Prominent cathedral in Chinese renaissance style
- 58 Shek Kip Mei Street
- Not open to the public
- +852 2779 7654
- Website
Chinese renaissance style
This church is an unusual architectural surprise in the Sham Shui Po streetscape. An example of the ‘Chinese Renaissance’ style, it blends Western Cathedral and Chinese designs with a cross on top of an oriental curved roof.
The Assisi church dates back to the 1955’s right after the Shek Kip Mei fire, when refugees from Mainland China were flocking here by the thousands.
Helping the urban poor
Assisi is the patron of the poor and that is what this church is all about. It started in 1955 right after the Shek Kip Mei fire, when refugees from Mainland China were flocking here by the thousands and there was a lack of everything.The church had an important social role, providing ‘rooftop’ schools and youth centres for children, literacy classes for adults and a food bank for poor families. Even today the church still fulfils its original role in the Sham Shui Po community and its English Primary School is one of the elite schools in the district.
Nice to know
Located nearby, at 45 Sycamore Street, the St. Francis Xavier College - part of the same congregation - was the alma mater of the internationally - known martial arts master Bruce Lee!