Rosary Church has been in the cityscape of Hong Kong for over a century. It is the oldest Catholic church on the Kowloon Peninsula. Its foundation can be traced back to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, which resulted in several Indian battalions in the British army being mobilised to Kowloon. Amongst them were about 200 Catholics. With the growth of the local population, a small church was built in 1901 on the Canossian missionary premises. However, it was soon realised that the small church was no longer able to cater for the local needs, particularly the growing Portuguese population, even after the regiments’ return to India. After the donations of a Portuguese Catholic, the foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1904 and the construction was completed in 1905.
Right next to the church is St Mary’s Canossian College, then known as St Mary’s School. It was founded in 1900, originally aiming at educating Portuguese girls in Kowloon. The church building, the school’s main building and St Michael Building are all Grade I listed.
Opening hours: first mass of the day to the end of the final mass
Mass Schedule
Sunday Masses
7.30am, 10.00am, 11.15am (Cantonese)
8.45am, 12.30pm, 7.00pm (English)
Anticipated Sunday Mass
Saturday 7.00pm (Cantonese)
Weekday Mass
Monday – Saturday 7.30am (Cantonese) 8.00am (English)
Monday – Wednesday 6.30pm (English)
Thursday – Friday 6.30pm (Cantonese)
*First Friday of each month in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the 6.30pm mass in English