Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Fides Service) – The Superior General of the Benedictines, Father Jeremias Schroeder, recently wrote an encouraging letter to Xin-de or Faith, the most widely read Catholic bulletin in mainland China, in which he assures the Chinese people of the prayers of all Benedictines the world over.
From his Monastery in Munich, Germany, Father Schroeder told the Chinese Catholic paper that he has asked all Benedictines, monks priests brothers and nuns all over the world, to pray incessantly for the people of China struggling against the mortal virus of SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and also that the epidemic will soon be defeated. In response Xin-de expresses the gratitude of Chinese Catholics who welcomed the gesture as a sign of Christian solidarity from the universal Church.
The Benedictines have always shown appreciation for China and its people and they regularly support a Catholic community in north east mainland China where a hospital was built with Benedictine funds. They also offer scholarships for Chinese seminarians, priests and men and women religious. (Fides Service 16/5/2003 EM lines 18 Words 172)
