Global Week of Prayer for China: May 23 to May 30

From Fr. Luis Melo: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Cardinal Thomas Collins has asked that I bring to your attention a hopeful and encouraging grassroots Catholic initiative that aims to promote prayer and solidarity with our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters living in China. 

As China has burst onto the world stage as a rising global power, it has been accompanied by one especially worrying development: the concerted effort to control, subdue and, where possible, extinguish religion. Not only have the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang been affected by this persecution; Christians of all denominations are also among the victims. Issues range from disappearing bishops to bulldozed churches to minors being forbidden from entering churches. Full-blown persecution of Christians in China has been underway for years but has intensified under cover of the pandemic. 

All this has led the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, Cardinal Charles Bo, to announce an urgent appeal for a Global Week of Prayer for the Church and the Peoples of China, from Sunday, May 23 to Sunday, May 30. These dates are in keeping with the tradition set by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI designating the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians as a day to pray especially for the Church in China. 

An international coalition of lay Catholics has been working during these past months to actively support this very important initiative by Cardinal Bo. For more information, please visit: www.globalprayerforchina.org