Fides News - English

AFRICA/DR CONGO - Bukavu mourns 27 victims of the fire; civil society: “A humanitarian catastrophe”

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:20:46 +0200

Kinshasa – The funerals of the 27 victims of the fire that devastated a school on September 10 in the Cimpunda district of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , were held today, September 14 .

Six of the victims were adults, while the others were minors, pupils at the school affected by the blaze. The grief of the population is compounded by anguish over a series of fires that have been affecting the city for at least a week. Bukavu is currently under the control of M23 rebels.

According to a statement from the provincial coordination of the Civil Society of South Kivu, sent to Fides, “in less than a week, hundreds of homes, two schools, a church and the row of 66 shops in the Kadutu market have been reduced to ashes.” These include 40 homes in Ponzi, where three people died, and 174 families left homeless in Nyamugo. Citing figures from the Congolese administration based in Uvira, the last stronghold of the Kinshasa government in South Kivu, the statement says that 2,500 homes were destroyed by fire between July and August this year.

“This is a humanitarian catastrophe,” Bukavu’s civil society says, calling on the M23 administration to account for the situation.
In particular, it is asking where the fire services are and why the causes of the fires have not been investigated. “Every fire without an investigation is a form of complicity,” the statement says. Civil society representatives also point out that the administration controlled by M23 is forcibly collecting taxes from the local population without providing anything in return, particularly to those who have lost their homes in the fires.

Bukavu’s civil society is therefore appealing to the international community and the authorities of the DRC to assist the 12,000 people who are in a situation of “extreme vulnerability.”
The statement concludes by calling for urgent assistance for communities affected by the fires, the deployment of the four fire engines donated by a local tycoon, and the reconstruction of the two destroyed schools.

AFRICA/ANGOLA - Father Sebastião Moniz Dejoro: first Angolan priest of the Society for African Missions

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:12:55 +0200

Luanda – “I am bringing Angola into the SMA, just as the SMA was brought to Angola by the first missionaries.” These words capture the meaning of Sebastião Moniz Dejoro’s vocation. Ordained a priest at the end of August, he has become the first Angolan priest of the Society for African Missions .

This is not simply a personal first. His ordination marks a significant moment in the history of the SMA’s missionary presence in Angola: a Church that for decades welcomed missionaries from abroad is now beginning to send them.

“The missionaries who came to Angola planted a seed; today I have the grace of being one of the first fruits of that seed,” Sebastião explains. His words reflect his awareness of becoming part of a story that began many years ago, when SMA missionaries arrived in the country to proclaim the Gospel, accompany communities and contribute to the growth of the local Church.

Being the first Angolan priest of the SMA, however, is not a source of prestige for him. “It is a grace to be called the first. I receive it not primarily as a title, but as a gift and a responsibility.” A responsibility that already looks to the future: “I do not want to consider being ‘the first’ as something that makes me important. Rather, I see it as an invitation to pave the way for others.” This is also one of the reasons why Sebastião looks with confidence at young people considering a vocation. Social change, secularization and economic difficulties can make it harder for a young person to choose the priesthood or consecrated life. “They think about their studies, their work and how to build a future for themselves,” he observes. Yet difficulties do not mean that the desire for consecration has disappeared. “The flame has not gone out. It simply needs people willing to protect it, keep it burning and allow it to grow.”

His personal journey began at the heart of the Christian community. After becoming actively involved again in the life of the Church during his youth, Sebastião realized the need for deeper catechesis. While preparing for Confirmation, he began assisting a catechist in accompanying children preparing for Baptism and First Communion. That service was the first step in a journey destined to expand. From his own community, Fr Sebastião’s horizons progressively extended to the province, the country and beyond Angola’s borders. In his desire to serve the Church in different contexts, he found in the SMA a family and a distinct missionary identity.

“I discovered a family and a missionary identity that gave meaning to this desire,” he says. That desire is now expressed in his commitment to serving the poor and those who have been abandoned, accompanying people through the joys and difficulties of life, and remaining available wherever the Church may send him. His choice thus takes on a broader significance for the Church in Angola.

The African country has a long history of welcoming missionaries and has received much through their service. Today, however, it feels ready to share with other Churches what it has received and brought to maturity.
“We have received so much from the missionaries, and today we have a Church that is growing strongly, with great potential, many talents and much to offer,” Fr Sebastião emphasizes. “We can receive from other Churches, but we can also give. I believe Angola is ready to broaden its horizons through the SMA. We can bring our faith, our culture, our experience and our way of being Church to other places.”
Ultimately, this is the significance of the young priest’s ordination: not only the arrival of the first Angolan priest in the SMA, but also a sign of a Church that, having received the gift of mission, is discovering that it can in turn give that gift to others. Angola, once a mission land, is increasingly becoming a land that sends missionaries. And Fr Sebastião wants to be the first step on this new journey.

The Centenary of the consecration of Six Chinese Bishops and the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:52:14 +0200

by Paul Han*

Shijiazhuang –Fides News Agency publishes this article by Chinese priest Paul Han as a contribution to reflection and further study in view of the forthcoming Centenary of the episcopal ordination of six Chinese Bishops, ordained by Pope Pius XI in St Peter’s Basilica on 28 October 1926.

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A Centenary Commemoration

On October 28, 1926, six Chinese priests—Odorico Cheng Hede , Melchior Sun Dezhen , Joseph Hu Ruoshan , Philippe Zhao Huaiyi , Simon Zhu Kaimin , and Aloysius Chen Guodi —were consecrated as bishops by Pope Pius XI in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This historic event occurred exactly 241 years after Fr. Luo Wenzao , a native of Fu'an, Fujian, was consecrated as the first Chinese bishop in 1685.
For the Catholic Church in China, the appointment of native Chinese as leaders of the local Churches was not merely a simple personnel appointment, but a significant milestone in the Church's true move towards indigenzation and self-governing. This marked the beginning of the Chinese Church gradually shedding its identity as a "mission Church" under the colonial and “patronage” system dominated by Spain and Portugal since the Age of Great Exploration, and developing into a local Church led by native clergy, expressed through Chinese culture, and entrusted with its own pastoral mission.
A century later, as we commemorate this historical event, it is natural and timely to think of the “provisional agreement” signed between China and the Holy See on September 22, 2018, regarding the appointment of bishops. Although this agreement is still under continuous adjustment, renewal, and improvement, and has not completely resolved all the complex issues left over in Sino-Vatican relations, it nonetheless established a workable framework on the crucial question of episcopal appointments and consecrations. In doing so, it has avoided the long-standing divisions within the Church caused by “legal” versus “illegal,” and “public” versus “underground.”
Against this background, the “Sinicization of religion,” or more specifically, the “Sinicization of Catholicism,” should not be simply viewed as an administrative policy or diplomatic strategy; rather, it ought be taken as a comprehensive issue involving ecclesiology, cultural identity, pastoral practice, and evangelization models.

I. From Luo Wenzao to Six Chinese Bishops: The Long Road toward an Indigenous Church
Born in Fu'an, Fujian in 1616, Luo Wenzao was baptized into the Catholic Church prior to reaching adulthood. In 1654, he received extensive training in the Philippines and was consecrated as the first Chinese priest. Twenty years later, in 1674, he was appointed Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nanjing by Pope Clement X, but his consecration was artificially delayed for nearly eleven years due to opposition from Father Antonius Calderón, the Dominican provincial in Manila. It was not until 1685, with the direct intervention of the Holy See, that Luo Wenzao was consecrated as bishop in Guangzhou by Bishop Bernardinus della Chiesa. Shortly after his ordination, in 1688 , he ordained Wan Qiyuan, Wu Yushan, and Liu Yunde as priests, each possessing different expertise in traditional Chinese learning and Western science and technology. This clearly demonstrates his high priority and urgent commitment to cultivating qualified and competent indigenous clergy.
On the surface, the opposition of Fr. Calderón and some others to Luo Wenzao's appointment as bishop of the Church in China seemed to stem from doubts about his personal abilities and dissatisfaction with his support for Matteo Ricci's earlier advocacy of the “culture accommodation”strategy. The deeper reason, nevertheless, laid in the structural problems prevalent in the 17th-century European missionary system. For a long time, Catholic missionary work was highly dependent on the operational mechanisms of European colonial empires and various religious orders. Although Matteo Ricci proposed the principle of “accommodation,” hoping to root Christianity in Chinese culture, in practice, leadership of the Chinese Church remained in the hands of foreign missionaries. While the number of native priests steadily increased, they were hardly able to gain access to genuine decision-making. Furthermore, the political and diplomatic disputes arising from Padroado escalated what were initially internal disagreements among various camps of European missionaries about traditional Chinese rites into a diplomatic conflict between the Papacy and the Qing Dynasty, thus laying the groundwork for the later “Edict of Prohibiting Catholicism” issued by Emperor Kangxi; its negative effects continue to this day.
Since the 19th century, with the signing of a series of unequal treaties such as the Treaty of Nanjing, the Treaty of Wangxia, and the Treaty of Tianjin, the development of Catholicism in China was further embroiled in the shadow of imperialist expansion. The complex historical ties between the Church and Western powers made the question of “how can the Chinese Church truly become the Church of the Chinese people” increasingly urgent. Therefore, the consecration of six Chinese bishops in 1926 was not merely an internal personnel arrangement within the Church; It signified the Holy See's growing recognition that the universal Church could flourish only by taking root in local cultures and by entrusting leadership to indigenous clergy. This renewed vision was inspired in large measure by the Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud published in 1919. Having witnessed the tragedy of the First World War, during which various missionaries across the globe confronted one another in conflict over the interests of different nations, Pope Benedict XV not only emphasized the importance of cultivating local clergy but also warned against conflating missionary work with colonial interests.
Meanwhile, the process of “indigenizing” the Catholic Church also required the joint efforts of a group of far-sighted individuals from both China and abroad. Among them, we cannot fail to mention these notable figures: Father Vincent Lebbe, who came to China in 1901 and later switched from the Belgian Vincentian to the local Chinese Congregation of Saint John the Baptist ; Archbishop Celso Costantini, the first papal representative to China, who came to China in 1922, convened the first Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Shanghai in 1924, and personally led the aforementioned six Chinese priests to Rome for episcopal consecration in 1926; Ma Xiangbo, who sacrificed his family fortune for modern education and patriotism; Ying Lianzhi, who dedicated himself to modern education and journalism; and Lu Hongnian, Wang Suda, Chen Yuandu, who organically combined traditional Chinese painting with the Church's faith.
It is noteworthy that Pius XI emphasized in his consecration ceremony that the Chinese Church must cultivate its own clergy and leaders. This line of thinking was later further developed by the Second Vatican Council, especially in Lumen Gentium and Ad Gentes, and ultimately became one of the key principles of the Council with regard to the growth and maturity of the local Churches.

