Father Giovanni Giampietro, an Italian-born missionary who spent more than 65 years in Hong Kong, died on June 11.
Giampietro, a Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions member, or PIME, had brain surgery after a fall a few days ago and then suffered from COVID-19. He was 89.
He was born in Marsicovetere, Italy, on March 31, 1934, and joined PIME on June 28, 1957.
He lived in Hong Kong for 65 years and always wanted to be Chinese.
On June 21, 1958, Giampietro was ordained a priest in Italy, after which he moved to Hong Kong in the same year.
He incorporated Chinese culture into his missionary activity, including advocating for localizing Catholic liturgies.
He wrote songs in Cantonese for young believers and started an online evangelism school to enable Chinese immigrants to share their religious convictions in their native tongue.
The Hong Kong diocese's new School of Evangelization online, inspired by the diocesan youth group run by Giampietro in Hong Kong, was formally launched on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2005.
The school spreads the gospel to those not heard it, mostly among Chinese groups living abroad.
The curriculum is taught in both Chinese and English. As many as 36 forums with 10 to 15 students, each instructing and a teacher observing the group were present at first. It has become more extensive over time.
Students share and learn for two to three hours each week. With a few in Brunei and Peru, most reside in the United States, Australia, and Canada. The history of evangelization in America, Africa, and Asia; Asian faiths; problems and challenges in evangelization in many contexts and countries today are only a few topics covered in the lessons.
Additionally, he staged several musical concerts in Asia and other countries.
Jesuit Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong appointed Giampietro as an adviser to the diocese in October 2022.
Many individuals of all ages and backgrounds, particularly young people and Hong Kong artists were moved by Giampietro (also known as Fr. Yan), who used music, the media, and missionary journeys to evangelize.
Besides establishing a Chinese-language online school of evangelization, he took many missionary journeys to different places to evangelize.
Giampietro was the Friends of Jesus Passover's (FOJP) spiritual leader. He led the FOJP, an international organization of Catholic Overseas Chinese. The FOJP team travels around the world to spread its message.
He interacted with children and adults and was fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.
For everyone to know about Jesus and his Church, the PIME priest believed that children and adults could convey the evangelistic virtues of faith, hope, and compassion to others.
He had multiple musical evangelizing events for kids because he was so passionate about it. He played games with them, sang hymns and upbeat songs, danced, shared his beliefs, and led them in worship.
Giampietro will always be remembered in Hong Kong and worldwide among Chinese immigrants for his service as a missionary. – Santosh Digal
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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