Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cang Zhou (Fides Service) -“Our people evangelise with great joy and this attracts many new people to embrace the faith and to want share it with others” said Fr Li Guang Qi, parish priest in Qi Zhuang, in the diocese of Xian Xian (Cang Zhou) in HeBei province.
The parish, which serves several villages with about 7 little churches and 40 chapels and a community of 3,000 Catholics and has welcomed 300 new members in the last 2 years. Our local Catholics are great evangelisers, the parish priest said proudly: “Recently we started a course on Christianity with about 50 people, at the end of the week we had over 200 participants. We encourage people to read the Bible. Every family has a Bible and we encourage them to turn off the television sometimes and read and meditate the Bible in the family. We also give courses on liturgy, in keeping with the universal Church, various forms of prayer including Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament”.
Xian Xian or Cang Zhou diocese was a Jesuit mission and in 1948 there were about 60,000 Catholics and about 283 churches. The community has grown to 85,000 Catholics who worship in 150 churches and are assisted by 76 priests, 260 women religious and 32 novices of the congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix for the Souls in Purgatory. There are 70 major seminarians and Catholics run two kindergartens,16 clinics, a home for the elderly and a home babies with a disability. (Agenzia Fides 25/11/2005 Righe: 25 Parole: 277)
