This weekend the Little Sisters of the Poor have again been invited to St. Anne's. 

They are a very hands-on international community of religious women who care medically and spiritually for those among us who otherwise would not have access to long term clinical treatment or palliative care. Their patient-clients are lay people, usually aged, who are either uninsured or underinsured, but they also care for religious women and men in similar circumstances. They have two centers in Hong Kong, and many others throughout the world.

On this Mother's Day, I ask that you please respond generously to the annual appeal for support from these women who are true Mothers to those who, though adults, are as vulnerable and dependent as children.

The St. Anne's Filipino Community will again host the traditional May Crowning in honor of our Blessed Virgin Mary, the High Queen of Heaven and the Queen of May. 

In this regard, we would like to invite all parishioners to join us in this pious activity. It will be held on May 29th at St. Anne's Church. The assembly time is 1:30 PM and the procession will start at exactly 2:00 PM, followed by recitation of the Holy Rosary, singing Marian songs, flower offering, and crowning of our Blessed Lady. 

We will be reciting two mysteries wherein we will be making the petitions for PEACE and UNITY for the whole world. 

If there are boys and girls who want to dress up as angels and join in this activity, please contact Lorenda Rafanan in advance so that appropriate attire can be provided for them. Lorenda Rafanan can be reached at 9107-9805 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

Father William Galvin died at Mission St. Teresa's on April 21, 2016. He was 86 years old and would have celebrated his 60^th year of ordination in June 2016.

William Joseph Galvin was born in Kew Gardens, New York on June 25, 1929, the youngest child of Eugenia Bannin and John F. Galvin, Jr. His sister, Ella, and his three brothers, Jack, Tom, and Paul, are all deceased. He graduated from Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Grade School, Forest Hills, and Bishop Loughlin High School, Brooklyn, both in New York City. A life-long association with and appreciation of the De LaSalle Brothers dates from his Loughlin days.

He entered Maryknoll September 11, 1947 at the newly opened Maryknoll Apostolic College, Lakewood, New Jersey. His final year of Philosophy was taken at Maryknoll, New York, where he received his B.A. in Philosophy in 1951. After Novitiate at Bedford, Massachusetts, he obtained his Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1955, and his Master of Religious Education in 1956, both at Maryknoll Seminary, Ossining, New York. He took his Final Oath to Maryknoll in June 1955, and was ordained a priest in the new Maryknoll Chapel by Francis Cardinal Spellman on June 9, 1956.

Father Galvin's first mission assignment was to Hawaii. He was Assistant Pastor for three years at St. Joseph Parish, Hilo. In 1959, the year Hawaii became a State, he was transferred to the new Maryknoll mission on the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines. After language school in Davao City, he was assigned, along with Fr. Jim Collins, as the first Maryknollers on the East Coast of Davao, to the parish of St. Francis Xavier, Manay. In 1961, he was named the first Maryknoll pastor of Senor Santiago Parish in Cateel on the East Coast. There he built and was director of the Maryknoll High School of Cateel.

Cardinal John Tong will offer a memorial mass for Fr. Bill Galvin at St. Anne's Church on May 13^th, Friday at 7:30 PM. Please come to remember a true, humble missionary disciple, mentor and friend.

Fr. Bill died at Mission St. Teresa's on April 21^st, 2016. His funeral took place at Maryknoll, New York on April 26.

DONATIONS in lieu of flowers to support Father Bill's work in Cateel, Davao, Philippines. Please send cheques payable to: "MARYKNOLL" and in the memo, write "Cateel School" (if you don't indicate, funds will not go to the school but to their general fund). In Hong Kong, please post your check to Maryknoll House, 44 Stanley Village Road, Stanley, Hong Kong.

The many parishioners in St. Anne's who donated to the Middle East Christians as part of their Lenten Almsgiving, have raised an astounding, and unprecedented, total of HK $180,000! That figure includes some generously large checks. This is an outstanding act of mercy in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, especially for the most vulnerable Christian individuals and communities in the world, our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters.

May the benefits and the many graces that result from this effort redound upon the supporting St. Anne parishioners tenfold! (From Fr. John).

HELP WANTED! We are recruiting singers for two upcoming ceremonies: Confirmation on May 14th and First Holy Communion on May 21st.

Many of our regular music ministry members are not free to come on Saturdays, so we need singers from the parish community. Let's come together to sing at these joyous occasions for the youth of our parish.

For more details, or to volunteer, please contact Peggie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Dear Music Ministry Members,

The schedule and line-up for May are in the attached PDF files.

As usual, we have two ceremonies in May. The Confirmation Ceremony will be at 4pm on May 14th, and the two First Holy Communion Ceremonies will be at 10:30am and 3:00pm on May 21st. We need singers, so if you can sing, please let me know.

On May 15th, we will have another voice lesson with Eric Monson at 4pm, and all choir members are welcome to join.

The May Crowning is on May 22nd at the 11:15 mass. 11:15 choir, please choose an appropriate hymn in honor of Mary and amend the line-up for that mass.

