Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Han Dan (Agenzia Fides) – On the great feast of Patron of the Missions, St. Francis Xavier, over 3,000 faithful from the Diocese of Han Dan, in the He Bei Province on mainland China, celebrated the ordination of three new priests, according to information received by Fides. The feast of St. Francis Xavier has always been widely lived and celebrated in the Chinese Catholic community, but this year, the Year for Priests, it has assumed additional significance for the faithful, and this is also why the date was chosen for the ordination.
More than 60 priests concelebrated the ordination Mass, presided by Archbishop Yang Xiang Tai, with the participation of many seminarians and religious. The priest who delivered the homily stressed that "the priesthood is indicative of the presence of the Lord. And priests are messengers and apostles of Christian culture."
Two of the three new priests are only children. In the words of their formator, this "shows how fascinating the call of the Lord is, and how important family support is in forming a vocation." He also called on all Christian families to bear witness to young people, encouraging them to answer the call of the Lord. With these recent ordinations, the Diocese of Han Dan now has 96 priests in pastoral care of 130,000 Catholics. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 07/12/2009)
