Beijing – Prayers, liturgies, exhortations to embrace the missionary vocation of every baptized person. And also concerts, cultural events, and many other initiatives to gather resources and energy for missionary work. This i show the 99th World Mission Day was celebrated by Chinese Catholic communities, in communion with the universal Church. A day in which the joy of concretely supporting the proclamation of the Gospel was also manifested through generous donations.
On Sunday, October 19, Chinese websites, blogs, and accounts dedicated to church news dedicated entire web pages to the initiatives launched by local communities on the occasion of World Mission Day.
During the solemn Sunday Mass dedicated to World Mission Sunday, Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of Hangzhou administered the first sacraments of Christian life to 29 adults, with the declared intention of recalling the sacramental source of all apostolic work. “Every baptized person, recipient of the gift of faith,” Bishop Yang said in his homily delivered in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, “is also a proclaimer of the Gospel of Christ.” We are called to bear witness to Jesus with our lives, build bridges with charity, and become missionary apostles for society.
The concert, entitled “Pilgrims of Hope”—the motto of the 2025 Jubilee—saw the participation of many parish choirs, who also performed songs to express their fraternal welcome to the newly baptized.
In the parish of Jiujiang , parishioners listened to the history and purposes of World Mission Day, recalled by parish priest Pang Rui, and contributed with simplicity to raise generous donations for the mission.
The parish priest pointed out that involvement in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel strengthens the bond of communion among all the sons and daughters of the Church, from individual parishes to communities in different provinces and nations around the world.
In a parish in Wenzhou, the celebration of World Mission Day began with the vigil on October 18, which was attended by many people.
“Mission is not a vocation reserved for a few, but rather the grace-filled response of every Christian to the Lord’s call,” reiterated parish priest Father Li Yi. Nineteen catechumens received the first sacraments of Christian life—Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation—during the solemn liturgical celebration on Sunday, October 19th.
Meanwhile, Catholic communications workers from Zhejiang Province renewed their commitment to proclaiming the Gospel through the modern tools, methods, and networks used in their work. As they do every year, ahead of World Mission Sunday, they gathered to participate in four days of formation. The ecclesial “communicators”—some from as far away as Shanghai and Beijing—who usually manage the websites and accounts of parishes and dioceses—shared their experiences, reaffirming their intention to remain faithful, “in our future creative projects, to our original aspirations, using our tools to bear witness to the faith and employing new media to spread the Gospel.
We will be witnesses of love and hope in our time, ‘capturing’ faith through the lens, spreading the Gospel through new media.” The parish of Beilun in the Diocese of Nongbo also began its World Mission Sunday with a vigil on Saturday, October 18, also celebrating St. Luke, Patron Saint of the Church. Bishop Francis Xavier Jin Yangke and Father John Baptist Zhang, animator of the ecclesial information portal inde.org, also took part in the vigil.
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