TAIPEI (UCAN) — Priests and laypeople who attended a memorial Mass for an Italian Jesuit who worked in Taiwan and Hong Kong lauded his concern for the Church in China and his service to children and students.
About 100 laypeople joined the Jesuits in Taiwan to commemorate Italian Father Francesco Belfiori at a special Nov. 23 Mass held at Sacred Heart Church, part of Jesuit-run Tien Educational Center in Taipei.
Father Belfiori died in Italy on Nov. 11, surrounded by his confreres, after battling illness for several years. He was 82.
He first came to Taiwan in 1954, seven years after professing his first vows. He was ordained a priest in 1958 in the Philippines and returned to Taiwan in 1960. From 1980, Father Belfiori served in Hong Kong. He returned to Italy in 2002.
Before he left for Hong Kong, he assisted for one year at the Taipei-based Apostolic Nunciature of China.
The late Jesuit is counted among Church persons from outside China who dedicated themselves to restoring contact between the universal Church and the mainland Church after the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). (Excerpts from China Infodoc Service, December 5, 2007)
