patron of the children of Mary and patron saint of young girls. Her name “Agnes” resembles the Latin word “Agnus”, which means lamb. It also derived from the Greek word “Ἁγνή”, meaning 'pure' or 'holy'.
In the picture, St. Agnes is holding a palm in her hand, a symbol of martyrdom. The lamb in her other arm represents purity, sacred and chaste. Her feast day is celebrated on 21st January. The painting can be found on the wall at the right side of the Altar of St. Joseph.
15. Statue of St. Jude
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
St. Jude is a cousin of Jesus and one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. People always mixed his name with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy. St. Jude is the reputed author of the canonical Letter of Jude that warns against the licentious and blasphemous heretics.
He once asked Jesus “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” (Jn 14:22), showing his care to people around the world. After Jesus resurrected and returned to heaven, St. Jude went to Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) around 37 A.D., and became a leader of the Church of the East that St. Thomas established there.
St. Jude was a true internationalist, traveling throughout Mesopotamia, Libya, Turkey, and Persia with St. Simon, preaching and converting many people to Christianity. He was credited with helping the early creation of the Armenian Church, and other places beyond the borders of the Roman Empire.
He returned to Jerusalem in 62 A.D, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem. At around 65 A.D. while he was preaching around Persia with St. Simon, both were martyred while defending their faith.
Following St. Jude's death, his body was brought to Rome and left in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica, today his bones can still be found there. The devotion to him as patron saint of desperate causes began in France and Germany in the late 18th century.
In this statue, St. Jude is holding an image of Jesus in his right hand and a club in his left. The former represents the incident where he cured the illness of Prince Abgar from a neighboring small country by a cloth with Jesus’ image, and converted the whole country; while the latter represents how he was martyred - being clubbed to death.
St. Jude is the patron saint of the impossible and the things despaired of. His feast day is on 28th October. The statue is next to the Altar of St. Joseph.
Image of Jesus on St. Jude’s hand
16. Infant Jesus of Prague
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
This statue originated from Spain, legend says that the Infant Jesus miraculously appeared to a monk who moulded the statue based on his vision. Later the statue was kept by St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), and she gave it to her friend Isabel de Briceno y Arevalo (1510-1567), who belonged to the House of Habsburg in Spain.
Isabel later passed the statue to her daughter Maria Manrique de Lara y Mendoza (1538-1608), and the Spanish duchess took it to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1556 as a royal wedding gift, and passed on to her daughter Polyxena of Lobkowicz (1566-1642) as family heirloom.
The husband of Princess Polyxena died in 1628, and the widow decided to live a life of charity and poverty, in which she donated the statue to the Discalced Carmelites in Prague. Upon presenting it, the pious princess is said to have uttered a prophetic statement to the religious: “Venerable Fathers, I bring you my dearest possession. Honour this image and you shall never want.”
In 1631, the Saxons seized Prague and the Carmelites fled from the monastery. The monastery was plundered and the Infant Jesus was damaged and discarded as junk. Six years later when the monks returned, the priests found the statue in old junk and repaired it again.
Then the Infant Jesus began to bless the monastery, the local people, and also the entire city of Prague. He was credited with miraculous healing and also amongst other things, with saving Prague during the Swedish siege in 1639. In 1655 the statue was crowned by the Bishop of Prague, since then it continued to stay as an object of popular devotion.
The statue is 47 cm tall, with a smiling face and dark brown curly hair, and is placed next to the statue of St. Jude in the church. Baby Jesus is wearing a crown on his head and the outfit of a King, indicating that He is the descendant of King David. His right hand was raised to give blessing, His left hand is holding the globe with a cross on top, meaning our universe is under His control.
The feast day of the Infant Jesus of Prague is 14th January. The original statue is enshrined in the Church of Victory in the City of Prague, Czech Republic. While the replica stored in St. Teresa’s Church once belonged to the St. Teresa's School Kowloon, then formerly placed outside the church in a glass cupboard on a small grass patch near the car park, and was subsequently placed inside the church.
