Cantonese Catholics Gather for Mass in Sawston

Following Bishop Peter’s recent encouragement to celebrate our migrant communities, a large congregation of Cantonese-speaking Catholics gathered on Saturday 19 September 2026 for the Vigil Mass of the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time at Our Lady of Lourdes in Sawston. The occasion coincided with preparations for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on 27 September.

The 105 people in attendance came from across the Diocese of East Anglia and beyond, including Colchester, Bedford, Milton Keynes, Bishop’s Stortford, Harlow and London. Most were recent arrivals from Hong Kong who had settled in the UK since late 2021, seeking fellowship with one another in Christ.

A Remarkable First Mass

While gathering to celebrate Christ’s supreme sacrifice is a grace-filled event in any language, worshipping in their mother tongue was a profound blessing for those present. What made the day extraordinary was the principal celebrant, Fr Peter Tan Hung Ho. Ordained a priest for the Diocese of East Anglia on 4 July this year, Fr Peter had never learnt Cantonese. Yet this was his first Cantonese Mass.

Fr Peter celebrated the liturgy by carefully reading the Cantonese text word by word from a specially prepared Vietnamese phonetic transcript produced by Canon John Minh. Canon John, who was visiting family in the United States, has been celebrating Cantonese Masses using this method for more than four years. Over time, he has built an impressive collection of Cantonese liturgical texts incorporating Vietnamese phonetics, a resource he generously shared with Fr Peter as a “legacy file”.

Having begun his first assignment on 1 September as Assistant Priest at St Edmund’s Church in Bury St Edmunds, alongside hospital and school chaplaincy duties, Fr Peter had a full schedule. Despite having little time to learn the Order of Mass and its proper texts, and receiving only a single in-person coaching session, he celebrated the Vigil Mass with remarkable poise and assurance. The congregation expressed deep gratitude for his pastoral zeal, marvelling at the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the collaboration between the two priests.

Following the enthusiastically sung Mass, Fr Peter was introduced to the Jesus Hug Children Liturgy Group at the Our Lady of Lourdes parish presbytery. The session marked the start of a new term following the summer break. The personable Fr Peter offered words of encouragement, prayed with the group and blessed the children, their parents and the catechists. It was a joyful occasion for everyone.

Connections Across Dioceses

Adding to the joy of the day was the presence of the Revd Andrew Cheng, a newly ordained permanent deacon from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, who readily accepted an invitation to attend and drove 220 miles to join the gathering.

Deacon Andrew was ordained at St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham on 18 July by Archbishop Bernard Longley, who had also ordained Fr Peter Ho to the transitional diaconate in December 2025. Although both men had undertaken their formation at St Mary’s College, Oscott, they had previously been like “ships passing in the night,” recognising each other on campus but never formally meeting until this occasion.

A former lawyer and member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, Deacon Andrew was encouraged to discern his vocation when he was over 60. In a short address following the blessing and dismissal, he spoke humbly about feeling undeserving of God’s call. He encouraged anyone who felt they had passed the traditional age limit for diaconate training to reconsider: “God moves in mysterious ways, and His love is unbounded.”

God’s Grace and Generosity

Confident in the high standard of homiletic and theological training at Oscott, Fr Peter invited Deacon Andrew to preach the homily in Cantonese. Deacon Andrew thoughtfully provided an English translation so that Fr Peter could follow along.

Drawing on Chapter 20 of St Matthew’s Gospel and the first reading from Isaiah — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord” — Deacon Andrew reflected on the parable of the generous landowner who paid all his workers the same wage, regardless of the hours they had worked. He cautioned against envy or interpreting God’s grace as favouritism, emphasising that, while God does not make contractual bargains with us, His gifts are always fair and abundant.

Deacon Andrew explained how this Gospel resonated with his own journey. Having felt called to the permanent diaconate for many years, he had previously passed the age limit of 55 set in Hong Kong. However, after moving to the UK, he discovered that local diocesan guidelines allowed flexibility according to individual circumstances. At the age of 66, he received the unexpected gift of ordination in Birmingham, enabling him to serve the wider Hong Kong migrant community — an outcome he could never have anticipated before moving to the UK.

Giving Thanks

What began as a liturgy celebrated through an unusual combination of languages became a vibrant, joyful gathering of people from different backgrounds and at various stages of life and faith. There was much to share and celebrate during the social gathering in the parish hall, which continued well into the afternoon.

The community gives thanks to God for bringing everyone together to celebrate the Eucharist and for allowing them to bear witness, in so many beautiful ways, to His boundless grace and mercy.

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