On 13 December 2007 at United College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Centre for Catholic Studies hosted a two-day "Conference on the History of Catholic Religious Orders and Missionary Congregations in Hong Kong." The revised and expanded historical materials (Volume One) and the research papers (Volume Two) from 17 institutes are included in the present publication as chapters. They have succeeded in establishing the identity and the contribution of the religious orders and the missionary congregations in the local Church and in society. The chapters naturally bring out the question of who is local, what is local and how far these orders and congregations have been part of the local Church.
