‘Tens of thousands’ in Hong Kong became Christians after American evangelist Billy Graham’s rousing gospel rallies
The preacher who died on Wednesday aged 99 gave sermons to a full house three times in the city and had ‘a strong love for China’ as his wife was born on the mainland
During Christian evangelist Billy Graham’s second gospel gathering in the city in 1975, about 220,000 people flooded Hong Kong Stadium over the course of the five-day meeting, with tens of thousands of attendees reportedly converting to the faith.
Lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun was then a Form Two pupil listening intently to Graham among scores of the faithful in Happy Valley. She was so moved that she too became a Christian.
“He could really move the intellectuals by having a direct dialogue with them and challenging their egos. He used scientific concepts in his message,” Leung said, praising Graham as a faithful minister and an irreplaceable evangelist.
The preacher and adviser to US presidents held his first rally in Hong Kong in 1956, followed by another two in 1975 and 1990.
Reverend Youngman Chan, a translator of one of Graham’s biographies and an interpreter for the 1990 rally at Hong Kong Stadium, said he was impressed by Graham’s infectious enthusiasm and modesty.
