Catholic Influence

As early as 1842, Father Navarro came from Macao to say the first Catholic mass here under a matshed. The first congregation of nearly 1,000 consisted mostly of a regiment of Irish soldiers stationed in the barracks near where Pacific Place and the Marriott Hotel now stand. Father Navarro was so impressed with the turnout that he laid the foundation stone for the first Roman Catholic Church here. The Catholics went on to establish an orphanage (Asile de la Sainte Enfance, pre-1848), and a seminary in this area and they still remain a force here with the Caritas Mission School in St Francis Street and St Francis Canossian Girls School founded in 1869 on Kennedy Road. If you look carefully you may be able to see the front of the school adorned with angels playing harps, pipes, and cymbals.