Stephen Chow Sau-yan, S.J. (, born 7 August 1959) is a Hong Kong prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has served as Bishop of Hong Kong since 2021. He was the

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of the Chinese Province of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

from 2018 to 2021. Chow was promoted to

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 30 September 2023.

Early life

Chow was born in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

on 7 August 1959. He studied psychology and philosophy at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, obtaining a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Educational Psychology. He joined the

in 1984, completing his noviceship in 1986. He studied at the

Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy The Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy was a Jesuit-run institution of higher education and research, located in Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland. From November 1989, when it was granted designated status under the National Council ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, earning a licenciate in philosophy in 1988. He then returned to Hong Kong and taught at

Wah Yan College, Kowloon Wah Yan College Kowloon (WYK; ; demonym: ''Wahyanite'', pl.: ''Wahyanites'') is a Catholic secondary school for boys run by the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus. It is located in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and is a grant-in-aid secondary sc ...

for two years. Starting in 1990, he studied theology at the Holy Spirit Seminary in Hong Kong. On 16 July 1994, Chow was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception by John Baptist Wu, Bishop of Hong Kong. He undertook postgraduate studies at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

, receiving a master's degree in

organizational development Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational chan ...

in 1995.

Presbyteral ministry

Chow's first pastoral assignment was at Wah Yan Kowloon and Hong Kong, where he was chaplain, teacher, and school manager from 1996 to 2000. He began doctoral studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2000 and received his

Doctor of Education Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

degree six years later. His thesis was titled "Understanding Moral Culture in Hong Kong Secondary Schools: Relationships among Moral Norm, Moral Culture, Academic Achievement Motivation, and Empathy". He made his final vows on 17 April 2007. Until 2021, Chow served as supervisor of both Wah Yan colleges in Kowloon and

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

. He was an honorary assistant professor at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

from 2007 to 2014, as well as a part-time professor of psychology at Holy Spirit Seminary. He participated at the Jesuits' 36th General Congregation in October 2016. Chow succeeded John Lee Hua as

of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus on 1 January 2018.

Episcopal ministry

Chow was appointed Bishop of Hong Kong on 17 May 2021. The see had been vacant since 3 January 2019, when Michael Yeung died after less than two years in office. His appointment was described as a surprise by the Jesuit magazine ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

'' given that he had not been mentioned as one of the likely candidates for the post. The

Union of Catholic Asian News The Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) is a news agency that covers issues and matters of interest for the Catholic Church on the Asian continent. It was launched in Hong Kong in 1979. Since its foundation, it has become one of the largest Cat ...

had mentioned in January 2019 that two of the candidates were Jesuits, without naming them. Chow later revealed that he initially declined the bishop's title in December 2020 because he thought the post should go to a member of the

secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...

. He relented after receiving a handwritten letter from

. He was consecrated on 4 December 2021. During his first

Chrism Mass The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in certain Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. It is usually celebrated each year on Maundy Thursday or on another day of Holy Week. During the ceremony, th ...

as bishop in April 2022, Chow expressed support for ordained female priests, saying in a homily,

"I turn to English, just to address our ordained brothers, and I hope one day maybe ordained sister too.”

In April 2023, Chow visited the archdiocese of Beijing. He met with Archbishop Joseph Li Shan, visited several churches and the Zhalan Cemetery that holds the tombstone of

Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci (; ; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He created the , a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. In 2022, the Apostolic See decl ...

. During the visit he told the press:

"Everyone would like to see their own country do well, no one wants it to do badly. I think it’s everyone’s duty to be patriotic if you're a citizen in Hong Kong or mainland China."

His was the first Beijing visit by a Hong Kong bishop since 1985. After returning to Hong Kong, he elaborated further on his call to patriotism. He said:

"Like many Hongkongers, I grew up during the colonial era when national sentiment and identity could hardly be part of our consciousness. It can be said that our blood does not carry any love for the nation...It requires extra effort to alter this mentality and it is even more difficult to do so after experiencing the social and political changes over the past decade...I believe both the central and local governments are also aware of this. We really need guidance from the Holy Spirit so we can love our country and our churches at the same time."

He also called for dialogue with the government and that people should help the government improve for the sake of the country. In May 2023, Chow commented that he did not believe the Vatican-China deal was 'dead', despite disputes regarding Beijing's unilateral installation of bishops. He also said that

"The fate of the church in China is inseparable from that of the country, as all the people of the church are also Chinese."

On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced he plans to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September. Chow commented on the appointment: At the aforementioned consistory, he was made Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni Battista de La Salle. He was subsequently appointed a member of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. He participated as a cardinal elector in the

2025 papal conclave A conclave was held on 7 and 8 May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, Francis, who had died on 21 April 2025. Of the 135 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. Cardinal Piet ...

that elected

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

References

External links

Biography on the website of the Holy See
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chow, Stephen 1959 births 20th-century Chinese Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in China Alumni of Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Hong Kong Roman Catholic bishops Jesuit bishops Jesuit cardinals Hong Kong Jesuits Living people Loyola University Chicago alumni People from British Hong Kong University of Minnesota alumni Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Cardinals created by Pope Francis Chinese cardinals 21st-century cardinals