Theodore Joset (Chinese: 若瑟神父, 7 October 1804 – 5 August 1842) was a Swiss

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and the first

Prefect Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Early life

Josef was born in Courfaivre, Switzerland in 1804. He was ordained as a

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

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

in 1831.

Career

After his ordination, Joset spent two years at

Saignelégier Saignelégier () is a municipality in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district of Franches-Montagnes. On 1 January 2009, the formerly independent municipalities of Goumois and Les Pommerats merged into Saignelégier. ...

. He was then appointed as the representative of the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in the Portuguese colony of

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. He departed for China on 13 August 1833 and arrived 15 months later in Macau on 15 November 1834. Josef was to assist Raphael Umpierres, the

Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title of ...

of the mission at Macau, and then succeeded the position in 1835. On 17 December 1839, he was also appointed

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Charles Albert Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence ...

King of Sardinia The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, little ...

Apostolic Prefecture in Hong Kong

The need for pastoral care in Hong Kong had come to the attention of Josef during the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

. The British troops stationing in Hong Kong, many of them were Irish and Catholic, had no army chaplains, and only had Macau to look to for religious support. Given the alarming rate of illness and death among British soldiers there, Josef realized that the services of Catholic priests had become an urgent requirement in Hong Kong. Fr. Joset then wrote to Rome from Macau and urged the Church to recognize Hong Kong's situation and the need to begin a mission there. Consequently,

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

decreed to create an

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

that would include "Hong Kong with the surrounding six leagues," and would be independent of the Macau Diocese, on 22 April 1841. This was only 3 months after the British first hoisted their flag in Hong Kong and well before the signing of

Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties. In the ...

, which would formally cede Hong Kong to Britain, in August 1842. Joset was appointed as Hong Kong's first Prefect Apostolic. Joset's action and the Church's response enraged the Portuguese authorities in Macau, who claimed

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

on Hong Kong. He, along with other priests and Chinese

seminarians A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, were banished from Macau by the Macau authorities.

Work in Hong Kong

Joset and the other banished priests and seminarians arrived in Hong Kong on 3 March 1842. The prime concern of the newly established Apostolic Prefecture was to serve the religious needs of Irish soldiers. Joset not only diligently carried on his duties as procurator, but also started at once to build the Mission House, arrange for a site and building materials for the church, and level sites for the cemetery, the seminary, and other institutions. He oversaw the laying of foundation stone of the first Catholic church in Hong Kong dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in Wellington Street on 7 June 1842.

Death and burial

After arriving in Hong Kong, Joset died of a fever on 5 August 1842, at the age of 38. After his death, Joset was remembered as the founder of Hong Kong's Catholic Church. He was laid to rest behind the main altar of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, beneath a marble slab on which said: “'' Here awaiting the Resurrection are the mortal remains of Theodore Joset, Swiss priest of the Propaganda Fide, Apostolic Representative, Procurator of China, First Apostolic Prefect of Hong Kong and of all the Missions. He lived thirty-eight years and died on the 5th of August 1842.''”

References