Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Taichung (Agenzia Fides) - “Christians should learn to treasure and appreciate their origins, by protecting them.” This was how Bishop Martin Su Yao-wen of the Diocese of Tai Chung began his talk during a seminar on “Protecting Catholic diocesan cultural resources,” which recently took place. The Bishop said that “over the 135 years of the diocese's history of evangelization, we have three churches that have been in existence for over a century. We have seen so many foreign missionaries that have left their homelands and all they had to come to this island. They have left us an immense treasure of manuscripts, historical objects, monuments, poems, sacred music...and, above all, their own impressive testimony. The life of the diocese in itself is a monument built by missionary pioneers. We have the duty of conserving it with care, as a pearl of great price.”
The initiative was one of the Bishop's greatest hopes and he asked that all the parishes be present, and reminding them that their dedication to the mission is “an urgent task.”
Among those invited to the Seminar were: the Catholic University Fu Ren, the Taiwan Regional Seminary, the Philanthropic Foundation of Bo Ai, the municipal museum, and many other Church and social groups, in order to spread public awareness and work to “protect Catholic cultural resources,” as they not only belong to the Church, but to society at large.
The Diocese of Tai Chung has 34,861 faithful, 2 Bishops, 69 priests (27 diocesans, 42 religious), 12 religious brothers, 119 religious, 2 major seminarians and 2 minor seminarians, 76 catechists, 53 parishes, 29 missionary stations, 85 semi-public churches. The Church also runs a university with 11,456 students, 3 middle schools with 7,003 students, 1 elementary school with 1,404 students, 15 preschools with 1,546 children, 7 boarding schools with 355 guests, children's rehab centers with 314 children, a school of languages, and a center for professional training. The diocese also runs a publishing house, a monthly magazine, and a radio station. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 18/11/2008)