Infant Jesus of Prague placed at carpark of the church (2012)
17. The Crucifix
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The mosaic crucifix commanding the whole nave from the top of the apse reminds parishioners of Christ’s suffering in His salvation of the human race. The crucifix, together with the main altar was donated by parishioners in 1955 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Ordination of the parish priest, Rev. Orlando Carmelo P.I.M.E. (1907-1979).
The old crucifix, a gift from Mr. L. A. Barton in 1932, went to adorn the transept of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at Caine Road. Other than this mosaic crucifix, we can also see other crucifixes during mass or special celebrations for parishioners to worship and pray.
The crucifix used during Passion of the Lord on Good Friday. The photo was taken in the early 1960s.
Another set of crucifix that stored inside the path between the choir loft and the campanile
In the past that crucifix would display for veneration during the Holy Week
18. The Rear Altar
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The rear altar is the venue for weekday mass celebrations. The tabernacle is placed at the centre of the altar. Eucharistic adoration and the recitation of the Rosary are also held there. The first rear altar was built in 1934 donated by Mrs. J. M. Alves, as there was a “Dead Christ” lying beneath the altar, people also called it the altar of the Dead Christ. Although the terrazzo altar was demolished before the 1980s, the Dead Christ was still kept for procession on Holy Friday.
In 2007 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of St. Teresa’s Church, there was another major renovation of the chancel using rose petals as the main theme, which roses have been described and experienced as St. Teresa’s (1873-1897) signature. It is through these showers of rose petals, prayers and sacrifices, that souls are saved from the fire of purgatory and turn towards God.
Other than that, a mosaic mural was added at the rear altar, in order to show the love of St. Teresa towards God, and her enthusiasm in preaching. The color marbles at the rear altar, combined with the spiritual formation of St. Teresa and the mystery of suffering and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, expressed the meaning of the celebration of mass and the Sacrament of Eucharist.
Behind the shower of rose petals are the flames of love, the light and heat symbolized that the hearts of St. Teresa and Jesus Christ are combined together, emanating the flames that are about to save all the souls.
The "Dead Christ" that once lied beneath the altar
The “Dead Christ” procession on Good Friday in the early 1960s
19. Lectern at the Rear Altar
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
To compliment the design of the chancel, rear altar, mosaic mural and the marble sculpture, the lectern located at the rear altar is decorated with mosaic tiles in rose petals and tongues of fire after the renovation in 2007. It symbolises when the scripture is being read, the fire of the Holy Spirit will enkindle our hearts, using God’s words to make us repent our sins, and lead a life of Love.
Rose petals screens surrounding the chancel
20. The Tabernacle
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
Placed at the rear altar, the tabernacle commands the highest respect in the House of God, which used to hold the ciborium containing the Eucharist. The word “Tabernacle” originated from Hebrew: מִשְׁכַּן, mishkān, and Latin word “tabernāculum”, meaning "residence" or "tent".
In the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle as a place of worship for the Hebrew tribes during the period of wandering. Currently tabernacles are setted in most churches, and they also served as a purpose for Eucharistic Adoration of the faithful. A lit pair of sanctuary lamps beside the tabernacle indicates the presence of the Holy Eucharist.
On the tabernacle, there is a carving of a mother pelican feeding its children, symbolizing Jesus, our Redeemer, who gave up His life for our redemption and the atonement that he made through His passion and death. That’s because in ancient legend during the time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation.
The carving of the boat anchor symbolizes the promise of hope and faith, as an ancient symbol of safety. The inscription on the top part of the tabernacle "JHS" is the Latin abbreviation for “Jesus Hominus Salvator”, meaning Jesus, Saviour of Men, while another inscription “M” is the symbol of Mary. Also, the symbol of chrismon sign (Chi-Rho symbol), superimposing the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos) —chi and rho (ΧΡ), meaning Christ.
