Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mei Xian (Agenzia Fides) - Thousands of faithful Catholics coming from all over China went on a pilgrimage, under the pouring rain, to the Sanctuary of the Cross on Mount Pao Wo (nicknamed "the Calvary of the East"), in the district of Mei Zhou in the Zhi Xian diocese, Shaan Xi Province, in mainland China, on the occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, on September 14, and for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. According to what Faith reported to Fides, about twenty priests made themselves available for the Confessions of the faithful in the three churches that make up the Sanctuary, but were not sufficient. The flow of the faithful began at 4 am on Sept. 14 and still continues despite the rain. As one of the priests of the Sanctuary says, all the infrastructures were rebuilt to meet the needs of pilgrims, ever more: "We inaugurated the new square and the statue of Jesus with the Cross on April 16, repaired the paths and churches . Once this was the sanctuary of the faithful from the north, but now the faithful come from all over the country".
According to Faith of He Bei and information gathered by Fides, the history of this Shrine dates back to a Chinese priest (in China called Charles Liu), who had studied and was ordained a priest in the College of the Holy Family in Naples (Italy). Before returning to his homeland in 1717 he asked Pope Pius VI to grant the immense Chinese flock the gift of a sanctuary. He also gave the Pope a map of Mount Pao Wo, because according to him it was very similar to Mount Calvary. The Pope approved and decided that the sanctuary would have been dedicated to the Cross, allowing the possibility of gaining the indulgence. Back in China, Fr. Charles Liu immediately bought the land and built three churches, dedicated respectively to St. Joseph, Mary and the Holy Cross, completing the complex with the Way of the Cross. The work was completed in 1777. Since then every year on May 3 (the finding of the Cross) and September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) are celebrated as the patronal feast of the sanctuary. Sixty years after its foundation, the Holy See granted an indulgence to pilgrims who make the pilgrimage in May and September. In 2002, this indulgence was confirmed by the Holy See on a permanent basis. In 1932 the Sanctuary was entrusted to the diocese of Zhou Zhi. In 1984 the complex of the Sanctuary, in part severely damaged, was returned to the Catholic community, which with the work of the faithful, and especially with great faith and devotion, rebuilt everything as it was two centuries before. Every year it welcomes tens of thousands of pilgrims from across China. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 15/09/2011)
