MACAU (UCAN) -- Macau diocese's delegates to the Asian Mission Congress left hoping to learn new ways of keeping their Church relevant in an economically flourishing society as well as to share its evangelization efforts.

Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau assigned four Religious -- three priests and a nun -- to attend the Oct. 18-22 congress in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Filipino Father Ramon Abadicio Manalo, the team leader, told UCA News before his departure on Oct. 17 that the group prepared a report, some posters and pictures to introduce the diocese and its missionary work.

Among noteworthy features of the local Church, he cited its harmonious relations with other religions and the inclusion of four Catholic churches and ruins in what has been designated "The Historic Centre of Macao." This area has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Another delegate, Canossian Sister Dorothy Cheng Man-ling, told UCA News that they would share about evangelization and pastoral work at the diocesan and parish levels with other congress participants.

The secondary-school principal said they also hope to learn from the experience of others of "how to tell of Jesus Christ's words and deeds in an Asian way and how different religions in Asia do missionary work."

The congress theme is The Story Of Jesus In Asia: A Celebration of Faith and Life.

According to Father Manalo, "We must search for our own way" to develop the 430-year-old diocese, "which had experienced many years of Portuguese colonization." The priest of the Society of St. Paul, who has served Macau for 18 years, is parish priest of St. Francis' Church in Coloane, an island south of the Macau peninsula.

While admitting that the flourishing gaming industry in the territory has posed challenges to moral values, Father Manalo also sees it as an opportunity to evangelize. "Besides going to casinos, non-Catholic visitors who come to our churches for sightseeing may find God," who can satisfy hearts "filled with anxiety and emptiness," he said.

Macau has a flourishing tourism industry because of its reputation as a meeting point of cultures and its gaming industry. This small territory in southern China has a population of less than 470,000, yet attracts more than 10 million visitors each year. It was a Portuguese colony for 442 years before its reversion to Chinese sovereignty in 1999.

Father Manalo pointed out that Macau parishes have produced print and audiovisual materials on the Church's history for tourists. According to the 2006 Catholic Directory of Macau, there are 22 Catholic churches and chapels in the territory.

Catholics are a small minority here, numbering about 20,000. According to Father Manalo, "Most of them attach importance to liturgies and regard religion as a personal matter, and thus seldom express their faith openly." He said he expects to apply what he learns at the congress from the experience of other Asian Churches in encouraging local Catholics to introduce Jesus to others in more effective ways.

Another delegate, Filipino Father Agustin Dajac Datu from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, said he also was going to the congress mindful of the challenge of how to encourage Catholics to attend church, when many are more attracted to making money.

Father Carlos Alberto Malasquez Quispe, a Peruvian priest of the Comboni Missionaries who works at St. Joseph the Worker Church, is the fourth member of the delegation.

Father Pedro Chung Chi-kin, Macau diocese's vicar general, hopes the Macau delegates can share on and promote the conclusions and messages from the congress in all parishes. "The next step" would be to help Catholics understand better the importance of evangelization, and then hold some well-planned evangelization campaigns, he told UCA News Oct. 11.

According to Father Chung, the diocese has about 20,000 local and 10,000 migrant Catholics, served by 18 diocesan priests and about 60 Religious priests and 180 nuns.

The Oct. 1 and 8 issues of Aurora, Macau diocese's weekly bulletin, each carried a two-page supplement with congress-related materials and the special AMC prayer in Chinese to raise awareness among local Catholics of the event.

Over 1,000 people from 40 countries and territories are attending the congress, which is being conducted by the Office of Evangelization of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.