Day of Prayer for the Church in China

The Holy Father has designated May 24 each year as a day of prayer for the Church in China. The 24th of May is the feast day of Our Lady under her title Mary, Help of Christians. The Blessed Mother is especially venerated by Chinese Catholics under this title. Historically, one pilgrimage site for veneration of Our Lady has been the Basilica of Our Lady of She Shan near Shanghai.

Read more about the Day of Prayer here.

Read more about Our Lady of She Shan here and here.

Read about the Holy Father's new Compendium of his Letter to the Catholics of China here. (This article includes in the last paragraph information about three underground bishops who have disappeared in police custody: Bishops Su, Shi, and Jia. Bishop Jia was most recently arrested March 30, 2009.)

Read the Holy Father's special prayer for the Church in China here.

Read Cardinal Kung's prayer for the Church in China here.

Image: Statue of Our Lady of She Shan from the Cardinal Kung Foundation website.