(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis made a special appeal for prayer for Catholics in China. The Holy Father’s appeal comes ahead of Sunday’s feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, celebrated throughout the world on May 24.
Chinese Catholics have a special devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, whose feast day is marked with special devotions and pilgrimages, especially to the National Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
In a letter to Chinese Catholics in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his hope that the liturgical feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, might “become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China.”
In his appeal on Wednesday, Pope Francis noted that the statue at the Shrine of Sheshan depicts Mary holding the Child Jesus in the air with his arms outstretched “in a gesture of love and mercy.” He called on all Christians to “ask Mary to help Catholics in China to be ever more credible witnesses of this merciful love in the midst of their people, and to live spiritually united to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.”
Below please find the English translation of Pope Francis’ appeal for prayer for Catholics in China:
On May 24, Catholics in China will be praying with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. In the statue overlooking the Shrine, Mary is holding up her Son, presenting Him to the world with arms open in a gesture of love and mercy. May we, too, ask Mary to help Catholics in China to be ever more credible witnesses of this merciful love in the midst of their people, and to live spiritually united to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Benedict XVI’s Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan for the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China in 2008 can be found below:
Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians”,
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.
When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.
From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.
Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis made a special appeal for prayer for Catholics in China. The Holy Father’s appeal comes ahead of Sunday’s feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, celebrated throughout the world on May 24. Chinese Catholics have a special devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, whose feast…
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(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis made a special appeal for prayer for Catholics in China. The Holy Father’s appeal comes ahead of Sunday’s feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, celebrated throughout the world on May 24. Chinese Catholics have a special devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, whose feast…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis made a special appeal for prayer for Catholics in China. The Holy Father’s appeal comes ahead of Sunday’s feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, celebrated throughout the world on May 24. Chinese Catholics have a special devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, whose feast…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Milan’s International Exhibition Expo 2015 dedicated Tuesday May 19 th to the Catholic Church’s humanitarian and relief organization Caritas – invited for the first time ever – to be present on a par with states and governments, all of them celebrating Food for Life. Energy for the Planet . Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni is in Milan at Expo and sent us this report: When the powerful earthquake that devastated Nepal on April 25 rocked the land across the border in India where it wreaked damage and caused over 125 deaths, the farmers in the region did not complain: they are farmers. When extreme weather conditions rob them of their livelihood, they do not complain: they are farmers. When push comes to shove, they do what they have to: they are small-holder farmers. They feed their families and their communities; they protect indigenous seeds and they safeguard the environment. This was what the representative of Caritas India told Caritas members from across the globe gathered at the Milan Expo 2015 to celebrate Caritas Day – a joyous conclusion to the organization’s 6-day General Assembly. During an intense programme of power/point presentations, testimonies ,speeches and videos, outgoing Caritas President, Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga passed on the baton to newly elected President Cardinal Luis Tagle followed by appeals from Caritas leaders who in turn took to the stage calling for action at all levels to promote dignity and reject the misunderstanding that hunger is inevitable. Yes, because as it was pointed out again and again, over 800 million people still suffer from hunger in the world today, and as Pope Francis never tires of saying: hunger is a scandal. A scandal that Caritas does not turn away from as illustrated by Caritas representatives from countries as far apart as Malawi and Myanmar, Nicaragua and Italy, Canada and Australia, Peru and Philippines, all of whom passionately see their mission as much more than a job. And although much of the discussion focused on the need to promote sustainable agriculture, on the importance of implementing just land tenure and environmental policies, and on the importance of engaging governments and policy makers who must not be permitted to look away, the lessons that a Catholic dimension can contribute and the whole faith dimension of Caritas was never forgotten. Because, just as Pope Francis was extensively quoted providing inspiration for almost all the speeches of the day, his invitation to all Caritas members to go out into the world to serve others in the name of Christ was embraced and upheld by all those present, at least judging by the swells of applause that erupted each time the word love – CARITAS in Latin – was pronounced. Linda Bordoni (from Vatican Radio)…