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Shi Jia Zhuang (Agenzia Fides) - "The meeting made us feel that we are no longer alone, the exchange has opened our eyes, sharing has made us able to thank the Lord who has chosen us. The courses have rekindled hope in our hearts: this camping experience is a gift from God". This is how the seminarians expressed their opinion at the end of the first Summer Formation Camp organized by the Faith Institute for Cultural Studies (FICS) by Jinde Charities (see Fides 22/7/2011).
According to reports from the Faith site of He Bei Province, the event was attended by 83 seminarians from 10 Major Continental Seminaries, as well as Lazarists’ students and of the Pauline local congregation of He Bei. The Camp was held from July 12 to 22 at the Major Seminary of He Bei, and a pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Shan Dong and to Shan Xi was also made. His Excellency Thomas Menamparampil, President of the FABC Office of Evangelization, sent a message to the participants inviting them to always remember Jesus' mandate "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ...." (Matthew 28,19 ).
A seminarian from Tibet said he was "surprised by the enthusiasm and dynamism of the brothers and sisters from other communities. I will take everything I learned to my community to open a path of evangelization suitable to our area".
According to one of the organizers "the Holy Father has always paid great attention to the formation and vocation of future priests, especially Chinese ones. It is no coincidence that formation was the main theme twice in a row (in 2009 and 2010) on behalf of the Vatican Commission's meeting on the Church in China convened by the Pope himself. This initiative is our response to the Holy Father".
(NZ) (Agenzia Fides 01/08/2011)
