ASIA/CHINA - World Missionary Month in Chinese Catholic communities

Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - Prayers for peace in the world, donations for the mission, works of charity, pilgrimages, concerts and theatrical performances and sporting events. The participation of many Chinese Catholic communities in initiatives and moments of community during the World Missionary Month in October, which the Church dedicates in a special way to mission throughout the world was spontaneous and creative.
The highlight of World Missionary Month in China was also World Mission Sunday, celebrated on the penultimate Sunday of the month (this year on Sunday 20 October). On that day, many parishes held the "Collection for the Missions" (which in China is carried out in addition to the usual collection of funds for charitable and missionary works on Palm Sunday). In the homilies of many priests, reference was made to the history and spirit of World Missionary Sunday, recalling the mandate of witness and proclamation of the Gospel that Jesus entrusted to all his disciples.

On Sunday, October 27, a total of 26 priests, nuns and lay people from the Tangshan community took part in the "Tangshan Marathon 2024". In the midst of 20,000 participants from 13 countries around the world, the Catholic marathon runners of Tangshan wanted to offer a simple public witness of the faith that unites them and drives them to proclaim the Gospel with perseverance and endurance, sharing with everyone the difficulties, joys and encounters along the way, as happens in a marathon.

In the parish of Hushan (diocese of Ningbo), a play inspired by biblical themes was performed on the occasion of World Mission Sunday, also to celebrate 30 years of Bible courses in the parish and the Year of Sacred Scripture in the diocese. On Saturday, October 19, a concert centered on the devotion to Our Lady entitled "Our Lady of the Rosary" was organized at the Cathedral of the Diocese of Zhengding (Shijiazhuang) to encourage the baptized to follow in Our Lady's footsteps and to become missionaries.
On the last weekend of World Mission Month, the youth group of the Shanghai Cathedral made a pilgrimage to Suzhou Cathedral, where they prayed together with the local community. The youth of the parish of Lucheng (Diocese of Wenzhou) also made a pilgrimage along the Way of Our Lady of the Rosary, meeting a group of Dominican sisters at the Shrine in Fujian Province to pray the Rosary together.
Fifteen Chinese bishops took part in the spiritual retreat on the theme of "Synodality and Encounter with the Lord" held at the National Seminary in Beijing during the World Mission Month, in the spirit of fraternal communion.
In October, priestly ordinations were celebrated in the dioceses of Taizhou and Chifeng (Inner Mongolia), while nuns made their final vows in the diocese of Wuhan (Hubei province).
On the occasion of the Feast of the Elderly, which in China falls during the World Mission Month (October 11), both parishes and communities of nuns organized moments of gathering with the elderly to show them the communities' gratitude for the witness of faith they give in the circumstances of daily life. Throughout the World Mission Month, prayers for peace were held in the churches, often combined with the daily recitation of the Rosary. The communities also accepted Pope Francis' invitation to participate in the day of prayer and fasting for peace, asking for the gift of peace and an end to conflicts in the world. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)

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