Macau (AsiaNews) – In a cathedral overflowing with Christians the opening ceremony of the Holy Door of Mercy in Macau, southern China, took place. The liturgical celebration was held at 8 pm last night, to enable the participation of all of the faithful.
The liturgy began with a procession led by the bishop of the diocese, Msgr. José Lai and thirty priests to the door in front of the cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After the greeting of the bishop and the proclamation of the Gospel parable of the lost sheep in Cantonese, Portuguese and English, the Bull proclaiming the special Jubilee of Mercy was read out.
Immediately after the bishop invited everyone to go through the Holy Door, leading the procession through the decorated door. Many faithful had to take part outside the church because of the crowd.
The renewal of baptismal promises, was followed by Msgr. Lai’s homily in which the bishop urged participants to immerse themselves in this year of grace and mercy of God to humanity, to be instruments of mercy for others.
He also advised them to approach the sacrament of confession to experience the mercy of God in his own flesh. He concluded by urging the faithful to share this experience with non-believers, experiencing the missionary spirit in the Year of Mercy, and asking everyone to pray for the world, in need of mercy because of so many conflicts.
The liturgy ended with the blessing of the water, the Te Deum in Latin and the singing of the Salve Regina.
There was a palpable joy among faithful in their desire to walk with the universal Church, following the path marked by Pope Francis. The Year of Mercy, and will run all the parishes represented at the opening ceremony in the historic center of Macau by their standards.