The tabernacle is an Octagon (an eight-sided figure). Eight is the first day of the week, a day of new life, there are eight beatitudes, and Christ resurrected on the eighth day after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Therefore octagon shape is commonly observed in many Catholic architecture, earliest could date back to year 315.
In the past St. Teresa’s Church would hold a procession of Holy Communion on the feast of the Body of Christ (Corpus Christi). The tabernacle we can see now has started to use since 2007.
The pair of sanctuary lamps placed at both sides of the rear altar
The wooden old tabernacle used before 2007
The oldest tabernacle keeps in St. Teresa’s Church, used before 1966.
In the procession of Holy Eucharist in 1964, altar boys were holding candlelights in front, and some parishioners were holding the canopy to protect the monstrance with Holy Communion while the congregation was walking out from the main entrance.
21. The Marble Sculpture
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
The large marble sculpture is just above the rear altar, and is a facsimile of the sculpture at Carmel of Lisieux in France, the convent that St. Teresa stayed during her final nine years of life. The sculpture depicts St. Teresa kneeling in front of Our Lady holding the Infant Jesus. They are sitting on a cloud with the cross in the background, symbolising heaven.
A piece of shroud is shown hanging on both arms of the cross, signifies that Christ has risen. The cherub on the cross is seen showering down roses, as a symbol of God’s heavenly grace, St. Teresa and Our Lady are rejoicing over the risen Christ.
St. Teresa is holding roses in her hands, trying to send them down from heaven for giving her mercy and grace to mankind. This is a continuation of what she was doing on earth, praying to Jesus for mercy and grace for everyone, including the souls in Purgatory. The sculpture was donated by students of St. Mary's Canossian College in 1934, a gift from their daily mortifications.
A closer look at the marble sculpture
22. The Mosaic Mural
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The colour-mosaic mural behind the sculpture was designed by Sr. Paola Yue Wai Ying (Canonesses of Our Lady) in 2007. A rich combination of colourful clouds, showers of rose petals, little white flowers, green grass, brown earth, flowing water, purgatory, and hot flames of Hades make up the entire imagery. As what St. Teresa (1873-1897) said, “When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens, I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.”
The mural is an allegory to St. Teresa, carrying on from her earthly wish and mission for the salvation of souls. Even in Heaven, she showers down roses for the welfare of mankind, interceding for us. Her prayers do good to the world, making flowers grow, water flow, and filling the earth with the breath of life. She wants the souls in purgatory to love God and to lead them to eternal life.
Colourful clouds with showers of rose petals from heaven
Reaching the grass, soil and water on Earth
Eventually the showers arrive at hell, extinguishing the hot flames there.
23. The Confessionals
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Jesus gave the Apostles and their successors the power to forgive sins, and invited us to repent and return to Jesus’ path, as a result the Sacrament of Reconciliation is listed as one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Together with the Anointing of the Sick, they make up the Sacraments of Healing. The confessionals are places for us to be closer to God, they can strengthen us, and fill our souls with grace.
Confessionals are usually wooden structures with a compartment in which the priest sits and on both sides, another compartment for penitents. The latter compartment is separated from the priest’s by a partition with a latticed opening for the penitent to speak through and contains a step on which to kneel. By this arrangement the priest is hidden, and the penitent may not be visible to others.
There are four confessionals behind the rear altar, which provide eight places for parishioners to wait inside. It allows four priests to conduct confessions at the same time, usually held before mass. The red and green light on the entry doors are used to notify other parishioners whether someone is inside the confessional.
Other than those spaces for traditional kneeling confessions, there is another room behind the altar of St. Joseph for face to face confession with a priest, especially during the pandemic between 2020-2021.
Inner look of the confessional
The indication light signals on the door of confessional
24. The Sacristy
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The Sacristy is the place that marks the beginning and the end of a mass. Priests, deacons, altar boys and lectors will get prepared there before the mass, and except the lectors rest will return to the sacristy after the recessional hymn. It is also the room for sacristans to prepare all the mass liturgy, utensils and storage for mass supplies.
