Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - At the end of the academic year 2010/2011, 110 major seminarians of 7 Chinese major seminaries completed their cycle of studies in philosophy and theology. According to what Faith in He Bei reports to Fides, the closing ceremony of the school and academic year in the major and minor seminars is taking place in China these days. The 110 major seminarians who completed the course of studies are as follows: 26 of the Major Seminary in He Bei, 4 of the major Seminary in Beijing, 14 of the Major Seminary of She Shan in Shang Hai, 14 of the Major Seminary of Shaan Xi, 24 of the Regional Major Seminary in Si Chuan, 19 of the South Central Regional Major Seminary in China, 9 of the Major Seminary in Shen Yang.
There were no seminarians who completed their studies this year at the National Major Seminary which is located in Beijing, at the Major Seminary of St. John Montecorvino in Shan Xi, and at the Major Seminary of Ji Lin.
During the solemn closing ceremony of the academic year of the Major Seminary in He Bei held yesterday, June 21, the Rector and the Bishop of the Diocese of Jing Xian (today Heng Shui) His Exc. Mgr. Peter Feng Xin Mao presented the Baccalaureate certificate to 26 major seminarians. For the first time the Seminary invited the seminarians’ parents to attend the ceremony which took place in an atmosphere of intense emotion. Among these parents there was also a poor farmer, widow, who raised her only son alone. When the 16 year old son told her he wanted to become a priest, the woman's only concern was to ensure that it was not only an emotional impulse of the child, so she prayed every day in these years, so that her son would be worthy of the Lord’s call. When she took her son’s Baccalaureate certificate, with her ruined hands due to the hard work in the fields, her first thought was to thank God for her son’s vocation. To promote priestly vocations, the 26 seminarians offered 800 yuan (about one thousand euro) from their savings to the Foundation of Ding Han for the support and the formation of vocations. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 22/06/2011)
