Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Shijiazhuang (Agenzia Fides) - In the Chinese province of Hebei, several Catholic associations dedicated to Saint Anne celebrated their patronal feast yesterday, Wednesday July 26, witnessing to their faith and devotion to the patron saint through works of charity. On July 26, the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memory of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of Blessed Virgin Mary. After the Eucharistic celebration and Rosary, led by priest Lee Chiyee, some members of the Saint Anne Association, based in the Cathedral of Shijiazhuang Diocese, visited the sick in hospitals and nursing homes, bringing material and spiritual comfort to the sick and elderly. Other associations also lived the day with the same gratuitousness, a sign of inner gratitude which manifests itself in gestures of closeness and support towards people in difficulty, following the words of Jesus who calls his people to "love their neighbor as oneself". The first Saint Anne's Association of Hebei province was founded by Paul Jiang Taoran (July 27, 1926 - November 15, 2010), Bishop of the diocese of Zhengding (today Shijiazhuang) on December 8, 1990, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The seat of the Association has since then been placed in the cathedral. Bishop Jang recognized and wanted to highlight the role of women in the life and work of the Church. Today, after 33 years, the decisive importance of women in the life of the Church is attested and recognized in all the articulations of the ecclesial community - dioceses, parishes, base communities, rural communities. Chinese Catholic women participate in liturgical life and take initiatives in the field of ordinary pastoral and charitable activities, paying particular attention to visiting the sick and the elderly. A work of charity practiced constantly throughout the year, without breaks, and nourished by devotional practices that mark community life: solemnity rituals of the Immaculate Concession every first Friday of the month, recitation of the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, Stations of the Cross, confession, pilgrimages to Marian shrines. Women who belong to the Saint Anne Association and other similar groups recite Ave Maria, Lauds and Vespers daily, entrusting the Church to the protection of Saint Joseph.
To join the Associations, they have to pass a short catechism exam. Charitable associations periodically organize training courses and Bible reading meetings. Each group and each individual draws up their little plan to proclaim the Gospel in situations and environments of social coexistence. A statistical study published in 2017 had attested that already at the time, members of Catholic groups such as the Saint Anne Association had visited the families of the sick more than 3,200 times, more than 1,200 times in hospitals and more than 2,700 times in more than 10 care homes. Whenever a patient is in critical condition, he calls a priest to request the administration of the Anointing of the Sick. The members of the associations which cooperate with the priests have already accompanied them thousands of times to visit the sick and the dying. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 27/7/2023)
