China - Mainland Catholics pray for China Church

(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 24^th 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.