II. The 2018 Provisional Agreement: A Realistic Response to Historical Issues
If the 1926 consecration addressed the question of “whether a Chinese person could become a Chinese bishop,” the 2018 “Provisional Agreement” tackled the question of "how Chinese bishops should be appointed.” Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Catholic Church in China has undergone a complex and tortuous development process. Due to multiple factors, including politics, ideology, and international relations, the appointment of bishops has long been one of the most sensitive issues between the Holy See and China.
For decades, the coexistence of the “underground Church” and the “official Church,” while having its practical reasons under specific historical conditions, has also left profound scars on Church life: First, Church communion has been challenged; second, local Church governance has faced difficulties; third, a long-standing division of identity has existed within the faithful community; the fourth, evangelization work has been constantly eroded by political and diplomatic controversies. The “provisional agreement” signed in 2018 was not a perfect institutional design, but it at least acknowledged a fundamental fact: in contemporary China, the issue of bishop appointment cannot be separated from the State's existing political structure, nor can it be separated from the Catholic theological principles of apostolic succession and communion with the successor of St. Peter. In this sense, this agreement is not a simple diplomatic compromise between the two sides, but a historical exploration. It attempts to find a new balance between national sovereignty and the universality of the Church.

III. Reinterpreting “Sinicization of Religion” in the Spirit of Vatican II
For a long time, the concept of “Sinicization of religion” has been discussed within a political context, and been viewed by many media outlets and Church people as an “administrative strategy” of the State to keep religious life under control. However, understanding this proposition solely from a political or ideological perspective easily overlooks its deeper social and cultural significance. The Second Vatican Council had already provided an important theological framework for elucidating the relationship between the universality and catholicity of the Catholic Church and the local diversity.
The key theological term adopted at the Second Vatican Council on this issue is “inculturation.” It refers to the process by which the Gospel “seeds,” without losing its spiritual essence, achieves “grounding, rooting, sprouting, blooming, and bearing fruit” within the language, values, symbols, and historical experience of a particular people. Various texts have elaborated on this concept from different perspectives. To just cite only a few examples here--
Sacrosanctum Concilium states: “Even in the liturgy, the Church has no wish to impose a rigid uniformity in matters which do not implicate the faith or the good of the whole community; rather does she respect and foster the genius and talents of the various races and peoples. Anything in these peoples' way of life which is not indissolubly bound up with superstition and error she studies with sympathy and, if possible, preserves intact. Sometimes in fact she admits such things into the liturgy itself, so long as they harmonize with its true and authentic spirit.”
Lumen Gentium teaches: “Since the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, the Church or people of God in establishing that kingdom takes nothing away from the temporal welfare of any people. On the contrary it fosters and takes to itself, insofar as they are good, the ability, riches and customs in which the genius of each people expresses itself.”
Gaudium et Spes emphasizes: “[S]ince in virtue of her mission and nature she is bound to no particular form of human culture, nor to any political, economic or social system, the Church by her very universality can be a very close bond between diverse human communities and nations.”
Ad Gentes explicitly states: “Thus from the seed which is the word of God, particular autochthonous churches should be sufficiently established and should grow up all over the world, endowed with their own maturity and vital forces. Under a hierarchy of their own, together with the faithful people, and adequately fitted out with requisites for living a full Christian life, they should make their contribution to the good of the whole Church.”
In other words, the “Catholicity” emphasized by Vatican II is not a uniformity in cultural and liturgical expression, organizational forms, or management models; rather, while preserving the core of the faith, allowing different cultures and civilizations to develop their own modes of expression.
Fifty years after Vatican II, Pope Francis further elaborated in his exhortation Evangelium Gaudium that the Christian message is not a single cultural form, but can continuously find new expressions in the historical experiences of different nations . This idea, in the Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, with its theme of “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Paticipation, Mission,” is summarized as "unity in diversity," but not "uniformity" . Therefore, for the "Sinicization of religion" to have true vitality, it should not pursue a simple adaptation of Christianity to Chinese culture, nor should it be a complete assimilation of religion by culture. Rather, it should achieve a deeper mutual shaping between faith and Chinese civilization while maintaining the core of the Gospel message.

IV. The Real Challenge of Sinicization: From Institutional Adaptation to Spiritual Creation
If the main problem facing the Chinese Church in the 20th century was institutional independence, then the greater challenge for the Chinese Church in the 21st century, in my view, is spiritual creation. In fact, Chinese culture possesses extremely rich intellectual and religious resources: The renai and xiushen of Confucianism, the principle of conforming to nature and wuwei wubuwei of Taoism, and the idea of śūnyatā and practice of compassion of Buddhism, etc., all provide new interpretive spaces for Christianity.
In the past, missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, Giulio Aleni, and Martino Martini have striven to find points of convergence between the Gospel and Chinese culture, but this work remains unfinished. Today, what the Chinese church needs is not merely more use of Chinese liturgy, architectural styles, and folk music, but rather the establishment of a truly Chinese expression of Christian faith at the philosophical, theological, anthropological, spiritual, and psychological levels. This task actually transcends the conventional notion of “indigenization” and enters the broader realm of genuine dialogue and mutual learning among civilizations. In this regard, the collaboration between the renowned 20th-century Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, the German sinologist and missionary Richard Wilhelm, and the Austrian Nobel laureate in physics Wolfgang Pauli provides a particularly illuminating example.
Wilhelm introduced Chinese classics such as The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life and the I Ching to the European intellectual community. Jung, in turn, drew upon these traditions not only in his therapeutic work with Pauli during the latter's psychological crisis, but also in developing a broader vision that, encouraged by Pauli's insights into modern physics, transcended the limitations of Western rationalism and mechanistic science. In Jung's understanding, the Daoist dynamic of yin and yang, the Buddhist practice of Vipassanā meditation, and the Christian experience of spiritual conversion are not mutually exclusive systems but different expressions of the depths of the human psyche. His theories of individuation, his concept of synchronicity, and his exploration of the collective unconscious were all shaped, at least in part, by his encounter with the enduring wisdom of Chinese thought.
It is noteworthy that Jung did not simply “orientalize” Christianity, nor did he incorporate Eastern thought into a Western framework. Instead, he attempted to establish a new spiritual language through the encounter of two civilizations. For the Chinese Church responding to “Sinicization of religion” today, this experience offers important insights: true Sinicization of Christianity is not about reducing the Gospel to ethical rules and institutional transmission, nor is it about reducing Chinese culture to religious ornamentation. Rather, it calls for the creation of new ways of understanding the mysteries of both the cosmos and human existence through sustained dialogue and the mutual enrichment of the world’s great spiritual traditions.
The Chinese Church’s most significant contribution in the future may therefore lie not primarily in institutional development , but in providing the world with a new humanistic perspective that integrates Christian spirit, Chinese wisdom, and modern scientific awareness. In this respect, Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the French Jesuit priest, who lived and worked in China for more than twenty years as a geologist, paleontologist, philosopher, and mystic, remains an inspiring point of reference. During his years in China, he produced some of his most influential works, including Mass on the World, The Divine Milieu, and The Phenomenon of Man.
His words, written from China in 1926 to his close friend Fr. Auguste Valensin, remain strikingly relevant today: “In fact, we are no longer truly ‘Catholic’; rather, we defend a system, a sect.” These words continue to challenge the Church to ask whether its mission is merely to preserve inherited structures or, more profoundly, to embody the universality, openness, and creative vitality that the very word Catholic signifies.

Conclusion: The Real Significance of the Centenary Commemoration
In 1685, after a long and winding road, Luo Wenzao, the first Chinese priest, was consecrated as the first Chinese bishop, symbolizing the beginning of the “childhood” of the Chinese Church. The consecration of six Chinese bishops in 1926 marked the Chinese Church's growth into “adulthood.” The “provisional agreement” of 2018, as far as I am concerned, signifies the Chinese Church's on-going efforts to cultivate its “mature personality.”
Just as we commemorate the historic consecration of six Chinese bishops a century ago, a century from now, the significance of commemorating the signing of the “provisional agreement” on the appointment of Chinese bishops may not lie in revisiting a document whose contents have not yet been published, but in re-answering a persistent question: How can the Catholic Church in China maintain communion with the universal Church while truly taking root in Chinese society, Chinese culture, and the spiritual world of the Chinese people?
If “Sinicization of religion” remains merely at the institutional level, it will only be a stage in history; only when it becomes a process of cultural creation, spiritual renewal, and dialogue among civilizations can it truly become a significant marker of the Chinese Church's maturation.
From Luo Wenzao to six Chinese bishops, from the documents of the Second Vatican Council to Evangelium Gaudium, from the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement" to the Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, we can discern a continuous effort to respond to the needs of each era through the proclamation of the Gospel. Likewise, from Matteo Ricci, Giulio Aleni, and Martino Martini in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to Vincent Lebbe, Celso Costantini, Carl Jung, Richard Wilhelm, Wolfgang Pauli, Teilhard de Chardin, etc. in the first half of the 20th century, the great efforts to do the encounter, integration, and collaboration works with the Chinese society and traditional culture by many Western Church figures and scholars have become an enduring legacy that continues to inspire us now.
This journey, which has spanned over four centuries, is still ongoing. Perhaps, inspired by the pastoral and evangelical spirit of “Synodality,” the era of the Chinese Church, in communion with the Universal Church while retaining its true indigenous characteristics, has only just begun.

ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Violence mars first parliamentary elections in Bangsamoro

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:46:28 +0200

Cotabato – A decisive moment for the people of the southern Philippines has been marred by violence and death. Violent clashes disrupted the first parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao , held today, 14 September, leaving three people dead and fifteen wounded in a shooting in Cotabato City before polling stations opened.

The violence has shaken the local population. Catholic communities across the region have issued appeals for peaceful elections and organized prayer gatherings on election day. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting , a Catholic organization engaged in civic monitoring of the electoral process, said it was gathering information on the incidents of violence.
According to initial reports, shootings near polling stations broke out following a dispute over places in line to vote. Shots were fired outside a school serving as a polling station in Cotabato shortly before 7 a.m., following a brawl. Those involved belonged to rival factions that emerged from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which fought for regional autonomy for decades.
Cotabato City, the capital of the BARMM region, had already been placed under the supervision of the Commission on Elections following incidents of pre-election violence. More than 20,000 law-enforcement personnel have been deployed across the BARMM, with rapid-response teams trained to deal with potential outbreaks of violence.

