Pope Francis yesterday asked Catholics to pray that the Gospel can be fully and freely shared in China. Source: CNA.
At the end of his general audience, the Pope recalled the Church’s celebration of “the World Day of Prayer for China, which coincides with the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, venerated and invoked in the Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan in Shanghai”.
He said he wanted to use that occasion to remember and express his closeness to Catholics in China, “sharing their joys and their hopes”.
“A special thought,” Pope Francis said, “to all those who suffer, pastors and faithful, so that in the communion and solidarity of the Universal Church, they can experience consolation and encouragement.”
“I invite everyone to lift up prayers to God that the good news of the crucified and risen Christ can be announced in its fullness, beauty, and freedom, bearing fruit for the good of the Catholic Church and all of Chinese society,” he concluded.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed May 24, the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, to be a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary under that title as the country’s patroness.
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Pope Francis: Pray that the Gospel can be freely shared in China (By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA)
