Rev. BRUZZONE, Edmondo PIME
潘崇理神父

Funeral of missionary

The funeral of the Rev Edmund Bruzzone will be held tomorrow at St. Margaret’s Church.

The 78-year-old veteran Italian missionary died of cancer on Saturday.

He served since 1978 as a special adviser to Hong Kong’s Catholic Bishop, the Very Rev. John Baptist Wu.
6 July 1981

Veteran priest dies at 78

Father Edmund Bruzzone, a Catholic missionary priest in Hong Kong for more than half a century,  died at Canossa Hospital on Saturday afternoon, aged 78. Father Bruzzone contracted intestinal cancer two years ago, and more recently also suffered from leukemia.

After many years’ experience in various positions in the Catholic diocese, he served since 1978 as a special advisor to Hong Kong’s Catholic Bishop, John Baptist Wu.

“To fellow priests and ordinary Catholics alike, Father Bruzzone was a remarkable man,” Father Secundo Einaudi, Vicar General of Hong Kong diocese and a fellow-member of “PIME”, the Catholic missionary society, said yesterday. “He was a genuinely unique man, a man of few words who preferred doing over speaking.”

Father Bruzzone, who was born at Ventimiglia, near Genoa, Italy on 31 March 1903, came to Hong Kong in 1926, soon after he was ordained a priest. He never once returned to Italy and instead adapted himself to Hong Kong and those areas of China which were under Hong Kong’s ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He became as fluent in Cantonese and English as he was in French, Latin and his native Italian.

He was first assigned as assistant parish priest in Nam Tau district, Po On country (Guangdong Province) in 1927, and two years later became rector of the district.

In 1932, he returned to Hong Kong and successively took up several positions in the Catholic Mission (later diocese) of Hong Kong, including procurator, spiritual director of the minor seminary and pastor for Catholics in Tai O and all the outlying islands.

By the time Hong Kong was established as a diocese in 1946, he had served as its Chancellor for two years, and continued until 1947. He returned to this position in 1953 and remained in it for 25 more years.

At other times he was also parish priest of the Catholic Cathedral on Caine Road, Vicar General of the Diocese and, what he enjoyed most, chaplain for teachers and students at La Salle College and for the Catholic Scouts. He also taught moral theology and Canon Law at Holy Spirit Seminary for five years (1964-1968).

A funeral mass will be offered for Father Bruzzone at 10am on Tuesday, 7 July, at St. Margaret’s Church.
  6 July 1981

Death of Veteran Missionary
Father Edmund Bruzzone, P.I.M.E.
R.I.P.

Father Edmund Bruzzone, 78, a Catholic Missionary priest in Hong Kong for more than half a century, died at Canossa Hospital on Saturday afternoon, 4 July 1981. He was afflicted with intestinal cancer two years ago, and more recently also suffered from leukemia.

After many years’ experience in various positions in the Catholic Diocese, he served since 1978 as a special adviser to Bishop J. B. Wu.

“To fellow priests and ordinary Catholics alike, Father Bruzzone was a remarkable man,” noted Father Einaudi, Vicar General of the Hong Kong Diocese and a fellow-member of PIME, the Catholic missionary society headquartered in Milan. “He was a genuinely unique man, a man of few words who preferred doing to speaking,” Father Einaudi said.

Fahter Bruzzone, who was born at Ventimiglia, near Genoa, Italy, on 31 March 1903, came to Hong Kong in 1926, soon after he was ordained a priest. He never once returned to Italy, and instead adapted himself to Hong Kong and those areas of China which were under Hong Kong’s ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He became as fluent in Cantonese and English as he was in French, Latin and his native Italian.

He was first assigned as assistant Parish Priest in Nam Tau distict, Po On country (Guangdong Province) in 1927, and two years later became rector of the district, while there, he developed a reputation as a defender of the poor and oppressed people and became a friend to the many whom he visited, often walking long distances between villages.

In 1932, he returned to Hong Kong and successively took up several positions in the Catholic Mission (later Diocese) of Hong Kong, including procurator, spiritual director of the minor seminary and pastor for Catholics in Tai O and all the outlying islands.

By the time Hong Kong was established as a diocese in 1946, he had served as its Chancellor for two years, and continued until 1947. He returned to this position in 1953 and remained in it for 25 more years.

