ASIA/CHINA - New churches opened in China for growing Catholic communities

Xu Zhou (Fides Service) - Christmas 2005 in Xu Zhou diocese was a very happy one because two new churches were consecrated in time for celebrations for the feast of the Nativity , the church of Holy Cross of Glory and the church of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady. The latter stands in a district which has given many priests and religious to the Church. Just before Christmas work started to restore Sacred Heart of Jesus church built in 1910 to its former beauty. Xu Zhou diocese, previously a mission run by Canadian Jesuits, has 40,000 faithful, dozens of priests and a diocesan institute of women religious.
Recently in La Zhou diocese, Gan Su province, four new churches were opened in a week respectively in the parishes of Song Shu Zhuang, Jin Yang Xiang, Za Gou and Hu Jia Zhuang. People came from all over the diocese for the celebrations. “We first started building new churches in the 1990s. They are signs of God’s blessings and the protection of Our Lady and efforts on the part of the people and visible signs of Christ’s presence among his disciples” a local priest said.
La Zhou diocese, originally a mission run by Divine Word Missionaries, today has 30,000 Catholics, assisted by 18 priests and 120 women religious: Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit; Holy Family Sisters, Daughters of Our Lady of China, 32 seminarians e 38 churches and chapels. (Agenzia Fides 13/1/2006 Righe: 25 Parole: 251)