ASIA/CHINA – Catholic Parishes begin November with a spirit of charity for the elderly and the sick

Beijing – From Beijing and Shanghai to rural villages, Catholic communities across China have devoutly begun the month of November, which the Church dedicates to the commemoration of the dead, inviting everyone to reflect on eternal life and what Catholic doctrine calls the “Last Things” .
It is a time when prayers and memorial services for the deceased are combined with acts of charity for those who experience hardship and need in their earthly lives.
Starting at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 2, the two Catholic cemeteries in Beijing filled with people praying the Rosary. Bishop Joseph Li Shan and Auxiliary Bishop Matthew Zhen Xuebin celebrated separate Masses for the deceased.
Holy Masses in remembrance of the deceased were also celebrated in the cathedral and in various parishes in Beijing. Noticeboards with photos of the deceased and inscriptions dedicated to them were placed on the church walls. In the Diocese of Zhouzhi in Shaanxi Province, parishes combined the commemoration of the deceased with works of charity and mercy by visiting the sick and elderly members of the community and administering the sacraments .
The Diocese of Sanyuan dedicated the first Mass at dawn to all the deceased, as did the Diocese of Taiyuan, with a special remembrance of those who have no one to remember them. All parishes in Jiangxi Province celebrated Masses in the Catholic cemetery, offered prayers, and laid flowers on the graves of bishops, priests, missionaries, and nuns. Throughout the month of November, the parishes of the Diocese of Nanchang will pray daily for the souls in purgatory and recite the Rosary for them. The community of Shijiazhuang, in particular, commemorated the missionaries who were buried in China after giving their lives for the proclamation of the Gospel. In this diocese, on October 9, the day of the martyrdom of the Dutch Lazarist Franciscus Hubertus Schraven , Apostolic Vicar of Zhengding , a solemn Mass was celebrated in remembrance of his heroic martyrdom and that of the eight other missionaries who were killed by Japanese soldiers after refusing to hand over two hundred women and girls who had sought refuge at their mission.