The elections mark a milestone in a peace process that began in the late 1990s and led to the creation of the autonomous Muslim region of “Bangsamoro”, . Church and civil society leaders have issued numerous appeals to the population. Before the vote, Bishop Leo Dalmao of Basilan said that “the peace experienced by the province in recent years should be reflected in the conduct of the elections”, expressing the hope that the vote would bring “better and more capable leaders” for Basilan and the Bangsamoro region.
Archbishop Charlie Inzon, OMI, of Cotabato issued a pastoral letter entitled “On the First Parliamentary Elections of the BARMM: Walking Together in Peace, Justice and Hope,” describing the elections as “a significant milestone in our ongoing journey towards lasting peace, authentic development, good governance and the fulfilment of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people”.
He urged voters to participate “with conscience, wisdom and courage” and to reject vote-buying, material inducements, pressure, intimidation and disinformation. The pastoral letter also calls for “giving priority to the common good, human dignity and vulnerable people” and urges political parties and candidates to refrain from discrediting one another.

More than 2.4 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots to elect members of the BARMM Parliament, which has 80 seats, with 13 political parties vying for election. Of the 80 parliamentary seats, 40 are allocated through political parties, 32 are district seats from six parliamentary constituencies, and eight are reserved for "sectoral representatives," including indigenous peoples, ulama, traditional leaders, youth, and women. The consultations, scheduled after numerous postponements, represent a crucial step in the peace process envisaged by the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the autonomous region’s fundamental and constitutive legislation.

Around six million Muslims live in the southern Philippines, concentrated in several provinces, particularly on the island of Mindanao. Since the 1970s, Islamic movements have historically developed in the area, demanding independence or autonomy from the government in Manila, at times through armed rebellion.
Currently, the BARMM comprises the following areas of the Philippine island of Mindanao and neighbouring islands: the provinces of Basilan ; Lanao del Sur; Maguindanao del Norte; Maguindanao del Sur; Tawi-Tawi. It also includes the cities of Cotabato City , Marawi City and Lamitan City , alongside eight municipalities in the province of North Cotabato which voted in favour of inclusion in the BARMM in the 2019 plebiscite. The province of the Sulu Archipelago, on the other hand, was excluded from the BARMM following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling, because in 2019 it had voted against the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

EUROPE/ROMANIA - Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood: Jesus’ “torch” at the heart of missionary summer Camps

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:01:00 +0200

Bucharest – Accompanying children and young people in discovering that mission does not begin with what we do, but with the One who lives within us. This is the educational aim of two missionary summer camps promoted by the National Direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Romania, led by Father Eugen Blaj.

The initiatives were the eighth edition of the National Missionary Formation Camp, held in Odorheiu Secuiesc from 3 to 8 August, and the fifth edition of the Missionary Campus in Cetatea de Baltă, held from 24 to 28 August.

“It is in the encounter with Christ, in the depths of the heart, that man rediscovers his true identity; and it is from this communion that the capacity to go beyond oneself and become a gift is born,” explains Matilda Andrici, head of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood in Romania.
In Odorheiu Secuiesc, the National Missionary Formation Camp was held at the “St Joseph” Children’s Home, where the Greek Catholic Sisters of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, together with the superior of the community, Sister Emilia Trifaș, warmly welcomed some seventy children and adolescents.

The guiding theme of the formation programme was “The story of the five torches”. Blessed Pauline Marie Jaricot, foundress of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith; Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson, founder of the Society of the Holy Childhood; Jeanne Bigard, foundress of the Pontifical Society of St Peter the Apostle; Blessed Paolo Manna, founder of the Pontifical Missionary Union; and Pope Pius XI showed the children, each through his or her own life, that mission can take different forms, but always springs from the same source: allowing oneself to be reached by God and allowing His light to shine through one’s life.

The story of the torches, however, concludes with a sixth torch, represented by little Thérèse, the child who longed to be a missionary of Jesus and continued to live this desire amid the frailty of illness. She represents every child who becomes a missionary by welcoming the Light and refusing to keep it for themselves.

“Here the children discovered the deeper meaning of the image: we are not the Light. Christ is the Light. To be missionaries means to welcome Him, to cherish Him in our hearts and to let Him shine through our lives, so that He may reach another heart,” Matilda Andrici emphasizes.

The Missionary Rosary also became a tangible experience of this communion. Together, the children meditated on the mysteries of Christ’s life with Mary and formed a small Living Rosary, recalling Blessed Pauline Jaricot’s intuition: to unite people who are far from one another in living prayer, so that contemplation may become communion and communion may become mission.
Two weeks later, a similar experience took place in Cetatea de Baltă. There, alongside the theme of the forthcoming World Mission Day, “One in Christ, United in Mission”, which was at the heart of both summer camps, the children were given a second invitation: “Everyone can become a saint”.
The Missionary Campus, now in its fifth edition, was organized by Father Sorin Ivan, parish priest of the Greek Catholic Church of the “Most Holy Trinity” in Cetatea de Baltă, in cooperation with the Pontifical Mission Societies in Romania. It was primarily aimed at children from the surrounding area. They prayed, sang, participated in Holy Mass, and shared moments of pilgrimage and fellowship.
“Through the story of the torches and the witness of little Teresita, they understood that holiness does not belong to a distant world. It begins when the heart makes room for God: when it forgives, when it serves, when it loves without expecting anything in return, when it prays for someone it may never meet,” added the head of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood in Romania.
“St John Mary Vianney was also proposed as a spiritual figure throughout the program. He was linked to Blessed Pauline Jaricot by a profound spiritual friendship: two different lives, yet both with the same desire to belong entirely to Christ, through prayer, charity and self-giving.”

“Servants of communion in the Church”: New formation course for Bishops at the Ad Gentes Centre in Nemi, promoted by the Dicastery for Evangelization

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:43:34 +0200

Nemi – Following the formation courses organized by the Dicasteries of the Holy See for newly appointed Bishops , the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, is promoting a formation course for Bishops ordained in previous years. The course, which began today, Sunday 13 September, until Saturday 19 September, is centred on the theme of Bishops as “Servants of Communion in the Church”.

Twenty-one Bishops are taking part in the working and discussion sessions of the Course. They all come from English-speaking African countries and received episcopal ordination between 1999 and 2022. The initiative represents a new, experimental programme among the activities promoted by the Missionary Dicastery.

The Course is being held at the “ad Gentes” Centre in Nemi, in the Castelli Romani area, the residence of the Fathers of the Society of the Divine Word . The site is particularly significant in light of the recent ecclesial Magisterium on mission. In the first months of 1965, when the residence had only recently begun operating, meetings were held there by the commission tasked with completely redrafting the draft document of the Second Vatican Council on the Church’s missionary activity. The document was subsequently approved as the conciliar Decree “Ad Gentes” on 7 December 1965, the day before the solemn closing of the Council.
Among the theologians in that commission were the Dominican Yves Congar and the then 38-year-old Joseph Ratzinger, who, as Pope, returned to Nemi on 9 July 2012 to visit the “Ad Gentes” Centre.

The aims of the course

The program aims to offer insights and guidance on issues that bishops are called upon to address on a daily basis in their episcopal ministry: practical matters relating to the exercise of charity, the proclamation of the Gospel and the liturgy. More specifically, the course will also address issues such as fundraising, providing support and being present for victims of abuse, the appointment of women to positions of high responsibility, and the emergencies arising in spiritual accompaniment in the digital age, conflict management and workload.
The Course also provides a favourable opportunity to strengthen bonds among members of the episcopate and to consolidate the bonds of communion among the particular Churches and within the universal Church.

Among the speakers and moderators are Archbishop Joseph Marino, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and Apostolic Nuncio, and Professor Peter Beer, former Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and professor at the Institute of Anthropology of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

The course is also supported by Father Olivier Soma, of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, who is also a professor at the same Institute, and by Father Marco Sungsu Kim, an official of the Dicastery for Evangelization and professor at the Institute of Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Programme details

On Monday, 14 September, will be devoted to the theme “Being a Bishop today”, with in-depth reflection on current ecclesial and doctrinal issues. Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the missionary Dicastery, will take part in the sessions.
On Tuesday, 15 September, the focus will shift to discussing some “Guidelines for one’s pastoral ministry”, including further reflection on the use of reference documents concerning the exercise of charity, the proclamation of the Gospel and the liturgy.

On Wednesday 16 September, the presentations and discussions will focus on issues relating to the concrete exercise of the episcopal ministry in the leadership of particular Churches, with reference also to matters concerning communication and relations with the civil authorities.
On Thursday 17 September, the agenda of the day will be addressed to the theme “Conflicts and crises. At the service of the community”.

On Friday 18 September, the working sessions will address other issues and practical concerns relating to the exercise of the episcopal ministry. Attention will also be drawn to the need to distinguish between a person’s role and the person themselves in relationships with others, as well as the importance of making the most of the dialogue and support offered by the various members of the church community, whilst avoiding the temptation to deal with urgent matters alone and to resolve problems in an individualistic manner.

The course will conclude on Saturday, 19 September, with a final evaluation session. At 11:45 a.m., the Eucharistic concelebration will be presided over by Archbishop Samuele Sangalli, Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio’s South American tour: the fight against drug trafficking and the implementation of the “Donroe Doctrine”

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 22:40:10 +0200

by Cosimo Graziani

Washington – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded his three-day tour of South America on Thursday, September 10, during which he met with the heads of State of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The visit forms part of what has been described as the “Donroe Doctrine,” presented as the “Donald Trump Corollary” to the historic Monroe Doctrine: the set of declarations and actions through which, as early as the 19th century, the United States made clear to the European powers that they were no longer welcome in the Western Hemisphere.
The fight against drug trafficking is officially one of the cornerstones of the Trump Doctrine. Among the “unofficial” reasons for this U.S. initiative in Latin America, however, is the effort to counter China’s presence in the region.
The visit began with a meeting with Colombian President De La Espriella, who, despite having taken office only a few weeks ago, has already brought a decisive shift to his country’s foreign policy, moving it closer to Washington after the years of Gustavo Petro’s presidency. In August, Colombia joined the Shield of the Americas, the U.S. initiative to combat drug trafficking. Critics in the country have accused the initiative of effectively being a blank check that could pave the way for possible U.S. military intervention on Colombian territory.
During Rubio’s visit, the two countries signed two additional agreements: the first concerning potential cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy, and the second on the supply of critical materials for the technology sector.

In Ecuador, the U.S. Secretary of State met with President Daniel Noboa. Here too, the visit focused on the fight against drug trafficking. In recent years, Ecuador has become a major transit country, while the activities of gangs and criminal groups have intensified. During his visit, Rubio designated another local criminal group, Los Tiguerones, as a terrorist organization. It is the third group to receive such a designation in the space of two years.
No agreements were signed, but the United States pledged an additional $45 million to the funds it already allocates to Ecuador for security purposes, again with a focus on combating drug trafficking. A further $10 million will be allocated to combating illegal mining, recruitment into criminal organizations and illicit financing.

