(May 25, 2010) On Monday the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, Chinese Catholics
have prayed for the Church in China, according to invocation contained in Pope Benedict
XVI’s 2007 letter, to celebrate a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China on May
24, the feast day of Our Lady of Sheshan (Shanghai). On 24th morning,
in Sheshan, Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi, auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, led a procession
from the church that lies half way up the hill, to the summit, where he celebrated
mass. Bishop Xing was joined by 3 000 other Catholics to pray for all priests and
Catholics in China, as well as for victims of disasters and for the Expo, which is
currently being held in the great metropolis. Fr. Li Fangyuan, rector of the Basilica
of Sheshan celebrated a mass at 6.30 in the morning with prayer for China, hoping
to soon see a "way out" for inter-Church relations. In the north west of the country,
Fr. Joseph, an underground priest, said that in the morning priests prayed with other
Catholics of the underground Church, in some cases is followed by the adoration and
benediction with the Blessed Sacrament. Some have tried to go on pilgrimage to Sheshan,
despite the large number of security controls and traffic blocks. On a personal level,
Fr. Joseph prayed for unity among the divided Christian communities in China and a
normalization of relations between China and the Vatican as soon as possible, as well
as the growth of priestly vocations in number and quality. In Rome, Pope Benedict
mentioned the day of prayer at his reflection following the midday Regina Caeli at
St. Peter’s Square on May 23, Pentecost Sunday.