Catholics in China

In its third edition for the year 2020, the message of The Pope Video—a project of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network—centers on the Christian community in China, where the Church “looks to the future with hope.” The Holy Father’s intention, announced to his Worldwide Prayer Network a year ago, prays that the Catholics in that country “may persevere in faithfulness to the Gospel and grow in unity.”

Since the decade of the 1970s, China has seen its Christian community grow significantly. In 2010, the Pew Research Center estimated that there were 67 million Christians in China, approximately 5% of the total population. Others estimate the current number—according to an update in 2018—to be nearly one hundred million. This growth shows how China continues to be fertile ground for more and more families who believe in Jesus Christ and in his promises, and who discover God’s Kingdom through works of service.

Xavier from China comments on the Pope’s intention in Living Prayer 2020: “Just by reading news, outsiders hardly understand the real situation of the Church in China. The often dualistic description of the Chinese Church as ‘underground’ and ‘official’ is not only too simplistic but also very harmful. As Pope Benedict XVI clearly emphasised, there is only one Church in China, though it may exist in two ways for very complicated reasons.

“The majority of those who belong to both parts of the Chinese Church are living under persecution and yet remain faithful. The conflicts within the Church have created great confusion for believers and caused severe obstacles for evangelisation. Pope Francis passionately invites the universal Church to pray for the Church in China, that it may be more Catholic (united) and more Chinese at the same time”.

Click on the link above to watch the video ».