New churches opened and consecrated for Catholics in China

Dec 17, 2007 / 12:29 pm

A number of Catholic churches were “inaugurated, consecrated and opened” in China during the months of October and November, some of which “have been rebuilt, and others newly built.”

Among the churches is the newly restored parish of Nan Liang in the Diocese of Ba Meng, north of Mongolia, which was originally built in 1874, and the newly constructed parish of St. Joseph in the Diocese of Lan Zhou, built “in the form of a boat in order to symbolize the pilgrimage of the faithful towards the house of the Father,” the Fides news agency reported.

In addition, the parish in the district of Yun Xiao in the Diocese of Xia Men was dedicated to Our Lady of China and built exclusively with the donations of the faithful, which reached $100,000

At the new parish of Liu He in the Diocese of Tai Yuan, new statues of the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Anthony and St. Francis were unveiled.

The consecrations of the new parishes also included other religious and cultural events, such as ordinations to the deaconate, which local officials described as “a sign of the liveliness and hope of our Catholic community.”