The current sacristy was enlarged in 1950 by the generosity of Mr. Guilherme Augusto de Carvalho, and opened and blessed on 1st Nov, 1950 by Bishop Henry Valtorta P.I.M.E. (1883–1951), who just returned from Rome after attending the proclamation of the dogma of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
There is a sacrarium inside the sacristy, it is a special sink to dispose of water used sacramentally, by returning these particles directly to the earth. For example, after Mass the vessels which held the Body and Blood of Christ are rinsed and cleansed there. Due to that, it is connected by a pipe that bypasses municipal sewer systems and directly to the ground. If clothes are used to clean a spill of the Precious Blood, they will rinse above the sacrarium too.
There is a stone plaque above the sacrarium for memorial of the rebuilt of the sacristy, and the proclamation of the dogma of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God.
Stone plaque above the sacrarium
The sacrarium in sacristy, used for the reverent disposal of sacred substances.
25. Altar of St. Anthony of Padua
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He dedicated himself to God from a young age and entered the Augustinian community at the age of 15. Later he became a Franciscan at the age of 25, and helped the needy in the society and confronted heresy in France and Italy, people even named the food he distributed as St. Anthony's bread.
St. Anthony was known as the patron saint of the illiterate and the poor, as well as the patron saint of lost articles, as his Book of Psalms was once stolen by a novice who decided to leave the hermitage, and after intense prayer, not only did the thief return the book, but in an extra step returned to the Order as well.
Pope Gregory IX (1145-1241) once spoke of him as the “jewel case of the Bible”. St. Anthony was the first Franciscan Theologian and his teaching was based on the Bible and teaching of God. Because of his good education, great knowledge, and skill in preaching, St. Anthony converted many. In 1231 he died at the age 36, and was canonised a year later by Pope Gregory IX. In 1946 Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) proclaimed St. Anthony as Doctor of the Church.
In his statue, St. Anthony wore the brown Franciscan habit, which continues use by Franciscans nowadays, with Baby Jesus in his left arm, symbolizing he was seen playing and praying with Infant Jesus at night, and the room was filled with light more brilliant than the sun. A bible is held in the other arm, which is a symbol of his profound biblical knowledge and his preaching skill.
St. Anthony’s feast day is on the 13th June, and his altar was placed on the left side of the rear altar. It was made in 1939 through the generosity of a parishioner Mrs. Laurel, originally placing the statue of St. Philomena. However, as modern historians doubt the existence of the Saint, it was changed to the statue of St. Anthony before the 1980s.
26. Statue of St. Francis Xavier
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was one of the greatest Catholic missionaries of modern times. As a Spanish from the 16th century, he was born in Javier, Kingdom of Navarre. In 1925 he went to study at the University of Paris, and became friends with his roommate St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556). After receiving the degree of Master of Arts, St. Francis Xavier started to teach Philosophy in the University of Paris.
However, being influenced by St. Ignatius Loyola of his dedication to God, on August 15, 1534, along with several other friends they made vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which was the beginning of the Society of Jesus, and Pope Paul III (1468-1549) approved the formation of their order in 1540.
St. Francis Xavier then sailed to the Far East, and took up missionary work in Goa (part of current India), Maluku Islands, Malacca, Japan for ten years, converting over thirty thousand locals. In 1549, St. Francis became the first missionary to land in Japan. Despite language barriers and Japanese were not easily converted, when he decided to return temporarily to India in late 1551, there were about 2,000 Catholics in five communities.
Meanwhile, he had come to realize that the way to the conversion of Japan lay through China; it was to the Chinese that the Japanese looked for wisdom. As St. Francis attempted to secure entrance to the country that was closed to foreigners, on the way he died of fever on Shangchuan Island, southern coast of Guangdong at the age of 46.
St. Francis Xavier was canonised in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV (1554-1623), and proclaimed as the patron saint of foreign missions by Pope Pius XI (1857-1939) in 1927. His feast day is on 3rd December.
