Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Shanghai (Agenzia Fides) - “The pilgrimage has given us a spiritual boost that helps us to live our faith as all Christians, but also to better carry out our mission in social services and Catholic ministry.” This is what the Catholics of the “Paul Xu” Catholic Social Services Center of Shanghai said, as they returned from their pilgrimage to the famous Marian Shrine of “Rosary Village” in the Diocese of Fu Zhou. Rosary, Way of the Cross, Eucharist, and meditation were the main highlights of the pilgrimage, which was held September 19-21.
According to the pilgrims' testimony, sent to Agenzia Fides, “no one felt tired after the plane ride of nearly 3 hours and the car ride of almost an hour. As soon as we stepped off the plane, we began to admire the beauty of creation and praise the Lord: the sea, the mountains...When we reached the Village, we were amazed at this miracle of the Lord: the transformation of the terrain amidst the wonders of nature, where we could perceive the 'aroma' of Marian spirituality.” The 21 employees of the Center also visited the elementary school that had been constructed by the 280,000 Yuan (nearly 30,000 Euros) they had raised. They met with the students there and those responsible for their education, all of whom thanked the Catholic association. In addition, the leader of the pilgrimage, Sr. Pan, spoke to the children and told them the story of Paul Xu, patron of the Center, who was the first Catholic intellectual and Mandarin Chinese to be baptized by Fr. Matteo Ricci. He then encouraged the children to imitate Paul Xu's example, becoming good citizens and good Christians. They then taught them how to pray together, with the public functionaries present, asking that Love may abound more and more and invoking the protection and assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 02/10/2009)