In the third and final stop of his tour, Rubio met with newly elected President Keiko Fujimori in Peru. During the visit, Fujimori announced that her country would join the Shield of the Americas, explaining that the partnership between the two countries would strengthen security cooperation, particularly through intelligence-sharing and efforts to combat transnational criminal groups.
Rubio’s visit was met with a series of statements from opposition figures, who criticized what they described as U.S. interference in Peru’s foreign policy.

While the fight against narcoterrorism is invoked as the primary justification for the Trump administration’s actions across the Western Hemisphere, other issues remain in the background. In particular, a second theme that emerged from the meetings during this tour was cooperation on raw materials and minerals. Rubio discussed the issue in Colombia and, above all, in Peru, where it has become closely intertwined with China’s commercial presence in the country.
Beijing is Lima’s principal trading partner and one of the world’s leading buyers of copper, making China an indispensable commercial partner for Peru. The Trump administration has repeatedly made clear that its foreign policy is driven, among other considerations, by the security of critical-material supply chains. From this perspective, China’s presence in South America is increasingly perceived and treated as a factor to be countered.

EUROPE/GREECE - Orthodox and Catholic bishops make joint pilgrimage to Mount Athos, a holy place for all Christians

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 22:25:39 +0200

by Father Sliman Hifawi

Ouranoupolis – The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Kuwait and Baghdad, Archbishop Ghattas Hazim , made a pilgrimage to Mount Athos from September 6 to 9, 2026, alongside the Catholic Bishop of the Vicariate of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, whose jurisdiction covers Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain. This "historic" trip reflects "the good relationship existing between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Kuwait," as Bishop Berardi himself noted, in a country where both serve as pastors to their respective communities.

The Catholic prelate, accompanied by a delegation that included Father Sliman Hifawi , Father Boutrus Gharib , seminarian Pedro Mendoza , layman Pierre Maalouf, and from the Orthodox Church Father Ephrem Al Toumi, had the opportunity to experience firsthand the monastic spirituality of the Holy Mountain. Welcomed first at the Monastery of Simonopetra and later at Vatopedi, they visited twelve of the twenty monasteries that make up the peninsula.

A tradition since Byzantine times

Mount Athos, the center of Orthodox monastic spirituality, constitutes a privileged natural enclave. For centuries, monks and hermits have sought in the seclusion of its landscape a life rooted in the Gospel and united with Jesus Christ through asceticism, prayer, and fasting.

The Holy Mountain is located on a peninsula in northern Greece and has a self-governing regime administered by its 20 monasteries, making it the only monastic republic in the world. Although spiritually dependent on the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the abbot of each monastery holds disciplinary, administrative, and spiritual authority over his monks, granting each monastery broad autonomy.

Cradle of great saints

This enclave has been a fruitful nursery of holiness. Some of its saints are also venerated by Eastern Catholic Churches, such as Saint Gregory Palamas , a distinguished Athonite theologian who emphasized the close bond between the Eucharistic mystery and ecclesial harmony:
"Let us hold fast to love toward one another; in this we shall be recognized as His true disciples. Let us maintain the unity of the faith and the communion of the Spirit in the bond of peace. For having been called in one Body and fed with the same Heavenly Bread, we ought also to be of one heart and one soul."

Likewise, the monasteries preserve precious relics, ranging from fragments of the Lignum Crucis to the remains of more recent saints of the Orthodox tradition.

Saint Arethas, a common patron in Arabia

A particularly moving moment of the ecumenical pilgrimage was the veneration of the relics of Saint Arethas and his fellow martyrs, who are among the patrons of the Church in the Arabian Peninsula for both Catholics and Orthodox .

This unprecedented visit, in which an Orthodox prelate formally invited a Catholic counterpart to tour Mount Athos, served to "further strengthen the ties that unite us" in a place sacred "not only for the Orthodox Church, but for all of Christendom," highlighted Bishop Berardi.

Blessing from the Ecumenical Patriarch

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, warmly welcomed the request submitted by Metropolitan Hazim to undertake this pilgrimage. In granting his blessing, the Patriarch praised this initiative aimed at continuing to open paths toward Christian unity—an effort especially meaningful when made visible through bishops, successors of the apostles.

AFRICA/MOROCCO - Appointment of Coadjutor Archbishop of Rabat

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 22:07:58 +0200

Vatican City - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. León Dorado, O.M.I., until now apostolic prefect of the Western Sahara, as coadjutor archbishop of Rabat, Morocco.
Msgr. Mario León Dorado was born on 16 March 1974 in Madrid, Spain. After completing his studies in information technology at the Faculty of Information Sciences in Madrid, he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in theology from the San Dámaso Faculty of Theology in Madrid.
He gave his first religious vows on 15 September 1996 in the Congregation of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
He was ordained a priest on 2 June 2001.
He has held the following offices: parish assistant in Jaén, Spain ; in 2004 he was sent on mission in the apostolic prefecture of Western Sahara, and went on to serve as apostolic administrator .
Since 2013 he has held the role of apostolic prefect of Western Sahara, and since 2026, apostolic administrator of the archdiocese of Rabat.

POPE IN FRANCE/V - The (silent) mission of Lourdes: “God’s charity does not heal those who have no wounds”

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:40:41 +0200

by Marie-Lucile Kubacki

Lourdes – Just a few weeks ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, scheduled for September 26 and 27, excitement is palpable in the Marian city, which is already overwhelmed with reservations.
Registration has already closed, and the shrine expects around 150,000 people to attend the various events during the Pope’s visit, an exceptional turnout. Once there, the Pope will pray at the Grotto, celebrate Sunday Mass on the shrine grounds, meet the sick and those accompanying them at the Accueil Notre-Dame, and then take part in the recitation of the Rosary and the Marian torchlight procession. In short, the Pontiff will follow in the footsteps of the approximately three million visitors who walk through the shrine each year.
“There is great joy in our hearts,” Father Jean-Xavier Salefran, a priest of the Community of Saint Martin and vice-rector of the shrine, tells Fides. Present in Lourdes since 2015, after years of ministry in the dioceses of Fréjus-Toulon and Perpignan, he describes the mobilization of the entire community that welcomes visitors: shrine staff, priests, religious, volunteers, members hospital members, and pilgrims. “We are all aware that we are facing a very important event, not only for the shrine, but for the Church in France and for the whole Church.”
For the vice-rector, Leo XIV’s arrival is awaited as a “moment of grace”, continuing the visits of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. But it also represents a concrete responsibility: welcoming a considerable crowd while preserving what is distinctive about Lourdes, namely its closeness to the most vulnerable.

A “concrete” Church

While each phase of the Pope’s journey embodies a particular face of the Church in France , “what is special about Lourdes is that here one experiences the Church in its concrete reality, the People of God with all its components,” explains Father Jean-Xavier Salefran.
According to him, the shrine is a place of popular devotion where “the Church in its diversity, in its universality becomes visible,” with the sick, bishops, families, young people, volunteers, diocesan groups and pilgrims from many countries. Every face of the Church is represented here, in a rich social and cultural mingling. It is not unusual to encounter Tamils in traditional dress drawing water from the spring with their hands and pouring it over their hair, or Muslim women praying to Mary, alongside the old blue carts inherited from the place’s spa tradition.
This diversity entails a missionary responsibility: to offer each person, with simplicity, the signs and language of faith, and then accompany those who wish to go further. “The Christian faith is expressed through gestures that are very accessible, very simple and yet very profound,” the vice-rector emphasizes. Touching the rock of Massabielle, drinking water from the spring, making the gesture of washing with water, lighting a candle, taking part in a procession: these gestures, familiar in Lourdes, engage body and spirit at the same time.
They are not a solitary experience, Father Jean-Xavier insists, but part of a “truly ecclesial” journey. The spring revealed by Bernadette Soubirous thus becomes a sign of a divine grace that is “always the same and always new”.
This embodied pedagogy reaches people of very different cultures, religious backgrounds and wounds. The shrine has long welcomed a strong international presence, which has grown over the decades, particularly from Asia and Latin America.
Increasingly, the shrine welcomes visitors who do not necessarily arrive as part of a traditional diocesan pilgrimage: individuals, families, young people, tourists searching for meaning, and men and women who no longer have a regular connection with a Christian community. The pastoral challenge is precisely to welcome this diversity without reducing Lourdes to a mere tourist destination or a vague form of spirituality.

Bernadette, a gateway

In this mission of welcome and first proclamation, the figure of Bernadette remains central.
“She is a witness who still speaks today with just as much force,” the vice-rector observes. The young girl from Lourdes, confronted with poverty, illness, lack of education and the incomprehension provoked by her testimony, speaks in a particular way to young people and to those going through difficult moments.
“A gateway is precisely the trials Bernadette herself went through,” he explains. Young people are also struck by “her frankness, her purity, her courage” in recounting what she had seen and heard: a certain transparency before God’s grace.
Bernadette is not presented as a distant or flawless figure: she also knew personal struggles and had an impulsive temperament. But she had learned, she used to say, to allow the “second impulse” – the impulse of grace and reason – to prevail over the immediate reaction.
The shrine therefore invites visitors to follow in Bernadette’s footsteps and rediscover her story each day. Recounting the apparitions, recalling the words attributed to the Virgin Mary and helping people understand the meaning of these places already provides, according to Father Jean-Xavier, a first catechesis.
“In recounting and quoting the words of the Virgin Mary, catechesis is already taking place.”

A spontaneous, rather than “organized”, flow

The vice-rector notes that many people who come to Lourdes have not been directly contacted by pastoral workers.
“They come because they need something real, something solid; they no longer know ‘a priori’ whom to entrust themselves to,” he says. In his view, “the Virgin Mary has drawn them here”.
The response offered by the shrine therefore takes the form of a gradual accompaniment. At first, some are content simply to visit the Grotto, to look, to listen, and to make a gesture of prayer. Others embark on a “journey of grace”, which enables them to visit the shrine, understand its symbols and be accompanied through the gestures associated with light, water and rock.
This journey often paves the way to a personal encounter with a priest and, for many, to a rediscovery of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
“We have so, so, so many people coming to confession,” Father Jean-Xavier emphasizes. “It turns out that this sacrament responds to a very important need today’: the longing for mercy, inner peace and renewal.
Not without emotion, he recalls a man who had cycled to Lourdes after enduring numerous trials. That man told him that he needed to “rebuild his life on something true and solid”. Having laid down his burden, he set off again with the feeling that he was “learning how to live again”. For the vice-rector, such stories bear witness to the inner and spiritual healings of which Lourdes is a daily witness, without these diminishing the significance of physical suffering or the reality – sometimes long and difficult – of illness.