His statue can be found next to the Altar of St. Anthony of Padua. He is wearing a Jesuit priest habit in the statue and was holding a crucifix, with his eyes looking up to Heaven in prayers. On 16th August, 1949, the right arm of St. Francis was exposed for a few hours in St. Teresa’s Church for veneration, which attracted a lot of devout parishioners.
27. Our Lady of Guadalupe
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Between December 9-12, 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to a poor native Mexican farmer - St. Juan Diego (1474-1548) in Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City, during which the apparition cured his uncle’s serious illness, and asked the bishop of Mexico to build a chapel in the place where Our Lady appeared.
She also left her beautiful image, in glorious colour on his poncho that was made of fibre extracted from cactus. The poncho, still in its original condition with the image of Our Lady clearly depicted, is now kept in the Basilica of Guadalupe. Seven years after the apparition, over eight million of Mexicans converted to Catholicism (at that time, the population of Mexico was around nine million).
Nowadays over 80% of Mexico’s population are Catholics. Our Lady of Guadalupe was credited with ending a deadly epidemic of hemorrhagic fever that ravaged Mexico City in 1736–37, as a result in 1737 she was proclaimed patroness of Mexico City. In 1754 Pope Benedict XIV approved her patronage and granted her a proper feast.
Throughout the Mexican national history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Guadalupan name and image have been unifying national symbols; for example the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria (1786–1843) changed his name from José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix to Guadalupe during Mexican War of Independence in honor of Virgin Mary.
Our Lady of Guadalupe was proclaimed the patron saint of Latin America in 1910 by Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914), and then the entire Americas since 1999 by Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005). In 2005, Juan Diego was canonized by St. John Paul II as well. Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is on 12th December.
In the painting, the white fur lining on the collar and sleeves, gold trim on the cape, indicated the lady came from a noble family. Blue and green color represented holiness. A tape-like ornament in front of her chest was a sign of a pregnant woman. The light of God radiated from her body as she was carrying Jesus.
Her skin color was dark, resembling native Mexicans. The gold cross was similar to what the Spanish missionaries were wearing, it showed they were worshipping the one and only True God. Finally angels were holding her, meaning she came down from Heaven. The painting can be found next to the entrance facing Waterloo Road.
28. Relic of St. Teresa
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Since the 80th anniversary mass held on 29th September, 2012, celebrated by Cardinal John Tong (1939 - ), the relic of St. Teresa (1873-1897) was placed at the left corner of the main altar, next to relics of her parents, to show her deeds and accomplishments through her simple life. Her complete childlike trust in Christ and sacrifices in her daily life have brought people in the church, finding their little way to holiness. As what St. Teresa once said - My vocation is love.
This is a great encouragement to those seeking to sanctify themselves, and her inspiration and powerful presence from heaven touched many people very quickly. Catholics and other Christians have been attracted to St. Teresa’s style. Her "little way" seems to put the holiness of life within the reach of ordinary people. St. Teresa knew the difference love makes by allowing love to be the statement she made each day of her life.
In 1925, St. Teresa was canonized by Pope Pius XI (1857-1939), which was just 28 years after her death. Two years later due to her enthusiasm in preaching, she was proclaimed as patroness of foreign missions on equal footing as St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552).
St. Teresa once corresponded with a Carmelite mission in what was then French Indochina and was invited to join them, but, because of her sickness, could not travel. Still she showed a lot of support through letters and prayers.
In April, 2000, the relic of St. Teresa arrived at St. Teresa’s Church as well, and was consecrated in front of the main altar for three days. During that period a pontifical High Mass was held, with Cardinal John Wu (1925-2002) as the celebrant. The feast day of St. Teresa is 1st October, and the parish will hold feast day mass and annual dinner on that day.
More information can be found at 9. Statue of St. Teresa
The relic of St. Teresa is placed next to relic of her parents
In April, 2000, Cardinal John Wu celebrated the pontifical High Mass while the relic of St. Teresa was placed in the church.
