ASIA/CHINA - “Would you like to learn about the Catholic Church?”: the fruits of the evangelization campaign run in leading Chinese publications, organized by Catholics in Tian Jin

Tian Jin (Agenzia Fides) - “Would you like to learn about the Catholic Church? You're invited to the Cathedral of Xi Kai.” This is the text of the advertisement placed in the leading publications of the city of Tian Jin, created by the Catholic parish community from the Diocesan Cathedral of Tian Jin beginning this past August. In the text that follows, there is the date, place, and time of the catechism classes held at the Cathedral.
According to information sent to Agenzia Fides from local sources, since these ads were published, the Cathedral has had to work overtime in answering all the telephone calls. The pastor says: “Although we haven't taken down a detailed record of how many calls come in, there are at least 20 per day requesting more information. We receive calls from journalists, professionals, and common folk. All show the same interest: to learn more about the Church and the Catholic faith. We are not worried about how many will request Baptism; for us, the most important is to spread the faith, the Gospel, the Word of God...everything else is in God's hands.” The parishioners at the Cathedral are making a great effort in evangelization through study and organizing new manners to carry out missions. The doors of the Church are open every day, from 5 in the morning to 8pm, as an invitation to the people to enter. The priests, religious, and lay volunteers are always ready to offer a warm welcome to whomever comes in, responding to all their questions. Thanks to this initiative, there were 706 baptisms celebrated last year alone.
The Cathedral of Xi Kai, dedicated to Saint Joseph, in the Diocese of Tian Jin, is a Roman-style church built in 1914, capable of holding over 2,000 people. It is called the “French church” by the local people. The parish today has 30,000 members. It is a very active community and uses modern technology and mass media to evangelize. It was among the first parishes to create its own website and it has recently launched a blog for evangelization. The Diocese of Tian Jing is a large Catholic community, where Catholicism has experienced noteworthy progress. It is one of the most important Chinese cities, under the direct administration of the central government, like Beijing, Shang Hai, and Chong Qing. According to the Guide to the Catholic Church in China 2008, the diocesan community has over 100,000 faithful, 30 priests, and 40 sisters of the Community of Charity, in addition to 10 seminarians. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 19/11/2008)