Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) – Before and after Easter, the Church on mainland China welcomed with joy and emotion several new priests and deacons. According to information received by Fides, the Diocese of Nan Ning in the Province of Guang Xi had 4 priests ordained and in the Diocese of Ji Nan, in the Province of Shan Dong, 4 deacons were ordained. Before Easter, more than a thousand faithful of the Autonomous Region of Guang Xi, together with the faithful, priests, and religious who came specially from Hong Kong and the neighboring dioceses, attended priestly ordinations of the 4 deacons from the Diocese of Nan Ning. The solemn ceremony in the Cathedral was concelebrated by 34 diocesan priests. During the ceremony, the Ordinary Bishop of Nan Ning, Bishop Tan Yan Quan, urged the new priests "to be collaborators of the bishop, priests of the New Covenant; take responsibility to preach the Gospel, guard the flock entrusted to them, and celebrate the Eucharist." The Bishop also highlighted the ongoing Year for Priests, reiterating "the testimony of faith and unconditional devotion of the priest to the Lord." On April 9 in the Diocese of Ji Nan, in the Province of Shan Dong, 4 deacons were ordained in the Cathedral. 3 are from this diocese and the other is from the Diocese of Yan Tai, located in the same province. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 14/04/2010)
