Pope wishes China and Olympic athletes

(August 06, 2008):-Pope Benedict XVI urged China on Tuesday to open up to Christianity as he visited the birthplace of a 19th century saint, who died as a missionary there. “It is important for this great country to open itself to the Gospel” the Pope said, speaking about China for the second time while on vacation in the Italian Alps. Earlier on Sunday during his Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict had sent greetings to the Chinese people before the Beijing Olympics, and said he hoped the Games would offer an example of coexistence among people from different countries. On Tuesday, the pope flew by helicopter to the remote hamlet of Oies, nestled in the Dolomite Alps in northeastern Italy, from where 130 years ago, Joseph Frei-na-de-metz took off for China, where he worked as a missionary until his death in 1908. The Pope visited the old farmhouse with its typical wooden balconies, where Frei-na-de-metz grew up as one of 13 children. The home features a small museum with pictures from the missionary's life in China, including portraits of the saint depicting him with the pointed beard and round cap typical of Chinese culture in his time. Frei-na-de-metz was proclaimed a saint by late Pope John Paul II in 2003. Several thousand people walked through fields and woods to reach the village and greet Pope Benedict, who is spending a two-week vacation at a seminary in the nearby town of Bressanone. Addressing them in front of the house, the Pontiff thanked them for their warm welcome. He noted the increasing importance of China in the world and said that St. Frei-na-de-metz was a saint for today and a sign for the future.