Shen Bin and Chow pray in Sheshan for the health of Pope Francis

The gesture took place a few days ago during a visit to Shanghai by a delegation from the diocese of Hong Kong. Card. Chow said: ‘The shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan is of immense importance for the Church in China and it was significant to pray alongside Bishop Shen for the Holy Father’. The hope for closer pastoral collaboration between the ecclesial communities of the two cosmopolitan metropolises.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The Bishop of Shanghai, Msgr. Joseph Shen Bin, and Card. Stephen Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong, prayed together for the health of Pope Francis at the shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan, the place most dear to the devotion of Chinese Catholics. It happened on Tuesday 25th February, during a five-day visit that the cardinal - a bridge figure in the relationship between Rome and the Catholic communities of mainland China - made to Shanghai in recent days.

The news was reported on the website of the Hong Kong Catholic weekly Sunday Examiner in an article published today at the end of the visit. The news of the joint prayer for the pontiff is a significant gesture: as you may remember, Mons. Shen Bin was the prelate who in April 2023 was transferred to Shanghai by the Beijing government in a unilateral move that caused a crisis in relations with the Vatican, which was then resolved by Francis in July of the same year with the ratification of his appointment. Shen Bin is also the president of the Chinese Bishops' Council, the “official” collegial body recognised by the Beijing government but not by Rome; as such, from tomorrow he will take part in the Two Sessions, the most important annual political event of the Chinese Communist Party.

At the Sheshan shrine the two prelates concelebrated a mass together with the auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, Monsignor Joseph Ha Chi-shing, and the vicar general, Father Peter Choy Wai-man. Deacon Gamaliel Cheng, spiritual director of the Central Council of Catholic Laity in Hong Kong, assisted at the liturgy, while Mrs Susanna Ching Chi-man, president of the Council of the Laity, read the readings. The celebration began with the two bishops leading the assembly in the prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan, an important devotion in the history of the Catholic Church in China. ‘This experience was truly unique,’ commented Cardinal Chow. ‘I was sincerely touched and found myself in tears during the prayer. This place is immensely important for the Church in China, and it was significant to pray for the Holy Father together with Bishop Shen’.

The visit of the delegation from the diocese of Hong Kong to the Catholic community of Shanghai follows the two previous ones made to Beijing and Guangdong in the last two years: aimed at promoting greater mutual understanding and collaboration, it included joint liturgical celebrations, pastoral exchanges and interreligious dialogues. Beginning on 24 February at the Cathedral of St Ignatius in Xujiahui, it also included a visit to Tangzhen Church, one of Shanghai's pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee Year, and the Sheshan Seminary.

Reflecting on the visit, Cardinal Stephen expressed his gratitude for the warm hospitality and openness shown by the Diocese of Shanghai. ‘I believe the Shanghai diocese appreciated our visit and I look forward to a reciprocal visit to the Hong Kong diocese in the future,’ he told the Sunday Examiner. The cardinal also observed that the Shanghai diocese maintains a delicate balance between the Church and civil society and encouraged the Church in Hong Kong to approach dialogue with different sectors with an open and collaborative spirit.

Auxiliary Bishop Ha, for his part, emphasised the similarities between Hong Kong and Shanghai, both cosmopolitan cities facing the challenge of evangelisation and the development of pastoral ministries, especially for communities with different languages, in urban environments. He spoke of the possibilities for collaboration between the two dioceses in the areas of pastoral care and faith formation.

During the visit the delegation also visited several places of worship of other religious traditions, including the Songjiang Mosque, the Centre for the Practice of Christian Sinicisation, the Longhua Buddhist Temple and the Cheng-huang Taoist Temple.

Cardinal Chow concluded the visit by expressing his hope for future exchanges and collaborations. ‘The Church is called to be a bridge of dialogue and communion. May this journey of encounter inspire us to walk together in faith and hope, building stronger bonds within the universal Church.’

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