The most vulnerable at the forefront

The Pope’s forthcoming visit will explicitly highlight this essential aspect. On September 27, Leo XIV will meet hospital staff and patients staying at the Accueil Notre-Dame, a facility specifically designed for pilgrims who are unable to care for themselves or who have disabilities. “I have high hopes for the Pope’s gestures,” says Father Jean Xavier. The vice-rector hopes above all that the Holy Father will reaffirm “the importance and place of vulnerable people, of the sick, at the heart of the Church and at the heart of the world”.
In a society marked by the cult of efficiency, loneliness and fear of vulnerability, Lourdes reminds us that the sick are not people to be marginalized, but witnesses who teach something crucial about the human condition.
This priority is expressed through the service of the hospital workers, where the line between those who help and those who receive help is often blurred.
“Those who come to serve the sick often discover that they themselves are sick, in their own way,” the vice-rector observes.
The gratuitousness of service, closeness to frail bodies, shared prayer and concrete attention to each person thus become a form of mission.
Father Jean-Xavier also recalls the story of a pregnant woman who had been told that the child she was carrying was ill. She came to ask for a blessing and to seek guidance in facing a painful decision. In the end, she chose to welcome her child.
She later testified that her stay in Lourdes had given her the strength to love and welcome him.
“She was carrying a trial within her, and in that trial she found a light,” he recounts.
In Lourdes, mission is not a program but a presence: the presence of a Church that welcomes, listens, prays and serves; of believers who make their care for others visible; of sick people whose vulnerability challenges the certainties of an individualistic world; of healthy people who discover that they too are wounded; and of sick people who find themselves inwardly, and sometimes physically, uplifted.
It is the opposite of what Charles Péguy called “accustomed souls”, of whom he wrote: “Because they are not wounded, they are not vulnerable. Since they lack nothing, nothing is brought to them. Since they lack nothing, what is everything, is not brought to them. Not even the charity of God heals those who have no wounds.” To go to Lourdes means going to the source of the urgent human need to be saved.

AFRICA/DR CONGO - Bukavu: at least 27 students killed in a massive fire that destroyed two schools

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:15:16 +0200

Kinshasa – At least two fires broke out yesterday, September 10, in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is currently occupied by M23 rebels backed by Rwandan forces.

According to local sources who spoke to Fides, the most serious incident occurred in the Cimpunda neighborhood, along Kasheke Avenue, where at least 27 students lost their lives and many others were seriously injured.

The victims, students at Ujamaa and Furaha schools, died in the stampede as they tried to escape the rapidly advancing flames and the smoke from the fire. According to our sources, the fire broke out at around 8 a.m. in a private home and quickly spread to the two adjacent schools.

“On that hill there are hundreds of wooden houses, built right next to one another. There are no roads and no water, and there are no firefighters. The two schools were surrounded by fire. In the chaos as they tried to escape, several students fell and were trampled by the crowd, while others suffered smoke inhalation.” Many students managed to escape and are now being treated in hospital, together with several teachers.

At least 500 homes were destroyed in the fire.
As for the cause of the fire, our sources say it is not yet known, although several hypoyheses can be considered. “First of all, many people make a living by selling petrol along the streets, which they store in their homes. There are also exposed electrical wires that can produce sparks. Someone may have forgotten to extinguish the charcoal used for cooking. In short, there could be many possible causes of the fire,” our sources say.

“Moreover,” they add, “we are still in the dry season. We have not seen rain since the beginning of May. In addition to the dry grass, strong trade winds blow during this season, which fuelled the flames.”

Fides sources conclude by noting that around ten fires have already broken out in Bukavu this year. A second fire broke out in the Panzi area yesterday afternoon.

AFRICA/MALAWI - Course for minor and major seminary formators promoted by the Pontifical Mission Societies

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:01:33 +0200

Zomba – The Pontifical Mission Societies in Malawi, in collaboration with the International Secretariat of the Pontifical Society of St Peter the Apostle , are organizing a formation course for formators of the country’s minor and major seminaries. The course aims to strengthen the knowledge, missionary spirit and pastoral competence of those entrusted with the formation of future priests, in accordance with the Magisterium’s documents, particularly the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis.
The formation course will be held from September 14 to 18, 2026, at St Peter’s Major Seminary in the Diocese of Zomba. The theme is: “Formators of Seminarians: One in Christ, united in the mission, in the ministry of formation.” For the occasion, Father Guy Bognon, Secretary General of POSPA, accompanied by Father Alessandro Brandi, an official of the same Pontifical Society, will arrive in Malawi on September 12, 2026.
They will remain in the country until September 20, thus having the opportunity to take part in celebrations marking the 125th anniversary of the beginning of the Catholic mission in Malawi.
The course will officially open on September 14 with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Thomas Luke Msusa, Archbishop of Blantyre and President of the seminaries in Malawi. The delegation from Rome will be joined by Father Peter Madeya, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Malawi, and Father Pascal Mtuwana, National Safeguarding Officer for minors and vulnerable persons.
During the five-day course, participants will have the opportunity to study, reflect on and discuss a range of topics. These will include specific sessions on the need for ongoing formation of formators; a general presentation of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis; the institutional dimension of formation and the role of the educational community; the mission and identity of the formator; the process of priestly formation in the seminary; the safeguarding of minors and vulnerable persons and its integration into seminary formation programmes; the spiritual dimension of formation and spiritual accompaniment; and human formation.
Space will also be devoted to presenting the Pontifical Mission Societies and their history, together with a more practical session on PMS resources, with particular attention to the Pontifical Society of St Peter the Apostle.
The initiative reflects the PMS’s commitment to supporting the integral formation of future priests and strengthens the bond between the Church in Malawi and the International Secretariat of the Pontifical Society of St Peter the Apostle in promoting missionary discipleship and priestly formation.
The course also seeks to deepen the missionary identity of seminary formators, improve the quality of priestly formation in Malawi, and foster closer collaboration between the local Church and the universal Church in preparing future priests who are rooted in Christ and committed to the Church’s missionary mandate.

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ASIA/INDIA - New “anti-conversion law” in Maharashtra: impact on the lives of Christians

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:52:46 +0200

Poona – In the Indian state of Maharashtra, in west-central India, the local Catholic community is having to carry out its pastoral life and its evangelizing mission while dealing with the "Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act 2026," a measure approved by the State Legislative Assembly and which came into force on August 28, following the assent of the President of the Republic of India.
The stated aim of the law is to prevent religious conversions obtained through force, fraud, coercion, false statements, inducements or undue pressure. The law punishes acts such as offering money or gifts, promising employment, guaranteeing free education, holding out the prospect of marriage or a better lifestyle, or invoking divine healing with the purpose of inducing someone to change religion. Presenting one faith as superior to another with the intention of facilitating a conversion may also fall within the scope of the law.
Penalties can include up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 rupees, while repeat offenders may face up to ten years in prison. The burden of proof falls on the person accused of inciting or encouraging conversion, while a complaint may also be filed by a relative or acquaintance of the alleged “victim”. This provision could expose priests, religious men and women, pastoral workers and ordinary faithful to legal proceedings based on allegations not made by the person directly concerned.

The wording of the legislation has an impact on the lives of Christians, as Bishop Simon Almeida of Poona, a diocese in Maharashtra, told Fides: “Maharashtra is the 13th Indian state to have passed a law on ‘freedom of religion’, which is essentially an anti-conversion law. It should be said that, although Catholics are in no way involved in or intent on promoting conversion to the Christian faith, there are people who would like to know Christ for whom this path has now become more difficult or subject to burdensome restrictions.”
The Bishop, who leads a community of 92,000 Catholics, notes: “We find ourselves unable to state that Jesus is the one God and the one Saviour: this statement could be interpreted as a comparison with and delegitimization of other faiths. Even in preaching in church, we must be very cautious.”
“With this restrictive legislation, our preaching is objectively facing difficulties,” he reiterates.
The issue, the Bishop points out, is particularly significant because “in Maharashtra, as throughout India, there are many Catholic social institutions working in the fields of education, healthcare, social assistance, and support for the poor, Dalits and tribal communities. Their work could be scrutinized or accused of proselytism.”
In a state governed by the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party – the same party that governs India at the federal level – “our approach is always one of dialogue. We never seek confrontation, but we intend to open talks with the government so that the aim of preventing coercive conversions does not spill over into the denial of fundamental rights such as freedom of conscience,” he concludes.

The United Christian Forum of India, in a memorandum addressed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has also asked the state government to review the legislation and postpone its implementation. “Christian charity,” the memorandum stresses, “is not aimed at seeking new followers, but is freely given love for every person, welcomed and loved in his or her fundamental dignity as an image of Christ.”
Christians in the state are invoking the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to profess, practise and propagate one’s religion, while subjecting the exercise of this right to considerations of public order, morality and public health.

Cardinal Tagle celebrates his father’s funeral Mass in Imus: “Eternal Life is to remain close to Jesus”

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:37:05 +0200

Imus – This morning, at ten o’clock, the bells of the Cathedral of Imus rang for a funeral and for a family. In the first diocese entrusted to the episcopal ministry of Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, the funeral rites were celebrated for his father, Manuel Topacio Tagle Sr. known simply to everyone as “Tatay Maning.”

The Mass was celebrated and the homily delivered by his son, Cardinal Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Numerous Bishops gathered around him, together with two Cardinals and the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles Brown. Hundreds of priests and religious were also present, along with a multitude of people who came from Imus, Manila and every corner of the archipelago. An entire people came to express their affection for the Cardinal and his family.

In his homily, Cardinal Tagle recalled how the Eucharist gathers believers in a single communion and reveals how God can make human beings a gift to one another.

The Cardinal acknowledged that the experience of losing loved ones is marked by loneliness and suffering. Yet he stressed that it is precisely in such circumstances that one can also perceive, with particular clarity, that the human heart is made for closeness, companionship and communion: a desire that his father had expressed with particular intensity even during times of illness and hospitalization.

The Cardinal then returned to the Gospel account of the Crucifixion and to the promise made to the good thief: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” This, he said, is an answer to humanity’s oldest fear: the fear of being abandoned.

Eternal life, the Cardinal recalled, is to remain close to Jesus. It means being forever held in God’s loving memory. Human beings sometimes forget, but God never forgets those whom he loves. And this, the Pro-Prefect of the missionary Dicastery recounted, was evident also in his father’s life, marked by suffering, service and love.

Tatay Maning was still a boy when a bombing during the war killed his father. Some shrapnel remained lodged in his body for the rest of his life. From that wound, the Cardinal said, arose an appeal: to reject war and to build a world without widows and without the wounded. As an adult, he also experienced violence. He was kidnapped after being mistaken for the son of a wealthy man. Yet, whenever he spoke about it, he did so without resentment. The Cardinal chose to read this wound, too, as an appeal: against kidnapping, against every form of exploitation of the most vulnerable, and for communities where no one is left behind.