29. Relics of St. Louis and St. Zelia Martin
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
As parents of St. Teresa, St. Louis Martin (1823-1894) and St. Zelia Martin (1831-1877) led their lives according to God’s will and guided St. Teresa to walk through a life of sanctification. St. Louis was a successful watchmaker by trade, and St. Zelia was one of Alencon's more talented lace makers.
Both of them thought of entering religious order when they were young, though both were denied by the communities they approached, they provided their child an ideal environment to be a saint, and set an example of Christian values. They had 9 children, only 5 girls survived and all became religious sisters.
St. Louis and St. Zelia were beatified on 19 October, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI (1927 - ). On October 18th, 2015, they were canonized by Pope Francis (1936 - ), and became the first couple to be canonized at the same time in Catholic Church history. The honour of being canonized was conferred not because they were the parents of St. Teresa, but based on their own merits. They are prime intercessors for concerns with marriage or family life.
In 2010, part of the relics of the couple were given to the Hong Kong diocese. During the Year of the Laity in 2011, the diocese toured the relics among different parishes and Catholic families to remind all that the path to sainthood begins from the family. Finally on 31st December, 2011, the relics of the couple arrived at St. Teresa Church, and were placed permanently at the left corner of the altar, with the ceremony held by Vicar General Rev. Dominic Chan (1952 - ).
Parishioners can take a close look at the relic, meditate on their lives and imitate the lifestyles of the saints. Their joint feast day is on 12th July.
St. Teresa's family picture
30. Altar of Our Lady of Fatima
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
Click here to enter Artefact 360° pilot
During the first World War from 13th May, 1917, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three little shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal for six times on 13th of each month (except August 19). She promised a miracle for her final appearance in October, and on that day over 70, 000 people witnessed a "miraculous solar phenomenon," in which the Sun appeared to fall toward Earth.
Since then Fátima became the location of one of the greatest Marian shrines in the world, visited by thousands of pilgrims each year. Our Lady asked the three shepherds to convey a message to the world. Her messages were, ‘Pray for peace, do penance, and to avert God’s wrath from the World.’
Anyone who for five consecutive First Saturdays of the month goes to Holy Communion, confession, prays five decades of the Rosary, spends 15 minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary will obtain from Our Lady the grace and blessings at the moment of death and eternal life.
Our Lady also confided three "secrets" to the children, which consist of three parts. The first two parts were announced in 1941, the first part of the “Secret” was a frightening vision of hell and contained an urgent plea from Our Lady to save souls.
The second part is that the world war would be over soon, but she also prophesied the outbreak of World War II, and she would conquer the atheist Iron Curtain. While the third part that was revealed in 2000, supported and affirmed the immense suffering endured by witnesses of the faith in the last century of the second millennium.
Among the three shepherds, two of the children Francisco de Jesus Marto (1908-1919) and Jacinta de Jesus Marto (1910-1920) died a few years later, and Lúcia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos (1907-2005) was left alone. She entered The Carmelite Convent and spent her life as an advocate carrying out the command of Our Lady.
On 13rd May 2017, Francisco and Jacinta Marto were canonized by Pope Francis (1936 - ) in Fatima, during the celebration of the centenary of the first appearances of the Virgin Mary. They are the first child saints who are not martyrs in the history of the church.
The apparition of Our Lady of Fatima became official in 1930. When St. Teresa's Church was built in 1932, the statue came from the first batch of statues shipped from Portugal, a gift from Mr. Carlos de Roza, whose name appeared on the Donors’ Plague too, whereas the altar was donated by Miss Donna Laura D’Almada in 1934.
The parish held possession in honour of Our Lady of Fatima regularly, in which the first possession could date back to 1933, with twelve bishops joining the event. The tradition didn’t even stop during World War II when Japan occupied Hong Kong.
Our Lady was not wearing a crown on her head before the Coronation was performed in 1946, where Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) granted a canonical coronation to the venerated image. Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima is on May 13th. The altar can be found at the left aisle of the church, opposite to the altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Signature of the sculptor when the statue was make in Portugal
The ceiling is decorated by dove and stars, which gives a feeling of sacredness and purity.
