During a pastoral family visit, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Wong Nai Shum who brought the Community of Sant’Egidio to Hong Kong. Years ago, in a pilgrimage to Rome, Mr. Wong and his wife were introduced to the community by a friend.<br/><br/>
The Community of Sant'Egidio began in Rome in 1968, in the period following the Second Vatican Council. It was founded by Andrea Riccardi, who, together with a group of university students with similar ideals, found shelters for the homeless and set up rehabilitation centres for patients with AIDS. Every evening, they met at the St Giles Church in the area of Trastevere in Rome for prayer gatherings. For this reason they are called the Community of Sant’Egidio. Today it is a movement of lay people with 40,000 members in more than 60 countries throughout the world, dedicated to evangelization and charitable service.<br/><br/>
Internationally, they mediated successfully in the civic wars of Mozambique, Algeria, Congo, Balkan Peninsula …etc. Several times they have also co-organized the "Prayer for World Peace Congress", participated by world religious leaders. Recently, they were striving to persuade leaders of the United Nations to arrive at an agreement to say “No to  the Death Penalty”.<br/><br/>
The driving force of the community derives from the daily personal and corporate prayers of members. Evangelization is the core of their community life. Living with the poor, participating in ecumenical activities and involving in dialogues with different religions are their eminent duties. <br/><br/>
Website in Rome: http://www.santegidio.org
Email in HK: st_egidio_hk@hotmail.com<br/><br/>
Let us pray for the lay community. This community has a prayer meeting on every Tuesday at 8pm.