Nicholas Kao Se Tseien
Quick Facts
Biography
Nicholas Kao Se Tseien, O.C.S.O. (traditional Chinese: 高師謙; simplified Chinese: 高师谦; pinyin: Gāo Shīqiān; 15 January 1897 – 11 December 2007) was a Chinese Catholic priest living in Hong Kong who had been the oldest living Catholic priest and was the oldest ever person to have had a cataract operation according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Biography
Born in Fuzhou, Fujian province, Kao, one of four brothers, converted to Roman Catholicism at age 18 while attending a school run by Spanish Dominican friars. Although trained as a teacher and studying law at night, he ultimately decided to become a priest.
His clerical life brought him from China to Taiwan, Malaysia and, finally, Hong Kong. He was a priest in Our Lady of Joy Abbey (Trappist Haven Monastery) on Lantau Island for more than 30 years.