Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - Throughout the world, prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the good works that the Catholic Church recommends and offers to her sons and daughters during Lent, the time of penance that precedes the great feast of the Easter Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In China, once again this year, the local Catholic communities are accompanying the Lenten journey with works of charity and corporal and spiritual mercy aimed at taking care of the emergencies and needs that affect the daily life of the Chinese people. Alongside the traditional forms of almsgiving aimed at supporting people in need at the local level, there are interesting initiatives that have been implemented with flexibility and diligence to respond to new needs and specific demands felt in the current historical phase with particular strength by a large part of the Chinese population.
In Beijing, for example, the Saint Francis Foundation, which operates as every year in the parish dedicated to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, calls on parishioners to support parishes and ecclesial communities in the areas most affected by emergencies and economic problems. This year, the resources collected will go to communities in the Miao Autonomous County of Pingbian, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province. In particular, the two charity sales scheduled for Palm Sunday will raise funds to support the studies of 19 university students belonging to the Miao ethnic minority.
In the parish of the Immaculate Conception, the Group of Volunteers, two years after its foundation, has helped financially support the studies of 41 university students from families who, for financial reasons, could not guarantee their sons and daughters a high-level education. During Lent 2023, the Volunteer Group received 58 scholarship applications from priests and nuns working in economically disadvantaged areas. The Group appealed to the generosity of the baptized quoting the words of Jesus: "Whenever you have done it to one of these least of my brothers, you have done it to me".
In Shanghai, the Association of Catholic Intellectuals collected donations to provide free medical examinations for people with intellectual disabilities.
In Zhejiang Province, the Provincial Catholic Charitable Health Counseling Service Team went to Fenghua Parish, Ningbo Diocese, to provide medical services to Catholics and the local population. 30 volunteer Catholic doctors visited and provided diagnostic examinations to hundreds of people suffering from various illnesses. Packets of commonly used medicines were also distributed free of charge to patients in need.
The healthcare initiative promoted by the Catholic Charity Association has marked and accompanied the Lenten journey of Chinese Catholic communities over the past seven years. Thanks to the contribution of the Association and the direct involvement of the local Catholic communities (this year it was the turn of the Diocese of Ningbo), the health service team carried out a well-coordinated job in terms of logistics. In this period marked by the pandemic, the initiative has also nurtured feelings of gratitude towards the Catholic Church among the populations of the different regions of the country.
Parishioners from Xiangzhou Parish, Zhuhai City, visited the Fraternity Rest Home to put into practice the teaching of Jesus Christ's Love and the Spirit of Charity during their Lenten journey.
The volunteers chatted affectionately with the elderly, cleaned their rooms and helped them with their personal hygiene. Thus, with small gestures, they made known the love of God and the warmth of the Church, which continues to carry out all its pastoral and charitable activities in the best possible way. And the elderly expressed their gratitude to the Catholic Church. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 24/3/2023)