The parade of Our Lady of Fatima
31. Choir Loft and Pipe Organ
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The origin of the pipe organ goes back thousands of years to Greco-Roman times. Aside from the long history, the powerful appeal of this “King of the Instruments” comes with its structural complexity, physical magnificence as well as the exceptional array of timbre and volume it can produce. The pipe organ has been a standard church instrument since the 12th century. Therefore, there is a strong relationship between organ music and sacred music.
The two-manual tracker organ by British organ builder William Charlton Blackett (1859-1941) was built in 1934, located up on a choir loft at the back of the church. Blackett set up the firm of Blackett and Howden Limited with Charles William Howden (1865-1927) and introduced some highly innovative features to pipe organs. His work spread across the whole of the United Kingdom, many of which are still in use to this day in countries such as Australia, Germany as well as the UK.
After moving to Hong Kong, Blackett was the builder of all 14 organs in Hong Kong between 1917-1939, including the ones in the former St. Joseph's Church (1919), the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1921), St. John's (Anglican) Cathedral (1927), Queen's Theatre (1927) and Kowloon Union Church (1931). After his death, there weren’t any new organs built in Hong Kong until 1973.
Up till the mid 70s, organ students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong had their organ lessons here. Until the 1990s, the organ was looked after by the technician Mr. Fung, who was apparently one of Blackett’s workers prior to 1941. After Mr Fung could not be contacted since 1992, the church was unable to find someone to maintain the organ and it is no longer in a good playable condition, though Blackett’s organ is still essentially in relatively good physical condition, and could well be restored.
Currently the organ is the only one with a complete structure among Catholic churches in Hong Kong. Before the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, choirs used to sing at the choir loft with the organ. After the reformation, most choirs changed to sing with the congregation in the pews. Currently only one parish choir will use the choir loft during Sunday masses.
The keyboards of the organ, with a mirror that allows the player to keep track of progress of the mass.
Choir loft
32. The Aisles
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The style of St. Teresa’s Church is in Romanesque revival architectural style with an octagonal dome surmounted on the crossing, with a belfry standing at the right of the facade, similar to many European churches built during that period. When looked at from above or in plan view it takes the shape of a Latin cross.
The church is notable by its Corinthian columns of local granite that separate the aisle from the nave, readily distinguished by the acanthus-leaf motif on their capitals, with semi-circular arches between two adjacent columns.
The carvings on the top of the columns add some Chinese elements to the architecture. Though the cross beams were constructed with reinforced concrete, the palatial architecture created a solemn impression for parishioners to pray and find peace.
Corinthian columns
Chinese style carvings on top of the columns
The leaf motifs on the capital of column
33. The Donors Plaque
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The pair of donors plaques are located inside the church at the two sides of the main entrance, recording the generosity of the twelve main donors who contributed to the building of the church. Interestingly, along with names of several prominent local Portuguese, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), the fascist duce and Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 to 1943 was listed alongside.
Researches shows that Mussolini's son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), the Italian consul general that was stationed in Shanghai from 1930 - 1935 was a frequent visitor to Hong Kong, and he made a donation for the construction of the church in the name of Mussolini. At that time after Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty with Pope Pius XI (1857-1939) on 11 February 1929, the relationship between the Vatican and Italian government had greatly improved.
The count later became Minister of Press and Propaganda, Minister of Foreign Affairs and ambassador to the Vatican, and subsequently turned against Mussolini. As Ciano was among the members of the Grand Council of Fascism that forced Mussolini's ouster in 1943, later when Germany invaded Italy and set up the Italian Social Republic, he fled Rome and was arrested by pro-Mussolini partisans and Germans in northern Italy.
After the Verona Trial and sentence, Ciano was tried for treason and found guilty, and was executed by a firing squad in January, 1944 with four other council members. What remains today for the Parish are the words showing links that existed between fascist Italy and Hong Kong in the early 1930s.
