ASIA/CHINA - Marian Month: Pilgrimages to Marian Shrines and Prayers for the Conclave

Wednesday, 7 May 2025 local churches marian devotion pilgrimages jubilee

CHINA

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Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - As every year during the Marian month of May, many Beijing Catholics gather at the Marian Shrine of Housangyu in the Mentougou District, on the outskirts of the capital, to celebrate Marian devotion and, this year, the Jubilee Year of Hope.
On Saturday, May 3, Joseph Li Shan, ordinary bishop of Beijing, presided over the solemn Eucharist at the shrine, which is dear to Beijing Catholics.
On Saturday, May 10, the community of the Cathedral of the Holy Savior (known as Bei Tang) will make a pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine. On May 17, the parish of the Miraculous Medal in Xi Tang will hold the same Marian pilgrimage. On May 24, it will be the turn of the community of the parish of Saint Joseph in Dong Tang, and finally, on May 31, the community of the parish of the Immaculate Conception in Nan Tang. Throughout the week, the parish communities will prepare for the pilgrimage with shared prayer hours, which will help everyone to pray "together with the universal Church in the Jubilee Year of Hope," following "the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus, persevere in the faith with the heart of a pilgrim, practice charity, rejoice in hope, and move together toward the encounter with the glorious Lord," as stated in the announcement of the pilgrimage by the Diocese of Housangyu.
In Jiangxi Province, the Catholic communities began their pilgrimages in May, with the preferred destination being the Sanctuary of Lushan, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and to which the spiritual center named after Matteo Ricci is annexed.
Under the leadership of Bishop John Baptist Li Suguang of Nanchang, the diocesan community began the Marian month of the Jubilee Year by taking to heart his exhortation to "extend prayers to the diocese and the entire universal Church as it prepares for the conclave" to elect a new bishop of Rome. Bishop Li hoped the Jubilee pilgrimage will help everyone "strengthen their faith" and "receive divine grace so that the Catholic community of Jiangxi may flourish under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of Mary, our Mother." Over the past decade, Lushan has become one of the most beloved shrines among Chinese Catholics. Mount Lushan has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is now part of a large, internationally renowned natural park. In this region, French Lazarist missionaries built a church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary in 1894, with the intention of creating a spiritual oasis for Catholic communities from the Shanghai, Nanjing, and Wuhan areas, as well as from all the cities of Jiangxi Province. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 7/5/2025)