得知彭神父 (彭保祿神父) 蒙召回到天父身邊時，許多塵封已久的記憶重新浮現在我腦海中。
2009年，我和家人回到了已無親人的台灣。彭神父在他生活、祈禱並服務的修院接待我們。他為我們開門，給我們一個安歇的地方，也支持我們所從事的福傳工作。
對他而言，或許只是一份簡單的款待；對我們一家人而言，卻是一份深深的恩情。多年過去，我始終記得那份溫暖。
他的離世，也讓我重新回望自己的生命，以及那片我生命最初扎根的土地 -台灣。
離開台灣的少年
1973年，我十五歲，獨自離開台灣前往美國。
那是我第一次搭飛機，也是第一次一個人遠行。當時的我毫無畏懼，只帶著一個少年的單純，踏上未知的旅程。
這一離開，就是三十多年。我在異鄉建立家庭，也找到新的召叫。
2008年，我和妻子創立「中華之后聖母天主教福傳會」（Queen of China Catholic Ministries），開始服務散居世界各地的華人。
我們慢慢明白，福傳不只是宣講，更是聆聽、陪伴、建立關係，讓人從我們的生活中看見基督的愛。
我們開始尋找那些走在我們前面的福傳者，希望從他們的生命經驗中學習。我們對那些在台灣原住民族群中服務的外籍神父非常敬佩。我們想知道，他們如何跨越語言與文化的差異，如何與當地居民建立關係，又如何在一個與自己原生文化截然不同的環境中，忠實地活出福傳的使命。
他們的生命與服務，給了我們很大的啟發。也因此，在2009年，我們決定回到台灣拜訪原住民族群及生活在這些部落內的神父及修女們。
回到父親的信仰足跡
我的父親（王紹楨）北平輔大畢業， 來台後最先召集校友成立校友會，同時倡議輔仁大學在台灣復校的使命。他與多位北平輔大校友一起努力，使這所具有天主教傳統的大學重新回到台灣，繼續它的天主教教育使命。
小時候並不了解父親所做的事情有多麼重要，只記得跟著父親搭車從台北到新莊，那是一段非常遠的車程，就像去郊外旅行一樣。
沒想到，彭神父所屬的修院，輔大就在附近。小時候覺得遙遠的輔大校園，近在眼前。
我和妻子走進輔大校園裡，見到輔大的成長，我不再只是以兒子的眼光回憶父親，而開始以一個成年人的眼光，理解他的信仰、他的堅持，以及他對天主教教育使命的那份熱忱。
一所大學、一座修院、一位父親、一位神父，還有一個離家多年後重新踏上故土的孩子 — 如今想來，這些記憶彷彿彼此呼應，串成了我生命中一條看不見的線。
童年的記憶與今日的理解，就在那一刻交會了。
彭神父的離世，提醒我珍惜那些曾經影響我生命的人。
有些人陪伴我們很久；有些人只在生命的一段路上與我們相遇。但只要他們曾為我們開過一扇門、伸出一雙手、給過我們一份愛，他們留下的痕跡就會一直存在。
彭神父，謝謝你為我們開門。
彭神父，那間修院對我們而言，不只是一個住宿的地方。
那是一個讓我們感受到被接納、感受到教會如同家庭的地方，也讓我們再次明白，福傳可以從一份簡單的愛開始。
如今，我相信你已完成在世上的旅程，回到了天父的懷抱。
而我們仍要繼續自己的信德旅程，繼續福傳，把從你和其他人身上領受的愛傳給下一個人。
彭神父的離世，召喚我回家 – 不只是回到台灣，而是回到我的根源、我的信仰，以及天主給我的召叫。
彭神父，謝謝你曾經為我們開門。
如今，願天主為你敞開天國的門。
願你安息主懷。阿們。
王大地 寫於 德州基督聖體城
聖母誕辰 2026年
When I learned that Father Pang （Rev. Paul Pang, OFM) had been called home to the Heavenly Father, many long-buried memories suddenly resurfaced.