The plauge with Mussolini's name in the final row
34. Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes was for the commemoration of the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) between February 11 to July 16, 1858 in Lourdes, France. Our Lady appeared a total of 18 times, with different themes in each appearance, including asking for a chapel to be built on the grounds, reminding people to pray for the conversion of sinners, and identified herself as the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On the 9th occasion, the Blessed Virgin caused a spring to gush forth from the ground, which has since continued to flow. Through this water, countless miraculous cures have been received by the faithful. The apparitions were approved for devotion by the Catholic Church in 1862 by Pius IX (1792-1878), and the pope supported the building of the Cathedral near the site in 1870.
St. Bernadette was canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI (1857-1939). In 1992, Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005) chose the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes as the World Day of the Sick, as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI (1927 - ) issued a novelty coronation towards the Lourdes image.
The grotto is located outside the entrance of Waterloo Road, and was built through the generosity of Mrs. Fernandes in 1936 as a giant grotto structure, similar to the location of the apparition of Our Lady. In 1968 inspired by the parish priest Rev. Orlando Carmelo P.I.M.E. (1907-1979) and donation from Miss Anna Shaw, it was rebuilt by former Jesuit, American renowned artist Francisco Borboa (1923 - ) in the format of colourful mosaic wall-art together with a pond.
The pond later had fish released into it by parishioners, turning it into a fish pond. In the 2010s, since many fishes died because of overfeed by parishioners, in 2014 it was renovated under order of Rev. Timothy Wan, and a garden was built in place of the pond, which is the current form we can see nowadays. Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes is on February 11, and February 18 is the feast day of St. Bernadette.
The original look of the grotto. The priest inside was Rev. Orlando, parish priest of St. Teresa’s between 1952-1966.
The fish pond was added in 1968, and was renovated into a garden in 2014.
The name of the sponsor, Miss Anna Shaw was carved on the wall by Francisco Borboa.
Apparition of Our Lady to St. Bernadette Soubirous
35. The Adoration Chapel
Click here to enter 360° Virtual Tour
The Adoration Chapel location was originally the ground floor inside the old campus of St. Teresa's School Kowloon. After the school was permanently closed in 2008, it was returned to the church and used as the parish conference room. In 2017 to celebrate the 85th anniversary of St. Teresa’s Church, the parish decided to renovate the room into a chapel.
Designed by Sr. Paola Yue Wai Ying (Canonesses of Our Lady), the chapel was blessed by Cardinal John Tong (1939 - ) on October 1, 2017. The idea behind establishing a separate location for the adoration chapel, is to allow parishioners to have a quiet place to pray and meet with the Lord during liturgical services in the church or when the church is closed in the evening.
The design of the chapel has completely revamped the entire space which was originally used for holding church meetings. A mosaic mural depicts the sky, ocean and land, so that every person who comes to pray can feel close to nature. This theme of beautiful nature created by God transforms ourselves into this vast natural environment, and helps our body, heart and soul fully meditate on the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love.
The mosaic depicts a verse from Deuteronomy 8: 1‐10. "The LORD said," ...For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees, oil and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing...”
The tabernacle is placed in front of the cross, with a small angel sleeping right above it, which the image came from the ward in the seminary where St. Teresa stayed during illness. On the mural behind the Eucharistic pedestal, is another little angel based on St. Teresa’s portrayal in 1893; with the image of herself as a child, dosing off to sleep while leaning against the side of the tabernacle. The designer further added St. Teresa scattering raindrops of rose petals, as in her saying “After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses."
At the left side of the wall there is the Crucifixion of Christ, with Mary and St. John the Apostle at his feet on either side, and on the right side of the wall is a statue of Our Lady of the Smiles, which this icon is produced according to the vision seen by the young St. Teresa when she was sick, and saw the Virgin Mary smiling at her. As a result, she was cured.
Crucifix with Mother Mary and John the Apostle
Our Lady of the Smiles
The tabernacle at the centre of the chapel