Tatay Maning’s faith was reflected in small, constant acts. As an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, he brought Communion to the sick and the dying. He regularly visited families, never growing tired of doing so. He discreetly helped those in difficulty, anonymously supporting students throughout their studies. Many learned of this only after his death. He was, the Cardinal said, a man who was grateful for the help he himself had received.

Within the family, Tatay would accompany his grown and adult children to the airport and personally wait for them upon their return. These everyday gestures expressed his dedication to remaining close to those he loved, at every departure and every return – an attentiveness that continues today in the Cardinal’s brother, Manuel “Nonoy” Tagle Jr.
The Cardinal also recalled the serenity of his father’s final moments. Although he was in Rome, he had managed to speak with him by video call, pray with him and bless him. Reassured that the family would take care for his wife, Tatay was able to let go in peace. In his homily, this death was presented as a passage towards the promise of Paradise: in Christ, the Cardinal concluded, no one is ever alone, because all are held in the memory of God and welcomed into eternal communion.

After the Mass, Tatay Maning was accompanied to the family tomb in a moment reserved for his closest relatives. This was followed by a simple, family-style lunch open to everyone. In that atmosphere, one could sense the deep affection of the people for the Cardinal and his loved ones. Those present were the Cardinal’s mother, Mrs. Mila Tagle, “Nanay,” aged 96; his brother Manuel “Nonoy” Tagle Jr.; and numerous relatives, some of whom had also travelled from abroad. The day concluded with a more intimate moment reserved for the family.

ASIA/NEPAL - Father Bogati: “Humanitarian aid and consolation for the displaced”

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:20:45 +0200

Kathmandu – “I have just visited one of the main areas where many people were swept away by the water; among them was a school with 300 students. We are still shocked, and people are traumatized. But we are close to them through prayer and solidarity.” This is what Father Silas Bogati, Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, told Fides upon returning from a humanitarian mission.
“Caritas Nepal has distributed aid in several locations and is running shelters for displaced people, with particular attention to children who have been left alone. These centres welcome all minors affected by the floods,” he reports.
Father Silas Bogati concludes: “We are responding to the emergency and are concretely present alongside those who are suffering and those in need. Alongside material assistance, our mission is to bring consolation.”
Together with the Executive Director of Caritas Nepal, Sr. Cecilia Durga Shrestha, Father Bogati visited the flood-affected areas of Trisuli to assess the damage and gain a clearer understanding of the situation of the families affected.
During the visit, they also went to reception centres currently hosting displaced families. Caritas Nepal is currently supporting three reception centres and eight “child-friendly spaces” in Nuwakot, providing essential assistance, shelter and protection to children and families.
Father Bogati and Sr. Durga Shrestha also met with Caritas staff, animators and volunteers, as well as local partners, to assess the situation together and identify the needs and challenges being faced at the centres. The spirit guiding those involved in the humanitarian response, they said, is to “stand alongside the affected families and children, offering them support, care and dignity.”

Leo XIV to the new Bishops: Remain with Jesus, the “Good Shepherd,” to keep a missionary heart

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:08:34 +0200

Vatican City – A heart “completely turned toward the Father and, precisely for that reason, totally given to the brothers”: this is the central image chosen by Pope Leo XIV to describe the identity of a Bishop. He spoke as he received in audience, on September 10, the participants in formation courses for new Bishops promoted by the Dicasteries for Bishops, for the Eastern Churches and for Evangelization.

A total of 147 Bishops from the five continents came to Rome for the courses, which concluded today with Mass and the veneration of the relics of the Apostle Peter in the Vatican Basilica.

Before beginning his address, the Pope asked those present to pray for the eternal rest of the father of the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Cardinal Tagle. He led those present in praying a Hail Mary for the consolation of the family.

The Pope assured the new bishops – and, through them, their Churches – of a place in his prayers, explaining: “All must find a place in the heart of the bishop, because all already have a place in the heart of Christ.” It was from this that the reflection offered by the Successor of Peter to the new Successors of the Apostles sprang.
The first priority, the Pope said, is to remain with Jesus. “Among the many things you will be called to do as bishops, this is the most important. We are bishops, but above all we are disciples,” he insisted. “He appointed twelve,” the Gospel of St Mark tells us, “whom he also named apostles, to be with him and to be sent out to preach.” The Bishop of Rome continued: “This is the order of the Gospel: to remain with Him and, from Him, to be sent.” He encouraged the new Bishops to safeguard the time devoted to the Eucharist, the Word of God and silent prayer.

The Pope then highlighted a second aspect, described as the most distinctive feature of the episcopate: “to have the heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, a heart completely turned toward the Father and, precisely for that reason, totally given to the brothers.” Quoting the Gospel of John, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,” the Pope addressed the Bishops directly: “Love the people the Lord has entrusted to you. Learn their names, listen to their stories, enter, when you can, into their homes, pray with them.” Especially in young Churches, he observed, “the presence of the Bishop says a great deal, even before his words. A visit, a blessing, the time dedicated to a priest, listening to a family, dialogue with a young person: these are small gestures, but they can remain in a person’s soul for a lifetime.”

This emphasis by Leo XIV on the pastoral heart closely recalls a theme dear to his predecessor. On October 24, 2024, Pope Francis devoted his entire Encyclical Dilexit nos to the human and divine love of the Heart of Christ, presenting it as a key to understand the life of the Church and the ministry of her pastors.

The Pope then referred to what tradition calls “sollicitudo pastoralis,” pastoral solicitude, which St Paul described in his Second Letter to the Corinthians as his “daily concern”. This is a characteristic of “episcopal fatherhood”, whereby the Church entrusted to the Bishop becomes “more and more part of your life, almost part of yourselves”. Quoting from a homily Pope Francis gave on May 18, 2020, Leo XIV recalled that “closeness is one of the traits of God with his people”, adding words Pope Francis himself addressed to Bishops attending the formation course on September 12, 2019: “We exist in order to make this closeness palpable.” Hence his appeal to love priests, especially those who are elderly or ill: “Make them feel that they are valuable, that the Church is grateful to them and that the bishop does not forget them.”

Recalling St Augustine, who described his own ministry as an amoris officium , a service of love, Leo XIV connected this pastoral charity with the questions posed by the present age. He cited his own Encyclical Magnifica humanitas, explaining that he had sought to offer “in primis to the pastors of the Churches, a vision and a method to face the great challenge of safeguarding the human in the age of artificial intelligence.” He encouraged the Bishops to promote in their dioceses “paths of reflection and dialogue,” to the service of the “civilization of love”.

To the many Bishops from young and mission Churches, the Pope asked them to keep “a missionary heart”, capable of opening itself “not only to those who frequent our parishes, but also to Christians of other confessions, to believers of other religions, to people who do not profess a faith, to all men and women of good will”. Quoting St Augustine once again – “Vobis enim sum episcopus, vobiscum sum christianus”, “you all know it, I think—, “for you […] I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian” – Leo XIV invited the new Bishops to walk with their people, praying, listening to the Word and celebrating the Eucharist together with the faithful.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Pope assured the Bishops, as they prepared to return to their respective dioceses, of the faithfulness of the Lord who called them and who will go before them on their journey. He entrusted them, together with their peoples, to the maternal care of Mary, Mother of the Church.

Letter from the Dicastery for Evangelization to Cardinal Tagle “on the occasion of the death of his beloved father”

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:31:13 +0200

We publish below the letter of condolence addressed by the Dicastery for Evangelization to Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the same missionary Dicastery, and to his family, following the death of his beloved father, Manuel “Tatay Maning” Tagle.
Fides missionary Agency, together with the entire staff of the missionary Dicastery, also joins Cardinal Tagle in mourning the death of his beloved “Tatay Maning”.

§§§

Vatican City, September 7, 2026

Your Eminence,

On the death of your beloved father, Mr Manuel “Tatay Maning” Tagle, we wish to convey to Your Eminence and your family the heartfelt condolences and affectionate remembrance in prayer of all of us in the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The bonds which unite us in the shared service of the Church have, over the years, grown into a true sense of family. It is in this spirit that we share in your sorrow and join you, Nanay Mila, Kuya Nonoy and all your loved ones in commending Tatay Maning with confidence to the infinite mercy of God.

Some among us had the privilege of knowing Tatay Maning personally, especially during his visit to Rome with Nanay Mila and Kuya Nonoy, when they also came to the Dicastery. We remember with affection his warmth, simplicity and gracious presence. Those who did not have that privilege have nevertheless come to know something of the man he was through Your Eminence: in the faith, kindness, patience and fatherly solicitude which you bring to your service of the Church and so generously extend to us. In these qualities, we recognize something of the home and family in which they were first nurtured. We recall with particular affection their recent celebration of seventy years of marriage, a remarkable witness to fidelity, devotion and a lifetime shared in love.

In the sadness of this parting, we find consolation in the words of the Lord: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” .
Sustained by this faith, we entrust Tatay Maning to the merciful hands of the Father and profess with the Church that, for those who believe in Christ, life is changed, not ended.

As your father completes his earthly pilgrimage and enters into the fullness of eternal life, the family of the Dicastery expresses its closeness and fraternal solidarity by sending the Undersecretary to be with you in person. We assure Your Eminence, Nanay Mila, Kuya Nonoy and the entire family of our special remembrance in our prayers during these difficult days.

We pray especially for the eternal repose of Tatay Maning, confident that the Lord, whom he loved and served throughout his long life, will welcome him into the peace and joy of His Kingdom. May the same Lord remain close to Your Eminence and your family, sustain you in your sorrow, and grant you the consolation and strength born of Christian hope.

With sentiments of profound esteem, affection and prayerful communion,

✠ Fortunatus NWACHUKWU — Secretary

✠ Samuele SANGALLI — Adjunct Secretary

Msgr Erwin BALAGAPO — Undersecretary

Fr. Tadeusz NOWAK, OMI — Coordinator for the Pontifical Mission Societies

One hundred years later. The long journey of China’s first Bishops to receive Episcopal Ordination from the Successor of Peter

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:03:03 +0200

by Peter Zhao Jianmin*

Shanghai – Exactly one hundred years ago today, on September 10, 1926, the long blast of the ship’s sirens in the port of Shanghai announced the departure of the ship carrying six Chinese Apostolic Vicars. They were accompanied by Archbishop Celso Costantini, the first Apostolic Delegate to China, who two years earlier had prepared and led, on behalf of Pope Pius XI, the “Primum Concilium Sinense”, the Council of the Church in China held precisely in Shanghai in 1924. The Apostolic Delegate was accompanying the six Apostolic Vicars to Rome, where they were expected to receive episcopal ordination from the hands of the Pope himself.

