Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) – During the month of October, month of the missions and the Rosary, approaching World Mission Day, the Diocese of Nan Chong is spiritually preparing, along with the whole Universal Church, following the guidelines given by the Holy Father Benedict XVI. As soon as the Holy Father announced the Year of St. Paul, the Diocese prepared a pastoral program for living this Jubilee Year of Saint Paul, organizing a calendar for studying St. Paul, which is broken into 4 stages between August 2008 and April 2009: thus the Pauline Theology was the theme for study in August; the Letters of St. Paul are the theme for this month of October; the Pauline Missionary Spirit will be the theme for reflection in January 2009 and the Missionary Method is the meditation for April 2009.
The Pauline study program will be held on various sites, so that all the parishes and communities can be part of the initiative, and thus, create an opportunity for encounter and greater awareness on the part of the entire diocese. In light of World Mission Day, the study of the Letters of Saint Paul took place in the parish church of Jian Yang. The participants in the encounter also received a copy of the Bible and a Crucifix during the final solemn missionary “sending.”
Since 1746, the people of the current Diocese of Nan Chong have known of the Lord’s message. In 1930, it was raised to Apostolic Vicariate and in 1946, the year in which the Hierarchy was established in China, it was made a Diocese. Today, in the Catholic community there are over 80,000 faithful, 15 priests, 11 major seminarians, and 25 religious sisters of a diocesan order. There are 45 churches and 28 prayer sites. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 16/10/2008)