In 2009, my family and I returned to Taiwan. Father Pang welcomed us at the religious community where he lived, prayed, and served. He opened the door to us, gave us a place to rest, and supported the evangelization work we were carrying out.
To him, it may have seemed like nothing more than a simple act of hospitality. But to our family, it was a profound kindness—one that we have carried in our hearts ever since. Many years have passed, yet I have never forgotten the warmth of that welcome.
His passing has also led me to look back on my own life, and on the land where my life first took root—Taiwan.
The Boy Who Left Taiwan
In 1973, at the age of fifteen, I left Taiwan alone for the United States.
It was my first time on an airplane and my first time traveling so far on my own. I was not afraid. I simply carried with me the innocence of youth and set out on a journey into the unknown.
That departure became a journey of more than thirty years. In a foreign land, I built a family and eventually discovered a new calling.
In 2008, my wife and I founded Queen of China Catholic Ministries and began serving Chinese communities scattered throughout the world.
Over time, we came to understand that evangelization is not simply about preaching. It is about listening, accompanying others, building relationships, and allowing people to encounter the love of Christ through the way we live.
We began seeking out those who had walked the path of evangelization before us, hoping to learn from their experiences and their lives. We were particularly inspired by the foreign priests who had devoted themselves to serving Taiwan’s Indigenous communities.
We wanted to understand how they crossed the barriers of language and culture, how they built relationships with local people, and how they faithfully lived out their missionary calling in a culture so different from their own.
Their lives and service deeply inspired us. And so, in 2009, my wife and I decided to return to Taiwan to visit Indigenous communities and the priests and religious sisters who lived and served among them.
Returning to My Father’s Footsteps of Faith
My father, Wang Shao-Chen, was an alumnus of Fu Jen Catholic University when it was still in Beijing. After coming to Taiwan, he was among the first to gather Fu Jen alumni and establish an alumni association. Then, he spearheaded the effort to re-establish Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan.
Together with other Fu Jen alumni from Beijing, he worked to bring this university, rooted in Catholic tradition, back to Taiwan so that it could continue its mission of Catholic education.
As a child, I did not understand how significant my father’s work was. I simply remember that riding with him from Taipei to Xinzhuang seemed like an incredibly long journey.
I never imagined that the religious community where Father Pang lived and served, and Fu Jen Catholic University, were so close to one another. The Fu Jen campus that had seemed so far away to me as a child was suddenly right before my eyes.
Walking through the campus with my wife, I saw how much Fu Jen had grown. And for the first time, I was able to look at my father’s life not only through the eyes of a son, but through the eyes of an adult.
I began to understand his faith, his perseverance, and the deep passion he carried for the mission of Catholic education.
A university. A religious community. A father. A priest. And a child returning to the land of his birth after many years away.
In that moment, the memories of my childhood and the understanding I have gained as an adult came together.
Looking back now, these memories seem to echo one another, woven together by an invisible thread running through my life.
Father Pang’s passing reminds me to cherish the people who have touched and shaped my life.
Some people walk with us for many years. Others accompany us for only a brief part of our journey. But when someone has opened a door for us, reached out a hand, or given us love, the imprint they leave upon our lives remains forever.
That religious community was, for our family, far more than simply a place to stay.
It was a place where we felt welcomed and accepted. It was a place where we experienced the Church as a family. And it reminded us once again that evangelization can begin with something as simple as an act of love.
Today, I believe that you have completed your earthly journey and returned to the embrace of the Heavenly Father.
We, meanwhile, must continue our own journey of faith. We must continue the work of evangelization, passing on to others the love we have received from you and from so many others who have touched our lives.
Father Pang’s passing calls me home—not simply home to Taiwan, but home to my roots, to my faith, and to the calling God has entrusted to me.
Father Pang, thank you for opening the door for us.
Now, may God open the door of Heaven for you.
May you rest forever in the embrace of the Lord.
Amen.
Written in Corpus Christi, Texas
on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
September 8, 2026