On the Eve of Mother’s Day: Chinese Catholic Communities Celebrate “Our Lady of China”

Beijing – Every year on the second Saturday in May – the day before Mother’s Day in the Marian month – the Church in China celebrates a special feast in honor of the “Heavenly Mother of China.”
This feast commemorates the decision to consecrate China to Our Lady of Donglv, a vow unanimously made by the bishops of the First Chinese Council in Shanghai in 1924.
The establishment of the feast was a significant sign of the Marian devotion prevalent among many Chinese Catholics. On December 8, 1941, Pope Pius XII granted the request of the Chinese bishops and officially instituted the great feast in honor of the “Queen of China.” The bishops then proclaimed Our Lady of Donglv at the Marian Shrine of Hebei Province as “Our Lady of China and Heavenly Queen of the Chinese People.”
In recent decades, despite turbulent times, the Marian devotion of Chinese Catholics has taken on further forms of expression, and the celebrations in honor of Mary, Queen of China, are now linked to Mother’s Day.
Female religious orders dedicated to the Heavenly Mother have been established, such as the Congregation of Missionaries of the Heavenly Mother of the Diocese of Yanggu in Shandong. It was founded in 1940, during the war, by the first Chinese cardinal, Thomas Tien Ken-sin, who came from Shandong Province.
Every year on the feast day of the patron saint, the Superior General and the nuns participate in Eucharistic Adoration, the recitation of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and a Marian procession.
On May 9, the Rosary groups of Nanxi Parish in the Diocese of Wenzhou met for a devotional course on the figure of the Mother of God, following the solemn Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of Our Lady of China. The parish priest, a local, was able to explain the history of Marian devotion in the local dialect, making it understandable even to the elderly. He emphasized Mary as a model and source of comfort for all mothers in their important role of guiding their children on their faith journey and helping them discover their vocation. “There is no other prayer more effective than the Rosary,” said the priest, concluding the meeting with a prayer in honor of Our Lady of China.
In parishes throughout Jiangxi Province, many mothers received gifts and bouquets of flowers on Mother’s Day, May 10. Priests and laypeople visited mothers in hospitals.
In the Diocese of Beijing, every parish celebrated Mother’s Day with a solemn Eucharist, distributing gifts as a sign of gratitude. In the Cathedral of the Redeemer, each mother received a small bag containing a plant and a greeting card, while in the church of the diocesan seminary, mothers received porcelain utensils as gifts.

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