At other times he was also Parish Priest of the Catholic Cathedral on Caine Road, Vicar General of the Diocese and, what he enjoyed most, chaplain for teachers and students at La Salle College and for the Catholic Scouts. He also taught moral theology and canon law at Holy Spirit Seminary for five years (1964-68).

Father Bruzzone combined keen intelligence with personal scholarship to become a kind of walking encyclopedia, with great memory for details in numerous subjects. His competence as an expert in Church law was equalled only by the compassion and human sensitivity with which he applied it.

Over the years, he provided generous financial support and encouragement to many promising students who otherwise would have been unable to take up advanced studies for their professional careers. And those who knew him well will always fondly remember his warm sense of humour.

A funeral Mass as offered for Father Bruzzone on 8 July, at St. Margaret's Church, with interment followed at the Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley.
10 July 1981

米 蘭 外 方 傳 教 會 會 士 、 香 港 教 區 主 教 公 署 特 別 顧 問 、 香 港 教 區 前 秘 書 長 潘 崇 理 神 父 ， 經 於 一 九 八 一 年 七 月 四 日 下 午 四 時 許 因 血 癌 病 逝 香 港 嘉 諾 撒 醫 院 ， 享 年 七 十 八 歲 。

潘 神 父 於 一 九 ０ 三 年 三 月 卅 一 日 生 於 意 大 利 北 部 ， 一 九 二 六 年 八 月 一 日 晉 陞 鐸 品 ， 同 年 十 一 月 三 日 奉 派 抵 港 服 務 ， 並 於 一 九 二 七 年 十 一 月 出 任 寶 安 縣 南 頭 區 助 理 司 鐸 之 職 ， 至 一 九 三 二 年 奉 調 回 香 港 服 務 止 。 又 一 九 四 五 年 十 月 廿 五 日 至 一 九 四 六 年 十 二 月 期 間 潘 神 父 曾 任 總 堂 主 任 司 鐸 ， 與 此 同 時 即 由 一 九 四 五 年 十 一 月 十 五 日 至 一 九 四 六 年 三 月 廿 八 日 ， 潘 神 父 更 兼 任 本 教 區 副 主 教 職 務 。

在 朋 儕 及 教 友 口 中 ， 潘 神 父 是 一 位 熱 愛 中 國 、 忠 於 教 會 的 傳 教 士 ， 五 十 多 年 來 ， 他 從 未 回 鄉 ； 另 一 方 面 潘 神 父 非 常 好 學 ， 稍 有 閒 暇 即 手 不 釋 卷 ， 博 覽 中 外 名 著 ， 故 有 活 字 典 的 美 譽 。 一 九 六 四 年 及 一 九 六 八 年 ， 他 受 聘 為 聖 神 修 院 倫 理 學 及 教 律 學 系 教 授 ， 且 於 一 九 六 九 年 一 月 出 任 香 港 教 區 法 庭 主 席 。 據 一 些 熟 悉 潘 神 父 的 神 父 透 露 ， 他 經 常 都 暗 中 資 助 有 為 的 貧 苦 青 年 繼 續 進 修 或 深 造 ， 鼓 勵 他 們 奮 發 向 上 ， 為 社 會 服 務 。

據 悉 ， 潘 神 父 彌 留 之 際 ， 仍 然 十 分 清 醒 ， 並 領 妥 病 人 傅 油 聖 事 而 終 。

潘 神 父 的 殯 葬 彌 撒 原 定 本 月 七 日 舉 行 ， 但 因 颱 風 林 茵 襲 港 ， 改 為 八 日 舉 行 。 殯 葬 彌 撒 由 胡 振 中 主 教 主 祭 ， 艾 巧 智 副 主 教 等 共 祭 。 禮 畢 ， 潘 神 父 的 棺 柩 即 運 送 至 跑 馬 地 天 主 教 墳 場 安 葬 。 前 往 送 葬 者 莫 不 黯 然 神 傷 。
1981 年 7 月 10 日


◆ From Milan to Hong Kong 150 Years of Mission, by Gianni Criveller, Vox Amica Press, 2008.
◆ 從米蘭到香港150年傳教使命, 柯毅霖著, 良友之聲出版社, 2008.
◆ 先賢錄－－香港天主教神職及男女修會會士 (1841-2010), 天主教香港教區檔案處, 2010.
◆ 先賢錄－－香港天主教神職及男女修會會士 (1841-2016), 天主教香港教區檔案處, 2016.


BRUZZONE Edmondo.pdf