Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Fides Service) -All over China Catholics celebrated the annual Feast of Corpus Christi, some on Thursday 10 June and the rest on Sunday 13 June. A priest in Beijing told Fides about the celebrations: “Sunday celebrations involved mainly young workers, unable to attend church on Thursday. It is important to offer young people the possibility of keeping these major feasts and actually it is a request that they make. We have 12 hour Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at which I was moved to see many young people present. We expected to see mostly adults and elderly people but to our great surprise from right after the early morning Mass until 6 in the evening numerous young people came to pray and many brought friends and relations”.
In many parishes after Masses on Sunday 13 June it was announced that the Pope has called a special Year of the Eucharist. The news was welcomed with enthusiasm. Chinese Catholics are deeply devoted to the Eucharist. The same priest told Fides: “On Sundays besides Mass, many parishes have community hours of adoration and recitation of the rosary. In Lent we have adoration and also the Stations of the Cross. Besides taking part in community adoration people often pop in for a visit to Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. We will certainly organise special initiatives in view of the year called by the Pope. The Eucharist is at the heart of our life as Christians ”.
(Agenzia Fides 14/06/2004 Lines: 23 Words: 250)
