Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Tibet (Agenzia Fides) - Sacred Scripture texts and the history of the Madonna in Tibetan have recently been discoverd, which are in excellent condition, in the only Catholic parish in Tibet, the parish of Mang Kang (or Shang Yan Jing). According to reports by Faith of He Bei to Fides, the 45 volumes of the Sacred Scripture in Tibetan were translated and published in 1931, while the 489 files of the History of the Virgin Mary belong to the year 1932. According to experts, they are the only Catholic texts in Tibetan preserved in such perfect condition. Many faithful have asked to reprint these two texts, which are still useful for the life of the Church and the mission of the parish (see Fides 29/04/2010).
The parish of Mang Kang (or Shang Yan Jing) was built in 1855, with the arrival of the missionaries of the Institute for Foreign Missions of Paris (Mep) in Yan Jing. The architectural style is a mixture of Han and Tibetan, with dozens of paintings dedicated to the Holy Mary and Jesus and a giant cross is also seen from afar. From 1865 to 1959 there were 17 missionaries in Yan Jing, 7 of them were martyred along with 11 local laity. The parish was reopened on December 24, 1988. Today, the parish has a Tibetan priest who is the parish priest, two elderly women religious and 2 novices, 740 lay faithful. Two Masses are celebrated on weekdays and three on Sundays. A 84-year-old woman who lives in the village knows the entire Bible in Tibetan by heart.
According to the history of the Tibetan Catholicism presented by Faith, the Franciscan missionary, now Blessed, Fr. Odorico Mattiuzzi from Pordenone (1265-1331), a great collaborator of the Blessed Giovanni da Montecorvino, Archbishop of Beijing, on his return from Beijing to the west made his way to Tibet in 1328. So he became the first westerner who came to Tibet in Chinese history and also the first Catholic priest who arrived in Tibet in the history of Chinese Catholicism, and this marks the beginning of more than 700 years of Catholicism history in Tibet. This trip was also narrated in his famous diary on his mission in the Far East. In the years 1603, 1633, 1640 and 1661, there were always the Jesuit missionaries in Tibet who tried to evangelize Tibet, but unfortunately were always killed or expelled or forced to flee. In 1707 the Italian Lazarist missionaries (CM) arrived in Tibet, as recalled by a large bell in Temple of Jokhang, in Lhasa (in Tibetan "throne of God"), which was donated by Father Desideri, CM, in 1729. In 1741 9 Lazarist missionaries were sent to other Tibetan Missions, but were forced to retreat in 1745 due to strong contrasts with Dalai Lama. In 1812 the first Chinese lay missionary attempted evangelization in Tibet, but was thrown out immediately. In 1846 the superior of the Lazarist community of the Archdiocese of Beijing sent 2 missionaries to Tibet. In 1861 the Tibetan Apostolic Vicariate was established. In 1890 there were over a thousand faithful Catholic Tibetans. In 1920 there were 776 Catholics in Tibet, 1,222 in the Tibetan area of the province of Si Chuan, 1,544 in the Tibetan province of Yun Nan. In 800 the MEP missionaries arrived in Tibet and the Augustinians in 1933, all expelled due to the cultural revolution. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2011)