Peace,

Peggie 

An official from the Diocese of Hong Kong made a visit to St. Anne's Parish on April 20th to announce that the diocesan kindergarten, St. Teresa's School, will close at the end of the next new academic year, on August 31, 2017; one year from this August. 

St. Teresa's School is immediately adjacent to St. Anne's Church.  We share the schoolyard with them, and hold our CCD classes in the classrooms that are part of the school.) The Diocese wants us to know that this closure will not affect in any way the current use of the land, nor will it change the use of the building by the parish. Both will remain as they are now. Instead, the Diocese is developing plans with the government on educational endeavors for children of primary school age.

Dear Lectors,

1. Please find attached the REVISED schedule for May. If for any reason you cannot make your assignment, please seek a replacement through this group email as soon as you can.

Non-St Anne's people who come to visit have remarked that the level of lectoring at St. Anne's is high. We recognize we have an important role to proclaim God's Word to His people. So please take time to first read your passage at home for understanding, then practice preferably twice out loud, BEFORE you come to church. Read slower than you normally do, and project your voice. Arrive early and announce yourself to Fr John.

Thank you for your continued service to St. Anne's and happy reading!

2. On a different subject, we are trying to identify one or two more people to help co-ordinate this ministry. At the moment, we have 2 people co-ordinating the assignments, keep the directory current, run lector training, and attend Parish Council meetings. If an additional person can be identified, the work will be divided and each person will be responsible for every third month. Please volunteer! It won't take up too much of your time to do this.

Vivian

The 53rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations will be celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, 17^th April 2016. 

The theme for this year is: "The Church, Mother of Vocations".

A second collection in support of the diocesan Holy Spirit Seminary is to be taken up at all public Masses

Do you like music? Do you play the keyboard? 

The music ministry needs another keyboard accompanist. 

If you play the piano and can volunteer to help us, even if only once a month, please contact me, Peggie Fitch, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

We're a good group, and you will find it a very rewarding way of participating in the mass.

Dear Fellow Parishioners. 

We are a group of men from St. Anne's who have been meeting for fellowship and Bible Study for over 5 years, under the guidance of Fr. Bill Galvin. 

We have covered many books, including the gospel of Matthew, Genesis, Exodus, Job, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Acts, and several of Paul's letters. 

We meet every Monday night at Maryknoll,8:30-10:00 p.m.and our discussions are always stimulating and wide-ranging. 

Please join us as we start our next book, the Letter to the Hebrews. For more information, please call or email Markus Shaw: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 9700-6122. 

We always welcome new members.

Thank you to the FHC A / FHC Rugby / FHC Older classes for contributions to the Hospitality snack table this weekend. This weekend is the final Hospitality table offering for this CCD year. The Hospitality Ministry wishes to thank parents and students for their support throughout the year with snack contributions and willing helping hands.

The St. Anne's Filipino Community will host the "Know Your Rights Seminar" on April 17, 2016 at the parish hall from 2:00-5:00 PM. 

This seminar will be conducted by the staff of the Bethune House Migrant Women's Refuge, led by Ms. Edwina Antonio. 

In this regard we want to invite all St. Anne's Overseas Filipino Workers parishioners and their friends to attend in this seminar. 

For queries please contact Lorenda G. Rafanan at 9107-9805 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are looking for a third coordinator for the Lector Ministry. At present there are two coordinators working together to keep the Lectors' Directory, schedule readers for the different Masses, provide lector training and go to Parish Council meetings. Each works alternate months. A new volunteer will reduce the responsibility to every third month. If interested, please contact Vivian Lee 6100 0880 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear Lectors, I attach the lector schedule for April.

Please make sure to find an alternative reader in good time should you not be able to read as scheduled.

God bless,

Markus 

The music ministry would like to give special thanks to Hubie Lem, who is one of our regular accompanists and has been involved in the music ministry at St. Anne's for over 10 years.  He will be going back to New York in mid-March.  We will miss him greatly, and we hope he comes back to Hong Kong soon and often.

Thanks, Hubie, for being a part of our music ministry!

Special thanks to the USA Girl Scouts Hong Kong for providing a mini hospitality this weekend in honor of Girl Scout Sunday.

The next Hospitality will be Sunday 13 March hosted by the K Pre-K class (Teacher Ms Zaki).

Questions? Email Celine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Attached is the revised Lector Schedule for March 2016 reflecting recent substitutions.

Rite of Enrollment and Mass Sponsorship on March 6th.  

Attendance is mandatory at this event. 

We will have the normal Sunday class at 10am on March 6.

Dress Code: Some parents have asked about this -- no formal dress code but we suggest to wear appropriate "church" clothes. You may consider: collared shirts for the boys and either a skirt/dress for the girls or any pair of pants and a blouse. Kindly also note that the children will be up in front of the parish. No need to purchase a special dress for the occasion but suggest to refrain from sports uniforms and flip flops.

FHC Banner Kit Sale

The FH banner is a special family project! Attached please find instructions students need to follow and templates they may use for this. Kindly review and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to let us know. Deadline will be April 10, 2016.