Matteo Ricci Year Opens in Shanghai

(May 20, 2010) In China the Diocese of Shanghai opened the Matteo Ricci Year last week, in honour of the 400th anniversary of the death of this missionary to China. The year was officially opened May 11 with a ceremony in the Sheshan seminary on the outskirts of the city after a diocesan pilgrimage to the nearby Marian shrine; it will close on December 11. During the ceremony Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai said that it is a period in which the Church hopes to stimulate evangelization among priests, religious and laity. He explained that the event is not just a commemoration, but it also has a practical meaning for Catholics, who are to discern how they can continue the work of this Jesuit of Italian origin by adapting the faith to the Chinese culture. The diocese has prepared a program of activities for the next seven months, including a seminar, the composition of a hymn, prayer meetings and a priestly ordination to close the year. Some 1,000 Catholics gathered for the opening ceremony, praying for fortitude in following the steps of the Italian Priest Ricci. The Jesuit Priest arrived in Peking in 1601 and the Chinese emperor allowed him to stay in the capital until his death on May 11, 1610. Coinciding with the 2010 World's Fair, the Shanghai Museum has opened the exhibition "Matteo Ricci: A Meeting of Civilizations in Ming China," which can be viewed from May to October of this year. Some Catholics in China expressed the hope that Xu, the first Catholic of Shanghai, might be proclaimed a saint together with Father Ricci.