Xi'an (Agenzia Fides) - “Be aware of the sacred call of the Lord and have an ecclesial spirit”. It is with these recommendations that Antonio Dang Mingyan, Archbishop of Xi'an and rector of the Philosophical and Theological Seminary of Shaanxi Province, addressed the 11 new graduates (9 nuns and 2 seminarians) during the closing ceremony of the academic year which took place in the Aula Magna at the beginning of July. The bishop conferred the degrees of dogmatic theology, moral theology, biblical theology and spiritual theology upon the new graduates. "At the beginning, all of us, priests and nuns, are very zealous, but over time there is a feeling of inertia and the influence of secularization is felt. As a result, the inner fire of proclamation sometimes weakens. We must always rediscover the sacred calling of the Lord. “We must be careful about what we do and what we say. We must set a good example and move away from worldliness. We must act inthe spirit of the Church by becoming 'salt of the earth and light of the world', to show everyone the path which leads to the Kingdom of God".
The nine professors of the Seminary concelebrated the solemn liturgy of thanksgiving to the Lord with Bishop Antonio Dang. The vice-rector, Father Li Jingxi, expressed his sincere wishes to the graduates and his gratitude for all those who accompanied the vocational journey of the young people of the Seminary (teachers, driver, doorman, cook, doctor and nurse...), inviting them all “to maintain an attitude of lifelong learning to continue living the Christian life in the love of God”. The new graduates thanked the Seminary, ensuring their prayers for the continuation of its activities for the benefit of the formation of today's students and future students.
In recent weeks, the seminaries of the Church of China are experiencing the “harvest season”. After six years of theological, philosophical, spiritual and human training, new graduates are called to offer their fresh energies to the pastoral work that awaits them in the times to come, at the service of the people of God. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 20/7/2024)
AFRICA/NIGERIA - Bishops' Conference: Priests should not enter politics without proper authorization