The Bishop of Hong Kong began his visit to the diocese of the Chinese capital, which responds to the invitation of official organizations. He was received by Bishop Li Shan and several dozen faithful and prayed in the cathedral before a painting of the Jesuit pioneer of the inculturation of Christianity in China. The objective: “to promote exchanges and interactions between the two parties”.
Beijing ( / Agencies) – The visit of Msgr. Stephen Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong, to Beijing has begun, following the example of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), the great Jesuit pioneer of the mission and inculturation of Christianity in China. He arrived yesterday in the capital and in the afternoon participated in a moment of prayer in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, received by Archbishop Li Shan – who since last summer is also president of the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics – and several dozen faithful.
In front of the altar was an image of Matteo Ricci, known in China as Li Madou, whom Pope Francis declared venerable last December with the promulgation of the decree on heroic virtues, the first step towards beatification. Monsignor Chow – a Jesuit like Matteo Ricci – is the first Hong Kong bishop to pay an official visit to the diocese of Beijing since the former British colony returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. In 2008, Monsignor John Tong, who was then Coadjutor bishop, had been invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, but was not allowed to meet with Msgr. Li Shan.
Archbishop Chow – who is accompanied by Vicar General Father Peter Choy and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha – will remain in Beijing until Friday, where he plans to visit places and entities significant to the “official” Catholic community, including the Theological Seminary, where many of China’s future priests study. In announcing this trip – which responds to an invitation from the Archdiocese of Beijing -, Bishop Chow highlighted on March 9 “the mission of the diocese of Hong Kong to be a bridge Church and to promote exchanges and interactions between both parties”. This long-awaited trip comes a few days after the disagreements over the transfer to Shanghai of Bishop Shen Bin, a decision that Beijing made unilaterally despite the Agreement with the Holy See on the appointment of bishops that was signed in 2018 and renewed for the second time. last October.
