Nicholas Kao Se Tseien in 2007
Nicholas Kao Se Tseien O.C.S.O. (traditional Chinese: 高師謙; simplified Chinese: 高师谦; Jyutping: Gou1 Si1him1; pinyin: Gāo Shīqiān; 15 January 1897[1] – 11 December 2007),[2] was a Chinese Trappist priest living in Hong Kong who had been the oldest living Catholic priest and also the oldest person ever to have had a cataract operation according to the Guinness Book of World Records.[1][3]
Biography[]
Born in Fuzhou, Fujian province, one of four brothers, Kao studied law at Xiamen University and later converted to Catholicism aged 18 while attending a school run by Spanish Dominican friars. He was trained as a teacher and studied law at night, but he ultimately decided to become a priest.
His life spanned parts of three centuries, two Emperors of China, and ten papacies. He stated that in 1912 he voted for Sun Yat Sen as China's president.[1] His clerical life would bring him from China to Taiwan, Malaysia, and finally Hong Kong.
In 1972, he was at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.[4] He lived a cloistered life, but regularly shared advice for a healthy and long life. He gave visitors a list of "Healthy Seven Nos": no smoking; no anger; no alcohol; no overeating; constant exercise; constant prayer; no rudeness. He was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout his life — he would say the Rosary many times each day, and built six shrines to her in Taiwan, Mainland China, Malaysia and Hong Kong.[5]
He stayed at Our Lady of Joy Abbey at Lantau Island for more than 30 years,[5] where he died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of 11 December 2007, aged 110 years and 330 days. His body was buried in the Monastery's private graveyard.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mitchell, Justin (8 October 2005). "Priest confesses secrets of longevity". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=3031&sid=4908247&con_type=1&d_str=20051008.
- ↑ "Secluded in Lantau Island, the longest-lived Hong Kong native, 110 day old man died 隱居大嶼山修道 最長壽的香港人110歲人瑞逝世" (in Chinese). Apple Daily appledaily.atnext.com. 12 December 1897. https://hk.news.appledaily.com/local/daily/article/20071212/10524876.
- ↑ Reportage at Vatican Radio, January 18, 2007
- ↑ Hao, Gao (November 26, 2017). "Master's Day, Christ the King's Day, 3849 Recalling Father Gao Shiqian". https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://kkp.org.hk/node/15797&prev=search.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ""Other Local Church News" Father Gao Shiqian of the Lantau Mountain Monastery, Master Shi Qian, celebrates the 110th birthday 其他本地教會新聞 大嶼山神樂院高師謙神父 感恩祭慶祝一百一十壽辰" (in Chinese). Kung Kao Po. https://kkp.catholic.org.hk/lo/lo3283/lo3283_02.htm.
- ↑ "本地教會 第3330期". https://kkp.catholic.org.hk/lo/lo3330/lo3330_08.htm.
External links[]
- Reportage at Vatican Radio, 18 January 2007 (in Italian)
- Fr Kao's photo on The Standard
- Fr Kao's Memorial Webpage
- Fr Kao's Memorial Blog
 |
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Nicholas Kao Se Tseien. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. |