The solemn ceremony of consecration, celebrated on October 28, 1926, in St Peter’s Basilica, attracted worldwide attention and interest. After their consecration, the Chinese bishops left Rome for a journey through four European countries, where they were welcomed with great enthusiasm. In Leuven, Belgium, crowds greeted them with cries of “Vive la Chine!” .

That journey stirred a sense of dignity and pride not only among the Catholic community in China, but throughout the Chinese nation—a nation which, just fourteen years earlier, had succeeded in breaking free from a semi-feudal and semi-colonial condition.

This is a page of history that deserves to be explored and studied with renewed interest. It therefore seems both useful and evocative to retrace that long journey, rich in fascinating and memorable details.
The following detailed account and travel diary is based principally on the information contained in the memoirs of Cardinal Celso Costantini , and in the work entitled Ricordi di due anni by Venantius Zhao Huaixin.
He was the fifth brother of Bishop Philip Zhao Huaiyi. A priest, he had graduated from the Seminary of Beijing, where he taught advanced Latin. He accompanied his brother Philip Zhao, together with the other Chinese Vicars, on their journey to Rome. During the journey for their episcopal consecration, he served as secretary.
He subsequently worked at the Office of the Apostolic Delegate, within the Education Association. In 1927 he became the bishop’s secretary and, in the same year, was also appointed rector of the Minor Seminary of Xuanhua. In 1932, he became a professor at the Major Seminary; in 1937 he was also appointed vicar of Xuanhua. In 1948 he joined the diocesan advisory council of the Diocese of Xuanhua. He died in July 1949.

The sea voyage to Europe

On September 10, 1926, the six Apostolic Vicars set sail from Shanghai. We boarded an American ship in Shanghai; to avoid any possible misunderstanding, we chose neither a French nor an Italian ship. A large crowd of the faithful came to see us off, and emotion was evident on everyone’s face.”

They arrived in Hong Kong on September 13. Church authorities and the faithful welcomed them at the port. They visited the “Nazareth Printing Press” and the Bethany Home. On September 14 they resumed their voyage by sea.

They arrived in Manila on September 16. They were exempted from all immigration and customs formalities. There they were welcomed by the Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines, religious men and women, and numerous faithful. They visited the Dominican convent and church, as well as the University of Santo Tomás. The welcome ceremony was attended by the Archbishop of Manila and the Chinese consul in the Philippines. They also visited St Francis Church and St Ignatius Church. The welcoming ceremony organized by the Catholic Youth Association was attended by the Archbishop of Manila, the Apostolic Delegate and the Chinese consul in the Philippines. On September 17 they resumed their voyage.

They reached Singapore on September 21. Priests and faithful welcomed them at the port and accompanied them to the bishop’s residence. They visited a church attended by the Chinese community, the museum and St Joseph’s Church of the Congregation of St Paul. The faithful gave them a warm welcome and collected offerings for them. On September 22 they resumed their voyage by sea.

Penang

They arrived in Malacca, Malaysia, on September 24. The local bishop and priests welcomed them at the port. They visited the church and the major seminary. On September 25 they resumed their voyage.

They then arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on September 29 and went to the bishop’s residence. In the evening they resumed their journey by sea.

On October 4 they passed the island of Socotra.

They entered the Red Sea on October 7. On October 11, the ship entered the Suez Canal, and on October 12 it reached the northern entrance of the canal.
They disembarked in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 13. They visited St Catherine’s Church and resumed their voyage in the evening. The ship docked at the port of Naples on October 16. There they were welcomed by representatives of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide and about fifty other people.

Episcopal ordination and the journey through Europe

On October 17, the six Apostolic Vicars and their companions left Naples by train. The Italian government exempted them from baggage inspection and, as a gesture of welcome, provided three first-class compartments free of charge. It also assigned personnel to accompany and assist them throughout the journey.

Upon their arrival by train in Rome, they were welcomed on the platform by representatives of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Chinese students and others who had come to greet them. At the station exit, the passage normally reserved for the King of Italy was opened especially for them.
“The day after our arrival in Rome, the Pope was to receive us. I said that we didn't yet have Roman vestments; the Pope replied: ‘Chinese clothing is fine too.’” . Pius XI warmly embraced each of the six future bishops.
On October 28, the feast of the Holy Apostles Holy Apostles Simon and Thaddeus, the solemn liturgy of episcopal consecration took place in St Peter’s Basilica.
On October 29, the newly consecrated bishops visited the Catacombs of Domitilla.
On October 30, the Prefect of Propaganda Fide provided them with a car so that they could visit Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s summer residence. They subsequently visited numerous religious and cultural sites and institutions in Rome, including the House of the Congregation of the Mission of St Vincent de Paul; the Colosseum; the Basilica of St John Lateran; the Basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem; the Church of Our Lady of Consolation, where a meeting was held; the Sistine Chapel; the Gregorian University, where a welcome ceremony was organized; the Roman Seminary, where they were received by six cardinals, about forty bishops, numerous priests and many other people; the tomb of St Peter; the Trappist monastery; the Franciscan convent; the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls; and the Basilica of St Cecilia in Trastevere.
On November 10, during another audience with the Pope, Pius XI said:“I hope that you will be able to come to Rome more often. Today, transportation is still developing, and therefore it takes a lot of time; in the future, transportation will certainly improve, and if one travels by plane, one will be able to get from China to Rome and back in just a few days.”
The Chinese bishops then also visited the Church of Trinità dei Monti, the Pontifical Urbaniana University of Propaganda Fide, the Dominican church, the Jesuit church, and the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus.

On November 15, as they began their journey through Italy and other European countries, the Chinese bishops departed from Foligno railway station. The local bishop, priests, Chinese students and faithful accompanied them to the station to bid them farewell. Once again, the Italian government assigned personnel to accompany and assist them during the journey.
They subsequently visited Assisi, ; Loreto, ; Padua ; and Udine, the city linked to Blessed Odoric of Pordenone and the birthplace of Celso Costantini.
On November 30, they arrived in Milan, where they were welcomed at the train station by numerous priests and faithful. They visited the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions , the Archdiocese of Milan, the Basilica of St Ambrose, and the Cathedral , dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On December 6 they arrived in Turin, where they visited the offices of the Archbishop’s Curia. Then their journey through France began.
On December 8, the new Chinese bishops arrived in Lyon, where they visited the bishop’s residence and places associated with the Curé of Ars, St John Mary Vianney.

On December 9 they reached Paris. During their stay, they attended a reception offered by the Cardinal Archbishop and visited the Congregation of the Mission , the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The Chinese Ambassador to France hosted a banquet for them at the embassy. They also visited the Association of Far Eastern Students in Paris and Notre-Dame Cathedral. In addition, they attended a reception organized by the Missionary Friendship Association, which was attended by more than two hundred people.
They then travelled to Paray-le-Monial, where they visited the famous Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and then continued on to Lisieux, where they visited the Shrine of St Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

On their way to Belgium, they arrived in Brussels on December 20. Priests and faithful gave them a warm welcome at the station. They then went to the residence of the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium, visited St Louis College, the Curia and the church of the Archdiocese of Mechelen, and were received by the Queen of Belgium. Afterwards they visited the Cathedral of Brussels.

Upon their arrival at Leuven railway station, they were welcomed by university professors, priests and faithful. Along the route, French-Chinese and five-colour flags were displayed. The Association of Chinese Catholic Youth in Belgium and numerous members of the Chinese community greeted them with cries of “Long live China!” .
They then attended a welcome dinner organized by the American College, where they were also accommodated. The American College was regarded as one of the colleges of the Catholic University of Leuven offering the best standards of food and accommodation.
During their stay, they also attended a reception organized by Chinese students, during which Bishop Philip Zhao Huaiyi delivered a speech in French. They visited St Michael’s Church, the Jesuit church and the Franciscan convent; attended a reception offered by the rector of the Catholic University of Leuven; took part in a reception hosted by the Chinese students of Leuven; and attended a social gathering at the Sacred Heart girls’ school. They also visited a Benedictine convent.
In Malines , they visited the parents of Father Vincent Lebbe and the Congregation of the Scheut Fathers .

They reached the Netherlands on December 27. During their train journey, they changed trains at Breda, where they were welcomed at the station by the local vicar and other ecclesiastical authorities.
In Utrecht, while making another train change, they were welcomed by the Episcopal Vicar, who accompanied them to the bishop’s residence, where they were invited to lunch.
They then continued by train to Amsterdam. Upon their arrival at the station, they were welcomed by a large crowd. Bicolor and five-colour flags were displayed on the front of the cars transporting them.
During the welcome dinner, they visited the Pontifical Society of St Peter the Apostle, as well as four important churches. They also visited the cities of Haarlem, Rotterdam, Breda and Nijmegen.

On January 1, 1927, they returned to Belgium and travelled to Ans, where they visited the Jesuit commercial School and the Basilica of Our Lady. During the welcome ceremony, the Chinese consul in Ans also delivered an address.
They then continued to Liège, where they visited the Congregation of the Mission of St Vincent de Paul and its church.
They then reached Namur. A large crowd welcomed them at the station, while the flags of various associations and organizations were displayed along the route. A welcome ceremony was held at the bishop’s residence and cathedral, during which Bishop Philip Zhao Huaiyi delivered a thank you speech in French.

On January 6, they travelled by train to the border between Belgium and France. The Chinese bishops were exempted from customs and border controls. At the station they were welcomed by priests of the Paris Foreign Missions .
They had lunch at the Apostolic Nunciature in France in the presence of two cardinals, two auxiliary bishops and other bishops, for a total of more than twenty people.
On January 9, they left Paris, accompanied to the station by a large crowd.
They then visited Bordeaux and Dax, where they were welcomed at the station by numerous people and by Vincentian priests. They then travelled to the birthplace of St Vincent de Paul before continuing to Lourdes.
On January 12 they arrived in Marseille, where numerous priests belonging to different religious orders and congregations welcomed them at the station. They visited the bishop’s residence and the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde.

The return journey to China by sea

On January 14, the Chinese bishops sailed from Marseille. They had purchased second-class tickets, but the shipping company, as a gesture of courtesy, upgraded them to first class free of charge.
On January 18 they passed near the island of Crete.
On January 19 they reached the northern entrance of the Suez Canal.
On January 25 they passed through Djibouti.
.
On February 1, 1927, the bishops returning to China stopped in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
On February 5, they crossed the Strait of Malacca.

