Andrea Riccardi has recently visited the Community in Hong Kong, hosting a meeting on the theme ‘Prayer, Poor, Peace: the harmonious path of Sant'Egidio’.
These days of listening and reflection have revealed the value of the Community in Asian society, dominated by a model of economic development based on competitiveness and consumerism.
These factors generate division, loneliness, and crises in family ties, which affect the most fragile in particular, among them the young and the elderly.
Here Sant'Egidio bears witness, through prayer, fraternity and service to the poorest - especially the elderly and the homeless - that it is possible and necessary to rebuild a human and family fabric because ‘no one is saved alone’ as Andrea Riccardi stressed. He invited the Community to ‘go out quickly to meet others, because the harmonious path of Sant'Egidio means rediscovering the joy of meeting others, understanding the ‘secret’ that brings joy: "we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35)’ ".
A sign of this harmonious path is the ‘House of Mercy’, where for some years now a number of people have been living whom the Community met while helping the homeless. In Hong Kong there are several thousand homeless people, and their number is growing. ‘We will always remember the moment we crossed the ‘Holy Door’ of this house - they wrote in a letter addressed to Andrea Riccardi to thank him for his visit - which gave us back our dignity and taught us that the poor are not a problem but our brothers and sisters’.
Appreciation for the presence of Sant'Egidio in Hong Kong was also expressed by the Cardinal Stephen Chow, the city's bishop. And he has announced his intention to entrust the use of a church and some premises in a neighbourhood near the new Catholic University to the Community, in order to encourage its presence among young people.
