The Jubilee of Hope has also begun in Shanghai
China is also waiting with hope. Fides Agency reports the start of the jubilee journey of several Catholic communities
Shanghai (Agenzia Fides) – Solemn procession behind the Cross, public reading of the Papal Bull to proclaim the Jubilee, communal recitation of the Jubilee prayer: this is how, in the individual dioceses, the Jubilee journey of many Chinese Catholic communities has begun.
From Shanghai to Beijing, many Catholic communities with their bishops and priests and bishops celebrated the opening of the Jubilee together on Saturday, December 28, to facilitate the participation of priests and bishops who would be engaged in Sunday liturgical celebrations in individual dioceses and parishes the next day (Sunday 29).
The opening celebrations of the Jubilee were attended not only by the faithful but also by a fair number of onlookers, especially young people.
In Shanghai, the diocesan opening of the Jubilee was presided over by Bishop Joseph Shen Bin.
At 10 a.m., priests and nuns gathered at the Bishop’s Palace to read, listen and meditate together on the Word of God. A nun read excerpts from “Spes non confundit,” the Pontifical Bull of the Jubilee’s proclamation.
Then, preceded by a large cross, the church procession headed by the Bishop reached the Cathedral dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Bishop and all present bowed together before the Cross, all were blessed with the sprinkling of holy water, and prayers and supplications were recited asking the Lord to staff his children. Then the door was opened and the procession entered the Cathedral.
During the homily, Bishop Shen Bin encouraged everyone to “rekindle the flame of hope in our hearts with the strength given to us by the Word of God, and to transmit this hope to everyone with concrete actions, to be peacemakers, people who bring hope to our brothers and sisters in need, to the sick and the poor, to the youth, to the displaced, to the lonely and the elderly.”
After the homily, the six churches and shrines in the diocese at which Jubilee pilgrimages can be made to receive plenary indulgence were indicated. They included the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan.
Then the entire assembly solemnly recited the Jubilee prayer, performed an act of communal penance (as required to obtain the ‘Jubilee-related plenary indulgence) and received the Bishop’s blessing.
“In the Jubilee Year 2025,” Shen Bin said, ”we will all be able to experience God’s love and mercy more abundantly, and thus keep the fire of hope burning, zealously practicing works of charity and mercy.”
(NZ) (Fides News Agency 12/29/2024)