Cardinal Stephen Chow SJ, one of the most senior Catholic church leaders in Asia, will be visiting Parramatta in May 2025, as part of the Bishop Vincent Presents series in Sydney and Melbourne.

Born in 1959, Cardinal Stephen grew up in Hong Kong during British colonial rule, joining the Society of Jesus in 1984, and studied education and psychology before becoming a high school teacher. In 1994 he was ordained a priest and over the next 12 years undertook postgraduate study, culminating in a doctorate of education in human development and psychology from Harvard University in 2006.

He has been supervisor of several Jesuit colleges in Hong Kong, an honorary professor of education at the University of Hong Kong and a guest professor at the Holy Spirit Seminary, in Hong Kong. For three years from 2018 he served as the provincial superior of the Chinese province of the Society of Jesus. He has been Bishop of Hong Kong since 2021, and in 2023 Pope Francis made him a cardinal.

At Boston College in 2024, where he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws, Cardinal Stephen delivered the college’s commencement address in which he told students that one of their biggest challenges in the face of a world divided and degraded was to have a hope “that stems from sincere and audacious human efforts in collaboration with the faithful love of God”.

This meant rejecting the “dominant narrative” that says only one side can be right, and allowing meaningful dialogue between opposing ideas, he told the students.

This view of the world has led Cardinal Stephen to the idea of “unity in plurality”, where it is possible to promote “dialogue and constructive action” between groups who have different views.

This is most evident in the Catholic Church’s “bridge-building mission for the Church in Mainland China”, of which he is increasingly an important part.

Cardinal Stephen has said this bridge-building was also an important part of the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome, where participants, including him, had to move past their own differences to find a common path.

Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan SJ, the Bishop Hong Kong, will be in discussion with fellow Jesuit Fr Frank Brennan SJ at the Cloister Hall of St Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday 16 May at 6pm on the topic of 'Bridge Building'. The conversation will be given again in Melbourne at Newman College on Sunday 18 May at 5pm as part of the Helder Camara Lecture Series.

Places are limited, so please register today!