On February 7, they arrived in Singapore. Bishops, priests and faithful came aboard to welcome them. They visited the bishop’s residence and again a church attended by the local Chinese community; they took part in a welcome ceremony and visited a boys’ school and a girls’ school.
On February 10, still on their return journey, they arrived in Saigon, where they were welcomed by priests of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and other religious. They visited the bishop’s residence, the Carmelite Congregation and the Congregation of the Sisters of St Paul.

On February 16 they arrived in Hong Kong. Bishops, priests and faithful came aboard to welcome them. A reception in their honour was held at the bishop’s residence.

On February 20 they finally landed in Shanghai. At the port they were welcomed amid the sound of firecrackers and fireworks. They then went to the bishop’s residence and took part in a solemn Mass of thanksgiving at Yangjiabang Church .

Historical context

In order to appreciate the significance of the first episcopal consecrations of Chinese bishops, it is useful to bear in mind the turbulent historical events that marked the decades before and after this important ecclesial event.

On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, triggering the Xinhai Revolution, which led to the overthrow of the imperial dynasty and the end of the monarchical order.
On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen assumed office in Nanjing as provisional President of the Republic of China.
On May 14, 1912, the provisional Senate of the Republic adopted the five-colour flag as the national flag. It consisted of five horizontal stripes—red, yellow, blue, white and black, from top to bottom—symbolizing the ideal of a “Republic of Five Races” .
On December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai proclaimed an Empire and assumed the title of Emperor. On March 23, 1916, compelled by circumstances, he abolished the monarchy once again. This was followed by a period of turmoil and clashes among the “warlords,” together with political division between North and South.
On December 29, 1922, the first Apostolic Delegate to China, Celso Costantini, arrived in Beijing, then the capital of the government of the Republic of China.
From May 15 to June 12, 1924, the Primum Concilium Sinense was held in Shanghai.
It was against this backdrop that, on September 10, 1926, the journey recounted in this article began, bringing six Chinese Apostolic Vicars to Rome to receive episcopal consecration from the hands of Pope Pius XI.
On December 17, 1928, the Nationalist government in Nanjing formally adopted by law the Blue Sky, White Sun and Red Earth flag as the national flag.
On December 29, 1928, in what became known as the “Northeast Flag Replacement,” the five-color flag was replaced by the Blue Sky and White Sun flag , marking the formal reunification of North and South China under the Nationalist government.
On May 14, 1934, Apostolic Delegate to China, Mario Zanin arrived in Nanjing, then the capital of the government of the Republic of China.
In July 1942, the Republic of China and the Holy See established formal diplomatic relations.
In 1943, the government of the Republic of China established a legation in Rome; its first Prime Minister Plenipotentiary was Xie Shoukang.
In 1946, the ordinary ecclesiastical hierarchy was established in China. The Holy See established the Apostolic Nunciature in China in the capital, Nanjing.

* Priest, Director of the Institute for Catholic Studies and Culture in Beijing.

At the Course for Newly Appointed Bishops, practical tools for missionary communion with the Successor of Peter were presented

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:12:12 +0200

Rome – Newly appointed bishops who have gathered in Rome to take part in formation courses organized for them by the Dicasteries of the Holy See have had the opportunity to receive detailed information on a range of initiatives and resources available to them to fully live out and express their episcopal concern for the mission of the universal Church, within the bond of communion that unites each Successor of the Apostles with the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

The afternoon session yesterday, Tuesday, 8 September, was held in the Aula Magna of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. It brought together bishops enrolled in the course organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization and bishops attending the corresponding formation course organized by the Dicastery for Bishops.

In their presentations, the speakers stressed that the institutions and initiatives being presented are rooted in the Church’s millennial history.

Peter’s Pence and the widow in the Gospel

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, opened the session by tracing the history of Peter’s Pence, “a voluntary offering made by the faithful directly to the Pope”. Its name, he explained, recalls the “small gift” of the widow in the Gospel , an act of generosity made from the heart, not based on abundance.
Officially established under King Offa of Mercia in the seventh century as the “Denarius Sancti Petri”, it became in the Middle Ages a “regular tax tribute ... often contested because of abuses”, before coming to an end with the Protestant Reformation. Pope Pius IX revived the practice after 1870 through the encyclical Saepe Venerabilis, presenting it as a “voluntary offering of the faithful throughout the world”. Archbishop Iannone quoted St John Paul II, who said that “Peter’s Pence constitutes a genuine participation in the Church’s evangelizing action” and Benedict XVI, who described it as “the most typical expression of the participation of all the faithful in the good initiatives of the Bishop of Rome”. Following Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio of 26 December 2020, Peter’s Pence remains administered under the direction of the Secretariat of State, but is administered by APSA, under the supervision of the Secretariat for the Economy, “in order to ensure greater transparency”.
Regarding Canon 1271, which was “new to canon law” in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Archbishop Iannone clarified that “the norm is not intended to impose a tax. It simply reminds bishops of an obligation inherent to their office”. He quoted the text: “By reason of the bond of unity and charity and according to the resources of their dioceses, bishops are to assist in procuring those means which the Apostolic See needs, according to the conditions of the times, so that it is able to offer service properly to the universal Church.”

Funds and Colleges in Rome in the long history of Propaganda Fide

Archbishop Samuele Sangalli, Adjunct Secretary for the Administration of the missionary Dicastery, followed up on the presentation of the significance of Peter’s Pence and Canon 1271 by introducing “three other areas which belong to the same horizon”: the Pontifical Mission Societies ; the Ecclesiae Sanctae Fund, together with the Pro Afris Collection; and support for the Roman Colleges that provide formation.
The Ecclesiae Sanctae Fund, Archbishop Sangalli explained, “is the result of a process of reflection and analysis that lasted approximately seventeen years. Its origins can be traced back to the Second Vatican Council and to the Motu Proprio of the same name issued by His Holiness Pope Paul VI” on 6 August 1966. It was intended to involve “the world’s Bishops... by inviting them to make an annual contribution specifically to the Dicastery in support of its missionary service”.
The Fund provides scholarships for the Pontifical Urbaniana University and its five Colleges, as well as the provision of books to Major seminaries.
As regards the Pontifical Pro Afris Collection, “it was established by Leo XIII in 1890 to support those working for the liberation of slaves in Africa”. It was subsequently confirmed by Paul VI in 1976, “extending its purpose to the liberation of people from all forms of slavery”. Today, the Dicastery draws on the Collection to support courses organized by I.C.O.F. for pastoral workers who have suffered “physical, psychological, and spiritual trauma” in war zones or in contexts of human trafficking.
Archbishop Sangalli focused particularly on the Colleges of formation in Rome, heirs to the Congregation de Propaganda Fide : The Pontifical Urban College which will celebrate its fourth centenary next year, welcomes “approximately 170 seminarians” each year from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Apostolic Vicariates of Latin America. The Colleges of San Pietro and San Paolo each accommodate “between 150 and 200 priests”. The Mater Ecclesiae College , in Castel Gandolfo, welcomes “approximately 130 young religious women”. The Collegio San Giuseppe, located on the Janiculum since 2006, welcomes each year rectors and formators from “425 minor seminaries, 135 propaedeutic seminaries and 270 major seminaries” for formation courses.
The Pontifical Urbaniana University has 97 affiliated institutes in 40 countries. The Adjunct Secretary of the missionary Dicastery concluded: “We need the support of all the local Churches, so that these Colleges may continue to provide the service for which they were established.”

The “Secret” of the Pontifical Mission Societies

As Coordinator ad interim of the Presidency of the Pontifical Mission Societies , Fr Nowak opened his presentation with a humorous observation, noting that “the Pontifical Mission Societies are the best-kept secret in the Catholic Church”, since even many bishops and priests “do not really know who we are”.
Fr Nowak briefly outlined the origins and profiles of the four Pontifical Mission Societies: the Pontifical Missionary Union, described by Paul VI as the “soul” of the four PMS; the Society of St Peter the Apostle, which supports seminaries and novitiates; the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood, whose motto is “Children helping children”; and the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith , founded by Blessed Pauline Jaricot in Lyon in 1822.
Fr Nowak, Secretary General of the POPF, described the Society as “a partner and not patron or funder” of the local Churches. He also highlighted the wide range of ordinary and extraordinary subsidies distributed each year by the POPF to support the mission of the particular Churches, while stressing the principles of transparency and sustainability ensured by the procedures governing the allocation of resources.

AFRICA/SUDAN - From water-treatment agent to chemical weapon: chlorine raises the risk of an embargo on an essential substance for civilians

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 12:54:45 +0200

Khartoum – A conflict increasingly shaped by external actors is now under suspicion of involving the use of chemical weapons by at least one of the parties. It is Sudan’s largely forgotten internal war, which broke out on 15 April 2023 between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces . Far from nearing an end, the conflict risks drawing neighbouring countries increasingly into the fighting .

The allegations, reported by two leading US newspapers, that the SAF used chlorine bombs, if confirmed, would add further cause for concern. In the first days of September, both The New York Times and The Washington Post published reports based on intelligence assessments from an unspecified “Middle Eastern country” concerning the testing, production and subsequent use by the SAF of chlorine-filled bombs. The chemical weapons were reportedly used against RSF positions, including near the Al Jaili oil refinery and the Garri military base, north of Khartoum, in September 2024. Videos and images show yellow-green vapours consistent with chlorine, while witnesses reported breathing difficulties.

However, substantiating the allegations would require on-the-ground investigations by independent experts, who would need to collect ammunition remnants, environmental and medical samples, victims’ testimonies and documents relating to military operations.

There are also questions as to whether the use of these weapons actually dates back to September 2024 and, if so, why the information has only emerged now. Were chlorine bombs used in subsequent incidents? If so, when and where? In 2025, the United States had already imposed sanctions on SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and on Sudan in connection with the use of chemical weapons, based on earlier intelligence reports concerning chlorine attacks. The SAF have denied developing or using chemical weapons.

There is, moreover, another aspect that warrants consideration. Chlorine, used to fill the weapons, is widely employed in the treatment of drinking water, but its use as a weapon completely changes its nature. Chlorine can become a dangerous and choking agent when inhaled in high concentrations, particularly in enclosed spaces or areas from which civilians cannot escape quickly. Documents presented by the US newspapers describe plans to obtain quantities of chlorine from a civilian water-treatment facility that had originally received the chemical from international humanitarian agencies.

This is one of the most dangerous aspects of the Sudanese situation: material used in everyday humanitarian operations can, in a wartime context, be turned into an instrument of mass killing. This means that international monitoring bodies may have to tighten controls on chlorine supplies intended for civilian purposes. Yet stricter controls could create another problem if they were to disrupt supplies essential for ensuring access to safe drinking water, thereby worsening the living conditions of a population already exhausted by more than three years of war.